The Only Road, by Alexandria Diaz

As this Oregon Battle of the Books season starts to wind down, I am still reading the last of this season's middle level books. The Only Road is the story of two cousins who are forced to leave their families in Guatemala for the safety of the United States, where their one older brother/cousin lives. This is a timely, important, difficult story to read, but an example of what hundreds of people from Central and South America face every day. Currently they are being diligently hunted and turned away at many points along the way, most notably at the Mexico-U.S. border. But before that even happens they face many, many hardships along the way, and most don't make it to their final destination, being returned back to their homes, if they are that lucky.

All that said, this is a good book, and although not as well-written as it may have been in a more experienced author's hands, it is a necessary story to read, think about, and grapple with. This is an important book that you should read. For that I give it 4 paws.

Look Both Ways, by Jason Reynolds

Reynolds is a master storyteller. A lot of people write good books for teens, young adults and adults as well. But a few are masters - people who write so well that it is quickly obvious that they're a step above what most other good writers write (not to mention the many not-so-good writers). In my pug opinion, Sharon Creech, Kate DiCamillo, and Louis Sachar are a few master storytellers. Not every one of their books is amazing, but several of them are, when most writers never  get to one amazing book.

That said, Look Both Ways is not my favorite Reynolds book, but it is his latest. It's good, and has flashes of greatness, but a couple of the stories are just good - which isn't a bad thing - just not all of these stories are great. This book is 10 short stories written from the time the end-of-the-school day bell rings until the kids get home. 10 chapters, 10 kids or groups of kids, 10 different stories about life between school and home. All the kids and their stories emanate from one school, and the stories do loosely interact. A really cool and unique idea, and most of the stories work. A few didn't work really well for me, but a couple were gold. Read this book for the gold - Reynolds is always worth it! 4 paws!

Stargazing, by Jen Wang

The latest graphic novel by the author of The Prince and the Dressmaker, and the illustrator of American Born Chinese - what a great team to put together! Stargazing is a well-done book with a plot twist that I did not see coming! I thought the artwork really added to the story, covering several topics that you would expect from a young teen book; friendship, cliques, being different, feeling different, honesty...this is a good book, but after having just read New Kid, I have to say it isn't excellent. Well worth your time, and I like that lately there is a growth in diverse characters in books, and this book is no exception. A quick read, a good story, not quite as strong as Be Prepared, Illegal, or New Kid, but close - if you like graphic novels, you'll like this! 3.5 paws! 

Running with Sherman, by Christopher McDougal

Running with Sherman is a wonderful book about a rescued donkey, Sherman, and his recovery from neglect to becoming a national racing donkey - yep, there is such a thing! This book was not intended for teens, but it is an adult book that is teen appropriate. Cool, right? There are many books like that, but for some reason I wanted this one added to the Briggs library, because who doesn't love a great animal story, right? Along the way there are many other people and animals that are part of this grand story and adventure, and you will find yourself rooting for all the good ones! Being a book written for adults, it is a bit longer than most teen books, and includes some strong language - but not a lot, and none of it just stuck in the story for the sake of writing bad words. If you are an animal lover and aren't afraid of reading something a little longer than usual, give Sherman a try. You will miss him when the story ends, I promise! 4 paws!

New Kid, by Jerry Craft

A graphic novel and this year's winner of the Newbery Award for best kids book, New Kid by Jerry Craft tells the story of Jordan Banks, 7th grader, and new kid at school. Not just any school, but a prestigious prep school where most of the other kids are from wealthy families and are White, neither of which fits Jordan's life (although his family isn't poor, either, but they don't Christmas Break in other parts of the world on ski vacations, as some of Jordan's new classmates do). This story is about fitting in, and not fitting in, in every way you might imagine. It is extremely well done, very realistic, at times uncomfortable and at others laugh-out-loud funny, well written and well drawn. Often the Newbery Committee gets it right with the best book of the year, and this is one year where they absolutely nailed it! Treat yourself to this quick read (although you'll want to read it more than once, I'll bet)...5 paws!

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, by Kwame Mbalia

Wow, what a fun ride THIS book is! One of the new books being printed by Rick Riordan's imprint company, Tristan Strong is a action-packed adventure thrill-ride through African and African-American folklore, legend and mythology, very similar to the Lightning Thief series that Riordan is responsible for writing, among others, and which most of you know very well. If you are a fan of any of Riordan's books, you must read this one! You will love it, I promise!

I admit, about 1/4 of the way into the book I wasn't sure I would finish it. I had seen many great reviews for this release, and even went back and read a few when I was tempted to set it aside.  The reviews encouraged me to keep reading, to give it a chance. I am so glad I did! Soon after these uncertain moments of mine the story took off and never stopped - right up until the end. Will this be a movie? Probably! Will there be a sequel? Likely! Will you love love love it? Yes! The only thing keeping me from giving it 5 paws is the hesitation I had at the start...so a strong 4 paws - read this! You need it, and you'll be glad you did!

Jefferson's Sons, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Bradley wrote one of my all-time favorite historical fiction books, The War That Saved My Life, and Jefferson's Sons was sitting on my to-read list for a long time. Somehow to made it to the top of my list a couple of weeks ago, and I'm glad I have finally read it, although it is slightly less readable than The War book was.

Jefferson's Sons is the story of Thomas Jefferson, one of our nation's most famous presidents, and the children he fathered with one of his slaves. The book does not give any background information about his first wife, Martha, except in a timeline at the start of the story that shows she dies quite young, in her 30s. Sally Hemings was one of Jefferson's slaves and it appears (through years of research by many people since) that she birthed many children with him. The rub here is that as the president of the country, and the author of the Declaration of Independence - stating that all men are created equal - was not only a slave-owner but also father to several children with a slave he owned. 

So the book tries to tell the fictionalized story of these very real people, growing up on Jefferson's land, Monticello, and trying to come to terms with having your father know you, yet not be able to be a true father to you. As the child of a slave mother, you were still a slave, even though your father was a white man, and president of the country, no less.

The first half of the book is difficult to follow, especially as it seemed normal for two children to have the same first name. It's the second half of the book where the story deepens into a very satisfying one. Jefferson's slave-born children grapple with being Black and slaves until they turn 21 years old, at which time they are free - except that they can't proclaim their freedom. They are slaves until they turn 21, and then free to leave, but without the chance of returning - ever - to their home and family. They struggle with whether Jefferson is a good man, as a founding father of the nation, but also a slave owner who owns and sells slaves, like property, which is legally what Blacks are considered at that time. The end of the story is terrible and difficult, bringing a lot of the conflicts to a head.

This is an important story, and complicated, but not always easy to sort out or follow. If the topics mentioned here are of interest to you, read this. Bradley's writing is above average. If these topics don't really interest you, but you like historical fiction, try The War That Saved My Life. It is simply brilliant! 3 paws and a tail wag.

Ms.Bixby's Last Day, by John David Anderson

Another of this year's OBOB books, and one that comes with a lot of praise both from accomplished authors and reputable book sources, such as Booklist and School Library Journal. This one flies below the OBOB radar compared to more flashy books in this season's series of middle level books, but with all the positive reviews I was hopeful that this is a hidden gem that somehow I had missed along the way.

Anderson is the author of several other books, Posted being one that I have seen kids pick up often, although I have never heard any feedback about it to know whether it is liked or not. Sometimes the cover is interesting enough to grab your attention, and hopefully the story is worthy of all the attention it gets. Not having made the connection to Ms. Bixby, I was even more curious to read this one and maybe jump right to Posted.

This book starts a bit slowly, and does get more engaging about half way through. But this is not an action adventure book, so aside from one exciting scene in an alley with a man who steals money from the three main characters, this is mostly a tale told from  each of the main character's point of view. The three boys are 6th graders making a daring journey on a school day (which means they skip school) to visit their teacher who is sick and in the hospital. As the story unfolds, slowly, you learn how each of the boys has connected with Ms. Bixby, the teacher, and how she has connected with them. Some of the writing is predictable, as well as a bit oversimplified, but it does have heart.

As a complete book, Anderson does a decent job, but not an amazing one.  In fact, one of the reviews of the book on the back cover is written by author Gordon Korman, and this book is much like a Korman story, only not quite as solid. It's close, and if you like decent realistic fiction this may speak to you. It was good enough to finish, but I'm not sure I'd go looking purposefully for his other books like I would for, say, Korman. On the other hand, this book is getting so many rave reviews, perhaps I need to step back and ask you to read it, and tell me what you think?  For now, I'll give it 3 paws.

Disaster Strikes! by Jeffrey Kluger

A non-fiction book subtitled "The Most Dangerous Space Missions of All Time".  This book tells 12 short stories about U.S. and Russian space missions, separately and jointly, that had - or almost had - devastating results. Starting with the U.S. Liberty Bell 7 in 1961 and ending with the International Space Station in 2013, Kluger quickly, simply, but with a riveting writing style, describes the things that happened during these 12 space journeys that got lost between the more publicized successes. Some of these brief stories are truly heartbreaking, no matter what country of origin the pilots and crew are from. I can't say I'm anything more than a casual space exploration fan, but after finishing each of these stories I was torn between starting the next one immediately or giving my heart a break as I processed what happened in the just-finished tale. No matter what you might think about reading non-fiction, and/or reading stories about space exploration, you will not be able to read just one of these stories without reading the others, and you won't be able to forget the people and situations described within these pages.

Kluger is an award-winning writer, but not necessarily a master story teller, sometimes oversimplifying some of the details of the science behind flying.  But he knows what he is writing about, and he knows how to engage your emotions for every one of these events. This book will be hard to forget. 4 paws!

Renegades, by Marissa Meyer

The first book in the trilogy, and another book that was loved by a Briggs teacher...so I thought I'd give it a try! Washington-born Meyers is the author of the Lunar Chronicles series, which started with Cinder...a book I tried three different times and just could not get past the first chapter! I love the premise of those books, but cyborg Cinderella? Um, sorry...too far away from what my pug brain is ready to accept to be able to get into it (although I know many of you have read it and loved it!).

I was able to make it through the entire book of Renegades, which is no small feat, as it's over 500 pages long. A few times along the way I wished it were shorter so I could finish it and move on to something else. At the same time there were moments where I couldn't help but move on to the next chapter to find out what was going to happen next! So, a good read, a fun story, not amazing, but better than average. Not Marie Lu or Leigh Bardugo, but better than...well, better than Cinder.

If you like any part of superhero or fantasy stories, you should give this a try! Don't let the number of pages keep you from reading it - in most places it reads very quickly. There is a lot of action and plenty of twists in the plot to keep you moving ahead. I rarely read further into a series, and I'm not sure I would move into the second book or not...I'll have to see if these characters stay with me into next week. They may, and I may dive into the book 2. But whether or not that happens, I would recommend this to you if you enjoy fantasy and/or superhero stories. It's fun! 4 paws!