The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown

This is the book adapted for young readers from the adult version...and I believe it may have also been made into a movie (but I'll have to check that). This is a non-fiction book that tells the story of the young men who made up the crew from the University of Washington who went on to win the gold medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.

The story largely focuses on one young man, Joe Rantz, who at age 10 was kicked out of his house by his stepmother who decided she didn't want him around anymore. This cycle would repeat a time or two before getting Joe manages to get himself enrolled into the University of Washington as a student...that alone is an incredible feat, based on his background! Joe and the other group of rag tag boys he surrounds himself with find themselves in Hitler's Nazi Germany just before the start of World War 2, rowing a racing boat in the Olympics.

This is a really good, powerful, amazing story that reads like any good fiction book would, except that this really happened! Reading this made me want to find the adult version of the book, which I am guessing is longer and offers more detail, and read that as well. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are not a non-fiction reader usually - you'll find this to be a riveting story! 5 paws!

Monstrous Devices, by Damien Love

The first book (of two in this series so far) by Damien Love, and if I told you what it was about you would probably never consider reading it. But you should, especially if you like mysteries matched with action, blended with a hint of blood and bones, followed by hints of soul-stealing - kind of a April Henry meets R.L. Stine...kind of! Due to my humans moving from one house to another during my reading of this particular book, it took me much longer than usual, and there was a gap of about one week where I didn't have any time to read at all. This was just before the middle of the story. I mention that because I may have liked the book a little more if I hadn't broken the flow of the story...or perhaps that didn't matter. I will say I don't know if I've read any other book quite like this one, in mostly good ways. The subtitle of the book, below it on the front cover, reads, "Beware of things that go click in the night."  Referring to the robots that populate the story. The same ones that try to kill some people, and protect others...see? Would you have read the book if I had led with robots? 4 paws!

Amina's Voice, by Hena Khan

I just finished re-reading Amal Unbound, reviewed in this very blog last summer, and jumped right into Amina's Voice.  Both are OBOB books for next year and both are similar, realistic fiction stories about girls from different cultures trying to navigate life as both an American teenager and part of something outside of the American mainstream culture. Now, one could easily argue that there is no 1 "American culture", and I would agree. But in the case of Amina, she is from a Pakistan-born Muslim family living in Milwaukie, Wisconsin, which, according to the story, is very supportive of the Muslim community there. The cultural differences for Amina and her family are manageable but persistent throughout the book, but come to a head near the end when a tragic event strikes the community.

Before that happens, Amina is a new 6th grade girl trying hard to navigate middle school for the first time, along with changing friendships, boys, feelings, emotions...all the things teens deal with..as if I need to tell YOU, right? The book is easy to read, well-written but simple, not terribly long, but pretty good! A good OBOB choice, especially for those of you who don't like the fantasy and sci-fi genres as much...both Amina's Voice and Amal Unbound are good reads! I'll give Amina 4 paws...better than average, yet not amazing. For most Briggs readers, this story is a window, not a mirror, into another culture - one we are sharing with those around us right now, even if we don't always recognize it. Windows, like this book, are ways for us to "put ourselves into other people's shoes", to experience a life other than our own. It builds empathy, something we can always use more of! One reason I love realistic fiction so much...

Let me know what you think of Amina once you've read her story!

Small Spaces, by Katherine Arden

I had high hopes for this scary book, book 1 in a short series by an author I'm not yet familiar with other than Small Spaces. The back cover has quotes from authors of scary books I love, like Jonathan Auxier of The Night Gardener and R.L Stine, author of the Goosebumps books! However, I also know that sometimes awesome reviews from authors means the publisher is really trying to get the book to sell...and rightly so, as that is where they make their money.

Anyway, Small Spaces is touted as a super scary book, and although it's fun, and scary like Goosebumps books are scary (meaning fun-scary, mostly, and not going to keep you awake at night), it's not amazing. It was worth finishing, and good if you want "scary-lite", but if you want really scary, or even really well-written, you have many other options; April Henry, Katie Alender, Jonathan Auxier, Peg Kehret, even Robert Cormier or Stephen King, for more mature options.  If you love Goosebumps and want more like it, give this book a try. If you want truly scary, go to one of these other authors, who write truly scary material and write it very well! 3 paws.

The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, by John Boyne

From the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas comes this World War 2 book about a young boy, Pierrot, born to a French mother and German father, living in France after World War 1 and before WW2 begins. Due to changes in his family, he ends up living with his aunt, who is a housekeeper in a very nice home in Austria. The owner of the home is one of WW2's most influential participants, and Pierrot's life is changed forever in powerful ways. His name is changed, his history is changed, his world is changed...

I cannot remember another book that I finished in one day before reading this one. It is very well-written, a gripping story - I expect you will not be able to put this down, nor will you soon be able to forget Pierrot. If you are a 7th grader needing or wanting a Holocaust-related book, read this one...I bet you won't be sorry you did!  5 paws!

Because of the Rabbit, by Cynthia Lord

The latest release from the author of one of my favorite books, Rules.  Because of the Rabbit is a simply written story about everyday challenges that everyday young people (and old people!) face, such as doing the right thing - when it comes to people you don't know, people you do know, getting what you want, knowing what you want - and rabbits, of course!  I like that Emma, the protagonist (main character), comes from a family that is not the center of the story, except for the caring they provide her along the way. So many teen and YA stories have the element of a deceased parent (or two), family violence or abuse, and other very real things, but things that don't have to be part of the story for that story to be good or realistic. Perhaps in Rabbit the family dynamic is too "perfect"....perhaps. But it's nice that Emma's family plays well together - kind of like my brother Henry and I do (most of the time).

This book is probably written for 5th/6th graders, but I finished those grades a few years ago, and this one still had me tearing up at the end. It won't take long to read, the story is simple, but Lord is really good at what she does, and this book is no exception! Enjoy! 4 paws!

The Dreamer, by Pam Munoz Ryan & Peter Sis

The Dreamer is not a new book, released in 2010, but one I've always wanted to read by the author of the wonderful book Esperanza Rising that many of you may already know. Dreamer is the fictionalized story of poet Pablo Neruda, perhaps one of the best-known poets in the world. According to this story, Naruda was quite the dreamer his entire life, often causing him fear and uncertainty at the hands of his father. Ryan eloquently puts his creative ideas and thoughts into everyday events, describing how his brain worked with all that he saw and imagined around him and the impacts that had on his young life.  What that looked like for the adult Naruda is now history. The book is given even more magic and life through the art that Sis provides throughout.

This award-winning book isn't difficult to read, nor will it likely take long to finish. But the art and writing are wonderful, to learn about the life of one of our greatest poets is a gift, and I feel that this is a book everyone should read. After finishing it, I asked my owner (your librarian) to add a biography of Naruda to the library collection, as well as the book of poems mentioned in The Dreamer, "The Book of Questions".  Look for them next fall when we all return to our regular school and library! 4 paws!

Love, Hate, and Other Filters, by Samira Ahmed

Wow, what a great romance novel this is! Reminds me a lot of the Jenny Han books, like To All the Boys I Loved Before...well written, especially for a first book by author Ahmed. Maya, the main character, is a teenage girl living in Illinois, though her parents immigrated from India before she was born. She is trying to balance her culture, strongly enforced by her parents, and being an American teenager, with school, friends, responsibilities, and yes, romance! Her background as an Indian comes into play more and more as the story unfolds, but it's the romances she grows that are at the heart of this story (pun intended!). I could hardly put this down - you owe it to yourself to read this! Fans of Han, Sarah Dessen...any good romance writer will really like this one! 5 paws!

Serafina and the Black Cloak, by Robert Beatty

Black Cloak is the first book in a 4-book series, released in 2015. So it isn't super new, but since adding the other two books in the series to the library earlier this year, I've been wanting to read at least book one. And now I have!

There is a lot to love about this book; it is truly one of the scarier books I have ever read, as scary as Famous Last Words or The Night Gardener! It's main protagonist, or main character in the story, is a very strong, smart girl. There are several places throughout the book where I couldn't read fast enough - if that isn't the definition of a page-turner, I don't know what is! It took place at a real location, the Biltmore, in North Carolina, which I have actually visited...cool! There is something about Sera, the main character, that becomes clearer as the book moves forward - something you probably won't guess until at least half-way through! And, it's book one in a series, so there is plenty more to read!

A few things that made me think, "Darn!" about this book, too. About midway through the book author Beatty pretty much explains everything that he's been wanting you, the reader, to figure out about Serafina so far. Why did he suddenly decide to treat us like we were too stupid to figure it out on our own? I'm not sure, but it was disappointing. Secondly, the ending of the book was page-turning but also too "easy", in my opinion.  What I mean is the author ties together a few main parts of the story in a way that was much too easy and convenient. The rest of the book didn't do that (except that middle part I mentioned), so why at the end?

The edition of this book that I have has the first two chapters of book two in it, and I admit I read them as if they were a continuation of book one. I skipped a lot, because it was setting you up for the second book as if you hadn't read the first one (but who does that?). And it sounds good, too. 

Sooo...Black Cloak was good enough to read, and to recommend to you, especially you fans of true murder mysteries/horror books! It had some flaws, pretty big ones, but otherwise you will enjoy this, I think, if the above-named genres interest you at all. Not sure if I will get to the rest of the series - I rarely do, only because there are so many other books I want to read right now! However, if I had book two here with me, I admit I'd probably keep going...a strong recommendation from a picky pug! 4 paws!

Hello, Universe, by Erin Entrada Kelly

Hello, Universe was the Newbery Award winner for 2018, but somehow I didn't read it when it came out or when it got the award, something I try to do, as the Newbery books are always good! The Newbery Award is an award given to the best children's book of the year, and often there are one or two honorable mention books as well (that receive a silver Newbery medal - but only one book per year gets the gold!).  It is also Kelly's third book, but the first of hers I have read.

That said, there are some Newbery books that I think are as good as any book I've read...Holes, by Louis Sachar, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata are some of my favorites!  At the same time, there have been books awarded that I've read and sort of scratched my head about, not sure why they won the gold award. Good books, but not the best of the year, in my opinion. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins was one. Hello, Universe is another. It's a decent book, a quick read, meant for older elementary or young middle school readers, in general. It tells the story of five middle school-aged kids, all with their own quirks that they are trying to sort out while trying to live each day in an adult world, and a world with various dangers (snakes, bullies, parents, etc.). Their lives intersect in funny and mysterious ways, and as a whole, the story is good and flows along nicely. But it's not amazing, I don't think - worth reading but not worthy of the best-book-of-the-year honor.  Perhaps I'm wrong, and you read it and find the depth I missed. If so, please let me know - I'm happy to be wrong about things like this! 3 paws.