Brownstone, by Samuel Teer & Julia Mar

     A new graphic novel that I really enjoyed! Brownstone won a Printz Award this year, which is one of the awards given out each January by the readers of the American Library Association (a group of people all over the country who read a lot of kids books to choose the best of the best!). And rightly so! 

    Teer and Mar tell the story of Almudena, a 14-year-old girl living with her mom and doing the things teens do - go to school, wrestle with relationships, etc. Her mom gets the opportunity to travel with a dance team, and decides to leave Almudena with her father. The trouble is, Almudena has never met her father! She argues, but to no avail - mom drops her off at her dad's brownstone house in the Latina section of the city. Dad doesn't not speak English, and Almudena doesn't speak Spanish. In addition, Almudena thinks she is part Mexican because of her dark skin, but discovers her father is actually Guatemalan. She's not sure of the difference, but she slowly finds out. And, from the moment they meet on the sidewalk in front of his house, Almudena is put to work helping her dad renovate a really old, broken down house in the middle of the city. Did I mention they can't understand each other?

    As the book progresses, Almudena slowly becomes part of the neighborhood, and of her father's life, but not without a lot of bumps along the way. The only caution I offer with this story is that there are moments of strong language - teenagers talking like they sometimes do to each other, with colorful language that adults may not often use. But I never felt the bad words were out of place, and in fact everything about this book seemed very realistic, which made it funny, sad, maddening...all of those things we all experience in real life!

    A really good book, maybe not for younger readers, but most 7th and 8th graders (and above) will really enjoy this story, I think. 5 paws!

Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn

  The first in what will be a trilogy (3-book series) when Oathborn is released March 4th, and the winner of the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent, Legendborn is a good, long introduction to a modern version of the King Arthur story...with a lot of twists! Main character Bree Matthews is a high school student taking an advanced college program at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where her mother also went to school. But while her mother was a student she was in an accident and was killed. Bree is going to find out what happened, and the more she learns the more she realizes that this might not have been an accident after all.

    In the middle of this simple-sounding story line are powerful people tied to century-long lines of power, going all the way back to medieval times. Nick, who also becomes Bree's crush, is from the family line of King Arthur himself, thought to be the most powerful of all families and lines. However, Bree is also Black, and along the way she becomes aware of the power that her family line brings to the story. The two lines do not play well together, and Bree is caught in the middle - and of course the crush doesn't make things any easier!

    This first book by author Deonn is fun, and in many places a real page-turner! But it has to be as it settles in at just under 500 pages long. There is a lot of action and excitement, romance, beasts and monsters and demons. There are many characters that eventually start to find their place in the story, but early on some of the names were hard to remember and follow. The book reminded me a lot of the Stephanie Meyers' Twilight series, which pitted vampires and werewolves with a romance holding the whole story together. Legendborn also reminded me a little of Marie Lu's Legend series, also page turning adventure and a strong romantic element.

    For her first book, Legendborn is very well done. I didn't like the enormous cliff hanger at the end - I thought Deonn could have given a little more closure and still make us want to read the next book (Bloodmarked). And at times I found myself wanting to skip ahead a few pages, especially when Bree was writhing in pain or indecision, which happened a lot by the end of the story. On the other hand, kudos to Deonn for tying African American slave history into a King Arthur story. It made the situation she creates in the book between the Arthurian line and the African American/slave line very interesting. And I think you'll be surprised, pleasantly, by who the "hero" turns out to be!

    A good start, although I don't have the stamina to jump right into Bloodmarked just yet. Perhaps you will! It seems that we will be reading Deonn books for a ling time to come! 4 paws!

Superman Smashes the Klan, by Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru

     As one of the first named National Ambassadors for Young People's Literature by the U.S. Congress, graphic artists and writer Yang is one of my go-to writers/artists whenever he releases something new. He is a strong advocate for diversity in books for young people (like you!) and for reading in general. We sure do need more people like him in this crazy world of book challenges and bans, right?

    Superman Smashes the Klan is Yang's latest graphic novel release, and along with artists Gurihiru, this book tells the story of an early Superman character who was first created way back in the early 1940s, and whose storylines often followed what the world was facing in World War 2. In fact, according to Yang in his author notes at the end of this book, Superman started as a radio show character before becoming a drawn character in comic books, and in both he was fighting the racism that Nazi Germany was trying to spread across Europe. Germany was only one of the Axis Powers, along with Italy and Japan, and fear of Japanese Americans is also part of our nation's less-than-admiral past. The history of the Ku Klux Klan is intertwined with the racism behind WW2, as well as the history of slavery that the United States was built upon.

    Readers of this blog know that I don't read nearly as many graphic novels as I should, or as many of you do! But as I mentioned, anytime Yang releases a new book, my tail wags, and I make sure my human brings that book home from the library! Superman is well written, well drawn, and really informative. It has all the elements of a good superhero comic plus the addition of the historical background of how Superman came to be, and his role in our nation's history. 

    Sometimes I'll hear discussions about who is the greatest superhero, but my money is always going to be on Superman! After you read this one, he may be yours, too! 5 paws! 

Mascot, by Charles Waters & Traci Sorell

  Silver medal winner of the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award, Mascot tells the fictional story of a class of 8th grade middle school students in an advanced English class who are grappling with the school's mascot - an "Indian Brave". Not a new topic, of course, but one I don't see a lot in the books I read. In fact, Native American perspectives are still pretty hard to find in teen and young adult literature, although Joseph Bruchac has been writing some great books for years, and newer authors, like Eric Gansworth, are adding some newer books as well.

    Mascot takes place at Rye Middle School near Washington D.C., and real world mascots like the Redskins (now the Commanders), the Atlanta Braves, and many lesser-known mascots around the country are referred to in the story. Authors Waters and Sorell do a nice job of presenting many different takes on whether mascots such as "Braves" are discriminatory and hurtful or honoring cultures such as Native Americans. 

    What I thought they missed was that their characters seem to old for the actions and thoughts throughout the story. If the students in this story were in high school, I would have liked this much more. I know it's a small difference, but when the story mentions that a character was looking forward to high school, I had to reset my thinking, because the messages in the book seemed a little too mature for middle school. Not that middle school students are immature - I don't think that! But the ideas that are explored in Mascot fit better with slightly older teens, in my opinion.

    I also thought a few of the viewpoints presented, and there are several, were a little too "easy". The authors tried to muddy them up a little, but mostly the opinions were pretty black and white, not grey, like I think they are in the real world. But these didn't take away from the story totally! It is a good book, and one that you should read, if for no other reason than to examine your take on the issues surrounding mascots. Are they discrimination? Racist? Or tradition? Good questions. A good book.

3 paws and a wag!

Go With The Flow, by Lily Williams & Karen Schneemann

     A friendship story. Period.

    This new graphic novel is about four girls who become friends as sophomores in high school (second year students). Three of the girls were friends coming into the new school year, and Sasha becomes the newest friend when the other girls step in to rescue her from her first period, which occurs at school (of course!). She is unsure about what is happening or what to do, and of course other kids turn on her and make fun of her for some weeks afterward. People can be mean, can't they?

    Go With The Flow is a new graphic novel from artists Williams and Schneemann who began an online comic series titled The Mean Magenta a few years ago. The comic series, and this book, address menstruation - periods - something that girls first experience at some point in their young lives but is still seen as a taboo topic in most social settings (like school). In the book, the girls are upset that even though there are dispensers in their high school for products to assist with a period, they are not stocked with supplies - yet the football team gets new uniforms every year, so clearly the school has money. Why are girls' needs not being better addressed at school? A fair question, and these fearless four girls go to work to try and solve this "problem".

    A good book, an important topic that I don't think should be a "thing", but apparently it is, even in 2025! I'm not sure the topic will appeal to everyone, but I wish it did...we could all help each other with the parts of being human that we don't control, and make topics about things like menstruation not something to be secretive, or embarrassed, about! Nice, clear artwork, and a topic I haven't seen addressed in a book since Judy Bloom did it many years ago! 4 paws!

The Windeby Puzzle, by Lois Lowry

     From one of the very few authors that has won the coveted Newbery Award twice (when even winning once is remarkable), comes this really unique story that mixes history with fiction...but not in the traditional way! The Windeby Puzzle is the story of the Windeby Girl, a skeleton found in a bog in Germany in the 1950s in an area of the country named Windeby (a bog is a lot like a swamp, except less water and more firm - firm enough to hold a body, for example). At that time scientists believed the body was one of a teen girl. After years of study, later scientists decided the body was actually a teen boy. Much of the body was still intact - hair, skin, a blindfold over its eyes - it was really an amazing find...and it was determined to be about 2,000 years old!

    Author Lois Lowry took the facts surrounding the Windeby body and created one possible story behind how the body ended up in the bog at all. She did her research about life in that time and tried to create a realistic story about the body, and how it met this fate. She starts with a story about Estrild, a girl in a village who really wants to be a warrior, something only boys could be. Estrild was friends with a sickly boy named Varick who was helping her realize her dream to be the first girl warrior in her village.

    Then Lowry wrote a second story, where Varick ends up being the body in the bog. Different perspective, different reasons for being Estrild's friend, but the same end result. In between these two stories the author tries to share her thoughts behind her creation based on what life would have been like 2,000 years ago. It really is a unique way to approach a piece of archeology and world history, and I appreciated this as I read the book. I can't say she hit a home run with the book overall, but she gets a lot of credit for trying something like this. I don't know if I've ever read a book put together in quite this way.

    Lowry is as accomplished as any teen author, with books like The Giver and Number the Stars in her writing repertoire. This book would not have been as good in many other hands, I believe. So I give her a lot of credit for this creative approach, even if the overall effect wasn't as solid as some of her other, award-winning books. But a cool idea and a decent book, worth a read! 4 paws!

Jupiter Rising, by Gary D. Schmidt

     Jupiter Rising is the latest book by author Gary D. Schmidt, notorious for having the worst looking book covers ever. Fortunately, a few of his latest releases seem to be improving on the book cover thing, which is very exciting, because I love his stories, but the covers usually make it tough for me to convince anyone else to read his books!

    Jupiter Rising is a relatively short story (201 pages) based on characters from a previous Schmidt book, Orbiting Jupiter, which was also a pretty short and really good book. It's been a while since I read Orbiting, but I'll admit I nearly teared up twice while reading Jupiter Rising, and I challenge you to read it without having the same reaction. In Jupiter Rising, protagonist Jack is living on his family's farm in rural Maine, helping to raise 3-year-old Jupiter, a child born to Jack's sort-of-step brother Joseph, who has passed away. Jupiter's wealthy grandparents enter the picture and decide they want Jupiter, and a custody battle ensues. Along the way Jack is navigating 8th grade, which by itself qualifies for it's own story - bullies, homework, teachers, principals, possibly the track team, and of course working on the farm and helping to raise Jupiter. 

    That's the gist of the story minus the emotions and feelings of it all. However, under the masterful writing of Schmidt, the short book is full of emotions and feelings, and most of them are so believable that it is impossible not to be immediately drawn into Jack's world. In fact, I would say Schmidt is one of the best storytellers I have read, and he writes character voice as well as anyone I've read!

    Before the book ended it seemed as though several subplots of the story were not going to end well, meaning happily. I was happy about this - in the real world, everything doesn't end happily every time! - but also a little afraid of this - I wanted Jack to get all the good things he seemed to deserve. I won't tell you which way Schmidt went (you'll have to find out for yourself), but it got just a little too unrealistic, which is why I am giving this book 4 paws instead of 5. But that's the only reason...it's still really good realistic fiction that I recommend you read!

The Many Assassinations of Samir, Seller of Dreams, by Daniel Nayeri

     From the author of Everything Sad is Untrue, this second book by Daniel Nayeri is a blend of folktale, picture book, and fable - with a lot of humor thrown in! Thanks in part to the wonderful artwork of Daniel Miyares, Seller of Dreams reminds me of some of the books I would read as a young pup, the sorts that had pictures on the oversized spine and came in bright oranges and greens. I always read a new book with one eye on who I think would enjoy this story, and I have to admit I was a bit baffled throughout most of the book. But the end of the story was unpredictable, and a real treat for sticking with it until the end (there were a few times during the book when I wasn't sure where this story was going, or if it was worth finding out), like the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop! 

    Samir is a traveling salesman as well as a wonderfully enthusiastic teller of stories. His story is being told by a young boy who has many of his own stories to tell, but when the boy's life and Samir's come together, the boy is being chased by a mob of rock throwing monks, and when Samir trades some of his possessions for the boy's life, he gives him the name Monkey (monk-ey!). And so the story begins. Samir and Monkey are part of a traveling caravan of merchants and nomads traveling the Silk Road in the early 11th Century. Author Nayeri shares in his notes at the end of the story that he has always had a fascination for the Silk Road, and from his notes and the story he creates in this book it is easy to see why. That "road" of hundreds of miles is where trade between the East and what was then the West was focused, but I don't think many of us know a lot about it. Samir and Monkey travel this trail throughout the book, and experience many wonderful adventures along the way!

    I think you would like this book if you are open to reading something different than what you might normally read...if you are open to a whimsical tale where adventure and humor are woven together to create a life like you may not have ever imagined. I mentioned that during my reading I often wondered where this story was going, and if you wonder the same thing but stay to the end, I think you'll be very satisfied with where the entire book takes you! Seller of Dreams did win the Newbery Honor last year, so you know it's a better-than-average story. I hope you'll stretch yourself a bit and give this a try...and then let me know what you think in the comments! Happy New Year, and happy reading! 4 paws!

Lunar New Year Love Story, by Gene Luen Yang & LeUyen Pham

     The latest from graphic novelist Yang (Dragon Hoops, American Born Chinese) and artist Pham, and as always, a good story with a lot of layers to it! Lunar New Year Love Story is narrated by Valentina, a Vietnamese American high school girl trying to balance her romantic side with the realities of life and family. You know that when families are involved the story gets messy most of the time, and this is true of Valentina's family as well. Her mother left her father and her when she was young, yet she still grew up in love with a very romanticized idea of love. Her favorite holiday is Valentine's Day, and she spent hours each year crafting Valentine's Day cards for everyone she knew (and even people she didn't know). 

    At the same time, she is visited by the spirit of Saint Valentine, who tried to help her avoid the heartbreak that she feels is her fate by accepting her heart for all time, to keep it protected. Valentina also learns truths about her family that she finds hard to understand, all the while navigating her culture and...romance, of course! It is a "love story", after all!

    I don't know that I've seen Pham's work before, but I have read several of Yang's books, and have always enjoyed them! Love Story is perhaps one of my favorites! I am a romantic dog at heart, you know, so love stories always interest me...and I also love Valentine's Day! I also celebrate Lunar New Year, which moves each year based on the cycle of the moon, but which falls close to the end of January or early February - close to Valentine's Day - so this element of this book also added some fun and depth to the story. All of these elements are woven together quite well by Yang and Pham, and I would recommend this to anyone! A strong story, wonderful artwork...and romance - what's not to love? 5 paws!

I Was An Alien Fashion Model, by Ivy Hamid

     My human was walking down the hallway at school when a teacher handed him a book that she was just given by her neighbor. Turns out her neighbor had just written this, her first, book, and she wanted one copy to go into the school library. Naturally, my human and I both read it first, even though the title and cover art weren't something that would normally catch our eyes. My human doesn't read - or bring home! - a lot of fantasy books, and a fantasy book with fashion in its title probably didn't make it any more likely that this one would have been read by him (or me) at all...unless someone hands it to you, and says their neighbor wrote it!

    So we read it, and...it was pretty good! Sometimes first books are the best an author will ever do, like they had this brilliant idea that they turned into a wonderful book, and kept writing more books because they had written a successful first one, but they really didn't have anything else to write about. However, sometimes first books are okay, at best, but the author keeps working at their craft, really paying attention to their strengths and weaknesses, and their second and third (and fourth!) books are better and better!

    I Was An Alien Fashion Model is Richmond author Hamid's first book, and although it wasn't amazing, it wasn't a typical first book, either! The story is about a middle school girl named Kat who is not as thin as the other girls on her school volleyball team so is the "butt of every fat joke" - not just of the team but of the entire school! In her attempt to avoid the team photo in her new (but too small) volleyball uniform, Kat walks into an alien theft of clothes from the uniform store, and quickly finds herself on a spaceship! Traveling to another galaxy! Surrounded by...giant spiders? 

    Habib explores our society's definition of beauty, especially as it relates to a persons weight and stature, but in a way that makes the reader think about what we (collectively) as a society find beautiful, and how we miss so much of people wearing such a narrow filter. The book is written for middle school girls, I believe, but Habib does a nice job of creating an alternate universe that is creative and fun, but not often predictable or stale. A book that should be enjoyed by all genders and as young as late elementary school. Again, the title and cover made me predict not really finishing (or liking) the book, but I was wrong, and happy I started  - and finished! - the story!

    I appreciated that Habib's created universe was not predictable but also not impossible to follow. I don't like reading a book when I have to continuously flip to the front few pages to see who's who and what planet or species they belong to. In Kat's new world, there are "aliens" from many planets and galaxies, and I never had trouble knowing who was who. This isn't a life changing book, perhaps, but worth a read, and better than the title and cover let on. I give this a happy 4 paws!