Book Review Tuesday

Lots of great books this week! Read the book reviews below, and learn more about my favorite reads:

• Discover all the books I read this week in the It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? post.
• Read more book review posts.
• Follow my reading and reviews on Goodreads.

Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins
Gr. 4-5. Hannah has the perfect life (on paper anyway): two loving parents at home, countless friends at school, and a possible future in professional gymnastics. But a few months back, her cousin, Cal, moved in. After Cal’s mom died, Cal’s dad went to prison, and Cal moved in with Hannah’s family. Cal is generally annoying, loves tall tales and pranks, and struggles to control the PTSD from his experiences growing up with his father.

Cal sort of likes living with Hannah’s family, though he wishes Hannah liked him a bit more. Cal tries to control his responses to some of the situations he is placed in–but he doesn’t always have those skills. But when his father is released from prison, will Cal be able to cling to this fragile happiness that he has found?

This was fine, though not something that stood out among my recent reads. The family dynamics were engaging as was the start of a conversation about privilege that revealed a lot about our society in Hannah’s simple, clueless responses: “We aren’t privileged! Dad works hard!” I much preferred Cal’s perspective to Hannah’s, though I understand the need for both. I appreciate that there is some reality behind this story–the author based this on raising a grandson suffering from PTSD due to similar childhood circumstances to Cal–but I’m still not sure this rings true for me.

Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles by Michelle Meadows (picture book biography)
Gr. 1-2. Follow the childhood and gymnastic success of the amazing Simone Biles, from her time in foster care to her adoption by her grandparents and her perseverance as a gymnastics champion. By the same author-illustrator duo as Brave Ballerina–I’m looking forward to more from these two!

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
Gr. 4-7. Suraya is barely a few years old when the ghost first finds her. His old master, this small child’s grandmother, died, and the ghost is bound by blood to the family line. While the girl’s mother would be the obvious choice, this child seems to sing to him–clearly they are meant to be together. But this ghost is more than just a menacing, haunting form–it is a pelesit, or an otherworldly being capable of all kinds of magic. He will do whatever this young girl commands, but he has been used for dark purposes before, and those angry emotions are always just under the surface.

Suraya doesn’t see her ghost until she is about preschool age, and she finds him to be the funniest thing. Her new grasshopper companion just wants to be her friend, and she is much more concerned about his lack of a name than his surprise presence in her life. She gives him the very best name a very young child can grant: Pink.

The all-powerful Pink trails young Suraya, making sure she doesn’t get hurt even when she is being more adventurous than she probably should be, all the while noticing that his young charge doesn’t have many friends. Not only does she not have many friends, but the kids her age tend to be cruel–and Pink has no patience for it. He wants Suraya to tell him to hurt the cruel kids, but Suraya will do no such thing–instead making Pink swear that he will only do harm when she is in absolute, life-threatening danger. Pink tries to listen, but his emotions overwhelm him, especially as Suraya grows older and finally makes a friend–leaving Pink trapped in fits of jealousy that grow horrifically dangerous for everyone.

This was good. I think I prefer more psychologically creepy stories than books with descriptions of gore or supernatural grossness (this book has both of those things). I enjoyed the connections to Malaysian culture and myth, as well as the conversations about social class. I’m not sure how I feel about how Pink’s relationship with Suraya is depicted, through to the end. I’ve seen some conversation about the author rewriting an early part of the book where the language walked much too close to the abuser-groomer line, but I think some of that still remains in the final product. It is clear that everyone, including Pink, knows that his relationship with Suraya is toxic and bad for her–but making Pink a bit of a hero at the end doesn’t make up for what he put her through nor does it help Suraya unpack her attachment to him. However, the relationship between the two is so connected to the myth and culture around pelesits as well as the final reveal…but I still wish some of the side characters had made any attempt to correct Suraya’s extremely problematic line of thinking (“he does bad things because he loves me”). I’m going to be thinking about this one for a while.

I Want to Ride the Tap Tap by Danielle Joseph (picture book)
Gr. K-1. Claude desperately wants to ride the tap tap alongside all of the other exciting, wonderful people in his community. But every day, his Manman says no–there is too much else for them to do. But finally – finally! – after church on Dimanch morning, Claude and his whole family ride the tap tap to the beach.

The illustrations here are particularly interesting, especially the mix of colors used on each person’s skin. I wish the text had been from an own voices author.

Katie the Catsitter by Colleen A.F. Venable (graphic novel)
Gr. 3-4. Katie isn’t going to be able to go to camp unless she can figure out how to earn the money herself. When Katie gets a job catsitting, she is sure her luck has changed…except these 217 cats are not, precisely, normal. And Katie is always called on to cat-sit at the exact same times that the supervillain Mousetress strikes. Could Ms. Lang be…a villain??! And, really, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THESE CATS?

This book is wonderful and will absolutely be well-loved by young readers. Not quite a summer friendship story, not quite a superhero story, and not quite a mystery–but all of those things at once with so, so, so many cats thrown in. Will be recommending, will be book talking–and looking forward to more fun from Katie and company.

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes (poetry)
Gr. 5+. Nikki Grimes works wonders with words again, with a series of amazing poems from and about gifted women poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Each poem is paired with a gorgeous piece of art by an African-American female illustrator. Grimes original works are paired with each Harlem Renaissance poem using the Golden Shovel method–taking a word from each line of the original poem and using those words as the last word in each line in a new poem. Beautiful.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen (graphic novel)
Gr. 5-7. Oh my goodness. This book!!! I think we have a chance of getting a graphic novel Newbery winner two years in a row.

Tiế’s parents practice their English by reading fairy tales aloud with Tiế. Fairy tales don’t always have happy endings, and Tiế is pretty sure his life isn’t going to have a happy ending either. His mom is struggling with staying connected to her family back in Vietnam, and Tiế is trying to find the words to tell his family he’s gay. What is he to do when there isn’t a Vietnamese word for what he wants to tell his parents?

Wow. It took me a while to get started on this book, as, at first, it just felt like too many storylines at once. But once I gave the book my full attention, there was so much magic to be found. Gorgeous illustrations, and fairy tales that reflect and quietly comment on Tiế and Tiế’s family’s reality. And that wonderful message–that, no matter what is on the page or what the predictable ending might be–we all write our own stories. For such a small book, there is simply so much depth–this one will stay with me forever.

Oh My Gods! by Stephanie Cooke (graphic novel)
Gr. 3-4. Karen is just your everyday girl who moves to Greece to live with her odd, mysterious father who *whoops* is actually the Greek God Zeus. Now Karen is going to high school with gods and goddesses, and it is up to her to figure out what is going on when her classmates start to turn to stone.

With so many great mythology stories being told, this felt flat to me. The story is exactly what it appears to be, feeling fairly predictable and a bit stale compared to the Rick Riordan Presents books and the like (even when compared to the original Rick Riordan books). Do we need another young Greek Gods adaptation when there are so many other cultures to explore? I’m not convinced. This will be loved by its audience, but it doesn’t make me want to read more.

Serena Says by Tanita S. Davis
Gr. 5-6. Serena is excited to have her best friend JC back at school, but JC and Serena seem to be growing apart. JC is becoming good friends with Lani–perhaps even best friends. JC doesn’t seem to care about plans that Serena and JC made months ago, and Lani seems to be taking over every part of Serena’s life. Not only did Lani steal her best friend, but after missing school for a few days due to a cold, Serena returns to find out that Lani has replaced Serena as student ambassador too.

Serena is more than a little frustrated when she is voluntold to be on the student senate, foregoing her student ambassador position, since Serena now has even less time with her ex-best friend, instead spending more time with the annoying Harrison. Group projects, more friendship drama, and secrets make Serena feel like she is being pulled every which way, with just her secret vlogs keeping her grounded.

This was a lot of fun! Serena is filled with a lot of heart, and this is another one of those tween books that feels like it honestly depicts the age of its characters. The friendship drama and Serena’s mistakes felt real (as did the group project frustration–especially when teachers impose those horrible rules about everyone’s behavior affecting the group grade). The vlogging is a fun addition that will appeal to this audience, especially since it doesn’t define itself by a platform (which would quickly date this book). A quick, uplifting read filled with that everyday middle school drama.

There’s a Superhero in Your Book by Tom Fletcher (picture book)
Gr. Toddler-PreS. Instead of a monster or a dragon, this time there is a superhero in your book! And that superhero needs your help to save your book from…The Scribbler!

This is another fun read-aloud, though I sort of wish it just followed the same structure as previous books, without the addition of The Scribbler. I get the effort to make each book a bit different–but the simpler format of the dragon and monster books flows a little better. There is a lot happening on these pages, with more text, that will make it harder for a toddler to follow along (and harder for a preschooler to follow virtually). I look forward to using it, but I’m hoping future additions are a bit simpler.