How Do You Live? by Genzaburō Yoshino, translated from the Japanese by Bruno Navasky

How Do You Live? by Genzaburō Yoshino,

translated by Bruno Navasky

Algonquin Young Readers, 1937, 2021, 288 pages

How Do You Live? may be the most unusual coming-of-age story I've ever read. It was originally written in Japan in 1937, which, you may remember, was the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. This war is never mentioned, and yet, the book very philosophically explores the question: how do you live your life in order to make it your best life?

Readers are introduced to 15-year-old Honda Jun'ichi, nicknamed Copper. His father has passed away and he lives with his mother in Tokyo, not far from an uncle who has taken Copper under his wing. Copper often visits his uncle in the evenings to play chess and indulge in some very philosophical discussions, which are then followed up with some thoughts written by his uncle about what they had talked about on a particular evening. The story, then, unfolds in alternating voices - on the one hand, the events and experiences in Copper's home and school life are told in the third person, on the other, there are the thoughts his uncles writes down for Copper on the first person.

Copper got his nickname after a long discussion with his uncle about Copernicus and this theory that the earth revolves around the sun which is at the center of the universe rather than the previously long help belief that the sun moves around the earth and that earth was the center of the universe. It doesn't take a philosophy degree to see that Uncle is telling Copper that he is one human among many. 

At school, Copper has two friends in his class, Mizutani, whom he has known since elementary school, and Kitami whom he has met in junior high school. There is also another boy in their class, Uragawa, a poorer student who, because his grades are low and he always smells like the fried tofu his parents sell, is nicknamed Fried Tofu and subject to many cruel pranks. 

When Uragawa is absent from school for a number of days, Copper takes it upon himself to visit him and see what's wrong and when he will return to school. Seeing what his family life is like, and Uragawa cleverness at making the fried tofu causes Copper to see him in a different light. He begins to help him with his homework and Uragawa's grades really improve. Pretty soon, Mizutani and Kitami come around and begin to include Uragawa in their group.

When some seniors at school set their sights on Katami, Copper, Mizutani, and Uragawa promise to stand with him if they threaten to beat him up. But when the time comes for this courageous act to happen, Copper finds that he can't move and join his friends in defending Katami. Crestfallen by his lack of action and loyalty, Copper becomes ill. Can he ever face his friends again? Or will he be shunned by them for his cowardice? 

In the end of Copper's ordeal, he has learned much about himself and about human nature, including how he wishes to live his life, while at the same time, realizing there is still much more to learn.

How Do You Live? in a very interesting school story and I would love to know what motivated the author to write it. I have to admit that, even though I was a philosophy major, I found myself more interested in Copper's story than in his uncle's treatises on life. And yet, the two parts make a very complex whole, supporting each other to make it all understandable for their teenage audience. Copper's story, written in 1937, is still relevant in 2021 because he goes through the same growing pains most younger teenagers experience. 

I believe the translation is faithful to the original Japanese and I felt author and translator had captured the themes of friendship, loyalty, betrayal, and shame in such a way that readers will ask themselves the same questions the Copper was forced to ask himself. There is a forward by Neil Gaiman, who was interested in it because he knew it was a favorite book of filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) and whose next film will be based on this book. 

How Do You Live? may not be a book for everyone, but for those who do read it, it is a very satisfying coming-of-age story from another era. 

This book is recommended for readers age 13+

This book was gratefully received from Amanda Dissinger at Algonquin Books

Three Things I Know Are True by Betty Culley

 

            ***Spoiler Alert***

Jonah Carrier, 17, had always been a daredevil, unlike his best friend Clay LeBlanc. It was Jonah who climbed the cell tower barefoot just because it was there to do, while Clay refused. So when Jonah found a gun belonging to Clay's dad in the LaBlanc attic, he couldn't resist putting it to his head and pulling the trigger, despite Clay's warning that it might be loaded.

It was.

One daredevil act and the lives of two families are suddenly changed in ways that they never could have imagined. For 15-year-old Liv Carrier, her brother's act means a heartbreaking journey from denial to acceptance. At first, and understandably, Liv might seen rather immature, losing interest in and acting out at school, trivializing Jonah's life support machines by giving them silly names - even referring to his gunshot would as his boo-boo. These defense mechanisms help Liv keep her anger and disappointment at bay and protect her from the pain caused by Jonah's act. 

But Liv, who knows her brother better than anyone, is asked to help with Jonah on a particularly difficult day. Liv is convinced that he is still there inside and begins to care for him more and even begins to advocate for him. She constantly touches and talks to him, finding ways to entertain him that elicit responses from him. But even as Liv finds purpose in caring for Jonah, she finds herself shouldering some of the responsibilities that should have been taken up by their mother. Nikki Carrier refuses to get involved with Jonah, focusing on the machines keeping him alive and escaping by going to work everyday. But as word of the shooting gets out, so do gun rights advocates, who go after the Carriers, blaming them for Jonah's behavior, and Liv finds herself feeling the need to protect her mother from them.

Meanwhile, Clay is no longer welcomed at the Carrier home because his family is being sued by Jonah's mother in the hope of getting a settlement to help pay for his medical costs. But Liv and Clay begin meeting at the Kennebec River where all used to play a game they called Three Things I Know Are Truth with one rule only - the answers have to be truthful.

Fortunately, Liv has a lot of support. The nurses who care for Jonah, Clay, and even Jonah's fight for life helps her. Gradually, though, as Jonah's condition worsens, and after he dies of pneumonia, Liv plays a final game of Three Things I Know Are True with herself, finally facing her pain and anger at Jonah for what he did. This allows her to let go of feeling responsible for her mother forcing her to become responsible for herself.

This book doesn't really have a neat ending, instead Liv comes to realize that life doesn't run smoothly, but is like the eddies in the nearby Kennebec River that go in all directions, but that even if you can't control it, you can at least take responsibility for your own life. 

Three Things I Know Are True is a heartbreaking coming of age story about a side of a tragic gun accident we don't often see - the impact it has on family members, and how it extends to friends and neighbors. And while they may feel distant or not developed, it's because they are indeed fading out of Liv's life, with only two exceptions. But this is Liv's story and it is told entirely in the first person by her, in carefully arranged lyrically expressive free verse poems. One of the things that I really liked was the way she ran the Kennebec River through the story and the big role it played in Liv's life.

Three Things I Know Are True is an emotional story about a problem that is all too common in our society today and Betty Culley has put a face on it you won't soon forget.

This book is recommended for readers age 13+

This book was borrowed from a friend.

Summer and July by Paul Mosier

It's July 1st and Goth girl Julliet, 12, is on a plane with her mother traveling from Michigan to Ocean Park, California, where her mom, a doctor, will be working in an ER. Julliet's parents are divorced, and her dad is in Switzerland with his new younger girlfriend. Julliet is also a girl who is fraught with fears, all shared with her best friend Fern, whom she is forbidden to hang out with after a misunderstanding. 

On her first morning, Julliet finds a note from her mom listing possible goals for her, including exercise, fresh air and work on her fears. Later, she meets Summer, an energetic surfer girl who wants to be friends. At first reluctant, Julliet, whom Summer insists on calling "Betty," slowly begins to warm up to Summer, and Summer for her part, patiently puts up with Julliet fears, while slowly, and even more patiently helping her deal with them. 

At first, they simply walk around town, checking out stores and just hanging out. Summer, who lives year round in Ocean Park knows everyone. Like Julliet, she's mostly on her own because her parents both work. Eventually, Summer gets Julliet to go to the beach and into the water, introducing her to surfing culture. Always at her side when Julliet confronts a fear, the two begin with skateboarding at the beach, then graduate to boogie boarding, all the while continuing to pal around, visiting to Santa Monica pier, and just having fun. But once in a while, Summer isn't available and Julliet wonders why. It seems Summer has a secret and isn't ready to share it with Julliet, at least not until Julliet is ready to finally try surfing. 

I don't think I've read a good surfing book since I found my sister's old copy of Gidget in the late 70s. So surfing culture isn't exactly something I'm up on. But I am a girl who spent summers on the Jersey shore, and I do love the ocean, and enjoyed reading a book that is set in an ocean community. In fact, the setting in Summer and July is so realistic, I could practically feel the sand and smell the salty ocean breeze.

I loved reading Julliet's transformation as she became more of a Betty, as her "fears" dropped away and she seemed to feel a much less antagonistic towards her mother. Her summer with Summer gives her a confidence that she lacked before arriving in Ocean Park, even allowing her to explore her sexuality. To his credit, Mosier never lets the reader think that Julliet's fears and her Goth look are anything more than an affectation she's picked up from Fern and defense mechanism which suits her anger at her parents for divorcing and the way they dealt with the aftermath of that divorce. Right from the start, it's clear there is someone else under the heavy black eye make up and clothing.

Summer, on the other hand, is such charming, natural, and kind character without any of the shallowness you might associate with pretty blond surfer girls. Summer has an inner strength that enables her to face everyday with a smile and a positive attitude, despite what has happened in her family. And it's this inner strength that she uncovers in Julliet. I also think that by always calling her Betty, she gives Julliet the freedom she needs to find herself away from her everyday life.

Summer and July is an textured, multilayered coming of age story that turned out to be one of the most satisfying books I've read this summer.     

This book is recommended for readers age 10+

This book was an EARC gratefully received from Edelweiss+

Roller Girl written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson

I've been using my time sheltering-in-place because of the Coronavirus to catch up on some books I've been meaning to read. One of those is Roller Girl and, boy, was it good.

Astrid and Nicole have been best friends since fifth grade, but now they're 12 and cracks are beginning to show in their friendship. After a night at the roller derby to see Portland's Rose City Rollers, Astrid is obsessed with it, including a star skater named Rainbow Bite. Now, she wants to go to derby camp. There's just one problem - Astrid doesn't know how to skate. Nicole, on the other hand, is a great skater, but couldn't care less about roller derby. Her interest is in ballet...and boys.

But because they are best friends, Astrid automatically assumes that Nicole will want to go to derby camp, too. So you can imagine Astrid's disappointment when Nicole tells her she doesn't want to do that for the summer, but is going to ballet camp instead. Not only that, but Nicole has a new close friend, Rachel, who used to be their enemy. Meanwhile, Astrid's mom, Mrs Vasquez, has signed Astrid up for the Junior Derby Camp, believing Nicole is also going and that her mother will be picking the girls up after camp.

Derby camp is rough, tough and stressful, particularly since Astrid doesn't know how to skate and is the only real beginner there. Yet, despite the bumps and bruises, and the very long, hot walk home to keep up the charade that her friendship with Nicole is fine and that her mother is driving them home, Astrid sticks with it. It's really hard, tiring work, but when her coach sees Astrid walking home, she tells her to take her skates home to get more practice and build up her confidence, she hesitates. The next day, her coach suggest that they practice skating outdoors. It's Astrid's first good day, and she even works up the courage to leave a fangirl note on Rainbow Bite's locker.

Thought things begin to look up for her, there are still some difficult lesson for Astrid to learn before school begins, including trying to reconcile with Nicole, some mother-daughter problems when she is caught in her lie, and accepting just who she is and that it's OK to be different. But the most important lesson is learning to be a good sport and a team player, whether it's roller derby or personal relationships.

Roller Girl is such a wonderful coming of age story, and the graphic format is the perfect medium for it. The colorful panels done by author Victoria Jamieson are all clearly and distinctly illustrated and really capture Astrid's broad range of moods and feelings (and they are broad, she is 12, after all). And roller derby is the perfect metaphor for the ups and downs of Astrid's life the summer before she begins junior high school.

The bumps and bruises Astrid gets while learning to skate and then learning to skate competitively mirror the themes Jamieson explores in the novel, like identity and experimentation (Astrid's blue hair and fake nose ring), perseverance and failure, old and new relationships, change and acceptance. The angst of being that age really rings true to tween life, and isn't so different than when I, or for that matter, my Kiddo, was Astrid's age. And Astrid is such a multi-layered, fully dimensional character that she is someone readers won't easily forget, even if they have not interest in roller derby.

If you haven't read Roller Girl yet, I highly recommend it.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an eBook borrowed from Libby by Overdrive

Mini Review: The Color of the Sun by David Almond

The Color of the Sun by David Almond

Candlewick Press, 2019, 224 pages

I’ve always liked David Almond’s writing because of his unique way of looking at things. But as I read The Color of the Sun I felt like I was re-reading a story I already knew but didn’t remember clearly. Then it came to me - this is similar, perhaps too similar, to Joe Quinn’s Poltergeist. So it’s not that The Color of the Sun isn’t good, it’s absolutely David Almond excellent.

Almond sets young Davie off an an odyssey through his hometown of Tyneside on a hot summer day. As he wanders, Davie thinks about his father, who has recently passed away. While walking, he is told that a boy has been murdered, and Davie heads to the place the body was found. It turns out to be a boy Davie knows, who was also the town bully, part of a gang. Davie decides he knows who probably killed the boy, and heads to a nearby hill, believing the murderer also headed
 that way. As he goes, he meets a variety of different townspeople, a dog, the girl he may grow up to love, and the spirit of his father. As Davie explore questions about life and what it means, and if love can help you though hard times and heartbreak. Needless to say, by the time he returns home at the end of the day, Davie is a changed person.

Davie’s odyssey is a metaphor for trying to find his place in the world now that his dad is gone, making this a true coming of age tale as Davie tries to find his way back home.

This book is recommended for readers age 13+
This book was a eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Eleven-year-old Maximiliano Cordoba loves playing fútbol, and hopes to someday play on the celebrated Santa Maria national team just like his Papá and his Abuelo did when they were young. And tryouts are only a few weeks away. But when Max is invited to join a fútbol clinic in another town, his father refuses to give him permission to go. Instead, Max is invited to help his father find needed stones for building a new bridge, and earning money to buy a new pair of coveted soccer shoes. Additionally, Papá and buelo offer to coach Max themselves so he can make the team,

But when Max learns that he will need a birth certificate to play on the Santa Maria team, he also learns that his Papá doesn't have a copy of it. Nor does Max know where his mother is, only that she left when he was a baby.

Max is also fascinated with the stories his buelo tells him about the Hidden Ones, people who are fleeing the neighboring country of Abismo and seeking sanctuary in a place called Mañanaland, and with the Guardians of the Hidden Ones, local people, including his father and grandfather, who secretly escort the runaways to the next safe checkpoint.

While his Papá goes to San Clemente to see if he can get a birth certificate for Max, Max's curiosity overcomes him and he looks through his father's private papers. Finding a rubbing with the word Mañanaland on it, he knows that it came from one of the stones in the run down abandoned tower, La Reina Gigante, overlooking Santa Maria. Forbidden to go to the tower alone, Max sneaks off anyway looking for more information about his mother, and finds a stone with her name scratched on it. He decides Mañanaland holds the key to finding his mother, but where is it and how do you get there?

When an opportunity to escort a very young runaway comes his way while home alone late one night, Max jumps at the chance to be her Guardian, hoping to find information about where his mother really is. The journey proves to be perilous, but Max discovers that the stories his buelo has always told him are in fact truer than he would have thought, and that perhaps Max was being groomed not just to be a great fútbol player, but also a next generation Guardian, and a pilgrim, true of heart.

What I think about Mañanaland:
I have to be honest and say this book begins slowly, almost too slowly. But I have enjoyed the author's other books, so I kept reading, and a some point, I realized that I was totally hooked into Max's story. Max is a sweet boy, maybe too sweet. Under the circumstances of not being allowed to do things without knowing why, I would have expected more reaction - especially when he isn't allowed to join his best friend at the fútbol clinic. So I was kind of glad when he began to seek some answers about his life on his own.

For the most part, Max's story seems to be divided into two unrelated threads - his desire to play fútbol and his desire to find out about his mother. But then Ryan begins to tie these two threads together in the most unexpected way and that when the book becomes unputdownable. And that's all I can say without adding a spoiler alert.

Although the story is fantasy and place, Santa Maria is located "somewhere in the Américas," the plight of the Hidden Ones mirrors much of what is really happening in the world today. Many in Santa Maria, especially in government positions consider the Hidden Ones to be criminals and thieves, mirroring the sentiment of our government today towards refugees from Central America trying to get to the United States in the hope of a better, safer life, making this a very timely novel. 

Mañanaland is an imaginative, lyrical, even magical novel, enveloping Max's coming of age quest for truth. But it is also a mystery that unfolds in some surprising ways, even as it challenges readers to think about what they would do if they were in Max's shoes. It is, simply, a book not to be missed.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from Scholastic Press.

Blog Tour: The Bootlace Magician (Circus Mirandus Book 2) by Cassie Beasley

As we learned in the first book, once you have visited Circus Mirandus, you usually can't return. That's the rule. Mostly. But some lucky people do get to return, and for us, the lucky ones, the cost of the ticket is reading the book...oh, yes, and believing in magic.

Micah Tuttle, 11, returned and has been traveling with the Circus Mirandus for several months now, and living with his guardian, the Lightbender. Basically happy, living a peaceful life with the circus, Micah is still painfully missing his deceased grandpa Ephraim, and his best friend Jenny Mendoza back in Peal, and hoping to discover just what magic his knots can do. Luckily, Jenny is coming to visit Circus Mirandus for a day, armed with a chart to help Micah figure that out.

Micah has also been spending a lot of time in the menagerie tent, visiting Fish in his aquarium and feeding him knots full of memories. Ephraim Tuttle had used Fish so long ago to enter Circus Mirandus. Mr. Head, the circus manager, has also decided that Micah is just the person to care for an abandoned baby Unicorn named Terpsichore. But Micah knows that Unicorns didn't abandon their babies, no matter what and he is puzzled by what could have happened to Terp and his mother.

But even after Micah figures out what may have happened to Terp, it's treated like a long shot. Yet, when a sudden severe storm hits during Jenny's visit and lightning strikes the menagerie tent, it begins to look like someone is trying to hurt or destroy Circus Mirandus. And after finding some notebooks that his grandmother, Victoria Starling, had borrowed before she was banished from the circus, Micah has a pretty good idea what is happening, but why? Victoria had been called the Bird Woman, flying with a flock of birds that she controlled with a wordless song - until one night she destroyed the birds during a show, angry that the Lightbender would not let her achieve what she so desperately craved.

But when Victoria Starling attacks the circus again, it looks as though it's days are numbered, and now she wants to get Micah to help her get what she has always craved so badly - fame and glory. But how does Fish figure into her grand scheme?

I loved reading Circus Mirandus and was so happy to learn there would be a sequel. And it is every bit a good as the first book.  Cassie Beasley has once again created a magical world that just felt so familiar and welcoming. I sat and read until I was finished and then went through the book again, not wanting to once again say goodbye to these favorite characters, especially Micah.

Beasley really knows how to flesh out her characters, and even though they felt complete in the first book, they turn out to be even more complex here. Even Micah, just 11, has a true understanding and appreciation for the world he now lives in, but without a desire to abandon the world that Jenny lives in. And Jenny, the rational girl who needed to be convinced that magic existed, has become one of Micah's greatest champions and a great Circus Mirandus enthusiast. It was wonderful watching her excitement during her visit.

The Bootlace Magician does stand on its own, enough background information is provided, but why do that when you can have the joy of reading Circus Mirandus followed by this novel. And like that first novel, this is an extraordinary coming of age story about courage, faith, and the people who become our family, and a story that is not to be missed.

May the Circus Mirandus continue "to fight to keep enchantment alive" in the world for children. And remember, when you hear the drums and pipes, the circus has come to town and you know what to do.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was a ARC received from Friya at Penguin Random House 

Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo

It's 1979 and it's been four years since Raymie Nightingale, Louisiana Elefante, and Beverly Tapinski found each other and became the Three Rancheros, promising to rescue each other whenever they are needed. In 1975, it had been necessary rescue 10-year-old Raymie (Raymie Nightingale) in order for her to find to true home. And, in 1977, it was 12-year-old Louisiana's turn (Louisiana's Way Home) who needed to rely on her friends to find her true home. Now, it's 14-year-old, Beverly who needs rescuing.

Beverly has always been known for running away from home, and being returned to a alcoholic mother who just wasn't very interested in her. Now, she's done with running away, and after burying her beloved dog Buddy, Beverly figures there's nothing to keep her at home anymore and so she decides to simply leave. Hitching a ride with Joe Travis, a cousin she doesn't much care for (and the feeling is mutual), Beverly makes it as far as Tamaray Beach, Florida.

Walking down the A1A, she comes upon Mr. C's fish restaurant. There, she meets Freddie, the waitress with big, big unrealistic dreams, and owner Mr. Denby, disorganized and depressed now that his wife and three daughters have left him. Open only for lunch, Beverly gets an under-the-table job the busing tables.

Beverly also finds a place to stay with lonely widow Iola Jenkins, who gives her a place to sleep and a flowered nightgown, feeds her a steady diet of tuna melts, and in return Beverly drives Iola's Pontiac to the VFW so she can play bingo.

Beverly also meets cook Doris and dishwasher Charles at work, and Elmer, a bullied, sensitive Dartmouth-bound teen who loves art and is working in the local convenience store for the summer. As Beverly gets to know each of these people, as she begins to be a part of their lives, and they hers, she starts to realize some things about herself as well. They are an eccentric cast of characters as only Kate DiCamillo can put together, but the focus is always on Beverly. Raymie and Louisiana are present throughout the book, mostly in Beverly's thoughts, although only Raymie makes the briefest of appearances at the end of the book. Their presence. however, proves how strong their bond of friendship is and how important they are to Beverly. In fact, friendship is one of the dominant themes, along with loss, trust, hope, home and how we define it, and the importance of just being there for people who rely on Beverly and on whom Beverly rely.   

Beverly, Right Here unfolds as languidly as a hot summer day, as Beverly searches and finds her emotional truth. DiCamillo's sentences are simple enough, yet so powerful and there's not a single gratuitous word in any of them. Beverly's story is a wonderful coming of age tale, and like life, it doesn't come to a neat conclusion, but leaves lots of questions about Beverly's future.

It does make me sad to think that this is probably the last time we will hear about the Three Rancheros, yet I know that one day, I will revisit each their narratives and I suspect it will yield a greater truth then do their individual stories.

You can download a useful Discussion Guide for Beverly, Right Here courtesy of the publisher, Candlewick Press.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle. 

All of Me by Chris Baron

Seventh-grader Ari Rosensweig is the new kid in school and not very happy about it. His family has just moved from New York to San Francisco, where his parents are in the business of promoting his mother's artwork. Now, he has to face new kids who will just see him as a fat boy and not who he really is - a kid who likes to ride his bike, play video games, make up role-playing games and has an interest in cryptozoology.

Over the course of seventh grade, Ari is brought to a rabbi for bar mitzvah preparation a year late, bullied by some of the boys in school because of his weight, makes a first friend named John, nicknamed Pick, a gamer who is also into robots, and a second friend named Lisa, the troubled rebel girl who sometimes misses school, and takes art lesson with Ari's mom. By the end of seventh grade, he is also dealing with an increasingly absent father he discovers is cheating on his mother.

At Stinson Beach for the summer, Ari becomes more and more aware of his weight and the anger Pick feels because of an earlier violent encounter on a bike path between Ari and his bullies that he witnessed. One sleepless night, after a fight with Pick about the encounter, Ari's pain comes to a head resulting in a self-inflicted wound that propels him into finally dealing with his weight.

Meantime, Lisa comes to stay with them at Stinson Beach while her mother is away dealing with her own problems. Over the course of the summer, Ari begins to sense an awakening in himself as his feelings for Lisa start to surface, discovers why Pick is so angry about the incident on the bike path, and begins to deal with the demise of his parent's marriage. Before the diet, Ari had always been defined only by his weight, but as he loses it, as his body physically changes, he realizes more and more that losing weight isn't a cure-all, that there is so much more to who he is than just body image, but that his weight will always be a work in progress.

If All of Me rings true to readers, perhaps it is because it is based on the author's own experiences as a overweight child. Perhaps that is why Ari's pain is so palpable, but so are his good moments. And he is strong character even if he does begin his story asking "Who am I?" Who he is is already there, it remains for him to discover it and redefine himself to himself. Most admirable, is that he knows he does not want to physically fight his bullies, as his father and Pick would have him do. He has enough self-awareness to think "There has to be a different way/to stand up for myself,/to take responsibility,/to be a man."

All of Me chronicles Ari's journey in a series of free verse poems. They are poignant, honest, raw, and realistic. Importantly, Baron allows Ari moments when he caves to desire while on his diet, but he never gives up and he doesn't beat himself up for slip-ups. I think that sticking to his weight-loss plan instead of just chucking it and comforting himself with food shows a real strength in Ari. I think that is an important message to kids who are struggling with issues around self-acceptance.

Ari's is an important multi-layered story, one that is needed, and one that you won't want to miss.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library

Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson

All Amara Baker wants for her twelfth birthday is to accompany her father, a Nike executive, on his next business trip to New York so she can get to know his side of the family better. Maybe she can even learn why her dad hasn't spoken to his dad since the day she was born, which also happened to be the day her father's mother, Grandma Grace, passed away. But Amara's mother, nearing the end of her pregnancy, is not willing to let her go.

Adding to Amara's desire to know that side of her family is an assignment by her teacher called the Suitcase Project. Students are expected to create a time capsule that explores their past, present and future with items that represent who they are, where they are from and what their dreams for the future are. But just when Amara gives up hope of getting to New York, her mother changes her mind and says she can go. And maybe, just maybe, while she is there, Amara can get her dad and grandpa talking so they can mend their rift.

Until arriving at her grandfather's Harlem brownstone, Amara had only spoken to Grandpa Earl, a former basketball coach, on the phone for special occasions. And although her father manages to avoid him, Grandpa Earl and Amara immediately bond. Amara is excited to see the places where her dad grew up in Harlem, and Grandpa Earl can't wait to show her his favorite places, too. No sooner does the week begin, and her dad runs into an old friend who spills the beans about her dad writing poetry in high school, something Amara didn't know about him.

Over the next few days, Amara begins to learn what happened between her dad and Grandpa Earl, even as she begins to formulate how she will present the family history she is discovering on this visit, in part by snooping, in part from Grandpa Earl talking to her and in part from being taken.
to iconic places in Harlem that represent so much of African American history, in a way she has never experienced it at home in Beaverton, Oregon.

But Amara also spends a lot of time with her cousins, Nina, 16, and Ava, 14. She and Ava don't really get along. Sightseeing for Ava is going to H&M, not visiting the murals, statues, and other places she sees all the time. After a family visit to the cemetery where Grandma Grace is buried, the tension between Amara and Ava comes to a head when Ava refuses to "babysit" her cousin again. Angry, Amara decides to make her own way to the East Village and find a place called the Nuyorican Cafe, a place, she had discovered while snooping in her dad's old bedroom, where her dad had wanted to read his poetry on open mic night when he was in high school. But when she finds herself in the Bronx at the Yankee Stadium stop on the subway, Amara realizes she's gone the wrong way. But maybe it's the right way for past hurts and anger to finally be dealt with.

Some Places More Than Others is a really well-crafted coming-of-age novel that explores who we are and how we fit into the world of family and into the wider world, past and present. For Amara, New York and her family there are a whole new world and she can't get enough of it. And everything excites her, unlike her cousins who take it all for granted, not understanding Amara's need to linger and take pictures of what she's seeing for the first time:

"...I am starting to understand by Big T is always saying there's no place like New York. No place else that constantly reminds us that we are important, they we come from a people who sacrificed and fought and protested for us to be able to walk these streets free. What is it like to be reminded of this everyday?" (pgs. 102-103) Watson's message is very clear here - do not forget who you are and where you come from.

I think that Amara is a well-intentioned, but flawed character who nevertheless really understands what her week in New York means for her life, as she says "I want to feel like...there's a history keeping me moving, living. Like the journey I am on has many footprints, may stories coming with me." (pg. 103) Her awakening is such a wonderful part of this story.

I also felt that in Watson's hands, Harlem becomes another exciting character in Amara's identity quest. She has captured all it's beauty from the quiet reverence of the Schomburg Center to the hustle and bustle of 125th Street, and the streets named for famous African Americans - Frederick Douglas Boulevard, Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, Malcolm X Boulevard, among others. And by the time you finish this novel, you will really appreciate the title of this novel.

Be sure to read Amara's poem at the end of the novel to find out what she puts in her Suitcase Project.

What would you put in a Suitcase Project?

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Thanks to author Renée Watson for posting Amara's Walking Tour of Harlem on @reneeauthor for those who would like to experience Harlem as Amara did (and yes, it is totally rewarding):

Chula the Fox by Anthony Perry

Sometimes life just doesn't give us what we think we want most in the world, but leads us down a totally unexpected path. Chula, a Chickasaw teen on the verge of manhood, is sure he wants to be a brave warrior just like his father, his uncle and his now deceased older brother. But Chula is small for his age and feels like he needs to prove himself more then most of the boys his age, especially Nukni, his nemesis who repeatedly goes after him both physically and verbally, never letting him forget his smaller size.

One day, while out hunting with his father, his uncle and other members of his tribe, Chula brings down his first deer. His pride at this achievement is short lived when the hunting party is attacked by a group of Choctaw warriors. Chula's father is badly wounded by a shot in the shoulder, and Nukni's uncle is killed, a devastating loss for him.

Sadly, when they return home, the wound in Chula's father's shoulder proves to be fatal for the strong warrior and Chula experiences his own devastating loss. Now, both Chula and Nukni want revenge for their losses, so that the spirits of their deceased loved ones can find peace. In fact, the whole tribe wants revenge, and it is decided that Chickasaw would attack the Choctaw right after the Green Corn Ceremony, the harvest, and also a time of forgiveness and purification. In the meantime, the young boys, including Chula, would be prepared to become warriors so that they can participate in the attack.

But does Chula have what it takes to be a warrior, or will he find himself a leader of his people in an entirely different capacity?

I loved reading The Birchbark House series. It offers readers a wonderful story and insight into the 19th century life of the Ojibwe people in what is now Minnesota. Young readers who read this series will certainly want to read Chula the Fox. Chula's story is set in the early part of the 18th century, and it, too, gives readers a clear window into the daily life of the Chickasaw people living in the Chickasaw Homeland (today's Mississippi).

Chula the Fox is narrated in the first person by Chula. As the story moves along, he provides a lot of interesting detail about everyday life, including family relationships, traditions, ceremonies, games, hunting practices, and warrior training. Chula's relationship with his father, mother, uncle, and especially his younger sister Pakali is respectful and loving. It was wonderful to see how, after Chula's father passed away, his uncle stepped right in to mentor him into adulthood. Perry has really researched these historical details well, and weaves them throughout the story seamlessly.

Perry was inspired to write Chula the Fox after his father passed away and he realized he was losing his connection to his Native heritage. You can read about this in his own words HERE. 

I found Chula the Fox to be a fascinating and inspiring historical fiction coming of age story, with elements that we can all relate to, such as Chula's sorrow at losing his father, his love for his family, but it is definitely a uniquely Native story, which taught me much about Chickasaw history.

Sensitive readers should know that there is some violence in the fight scenes and animals are killed but Perry makes it very clear that is it not done for sport but for survival.

Chula the Fox is a book that will particularly appeal to historical fiction fans, and/or readers interested in Native American history, as well as anyone looking for a well written, well-plotted adventure novel.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
Thank you to the author and the publisher, Chickasaw Press, for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Iranian on his mother's side and white on his father's, high school sophomore Darius Kellner is a boy who feels caught between two worlds and who believes he doesn't fit into either. At a school with a zero tolerance policy toward bullying, Darius is the constant target of two school bullies who like to make fun of his name and refer to him as a terrorist. At home, Darius is convinced he's a constant disappointment to his father, with whom he has only two things in common - a love of Star Trek and a history of clinical depression.

When it is discovered that Darius' grandfather in Iran has a incurable brain tumor, the Kellner family decides to take some time to visit his mother's family in Yadz, Iran. But after a thirteen hour trip, Darius arrives at his grandparents home feeling like he once again doesn't fit in - he doesn't feel Persian enough and can't even speak Farsi very well, plus he takes medication every day and feels his grandfather's disapproval about it.

When his grandfather introduces him to Sohrab, Darius becomes Darioush, his name in Persian, and for once, he begins to feel some pride in his name, rather than the shame he felt at school. Sohrab and Darius become fast friends, playing soccer with other boys in the neighborhood, sightseeing both in Yadz and it's surrounding area, learning to play Rook, a Persian card game that even Darius' father knows how to play, and celebrating the Persian New Year Nowruz with other friends and relatives all open a new world to Darius, a world in which he begins to feel a part of. With Sohrab's help, Darius begins to bee like he fits in somewhere, but will his new found confidence about who he is carrying over when he returns home to Portland, and goes back to school?

Quite simply, Darius the Great Is Not Okay is a wonderful coming of age novel that really captures what it is like to be what Darius calls a "fractional Persian." And it is also an honest portrayal of a teen living with clinical depression.

Darius is one of the more interesting characters I've encountered in my reading lately. He knows his limitations - he's a little overweight, athletics is not really his thing, he'll probably never speak fluent Farsi. Yet, he is a wonderful older brother to his sister Laleh, caring and protective of her, he is able to sense when she is going to have a meltdown and knows exactly how to divert her from it, and he has an interest in tea, way beyond just liking it. In fact, he is also a tea purist and enthusiast, even working part time in a specialty tea shop. Tea and its rituals, the reader learns, are an important part of Middle Eastern life.

No only has Khorram written an eminently readable novel with a charming, if flawed main character, he has managed to include a lot of information about Iran and the Iranian people, including the way holidays are celebrated, different food that is enjoyed (with many mouth watering descriptions), what life is like for the average Iranian person and their family. The cultural and limited historical aspects of this novel are every bit as fascinating as Darius' coming of age.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay has all the usual tropes of a good Middle Grade/Young Adult novel, including friendship, loyalty, importance of family and finding one's place in the world, and gives them a fresh new look. Don't miss this novel!

This book is recommended for readers age 11+
This book was an ARC received from the publisher, Dial Books for Young Readers

Lu (Book #4 of Track) by Jason Reynolds

Lu is the fourth and final book in the Track series. We have already met three of Lu's teammates: Ghost, Patina, and Sunny. Each of these characters had personal challenges to overcome and with the help of Coach Brody, they were able to work through some of them while striving to perfect their track and field skills.

Lu is a talented runner, and co-captain of the Defenders, much to the chagrin of the team's captain, Chris. Lu, an only child, was also his parents miracle baby and was also born with albinism. Though he thinks of himself as the "fine-o-albino," every morning he goes through the same ritual, reciting his mantra as he puts in his contact lenses and a thick layer of sun screen to protect his skin, followed by the gold chains and diamond earrings given to him by his dad. That done, Lu is ready to face the day.

But now, his parents have informed him that his mother is once again pregnant. Suddenly, Lu is no longer the miracle baby, and his parents have given him the honor of naming his new baby sister-to-be. And he comes up with some doozies until he hits upon just the right one.

On top of that, Lu has been practicing jumping hurdles as he and his teammates prepare for the Defenders first championship meet. But when his foot clips one of the hurdles, and he goes down, Lu finds it difficult to face hurdles, shying way from jumping over them each time he tries. As he and Coach work through this, Lu learns some disturbing things about his father's past.

Lu has always thought of his father as the coolest dude around, "Always fly. Fresh clothes, kicks, tattoos." (pg 48), a guy who spends his days trying to get drug addicts into rehab. But when Lu learns about bad decisions he made as a young teen who was tired of being made fun of because of a bad stutter, his father's falls off the pedestal that Lu had placed him on. Now, Lu has more hurdles to overcome than just what he faces on the field. Can his father deal with his own past as honestly as he has always dealt with things before, and restore Lu's faith in him?

Told in the first person, Lu has a voice that grabs you and keeps you reading. The dialogue throughout sounds realistic, as do the situations that impact Lu's life. I think that this book tackles issues drug addiction,, jealousy, and being bullied for being different (albinism, stuttering) really well, while stressing the importance of acceptance, family and teamwork.

One of the things I did like about Lu, is that we learn more about Coach Brody and his assistant Coach Whit. Up until now, we only had the barest information about either one, but here we see how their lives have intertwined with Lu's parents since they were kids. I thought knowing that they had their own stories gave the book a lot more depth. It also gives a greater understanding of the influences in the neighborhood where most of them live and what Coach has been trying to do for the kids on his team (much like Reynolds is trying to do with this trilogy for his readers).

With his Track Series, Reynolds has written a coming-of-age quartet of stories that focus on the four newbie members on the Defenders team, each one so different from the others both on and off the track, and then he brings it all to a satisfying ending. Like Ghost, Patina, and Sunny, Lu also has some important lessons to learn - but essentially what Reynolds is trying to get across to his middle grade readers is that there is a better way to channel your anger, your fear, and your jealousies. For Lu, t's also about integrity, about being true to yourself, about having a soundness inside that won't deteriorate.

Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and now Lu is a great relay of books for kids and I can't recommend all of them highly enough.

An excellent Reading Guide is available from the publisher, Simon & Schuster, HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from Edelweiss+

Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground by T.R. Simon

I don't usually like to read second books in a series before I read the first book, but I made an exception for Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground, and I'm glad I did. I was immediately pulled into the mystery that the two main characters find themselves involved in, but this book turned out to be so much more than just a mere puzzle.

When Zora Neale Hurston was young, she lived with her family in a town called Eatonville, Florida, the first all black community in the United States. The story begins there one night in 1903 when Zora and her best friend Carrie Brown, both 12, discover two loose horses in the Hurston yard. Recognizing the horses as belonging to Mr. Polk, a mute neighbor, the two girls sneak out and head for his place to see what happened. There, they find Mr. Polk injured and a fire in his cabin. But Zora and Carrie aren't the only ones who noticed something happening, so did Old Lady Bronson, the town's conjure woman, who took charge of Mr. Polk's injuries, and to the absolute surprise of both girls, spoke to him in a strange language and heard him answer. When Zora presses Old Lady Bronson for answers about what she and Carrie just witnessed, the conjure lady makes a deal with her: if she keeps quiet about the night's events, she will tell Zora "a story worth hearing."

The story shifts back to 1855 and a young black girl named Lucia begins narrating her story. Leaving her Caribbean island home of Hispaniola with Prisca and her father Master Frederic, her white owners, Lucia finds herself living enslaved on a plantation in Florida named Westin. Up until moving to Florida, Lucia had been treated well by Master Frederic and was best friends with Prisca. But, three years later, Master Frederic has died and Prisca's stepmother decides to sell Lucia, claiming the plantation needed money and it was part of her marriage contract with Master Frederic that Lucia would be sold.

The story continues to alternate between Zora and Carrie's present and Lucia's life of slavery. Slowly, however, the two stories come together in a surprising way as Zora and Carrie learn the truth about Mr. Polk, Old Lady Bronson and their own connections to slavery and Eatonville's past, and that "history wasn't just something you read in a book. It was everything your life stood on. We who thought we were free from the past were still living it out." (pg 174)

Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground is a gripping coming of age work of historical fiction and Simon has done a stellar job bringing the characters, the time periods, and the setting to life. Carries is an intelligent, though somewhat cautious girl, while Zora is an impulsive, curious, and intelligent girl, and Old Lady Bronson knows when she finds the two girls at Mr. Polk's place that Zora won't be happy until she is told the truth about the night's events.

Simon goes easily from time period to time period without jarring the reader, ending each section with enough to really keep the reader going simply by igniting their curiosity to discover, like Zora, what is going on. 

And Eatonville? Setting in a novel is always important, but here so much of the action in this novel centers around the town of Eatonville, founded in 1887, that it actually becomes another important character as Lucia's 1855 story begins to merge with the event's of 1903 Eatonville. I can't say more or I'll give too much away and you definitely want to find out the answers on your own. 
 
Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground may be difficult for some readers. Simon tackles the brutality of slavery head on and without apology. This may make some white readers uncomfortable, but if you can get past you discomfort, there is a lot of painful truth to be found here. Prisca's stepmother and her children are classic examples of white attitudes about black people, but what is made clear is that this attitude persisted into the 20th century and, I am sad to say, even into 21th century. This is certainly a thought-provoking element in the novel and I hope people do think about it.

Do read Simon's short biography of Zora Neale Hurston at the back of the novel, and check out the timeline of her life. There is also an annotated bibliography of Hurston's work, and a list of children's books that were adapted from the folktales she collected.

You can find more information about the history of Eatonville, Florida HERE 

You can find a useful discussion guide prepared by the publisher, Candlewick Press, HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

And yes, I can't wait to read the first book, Zora & Me

The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden

For seventh grader Zoey Albro, living in Vermont in a trailer with her mother, three siblings, step father Lenny and his father Frank, life really isn't easy. It's her job to get Bryce and Aurora up, dressed and out for school every morning. And after school, Zoey has to care for  them while her mother works in a low wage job waiting tables in pizza shop, then make sure the kids get dinner, eaten in their bedroom so they don't get in Lenny's way or disturb Frank's constant TV watching, and get them to bed, and hope sleep isn't interrupted one of by Bryce's nightmares that began after they moved in with Lenny.

Zoey's dislike for Lenny is no secret, but it is mutual. She hates that he constantly berates her mother for doing things wrong, ignores her, Bryce and Aurora, and only paying attention to his son Hector. And now, Lenny has lost his job.

So, even though she would like to do it, there just isn't any time for Zoey to work on her homework, not even the latest assignment - a debate prep packet on the topic Which animal is best? That's easy for Zoey, who knows that being an octopus is the best, and she already has all the information she needs to support her argument. She often thinks that if she had all those arms, she could do so much more to make life easier for the kids and her mom. Besides, an octopus has the ability to camouflage itself when it needs to hide, something she would really like to be able to do, especially at school.

Where her teachers are always disappointed that she hasn't done the required work, her only friends are Silas, a loner who loved to go hunting with his father, and Fuchsia, a girl with her own serious issues. Zoey never speaks in class, preferring to try to be invisible, and yet, always subjected to bullying by the other kids in school.

Filling in the debate prep may have been an easy task for Zoey, but then, of course, she would have to speak in front of the class. First, she forgets her packet, then when given another chance, she lies and says she has forgotten it again. When her Social Studies teacher, Ms. Rochambeau, discovers the Zoey's debate prep packet in the trash and reads it, she begins to see her in a different light and insists that she join the debate team, even offering to drive her to where the school bus lets Bryce and Aurora off in the afternoon so she can still babysit them.

At first, Zoey has not interest in participating in the debate club, and having to work with who make no secret of what they think of her. But the more she learns about the art of debating, the more she begins to understand the way her stepfather has been manipulating and verbally abusing her mother and why her once strong, independent mother has become cowed by his treatment.

But can Zoey put her new debating skills into practice and convince her mother to leave Lenny and their toxic relationship before it is too late? And where would they go?

I had a hard time collecting my thoughts about this novel. Certainly, from a teacher's perspective, I thought it was great - here was a teacher who looked beyond the obvious and found the real Zoey, a girl who needed support, encouragement, but mostly validation.

The Benefits of Being a Octopus is told from Zoey's point of view, in the first person present. Her narration is open and honest, at times, brutally honest. Zoey is a smart, strong, courageous girl with way too many responsibilities put on her shoulders by the (supposed) adults around her, who should have been taking care of her, not the other way around.

Braden has put Zoey in a difficult life - she and her family seem to have alway lived in poverty. She's never known her father, though Bryce and Aurora's father was in the picture for a while before leaving, and only baby Hector belongs to Lenny. Clothes and toys are bought second hand and Zoey's mom is eligible for public assistance. This is real realistic fiction and Braden's writing is as hard-hitting and matter of fact as Zoey's story.

And yet, it is also a book with a message of hope. It would take a lot of strength to get up every morning and face Zoey's day, but she does it without too much resentment but a lot of humiliation. Gradually, thanks to the rules of debate and Ms. Rochambeau's belief in her, that changes and Zoey can see her way out of the terrible circumstances they are in because of being so poor and dependent on Lenny for a roof over their heads.

Zoey may have wished she has eight arms so she could get everything done herself, but in the end, it is a combination of her own resilience and determination, and the arms of those around her reaching out that ultimately help her find her way in this well crafted coming of age novel.

My only regret: The Benefits of Being an Octopus is a book I wish I had had to share with my students when I was teaching 4th grade in the Bronx.

You can download a very useful Educator's Guide for this book on Ann Braden's website HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Eleven-year-old Cuban American Merci Suárez lives in the Palm Beach area of Florida with her parents, and her very smart brother Roli, 17. Right next to them live their Abuela and Abuelo, called Lolo, and right next to them lives Tia Inéz, with her young twins, Axel and Tomás. The three identical houses are affectionately called Las Casitas by Merci's mother.

Roli and Merci are scholarship students at a private school. Since their dad and Lolo are painters, some of their tuition is paid for in work they do at the school. Because Roli is so smart, he's pretty much left alone, but sixth-grader Merci is required to do some community service in school, and so she is assigned to the Sunshine Buddies Club. It's her job to be a mentor to Michael Clark, a new kid in school who has just moved to Florida from Minnesota. Naturally, Merci's nemesis, rich mean girl Edna Santos, really likes Michael and does everything she can think of to make it difficult for Merci to be a buddy to him. That isn't hard, since Merci doesn't want to be his buddy anyway. What Merci does want is to make some money for a new bike and to tryout for the school's soccer team.

Unfortunately, neither one seem to be possible for her. She has to watch the twins after school while Tia Inéz goes to work, for free, because as Merci says "When it comes to helping, the motto around here is family or bust." On top of that, her beloved Lolo has been acting oddly lately and getting very forgetful, and no one in the family will answer any of Merci's questions about it. Family policy is to always be truthful and honest with each other, with no secrets, but that is definitely not the case here and Merci is scared for Lolo, especially when she's asked by him not to mention anything that might happen when they are together - like a fall from his bike.

Medina has written what I thought was a real-true-to-life coming of age story. Merci is at a transitional age, no longer a child, but not yet a teen, yet she has a lot to grapple with in this novel. She finds middle school difficult, with more intense homework and the pressure to keep up her grades as a scholarship student, and it seems that everyone around her changed over the summer vacation, except her. Now they are interested in boys, and Merci still wants to play soccer and ride her bike.

But Merci also has a close-knit family who do what they can to support each other, even if money is tight and some things don't come easy. And it's a good thing, because they are going to need all the love and support a family can give in the future.

Merci Suárez Changes Gears is a wonderfully realistic novel about the complications of preteen life and learning to come to grips with the fact that sometimes life just isn't fair and being in middle school doesn't help.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an ARC received from the publisher, Candlewick Press

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

It's 1975 and introvert Raymie Clarke, 10, needs to learn how to twirl a baton. Raymie is convinced that if she can win the Little Miss Central Florida General Tire competition, her father will come back home after seeing her winning picture in the newspaper. Her father, owner of Clarke Family Insurance, has run away with a dental hygienist and now her depressed mother just sits and stares.

Showing up at the home of former twirling champion Ida Nee's for lessons, Raymie meets jaded tough girl, not afraid of anything Beverly Tapinski, and orphaned, optimistic Louisiana Elefante, a girl with "swampy lungs" and whose parents were trapeze artists called The Flying Elefantes. Both girls are also entering the competition, Beverly's plan is to sabotage it; Louisiana's plan is to win the $1,975.00 prize money that she and her grandmother so desperately need.

That afternoon, after a first disastrous baton twirling lesson, Raymie realizes she has to do a good deed in order to enter the competition. Her father's secretary, whom Raymie has taken to calling now that both parents are unavailable, suggests she read to the elderly. Choosing a book about Florence Nightingale, Raymie heads off to the Golden Glen Nursing Home, helps a cantankerous patient named Isabelle write a complaint letter, and loses her book under the bed of a sick patient. Since it is a library book, Raymie knows she must get it back, but how? Beverly "fear is a big waste of time. I'm not afraid of anything" Tapinski, of course.

The next day, at yet another disastrous lesson, Beverly is up for the library book retrieval challenge, but Louisiana wants to be included. By now, she has dubbed the three of them the Three Rancheros, "bound to each other through think and thin" and always willing to rescue one another.

Over the course of the next few days, the Three Rancheros go on a series of adventures and misadventures together. Besides the library book escapade, they steal one of Ida Nee's batons, and search for Louisiana's cat at a shelter in the middle of the night, a rescue that doesn't go quite according to plan. In the end, though, their newly formed friendship is solidified in an incident where the girls must rely on the each other to avoid disaster.

We have been reading a lot of Kate DiCamillo books this summer and it provided me with a chance to re-read Raymie Nightingale. As always, the second time around, was such a richly rewarding experience. There is a lot going on in the otherwise kind of laid back story,

The Three Rancheros couldn't be more different. Each has strengths and vulnerabilities that reveal themselves over the course of the novel, as readers discover why each one is grieving their loss of childhood's innocence and the trust they had in those who job was to care for them, instead forcing them to deal with feelings of abandonment, and of being neglected and abused.

Besides Raymie, Beverly, and Louisiana, DiCamillo has populated Raymie Nightingale with a cast of some very quirky characters, each of whom have an impact on Raymie's life. There is Mrs. Sylvester, the secretary who thinks all problems can be made better with candy corn; the neighbor Mrs. Borokowski, who sits in a lawn chair in the middle of the road, and who, even in death, provides Raymie with wisdom, and my personal favorite Mr. Stapholous and his drowning dummy Edgar, who has moved away but not before he taught Raymie life saving, how to isolate her objectives, and that she is indeed a problem-solver. And then there is Raymie's soul, which alternately expands and shrinks depending in the situation she finds herself in.

Raymie Nightingale is a well-crafted, beautifully written early coming of age  novel that explores themes of loss, friendship, courage, rescue, and hope. Not everything works out for them, but as the Three Rancheros, Raymie, Beverly, and Louisiana so learn to trust each other and in doing so, they manage to find themselves and their own truths.

A Book Group Discussion Guide is available to download from the publisher, Candlewick Press

There is also an Activity Kit available to download from Candlewick Press that includes reproducible activity sheets, interactive projects and crafts, and suggestions for doing good deeds.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an ARC received from the publisher, Candlewick Press

Copyboy by Vince Vawter

I was very excited to see that Vince Vawter had written a sequel to his book Paperboy. Victor Vollmer was such an endearing character and I've often thought about him since reading that book.

Now, six years have passed since the then 11-year-old Vic met Mr. Spiro while temporarily taking over his friend Rat's newspaper route for a month. Back then, the very well read and very well traveled Mr. Spiro became a true friend to Vic, patiently helping him understand the world a little better and offering ways to help him manage his stutter, and the two remained friends.

Now, it's the summer of 1965, Vic is 17, working a summer job at the local newspaper as a copyboy, and getting ready to begin college. Sadly, Mr. Spiro has recently passed away, a loss Vic doesn't really want to deal with. But he has been left one last request by Mr. Spiro - to scatter his ashes at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Against his parents wishes, Vic decides to drive alone from Memphis to New Orleans, armed with the name of the sports editor at the Times-Picayune, a road map, the cash from his last 3 paychecks, and, of course, Mr. Spiro's ashes. He leaves early one the morning, after writing a note for his parents explaining his plan.

In New Orleans, Vic is introduced to a whole new world of people and experiences. Editor Ray Patton is more than happy to help Vic, taking him home to his houseboat for the night. There, Vic also meets Adrienne, Ray's Cajun girlfriend. After helping Vic understand a little about the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, he puts him in touch with people who really understand those waterways, sending him off to Venice, Louisiana - Fishing Capital of the World - and his friend Captain Henri Moreau, a lifelong river man.

In Venice, Vic meets the Moreau family as they are getting ready to celebrate Captain Moreau's birthday and everyone is pitching in for the fais do-do. Vic is welcomed with open arms and immediately put to work, but it is the very independent Philomene "Phil" Moreau, 18, who really takes charge of him, introducing him to her Cajun world of people who make their living fishing, including a somewhat dangerous ex-boyfriend. Phil loves everything about river life and wants to follow in there father's footsteps.

Reports of a tropical storm had followed Vic from Memphis to the Gulf Coast, but even when it was upgraded to a hurricane, it was expected to stay on the eastern side of Florida. So when Hurricane Betsy suddenly shifts course and heads straight for Gulf Coast, everything changes as people prepare to flee.   

I loved Paperboy and wondered if Copyboy, with its six year difference, would measure up. I am happy to say that yes, it does and does not disappoint. Copyboy is written in the same quiet, gentle style that was so appealing and so spot on for relating Victor's story in the first book. Now, Vic is older, but not really very worldly-wise. Because of his stutter, he has lived rather sheltered life, and his parents still treat him like a child. Vic's stutter isn't as much of a problem in this novel. The people he meets just accept it as part of who he is. For his part, Vic, who already loves words and language, finds their Cajun English new and different and wonderful.

Interestingly, it is Ray who suggests to Vic that perhaps Mr. Spiro had tasked him with spreading his ashes at the mouth of the Mississippi is a last parting gift, and it is an idea that Vic continues to think about. By sending Vic on a quest to find the mouth of the Mississippi River and scatter his ashes, Mr. Spiro knew that he was sending him an a new adventure, even if he couldn't envision what that adventure would hold for Vic. From eating raw oysters in a Bourbon Street bar with Ray to his first kiss, Vic experiences an independence in life he's never had before, and yet, he never loses sight of the purpose for his trip.

Copyboy is a compelling coming of age quest story that readers surely won't soon forget. Sure, Vic's journey had plenty of setbacks and some adversaries, but he ultimately figures what Mr. Spiro has been trying to help him understand - how to have a life well-lived.

A word about who this book is for. Paperboy was clearly a middle grade novel, but in Copyboy Vic is 17, and he really hasn't yet had the range of experience most 17-year-old have. He always been introverted and self-conscious about his stutter, and his parents made sure he had a somewhat sheltered life, which has left him slightly more immature than most kids his age. My feeling, therefore, is that this really isn't a strictly YA novel, but one that older middle grade readers will also enjoy reading it. And if you haven't yet read Paperboy, no problem. This is a fine stand alone novel.

You can download a new Discussion Guide for this book HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 11+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Sunny (Track, Book 3) by Jason Reynolds

Sunny Lancaster, 12 going on 13, may be the fastest runner on the Defenders track team, the "master of the mile," but he isn't very happy at the moment. He knows that no one much cares about the 1600 meter race until right before runners reach the finish line. So when Sunny stops running just as he reaches the last lap and lets someone else win the mile, everyone is baffled. Coach is certainly stunned when Sunny announces he wants to quit the team in order to dance to the sounds and rhythms he hears in his head. But Coach also sees potential in his dance moves, and convinces Sunny to stay on the team as a discus thrower.

But, it is his father Darryl who really is stunned. After all, running and winning is just what Sunny's mother would have wanted for him, with the goal that he will run and win a marathon, living out his mother's dream for herself. Sunny's mother died immediately after giving birth to him, and he has never had the time to come to terms with his feelings about it, and carries a huge amount of guilt on his shoulders. That guilt trip his father's lays on him together with his father's high expectations have always worked in the past, not any more.

Unlike his fellow teammates, Sunny has lead a life of privilege. Wealthier than the others, he lives in a large, essentially empty house, has been home-schooled his whole life by his mother's friend Aurelia, a teacher/dance instructor. Luckily, Aurelia is a pretty casual, relaxed, blue-haired person, and she definitely has Sunny's best interests at heart. And Aurelia's weirdness totally compliments and encourages Sunny weirdness. Homeschooling isn't all academics with Aurelia - there are also movies (she turns Sunny on to West Side Story) and trips to the hospital to see Sunny's grandfather, Dr. Lancaster, and to visit with his cancer patients, whom they entertain with music and dancing.

Aurelia is the exact opposite of Sunny's dad, who is a cold, distant, regimented man. His feelings seem to have shut down the moment his wife passed away, yet he is still clinging to her. So much so, that he has puzzles made from photographs he took of her, which he and Sunny silently work on together in the evening - their bonding time, as Sunny calls it. In fact, most everything Sunny does with his father is done in silence.

Sunny has a lot on his plate for a 12-year-old - he's convinced he is a murderer because his birth caused him mother to die, he's living with a father who insists Sunny call him Darryl instead of dad without knowing why, and most important, he's trying to figure out who he is now that he is no longer living under the running shadow of his mother. So it's understandable that Sunny would stop running as he approached the last lap of his race - if he had kept going, would he never discover his true self? Luckily, Coach and Aurelia seem to understand that this is Sunny's most important race to win.

As with his other two coming of age Track novels, Jason Reynolds has written Sunny in first person, except instead of straight narration, Sunny's story is told in diary form. This isn't a favorite style of mine, but in this case, it really works. Diaries are private, they are a secret relationship between the writer and the page. In real life, they are not meant for anyone else's eyes. But as a novel form, we have an intimate place in that relationship, being there as Sunny chronicles his most heartfelt thoughts and feelings, and yes, even the sounds and rhythms he hears and likes to dance to. His diary is a place where he can really be himself so we get to meet the real Sunny. And it is therapeutic, as Sunny works through his personal struggles.

There isn't as much about track and Sunny's teammates in this novel. Most of what happens is away from the team, but in the end, it all comes back to that field. Like Ghost and Patina before him, Sunny learns that in order to grow and evolve into the person he wants to be, he's going to need that supportive camaraderie that comes with being one of the Defenders.

Yes, Jason Reynolds has done it again. If you are a follower of the Track series, you won't be disappointed, and if Sunny is your first Track book, you won't be disappointed either, but you will want to run out and get books 1 and 2, Ghost and Patina and then have to impatiently wait with the rest of us for the release of book 4, Lu in October 2018.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book an EARC received from Edelweiss Plus