Again Again

 Again Again
E. Lockhart
Delacorte, 2020 304 pages
Grades 9-Up
Realistic Fiction

It is the summer before Adelaide's senior year. She was supposed to spend it with her serious boyfriend, but he dumped her at the end of the term and escaped to Puerto Rico. Now Adelaide is walking faculty dogs at her boarding school campus where she lives with her teacher father. At the local dog park she meets a new boy, Jack, and a possible romance blossoms. Meanwhile, she is in danger of flunking out of school and must complete a set-design project that she just can't seem to get into. Adelaide is clearly suffering from depression and eventually we see it stems from her mother and brother living in a different state to help younger brother Toby fight his opioid addiction, a situation riddled with anger and guilt. A philosophy conference at the school exposes Adelaide to the concept of "Multiverses", where different scenarios can play-out in many different ways simultaneously and Lockhart plays upon this concept. We see Adelaide's choices and conversations going in different ways as she navigates a difficult summer and balances her tricky relationships.

I have been a fan of E. Lockhart for a very long time. She has matured as an author from light romances to complicated thrillers. Now she is turning her hand at crafting an experimental philosophical novel. I appreciate the effort and enjoyed the different format. Multiverses is such an interesting concept and it was fascinating to see it played out. Will teen readers appreciate this? Hard to say, but it was fun for me just the same. Adelaide, despite her awesome name, is an unlikable character. She is constantly mopey (although had good reasons) and I found her frustrating (just finish the project already!), but possibly young readers will be more tolerant. I did appreciate the treatment of addiction's effects on a family and the fact that it can happen to young people and is not just for weird uncles. Readers are privy to what is in the dog's heads, which was fun. Those bits lightened up the story, although I got upset when Adelaide was severely bitten and chose to keep the dog. I thought it was strange that Adelaide never receives professional help for her depression, though her parents are in similar boats and may not be functional enough to address this. An interesting concept and format with some important things to say, readers will wish to be transported to a different multiverse without the current pandemic. I want to be the first to sign up!

Witches of Brooklyn

Witches of Brooklyn
Sophie Escabasse
Random House, 2020 240 pages
Grades 3-6
Graphic Fantasy

Our story begins with two older women being awoken in the middle of the night. An official looking person informs Selimene, the feistier of the two ladies, that she is now the legal guardian of orphaned Effie. As Selimene pitches a fit on the front stoop, her companion, Carlota, takes Effie upstairs and shows her to a spare room. Thus begins Effie's new life in Brooklyn. She starts school, facing the prerequisite mean girls, and falls in with two goofy and well-meaning nerds, making school tolerable. Effie gradually finds her way with her elderly guardians as well. They appear to be herbalists and acupuncturists, but it all seems rather fishy. One evening, Effie notices that her hands are glowing. Selimene and Carlota are thrilled as they confess that they are actually witches and Effie's powers are starting to unlock as well. Effie is coming to terms with these new developments when a mysterious stranger arrives with an entourage in the middle of the night. It is a pop star, who Effie adores, who has been cursed and her face is now a very unattractive shade of red. Can the Brooklyn witches figure out how to restore the singing sensation to her natural state before the upcoming big show?

Veteran illustrator, Escabasse, crafts her debut graphic novel for young people, set in the city she now calls home. Creative and clever kids will love this new book featuring likable and quirky characters. The attractive cover will draw-in readers and the fast moving plot will keep them going. The atmospheric pages and muted colors give the book a scary feeling to it, but it is not scary at all-more contemporary fantasy. Kids, who often feel the loss of control in their own lives, will envy Effie's realization that she possesses magic and will relish her discovery of this secret life as she enters Selimene and Carlota's world. For some reason, young readers love an orphan story and kids will find contentment in the healing Effie discovers in her new life. This is also a story about friendship, finding people that "get you", and staying true to who you are. Effie's friendship trio will offer reassurance to other kids who don't fit into cookie-cutter expectations. First in a series, this title will be an easy pleaser for the target audience, who will look forward to Effie's further adventures.

Raise Your Voice: 12 Protests that Shaped America

Raise Your Voice: 12 Protests that Shaped America

Jeffery Kluger

Philomel/Penguin, 2020 210 pages
Grades 6-Up
Non-fiction

Seasoned non-fiction writer, Kluger, turns his attention to protests and highlights some important ones throughout Unites States history. After a brief introduction setting the stage, Kluger dives into the Boston Tea Party, the protest that made us an independent nation. From there he hops to the mid-nineteenth century for the Seneca Falls Convention and the battle of women to be gained voting access. Worker's rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and call for world peace and to preserve the environment all follow in chronological order. The volume ends with a Native American protest, only four years old, to prevent drilling on sacred tribal lands. Finally, the author explains his research process and sources, as well as including an index. Photos or illustrations of the protests introduce each chapter, placing readers in the cultural subtext.

 

What a year for Kluger to release this particular book. As protest fever is sweeping the country, this book has just hit the shelves, giving young readers historic background on other protest that have changes the fabric of our country. Kluger offers the reason for protesting and readers will see the results of the efforts of the brave folks that have stood up to injustice and made a difference. Plenty of young people are highlighted, encouraging today’s youth to get off the couch and take a stand. Carefully researched and beautifully written, this volume will be useful for report writers, as well as being enjoyed by recreational readers. I rarely read non-fiction and fell into the narrative of the text and ended up reading the whole book cover-to-cover. There is much that I learned, and I felt inspired by the courage and energy of the Americans featured between the pages. A few of the accounts actually left me visibly emotional and grateful for the efforts of my predecessors. Young readers will gravitate towards this book as protesting is hot this summer and it will hopefully inspire them to make their world a better place.

The Kingdom of Back

The Kingdom of Back
Marie Lu
Putnam, 2020 336 pages
Grades 7-Up
Historical Fiction/Fantasy

Nannerl Mozart is a child prodigy. She works with her father constantly to improve her clavier playing with hopes of being asked to tour the great courts of eighteenth-century Europe. Her little brother, Wolferl, is always at her side, watching her play, sharing her room, and helping to pass the time. Before his hands are even big enough to properly navigate the keyboard, Wolferl is teaching himself to play, proving that he also has natural talent. His winning personality, musicality and quick learning earn him the spotlight as Papa takes his children to perform around their native Salzburg, as well as other cities. Meanwhile, the children are visited by a lively, unworldly boy named Hyacinth, who takes them to his magical kingdom while they are dreaming. The siblings name it "The Kingdom of Back" because everything appears to be backwards. Even the trees grow upside down. Hyacinth tells them of his troubles. He is a princeling, who has lost his kingdom to evil forces. If the children aid his quest to regain his thrown, he will reward them with fame and musical immortality. At first the Mozart children are charmed by Hyacinth and happily carry out his wishes. As Hyacinth grows in power, he gets sharper around the edges. If the children do not do as he asks, family members begin to take ill. Is Hyacinth really who he says he is? Can the young people find the strength to resist him? And can they achieve musical immortality on their own?

A departure from Lu's usual fare, she now turns to the childhood of the western world's greatest (or at least best known) composer, concocting a fantasy based on Wolfgang and his sister's actual game. In an author's note Lu explains how the Mozart children invented this imaginary kingdom to pass the time on the long coach rides from one royal court performance to another.  Certainly, inspired by the master, Lu imagines what would happen if the children actually had experiences there and reflects that, perhaps, magic influenced the genius of Mozart. She also explores Mozart's relationship with his older sister Nannerl, our narrator, a prodigy in her own right, yet limited by the restriction placed on females of the day. Lu's fans may jump ship as they crack into this quieter, ethereal novel. I know I was expecting something much different. Sometimes the book is a bit slow moving, yet the writing is beautiful and the story haunting, backed up by history. The threat of constant illness will resonate with today's Covid readers and may offer hope that if young Mozart could survive the smallpox will little medical advances, we can get through our current crisis. Musicians will find much to love and be inspired to practice and try to write their own competitions. It is impossible to read this book and not search Spotify for a Mozart playlist. It made me fall in love with the great composer’s work all over again.

Don't Ask Me Where I'm From

Don't Ask Me Where I'm From
Jennifer De Leon
Atheneum/S&S, 2020 324 pages
Grades 8-12
Realistic Fiction

Debut novelist and long-time educator, De Leon presents a timely novel with lots to say. Liliana attends public school in the Jamaica Plains neighborhood of Boston, where she hangs out with her best friend, helps her mother with the housework and care of her two younger brothers, and stays out of trouble. Her mother does not need anything else to worry about. Dad has been missing in action for a while now and her mother is not taking the loss well. Where is he? Finally it is revealed that Dad has been deported and is trying to return to the US-with very little luck and lack of funds. Meanwhile, Liliana learns that she has been accepted into the METCO program, allowing her to bus to an affluent Boston Suburb to attend a well-funded school. It was Dad's dream for Liliana to get a good education, but fitting in at the new school is hard. The local kids are stand-offish and have preconceived notions about who Liliana is and the fellow METCO kids aren't bothering to get to know her until they know that she will be sticking around for a while. Friendship comes from unexpected places: her unlikely white host sister and a cute popular boy, who seems to have romantic inclinations. Will Liliana ever feel at home in her new school? Will Dad find a way to return to the US? What can one LatinX teenager do to change centuries of embedded discrimination?

I thought going into this book that it would be completely agenda-driven and dry. I was wrong. It turns out to be a really great story by a debut talented Own-Voices author. Le Leon leans on her years of experience to create the character of Liliana, a first-generation American bridging the gap between worlds and finding her voice and place with it. Liliana grows in maturity as the novel progresses from self-absorption to someone who recognizes problems in her world and does something to try to fix them. A wall is featured on the cover of the book and this serves as a metaphor for the many walls that Liliana must overcome in her life. Ironically, it is a wall that Liliana uses to take her first steps in making a difference. My favorite feature of this book is Liliana's voice. The character felt genuine and real. De Leon completely nails the voice and language of the character and even the slang rings true. I felt that the book ran a little long and took me a while to get through, but I was never bored reading it and truly came to care about the character. This is a family that readers will root for and a character that they will identify with, despite what may be cultural or economic differences.  Certainly timely, readers will read this book recreationally, yet walk away with a better understanding of others.

Great Escapes: Nazi Prison Camp Escape

Nazi Prison Camp Escape

Michael Burgan

HarperCollins, 2020 100 pages

Grades 3-6

Historical Fiction/Adventure

Great Escapes series

Burgan traces the true story of American RAF pilot Bill Ash as he plans multiple escapes from Nazi prisoner of war camps during the Second World War. The story starts off with a bang as Ash and his buddy attempt to escape from Stalag Luft III from a tunnel underneath the showers. This escape was foiled, but does not detour Ash from trying again--and again. Burgan next goes back in time, tracing Ash's journey from a Texan boyhood, obsessed with Charles Lindbergh and airplanes, to leaving the country for Canada in order to get into the war before America commits. Sidebars contain background historical information about relevant topics ranging from concentration camps to the rights of POWs. As Ash continues to defy the Nazi's and attempts to continue to fight and escape prison, he has run-ins with the Gestapo, endures torture, receives help from the Resistance, spends time ion the "Cooler", and is betrayed by those he thinks are allies. After one narrow escape after another, Burgan finally reaches the end of the war, only to nearly die from starvation, disease, and friendly fire. Based on a true story, readers discover what happens to Ash after the war as his life as a civilian continues.

 

Perfect for fans of "I Survived", this new series is sure to be an easy sell. From the eye-catching cover to the layout of the book, reluctant readers will gravitate towards this series and keep turning pages. Clocking in at exactly 100 pages, it is the perfect length. Black and white illustrations, at least one per chapter and often full-page, help to hold the reader's interest and seem to highlight the most exciting bits. Historical information is offered in sidebars meant to look like typed paper-the background color and the font slightly different, clarifying that these are the facts behind the story. The story, itself, is well written, researched, and told in an interesting matter sure to appeal to the target audience. An author's note at the end further separates the facts from fiction and fleshes out the tale a bit more. A bibliography was a great surprise and offers readers non-fiction sources for more information. The volume ends with an excerpt from the next installment in the series, Journey to Freedom, which features the Underground Railroad. Of interest to both schools and recreational reading, this series ticks a lot of boxes and will be popular with history lovers, adventure junkies, and reluctant readers. A surefire hit!

We Are Not from Here

We Are Not from Here

Jenny Torres Sanchez

Philomel/Penguin, 2020 344 pages

Grades 9-Up

Realistic Fiction

Alternating points of view relate the journey of three young teenagers escaping from Guatemala, traveling through Mexico, and attempting to cross the United States boarder. Pulga and Chico are best friends. After Chico's mother is murdered, he moves in with Pulga and his single mother. After they witness a murder of a friendly shop owner by a local gang, they are pressured to either join the gang-or face the consequences. The friends realize that the only way to survive is to flee. Meanwhile, Pequena tries to live her life under the radar. One day she dares to look up and catches the eye of a local thug. Now she has been claimed by him and is pregnant with his baby. Once the baby is delivered, he wants to move the relationship forward. Pequena is sickened by her intended, but fears rejecting him. Escape is the only way out. The three young people, who are family friends, leave the only home they have ever known to escape to the land of freedom and opportunity. The problem is getting into the US and crossing Mexico, a country who also does not want them. The best way to get through Mexico is on top of a series of trains called "The Beast". The three friends slowly make their way into and across Mexico on a journey riddled with danger, deception, and hostility. Some folks they meet along the way are kind and helpful, others are out to trick them, but still they head north, always looking over their shoulders for danger.

 

This is a very timely novel that will raise awareness about the plight of hopeless young people in Central America who must make the dangerous journey alone to try to find freedom and opportunity. The multiple points of view offer both a male and female perspective and allow for the narration to continue as one character or another is in a situation where they cannot physically or mentally tell the tale. Sanchez has done extensive research to try to relate the plight of the many young people traveling this dangerous path and does not shy away from harsh realities. There are deaths: including one of the main characters, that will shake readers up and pull at their heartstrings. The writing is careful, poetic and beautiful. Although the action never stops, the characters are well developed and there are period of reflection and rest. I found the book hard to put down once I started and fretted about the outcome of the characters as I turned the pages. Young readers will also care and become better informed citizens of the world as they travel along with the three young people on this dangerous, yet not well known, path. A fun book or light escape it is not, but this is an important tale that readers will be better off for delving into with possible curriculum connections for schools. Already receiving buzz and starred reviews, this book is sure to be on many "best of the year" lists and will receive well deserved awards.

Locker 37

Locker 37: The Magic Erasure

Aaron Starmer

Courtney LaForest, Illustrator

Penguin Workshop, 2020 220 pages

Grades 2-4

Fantasy/Humor

Locker 37 series

It is the first day of fourth grade. Finally, as a member of the oldest grade in the school, it should be a great year for Carson, but the day is not starting out well. First, he forgets his lunch, bully Hunter is in his class and already causing problems, and -worst of all- he has a very noticeable stain on his pants in an embarrassing place. Just when all seemed hopeless, Carson finds a note held by gum to the bottom of his desk. It is from last year's fourth graders, who claim that locker 37 is magical and its access is a special privilege for fourth grades only. Of course Carson has to try it out and inside he finds an eraser. An eraser? Maybe it will remove the stain from his pants. It does all, and removes the pants right along with the stain! Luckily, his friend Riley is on the case and finds him another pair of pants, while causing a flood, an avalanche of cockroaches on the heads of unsuspecting second graders, and the removal of his worst enemy, Hunter. Carson thinks they should try to find Hunter. Riley thinks they should split the eraser between all of the fourth graders. Riley wins out and mayhem ensues. Will Carson ever get life at Hopewell Elementary under control again? And what happened to Hunter?

 

A perfect summer read, kids will love to dive into this new series. Yes, it is silly and relies a bit on potty-humor, but it will be easily picked-up and quickly consumed. Large, cartoon illustrations with green highlights add to the appeal and are plentiful. There are two bonus math chapters that explain something that happens in the book in a playful way, yet add some STEM appeal, making it a perfect fit for classroom use. Further educational bits include the origin of the word "dumpster", which actually checks out, so even I learned something. Carson is a sweet boy who tries to do the right thing. Readers will relate to his frustration with the bully, his friend taking over the magic, and being stuck in his "Monday undies" (every kid's worst fear). Parts of the book are truly funny and the humor hits a bullseye with the target audience. Released in June, the sequel already came out this month, featuring the narration of a different classmate’s adventures with the locker. The third in the series will be released in October. Readers will fantasize about finding a magic locker in their own schools-assuming they return this fall-and dream about what they would do if they found it. A fun book with some sneaky educational merit.