2024 Read Harder...It Begins.

The sun has set on the 2023 Read Harder challenge, and now it rises on 2024's. There are some solid challenges - like read a book in translation from a country you've never visited or read a genre book by a disabled author. I enjoy challenges that focus on finding books written from perspectives I may not have experience with or read before. I try to read inclusively, but these challenges are a great reminder that I can always do better. 

Other challenges are very meh - read a cozy fantasy, read a book by an author with an upcoming event and then attend the event, for example. There were a lot that seemed to just be "read this genre" which........I guess you're expanding your horizons if you read a genre that you don't usually, but also...that's it? The whole challenge? Underwhelming. For the more lackluster challenges, I've decided to try and pick a book that's as intersectional as possible, so it's expanding my worldview in more ways than just reading a specific genre. Now to decide if I pick all my books for the year up front or if I choose a few at a time.

Whatever I decide, let's get started with my January books!

Challenge #1: Read a cozy fantasy book - I know I used this as an example of a meh challenge, but maybe I needed it, because I had no fucking idea what "cozy fantasy" was. There's no end to subgenres, I guess. Anyway, after much deliberation (and disappointment in the lack of diversity in cozy fantasy recommendation lists), I chose The Aurora Circus by Viano Oniomoh. 

Challenge #2: Read a YA book by a trans author - Ohhhh, this was so hard to narrow down. Any YA book by a trans author?! So many options! I was torn between a few, including Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp, but I ultimately went with Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, which has been on my list for a while.

And there you have it...my first two choices for 2024's reading challenge. I'm excited to get to it!

2023 Read Harder Wrap Up

Can't believe another year is almost in the books. So soon? 

I finally remembered to grab La Borinqueña from my school library to read, and it was very enjoyable! It's the first in a series, and I would love to get my hands on more of them. It was mostly in English but included Spanish here and there, and it was kind of fun to see how much I could understand without having to check on word meaning. I did have to pull out a translator more than once, but I was surprised by how much I knew! All that practice, paying off.

I put a hold on White Smoke at the library, forgot about it, had to put it on hold again, and finally picked it up after school on the last day before break. As noted, horror/thriller, not my jam, so I wasn't exactly eager to get started, but time was ticking. This was described as similar to like a Jordan Peele vibe, and while I have not watched his movies because I know I would get too scared, I figured that kind of take on horror would probably be less scarring for me than like...demons crawling out of TV screens and shit. Happy to report that, while this book will HAUNT me, I think I was right about that. I started it yesterday, couldn't put it down, and stayed up late to finish it. Holy fuck. Tiffany Jackson is an incredible writer - already knew that - but this was another level. Even if you aren't a big fan of the genre, I highly recommend reading White Smoke. 

Anyway, that's a wrap on the 2023 Read Harder challenge! I'm pretty proud of myself for being on top of it this year, and I'm looking forward to picking out books for next year's challenge.

Galaxy Jones and the Space Pirates - Briana McDonald

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Galaxy Jones lives on the very, very edge of a star system in an inn run by her dads. She loves her home and her little family, but ever since the train station that serviced their part of the universe went defunct, tourists have stopped coming, and Lexi’s on the verge of losing it all. When the royal family stops at their inn on the way to a neighboring star system, Lexi’s dads hope for some good business, but Lexi knows from past experience with spoiled Prince Weston—and his annoying dog, Comet—to expect nothing but trouble.

Turns out, that “trouble” is a whole lot bigger than she anticipated. Weston has stolen something. Even worse, he’s stolen it from notorious pirates—former followers of Lexi’s idol, the famous pirate Astro Bonny—who have tracked him straight to her house. Problem is, Weston has lost the trinket somewhere in deep space. And now the pirates are holding all the adults hostage with the threat of destroying the inn if they can’t find what they’ve come for.

Lucky for Weston, Lexi has a plan. In exchange for his help saving the family business, she will use all her skills and embrace the adventurous spirit of the great Astro Bonny to help him find whatever it is the pirates are after. With some pluck, and a whole lot of luck, she might just pull it off—and make an unexpected friend along the way."

I haven't finished this book yet, but I need a book to review, and I've got some thoughts about this one, so it's happening. This was a subscription box book (the now-defunct Owlcrate Jr. box), and a fairly recent one. Rare, me reading a subscription book right away, but the cover drew me in.

Now, normally when a cover draws me in, it's because I've immediately fallen in love with it. In this case, it was less that and more that I was...a little confused? This version is a slightly toned down version as far as the colors - my cover is VERY pink, and just the whole vibe was like...what kind of story is this? Don't get me wrong, I think the cover art is unique and draws you in, but I also don't totally think it vibes with the actual story, which is an odd choice.

And speaking of the story, this book clocks in at 288 pages, and about halfway in, I feel confident in saying that is too long. The pace is a mess - nothing is happening, and then fast-forward a bunch of things happen in one chapter that should probably have been spaced out over at least a couple, and then nothing is happening, and then something is happening but it doesn't make sense...add to that, the character development is virtually nonexistent, and I just...I feel like it's a great idea that falters on the execution. 

Maybe someone with more patience would like it, but it isn't drawing me in, and while I will be adding it to my school library, I'm not sure if my students will have the patience for it either. But who knows? Maybe my opinion for it will change in the second half. I'll update if so.

The Chalice of the Gods - Rick Riordan

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"After saving the world multiple times, Percy Jackson is hoping to have a normal senior year. Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him. Percy will have to fulfill three quests in order to get the necessary three letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus for college.

The first quest is to help Zeus’s cup-bearer retrieve his goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. Can Percy, Grover, and Annabeth find it in time?"

I have a student who is OBSESSED with Greek mythology, and he tipped me off that this book was coming out, so I grabbed a copy. I didn't look into a synopsis or anything, I just assumed it was one last book to cap off the series for...reasons? And I figured whatever the case, I like Percy Jackson, I like Rick Riordan books, it'll be enjoyable no matter what. And it was! So that's good!

Am I confused at the choice to make it book six in a series that was finished publishing over a decade ago, particularly when the story picks up at a completely new point in Percy's life? I am. Honestly, I assumed it was because it was a one-shot, so tacking it on to the end of the series made more sense than having a standalone book. After reading it, though, it has clearly been set up for at least two additional books so...why not make it a new trilogy? I guess because Percy Jackson and the Letters of Recommendation doesn't have the same ring to it as Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Whyever they made the decision, that's my biggest gripe with the book. It does nothing to change the book itself, it's just an odd thing I'm curious about. The book itself - great. Same Percy Jackson sense of adventure, some nice action, and lots of Annabeth and Grover to enjoy. There's more time at home than we usually get to see in a middle grade book, which I thought was sweet, and there were some surprising twists in how Percy, Annabeth, and Grover ended up approaching their quest that I really enjoyed. Overall, a very enjoyable read, and I look forward to the next one.

The Forbidden Wish - Jessica Khoury

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years - a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes.

But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity - only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of the Aladdin story from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury."

Have you ever had one of those moments where you're browsing for books and the stars align, guiding you to one you didn't know existed but that you have to have? That's how I found this book. Paperbacks & Frybread was having a sale, it happened to include a random, signed copy of this book, and as soon as I saw that it was an Aladdin retelling, I was sold. Now, in my perfect, idyllic dream world, it would be a queer Aladdin retelling...but aside from lacking that one aspect, this was pretty nice as far as retellings go.

For starters, I loved Zahra. How complicated she was, the way her history was woven into the story and revealed bit by bit, her tenacity and creativity...Zahra rocks. So does Caspida and her handmaidens. Aladdin was acceptable, but the women in this book were by far the best part. Honestly, the...I guess secondary conflict(?) with the vizier and his son was not super engaging to me, probably because it was alluded to but nothing was really done with it until it fully came to a head, but I would have read more of this book just to see Zahra, Caspida, and company be amazing some more. They were glorious. A revelation. Honestly, authors take note. Do we even need Aladdin? This could have been the queer retelling the world needs. (Joking, mostly. Sort of.)

Sorry, getting off track. In addition to the girl power, I enjoyed the world building that went into this book. We only got bits and pieces of it, but it was intriguing as hell! I would read so many more books about Zahra's history. And Caspida's rule. About how her handmaidens came to be her handmaidens. What I'm getting at, Jessica Khoury, is give me more books in this world. I will devour them like Cookie Monster. That's not to say this book is perfect - it definitely had some funky word choices at times and several pacing issues - but for me the good more than made up for the clunky. It was a delight. And now I want to watch Aladdin.

November Read Harder update

Y'all, this month is kind of getting away from me. The end of the year is always such a whirlwind, and yet I never see it coming. It's extra windy this year, too, because usually I start preparing for holiday stuff super early, like summer early, and this year I just sort of...didn't. So now here I am, scrambling away. Bright spot, I guess, is that instead of doing a winter book fair the last week of school before break, this year I did it right after fall break, so at least I don't have book fair stress on top of end-of-the-year-get-ready-for-the-holidays stress! Thanks for that, past me. You're a real one.

Enough complaining about how hectic the end of the year is, though. On to the update! I finished Hood Feminism, which was EXCELLENT, and I highly recommend anyone trying to be more intersectional read it and reflect on what they can do better. It definitely gave me a lot to think about - I feel like I underlined like half the book. It's one I'll be going back to.

Last two books...I haven't started yet. 😬 I need to set a reminder for myself to get them from the library, I keep forgetting. Once I get them, though...it's over for this year's challenge!

Root Magic - Eden Royce

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"It's 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won't stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven - and their uncle, Doc, tells them he's going to train them in rootwork.

Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations - especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family's true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs...and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it's going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through."

I knew when I picked it up that this book would be good, but I did not know HOW good. Wow, wow, wow. It's pretty clear from the synopsis, but in case you skipped that, know that this is not a light read. It tackles a lot - the impacts of the transatlantic slave trade and the ways it robbed some people of their traditions, racism, violence and lynching...and Eden Royce does not hold back. 

It doesn't focus solely on the bad, though. There's also joy, celebration, love. That's what makes it such an incredible story and something I think everyone should be reading. It showcases the full experience of Black families living in the 1960s, and the reader gets to share in their joy, their excitement, their challenges, and their fear. Following Jez as she skips a grade at school, tries to make a new friend, starts learning rootwork, and learns how to embrace her whole, authentic self even in the face of adversity brings the story to life and really helps the reader connect with the history being shared. 

Connecting to Jez's story and her family's experiences also made me reflect on how recently those experiences took place. People tend to talk about the Civil Rights era like it's long-past, ancient history, but my parents were alive in 1963. I'm one generation removed from the fight for civil rights. That is not long, and confronting that as you read about it helps highlight where we've made progress and where we still need to improve. This is a bit of a tangent, but it's something I thought about as I read.

Anyway, I don't really know what more to say about this book...the characters were beautifully crafted, the writing was excellent, the story is SO important. It's a beautiful book.

The Lost Library - Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change. Evan and his best friend, Rafe, quickly discover a link between one of the old books and a long-ago event that none of the grown-ups want to talk about. The two boys start asking questions whose answers will transform not only their own futures, but the town itself.

Told in turn by a ghost librarian named Al, an aging (but beautiful) cat named Mortimer, and Evan himself, The Lost Library is a timeless story from award-winning authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. It's about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book (and, of course, the librarian who gave it to you)."

Do you want to know a secret? I have to look up the name for the Middle Grade Mega Awesome Super Fantastic Massive Review Spree every time I put it in a post. It's still happening though, and today we're here with a book that it would basically have been impossible for me NOT to love. Just over 200 pages, yes please! A book about a library and books? I'm liiiistening... Lovely, positive, warm librarian rep? 🤤It's like they wrote it just for me.

So, yeah. I LOVE THIS BOOK. I mean...the entirety of chapter 13 alone. I would type the whole chapter here for you to read, but that seems unwieldy. Still, though, I'm tempted. It's such a beautiful chapter, highlighting how much the librarians at the burned-down library loved and cared for their patrons, and there's an exchange at the end between a young, shy patron and Al that just...makes me misty-eyed even thinking about it now. It highlights how deeply stories can touch us and how we can share our love of stories in different ways. And the cherry on top was this quote that I loved:

"I am not upset when others don't love the books I love. We each have our own book spaces inside us, and they do not match up perfectly, nor should they."

Such a lovely sentiment, and a great way to think about our experience with sharing stories and finding connection through them.

Anyway, chapter 13 was a particularly excellent chapter within an overall excellent book. The mystery hooked me right away, and I enjoyed the way it unfolded through the different perspectives. I loved watching Evan make connections and piece things together bit by bit, and I really enjoyed the way his exploration and investigation slowly revealed details about other characters. This is a short book, so I didn't expect the depth of character development it contained - it's good, y'all. 

And the TWISTS. There were some things I saw coming (even then, it was satisfying to find out I had guessed right), but others caught me completely off guard. I know I gasped out loud at least once at a reveal, and a couple moments straight-up made me cry. Just...a lovely, cozy mystery to curl up with.

X - Ilyasah Shabazz

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover: 

"Before Malcolm X shook the world with his words and actions, his parents told him that he could achieve anything. But at fifteen, with his father murdered and his mother taken away, he figures there's no point in trying and escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he's found is only an illusion - and that he can't run from his past forever."

This fictional version of "Malcolm before the X" written by Malcolm X's daughter takes a look at his experiences growing up, before converting to Islam and becoming a leader in the Civil Rights movement. While of course there is some conjecture and fictionalization, Ilyasah Shabazz based what she wrote on stories she was told about her father by family members and friends. We read about a young Malcolm and the rest of his family struggling to stay together after his father's murder when he was six, being constantly harassed by government officials determined to take him and his siblings away from his mother. 

After these officials successfully force his mom into an asylum and separate him from his siblings, he goes to live with his half sister in another state, where he quickly gets swept up in the fast-paced world down the hill. Even as he finds success for himself, he knows he is running - from memories of his father, from institutional and everyday racism determine to keep him down, and even from his own potential. It isn't until he's forced to stop moving that he finally has the opportunity to confront everything he's been trying to escape.

While admittedly I am no expert on Malcolm X's life, everything I have learned about him was after his name change and conversion to Islam. This insight into his experiences growing up and the things that put him onto that path was enlightening and emotional. He went through so much, from such a young age, to become the remarkable leader that he was. I'm glad that his daughter decided to write this book and share more about her father's life.

October Read Harder update

It's weird how time feels like it moves so slow and so fast at the same time. Time, you strange and fickle construct. Anyway, it's the end of October, only two months left in 2023, and here we are, once again, to talk about the books that I've been reading. Not only did I finish Scattered Showers, I reviewed it earlier this month! 'Twas good, in case you skipped that review. (It's fine if you did. My feelings aren't hurt.) Ghost Squad was also a solid read - a little bit spooky and a little bit magical, a perfect read for October. I also reviewed that one, and again, if you skipped it, that doesn't hurt my feelings...at all...

Moving on from my hurt feelings, at long last I have finished The 1619 Project, which I recommend all white people read, preferably with an open heart and open mind and any defensiveness left at the door. It provides a much-needed education for those of us (I would hazard to say most of us) who were taught a white-washed version of history and sold the illusion that the United States has made significant racial progress when, in fact, we have not. The book painstakingly demonstrates and documents how multiple disparate injustices and inequities weave together, illustrating that addressing only one piece of the puzzle is a band-aid over a mortal wound. We can't fix what's broken about the United States by slapping a little gauze over symptoms as they pop up, and we certainly can't fix things while pretending the root problems don't exist. (Psst. Write your representatives and push them to consider HR40 and HR414. You can also sign this petition and email the White House to request President Biden create a commission on reparations by executive order.)

Now, in addition to Hood Feminism, which I'm still working on, I've got two challenges left for the year, neither of which I'm feeling super enthused about. Maybe my tune will change when I actually look at options, let's see.

📚📚📚

#23: Read a social horror, mystery, or thriller novel: NOT MY JAM! I'm going to read White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson, because I've read her stuff before and I like her, so maybe I'll like this, even though I'm a big baby and don't like horror stuff.

#24: Pick a challenge from any of the previous years' challenges to repeat: I don't know, maybe some people like this as a challenge option, but I don't. Just give me a challenge, don't make me pick my own from a previous challenge. Y'all came up with twenty-three, you couldn't come up with one more? 💤 Boring.

Okay, after a lot of soul searching and a nap, I've landed on challenge #18 from 2017: Read a superhero comic with a female lead. I'm going to read La Borinqueña by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. It was generously donated to my school library my first year there, and every time I see it on the shelf I want to check it out, so this seems like a good opportunity to finally do so.

And that's that, the last two challenges for the year! 

Ghost Squad - Claribel A. Ortega

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business.

Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout their hometown of St. Augustine, Florida. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late."

Middle Grade Mega Awesome Super Fantastic Massive Review Spree!

Clocking in at 237 pages, this book is blessedly on the short side for middle grade books with enticing storylines that I've come across. Hooray for telling a story that will capture the attention of kids who love ghost stories without making it 400+ pages! The blurb on the back compares it to "Coco meets Stranger Things with a hint of Ghostbusters," which is fairly apt. 

Ortega dives into the action almost immediately, so the story hooks you from the start, and the short timeline for when their town's ghost problem needs to be solved creates a sense of urgency that keeps you reading. I think that spooky story afficionados might find this one a bit tame, but for kids looking for something just a little on the scary side for Halloween it will be just right.

No One Leaves the Castle - Christopher Healy: Part 2

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover: 

"The Lilac. The bard songs say that she's the world's most fearsome bounty hunter. That there's no criminal she can't catch, no mystery she can't solve.

None of that is true. Yet.

In reality, the Lilac is just a kid, and the bard who wrote all that is her best friend, Dulcinetta. But when a priceless artifact goes missing from the home of famed monster hunter Baron Angbar, the Lilac and Netta see their chance to apprehend the thief and make a name for themselves.

When they get to Castle Angbar, however, and meet the Angbar family and their servants and guests - an unsavory group of nobles, mages, and assorted creatures, each more shady than the last - the Lilac begins to wonder if the reward is worth the trouble.

And that's before the dead body is discovered.

Now everyone is magically sealed inside the castle - and there is a murderer among them. If the Lilac wants to make it out with her reputation intact, it's going to be up to her to figure out who the killer is. But everyone in the castle - even the Lilac herself - has secrets to hide, and as the walls literally start to close in around them, the Lilac worries that her first job as a bounty hunter may be her last..."

Welcome back to the Middle Grade Mega Awesome Super Fantastic Massive Review Spree! I finally finished this, and I was definitely right that this book is less spooky, more silly, but that wasn't a bad thing. I thought Healy found a great balance between goofy moments and establishing a sense of urgency and a little bit of an ominous tone. I think the pace could have been stepped up a teensy bit (I've griped about this before - this book is almost 400 pages, please give me a middle grade fantasy that is shorter and snappier!), but as I got further in, things sped up enough that I think if a kid gave it a chance and got into it, they would get invested and want to find out what happens.

Aside from the Lilac and Netta giving everyone nicknames, which is something I also do and a detail I loved, I think my favorite thing about this book was all the red herrings. An embarrassment of red herrings! It was so fun! Which of these are real clues? Are any of them?! Did someone even actually steal the artifact? Or was this all some giant trick? In this book, nothing is as it seems and like the Lilac, you've got to keep your wits about you. It's a solid read, and I actually think it would be a good non-spooky fall/Halloween read. I give it a solid four stars, and I can't wait to recommend it to students once I get it added into my collection.

Scattered Showers - Rainbow Rowell

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a collection of nine short stories, some based in existing Rainbow Rowell worlds and some featuring new characters and places. All in all, I greatly enjoyed it! Individually, I definitely had my favorites. Shall we go story by story to hear my thoughts? We shall.

Midnights: Loved it. So cute. The flashback, the slow burn, the dance moves and jokes about allergic reactions. Just adorable.

Kindred Spirits: Pretty good! I think this one struck a chord with me because my first job was at a movie theater, so people camping out for a movie brought back memories. I thought the character development was impressive given the length of the story, it had some excellent reveals, and overall I really enjoyed it. 

Winter Songs for Summer: Oh, this one might have been my favorite. Benji is adorable - I love him, his weightlifting gloves, and his mixed CDs. It's set at the same college, so it makes sense, but it gave me big Fangirl vibes.

The Snow Ball: Looooook...this one fell off a bit for me. Maybe it was the pace? I didn't check page numbers, but it felt like one of, if not the, shortest, and it was all one scene, super heavy on dialogue. I just didn't see the chemistry between the characters. It felt forced.

If the Fates Allow: REAGAN! This is set in the Fangirl world, and I love Reagan, and I love it. I'd read most of it before, when it was initially released as a standalone short story, but Rowell expanded it a bit for Scattered Showers (either that or I totally deleted part of it from my brain?), and while it's kind of tough reading a very COVID-centric story while the majority of the Western world pretends it no longer exists and abandons those of us who still try to be safe to bear all the weight of the pandemic on our own, I still love Reagan, and I still love her story. And I love her for being so COVID-responsible!

The Prince and the Troll: Hahaaaaaa, this one drove Joel up a wall! Is it an allegory? Is it not? What is happening?! Nothing makes sense! I thought it was very entertaining and odd and fascinating. Was it maybe sponsored by Starbucks? Could be! Reading it definitely makes me want a coffee.

Mixed Messages: This is set in the world of Attachments, which lands solidly in the middle on my ranking of Rowell's books. I found the characters' ages slightly confusing - kind of assumed they were younger than they were until toward the end - but also thought it had some funny moments. Much like the novel the characters come from, middle of the road for me.

Snow for Christmas - SIMON SNOW, babyyyyy! I'll read anything with Basilton Pitch in it. I love him forever. And I thought this was a very sweet story. Have you read the Carry On series? If not, what the fuck are you waiting for? Get after it!

In Waiting - Last one, and oooooh, it was so interesting! Not only was I intrigued from the start, it really got me in a writing mood. Of course, I was reading this in bed to Joel before we went to sleep, so I did not actually write after reading it...but I wanted to, and that counts for something, right?

Starts and Finishes

Finishes and starts. New thing! Let's talk a little bit about a book I finished this week and a book I'm starting. (Dewey, this is a very transparent attempt to come up with a blog post because you're in such a reading slump and don't have anything to review! Yeah, I know it is. Leave me alone, I'm just trying to make it to fall break.)

This week, I finished reading How to Raise an Intuitive Eater, which I highly recommend to anyone who spends time in some capacity with young people, or is just curious to learn more about intuitive eating and how much better it is than fucking dieting and embracing diet culture.. Very informative, lots of great tools for changing how we think about food, dieting, and bodies and how we teach children to understand and care for themselves. Excellent book.

Also this week, I started reading How to Be You: Stop Trying to Be Someone Else and Start Living Your Life by Jeffrey Marsh. I adore Jeffrey Marsh, and I acquired this book a long time ago and have been meaning to read it, so we're diving in! So far, I've only gotten through the introduction and am already in love. I'm ready to dig in and discover what "zaps me in the heart," as he puts it. It's gonna be good.

September Read Harder update

SEPTEMBER? Is ENDING? I don't know how so much of this year is already over, someone must have sat on the remote and accidentally hit fast forward. Anyway, my books this month were Hood Feminism and Postcolonial Love Poem. I also bought a copy of Butcher by Natasha T. Miller, since poetry books are usually on the shorter side - does doubling up for this challenge compensate for refusing to read a DNF book? I say it does. I ended up reading Butcher before Postcolonial Love Poem - waiting on my hold from the library for that one. And I'm only about a quarter of the way through Hood Feminism, but WOW it is a must-read. 

As has been the case for months, I also continued to work my way (slowly, so slowly) through The 1619 Project. I'm in a bit of a reading slump, so it's a bit slower than it has been right now, but I'll pick back up soon, I'm sure.

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And now, October challenges. OCTOBER. Fuck. How?

#21: Read a book of short stories

As luck would have it, Joel chose a book of short stories for our next bedtime read after we finished two heartbreaking historical fiction novels, so I'm reading one now! Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell, here we go! Now I just need Joel to not work a million night shifts so we can finish it before the end of the year.

#22: Read any book from the Ignyte awards shortlist/longlist/winner list

Wow, I did not know what that award was! From their website:

"The Ignyte Awards began in 2020 alongside the inaugural FIYAHCON, a virtual convention centering the contributions and experiences of BIPOC in Speculative Fiction. Founded by L.D. Lewis and Suzan Palumbo, the awards were an attempt to correct representative gaps in traditional spec lit awards and have grown into a coveted and cherished addition to the awards landscape. The Ignytes seek to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy, and horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts toward inclusivity of the genre."

Pretty cool. I've already read the YA winners from 2020 (We Hunt the Flame) and 2021 (Legendborn), the middle grade winner from 2020 (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky), and a few of the runners up, which is a fun surprise! Now I'm torn between reading the 2021 middle grade winner, Ghost Squad or the 2022 YA winner, A Snake Falls to Earth. Or the 2020 middle grade winner, Root Magic. Again with the difficult choices! When in doubt, start with the first choice and proceed from there, it's worked before. So Ghost Squad it is, and then I'll read my way through the others! Should be fun.

No One Leaves the Castle - Christopher Healy

Welcome to the second review in the Middle Grade Mega Awesome Super Fantastic Massive Review Spree! Although I will fully admit I'm cheating, this is NOT actually a review of the book, because I just started reading it. But I thought I would pivot and try out a "first thoughts" thing - going into a book with no knowledge about what to expect and sharing my initial reactions after the first few chapters. 

(And if you're thinking "Dewey, you're clearly doing this because you don't have a book ready to review and you're desperate," then first of all, how dare you? And second of all, yes, OBVIOUSLY. But necessity is the mother of invention, or whatever the saying is.)

So, let's see how this goes, shall we? I'll start us off on the same footing, going into this with equal information with which to form a first impression. Let's take a look at the book cover.

So, maybe a little spooky? Mysterious vibes, for sure. I picked this thinking it would maybe make a good semi-spooky book to add to my school library after I finished it, hopefully just in time for fall/Halloween. My students are always begging for more spooky books, so very first impression, this seems like a promising potential new option for them - probably not GENUINELY scary, but spooky, wandering-through-the-woods-late-at-night-with-nothing-but-the-light-of-the-moon-to-guide-you vibes.

In a complete reversal, based on the first couple pages, this actually seems like a tongue-in-cheek, funny take on what typically might be a spooky story. Case in point, our omniscient narrator:

"Unfortunately for Gribbinsnood Flornt, he was looking to get out of [a mystery].He was not a fan of mystery. Mystery went hand in hand with the Unknown, and Flornt was happiest when he knew exactly what would happen next. (Personally, I also love knowing things. It's the whole reason I became a narrator - narrators know everything.)"

I immediately highlighted that (with a removable tab, because I'm putting this in my school library. I only write in books I'm keeping for personal library), because it really tickled me. So...maybe not scary? Maybe a little cheeky and one-liner-y. This was further confirmed when "The Lilac," a 14-year-old girl trying to break into the bounty hunter game by hiring a fledgling bard to sing of her great deeds and convince people to hire her, contemplates the many pubs she has been inside, such as the Stumpy Boarhound and the Hairless Pidgeon, and then observes that as a general rule, "the stranger the name, the rowdier and more dangerous the pub." Again, not scary, although I will be stealing this general rule for my DnD campaign.

And speaking of DnD, while this book has moved pretty decidedly away from the "spooky" category for me, it DOES give me strong Dungeons & Dragons vibes, and I am very on board with that. I don't have quite as many students clamoring for these types of stories as I do for scary ones, but I ran a DnD class for a bunch of students last year, so several of them have gotten more interested in adventuring stories. Based on what I've read so far, I think they'll enjoy this one.

The Kingdom Over the Sea - Zohra Nabi

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"'My Own Yara,

If you are reading this, then something terrible has happened. And you are on your own. To return to the city of Zehaira, you must read out the words on the back of this letter...Good luck, my brave girl.'

When twelve-year-old Yara's mother passes away, she leaves behind a letter and a strange set of instructions. Yara must travel from the home she has always known to a place that is not on any map - Zehaira, a world of sorcerers, alchemists, and simmering magic. But Zehaira is not the land it used to be. The practice of magic has been outlawed, the Sultan's alchemists are plotting a sinister scheme, and the answers Yara is searching for seem to be out of reach. Yara must summon all her courage to discover the truth about her mother's past and her own identity...and to find her place in this magical new world."

Could this be the start of a Middle Grade Mega Awesome Super Fantastic Massive Review Spree? It's possible! Prepare yourselves for an imminent onslaught, just in case. Batten down the hatches, cover your windows with planks of wood, hide in the bathtub. Whatever it is people do in inclement weather. It's a middle grade monsoon! (See, this works because it could be torrential rain that leads to flooding, or it could be a Phoenix monsoon where this whole paragraph is the humidity building up, and then...no rain. Just this lone review. Guess we'll see which it is.)

Anyway, this book was solid! It went by sneakily fast - I was really surprised when I realized I was coming up on the last few chapters - so this will probably be a brief review, since it was such a whirlwind of a read. I enjoyed the world, but we got such a small glimpse of it and so little detail into why some things were the way they were that rather than feeling invested in it, I was left wanting more detail. Not a bad thing, I would read more books set in the world to get that detail! But I wish there was a touch more time spent on the worldbuilding.

For me, the strongest part of the book was the characters. Yara was determined, clever, and stubborn, her relationships with some of the secondary characters she comes across (trying not to give spoilers or I would be more specific!) develop so well and tugged at heartstrings. Some of these relationships also did a great job of building suspense and making me want to keep reading so I could figure out what was going on. And even minor characters drew me in so immediately that I was excited for any mention of them. Very impressive character development! They were the best part of the world, for sure.

As for the plot...solid. It's hard to get more into it without spoilers, but if you like magic, battling evil, and unraveling mysteries, this might be up your alley. Check it out!

(Also, the cover is very pretty, had to throw it out there.)

The Storyteller - Kathryn Williams

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"It's not every day you discover you might be related to Anastasia Romanov...or that the tragic princess actually survived her assassination attempt and has been living as the woman you know as Aunt Anna. 

For Jess Morgan, who is growing tired of living her life to please everyone else, discovering her late aunt's diaries shows her she's not the only one struggling to hide who she really is. But was her aunt truly a Russian princess? Or is this some elaborate hoax? 

With the help of a supremely dorky but undeniably cute local college student named Evan, Jess digs into the century-old mystery. But soon Jess realizes there's another, bigger truth waiting to be revealed: Jess Morgan. Because if she's learned anything from Aunt Anna, it's that only you can write your own story."

I tell you what, I've really been diving into books about things I hyperfixated on when I was younger lately. Did I forget I had this one because it ended up at the bottom of a stack of middle grade books I'm planning to read soon instead of somewhere safe with the rest of my library books? Yes. Is that relevant? No. Give me all the Titanic books, all the Romanov books...Bookie Monster needs them! 

This book had a very interesting premise for me. Instead of a historical fiction following Anastasia or theorizing what happened, it's almost present day and one of her grand (great grand?) nieces discovers Anastasia's hidden journals while cleaning out her attic years after she has died. They're written in Russian, so Jess has to hire a translator, and the pair of them end up spending most of their free time trying to unravel the mystery of the journals. Was Jess's Aunt Anna really the long-lost princess Anastasia? And if so, how did she escape the firing squad that killed the rest of her family and end up living in a small town in New Hampshire?

I wish that Jess had been a little closer with Aunt Anna before she died and her secret was subsequently uncovered, instead of barely having a relationship with her prior to discovering her journals, but that's a nitpicky gripe. Other than that, I really enjoyed the way Anna's story unraveled. Such a rollercoaster of discoveries, and my nerdy librarian heart loved all the stones Evan and Jess thought to turn in their quest for the truth. Research...I love it.

As far as the non-Anastasia parts of the story...it was fine. Everything felt a little underdeveloped, which I guess is understandable given that the main focus was on figuring out what was up with Anna's history, but I wish there had been a little more polish applied. Example: Jess has two best friends, and one is periodically brought up and once texts her, but outside of that we never see him. Why include him, then? That was an odd choice to me, and it kind of read like periodically the author went "oops, forgot I had established that she has this other friend, better throw his name in somewhere!"

My biggest gripe is that a big part of the non-Anastasia plot is drama surrounding Jess's boyfriend and best friend (the one who actually IS in the book!) not liking each other, which, fine...but frankly, her boyfriend sucks and is completely unlikable, so the whole time I was just like Jess, girl...dump his ass? It reminded me of movies like How Do You Know, where there's a love triangle and the main character is like oh no, who do I choose, help, this is an impossible decision! Buuuuut one of the love interests is an irredeemable sack of garbage and the other is a shining beacon of how humans should treat each other. Wow, who could ever decide between the two?! I'm begging for just one reason why Jess would actually want to date him.

Complaints aside, it was a solid read. I really liked Katie, Jess's best friend ,and thought Evan was the most adorable goofy polyglot nerd. We only see them once, if I recall correctly, but I also adored Evan's friend group. And honestly, I found the Anastasia storyline strong enough that I think I would have enjoyed this regardless of what happened outside of that. I could not put it down last night - I was playing Among Us with my family and was literally sneaking in paragraphs in the 15-20 seconds between games. Compelling! 

August Read Harder update

August books, here we go! Y'all, I love graphic novel challenges, I tell you what. I read both El Deafo and Just Roll With It (all of Just Roll With It on vacation when I couldn't sleep!), and they were both excellent. I also got to read a bit about how the artwork for Just Roll With It got put together, which was fascinating. Graphic novels, so cool! Woe betide anyone who besmirches graphic novels to me.

As noted, A Broken Blade was doubled up as my book club's August book, so it was basically guaranteed that I was going to finish it on time, although I will admit to cutting it close. It was a great read, though, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

I'm still working away at The 1619 Project, too. We'll get there!

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September challenges, already? Maybe this quarter of school will fly by as fast as summer did!

#19: Read a non-fiction book about intersectional feminism - well good golly, how specific. The top result when I was searching for options was We Should All Be Feminists, which I've read...but which also is not super intersectional, given that Ngozi Adichie is anti trans and has spouted some gross TERFy stuff. There are a lot of actually good options, though, and narrowing down to one was harder than I expected! I ended up going with Hood Feminism, since it's been on my TBR for a bit, but this is going to be a topic I need to explore and read about more.

#20: Read a book of poetry by a BIPOC or queer author - I meaaaaaan, in the spirit of the last challenge, why not both? Again, hard to narrow this down to one! Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz immediately caught my eye, but so did Butcher by Natasha T. Miller, Black Queer Hoe by Britteney Black Rose Kapri, and Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans. And Nothing is Okay by Rachel Wiley has roller skates on the cover! How do you say no to that? Honestly, I had to just stop looking at options after a bit or the list of options would have gotten too long to narrow down. Help! I'm just going to start with the first one and try to read as many as I can. Problem avoided.

Peek at my bookshelf!

New school year starting, lots going on, and I've recently acquired some new books that I'm excited about, so I figured as a break from book reviews, why not take a little peek at some of the additions to my TBR shelf? Who doesn't love a shelfie? (Rhetorical question. If you don't love shelfies, sorry. It's still shelfie time.)

Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston - The story of Cudjo Lewis, Clotilda survivor and the last living person enslaved in the United States. I haven't read Zora Neale Hurston since college, and I don't know if "looking forward to it" is the right descriptor for this book, exactly, but I do look forward to learning more about the actual history of the United States and unlearning the whitewashed BS I learned in high school.

Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith - I'm currently reading How to Raise an Intuitive Eater, which was recommended to me by a friend, and a family member recommended this one, so...looking forward to reading it next! Fuck diet culture!

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury - Aladdin retelling? HELL YEAH. I'm still holding out for a queer retelling, but this will do nicely in the meantime.

The Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar - Oh hey, I didn't even realize when I picked this out that I had read another of Shveta Thakrar's books, Star Daughter. I reviewed it on here and gave it three stars, which I was a little surprised at when I went back to see if I had. That was before I started rating based on multiple factors, though - I think if I had been using my new system it would have been higher. Anyway, that book had a gorgeous cover, this book's cover is equally beautiful, and it's a fantasy about dream runners, who harvest mortal dreams for the naga court. Can't wait!

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis - Oooooooooh, I'm thinking this is going to end up a book club book. It's set in the US during the Progressive Era and follows a wealthy Black family in the United States, based on the true story of a man named C. R. Patterson. I don't think I've ever come across a book like this before, particularly set in this time period? Also, the cover is just...so good.

I love it like this, but in person it's even better - shiny and gold and just beautiful.

The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta - Fantasy about a dreamer named Indir who has prophetic dreams and a seer named Saya who hasn't been formally trained as a Dreamer but is used by her mother to make money and is, seemingly, on the run from something. This was a runner-up for Read Harder challenge #17, read a YA book by an Indigenous author, and it might also need to be a book club book! (Also, another entry to the beautiful book cover club!)

Cafe con Lychee by Emery Lee - You already know what I'm going to say. I love the cover of this book! Honestly, it's a truth universally acknowledged that if there's a book I've fallen head-over-heels in love with, that love affair started with its cover. Two high school boys whose family own feuding food establishments join forces when a new fusion restaurant threatens both shops. (This author also wrote Meet Cute Diary, which has been on my TBR for.ev.er. so shame on me for getting this one before I read that one, but here we are. The book heart wants what it wants.)

Now...anyone want to take bets on how long it will take me to actually read all of these? 🤣

Chain-Gang All-Stars - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of the Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly popular, highly controversial profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators, and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.

In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death matches before packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, Thurwar considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games. But CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo, and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences.

Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors, to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means..."

I don't even know what to say about this book. It popped up on my radar and I ordered it, and then I kept seeing people talking about it, so I was like okay, need to read this right away. We decided to read it for our book club in July, I took it with me on vacation, and vacation basically became "how much time can I spend reading without garnering complaints" time until I finished it. At which point I traded reading time for thinking about what I just read time, because I can't get it out of my head. 

I read this shortly after Rust in the Root, and while they are totally different stories, both books blend fiction and reality in incredible and compelling ways. CAPE is fictional, but the underlying truths that led to its creation and acceptance in the book are very much a reality, and Adjei-Brenyah also includes footnotes throughout the book sharing facts about the prison industrial complex in the United States, which were very enlightening about the reality of our penal system. I also thought he did a brilliant job of humanizing the characters who were forced into the CAPE program and highlighting the way our "justice" system actively works to dehumanize people.

And speaking of humanizing the characters...THE CHARACTERS. They were so good. Love them or hate them, they were all so well-developed and realistic. I mean...Staxxx is officially on my list of favorite characters of all time. I read a lot of books, usually like nine or ten of them at a time, and there's always a new one waiting in the wings to rotate in after I finish something, so while it's not like I finish a book and then am like "deleted from my brain, I will never think of you again," it is pretty unusual for me to actively and regularly continue thinking about something for days after I read it. I'm a week out from finishing this one, and at least a couple of times a day I catch myself thinking about Staxxx's story and her ending or remembering key moments from the book and reflecting on them. There are still five months left in 2023, so I suppose something could come along and unseat it, but as of right now, this is the best book I've read this year. Incredible. Thought-provoking. Important. Go read it.

When You Wish Upon a Star - Elizabeth Lim

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight...so begins the wish that changes everything - for Geppetto, for the Blue Fairy, and for a little puppet named Pinocchio. The Blue Fairy isn't supposed to grant wishes in the small village of Pariva, but something about this one awakens some long-buried flicker within. Perhaps it's the hope she senses beneath the old man's loneliness.

Or maybe it's the fact that long ago, before she was the Blue Fairy, she was a young woman named Chiara from this very village, one with a simple wish: to help others find happiness. Her sister Ilaria always teased her for this, for she had big dreams to leave their sleepy village and become a world-renowned opera singer. The two were close, despite their differences. While Ilaria would give anything to have a fairy grant her wish, Chiara didn't believe in the lore for which their village was famous.

Forty years later, Chiara, now the Blue Fairy, defies the rules of magic to help an old friend. But she's discovered by the Scarlet Fairy, formerly Ilaria, who, amid a decades-long grudge, holds the transgression against her sister. They decide to settle things through a good old-fashioned bet, with Pinocchio and Geppetto's fate hanging in the balance.

Will the sisters find a way back to one another? Or is this, like many matters of the heart, a gamble that comes with strings?"

Well, you've read the synopsis. Which means you've basically read the whole book. Chiara (sorry, the Blue Fairy) grants Geppetto's wish, makes the deal with Ilaria, and then we spend way too long learning the way too simple backstory of how Chiara became the good Blue Fairy and Ilaria became the big bad Scarlet Fairy. Like 90% of the book follows Chiara's decision to join the fairies and Ilaria resenting her for it and being a child about it, until she ultimately gives up her heart and becomes the Scarlet Fairy to spite her sister. Fine, but also...kind of weak as far as reasons to literally remove your heart from your chest with the intention to destroy it go.

Even when we eventually get to the action, things are kind of inconsistent and lackluster. Maybe if you're super into Pinocchio this book would be up your alley. I am not, and I found it to be solidly middle of the road. I finished it. There's that.

July Read Harder update

Another month, another update. My ambitious goal was to finish four books: The 1619 Project, Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds, These Violent Delights, and Flip the Script. Did I do it?

No. No, I did not do it. Still working my way through The 1619 Project. It is not a book you blaze through. I did complete my other three challenge books though (sort of. You'll see.), and I'm working my way through this one.

Amira & Hamza: done. Overall, I liked it. I thought the Big Bad could have been a little bigger and badder, but otherwise, solid middle grade story. It isn't much longer than this, but ICYMI you can read my review of it here.

These Violent Delights, whew. I actually had to sub in Travelers Along the Way by Aminah Mae Safi because, while I am enjoying These Violent Delights, there are some ick elements that badly trigger a phobia I have to the point where just sitting here typing this is making me feel vomit-y. I'm still going to read it, but I have to do so very slowly, so I figured tagging another book in for this challenge, since I already had a few options I had been trying to choose from, was better than just slowly chipping away at it for however long it takes me to get through. Travelers Along the Way, I'm happy to report, did not make me queasy! It was a great read, an interesting spin on Robin Hood and fascinating to read more about the history of that area of the world. (Update: Squeaked finishing These Violent Delights in too! It was solid. Gross, but solid.)

Flip the Script was cute. It took on a serious topic, but overall was an easy read with a nice ending. I enjoyed it! Very hopeful, sweet main characters. Two thumbs up.

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So...August books? (I almost forgot I needed to pick August books. Whew.) Challenges seventeen and eighteen.

#17: Read a YA book by an Indigenous author. In a fun twist, I just got a couple YA books by Indigenous authors to read with my book club! I'll be doubling up and reading A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair for this challenge and with my book club.

#18: Read a comic or graphic novel that features disability representation. I'm picking two for this one - El Deafo by Cece Bell and Just Roll with It by Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie. I know the Deaf community doesn't consider Deafness a disability, so I was on the fence about including that one, but I recommend it a lot at school so I want to read it anyway. So...there you go! August books!

Rust in the Root - Justina Ireland

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided - between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology - otherwise known as Mechomancy - not the traditional mystical arts.

Laura disagrees. A talented young queer mage from Pennsylvania, Laura hopped a portal to New York City on her seventeenth birthday with hopes of earning her mage's license. Laura applies for a job with the Bureau of the Arcane's Conservation Corps, a branch of the US government dedicated to repairing the damage caused by the Great Rust, and meets the Skylark, a powerful mage with a mysterious past who reluctantly takes Laura on as an apprentice. But as they're sent off on their first mission together, they discover evidence of mystical workings not encountered since the darkest period in America's past, when Black mages were killed for their power - secrets that could threaten their lives and everything they've worked for."

AHHHHHH WOW. I picked this book kind of on a whim for my YA book club, not sure how it would go, and I am so glad it ended up on my radar because it is incredible. I literally just finished it and am still reeling a bit from my journey, so I'm going to give myself a moment to process and then come back and try to review it properly.

Okay, I've taken some time, and I'm here to tell you that I'm still thinking about this book, almost a week after I finished it. The way Justina Ireland weaves magic and fantasy elements into history is masterful, and the subterfuge and plot twists had me on the edge of my seat the entire book. Peregrine and Skylark had me rooting for them right away, and while I had a hard time letting my guard down about anyone else, I couldn't help but love Grimalken, Crystal, etc. The characters, the worldbuilding, the storytelling...out of this world. 

Also, the number of just...MASTERFUL lines in this book. Have you ever read a book and been constantly torn between "This is so gripping, I cannot stop reading" and "holy shit, I need to write this line down NOW because it is amazing"? Read this book and you will have. It felt like every page or two there was a sentence that had me reaching for a pen. I already said that the weaving of reality and fantasy was A+, but seriously, the way Ireland used the tension between the Possibilities and Mechomancy as commentary on real-world conflicts...chef's kiss.

Please read this book. It's so good.

Grand Canyon Reader nominees!

My favorite part of each school year is talking about that year's Grand Canyon Reader nominees with my students and then seeing which books they vote for throughout the voting period. I love trying to guess which titles will be popular, and while sometimes I'm right on the money, there are always one or two surprise frontrunners that I never would have expected. I've been trying to read as many nominees as I can in order to make more informed guesses, so I'm going to put share lists of nominees for each category and see how many books from each list I can read this school year. Let's start with...picture books!

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Cat Problems by Jory John

Change Sings by Amanda Gorman

Fatima's Great Outdoors by Ambreen Tariq

Flashlight Night by Elisabeth Hasselbeck

I Don't Want to Read This Book by Max Greenfield

Nina by Traci N. Todd

Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler

Tomatoes for Neela by Padma Lakshmi

What's Inside a Flower? by Rachel Ignotofsky

Note: This is a fake booklist being used to help my students practice evaluating information found online. For an accurate list of Grand Canyon Reader nominees, you can find the award website here.

Key Player - Kelly Yang

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"The Women's World Cup is coming to Anaheim, and everyone has soccer fever - especially Mia! The US team is playing China in the finals, and Mia feels like her two identities are finally coming together. But when her PE teacher gives her a C, Mia tries to pull up her grade by scoring interviews with the championship teams. It's not so easy when...

1. The two teams are hunkered down in secret hotels in Pasadena and not taking any media requests.

2. Mr. Yao is back at the motel - as a co-owner! Jason is sure his dad deserves a second chance. Mia is not so sure.

3. Mia's parents are trying to buy a house of their very own, which turns out to be a LOT harder than they thought!

As Mia aims for her goals, she'll have to face strikers from all corners, as well as her own fears. But if anyone can find a way to win big, it's Mia Tang!"

An excellent end to an excellent series! While it still has its serious moments, it was pretty fun reading about Mia giving soccer a try, sleuthing out where the US and Chinese soccer teams were staying, and ultimately getting to meet both teams. I also really enjoyed her, Lupe, and Jason all have their own plotlines running through the main story. All four books spent time on Mia's friends, but I thought this one did an especially good job of sharing the spotlight, and getting some extra time with some of my favorite side characters before wrapping up the series was a nice way to go out.

Since this is wrapping up a four-book series, I figured instead of a long review, I'll answer a few book discussion questions instead.

Question 1: What did you like best about this series?

Mia, Lupe, and Jason's determination. I love the way they use their voices to push for change and fight for their dreams. Even when the adults who should be encouraging them (looking at you, racist ass school counselor!) tear them down, they push back and advocate for themselves.

Question 2: Which other character would make an interesting protagonist?

Oh, I would 1000% read a dual narrative with Mia's parents! I would also love a book about Shen or Mia's grandparents.

Question 3: What do you think of the books' titles? Are there other titles you would have chosen?

I really enjoyed the way the titles tied in to important moments/themes from each book. Front Desk is a title that becomes more heartwarming with every book you read, since working the desk at the motel is such an important thing for Mia. When the Three Keys title significance was revealed, I actually "awwed" out loud. Room to Dream could basically be the series title, it's what Mia's journey is all about. And Key Player could refer to Mia, but it could also refer to Lupe, fighting for her school's Math team or to Jason, standing up for himself with his dad and following his dreams. Such poignant title choices, I love them all.

The Canyon's Edge - Dusti Bowling

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Nora's birthday marks the one-year anniversary of the worst day of her life. To distract them both from the memories of the horrible shooting that killed Nora's mom, her dad surprises her with a trip to explore a slot canyon deep in the Arizona desert. But in the twisting, winding depths, the unthinkable happens. Suddenly, Nora finds herself lost,

alone,

at the bottom of a canyon,

in the middle of a desert.

Separated from her supplies, she faces dehydration, venomous scorpions, deadly snakes, and, worst of all, the Beast who has terrorized her dreams for the last year. To save herself and her father, Nora must conquer her fears - and outsmart the canyon's dangers."

Oh my god. This book. It's a bit long for a middle grade book, just over three hundred pages, but after part one (about thirty pages in) it shifts to being a novel written in verse and is a pretty quick read. (I read it in less than a day, but I also could not put it down.) It is a beautiful book - different blends of poetry styles, incorporating images, just...so evocative.

We see a bit of Nora's dad in the book, but for most of it the reader is alone with Nora. Through her reflection and flashbacks, we get to know more about her parents, her best friend, and another woman who was involved in the shooting when Nora lost her mom. I was impressed with how well-developed her friendship with Danielle and her connection with both her parents were, given that we pretty exclusively get to know each of them through Nora's memories. Solid writing.

I was also blown away by the atmosphere Dusti Bowling created in this book. Setting the scene, building up tension and fear, generating a sense of urgency...maybe it's because I spend a lot of time hiking in the desert, just started getting back into rock climbing after not doing it since I was a teenager, and, like Nora, am terrified of heights, but I was biting my nails this entire book. There was one point in particular, after Nora's encounter with a bark scorpion, where I was terrified out of my mind for her. Just incredible. If you, like me, enjoy the occasional stressful surviving-in-nature realistic fiction, I highly recommend picking this one up.

Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds - Samira Ahmed

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"On the day of a rare super blue blood moon eclipse, twelve-year-old Amira and her little brother, Hamza, can’t stop their bickering while attending a special exhibit on medieval Islamic astronomy. While stargazer Amira is wowed by the amazing gadgets, a bored Hamza wanders off, stumbling across the mesmerizing and forbidden Box of the Moon. Amira can only watch in horror as Hamza grabs the defunct box and it springs to life, setting off a series of events that could shatter their world—literally.

Suddenly, day turns to night, everyone around Amira and Hamza falls under a sleep spell, and a chunk of the moon breaks off, hurtling toward them at lightning speed, as they come face-to-face with two otherworldly creatures: jinn.

The jinn reveal that the siblings have a role to play in an ancient prophecy. Together, they must journey to the mystical land of Qaf, battle a great evil, and end a civil war to prevent the moon—the stopper between realms—from breaking apart and unleashing terrifying jinn, devs, and ghuls onto earth. Or they might have to say goodbye to their parents and life as they know it, forever.…"

 This was a quick read and I didn't take many notes, so it's going to be a short review. Character development was mostly solid - I really enjoyed Amira and Hamza's relationship, and I thought the two Jinn that brought them to Qaf were both great and balanced each other out well. I did feel like development was frontloaded and the characters that appeared early were fleshed out really well, while then development got skimpy as the book went on, but I suppose that's to be expected...there were just a couple cases where the reader got strangely little given the importance of their role in the story.

I thought the adventure started out very strong, with high stakes and a time crunch. But again, it seemed like partway through the book that fell off a little. Almost like "ope, this book is getting too long, gotta wrap it up!" I was much more engrossed in the earlier challenges than I was in the last couple of Big Deal final challenges - no spoilers, but when they came up against the big bad, I thought maybe it was a fake out because it seemed too easy given all the buildup to it. That said, it was still a good story, and I think my students would get into it. Adding it to my school library, for sure!

June Read Harder update

First update of the summer! Reading a cookbook and reading a history book. One of those continues to  make a lot more sense to me than the other. I DID successfully read my vegetarian Mexican food cookbook cover to cover, though, and I've got a few recipes saved to try. Did I gain anything from it that I wouldn't have gained by just looking through the index for things that sounded good? No. But hey, all it cost me was some time. As far as my history book, The 1619 Project is pretty hefty, and I don't want to rush through it to say that I did it, so after recognizing that I decided to swap in one of the books I had planned for July and keep working on The 1619 Project next month.

The book I swapped was The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling, which I chose for challenge 13, read an author local to you. Dusti Bowling has been on my radar for longer than I'd care to think about, and The Canyon's Edge is a nominee for the 2024 Grand Canyon Reader award, so not only did I finally read one of her books, but it's also a book I plan on book talking with my students next school year. Now I'm more prepared for that! I'm planning to write a full review for it, so I'll just say here that I thought it was excellent. For a good chunk of it, I was even live texting my husband what was happening. Great read!

📗📙📘📙📗

Now, July challenges! I decided to pick extra since I'll have more time over the summer, and if I don't finish them all, at least I'll have them picked out and ready for August.

#14: Read a book with under 500 Goodreads ratings

To my shock, Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds has fewer than 500 ratings! I've had this book sitting in my Read This Then Add It To the Library pile for a very long time, so it looks like July is the month to knock books of my BILF (Books I'd Like to Finish) list. Amira & Hamza, here we come.

#15: Read a historical fiction book set in an Eastern country

Oooh, this was a hard one for me to narrow down...I don't know if this really counts as a historical fiction, but I'm going with These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong. In an ongoing theme, I have it on my BILF shelf in our front room, and I've been waiting forever to read it, so I'm going for it. I've got a couple of other options I'm planning to request from the library as backups in case I get started and decide it isn't historical fiction-y enough, but I think it'll be a good choice.

#16: Read a romance with bisexual representation

Okay, I'm going to need the ability to filter further than "LGBTQIA" on my BILF list, because it's really time-consuming to look through every book on my list to see if it has bi representation. Plus, more importantly, while it's great to have so much queer representation in books, when everything queer falls under one umbrella, it may look like great representation but it ends up being great representation for a few groups and a book here or there for others. Anyway, I'll be reading Flip the Script by Lyla Lee.

Room to Dream - Kelly Yang

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"After years of hard work, Mia Tang finally gets to go on vacation with her family - to China! A total dream come true! Mia can't wait to see all her cousins and grandparents again, especially her cousin Shen. As she roams around Beijing, witnessing some of the big changes China's going through, Mia thinks about the changes in her own life, like...

1. Lupe's taking classes at the high school! And Mia's own plans to be a big writer are...stuck.

2. Something happened with Jason and Mia has no idea what to do about it.

3. New buildings are popping up all around the motel, and small businesses are disappearing.

Can the Calivista survive? Buckle up! Mia is more determined than ever to get through the turbulence, now that she finally has...room to dream!"

Book three in the Front Desk series! Front Desk and Three Keys both got rave reviews from me, and Room to Dream will be no different. In previous books, we've seen Mia take on a racist boss exploiting his workers, fight against racist policies being enacted by the government, and take on big businesses threatening her family's motel. Her ingenuity and determination hasn't dimmed in this book, and I love getting to watch her evolve and change as she gets older, seeing the ways she continues to think creatively and problem solve when things get challenging instead of throwing up her hands and giving up. 

Another thing I love about Mia is her commitment to being true to herself and her integrity. She goes through some rough patches with her friends in this book, and although she struggles to know what to do at first (of course, because she's a preteen and is still learning and growing), but when she realizes what she has done wrong, she actively apologizes and looks for ways to repair those relationships. Saying sorry and making amends is something many adults struggle with, so seeing it modeled in a middle grade book is a beautiful thing. Let's all commit to be like Mia and refuse to put our own comfort over acknowledging when we're in the wrong! 

I know this is a lot of Mia adoration, but I can't help it. Kelly Yang creates such beautiful characters, even though I wanted to talk more about the plot and my appreciation for a storyline about someone figuring out where and how they fit into both their cultures, sometimes I just can't help but rave about a main character instead. I love everything about Kelly Yang's writing, and I think this series is great and full of important life lessons. Three down, one book to go! I can't wait.