All Quiet on the Western Front

   All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is a historical fiction novel covering the first world war. The story is seen through the eyes of Paul Bäumer, a young solider in the German army, who volunteered the military with his school class after hearing the 'patriotic' speeches of his teacher, Kantorek.  As a solider in the German army himself, Remarque takes the reader through a soldiers experience through the war.  Along with Paul, and his friends, Kat, Kropp, Müller (and more), the novel narrates the soldiers emotional, mental, and physical, stress while fighting along the Western Front as the war unfolds and its eventual end.  

    I first learned about All Quiet on the Western Front after hearing about the novel during the WW I unit in World History last year. That being said, I picked up this book around late July and it was definitely  worth the read. Remarque's writing really makes the reader feel for the soldiers throughout the book and it was hard to put down. The novel has a more sad and serious tone, but it brings such a powerful messaging throughout it. Remarque's intention throughout the novel was not to tell a story of as if it was an adventure but to tell the story of the generation of men that was impacted and as he writes who were destroyed by the war. Following the journey of Paul and his fellow comrades on the Western Front and through the shelling and the trenches and even briefly to the civilian world expanded my view surrounding the topic of war making this book worthwhile. 

    I highly recommend reading All Quiet on the Western Front as the novel is full of great characters as well as deeply constructed themes and descriptions that takes the reader through a war that was burdening for so many.

 

Where Futures End

Blog Contributor: Rhiana Boutot

No, this isn't the superhero story. Where Futures End, by Parker Peevyhouse, is a novel full of five stories from five people from different times. It shows the full story of two worlds, one falling further into destruction and its possible savior fantasy land, with one destined ending.

My reading theme for this summer seems to be multi-POV books because this story is yet another one. However, it is different from One of Us Is Lying and its sequel; this book tells five different stories, all from different times and people, with one thing that connects them all. Tommy Wallach calls this book, "One of the most ambitious YA novels I've ever read," and I think that's because of the different points of view. It is extremely ambitious, but Peevyhouse pulls it off.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I felt about this book. On one hand, I loved most of the perspectives because of how well-written they were. The book was very interesting in the way that it was mostly a comment on climate change and society's obsession with social media. I think that is what helped make the book so unique because I've never read a book that mixed and intertwined those two concepts. Then I got to the second to last story, and I don't know if it was because I was burnt out from reading for four hours, but I just did not enjoy that story as much. The book was very suspenseful and I thought the story concepts were unique, but one con of the multiple stories is the very limited character development each character got. Though, one could argue that adds to the charm of the book. Overall, the book was well-written, but the writing wasn't consistent till the end.

One qualm I had with the book was how the character in the fourth story seemed to blame everything that went wrong on China. I understand it makes sense in the context of that story, but it felt disingenuine to me. It was full of stereotypical dystopian things that I don't think were extremely necessary. I think Peevyhouse tried too hard to make a grungy, edgy story but it just didn't feel genuine. The fourth story was a little off-putting, and I know the book as a whole would've been much more likable if the fourth story didn't feel so forced.

Don't let this discourage you from reading the book, however. Peevyhouse made a very ambitious novel full of very different stories that ranged from fantasy to techno-dystopian to a climate-changed wasteland. The novel as a whole was very suspenseful full of (mostly) likable characters, and I would encourage any fan of YA novels to read this unique book.

One of Us Is Next

Blog Contributor: Rhiana Boutot

One of Us Is Next, by Karen M. McManus, is the sequel to the book featured in my last blog: One of Us Is Lying. We revisit Bayview High only to find another deadly mystery has fallen upon this town. This time, read along as we watch the mystery unfold through Maeve, Phoebe, and Knox's perspectives.

I'm going to be honest, I didn't like this book as much as the last one. Although I still thought this book was entertaining and I liked certain aspects of this book more, I didn't think One of Us Is Lying needed a sequel. This story, while still good, felt more like a cash grab than anything. The ending of the sequel was easier to guess if you paid attention to the clues, and while that feels rewarding because you could solve the mystery, it takes away from some of the magic in the first book, where the reveal is completely out of nowhere. I also didn't enjoy the cliffhanger McManus left us on, but more on that later... Don't let this discourage you from reading the book, though, because the story is still the exciting mystery McManus is known for.

One thing I liked more about the sequel than the first book was the use of POV changes. In the first book, I didn't notice/pay attention to when the POV changed because I didn't think they added anything to the story. However, in this sequel, McManus uses these POV changes to her advantage. In the book, if something important happens to one of the main characters, the POV will switch right before the important event happens and another character will describe what happens; McManus uses the other characters' POVs to show the event, rather than tell us what is happening.

If you read One of Us Is Lying, I encourage you to read the sequel not only to read another thrilling mystery, but to also revisit the characters you loved from the first book from time to time (and to find new characters you'll grow to love). I also believe McManus is coming out with a third book to this series in 2023, so be sure to look out for that! I know I can't wait for the next book; I didn't love the cliffhanger at the end of this book and I need to know how it all ends.

One of Us Is Lying

Blog Contributor: Rhiana Boutot

One of Us Is Lying, by Karen M. McManus, is not your typical murder mystery. It follows four Bayview High students after they've been accused of one of their classmates murder. Read along as we watch the story unfold through Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate's different perspectives.

I've been writing for this blog since my freshman year, and I'm about to be a junior (oh how time flies!), yet I can't believe I haven't written about a mystery yet! They are my favorite genre, and this book is truly hard to beat if you are looking for a more contemporary piece still chock-full of twists and turns. At this point, I've probably reread this book four times, yet every time I come back to read it, I find new surprises and clues. McManus is very clever when it comes to foreshadowing. I also really enjoy the ending of this book and how you don't see it coming. My younger sister read this story after I had told her how much I enjoyed it, and she did not expect the ending at all.

One reason I absolutely adore this book is the fact that it's set in a high school; the book is filled with high school drama - although it is a little dramatized - and it makes the characters' consequences feel much more real. Most mysteries I enjoy come from Agatha Christie (hello, Murder on the Orient Express?), Dan Brown and The DaVinci Code, or even simple Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet one thing these stories have in common is, for lack of a better word, their "oldness." These stories are all wonderful, but they don't feel relatable to me, a 16 year-old high school student. That's why I love One of Us Is Lying so much, it follows high school students who are a little more relatable than world-renowned detectives. I'm not saying a book has to be relatable in order to be an enjoyable story, but I personally enjoy books more when I can create connections between myself and the characters I read about. 

If you are into mysteries (especially murder mysteries!), or you are looking for a fast-paced thriller, this book is the perfect read. It's full of twists and surprises, and even some romance for the people out there who love to read about love (myself included). McManus did a wonderful job at creating a story that has something everyone would like.

This book has a sequel, One of Us Is Next, so expect a blog about it soon!

Reading Next... Joy Luck Club, reread!

 

The Joy Luck Club is always a popular choice title when we read for small group book clubs.  Each year, while my classes are reading from any where between 4-8 titles, I usually choose 1 or 2 to closely reread, at least half way through.  

It's been a while since I chose The Joy Luck Club as my reread.  I love this book, and in the 2018-2019 academic year, it reminded me so much of my mother who had recently passed away, there was no way I could grab the title and read it.  Instead, I'd smile and listen to the discussion groups, maintain every ounce of strength I had to get through class, and gear myself up to get through the papers about Waverly and her mother.  That's the thing about great books.  They can be so relatable- and sometimes, that connection can be a bit too much to bear.

This year, we were faced with all sorts of bad news and depressing events.  And my student readers of The Joy Luck Club were such a fun and pleasant group to be around, even on the zoom, I figured it was time for me to reopen Amy Tan, and I am so glad that I did!  I read the first few chapters and then abruptly closed the book after workshopping an approach paper (with in person writing conference session which was so great and not on zoom)!   I was enjoying the book so much, I decided to save it for a summer pleasure read instead of reading it for class.  

Even though I opened The Goblet of Fire last night and have about three other books going, I am planning on diving back into Amy Tan today.  I honestly cannot wait!  All of the humor and most agonizing moments of mother daughter relationships are ready and waiting, and this time, it is much more of a visit alongside my mom than a reminder that she is with me in new ways every day, even if she isn't really physically with me.  

 

March  By: John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

    March is about civil rights legend John Lewis. It took place during the time when Jim Crow Laws were in place that created segregation between African Americans and White people. One thing I really took away from the book was not only their determination to be treated the same way. 

I learned several things from this book. But what I really was interested in was the non violence protesting. Civil Rights icons and John Lewis were really very religious so it was against their nature to be violent. One example of a peaceful protest was when Diane, a person in the book, and other people would go into a restaurant that only served white people. They would just sit down and go about their business. Then they went back the next day and the day after showing determination and not budging for anybody.

By reading this book it really gave me a new perspective on the civil rights movement and I really feel like it helps me understand what people went through during that time. However, I can not understand why one would be racist in the first place because I do not understand why someone should judge someone by the color of their skin. Given this, I think the best way to defeat  hate is with determination, love, and that is what I learned from March.

Originals

    Originals is a nonfiction book by Adam Grant explaining the psychological phenomenons behind some of relevantly recent history’s greatest successes, most embarrassing failures, and significant events in the technical world, the business world, and politics. The stories range in topics from the Segway, women’s suffrage, and Warby Parker, a website that sells glasses made by Adam Grant’s former students at the University of Pennsylvania. Grant’s explanations behind certain events are quite interesting especially when he describes how the tv show Seinfeld came to be. You see, despite being one of the most successful shows of all time, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David’s original pitch of “a show about nothing” was originally rejected by networks, and ended up being picked up by an executive who didn’t even work with comedies at that point. There are many more stand out stories in the book similar to this, and Adam Grant's explanation of how they came to be using psychological concepts is quite interesting.

    One question the reader must ask themselves, is the reason why I enjoy this book so much because of the stories themselves, or how Grant words them and relates them to his general point. For me at least, the answer is both. While Grant has a knack for reiterating pop culture legend or information in a social studies textbook, Originals wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining and thought provoking if it was simply just a printed out wikipedia page. With Grant’s in depth explanations, reasonings, and connections, this book not only intellectually stimulates the reader, but also makes the reader recognize Grant’s intelligence and possibly their own intelligence as well. Overall, if I were to rate this book I would give it a decent to strong 8 out of 10.

All the Light We Cannot See

     All the Light We Cannot See is a book by Anthony Doerr about World War 2 and the stories of these fictional characters in the midst of it. These characters include the blind French girl Marie-Laure LeBlanc, the orphan radio aficionado and Nazi soldier Werner Pfennig, and a few other characters that are hardly ever explored minus their relation to the stories two protagonists. The book can be easily divided into about 5 acts, although the story is not quite linear, which is something I go into depth during the second paragraph. The story has a very strong beginning, a decent middle section, and an ending that ties up all of the plot’s loose ends despite it being quite boring (although I may have just been tired of the book at that point). None of the main characters make decisions that are logically questionable or out of character for them, however this may just be a byproduct of the fact that the main characters (LeBlanc and Pfennig) don’t seem to be in full control of their lives, due to the fact that one of them is seriously disabled and the other is a soldier in one of the most infamously authoritarian (among other things) regimes the world has seen thus far.

    The story follows this format of beginning with the climax of the story, and each section of the story afterward is interjected with chapters from what would be this story's climatic section. While beginning a story with its own end is not unheard of nor uncommon, it’s the interjections in between each section that truly wear on the reader. Beginning a story with its own end is a good tactic because it can inform the audience of what will happen to the story's protagonist(s) before these characters are even formally introduced, giving the entire story some sort of feeling of suspense in the reader or audience wondering how the events later on in the story will lead to this one, or alternatively some good old dramatic irony, similar to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. However, constantly interjecting your story with these sections of the climax disrupt the flow of the story, and almost insulting the reader, essentially saying “by the way this is how the book ends in case you forgot already,” every time a section is completed. This method of interjection and nonlinear structure also kills off the story's actual climax and it does not have as much effect as it should on the reader. Overall if I were to rate this book I’ll give it a light to decent 6/10. 

Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon

Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan, is about a girl named Liang Anlei who lives in a village that gets attacked by shape-shifting shadow type creatures called Ligui. Liang’s village is losing people daily to the attacks, so when Viceroy Kang shows up and asks for her hand in marriage and a special relic called the river pearl in exchange for protection she says yes. Liang changes her mind and then the river pearl gets stolen, and Liang follows the thief and discovers that the thief is a man named Tai who also needs the River Pearl to defeat the Demon King Mowag.

Liang and Tai go on journey to the Courts of Hell to defeat the Demon King Mowag. On their way back home they find out that Liang’s village was destroyed by the Ligui. Wanting to protect her village she accepts Kang’s hand in marriage. Liang and Tai find out that Kang has been trapping spirits called Yueshen and turning them into Ligui. To find out what happens and if there is a happy ending, you’ll have to read the book.

I enjoyed reading this story and felt the characters and story were well developed.  From reading the blurb of the story, I was hoping to see more of the magic, mechanical dragons and air-shapes but I wasn’t disappointed at the end of the book.  I would recommend this book to readers looking for an action story.

 

I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

     

I Am The Messenger is about a nineteen year old boy named Ed Kennedy who is challenged to help those around him. He is given different assignments through different playing cards. While he used those cards, he learned to face his fears.

    When I read the book, the beginning was a little confusing to me because each chapter included different story lines and didn't add up to the whole plot of the book. Overall, it wasn't a bad book. I would highly recommend this book if you are interested in books by Markus Zusak.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Blog Contributor: Rhiana Boutot

The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris, is based on the true story of Lale Sokolov. Lale was a Holocaust survivor, Slovakian Jew, and - most notably - the man who tattooed the thousands of arms of prisoners that would arrive in Auschwitz. One particular prisoner, Gita, draws Lale's attention - and from the moment they meet, Lale vows to survive the camps and marry her.

Lale was such an interesting character. From a hardworking, women-loving, well-dressed business man, to a prisoner in Auschwitz working on roofs and new blocks, to eventually being the tattooist of Auschwitz. While he was still technically a prisoner, he was put into a position of power, and used his privilege for good. He was able to gather extra food to feed his fellow prisoners, and could bribe the Nazis into giving him chocolate, alone time with Gita, and much more.

This book was hard to read. I'm not going to lie, I cried quite a bit. The story was beautifully written and was such an extraordinary tale of love and humanity, even if it took place in a concentration camp. Lale and his friends all found some way to stay alive - whether it was love for another, the want to live a real life, or just pure spite. It was truly a story of love, selflessness, and humanity.

I think everybody should read the story. It doesn't matter if this would be your first Holocaust story or your hundredth; it's such an important part of history and reading these books help to keep survivors' stories alive. We owe the survivors, and everyone who ever entered a concentration camp, that much.

This Is Where It Ends

Blog Contributor: Rhiana Boutot

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp is a story of every public school's worst nightmare: a school shooting. The book takes place over a suspenseful 54 minutes full of terror, grief, and acceptance, and is told from the perspective of four students all connected by this traumatic event.

I know personally, being in a mass shooting is my worst-case scenario; I've had nightmares of shootings and I'm all around terrified of living through a mass shooting. However, since schools all around the country experience a shooting almost every week it seems, society as a whole has become desensitized to this violence. This shouldn't be the norm, but here we are. This book is so interesting because it showcases what it actually is like to be in the center of a school shooting and helps shed light to the problem our country has with not only gun control, but also mental health services. The story was extremely surreal and eye-opening.

Not only was the depiction of the scenario so realistic, but the characters' relationship and arcs were realistic as well. Nijkamp does a wonderful job building such complex characters. The diversity in the book was refreshing also. There were people of color, lgbtq+ characters, characters with mental and physical disabilities, single parents, so on and so forth. The four narrators didn't fit the "normal" YA character, A.K.A. a white, cis-het male. It was nice to see representation for everybody. Also, these characters weren't perfect people; the characters in this story HAD problems and they weren't "good vs. evil".  Anyone reading this book can find someone to relate to, which makes the book that much more terrifying.

I would recommend this book to everybody. Seriously. It tackles serious topics that are relevant to our society today, all while staying interesting and fun to read. It also helps to diversify the YA novel industry, which is much needed. I really feel that every high school student should read this once, because this really could happen to any one of us. 

Girl In Pieces

Blog Contributor: Rhiana Boutot

Girl In Pieces, by Kathleen Glasgow, tells us about the life of Charlie Davis, a seventeen year old girl who has already gone through more trauma and loss than a person should. The story picks up right after Charlie is admitted into a mental institution, and proceeds to follow her even out of the institution and out into the real world, where she is alone.

Glasgow's story is a heartbreaking tale of what it's like to grow up surrounded by loss, drugs, abuse, homelessness, rape, suicide, depression and self-harm. So before I continue on, I want to advise anyone who is easily triggered by any of these topics to avoid reading this book. I know some of these scenes were very heavy and hard to read personally, especially when most of the book is surrounding these topics and some scenes can go into graphic details.

Now that I've gotten any trigger warnings out of the way, I want to talk about how emotional this book made me. I don't want to spoil too much, but some scenes had me sobbing and texting my best friends to remind them that I loved them. The relationships between Charlie and the other characters are so realistic and raw, and I think that's what made me so sad. For example, the relationship between her and another character, Riley West, was so toxic and abusive; you knew what was happening before Charlie did. The entire relationship between those two was absolutely tragic and heartbreaking to read. I was really able to put myself into Charlie's shoes, even if I hadn't actually experienced what she was going through, and that made me appreciate the life I have more and more.

Also, I was NOT able to put this book down. Seriously, I finished all 398 pages in the span of a few hours. Though the story is not very suspenseful (like most of the books I read), I was still very captivated. As somebody who loves a happy ending, I had to read the entire book in one sitting to feel, not exactly satisfied, but content with the story. I felt like, if I stopped in the middle of the story, something worse would happen to Charlie (which I know is irrational, the book already had a set ending). The way Glasgow wrote this story was excellent, I was so invested in Charlie's story.

I would recommend this book to anyone! Unless you believe you might feel uncomfortable or triggered by some of the topics mentioned above, of course. The bottom line is this: Girl In Pieces was a depressing story, but it's a very important read to expand your worldview and remind you to appreciate the good things in life.

The Boy in the Black Suit

 

I'm spending my time reading from my list of "on decks" while I wait for some new titles by my favorite YA authors to be released in the fall.  One such title releases on October 8 by Jason Reynolds, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks.  Reynolds has an illustrator collaborating with him on this title, Alexander Nabaum, so we can be guaranteed that whatever creative notions are happening in this text, they will have superpowers.  Needless to say, I am very excited.

In the meantime, I just finished The Boy in the Black Suit, an uplifting story about Matt, a 17-year old who faces some tough times but still manages to work his way through due to caring people in his life.  The neighborhood feel of the book reminded me about why I enjoy the Track series so much, and Matt's realistic demeanor in facing loss is signature Reynolds.  The book also isn't without its quirky moments, which I always appreciate because to me, if it isn't goofy, it isn't true to being a teen read.  I also learned a new texting acronym smh, so I'm feeling pretty awesome about that as well.  Perhaps most notable about this book is the young characters who just keep on moving forward even when life tries to drag them way down.  

Dealing in Dreams

I don't usually blog about books that I have yet to finish, but this read by Lilliam Rivera titled Dealing in Dreams offers a hard to find quality that I have very much come to appreciate in a book- it's not predictable.  I'm almost half way into the novel, and I'm not caught up with predicting the outcome. I appreciate how Rivera unfolds the characters so the reader gets to know them a little better as the chapters develop.

The world of Dealing in Dreams is post disaster.  An event called the "Big Shake" demolishes the comfortable aspects of life on earth and the protagonist is the leader of the toughest gang in a place called Mega City.  Chief Rocka is a fierce and driven fighter, and she has to be; her gang, the LMCs (Las Mal Criadas) is on top in Mega City, and multiple forces are trying to compete for their status and power. 

Lots of readers may be tempted to label the novel a dystopia, but this has a different feeling from other popular YA dystopias.  It reminds me a lot more the Mad Max movies than it does the many other YA dystopias that I have been known to rave about in class.  Still, like many YA dystopia protagonists, Chief Rocka understands the world inside Mega City so well that she has managed to earn her way (almost) to the top of it, and there is a life beyond its well protected borders.  I am guessing new revelations are in store for her as the world which we know so well is never completely known to us until we see it from a new perspective.  I am just happy that I haven't figured it out already. 

Truthfully, two days ago I did not even know about this book.  I was looking for a title by Matt de la Pena on the suggestion of a student, stumbled on Rivera's The Education of Margot Sanchez but that was checked out as well.  I'm lucky to have found Dealing in Dreams.  Another Jason Reynolds title (surprise, surprise) is next for me and apparently, Marie Lu is releasing another Legend  title soon, Rebel.  Summer is still going strong, as is the pile of titles I am adding to my "on deck" list. 

Do you have a title "on deck" that you cannot wait to read?  Or a dystopia that you think is your favorite title?  Feel free to comment in the comments. :)

Characters We Remember

I'm currently reading a fun fantasy children's series titled Keeper of the Lost Cities, seven titles with an ensemble cast of elves trying to make their world a better place despite some really disturbing changes.  Like most fantasy, it's an escape read, and while I'm enjoying it, Harry Potter definitely resonates with me on a whole other level. 

Certain titles stay with us for certain reasons.  I could blog about any of the titles that have stayed with me, but instead, I will write about a title I read at the start of the summer, We are Okay, by Nina LaCour.  I checked LaCour's book out at the GPL on the recommendation of a student.  She wrote her final paper on this book, composing a really rich piece about the main character and the overall connectivity of this character's experience.  It was a beautiful essay, and I knew I had to read the book even though my list of "things I want to read this summer" kept growing, and growing, and growing. 

The main character, Marin, is spending the Christmas break during her freshman year alone on a cold (and later snowy) college campus in the northeast.  Marin's story is unique; I loved how LaCour created something deep, original, and worthwhile.  Marin's Christmas break is full of separate reckonings with past, with present, with future, and with self.  It's a really slim book; you can read it in a day, but it unpacks an unforgettable story. 

I think Marin will stay with me for a while, joining characters like Oskar Schell from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Werner and Marie-Laure from All the Light We Cannot See.

Have you met characters that will stay with you?  You can use the comment section to share.  

Pet Sematary

Blog Contributor: Rhiana Boutot

In Stephen King's Pet Sematary, Louis Creed and his family are expecting to live out a quiet life when they move to Ludlow, Maine. Though, that is definitely not what they get upon arriving in the rural town. For one thing, there is a cemetery full of dead pets in the woods behind the family's beautiful new home. And wasn't that cat dead, only a week ago? Ludlow seems to be full of unspoken mysteries, many of which have a dangerous air surrounding them. 

Of course, Pet Sematary is a horror novel. While the book may not have traditional horror aspects (i.e. vampires, ghosts and ghouls, "jumpscares", etc.), this book is still terrifying. The book - like all King novels - messes with your mind. The realistic characters makes it easy for readers to imagine themselves in these otherwise outlandish scenarios. For example, the way Louis is written allows the reader to envision themselves doing everything he does. I don't know about you, but I find that alarming - especially when you know what happens at the end of the book.

However, even if the book is more psychologically scary, that doesn't undermine just how frightening bringing back the dead is. Particularly because of how the dead act after they are resurrected. They don't seem quite... human anymore. Also, the lore surrounding the burial grounds and the entire process of resurrection is chilling. It seems like there is something supernatural occurring, and that in itself is enough to make Pet Sematary King's scariest novel.

Although the book might surround the literal horrors of resurrections and the tales of ancient burial grounds, what interested me more was how King portrayed the different ways each character dealt with the loss of someone close to them. Such as how Louis was irrational and didn't think of the consequences of his actions (though, of course, that could just be the burial ground's strange powers). Some characters completely shut down when it came to death (Louis' daughter and wife, Ellie and Rachel), and some saw death as a completely natural stage of life (Jud Crandall). The diverse ways each character grieves makes it easy for readers to find a character they can relate to.

I would recommend Pet Sematary to people who like horror novels, and especially to anyone who isn't bothered by gore and more adult themes. I will say, some of the more explicit details did make me want to put the book down because I can't STAND blood. Yet the suspense of the book, combined with King's brilliant writing, kept me going. As mentioned above, this is definitely King's scariest work.

4 X Jason Reynolds, The Track Series

Full disclosure-  I am a HUGE Jason Reynolds fan.  And I am probably the least likely person in the world to offer you an "objective" blog about anything he writes.  Reynolds has the sensibility of Langston Hughes with language that is both lyrical and fun, and he has the distinctive rich character work that signifies some of the best new adult and YA writers publishing right now.

There are four books in the series, and after being so drawn to the bold colored covers for a long time, I pretty much devoured each book over April break, and then raved to colleagues and students (and my kids) about Reynolds, about the Track series, and other books that I have already blogged about and may blog about in the future.  Each book has its own main character, hence the four titles in the series, and they all run for the same coach.  If you have ever been on a team or in any club that offers you some challenge and good times away from your day to day life, you could connect with this book.  I won't tell you my favorite in this series, but honestly, they are all pretty much my favorite.

Thank you, Mr. Reynolds, for writing great characters that we feel like we already know and that we know we will always remember.  Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu.

  

American Street

Even though her name is Fabiola, her American friends and family begin to call the protagonist, Fabulous.  She reluctantly takes on that alias, just as she reluctantly makes her way through Detroit's west side, a far cry away from her home in Haiti. 

The reader meets Fabiola on her trip to see family in America, and her mother is detained by U.S. Immigration in New Jersey.  Assured that her family in Detroit are "taking care of things," Fabiola finds herself fully engaged in life as an American teen, a life complicated by her well known cousins, the so called Three Bees.  Her reaction to this unexpected immersion is genuine, and her character is relatable.  Ibi Zoboi also takes a chapter here and there to offer the perspective of the other characters in the novel, making the lives of those that live on the corner of American and Joy all the more relevant to the reader.  

What exactly does it mean to be labeled a resident alien?  If you are curious, read American Street  and Fabiola's story.

Hey Kiddo

Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka brings the reader into the perspective of a younger Jarrett working through his childhood.  Jarrett mostly lives with his grandparents as his mother battles addiction.

The images Jarrett creates on the page reflect his coming of age and the whirlwind of emotional experiences he has in his reality.  The reader sees these experiences through the memories of Jarrett, both the collective family memories before he was actually born and the memories that he actually has as a younger child as well a young adult.  Along with the challenges Jarrett faces due to his circumstances, the reader can also connect to his more universal experiences that are just part of growing up. 

As this year's One Book, One Region selection, you should have no problem finding this great read on shelf at all of our libraries.  Jarrett Krosoczka visits Fitch students on September 18.