Review: Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Young Adult/Teen 12-18
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Too Bright to See
Kyle Lukoff
Dial Books
Published April 20, 2021

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About Too Bright to See

A haunting ghost story about navigating grief, growing up, and growing into a new gender identity

It’s the summer before middle school, and eleven-year-old Bug’s best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn’t particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there’s something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug’s eerie old house in rural Vermont…and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they’re trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light–Bug is transgender.

My Review

I found so many things about this book to be so clever. The way that Lukoff uses the ghost story tradition between Bug and Uncle Roderick sets up the haunting experience. Bug’s experience with reflections that seem wrong somehow becomes a description of gender dysphoria.

I’ve read other middle grade stories with protagonists who are very sure of their identity and either have already made changes to their pronouns and how they live or are in the process of doing so. This is the first time that I can remember reading a novel in which the main character has this slowly dawning realization of their identity, and it comes across as just as real and genuine, but we get to experience that journey with Bug.

I wasn’t sure at the beginning whether the ghost part of the story was going to be in Bug’s imagination or something that I should accept as really happening within the story. Some of the inexplicable things Bug goes through are a little scary. Moira cuts her foot on a broken nail polish bottle in the middle of the night. Bug’s room gets ransacked. Doors slam throughout the house while Bug is home alone. Yet I love that Bug turns to the library for answers and finds not only books that offer comforting explanations but a new friend, too.

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve read a picture book by Kyle Lukoff, but this is my first time reading a full-length novel by him. I’ll definitely be checking out more.

Readers who enjoy contemporary books that dabble in the supernatural or books that explore identity will enjoy this award-winning novel.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Bug feels uncomfortable when Moira and some other girls from school discuss which boys are cutest.

Spiritual Content
Bug and Uncle Roderick played a game making up stories about the ghosts or ghostly presences in the house. Now that Uncle Roderick is gone, a ghost or ghostly presence begins doing unsettling things in the house, like breaking a bottle of nail polish and slamming doors. Bug and Moira use a ouija board to try to contact Uncle Roderick’s spirit.

Violent Content
Bug isn’t sure whether there’s danger from the ghosts or ghostly presences, so a couple of those scenes are a little intense. Nothing malevolent happens on the page, though.

Drug Content
Vague reference to an adult drinking a glass of wine.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from the public library. All opinions are my own.

Review: Song of the Yellow Dragon by Ying Ping Low

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Song of the Yellow Dragon
Ying Ping Low
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Published May 12, 2026

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About Song of the Yellow Dragon

Two children search for a legendary dragon’s magic in this enchanting fantasy, perfect for readers ages 9-13!

There is a secret that every child knows: Magic is real. But by the time children turn thirteen, they forget that magic is anything but make-believe.

Mengyao wants to remember. Born in a village nestled in a secluded vale, Mengyao wants to hold on to magic and become a Divine Healer. But with her thirteenth birthday fast approaching, she is losing hope.

Young emperor Kai is on the run from traitorous advisors. He’s searching for the fabled Dragon’s Pulse, a magic capable of defeating his enemies. On the brink of his thirteenth birthday, Kai doesn’t have much longer. So when he meets Mengyao—the girl whose name is mentioned in his legend—he forces aside his instinctual distrust and recruits her to help him on his quest.

On their perilous journey, Kai and Mengyao find aid in unexpected forms like a jade hare, a moon goddess, and a handful of promises. But as enemies close in and time runs out, secrets that will reshape the fate of their kingdom forever come to light.

My Review

This is such a charming book. I loved the voice it’s written in. At times, the narrator speaks directly to the reader or reminds readers about something happening far from the main characters. The tone is almost playful, keeping the story light even though some serious events occur.

I loved the bond between Kai and Mengyao. They have very different personalities, so at first, I wasn’t sure how they could get along. But it made sense that their differences would work together to make them a strong team. I enjoyed watching them push each other and keep each other safe, even as they pretended to ignore one another.

As the story reaches its most desperate moment, many threads weave together, revealing new elements that reshape the narrative as a whole. I love it when that weaving together is well done, as it is here.

I also enjoyed the way that the story uses magic. In the book, children know and recognize magic around them until they turn thirteen. They can ask the wind for help if they’re lost. Mushrooms will tell them whether they’re poisonous. But once a child turns thirteen, they look back on those experiences as childish and overly imaginative. That looming forgetting of magic created an interesting deadline for Kai and Mengyao. I loved how the author used that to add tension and keep the story whimsical.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books that doesn’t get nearly enough visibility as it deserves. If this isn’t already on your reading list, please check it out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 to 13.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
References to spiritual beliefs and practices. Supernatural beings offer help in times of need. An ancestor has a power that can help in a crisis. A deity intervenes to protect someone.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to murder (happens before the story begins). Someone tries to poison children. Soldiers burn down a building. References to a murder plot. Soldiers chase children with intent to harm them.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: If You Were Here by Abigail Johnson

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If You Were Here
Abigail Johnson
HarperCollins
Published April 28, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About If You Were Here

A charming and emotional standalone grumpy/sunshine romance set during a Nantucket summer. Lili needs Wren’s help to complete her father’s research and save her family’s reputation–but working together leads to more discoveries than either of them bargained for.

Lili Gardner hasn’t been back to Nantucket, her dad’s favorite place, since her parents divorced six years ago. But Dad passed away recently, leaving her a house on the island and an unsolved mystery about a maligned Gardner ancestor. Lili is determined to finish his life’s work, and convinces her mom and sister to spend the summer in Nantucket with her while she looks for answers, and for a connection to her dad.

Wren McCleave has a passion for history, but his father refuses to showcase anything real in their tourist trap of a “museum.” So when Lili asks Wren for help with her research, Wren can’t resist the opportunity to throw himself into something real, even if he dislikes tourists on principle.

Lili and Wren only have a summer to find out the truth about Lili’s ancestor. But the most surprising truths they uncover aren’t about the distant past, but about themselves right here in the present, and about what they want out of the future.

My Review

If you’re looking for a summer beach or vacation read, this one would be perfect. It takes place during the summer on Nantucket, in a small island community. Expect pizza on the beach, boat trips, and plenty of simmering romance.

I really enjoyed Johnson’s debut novel, so when I saw that she had a new one coming out this summer, I really wanted to read it. I like the way that she writes tender moments and the scenes filled with yearning, where the characters haven’t figured out how to be together yet and aren’t even sure their feelings are reciprocated. It’s so easy to get lost in the anticipation of those moments.

Wren has needed a wheelchair since an accident years before the story begins. For the most part, though, this book really doesn’t focus on his disability. There are a couple of scenes where it becomes a focus. At one point, Lili invites him to a place that isn’t accessible. She feels horrible when she realizes, and the two have a conversation about that. For the most part, though, we are busy thinking of Wren as a potential museum curator who is struggling to set boundaries with and express his wishes to his family.

Lili also has some family relationship matters to sort out. She’s trying to solve a mystery her dad left behind, which leads her to grapple with some of the wounds in the relationships her dad left behind. The story doesn’t explore him as a character in depth beyond his obsession with his family history. Lili’s relationships with her mom and sister are important, and she wrestles with how to balance those connections with her passion to uncover the past.

Wren and Lili have a little bit of a grumpy/sunshine vibe going, especially at the beginning of their connection. I love that they bond over their shared love of history. The relationship isn’t without its bumps and flaws. I could see part of the story being challenging for some readers, especially those who prefer neat, simple romances. But I appreciate that mistakes were made, and consequences happened. I like that Lili and Wren each had to reckon with the fallout of their choices, and that leads them to reconnect with other characters in ways that they needed to. Sorry that’s so vague– I don’t want to spoil anything.

All in all, this was a fun summer romance. It feels like a perfect book to take on vacation or to the beach for an afternoon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to an accident in which Wren broke his back. (Happened before the story began.)

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Shards of Silence by Brian Lee Young

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Shards of Silence
Brian Lee Young
Heartdrum
Published May 5, 2026

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About Shards of Silence

In his first YA novel, award-winning author Brian Lee Young (Diné) bridges the generational divide between a Navajo teen at an elite prep school and his great-grandmother’s experience at a federal boarding school for Indigenous students. The book is an eye-opening call for community healing and a profound coming-of-age story.

Even if it hurts to leave behind his friends and family in Navajo, New Mexico—especially his great-grandmother, Mildred—Derrick knows his scholarship to an elite East Coast boarding school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Sagefield Academy is totally different from life on the rez: His new classmates vacation in Europe and take study drugs. Derrick wants to stick to caffeine, but handling sports, school, and a twenty-page term paper, all while dodging comments about his hair and heritage, feels straight-up impossible.

Back home, Másání Mildred’s health is fading quickly. On the phone, she begs Derrick to leave Sagefield. When he realizes her fear comes from her time in federal Native boarding schools, he knows he’s finally found the term paper theme he believes carrying her voice into the future.

Derrick will need to shatter a steadfast generational silence to untangle his great-grandmother’s memories—though her story might change him, and his family, forever.

My Review

What struck me most in reading this story is the parallel the author draws between Derrick’s experience at a boarding school and his great-grandmother’s at a residential school years earlier. His experience gives him the opportunity to ask about her history. It also prompts him to learn more of the history surrounding the schools and to read more survivor stories.

As a character, Derrick is pretty likable. He’s straightforward and open, takes care of his family, and works hard to protect his future. He’s not perfect, certainly, but he is committed to following his heart.

His own experience at boarding school challenges him, too. He must decide how and when he wants to educate others about his beliefs and traditions. He has to decide when to speak up and offer a new perspective on the history curriculum he’s expected to learn in class. It was easy to follow his feelings as he sorted out how he felt in those instances and wrestled with how to respond.

I also really liked his relationships with his family, especially his mom and his great-grandmother. I think the softness in his interactions with them helped balance some of the harder edges of his character with his teammates and friends.

All in all, I can see this book appealing to readers who enjoy contemporary fiction that explores social issues. Readers looking for contemporary stories that don’t center on romance will also enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used somewhat frequently. Two instances of stronger profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
References to Indigenous spiritual practices and religious beliefs.

Violent Content
Reference to a drunk driving accident with fatalities. This happened before the story begins.

Drug Content
Brief use of stimulants to aid in studying. The user regrets this later. Derrick hears rumors that a close friend has started using and/or selling drugs.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Journey to Tomioka by Laurent Galandon and Michaël Crouzat

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,

Journey to Tomioka
Laurent Galandon
Art by Michaël Crouzat
Translated by Anne and Owen Smith
First Second
Published June 9, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Journey to Tomioka

For fans of This Was Our Pact and Hayao Miyazaki films comes a breathtaking graphic novel about siblings who risk everything to return their grandmother’s ashes to her home inside the Fukushima Exclusion Zone.

Osamu hasn’t been the same since that day. When the tsunami hit Fukushima prefecture, it killed his parents, destroyed his home, and triggered one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters. Now, all Osamu has left is his grandmother, Bā-chan, and his big sister, Akiko. As he withdraws into his own world, he befriends friends yōkai―spirits only he can see.

Then, tragedy strikes again, and Bā-chan dies. Osamu and Akiko are determined to return her ashes to their family farm in Tomioka, a town within Fukushima’s forbidden zone. There, the siblings will face dangerous radiation and yōkai, both friendly and deadly―but they’re willing to risk it all to make it home.

My Review

This book draws attention to the victims of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The story follows Osamu, a young boy who shows kindness toward the yōkai, mythical creatures that live in his home and community. When his grandmother dies unexpectedly, he convinces his sister that they should bring her ashes home to her farm in the area still evacuated since the nuclear disaster.

Along the way, they meet a man who lives in the forbidden zone and cares for the animals living there. The story gently encourages readers to question our relationship with nature and our short attention spans for tragedies happening elsewhere.

At one point in the story, Osamu’s sister notes that his personality changed in the wake of the tsunami. He went from being an outgoing kid with lots of friends to being much quieter and more internal. A doctor, she says, diagnosed him with Autism, but she feels that’s inaccurate, because he used to have friends. I think I get what she’s trying to say, but I kind of wish this had just been left out of the book. It’s a small comment, and there’s so little context. I could see people feeling like this is saying that people with Autism can’t have friends or be friendly, which isn’t true.

All in all, I appreciate the author for bringing the Fukushima nuclear disaster to the forefront of conversations through this book and for highlighting some of the victims who are too often neglected, namely, children and animals.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Osamu believes in the existence of yōkai, mysterious supernatural creatures and spirits from Japanese folklore. He speaks to some who live in his home and leaves an apple for one living near a tree. He later encounters a being representing radiation.

Violent Content
References to the death of a grandparent and caregiver. References to the deaths of parents in the tsunami. These are not shown on the page.

Osamu breaks a window in an abandoned shop. He and his sister evade rescue workers and their cousin’s fiancé, Seiichi, and venture deeper into contaminated spaces, risking exposure to radiation.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Brownstone by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia

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Brownstone
Samuel Teer
Illustrated by Mar Julia
Versify
Published June 11, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Brownstone

An exciting teen coming-of-age epic from author Samuel Teer and debut graphic novel artist Mar Julia, Brownstone is a vivid, sweeping, ultimately hopeful story about navigating your heritage even when you feel like you don’t quite fit in.

Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met.

Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, she’s left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish—which she doesn’t speak.

As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.

But time is running out for Almudena and Xavier to get to know each other, and the key to their connection may ultimately lie in bringing all these different elements together. Fixing a broken building is one thing, but turning these stubborn individuals into a found family might take more than this one summer.

My Review

The graphic novel format of this story really worked in terms of making Almudena’s experience at her dad’s house really immersive. It was so easy to imagine the scenes playing out in my head. I liked seeing the ways the characters reacted to her and some of the things that she might not have noticed herself.

At the beginning, Almudena doesn’t know anything about her Guatemalan heritage, and she doesn’t speak Spanish. This makes connecting with her dad even more challenging. The language barrier really highlighted the estrangement between Almudena and her dad, too. As she gets to know him, her opinion about him changes, and she begins to find ways to connect with other people in the community as well.

One of my favorite relationships was between Almudena and the shopkeeper who lives alone. I liked the friendship they developed and how that connection ultimately impacts the whole neighborhood.

If you like stories about family connections and exploring cultural heritage, definitely put Brownstone on your reading list!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong language used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Almudena realizes her dad is in a romantic relationship and has some feelings about it.

Spiritual Content
Almudena’s dad shows her his altar, where he prays according to his own ideas about faith, pulling elements from his culture and Christianity.

Violent Content
Almudena gets lost in the city at one point. At another point, she goes out alone and feels threatened or unsafe in a couple of situations.

Drug Content
One teen character smokes.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library. All opinions are my own.