All posts by Kasey

About Kasey

Reads things. Writes things. Fluent in sarcasm. Willful optimist. Cat companion, chocolate connoisseur, coffee drinker. There are some who call me Mom.

Review: Takedown by Ali Bryan

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,
Takedown by Ali Bryan

Takedown
Ali Bryan
DCB Young Readers
Published May 11, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Takedown

Sixteen-year-old star wrestler Rowan Harper’s biggest fan is her father.

But he has ALS, and his symptoms are getting worse. Saving his life will cost more money than the family has, but Rowan finds a solution. Will she risk her chances at a scholarship by competing in a lucrative, but illegal, underground MMA fight?

Takedown is a high-intensity coming-of-age story about family illness and competitive combat, with lots of heart, hope, and headlocks.

My Review

This is a fiercely compelling read about a girl wrestler readying herself for a big tournament and struggling with the grim progression of her father’s ALS. The author doesn’t pull her punches. These scenes are filled with big emotions, high-stakes combat, and heartwarming family moments.

It’s also got a lot of attitude. Rowan, definitely not a morning person, grouches her way through the early hours of the day. She keeps secrets more and more as she faces greater pressure to do something to help her dad. She doesn’t always think things through– which made me grind my teeth sometimes, but reads so realistically.

I liked that both Rowan and her best friend, Pia, are wrestlers, and they’re super different from one another. Pia thrives on fashion and is an online influencer. Rowan is more of a purist athlete: most of what she does is train and compete around moments with her family and boyfriend.

I cried multiple times while reading this book. Sometimes, a moving line caught me just right, and other times, a heartbreaking turn of events brought me to tears. I feel like I didn’t even have a lot of time to ask myself whether I *liked* Rowan. She is such a compelling character that it almost didn’t matter, if that makes sense.

I think I like her. Although her choices often frustrated me, I understood why she did what she did.

All in all, this book is a win for books about girls in sports, and books about wrestling. It’s one of those books that draws you in and won’t let you go until the last page.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Rowan’s dad has ALS. She’s a wrestler on a competitive team. One character is Lebanese on one side of his family and has two dads. Another character is South Asian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
F-bombs appear at intense moments. Other swearing used moderately.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. In one scene, a boy and girl quickly undress so they can have sex. (Not shown on scene.)

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Several scenes show Rowan in a fight and wrestling matches in practice and competition. She punches a guy in the face. She helps someone who has obviously been in a fight.

At one point, Rowan wonders if her dad is checked out of life. Like, not depressed/suicidal, but maybe thinking about assisted suicide.

Spoiler: Death of a parent. (Select text to view.)

Drug Content
Rowan and her friend drink beer at her friend’s house. They attend a party and drink more. Rowan ends up super drunk and sick and embarrassed about it later. Rowan’s brother, Ike, smokes cigarettes he gets from a neighbor. He comes home smelling like weed in one scene.

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: Camp Prodigy by Caroline Palmer

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,

Camp Prodigy
Caroline Palmer
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published June 11, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Camp Prodigy

Perfect for fans of Victoria Jamieson and Raina Telgemeier, this heartwarming middle grade graphic novel follows two nonbinary kids who navigate anxiety and identity while having fun and forming friendships at their summer orchestra camp.

After attending an incredible concert, Tate Seong is inspired to become a professional violist. There’s just one they’re the worst musician at their school. Tate doesn’t even have enough confidence to assert themself with their friends or come out as nonbinary to their family, let alone attempt a solo anytime soon. Things start to look up when Tate attends a summer orchestra camp—Camp Prodigy—and runs into Eli, the remarkable violist who inspired Tate to play in the first place. But Eli has been hiding their skills ever since their time in the spotlight gave them a nervous breakdown.

Together, can they figure out how to turn Tate into a star and have Eli overcome their performance anxieties? Or will the pressure take them both down?

My Review

In the early pages, I found the transitions from one panel to the next a little jarring, but either I acclimated to the storytelling, or the transitions smoothed out by the end of the first chapter. I love the way that Palmer uses color, particularly panels with washed-out colors, to highlight when characters have a strong emotional reaction to something or someone. It made those moments stand out and gave them a huge emotional impact. It was like visually seeing the blood drain from someone’s face.

I liked both Tate and Eli as characters. They have such different personalities, and I enjoyed the way they interacted with one another, pushed each other in healthy ways, and helped give each other space to heal or grow.

The bulk of the story takes place during a month-long overnight summer camp for orchestra students. Tate and Eli both play the viola, so they compete for chair assignments in their section of the orchestra and attend rehearsals. The viola students are a pretty diverse group, both in appearance and personality. Some push for perfection. Others prioritize fun and building social connections in the summer camp environment. The book does a great job balancing and blending scenes showing musical instruction and summer camp activities and using them to show growth in both Tate and Eli.

This graphic novel is a quick, easy read bursting with bright colors and charming personalities. Readers who enjoy summer camp stories, books about musicians and music, or books about exploring identity and building friendships will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Both Tate and Eli are nonbinary. Eli is Black. Tate is Asian American. Characters of other races and ethnicities round out the cast.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A couple of people make discriminatory comments about someone’s nonbinary identity.

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.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs posting about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Book Review and Content, Coming of Age, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Memoir, Nonfiction, , , , , , , ,

Gender Queer
Maia Kobabe
Lion Forge Comics
Published May 28, 2019

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Gender Queer

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, GENDER QUEER is here.

Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, GENDER QUEER is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

My Review

I think what’s really cool about this book is that the author takes time to give clear, well-explored explanations of key moments in eir life when eir identity came into focus. Maia Kobabe diligently and openly explains eir relationship with eir body as a child, an adolescent, and later as an adult. Why did female pronouns feel so wrong for em? Why do sexual fantasies feel so much more satisfying to em than experiences do?

Having these conversations plainly and openly offers solidarity to others having similar experiences. It shows people who have similar questions that they’re not alone. They’re not the first ones to feel a disconnect with their bodies. It also provides a roadmap for people who do not identify as genderqueer. Reading a book like this, a story that details someone’s personal experience, allows readers to bring questions to a safe space where there’s no judgment or intrusion. Reading about Maia’s experience allows us to listen and cultivate empathy for others who may have a different life experience than we do.

Banning Gender Queer

One of the reasons I opted to read this book is because I hear it discussed so often in the context of being banned in schools. If you’ve been on my blog awhile, you probably already know that I’m not a fan of book bans, and it’s not a position I came to lightly. The core of the decision really is this: as a parent, my job is to be part of the decision-making about books my child reads. It is not my job to decide which books are okay for someone else’s child to read.

With that said, I think GENDER QUEER brings some important topics to the table for discussion. It does address some mature topics, so I think it would generally be more appropriate to older readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Maia identifies as genderqueer and uses Spivak pronouns (e/em/eir), which are a set of gender-neutral, grammatically singular pronouns. Some other people appearing in the memoir are queer as well.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to gay pornography. References to sex. In one scene, Maia very briefly outlines with a partner the things e would not feel comfortable doing sexually. One line later states that e and eir partner have made out and had sex. In one scene, Maia lists a snippet of a sexually explicit conversation e had with eir partner and the divergence of eir feelings about the fantasy of the experience versus the actual experience.

Maia is also very open about eir personal experience with arousal and masturbation. E explains these feelings as part of a larger explanation of eir asexuality and/or gender dysphoria. It didn’t come across as something meant to be sexy. Instead, it appeared to be a thoughtful examination of how eir body reacts to touch and visual stimulation and how that might differ from others’ experiences.

There are a few panels that show some cartoon nudity. One panel shows two men kissing from their hips upward. One shows two men facing each other, referencing a fantasy Maia had based on Plato’s SYMPOSIUM. A couple show Maia from the side, sitting on a toilet, after e has discovered the start of eir period. One page shows Maia undressing for an examination with a gynecologist. One panel shows em naked from the front.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Maia describes the pain of a gynecological exam as feeling like e has been stabbed through the abdomen. The illustration shows a torso without gender details with a blade stabbed through the abdomen. Another illustration shows a similar image, but from a side view.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Mine Wars by Steve Watkins

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Mine Wars: The Bloody Fight for Workers’ Rights in the West Virginia Coal Fields
Steve Watkins
Bloomsbury
Published May 14, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Mine Wars

For fans of Steve Sheinkin and Deb Heiligman, a riveting true story of the West Virginia coal miners who ignited the largest labor uprising in American history.

In May of 1920, in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia, a dozen coal miners took a stand. They were sick of the low pay in the mines. The unsafe conditions. The brutal treatment they endured from mine owners and operators. The scrip they were paid-instead of cash-that could only be used at the company store.

They had tried to unionize, but the mine owners dug in. On that fateful day in May 1920, tensions boiled over and a gunfight erupted-beginning a yearlong standoff between workers and owners.

The miners pleaded, then protested, then went on strike; the owners retaliated with spying, bribery, and threats. Violence escalated on both sides, culminating in the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest labor uprising in United States history.

In this gripping narrative nonfiction book, meet the resolute and spirited people who fought for the rights of coal miners, and discover how the West Virginia Mine Wars paved the way for vital worker protections nationwide. More than a century later, this overlooked story of the labor movement remains urgently relevant.

My Review

It’s a short book, I thought. I’ll be able to read it quickly, I thought. Wrong!

Okay, so it is a short book at just over 200 pages, but this was not a quick read for me, probably in large part because it’s a heavy topic, so I needed to break up my reading into more short sessions rather than read straight through the way I could have done with a milder nonfiction or fiction title.

However, it reveals a critical part of West Virginia history and the history of the labor movement in the US. Like some of the educators and people referenced in a late chapter in the book, I kept wondering how I hadn’t heard about this. Honestly, I can’t even remember learning anything about Mother Jones in school, which seems wild to me thinking about it now. It’s possible that her contributions were mentioned in a line or two and quickly moved past. Hard to say. I don’t think my history curriculum included very many women’s stories or much coverage of the 20th century other than the World Wars. But I digress.

Anyway. So, The Mine Wars. Some of the events described seem almost unfathomable in the calculated cruelty with which the coal mine owners and the men they hired to violently put down unrest among mine workers behaved. The escalation of warfare between the two sides can’t help but be genuinely shocking.

As I read, I kept thinking of a conversation I had with someone not all that long ago in which this person insisted that we don’t need unions in America because corporations will do the right thing for their workers. I had healing fantasies (see Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents) about pushing this book across the table to this anti-union person and asking him to repeat that sentiment to me after reading The Mine Wars. Because, uh, NO. The coal mine owners acted only in their own best interests and almost without exception at the expense of their workers.

The book introduces and follows a wide range of historical figures, from law enforcement officers to hired gunmen to mine workers to union leaders and politicians. It focuses on the coal industry and workers’ fight for equitable pay and reasonable safety measures from the early 1910s to the early 1920s.

The only real complaint I have about the book is that it jumps around in the timeline quite a bit, using statements like, “seven years later,” etc. Sometimes it was hard to tell when things happened. I would have loved to see a timeline of events included in the backmatter of the book. The backmatter does contain, however, a pretty extensive list of resource material, including at least one documentary. I’m excited to check that out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The text primarily features white men, but includes the stories of a few women and people of color.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to assault convictions of people mentioned in the text.

Spiritual Content
One man profiled was a part-time pastor and part-time mine worker. At one point, he spoke of putting down his Bible and taking up his gun.

Violent Content
Several chapters relate scenes involving gunfire. Sometimes, armed combatants attack one another. At other times, aggressors gun down unarmed opponents or civilians, including women and children.

Drug Content
References to alcohol use and drug abuse. One person profiled gets very drunk during a battle. Someone reports that a large number of armed men were drunk during a battle.

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: The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Biography, Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives
Dashka Slater
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published October 17, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The 57 Bus

One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.

If it weren’t for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.

My Review

I’ve had this book on my TBR for a long time, and I seriously can’t believe I waited so long to read it. What an incredible book! It blew me away.

What’s funny is that I’ve read several picture books by Dashka Slater (the Escargot books are a favorite in my house). This book is so different than those, and each is so well done.

It’s obvious that the author put so much care and thoughtfulness into the book’s structure. It’s got a ton of short sections. One defines some different queer identities. Another spells out the rights of a prisoner at a juvenile detention center. Others contain short stories or observations by Sasha or Richard or people close to them.

The narrative explores the lives of Sasha (victim) and Richard (perpetrator) with dignity and fairness. Nowhere does the author minimize or dismiss the seriousness of what happened to Sasha. She also includes interviews and statements from Richard’s friends and family, along with some biographical information about and statements from Richard himself. This way we get a more complete picture of both of the teens involved that terrible day on the 57 Bus.

Slater discusses how different people become targeted in hate crimes and the advancement and rolling back of protections for LGBTQIA+ people and the impact that has had. She also talks about the justice system, particularly in the process of juvenile offenders being charged as adults, and how that impacts the lives of young people and the community as a whole.

It’s such a powerful book. The points and information are clearly stated and related in a way that made me feel like I knew each of the people the narrative followed. I think this is a really important book for people to read.

Conclusion

Fans of true crime books and readers looking for compelling nonfiction or stories about LGBTQIA+ youth need to grab a copy of this one. Put it on your Pride Month reading list or read it on a weekend– the short sections and compelling writing make this a super quick read.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sasha is agender and uses they/them pronouns. Some of their friends have LGBTQIA+ identities as well. Richard is Black. His family members and some of his friends are Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently. The N-word is used, usually by a Black boy to his Black friends. There are a few homophobic statements.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some discussion of various sexual and gender identities and what the labels mean to the people using them.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Contains brief but graphic descriptions of the burns sustained by Sasha when their skirt was set on fire on a bus and brief but graphic descriptions of the treatment of the burns.

Drug Content
References to the smell of pot smoke in bathrooms at school. Doctors prescribe morphine for Sasha during their recovery from burns and surgeries.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but help support this blog. All opinions my own.

Book Bans and The 57 Bus

THE 57 BUS is a frequently challenged or banned book. Author Dashka Slater offers this statement about book bans in general and in reference to this book.

Review: Icon and Inferno by Marie Lu

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Icon and Inferno (Stars and Smoke #2)
Marie Lu
Roaring Brook Press
Published June 4, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Icon and Inferno

Spies meet romance meet popstars in this thrilling follow up to Stars and Smoke by bestselling author Marie Lu.

A year has passed since superstar Winter and secret agent Sydney Cossette went undercover – on a dangerous mission to bring down the baddest man in London.

Winter hasn’t stopped thinking about Sydney since, and she’s been trying not to think about him

Family secrets and nasty newspapers has Winter desperate to re-enter the secret world. And it’s not long before he gets his chance.

Sydney is back, and this time the mission goes right to the heart of the United States of America. A rescue gone wrong, an assassination attempt – and the return of an old flame – puts Winter right back into the action . . . and into a country on the brink of chaos.

And when a murder accusation has Sydney on the run, suddenly it’s not just a life at stake, but all-out war.

My Review

Winter and Sydney are back, and I am so excited! Stars and Smoke, the first book in the series, swept me away with its romance and danger. I knew I’d be back for more. I love the contrast between these two characters. When he’s with people he trusts, Winter is wide open with his heart totally available. Sydney, however, never opens herself that way. That kind of vulnerability terrifies her, which makes sense for someone with a life as a secret agent. For her, letting people in is literally dangerous.

The story begins with a bit of miscommunication or maybe bad assumptions between Winter and Sydney, where she thinks he’s seeing someone and is disappointed but trying not to show it. And he’s hurt that she’s not disappointed, etc. It’s not my favorite romance trope, but the story doesn’t lean into it too heavily since the romantic tension between Sydney and Winter is secondary to their assignment from Panacea.

I like that the task gets layered with complications, though. Winter has to manage the expectations of his ex, whom he invited to a social event as his date. Sydney must find and rescue her own ex, the guy who ended their last tryst by stealing her passport and stranding her overseas. So, yeah, she’s really looking forward to that. Mr. To-Be-Rescued has his own agenda as well, and Sydney and Winter have to decide whether to listen to him or stick with the original plan.

One thing I absolutely loved is the way the story uses Winter’s fame to achieve objectives in his work as a secret agent. It seems like being internationally celebrated and recognized would be a setback for someone on a secret mission, but he makes it work. I love how he uses his position as an asset for Panacea on their missions.

Conclusion

I think even more than the first book, Icon and Inferno leans more into adult fiction. The characters have full-time careers. They’ve had adult relationships. They have adult independence. It’s marketed as YA, and I think will have a fair amount of crossover appeal. Fans of Chloe Gong’s Foul Lady Fortune will enjoy this.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Winter is Chinese American and has had romantic relationships with boys and girls in the past.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a past relationship Winter was in, in which he slept with his partner. Same for Sydney. Kissing between boy and girl. In a couple of scenes, the characters kiss and undress. One vaguely references a sexual encounter.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Sydney and Winter witness someone killed by a gunshot and explosion. A couple of scenes involve a high-speed car or motorcycle chase. Someone points a gun at another person’s head. Someone injects a drug into another person, knocking them out.

Drug Content
References to Winter’s dad smoking cigars.

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.