Category Archives: By Age Range

Review: The Fearless Traveler’s Guide to Wicked Places by Peter Begler

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,

Fearless Traveler's Guide to Wicked Places by Peter BeglerFearless Traveler’s Guide to Wicked Places
Peter Begler
Capstone Books for Young Readers
Available March 1, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When a skull-shaped cloud kidnaps Nell’s mother and turns her into a bird, she and her brothers vow to get their mother back. To do this, they must find a powerful Fearless Traveler and persuade him to take them to a land of nightmares. Once there, they will have to make the dangerous journey to see Ravenhead, the only Dreamer who can undo the curse and return Nell’s mother to her real form. Along the way, Nell and her brother battle nightmares both outside and inside themselves. The only weapons they possess are the wisdom in the Fearless Traveler’s handbook and the truths they learn about themselves.

This story reminded me a little bit of The Thickety books by J. A. White in its lyrical prose and scary-whimsical storytelling. I liked the voices of each character—Nell and her brother George especially. George cracked me up with his snarky, arrogant-but-cute commentary. I loved the message about mothers and their connection to their children. Nell is told over and over that even if she’s able to transform her mother back to her human form, she’ll have no memory of Nell or her brothers. Nell refuses to believe this. She clings to her mom’s earlier words that a mother cannot forget her children, and that her body becomes the memory of them. The whole story has themes like this—where belief in things that are true trumps fears we hold. I liked that message.

One of the things I struggled with a little bit is the fact that for much of the journey, Nell and her brothers depend on an adult to fight their battles and help them through some obstacles. Especially in a story with a female lead, to have a male adult character taking the hero’s role sort of grates on me a bit. It feels like a statement that says she couldn’t do this on her own. I don’t think the author was trying to say that, but the story came close to feeling that way to me.

However, by about the halfway mark, Nell leaves her adult mentor behind and begins a journey alone. Soon she’s joined by a male friend who takes on a bit of a leading role as far as the fighting goes. Again, I’m not sure if this was deliberate, but I felt like Nell deserved a little more of the spotlight instead of being pushed into more of a support role yet again. I also kept waiting for the song shared between Nell and her mom to become a significant element. At several points it was clear that Nell and her mother’s relationship was special and it seemed like a song was part of their special bond, but that didn’t end up becoming a part of the story’s resolution. Maybe something saved for book two?

Overall, I really enjoyed the writing in this book and the truly unique story-world. I thought the characters were really fun and I couldn’t help investing in them and hoping they won the day. If you liked A Path Begins by J. A. White or Grayling’s Song by Karen Cushman, you should definitely pick up this book.

Recommended for Ages 8 up.

Cultural Elements
Nell and her brothers are white. The witches come from Iceland.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Nell sees things on the people around her. Sometimes their faces change to that of an animal. She refers to this as seeing their “inner animal” and can dispel the vision by saying her name out loud.

Evil witches capture human mothers and intend to kill them as part of a ritual. Sometimes the witches are referred to as demons or in one instance a succubus.

Nell and her brothers cross over to another realm controlled by Dreamers who possess powerful magic. One of the battles they fight is one of transformation. Nell and her brothers transform into animals (their dream selves) at random and inconvenient times. Nell’s dream self is a fox who desperately wants to devour the yellow bird Nell must protect. Nell and the boys learn to combat the change by forcing themselves to remember who they really are. The story places a lot of emphasis on this idea—that there is power in clinging to truths like this or the Fearless Traveler’s motto.

Violent Content
A frightening cloud which sometimes looks like wolves and other times looks like a skull seems to be kidnapping women from Nell’s town. Nell fights a creepy octopus/wolf-like critter and takes on a team of creepy witches. Battle lines form between Nell and the Dreamers and the Witches and their allies, including some scary clowns.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Review: When You Never Said Goodbye by Meg Kearney

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, New Adult 18up, Poetry, , , , ,

When You Never Said Goodbye
Meg Kearney
Persea
Available March 21, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Through poetry and journal entries, Liz relates the story of her first year at NYU and her search for her birth mother. As she forms a circle of friends, she gradually shares with them the truth about her adoption and her search. She finds support and love from these friends and from her family, though each member of her family struggles with the search for different reasons. Liz won’t give up looking, even as one obstacle after another rises to meet her.

One of my favorite things about this story were all the references to literature and poetry contained in the text. It made me want to read a lot more poetry and to pick up my guitar and head to the park to play. Liz’s journey tugged my heart. Her thoughts and emotions come through so clearly and make it so easy to empathize with her.

I didn’t realize when I picked up this book that it’s the third (and last) in a series. After reading it, I would definitely consider reading the first two.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Liz’s friend Henri is Asian. Her friend Calvin is African American. Liz’s friends briefly wonder if her friends Jan and Jade are lesbians, but they aren’t.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Liz wonders if her boyfriend has had sex. She’s a virgin. There’s a brief reference to one of the girls going home with one of the boys and spending the night with him. Liz kisses a boy.

Spiritual Content
Liz’s family attend mass over the Christmas holiday. At one point she ducks into a church to read a letter. It feels like in that moment, church and faith are a safe place for her, though it’s not a theme that’s highly developed.

Liz has a brief but meaningful correspondence with a (Christian) woman of faith.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Liz thinks back to the summer after her father died when she spent too much time drinking and her studies suffered for it. More than once, she drinks alcohol with her friends to a local bar that doesn’t check identification early in the day.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review and Giveaway: Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

I’m today’s stop on the Irish Banana Blog Tour for Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham, and I can’t wait to tell you about the book. Stick around for my review, a list of the other tour stops and where you might find great stuff like Q&A with the author, AND don’t miss the chance to win one of three hardcover copies of the book in the giveaway below!

Dreamland Burning
Jennifer Latham
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Available February 21, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Dreamland Burning

When seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a skeleton on her family’s property, she has no idea that investigating the brutal century-old murder will lead to a summer of painful discoveries about the past… and the present.

Nearly one hundred years earlier, a misguided violent encounter propels seventeen-year-old Will Tillman into a racial firestorm. In a country rife with violence against blacks and a hometown segregated by Jim Crow, Will must make hard choices on a painful journey towards self discovery and face his inner demons in order to do what’s right the night Tulsa burns.

Through intricately interwoven alternating perspectives, Jennifer Latham’s lightning-paced page-turner brings the Tulsa race riot of 1921 to blazing life and raises important question about the complex state of US race relations – both yesterday and today.

My Review

It took me some time to get into the characters. I kind of wanted the past part of the story to be told from the point-of-view of this spunky little girl named Ruby instead of from William’s perspective. He makes some bad choices especially at the beginning, and even he knows it. It took me a while to get over that and begin to really get into his character. Eventually, I felt like he found his courage and that helped a lot.

I kind of felt the same about Rowan, too, though for different reasons. I really liked her relationship with James and the deep (but not romantic) connection they shared. The fact that they both felt like misfits made them really sympathetic characters. I found it easy to root for them to find their places and solve the mystery of the unidentified body found on Rowan’s family’s property.

One of my favorite elements of the story was the fact that it focuses on a little-known or discussed event in American history– the Tulsa race massacre. Having that story juxtaposed against a present-day setting featuring current race relations issues made for a powerful and moving tale. The writing style is a little less artful and more frank, occasionally bordering on preachy, but the story is no less important and necessary for it. The diverse character cast and spotlight on history would make this an interesting choice for a high school project. Overall, I recommend this book to historical fiction and mystery fans as well as readers looking for books that explore race relations.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Rowan’s mother is African American and her father Caucasian. Her best friend James is part Native American, part black and identifies as asexual. William’s mother is Native American and his father Caucasian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity and crude language used with moderate frequency. Racial epithets used a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
James and Rowan pretend to be a couple to irritate an older couple watching them disapprovingly.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to prayer. At one point Rowan exclaims that James is a god because he’s found important information.

Violent Content
A KKK member describes brutalizing young black men and brags about killing them.

Drug Content
William and his friend get drunk on beer. William picks a fight while drunk and breaks his wrist. Rowan recalls the night she and James swiped a bottle of liquor and drank it together over shared secrets.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

About Jennifer Latham

website | twitter | facebook

I’m a grown-up army brat with two kids, two dogs, and a husband. After working in a morgue, a maximum-security prison, a heroin detox, and assorted middle and high schools, I decided to try may hand at writing. Happily, it stuck.

I love watching people.

And I love writing about the characters who live inside my head—even when they don’t play nice.

Visit the Other Tour Stops!

Week 1:

2/13: He Said Books or Me – Review
2/14: Bookmark Lit – Cover Colors
2/15: Megnificient Books – Review
2/16: Here’s to Happy Endings – Guest Post
2/17: The Story Sanctuary – Review – You are here!

Week 2:

2/20: Awkwordly Emma – Q&A
2/21: Rattle the Pages – Review
2/22: Such A Novel Idea – Guest Post
2/23: Lekeisha the Bookworm – Review
2/24: The Irish Banana Review – Fast 5

Enter to Win the Giveaway

Three winners will receive a hardcover copy of Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham. (US/Canada only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review: Denton Little’s Still Not Dead by Lance Rubin

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Denton Little’s Still Not Dead
Lance Rubin
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published February 7, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Denton Little is supposed to be dead. Mandatory testing that accurately predicts date of death set his deathdate as the same day as his senior prom, only instead of dying, Denton broke out in a bizarre purple and red rash and, um, didn’t actually die. Turns out, Denton might be the key to ending the stranglehold the DIA (Death Intelligence Agency) has on everyone. A rebel group led by someone Denton thought he’d never see again seems to have answers he desperately wants, but they also have a poorly concealed agenda that Denton doesn’t trust. What he really wants is to find out why he lived and use that information to save his best friend Paolo, whose deathdate is less than a month away.

I heard of this series in Charleston at YALLFest last November when I went to an author panel and heard Lance Rubin speak. He’s pretty much hilarious, and I felt like, okay, if his book is half as funny as he is, I definitely want to read it. Truth? It’s more than half as funny. Denton’s voice is fantastic—feels like spending an afternoon with a goofy, awkward kid in all the most amazing ways. Also, I loved Paolo. I think you’d have to be actually dead not to like him. He’s kind of the unfettered heart of the story and the loyal best friend. I loved him.

I wished there wasn’t so much profanity and other content in the story because that’s a thing for me and because I know it’s a thing for some of the people who I think would otherwise totally love this book. I also kept forgetting that Denton was a high school senior and thinking he was younger—which I think is just me.

The friendship and humor made this book a super fun read. The suspense elements blended pretty well with the humor (does that seem weird? I guess it does, but I thought it worked.) and gave it a cross-genre feel that I liked. I definitely recommend this to readers looking for a laugh-out-loud book or a less serious dystopian tale. If you liked Away We Go by Emil Ostrovski but want something lighter, this is probably the right speed for you.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Denton’s best friend Paolo and his sister are Hispanic. (Did I mention I love Paolo?)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently. Some crude language.

Romance/Sexual Content
Denton slept with his best friend’s sister before this book begins and mentions it without giving details other than that he was not sober and they both thought was about to die. He has a couple of sexual experiences described in moderate detail. One instance leaves behind some physical evidence that’s discussed a bit by Denton. There are several instances of boy/girl kissing and one boy/boy kissing.

Spiritual Content
At first Denton wonders if he really did die and is having a really strange experience in heaven (totally not the kind of heaven he was expecting).

Violent Content
Denton’s on the run from a governmental agency pretty determined to capture him and rumored to plan on torturing or killing him. Some brief chase scenes, bad guys with guns, that sort of thing.

Drug Content
Denton’s brother provides him with a fake ID that allows him to buy alcohol. Denton and his friends drink on more than one occasion. Paolo and Denton smoke pot. Paolo buys it from a kid at his school. It seems like maybe it began as a thing to do because they were going to die soon, so why not? But they do smoke more often than that.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Review: Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

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

Piecing Me Together
Renée Watson
Bloomsbury
Published February 14, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Piecing Me Together

Jade believes the only way she’ll find success is to get out of her neighborhood. That’s why she accepts a scholarship to a privileged, mostly white school. It’s why she puts her studies first—no time for boys, no time for goofing around. As a girl from a poor neighborhood, Jade knows she must appreciate the opportunities that come her way, even those that treat her as less-than. When she joins a mentorship program meant to help “at-risk” (read: black) girls, Jade’s frustration mounts. How is her so-called mentor supposed to teach her anything when she doesn’t have her own life together? How are the group’s pointless activities supposed to change anything for her?

My Review

As Jade wrestles with the injustices in her life, she begins to realize the only way things will change is for her to find her own voice, to speak up, and challenge the people around her. Her courage and vulnerability make her story deeply moving and accessible. When she shares her experiences with racism with a white friend, at one point her friend sort of shrugs and says, “I don’t know what you want me to say.” Jade’s ability to articulate this response—support me, believe me, she tells her friend—opens conversation and dialogue about race relations issues.

Overall, this is a rich story. It’s easy to connect with Jade through her experiences, to love her, and to understand how she feels and why. It’s easy to cheer for her victories, as a young woman and an artist. I loved that she’s a collagist, and I loved the way her art was a key component of the story. I loved the way history (the story relates some information about York, an African American man who traveled with Lewis and Clark) and poetry played a key role in the story as well.

I definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy contemporary fiction or novels about art and friendship.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Jade, her family, and her best friend Lee Lee are African American. Her mentor comes from a wealthy African American family. Her friend Sam is a white girl being raised by her grandparents. Jade is studying Spanish hoping for an opportunity to travel in an educational program. Each chapter begins with a Spanish word translated to English.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jade attends a meeting with her mentorship group that focuses on dating and relationships. She’s not interested in either one, and the conversation stays pretty vague.

Spiritual Content
Jade comes home to her mom listening to gospel music and cleaning. Following a terrible event, Jade asks her uncle to say a prayer. He calls prayer a “poor man’s drug,” and tells Jade the person she needs to be talking to isn’t God but politicians who can make changes. Jade prays anyway.

Violent Content
Four police officers beat up an unarmed fifteen-year-old black girl when they break up a party. Jade and her friend hear about it on the news, but feel shaken up.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Nowhere Near You
Leah Thomas
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published February 7, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

After Ollie’s mother died, he left home with Dr. Auburn-Stache to travel the United States meeting other kids with bizarre abilities resulting from lab experiments. In letters to Moritz, the German boy with no eyes who has become his best friend, Ollie relates the journey. He meets a boy with bones so brittle they snap like chalk, and a girl who removes her heart when her feelings become too intense. Inspired by Ollie’s cross-country adventure, Moritz makes a journey of his own, joining a prestigious school where he meets a girl with two mouths. Then a terrible discovery leaves eternally optimistic Ollie reeling, and a horrible mistake propels Moritz back into isolation. But the unusual group faces a bigger risk, one that can’t be tackled unless both boys face the very thing they fear most.

Nowhere Near You sat on my bedside table for a crazy amount of time before I finally faced my own fear and picked it up. I loved Because You’ll Never Meet Me, the beginning of Ollie and Moritz’s story, so much that I worried about reading more. Apparently I’m super susceptible to this kind of sequel-pressure, because I worry about this sort of thing a lot.

That said, once I started reading, I felt like I was back in the story world I loved so much in the first book. I love Ollie’s upbeat, indomitable voice—he’s like a Labrador puppy, leaping and bounding all over the place and convinced the world is a fantastic, friendly place. But I also love Moritz’s buttoned-up, melancholy tone. I want a Fieke in my life. She’s the kind of prickly but protective friend that every sensitive person needs, and she definitely added some punch to Moritz’s letters. Klaus was another favorite of mine. His quiet, devoted friendship won me over right away.

But I think one of the unsung heroes of the story has to be Moritz’s dad. I loved Moritz’s description of his dad being a man of few words, so that when he spoke, each word had weight because it was obviously carefully considered. His character bears out that description, too. Even though he’s not in the story much, I liked him and it was obvious that he meant a great deal to Moritz and had a huge impact on his life.

In terms of plot, this was always going to be a story which required a serious willingness to suspend disbelief as so many characters have bizarre traits and abilities. I liked that Leah Thomas used this story to explore Moritz’s lack of sight beyond his supernatural ability to compensate via echolocation. At one point illness robs Moritz of his ability and reminds him how fragile he is and how dependent he is on his hearing for both vision and sound.

If you haven’t read Because You’ll Never Meet Me, you need to start with that one first. You could probably follow a great deal of the story without having read it, but you’ll be on the outside of a lot of inside jokes between Ollie and Moritz, and seriously. It’s really good. So there’s that, too.

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Cultural Elements
Moritz, who lives in Germany, was born with no eyes. He can “see” using echolocation, but illness interferes with his ability to hear and he can’t discern color, which becomes a problem in school.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Boy/boy kissing. One brief, vague comment about touching and an insinuation that the boys have had sex. Moritz repeatedly tells Ollie that he loves him.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
An accident involving a school bus injures some kids. A girl has the ability to remove her heart from her chest in a non-gory way. Her heart sits in a pocket in her chest and is completely enclosed, so not bloody or anything when she takes it out. At one point she threatens to put it into a blender (to commit suicide).

Drug Content
A boy from school gives Moritz alcohol to drink.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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