Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: Not if I Can Help It by Carolyn Mackler

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Not If I Can Help It by Carolyn Mackler

Not If I Can Help It
Carolyn Mackler
Scholastic Press
July 30, 2019

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About Not If I Can Help It

Willa likes certain things to be certain ways. Her socks have to be soft . . . and definitely can’t have irritating tags on the inside. She loves the crunch of popcorn and nachos . . . but is grossed out by the crunch of a baby carrot. And slimy foods? Those are the worst.

Willa can manage all these things — but there are some things she can’t deal with, like her father’s big news. He’s been keeping a big secret from her . . . that he’s been dating the mom of Willa’s best friend Ruby. Willa does NOT like the idea of them being together. And she does NOT like the idea of combining families. And she does NOT like the idea of her best friend becoming her sister overnight. Will she go along with all of these changes? NOT if she can help it!

My Review

Just when I needed a spunky heroine in my life, I found Willa in NOT IF I CAN HELP IT. She has fierce opinions and specific ideas about how she wants things to go. Some of these things are related to her Sensory Processing Disorder, like her needs for clothes to fit a certain way and feel a certain way, but others are simply her own personal preference, like where she wants to go to school next year, and who her dad happens to be dating.

After her dad and her best friend Ruby’s mom announce that they’re dating, Willa realizes she and Ruby aren’t on the same page about it. This begins a big challenge to their relationship and a challenge to Willa’s way of looking at things. She begins to learn that situations and relationships don’t a;ways look the same from other people’s points of view.

For me, that process is precisely what makes this book amazing. Willa navigates that tug-of-war between her own preferences and needs and those of the other important people in her life, mainly her dad and her best friend. She remains a fierce person, fiercely committed to her way of thinking, but also fiercely committed to the people she loves, which makes her all the more lovable and amazing.

NOT IF I CAN HELP IT makes a great read for kids navigating transitions to blended families in their own lives or helping them develop empathy and understanding for the transition in the lives of people close to them. It’s also a great pick for encouraging understanding and empathy toward children with sensory issues. I highly recommend it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 up.

Representation
Willa has Sensory Processing Disorder. Another character battles anxiety. Willa’s best friend, Ruby in Indian-American. One minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of NOT IF I CAN HELP IT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Coral by Sara Ella

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

Coral
Sara Ella
Thomas Nelson
Published November 12, 2019

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About Coral

There is more than one way to drown.

Coral has always been different, standing out from her mermaid sisters in a society where blending in is key. Worse yet, she fears she has been afflicted with the dreaded Disease, said to be carried by humans—emotions. Can she face the darkness long enough to surface in the light?

Above the sea, Brooke has nothing left to give. Depression and anxiety have left her feeling isolated. Forgotten. The only thing she can rely on is the numbness she finds within the cool and comforting ocean waves. If only she weren’t stuck at Fathoms—a new group therapy home that promises a second chance at life. But what’s the point of living if her soul is destined to bleed?

Merrick may be San Francisco’s golden boy, but he wants nothing more than to escape his controlling father. When his younger sister’s suicide attempt sends Merrick to his breaking point, escape becomes the only option. If he can find their mom, everything will be made right again—right?

When their worlds collide, all three will do whatever it takes to survive, and Coral might even catch a prince in the process. But what—and who—must they leave behind for life to finally begin?

Taking a new twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved—yet tragic—fairy tale, Coral explores mental health from multiple perspectives, questioning what it means to be human in a world where humanity often seems lost.

My Review

CORAL follows three different points-of-view: a girl who’s reluctantly addressing her suicidal feelings, a boy whose sister recently tried to die by suicide, and a mermaid whose sister seems to be succumbing to a deadly illness. At first I thought the mermaid sections would be a sort of direct retelling of Andersen’s fairy tale, and there are some similarities. But it’s a very re-imagined version of the story with a much broader look at heartbreak and depression how devastating they can be.

I feel like it took me a long time to get this book. It has three different points of view that eventually collide, and I kept trying to guess how they intersected. (Not the way I guessed.) Once they did, it was a little confusing for me to think back through the earlier part of the story and have it all make sense with the new information. Maybe just because it was a direction I didn’t expect? I’m not sure.

I really like the way the story shows how overpowering emotions and depression can be. I felt like it was easy to understand Brooke’s dark feelings, and the connection to the Little Mermaid fairy tale made sense in broad strokes.

Throughout CORAL, there’s a running theme where things aren’t what they seem. Merrick’s relationships with almost every other character surprise him. Brooke’s secrets change things, too. It created a layered feel to the story that I enjoyed. We aren’t always right about people– sometimes even the ones closest to us. So that rang true for me.

Overall, I thought CORAL was imaginative and a powerful exploration of emotions and depression. If you liked Sara Ella’s other books, I think you’ll like CORAL, too. Fans of the Syrena Legacy by Anna Banks will like the blend of mermaids and modern setting, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Merrick and his sister have Japanese grandparents on their dad’s side. Merrick’s sister and Brooke both battle depression and suicidal thoughts.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
In Coral’s world, emotions are a sign of a disease that leads to death she refers to as Red Tide.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning for Suicide
Some references to and brief descriptions of suicide. Some suicidal ideation.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The How and the Why by Cynthia Hand

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The How and the Why
Cynthia Hand
HarperTeen
Published November 5, 2019

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About The How and the Why

A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, perfect for fans of Far From the Tree, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.

Today Melly had us writing letters to our babies…

Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for. They’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—except maybe the one thing she wants. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.

But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.

Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who gave her up for adoption, this voice-driven narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

My Review

I had so much fun reading THE HOW AND THE WHY. First off, there’s so much humor– both situational (like when Cass blurts out that she wants to get a boyfriend and have sex only to realize her whole family has overheard her) and that witty banter between characters that I absolutely could eat with a spoon.

But it’s not just a funny, silly story. Not only is Cass wrestling with wanting to know her biological mom, but she’s also facing potentially losing her adopted mom to a heart problem.

Even thinking back through some of the scenes has me tearing up. So many moments are just packed with emotions that leap off the page and grab you by the tear ducts. I think I full-on ugly cried at one point.

When I realized that the story was going to alternate between Cass’s life and the letters she ends up receiving from her biological mom, I wasn’t sure how that was going to work. I feel like it’s really hard to do that kind of a back-and-forth story and do both parts well, create two individual voices, keep tension and interest in both stories, etc.

But oh my gosh did Cynthia Hand do that well! I felt like the balance and the character/plot development were perfect. I had questions, I felt tension at all the right moments. I invested in both stories.

I feel like the obvious comparisons are to books like PAST PERFECT LIFE and WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE because they wrestle with estranged family. But I think any readers who enjoy strong contemporary stories, especially ones about drama kids, will love THE HOW AND THE WHY. I think also fans of HOW TO BE BRAVE by E. Katherine Kottaras will want this one on their reading lists.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Cass’s best friend is Mormon and black. One of her friends comes out to her as gay. Both Cass and her best friend are adopted.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Cass tells her friend she wants to have sex.

Spiritual Content
Some reference to Cass’s best friend’s Mormon beliefs, including that she doesn’t swear or drink caffeine.

Violent Content
Some reference to physical abuse (happens off-scene).

Drug Content
Some details about a high school teen drinking alcohol with a college boy.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE HOW AND THE WHY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

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The Music of What Happens
Bill Konigsberg
Arthur A. Levine Books
Published February 26, 2019

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About The Music of What Happens

Max: Chill. Sports. Video games. Gay and not a big deal, not to him, not to his mom, not to his buddies. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn’t want to think about, ever.

Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His “wives” and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won’t like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he’s the only one who can keep the family from falling apart.

Throw in a rickety, 1980s-era food truck called Coq Au Vinny. Add in prickly pears, cloud eggs, and a murky idea of what’s considered locally sourced and organic. Place it all in Mesa, Arizona, in June, where the temp regularly hits 114. And top it off with a touch of undeniable chemistry between utter opposites.

Over the course of one summer, two boys will have to face their biggest fears and decide what they’re willing to risk — to get the thing they want the most.

My Review

I think I’m totally a sucker for a book with great voices in it. You know those books where you can tell whose point-of-view you’re reading because each character talks and thinks in a way that’s uniquely them? THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS totally has that, and I love it. I bought in to Max and Jordan’s stories and their very different lives with single moms and with their very different friend circles. Honestly, I couldn’t get enough.

I loved that THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS made use of stereotypes to help us understand some minor characters but also used the character cast to challenge stereotypes and assumptions. A few times I found myself re-examining a conversation or situation and thinking of things from a new perspective because of a point Max or Jordan made, and I love that, too. Love that the story makes me think in unexpected ways.

One thing I didn’t like so much was the amount of profanity. I get that people really talk that way, and maybe using the words makes it feel more authentic, but sometimes it felt like overkill to me. Like, we get who these guys are, we don’t need quite so many reminders everywhere. But that’s a personal preference for me.

On the whole, I really enjoyed THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS. I think I have at least one other book by Konigsberg, so I’m eager to check that one out soon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16up.

Representation
Both main characters are gay. Max’s mom is Mexican. A couple side characters are also Latinx.

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

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
A couple references to arousal. Some hints or statements that characters have had sex, but no descriptions of the event itself. Some descriptions of kissing and cuddling.

One character shares memories of being raped. The sexual part isn’t described in detail, but the way the character feels comes across very strongly. Sensitive readers or readers recovering from trauma may find those scenes difficult to read.

Spiritual Content
Jordan briefly talks about his mom going through a phase in which she was very interested in Christianity.

Violent Content
One boy punches another in the face and misaligns his jaw.

Drug Content
Max drinks a few beers to loosen up at a party. Another boy offers him pot, but Max declines, though he’s in the room when the other boy smokes it.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess

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

The Quiet You Carry
Nikki Barthelmess
Flux Books
Published March 5, 2019

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About The Quiet You Carry

Victoria Parker knew her dad’s behavior toward her was a little unusual, but she convinced herself everything was fine—until she found herself locked out of the house at 3:00 a.m., surrounded by flashing police lights. 

Now, dumped into a crowded, chaotic foster home, Victoria has to tiptoe around her domineering foster mother, get through senior year at a new school, and somehow salvage her college dreams . . . all while keeping her past hidden.

But some secrets won’t stay buried—especially when unwanted memories make Victoria freeze up at random moments and nightmares disrupt her sleep. Even worse, she can’t stop worrying about her stepsister Sarah, left behind with her father. All she wants is to move forward, but how do you focus on the future when the past won’t leave you alone?

My Review

Victoria knows nothing about life in a foster home until a misunderstanding with her dad sparks a series of events that land her in one. Now, Victoria faces her senior year alone, in a small town, in a highly structured foster home, with all her college dreams in jeopardy. As Victoria makes new friends and works to solidify her future plans, she struggles with memories of what happened at home. She resists the memories at first, just wanting to keep her head down and wait out the clock until she turns 18 and can go wherever she chooses. But as the pieces of the night she left home begin to fall into place, Victoria faces shocking revelations about herself, her parents, and the stepsister she left behind.


Though she’s a good kid with goals and a future in order, Victoria can be a bit pushy and abrasive. She makes selfish choices and stomps on the feelings of others when what they want contradicts her own needs or desires. Through her experience in the foster care system, she learns to consider others’ perspective, and realizes that her initial understanding of events and people isn’t always based on the truth. This story contains some brief strong descriptions of sexual abuse, and some references to physical and emotional manipulation and abuse. Readers who enjoyed A LIST OF CAGES by Robin Roe or In Another Life by C. C. Hunter will enjoy the exploration of found families and ultimately positive portrayal of foster or adoptive homes.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Very little in terms of character descriptions.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some brief but graphic descriptions of sexual abuse. Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Victoria visits church with her foster mom, but no focus on any spiritual components of the experience.

Violent Content
Some situations of danger.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE QUIET YOU CARRY in exchange for my honest review.

Review and Blog Tour: Naked Mole Rat Saves the World by Karen Rivers

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , , ,

Naked Mole Rat Saves the World
Karen Rivers
Algonquin Young Readers
Available October 15, 2019

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About Naked Mole Rat Saves the World

Can Kit’s super-weird superpower save her world?

Kit-with-a-small-k is navigating middle school with a really big, really strange secret: When she’s stressed, she turns into a naked mole rat.

It first happened after kit watched her best friend, Clem, fall and get hurt during an acrobatic performance on TV. Since then, the transformations keep happening—whether kit wants them to or not. Kit can’t tell Clem about it, because after the fall, Clem just hasn’t been herself. She’s sad and mad and gloomy, and keeping a secret of her own: the real reason she fell.

A year after the accident, kit and Clem still haven’t figured out how to deal with all the ways they have transformed—both inside and out. When their secrets come between them, the best friends get into a big fight. Somehow, kit has to save the day, but she doesn’t believe she can be that kind of hero. Turning into a naked mole rat isn’t really a superpower. Or is it? 

My Review

Okay, so you’re probably thinking this book sounds weird. And it is a bit weird. But oh. My. Gosh. It’s layered. And complex. The characters face incredibly challenging things and have these really complicated, very believable (okay except for the changing into a naked mole rat part!) responses to those situations. I love both kit and Clem. Their friendship felt so real. So did kit’s troubling relationship with her mom.

One thing that was tough for me is that though the book has some characters dealing with mental health issues, there isn’t really anyone calling that out and offering help. Kit feels an incredible burden, but she doesn’t know where to turn and the only other adult regularly in her life encourages some enabling behavior rather than seeking help.

I know sometimes that’s really what happens. Sometimes there isn’t anyone really looking out for a person who’s barely treading water in the midst of anxiety or depression. This book made me want to find all the kids like kit and do something to help them. To provide them with better support.

Overall I totally love this book. The emotional journeys of kit and Clem gripped my heart. I love the way the friendships felt so organic and real. I love the way Clem’s grandma told awkward family stories and laughed at strange moments.

I think readers who enjoyed FLORA & ULYSSES will love NAKED MOLE RAT SAVES THE WORLD. It’s got a lot of the same kind of deep emotional wrestling and quirky departures from reality.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
Clem is Latina and is depressed. Kit and her mom both have anxiety issues, and kit was born prematurely, so that she is still small for her age and has alopecia universalis, which causes her to have no hair.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Clem’s twin brother has a crush on a girl which she teases him about.

Spiritual Content
One character learns about a relative who joined a cult and died by suicide with the whole group.

Violent Content
Some description of Clem’s accident which results in serious injuries. Brief descriptions of robbery. See above.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of NAKED MOLE RAT SAVES THE WORLD in exchange for my honest review.

About Karen Rivers

I was born, grew up, and currently live in British Columbia, where I take a lot of photos, walk a lot of paths, and write books for children, teens and adults.  

The stories I tell are emotionally honest, but they aren’t about real people.   Fiction has a way of telling the truth though, don’t you think? 

I believe that readers are always asking the question, “Am I OK?”  I write characters who suspect that they are not OK, but who eventually find inside themselves the strength to change that belief. 

Growing up is harder than ever.  The world is often egregiously unfair.  Things can seem impossible.

How do we go on?

I believe in the power of stories.  I think that stories will save us.  They can show us the way.

Novels are magical.  Books can be mirrors or windows.  We sometimes need to see ourselves.  We always need to understand others. 

Stories are all secret passages to alternate worlds where we can be safe to explore the unsafe, the unsettling or the unfair hands some people have been dealt.  

In the pages of a book, we can be braver than we are, we can go further than we’d normally dare, we can understand more than we know.  

Books make us better, period.

I believe in magic.  Do you?  

Be brave.   Be kind.   And believe this:  You are OK.  

I believe in you.