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Review: Leap by Simina Popescu

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Leap by Simina Popescu

Leap
Simina Popescu
Roaring Brook Press
Published November 12, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Leap

A coming-of-age graphic novel following two dancers at a conservative performing arts school―exploring friendship, first love, and what it means to fall out of step with your own dreams.

Ana has been studying contemporary dance since she was little, but her heart isn’t in it anymore. Instead her focus is on Carina―a beautiful, ambitious ballerina whose fear of being outed keeps Ana in the closet and their fragile relationship from seeing the light of day. Risking her own career, Ana gives up more and more in order to fit into the shadows of Carina’s life.

Sara, on the other hand, is fielding whispers she may be the best dancer their school has produced in years. Much of that is thanks to her mentor and instructor, Marlena, who plucked Sara from the classical track and encouraged her to blossom as a contemporary dancer. Sara has always been in awe of Marlena, but recently, that admiration has sparked into something more, and Sara’s not sure what to do about it.

As junior year at their performing arts school begins, Ana and Sara are assigned as roommates. What starts off as a tentative friendship soon becomes a much-needed anchor.

My Review

It was so fun reading a dance book this week. Earlier tonight (the day I’m writing this), I started taking a tap class, which marks the first dance class I’ve taken in a long time. I’m excited about it. So the timing of reading Leap was really great for me.

One of the things that’s truly incredible about this graphic novel is the way that the panels capture the motion of dance. Some characters are in a contemporary dance program, and others are in a ballet program, so it shows two different kinds of dance, and I think the illustrations differentiate them well. I only spotted one panel in which I think the position of a dancer’s foot wasn’t right for the ballet move that she seemed to be performing.

The story is really sweet, too. It follows two characters. One, Ana, is in a long-term relationship that started out really well but has hit some bumps. The other character, Sara, has a huge crush on someone she shouldn’t, and she’s trying to understand her feelings and figure out what to do. When the girls become roommates, they bond as friends, and it isn’t too long before they begin speaking hard truths to one another. I loved getting to see their friendship flourish and to see the journey they each had with dancing.

I think readers who enjoy books in international settings or books about dance and relationships will find a lot to love in Leap.

Content Notes for Leap

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Ana and some other characters are queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs and some other swearing used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
One character makes some negative comments about her body. Ballet instructors also say cruel things to the dancers about their weight and bodies. Some homophobic comments, usually well-meaning, but hurtful. The girls talk about someone whose career was ruined after she was outed.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol in several scenes. (They’re underage.)

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: Visitations by Corey Egbert

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Visitations
Corey Egbert
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published December 17, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Visitations

Inspired by true events, this haunting yet hopeful young adult graphic novel weaves together family dynamics, mental illness, and religion―perfect for fans of Hey, Kiddo.

Corey’s mom has always made him feel safe. Especially after his parents’ divorce, and the dreaded visitations with his dad begin. But as Corey grows older, he can’t ignore his mother’s increasingly wild accusations. Her insistence that God has appointed Corey as his sister’s protector. Her declaration that Corey’s father is the devil.

Soon, she whisks Corey and his sister away from their home and into the boiling Nevada desert. There, they struggle to survive with little food and the police on the trail. Meanwhile, under the night sky, Corey is visited by a flickering ghost, a girl who urges him to fight for a different world―one outside of his mother’s spoon-fed tales, one Corey must find before it’s too late.

Drawing inspiration from his own upbringing in the Mormon church, Corey Egbert welcomes readers on an emotionally stirring, nuanced journey into the liminal spaces between imagination and memory, faith and truth.

My Review

I think the thing that breaks my heart the most about this story is the way that Corey’s mom used religion to isolate him and his sister from Corey’s dad. There’s more to it than that, but it was honestly heartbreaking to read some of those scenes where Corey’s dad tries to be as normal as possible around kids who’ve clearly been instructed to freeze him out.

Corey wrestles with some heavy questions about his faith in the midst of some pretty wild circumstances. There’s a lot to process for him. His mom basically kidnaps him and his sister. At first, he has confidence in her faith. But as time goes on and their situation becomes more dire, things get weirder and weirder.

We watch him and his sister trying to figure out how to respond to this situation in which they suddenly have real questions about the person they’ve believed is the most trustworthy. Where is the tipping point at which you push back and stop listening to this person? How does that work when they are the adult and you’re the child?

The book explores some really heavy ideas like that, but it also celebrates the complexity of family relationships. The author is careful not to demonize the character with mental health issues but doesn’t minimize the harm that untreated illness causes.

Visitations offers a critical window into a high-control religious family and what that looks like from within. While that experience may be foreign to a lot of readers, the characters’ expressions and dialog between characters make it easy to empathize with Corey.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Corey and his family are practicing Mormons. One character has mental health issues.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to child sexual abuse. (Nothing happens in-scene.) Corey has a crush on a girl at school. He feels ashamed about his attraction to her. He feels uncomfortable while in the parking lot of a place where there are sex workers present.

Spiritual Content
Corey and his family are Mormon. They pray together and he learns verses and stories from the Book of Mormon. Corey’s prayer experience is sometimes illustrated to show him confronting a character that represents his perception of God as an old man with white hair.

Corey has been taught to believe that when things go wrong, it’s the enemy obstructing Heavenly Father’s plan.

Violent Content
Corey’s grandfather is arrested for abusing a child. (Nothing shown in the scenes of the book.) Corey’s mom worries that someone has abused Corey’s sister. Scenes show kidnapping and hiding from police.

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: 49 Days by Agnes Lee

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49 Days
Agnes Lee
Levine Quierido
Published March 5, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About 49 Days

Day 1

Gotta get up. Gotta keep moving. This map – it says I have to cross over here. Wait, what’s that…?

And so begins a graphic novel story unlike any 49 Days. In Buddhist tradition, a person must travel for forty-nine days after they die, before they can fully cross over. Here in this book, readers travel with one Korean American girl, Kit, on her journey, while also spending time with her family and friends left behind.

Agnes Lee has captivated readers across the world for years with her illustrations for the New York Times Metropolitan Diary. Her debut graphic novel is an unforgettable story of death, grief, love, and how we keep moving forward.

My Review

One of the things I love about this book is how immersive it is. Kit wakes up on a beach and swears, so I knew things were not good. It took several pages for me to feel like I found my feet in the story, but I think that was the author’s intent. It emphasizes that Kit is in a new space, figuring things out on her own. As her experience triggers memories from her life, we see those memories play out in short scenes. We see her family light incense and pray as they grieve their loss. When the story shifts from those prayer scenes back to Kit on her journey, it seems the prayers have fortified her and helped move her forward on her journey.

The panels and scenes are often understated in muted grayscale with tan colors. The characters’ emotions also often seem understated. It’s clear Kit’s family misses her, but they seem somber at first. As the story progresses, they experience moments of intense grief that create powerful moments. I think I cried like three times reading this book.

Another wonderful thing about the book is the way that food connects the characters. As a girl raised in a big Italian family, this resonated with me so much. I love that making food together was a connection between Kit and her mom, and that it becomes a vehicle through which her family celebrates their love for her even after she has passed.

The author includes a note after the story concludes explaining her intent and her decision to keep Buddhist practices vague in the text to respect the different ways people practice faith. She names the rituals and practices represented in the book, too.

I actually heard about this book because I read a wild review by someone who I think didn’t get the book at all. It made me curious enough to track down a copy, and I’m really glad I did.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Kit and her family are Korean American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One F-bomb and a small number of other expletives.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Kit dies before the story begins, and the story follows her 49-day journey between life and rebirth, called bardo, as part of the Buddhist faith. Her family lights incense and prays, following funeral rites called cheondojae.

Violent Content
References to death, though we do not see how Kit died. In her 49-day journey, she has several moments where she resets following what would have been a fatal choice.

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: Killers of the Flower Moon: Adapted for Young Readers by David Grann

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Killers of the Flower Moon: Adapted for Young Readers: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
David Grann
Crown Books for Young Readers
Published November 16, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Killers of the Flower Moon

A young reader edition of the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist about one of history’s most ruthless and shocking crimes, the Reign of Terror against the Osage people.

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. An undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau, infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection to bring an end to the deadly crime spree. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

In this youngification of the adult bestseller, critically acclaimed author David Grann revisits the gripping investigation into the shocking crimes against the Osage people. It is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward Native Americans that allowed the murderers to continue for so long and provides essential information for young readers about a shameful period in U.S. history.

My Review

This book promises to shock readers, and it absolutely delivered on that promise to me. Wow. My jaw dropped several times as I read about the calculated, brazen murders of Osage Tribe members in the 1920s. I don’t remember learning anything about this in my history classes, though the Teapot Dome scandal and Edgar Hoover’s rise to the top of the FBI were events I had a little familiarity with.

One of the things the book does really well is to present the facts about how laws requiring indigenous people to have a court-appointed guardian (white person) managing their wealth directly led to the swindling and murder of the Osage. Shocking and terrible.

This chapter in US history deserves to be much more widely known. I listened to the book as an audiobook and read the whole thing in less than a week. It was so compelling. The whole thing is divided into three parts. The first part centers around Mollie Burkhart. The second follows federal law enforcement officer Tom White, and the third part follows a journalist who begins looking back at the murder cases in the early 2000s.

I’m really glad I read this book. It makes me realize that there are so many parts of American history that I don’t know nearly enough about. This book is a great resource for young readers who, like me, want to learn more about parts of history that we don’t acknowledge nearly enough.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The narrative focuses on Mollie Burkhart, her family, and Osage tribe members. Several prominent people in the book are white, including law enforcement and high-profile people in the town.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Mentions of marriage and divorce.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to Osage spiritual traditions and celebrations. Mollie Burkhart celebrated holidays and feasts with her tribe and also attended the Catholic church and valued her Catholic faith.

Violent Content
Systemic racism. For example, the book chronicles how the Osage people were required to have a “guardian” (read: white person) who was in charge of their bank accounts. This led to rampant financial abuse. The book quotes newspaper articles and historical figures, noting when they’ve used racist terms.

Brief mentions of Mollie’s generation being forced to attend a boarding school where they were required to stop speaking their native language. The book doesn’t use the term residential schools, but I think that’s what it’s talking about.

Several scenes briefly describe a murder scene. They’re never overly gory. Just the facts, stated as briefly as possible.

Drug Content
This happened during prohibition, but several characters drank alcohol anyway. In one chapter, the author describes a woman who arrives drunk at a family dinner and makes a 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: The Judgment of Yoyo Gold by Isaac Blum

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The Judgment of Yoyo Gold
Isaac Blum
Philomel Books
Published October 15, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Judgment of Yoyo Gold

A smart and powerful story set in the Orthodox Jewish community about what it means to fit in, break out, and find your own way, by the award-winning author of The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen. This book is Gossip Girl + My Name Is Asher Lev + I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.

Yoyo Gold has always played the role of the perfect Jewish daughter. She keeps kosher, looks after her siblings, and volunteers at the local food bank. She respects the decisions of her rabbi father and encourages her friends to observe the rules of their Orthodox faith. But when she sees her best friend cast out of the community over a seemingly innocent transgression, Yoyo’s eyes are opened to the truth of her neighbors’ hypocrisies for the first time. And what she sees leaves her shocked and unmoored.

As Yoyo’s frustration builds, so does the pressure to speak out, even if she can only do so anonymously on TikTok, an app that’s always been forbidden to her. But when one of her videos goes viral—and her decisions wind up impacting not only her own life but also her relationship with the boy she’s falling for—Yoyo’s world is thrown into chaos. She is forced to choose which path to take, for her community, for her family, and most importantly, for herself.

Award-winning author Isaac Blum returns with a new novel that asks what it really means to be part of a community—and what it means to break free.

My Review

I feel like this is one of those books whose sum is greater than its parts. It’s a girl’s exploration of her faith and what it means to her. It’s a dry, funny story about growing up and falling in love.

One of my favorite things about the book is all the moments in which Yoyo responds to a situation with some unexpected, funny aside. Sometimes it’s a quick after-the-fact joke. Those moments consistently took me by surprise and added levity to the scene.

I also like how much of the story centers around female relationships with one another and the power of those connections to protect or destroy. The girls could be cruel to one another. In a close community like Yoyo’s, rumors could be devastating. But that same close community meant that girls holding space for one another and offering support or understanding also had a huge impact.

At this point, I think we’ve all read books about faith deconstruction in which the main character grows up and discards the beliefs and values they were raised to hold. The message is usually something along the lines of exposing hypocrisy and casting off faith which held one back from living a fuller, more authentic life.

This isn’t that story. It’s frank in its assessment of the strictures of the Orthodox faith. Yoyo’s questions are genuine, and her struggle is real. But it isn’t a binary question of whether she will embrace her faith or discard it. Her path forward isn’t simple, but it does lead her toward greater authenticity and a greater understanding of what her role in her family and community and her faith mean to her.

I can tell I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time, and I’m really excited to read more by Isaac Blum. I have his debut novel, but hadn’t gotten to it yet. I’m going to have to fix that very soon!

Readers who enjoy faith exploration or stories about someone’s journey toward a more authentic life will want to read this one.

Content Notes for The Judgment of Yoyo Gold

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most characters are Jewish. One of Yoyo’s friends is Korean American and Jewish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A very small number of swear words.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to touching over clothes.

Spiritual Content
Yoyo is part of an Orthodox community and adheres to strict faith practices and beliefs. Through the story she explores her relationship with her faith and with those rules. Is she doing things because she wants to or because it’s expected? Does she agree with the values of the community? What happens when someone breaks the rules? The story references Shabbos services, holidays, and other Jewish traditions.

Violent Content
Some references to antisemitic comments on Yoyo’s social media. Reference to sexually violent comments. (Yoyo doesn’t repeat what commenters said, only that it’s explicit and violent.)

Drug Content
Yoyo and other teens drink alcohol at a party. Yoyo sees someone using a vape pen.

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: Don’t Let the Forest In by C. G. Drews

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Don’t Let the Forest In
C. G. Drews
Feiwel & Friends
Published October 29, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Don’t Let the Forest In

Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him.

Protect him. Lie for him. Kill for him.

High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality—Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more.

But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won’t say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork—whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew’s wicked stories.

Desperate to figure out what’s wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster—Thomas’s drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him. To make sure no one else dies, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew begins to fear that the only way to stop the creatures might be to destroy their creator…

My Review

I got so completely lost in this book. I couldn’t stop reading it. The story has this dark, creepy vibe that curls around two boys who are outcasts for different reasons. Thomas’s anger keeps other people at a distance the same way that Andrew’s shyness does, but they share a close bond with each other.

As the story progresses, Andrew changes. At the beginning, he feels powerless to steer even his own existence. But as the monsters get scarier and the forest gets (literally) under his skin, he begins to take action in his own way. I loved that arc in which he finds his voice and claims ownership of his life.

The desperation in the quest to stop the monsters had me leaping from one chapter to the next. I needed to know who was going to win: the forest with its monsters, or the prince and his poet.

I’ve read The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews before, and I really enjoyed that one. This book takes Drews’ storytelling to a whole new level, though. The tension in the horror elements. The characters you just want to rescue right off the page. The secrets and twisty plotlines. I love it all. Sign me up for all their future projects, please and thanks.

All that to say– if you’re looking for a dark, forest-y Halloween story, grab a copy of this one immediately.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Andrew is asexual. Other characters identify as LGBTQIA+ as well.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A couple of F-bombs and infrequent use of swearing.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys.

Spiritual Content
Monsters appear and attack people. A seed sprouts inside someone’s body, and plants begin to grow inside them.

Violent Content
Body horror. Graphic descriptions of blood/gore. Descriptions of an eating disorder. Homophobic bullying. References to Andrew punching through a mirror.

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.