Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman

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Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman

Music for Tigers
Michelle Kadarusman
Pajama Press
Published April 28, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Music for Tigers

Shipped halfway around the world to spend the summer with her mom’s eccentric Australian relatives, middle schooler and passionate violinist Louisa is prepared to be resentful. But life at the family’s remote camp in the Tasmanian rainforest is intriguing, to say the least. There are pig-footed bandicoots, scary spiders, weird noises and odors in the night, and a quirky boy named Colin who cooks the most amazing meals. Not the least strange is her Uncle Ruff, with his unusual pet and veiled hints about something named Convict Rock.

Finally, Louisa learns the truth: Convict Rock is a sanctuary established by her great-grandmother Eleanor—a sanctuary for Tasmanian tigers, Australia’s huge marsupials that were famously hunted into extinction almost a hundred years ago. Or so the world believes. Hidden in the rainforest at Convict Rock, one tiger remains. But now the sanctuary is threatened by a mining operation, and the last Tasmanian tiger must be lured deeper into the forest. The problem is, not since her great-grandmother has a member of the family been able to earn the shy tigers’ trust.

As the summer progresses, Louisa forges unexpected connections with Colin, with the forest, and—through Eleanor’s journal—with her great-grandmother. She begins to suspect the key to saving the tiger is her very own music. But will her plan work? Or will the enigmatic Tasmanian tiger disappear once again, this time forever?

A moving coming-of-age story wrapped up in the moss, leaves, and blue gums of the Tasmanian rainforest where, hidden under giant ferns, crouches its most beloved, and lost, creature.

My Review

I feel like this book slipped right into my TBR calendar almost as elusively as the Tasmanian tigers in the story. I’d never heard of a Tasmanian tiger or Thylacine until reading MUSIC FOR TIGERS. As I read descriptions of them– the stiff tail, dog-like face, tiger stripes– my curiosity only grew until I had to look online and get a visual for it. I found some video footage of the last Tasmanian tiger in captivity. It’s pretty wild looking!

In terms of the story, I loved Louisa from the getgo. I loved her passion for her music and felt a kinship with her over her battle with anxiety. I loved the way her relationship with her uncle developed as well as with her neighbor, Colin, who is possibly my favorite character in the whole book. I definitely identified with his mom and her heartbreak over Colin’s hurts and loneliness. She so wants him to find his people, and I absolutely feel like I get that.

The plot was not what drove the story for me. I think I kept wanting them to come up with a way to save the camp or raise awareness of the animals that destroying it endangered. But that wasn’t really the story. It was more an internal growth story about Louisa coming to understand her family and fall in love with things she didn’t expect to, which I really love, but it’s hard to make that as compelling a plot as something more concrete.

On the whole, I’m super glad I read this book and really enjoyed it. I think fans of BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD or CHIRP will enjoy MUSIC FOR TIGERS. I know I’ll be recommending it!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Characters are white — Canadian or Australian. One character is non-neurotypical and has ASD.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some rumors of ghosts at Convict Rock (though Louisa doesn’t really believe the stories) and sometimes Louisa hears piano music– perhaps like her grandmother used to play.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Louisa’s uncle spends the night in town after drinking too much at a bar after losing someone he cares about.

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 MUSIC FOR TIGERS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Claires by C. L. Gaber

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

The Claires (An Ascenders Novel)
C. L. Gaber
Big Picture Media, Inc
Published January 14, 2020

Amazon | Goodreads

About The Claires

Four beautiful girls. Quadruplets. They are not identical.
But each is named Claire.
Claire V is Clairvoyant—clear seeing with visions of the future.
Claire S is Clairsentient—clear feeling as she embraces another’s pain.
Claire A is Clairaudient—clear hearing to tap into the spirit world.
Claire C is Claircognizant—clear knowing with 100% accuracy.

Born in 1911, they first died together in 1928 at age seventeen. Two months later, they were reborn. And reborn. THE CLAIRES only live to seventeen and then they’re violently murdered. Somewhere in the world, a woman finds out she’s pregnant with quads. The Claires return to a new family as they try to break a curse that guarantees they die young.

It’s current-day Los Angeles, and once again, their seventeenth birthday is looming. Can they save themselves, clean up the streets in the name of penance, and crash their own prom?

The Claires is the first novel spin-off of the best-selling Ascenders Book Saga. Also available in paperback starting on January 14, 2020.

My Review

The thing that really drew me to this story was the idea that it’s about four sisters who are all under a curse that they’re trying to break before they turn 17 and are destined to die. It’s got great stakes and I’m a huge fan of sisterhood stories.

The writing style is a little unusual. Reading it, I felt sometimes like I was looking through a camera that kept refocusing and refocusing, zooming in and out so that I felt yanked around a little bit trying to follow what was happening. There’s an element of that that I liked– it created kind of a unique sort of conversational voice. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was taken down a notch or two.

I also felt like all of the sisters’ characters were basically the same. They have these super advanced powers and have basically lived for 200 years, so they kind of come off as superior and arrogant. Like normal mortals just aren’t worth their time, really. I could see how living so long would definitely make someone feel jaded– about high school especially! ha!– but sometimes it kept me from really investing in the characters.

Around the three-quarters mark, it seemed like the girls softened a little bit. I liked that. Their brother also has chapters and sections from his point-of-view, and I thought he was a lot more of a sympathetic character, but I didn’t really see how his story fit in with the girls.

I thought the way the book was formatted was really interesting, too. It’s broken into sections and each section has chapters and scenes in it, usually from one character’s point-of-view. Sometimes it changed narrators in the middle of a section though, which was a little confusing, since it felt out of sync with the rest of the book.

I kind of also got hung up on the fact that in a scene set in 1925, one of the girls gets excited about reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s latest book, THE GRAPES OF WRATH. I was confused because THE GRAPES OF WRATH is written by John Steinbeck and didn’t come out until 1939. I’m guessing the author meant THE GREAT GATSBY, which is by Fitzgerald and came out in 1925? It’s not a big thing, but it did seem really odd.

Anyway, on the whole, I think I was looking for a book experience more like Blue and her mother and their housemates in THE RAVEN BOYS with that close female bond and otherworldly adventure. While THE CLAIRES is a very different kind of story, it’s got that gritty dark feel to it that might appeal to fans of HOUSE OF NIGHT series by Kristin Cast and P. C. Cast.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 18 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. One of the sisters is in love with another girl.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used regularly throughout the book.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some brief but graphic descriptions of sex. Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between girl and ghosts. Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Lots of descriptions of predicting the future or knowing things through psychic means. Some descriptions of rituals once thought to bind witches. Descriptions of witches using power to harm others.

Violent Content
Several scenes show or reference graphic murders.

Drug Content
References to teens drinking alcohol.

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 CLAIRES in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Space Between Lost and Found by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

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

The Space Between Lost and Found
Sandy Stark-McGinnis
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published April 28, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Space Between Lost and Found

Cassie’s always looked up to her mom, a vivacious woman with big ideas and a mischievous smile. Together they planned to check off every item on a big-dream bucket list, no matter how far the adventure would take them. But then Mom was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and everything changed.

Now, Cassie tries to keep Mom happy, and to understand some of Dad’s restrictive new rules. She tries to focus on math lessons and struggles to come up with art ideas that used to just burst off her pen. When Mom’s memories started to fade, so did Cassie’s inspiration. And even worse, she’s accidentally pushed away Bailey, the one friend who could make it all okay.

After the worst Mom day yet, the day she forgets Cassie’s name, Cassie decides to take action. It’s time for one last adventure, even if it means lying and taking a big risk to get there. Sandy Stark-McGinnis, acclaimed author of Extraordinary Birds, explores big questions – the kind that don’t always have answers – in a powerful story about family, friendship, and the memories that will always be part of us.

My Review

This was such an emotional book for me.

My grandmother passed away after a battle with Lewy Body dimentia, which acts a little bit like Alzheimers. It happened so quickly that almost as soon as we realized something was wrong, it felt like we’d lost our connection to her, and her connection to us.

I know that it’s very different losing a grandparent compared to losing a parent, but I had so many of the thoughts and reactions to my grandmother’s illness that Cassie had to her mother’s. I remember that I kept expecting her to wake up and be herself again at any moment sometimes. I remember trying to come up with ways to help her reconstruct memories or watching for any spark of recognition in her face. I’m grateful that she wasn’t in physical pain, I truly am. But I couldn’t wish the crushing emotional pain of watching your loved one lose their memories on even my worst enemies. Even now I find it hard to talk about.

Anyway. All that to say that I found THE SPACE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND to have deep echoes of my own grief at losing someone to dimentia. I loved Cassie and her grief and her struggle with its impact on her friendships and her creativity felt real and raw but not without hope.

There’s a strong message of community and of the strength of being able to lean on one another rather than becoming isolated. Cassie has a great support system, but it takes her some time to figure out how to connect with them in the midst of her grief.

All in all, I think fans of BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE or BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD will enjoy this book for its emotional honesty and message of hope.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some mildly scary descriptions– at one point Cassie’s mom dangles her feet off the edge of a canyon.

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 SPACE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson

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Ways to Make Sunshine
Renée Watson
Bloomsbury Children’s
Published April 28, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Ways to Make Sunshine

Ryan Hart loves to spend time with her friends, loves to invent recipies, and has a lot on her mind—school, self-image, and family. Her dad finally has a new job, but money is tight. That means changes like selling their second car and moving into a new (old) house. But Ryan is a girl who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. Because Ryan is all about trying to see the best. Even when things aren’t all she would wish for—her brother is infuriating, her parents don’t understand, when her recipies don’t turn out right, and when the unexpected occurs—she can find a way forward, with wit and plenty of sunshine.

My Review

Every book I’ve ever read by Renée Watson has made me fall in love with the story and the characters, and WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE was no different! I had so much fun reading about Ryan and her family.

The relationships between characters felt real and vivid. Ryan has to navigate changes in her friendships following her family’s move to a new house. Her relationship with her brother was great, too. I loved her whole family.

I think the best part of the story, for me, was the journey Ryan makes in coming to understand herself. At the beginning, she tries to embrace being a leader by doing her own thing and standing apart. But through facing challenges and obstacles, she begins to take charge in a different way– to bring others with her, whether it’s into an impromptu parade or in encouraging another performer to go on stage with her.

All in all, WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE is another triumph. I hope kids everywhere get to meet and fall in love with Ryan and her family too!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12

Representation
Ryan and her family are black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
References to attending church on Easter.

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 WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa

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

Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2)
Julie Kagawa
Harlequin Young Adult
Published June 25, 2019

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Soul of the Sword

One thousand years ago, a wish was made to the Harbinger of Change and a sword of rage and lightning was forged. Kamigoroshi. The Godslayer. It had one task: to seal away the powerful demon Hakaimono.

Now he has broken free.

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has one task: to take her piece of the ancient and powerful scroll to the Steel Feather temple in order to prevent the summoning of the Harbinger of Change, the great Kami Dragon who will grant one wish to whomever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. But she has a new enemy now. The demon Hakaimono, who for centuries was trapped in a cursed sword, has escaped and possessed the boy she thought would protect her, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan.

Hakaimono has done the unthinkable and joined forces with the Master of Demons in order to break the curse of the sword and set himself free. To overthrow the empire and cover the land in darkness, they need one thing: the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross once again, the entire empire will be thrown into chaos. 

My Review

I’m pretty sure that immediately after I finished the last few words of the last chapter of SHADOW OF THE FOX, I rushed to my copy of SOUL OF THE SWORD and started reading. I really needed to know what would happen to Yumeko and Tatsumi and their friends.

Some things took me completely by surprise. There’s one relationship that emerges that I totally did not expect and absolutely adored. Yumeko certainly doesn’t shy away from breaking the rules, which made some of her choices oddly satisfying? It was like she just looked at the situation and instead of doing what she’d been told she SHOULD do, she wasn’t afraid to ask what would help the most or what would be best for the people involved, regardless of what anyone else would think.

Through SOUL OF THE SWORD, Yumeko continues to be a loyal, compassionate girl, but she also begins to understand and explore her own power, which was an awesome thing to be part of as a reader. She begins the series as this quirky girl who finds her own magic fairly useless. Then she joins forces with powerful warriors and feels like the most powerless or useless person in a battle.

Even before she discovers how to use her magic in more powerful ways, she uses her character– her cleverness and compassion– to change the outcome of battles her team encounters. I love that about her. And when she adds magic to her strength of character, look out. She’s truly a force to be reckoned with, and I loved that, too!

I love this series, and definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a story to get lost in. Here are the reviews for the other books in the series:

Shadow of the Fox review

Night of the Dragon review (plus Q&A with Author Julie Kagawa!)

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters speak Japanese in this fantasy series inspired by Japanese folklore. Two characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some strong profanity and a few crude references used infrequently, mainly by one character.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys.

Spiritual Content
The story is filled with spiritual creatures and traditions. Some characters worship divine beings called Kami. Other magical creatures can shapeshift or possess other magic. One character is a ghost who seeks to help Yumeko’s party. Yumeko has been raised by monks in a temple.

Demons respond to the evil blood magic and cause havoc in the human world. Tatsumi has a sword which contains the soul of a powerful demon. He hears the demon’s thoughts and knows that if he’s not vigilant, the demon can take possession of him.

Violent Content
Some gory battle violence and references to torture and abuse/neglect of a child.

Drug Content
Some characters drink sake. Yumeko gets drunk and regrets it the next day.

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

Review: We Didn’t Ask for This by Adi Alsaid

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

We Didn’t Ask for This
Adi Alsaid
Inkyard Press
Published April 7, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads

About We Didn’t Ask for This

Every year, lock-in night changes lives. This year, it might just change the world.

Central International School’s annual lock-in is legendary — and for six students, this year’s lock-in is the answer to their dreams. The chance to finally win the contest. Kiss the guy. Make a friend. Become the star of a story that will be passed down from student to student for years to come.

But then a group of students, led by Marisa Cuevas, stage an eco-protest and chain themselves to the doors, vowing to keep everyone trapped inside until their list of demands is met. While some students rally to the cause, others are devastated as they watch their plans fall apart. And Marisa, once so certain of her goals, must now decide just how far she’ll go to attain them.

My Review

It’s kind of a crazy time to read a book about being locked in, right? I didn’t think about that right away, but being under stay-at-home orders as I read WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS was definitely interesting– not the same by any means, but interesting.

The style the book is written in is really different from most of the books I read. It’s got an omniscient view that kind of pans through the crowd a lot of the time and then will zoom into one character for a moment and give details about what they’re thinking or experiencing or show a snippet from their past.

Normally this isn’t a writing style that I prefer, but I think it really worked for this story because it creates this big crowd feel but also personalizes so many of the characters and shows so many different points of view and treats them all as equals.

I found it really easy to like lots of the characters, too. Amira and Marisa were my favorites, but I loved Celeste and Kenji and Peejay, too. It took me a little while to get the feel for the community in which the story takes place– it’s an international school, but I kept basically picturing a very diverse American school, which isn’t the same thing at all! But once I recognized that distinction and changed how I was picturing things, I felt like I got it more. Hopefully that makes sense?

On the whole, I really enjoyed reading WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS. It’s the first book by Adi Alsaid that I’ve read, but I’ve wanted to read his books for a while now. I really want to check out the others.

If you liked the big cast with interconnected relationships in THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS by Marieke Nijkamp, I think you’ll also like WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS.

You’ll find content notes below, and also a Q&A with author Adi Alsaid. Be sure to check it out!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS has a very diverse cast of characters, including LGBTQ+, Latinx, black, and Muslim characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently. (Only a few instances in the whole book.)

Romance/Sexual Content
Lots of references to attraction or infatuation. One brief mention of a couple who take their clothes off in front of each other. References to kissing and making out.

Spiritual Content
Some references to Muslim faith and traditions.

Violent Content
Students get angry at one point and start throwing things at Marisa, injuring her.

Drug Content
Instances of teens drinking alcohol.

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 WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS in exchange for my honest review.

Q&A with Author Adi Alsaid

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

A: I’ve been wanting to write a book that felt like my favorite book, Bel Canto, for a while now. So the very initial inspiration was a group of characters all stuck in the same place for an extended period of time. Then, to make it feel more YA, I thought of The Breakfast Club, but instead of cliques, just bring people with different passions together. Then, because of my increasing awareness over the last few years about environmental issues, combined with the fact that I was traveling and seeing those issues play out around the world, I brought in the fight for climate change.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Marisa Cuevas?

A: Her willingness to fight for what she believes in.

Q: I love the juxtaposition of a lock-in against a political protest. What was the most challenging part of threading those two very different pieces together?

A: Honestly, it was the logistics of actually keeping the students locked in. The political protest wouldn’t work without it, nor would the plot. So I had to find a whole lot of justifications that felt reasonable within the story. Other than that, one of my goals was to show, embodied in different characters, all the ways people react to political protests, and to make them feel like actual people, not just symbols.

Q: What do you most hope that readers take away from the story?

A: Getting others to care about what you care about is hard, but you’re allowed to try, and it’s possible to succeed.

Q: Is there a character that you found challenging to write? Why?

A: All my characters come easily to me. The challenge is working to get them right in revisions. Jordi Marcos, a sort of villain in the story, was one that was hard to get right, in order to make his actions feel justified. I also have a queer Muslim character in Amira, and I had to work—and had the fortune of being guided by a great sensitivity reader—to not make her representation be harmful.

Q: How does a typical writing day look like for you?

A: Assuming this means not in the time of COVID-19. I wake up and go straight to a coffee shop, where I work/avoid looking at my phone for about 3 hours or so. Then I usually have lunch, take a break by watching a movie, running errands, or something in that vein. Then another work session in the afternoon or late evening at another coffee shop or perhaps a bar, followed by cooking dinner. During deadline times there’s also usually a late night session at home.

Q: What are your current reading?

A: I’m about to finish The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy, listening to The Art of Logic in an Illogical World by Eugenia Chang, and my next read will probably be Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova.

Q: Is there something secret you can share with us about anything in the book or your experience writing it?

A: I don’t know about secret, but I’ll say that I had the unique experience of traveling the world while writing it. So, many of its words were written in the communal areas of hostels, on airplanes, trains, on an island in Fiji, and in many, many coffee shops.