Review: A Taste of Magic by J. Elle

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,
A Taste of Magic by J. Elle

A Taste of Magic
J. Elle
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published August 30, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Taste of Magic

NYT bestseller J. Elle makes her MG debut in the delightful story of a girl who bakes up a plan to save her inner-city magic school.
Twelve-year-old Kyana has just discovered she’s a witch! This means classes every Saturday at Park Row Magic Academy, a learning center hidden in the back of the local beauty shop, and Kyana can’t wait to learn spells to help out at home. The only downside is having to keep her magic a secret from her BFF, Nae. But when the magic school loses funding, the students must pay huge fees at the fancy school across town or lose their magic! Determined to help, Kyana enters a baking contest with a big cash prize. Will she be able to keep up her grades while preparing for the competition and without revealing her magic? What about when a taste of magic works its way into her cupcakes?
Exciting up-and-coming author J. Elle combines the perfect balance of real-world issues and magical mishaps to create real magic.

My Review

I think my favorite part of this book was the love shared between three generations of women in Kyana’s house: her, her Mama, and Memaw. I loved the scenes where they cooked or baked together. They were always making such amazing things.

I also enjoyed the way Kyana’s experience baking influenced her approach to her magic. As she got more comfortable with the idea that she could use and perform magic, she discovered instincts for making potions that she couldn’t explain. She also connected with new friends. I loved her friendship with her bestie, Nae, too.

As Kyana’s plan to save her magic school begins to unravel, she has a choice between trying to get her rescue mission back on track alone, or reaching out to her new magic community and asking for help. I loved the way this became a story about community and the way a group offers so much more than an individual in terms of problem-solving ability.

All in all, A TASTE OF MAGIC is a fun, sweet story celebrating family and community and the magic of delicious food bringing people together. Readers who enjoyed A COMB OF WISHES by Lisa Stringfellow will love the heart and magic in this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Kyana is Black. Most characters are Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Kyana learns she has the ability to do magic. Other characters have magical ability, too.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: MacKenzie’s Last Run by Gayle Rosengren

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MacKenzie’s Last Run
Gayle Rosengren
HenschelHaus Publishing
Published September 1, 2022

Amazon | Goodreads

About MacKenzie’s Last Run

Thirteen-year-old MacKenzie (Mac) Lawrence secretly blames himself for his father’s death in a mall shooting. In his grief and guilt, he has pulled away from everyone, even his twin sister Tessa. When their mother announces her plans to remarry barely two years after Dad’s death Mac is furious and runs away in an attempt to force her to break off the engagement.

Unfortunately, nothing goes as Mac plans. He ends up seriously injured, miles from home, unable to reach out for help, while clues he inadvertently left behind suggest he’s been kidnapped—possibly by Mom’s fiancé—and set his twin sister Tessa on a desperate search to find him. But she’d better hurry, because the clock is ticking, and Mac is running out of time.

My Review

The first thing I saw as I opened MACKENZIE’S LAST RUN to read it was the article from the paper reporting on his disappearance and police believed he was a victim of kidnapping. I thought it was an interesting choice from a writing perspective to start with that. So that, as a reader, I was kind of anticipating that event at some point. I worried that it would make the story anticlimactic.

But as I read, I found myself only more deeply hooked into what would happen to Mac and whether Tessa would be able to find him before it was too late.

I read the book in one sitting. I kept reading one more chapter all the way until the end, when I finally felt I could breathe again.

For me, not only could I not put the book down, but the story pulled me in despite its beginning. To overcome a reveal like that on the first page or use it in such a clever way made me feel even more like this book was worth reading.

I loved the way memories about Mac and Tessa’s dad were dropped in to critical moments in the story, and the way Mac’s adventure helped him face some of the things he’d been, well, running from. Both Tessa’s and Mac’s characters drew me in and had me rooting for them. Each chapter is told from Tessa’s or Mac’s point of view. I loved the balance that brought to the story and the exploration of their relationship as twins who’d lost their dad.

All in all, I very much enjoyed this book, and I hope the author writes lots more.

Content Notes for MacKenzie’s Last Run

Content warning for brief descriptions of gun violence. Some descriptions of injuries from a knife and a fall.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Mac and Tessa are twins whose father was killed in a grocery store shooting.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Tessa’s mom makes her and her brother attend church with her. She says Mac “needs it.” Tessa is okay with church, but doesn’t seem to feel much of a personal connection to faith. In one scene she tries to pray for Mac, but worries she’s doing it wrong because she forgot to say, “Amen,” so she starts over.

Violent Content
Some description of the shooting that killed the twins’ dad.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution by Sherri Winston

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Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution
Sherri Winston
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Published September 6, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution

From the beloved author of President of the Whole Fifth Grade, a story about a young Black girl who summons the courage to fight against a racist dress code-and stand up for herself.

Twelve-year-old Lotus Bloom is a free spirit with a mega-‘fro she’s affectionately named “the wooly mammoth.” A talented violinist, she just switched from her inner-city school to a fancy arts academy. Her best friend Rebel is quick to point out the funding disparities between schools, and urges Lotus to help her protest, but Lotus isn’t sure; if she’s going to be in the spotlight, she’d rather it be for her music.

But then a classroom prank – boys thinking it’s hilarious to throw wads of paper into Lotus’s hair – escalates after she reports it to the administration and shockingly finds herself facing suspension. Lotus must choose whether to stay quiet and risk everything she’s worked so hard for, or fight back. Is this school really where she belongs?

Inspired by stories of real Black girls advocating against unjust, racist school dress codes across the country, beloved middle grade author Sherri Winston introduces another memorable character who decides to speak up for what’s right, no matter what it takes.

My Review

I LOVED this book. Lotus is thoughtful and funny. She’s also a musician through and through! I loved the way she describes different events or situations as feeling like a particular instrument or sound. That felt very real and very immersive to me.

The story is really accessible, too. Even as someone who’s never played violin or been part of an orchestra, I had no trouble following the scenes showing Lotus playing or practicing with the orchestra. I loved that her dad also works as a professional musician. It created a bond between them, though he let her down in other ways.

I also really enjoyed the growth in Lotus’s relationships with her Mama and Granny. I loved the moments when both women surprised Lotus, and when Lotus surprised herself in her responses to them.

Lotus’s best friend, Rebel, also added a lot to the story. I loved her passion and her confidence. Watching Lotus navigate loving her friend and also trying to figure out how to speak up for herself and define what she wanted drew me straight into the heart of the story.

I feel like I can’t say enough positive things about LOTUS BLOOM AND THE AFRO REVOLUTION. It’s an incredible story, perfect for readers seeking their own voices in a world that wants to overlook them.

Content Notes

Content warning for bullying and two racist slurs.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Lotus is Black. One of her friends is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Lotus encounters a couple of racist slurs. One, her Granny tells her as part of a criticism. Another comes in the form of a meme that a classmate uses to bully Lotus.

Romance/Sexual Content
Lotus feels attraction for a boy at school.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Boys at school bully Lotus, throwing paper airplanes into her hair. In one scene, they throw wads of paper at her. A boy posts cruel, racist memes on his social media page about Lotus as well.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Memory Index by Julian R. Vaca

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

The Memory Index
Julian R. Vaca
Thomas Nelson
Published

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Memory Index

In a world where memories are like currency, dreams can be a complicated business.

In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones–the recollectors–need the treatment only once a day.

Freya Izquierdo isn’t lucky. The high school senior is a “degen” who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she’s desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father’s violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete.

She’s the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school.

Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds. And what kind of memories she’ll have to access to survive it.

My Review

I loved reading a book set in an alternate version of the 1980s! I thought it was really cool to see something so different and celebrating a really fun decade.

The pacing of the book seemed a little weird to me, though. It seemed like THE MEMORY INDEX was telling one kind of story and then kind of flipped to telling a different kind of story really late in the book. I struggled with the characters’ responses to the change, and the timing of the switch. Like they seemed to kind of roll with it as though there was no other choice, but then they also seemed content with the switch. It confused me.

I liked the relationship between Freya and Fletcher and the way both grow through the story. Another thing I liked is the way Ollie’s and Chase’s characters added humor and fun to the story.

On the whole, I think the story was okay. I liked the characters more than the plot. I wish the pacing had been different so that there was more time to explore how the characters felt as they learned new information. I’d say this one was a solid okay for me. If you love stories set in the 80s and alternate history or weird memory issues, you may love those elements of this book.

Content Notes for The Memory Index

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Freya is Latinx American. Ollie is Filipino American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Society is based on a deeply prejudiced class system determined by a test of how well someone remembers events from their past. A student makes racist comments about Ollie.

Drug Content
Teens drink beer. References to using hallucinogenic drugs.

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

Review: The Year Without a Summer by Arlene Mark

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , , ,

The Year Without a Summer
Arlene Mark
Sparkpress
Published August 16, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Year Without a Summer

Explosive volcanic eruptions are cool, really, cool. They inject ash into the stratosphere and deflect the sun’s rays. When eighth grader Jamie Fulton learns that snow fell in June in his hometown because of an eruption on the other side of the world, he’s psyched! He could have snowboarded if he’d lived back in 1815 during the year without a summer.

Clara Montalvo, who recently arrived at Jamie’s school after surviving Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, has a different take all this. She is astounded–and disturbed–by Jamie’s frenzied enthusiasm for what she considers an obvious disaster. The teens’ battling arguments cause science class disruption and create academic trouble: Jamie’s headed for a failing grade in science, and may not even graduate from eighth grade; Clara’s scholarship hopes are dashed.

And school isn’t the only place where Jamie and Clara are facing hardship: as they quarrel whether natural disasters can be beneficial, their home lives are also unraveling. Uncertainty about Jamie’s wounded brother returning from Afghanistan and Clara’s unreachable father back in Puerto Rico forces the two vulnerable teens to share their worries and sadness. As their focus shifts from natural disasters to personal calamities to man-made climate changes, the teens take surprising steps that astonish them. Ultimately, through hard work and growing empathy for each other, as well as for their classmates’ distress over the climate change affecting their lives, Jamie and Clara empower themselves and the people they touch.

My Review

In reading THE YEAR WITHOUT A SUMMER, the thing that stands out to me most is the way it models activism among youth. As Clara and Jamie learn more about natural disasters, what causes them, and as their family members experience the fallout from these disasters, they begin to wonder what they can do to help others in need. They ask questions. Do online research. Ask their friends and family members for help. I loved the way that journey is explored within the story.

I also loved that the story tied in real natural disasters, from Hurricane Maria to Tambora, the volcanic eruption in 1815. And that it explored what how people were resilient in spite of those disasters. It made for an interesting exploration of those topics.

On the whole, the only thing that disrupted my reading sometimes is that in a couple of scenes, Clara’s assessment of a complex emotional situation seemed possibly too mature. Like, I believe that her experiences would have made her grow up faster than her classmates in some ways. But there were a couple of instances where I found myself pulled out of the book because I wasn’t sure if even a mature eighth grader would think the way she did.

Other than that, though, I enjoyed the story and am really glad I read it. I love that it tackled issues but also centered the story on friendships and community.

Content Notes for The Year Without a Summer

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Clara is Puerto Rican. Jamie is white. His brother serves in the military.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Thoughts about kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of the war in Afghanistan. Brief descriptions of devastation caused by a hurricane, earthquake and volcanic eruptions.

Drug Content
One character takes powerful pain meds for injuries. Jamie wonders if it’s okay for the injured person to take so many pills.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE YEAR WITHOUT A SUMMER in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg

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Honestly Ben (Openly Straight #2)
Bill Konigsberg
Arthur A. Levine Books
Published March 28, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Honestly Ben

Ben Carver is back to normal. He’s getting all As in his classes at the Natick School. He was just elected captain of the baseball team. He’s even won a big scholarship for college, if he can keep up his grades. All that foolishness with Rafe Goldberg last semester is over now, and he just needs to be a Carver, work hard, and stay focused.

Except…

There’s Hannah, a gorgeous girl who attracts him and distracts him. There’s his mother, whose quiet unhappiness he’s noticing for the first time. School is harder, the pressure higher, the scholarship almost slipping away. And there’s Rafe, funny, kind, dating someone else…and maybe the real normal that Ben needs.

My Review

I’ve had OPENLY STRAIGHT for years, but I finally read it recently. While I was looking up links for my review, I noticed that it had a sequel– HONESTLY BEN.

Lots of times when I finish the first book in a series, I’m super excited about the sequel, so I add it to my list, and even then it takes forever for me to read it. This time, though, I bought HONESTLY BEN right away and immediately started reading it. I finished it that same day.

I loved Ben’s character in OPENLY STRAIGHT, so I was really excited that not only was there a follow-up to the first book, but also that the story is told entirely from his point of view. As I read the book, though, I realized he’s kind of a hard character to write from. He spends a lot of time thinking about things, which didn’t always translate very well in a scene. Sometimes I found myself wishing there were more scenes that showed him interacting with someone else and learning stuff by doing it.

I feel like where Konigsberg’s writing really shines the brightest is in scenes with dialog. Those are always my favorite. The characters feel so real, and there’s always some deep thing being unearthed, and often it’s couched in lots of silliness and goofy fun. I love that. Same with scenes where there are arguments or conflict. I found those to be the most compelling.

That said, one of the things I liked about OPENLY STRAIGHT was that it waded into some thoughts about identity and how much or little that is a part of who someone is. How knowing someone’s sexual orientation can change how people treat that person.

In HONESTLY BEN, the story explores the tendency for people to immediately jump to a label for someone based on the current relationship they’re in and how hurtful that can be. I loved that exploration a lot, and I wish there were more books that honed in on that so well.

For Ben, sexual identity is a complex issue. He wrestles with homophobic ideas that come from his family. He wrestles with what his attraction to Rafe actually means. He’s uncomfortable rushing to a label for himself, and frustrated when people around him assume they know his identity better than he does.

I really identified with a lot of the things he went through in the story. I enjoyed it a lot.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Ben, the main character is unsure of his identity. He has dated mostly girls, but has romantic feelings for a boy. Rafe is gay and Jewish. Another friend is also gay and genderfluid.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. Kissing between two boys. Brief reference to oral sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Ben’s father is a domineering person who says things that cut Ben and his family members pretty deeply. Some of the boys on the baseball team make jokes about rape and say homophobic things. Ben challenges them.

Drug Content
Ben drinks alcohol and later regrets it.

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