Tag Archives: Adoption

Review: The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Josh Galarza

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The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Josh Galarza

The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky
Josh Galarza
Henry Holt & Co.
Published July 23, 2024

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About The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky

Perfect for fans of Mark Oshiro and Adam Silvera comes a fiercely funny and hopeful story of one boy’s attempts to keep everything under control while life has other plans.

Ever since cancer invaded his adoptive mother’s life, Brett feels like he’s losing everything, most of all control. To cope, Brett fuels all of his anxieties into epic fantasies, including his intergalactic Kid Condor comic book series, which features food constellations and characters not unlike those in his own life.

But lately Brett’s grip on reality has started to lose its hold. The fictions he’s been telling himself – about his unattractive body, the feeling that he’s a burden to his best friend, that he’s too messed up to be loved – have consumed him completely, and Brett will do anything to forget about the cosmic-sized hole in his chest, even if it’s unhealthy.

But when Brett’s journal and deepest insecurities are posted online for the whole school to see, Brett realizes he can no longer avoid the painful truths of his real-life narrative. As his eating disorder escalates, Brett must be honest with the people closest to him, including his new and fierce friend Mallory who seems to know more about Brett’s issues than he does. With their support, he just might find the courage to face the toughest reality of all.

My Review

This is an uncomfortable read. I don’t say that as a bad thing. One of the most important things literature can do is give us safe spaces to experience discomfort. By safe, I don’t mean that reading can’t be triggering– I know it can. Reading a book about physical danger is very different from experiencing that physical danger. (See content warnings below for possible triggers. Take care where needed.)

The story begins with Brett’s drunk-n-drive-thru routine. He’s been drinking the vodka he stashed in his room at his old house, and an Uber driver takes him through several drive-thru lines before dropping him off at one of his favorite scenic overlooks.

As the story progresses, we learn that Brett’s adoptive mom was diagnosed with cancer. He’s moved to his best friend’s house, and his best friend’s dad is now his guardian. Brett seems to be in a freefall. He’s trying to understand why he eats so much, but he’s so consumed with shame about it that he almost can’t even go there at all. It’s heartbreaking.

About halfway through the book, he becomes friends with a girl he’s heard people make fun of for years. She’s further ahead on her self-acceptance journey and takes him under her wing. There’s a little bit of a manic-pixie-dream-girl feel to her character, though the story subverts some parts of the stereotype. She’s a sort of all-knowing, wiser, chaotic artist who pulls Brett along and shows him a different way to think about his body.

Of course, things get much worse before they get better, and we go to those dark places with Brett, feeling his deep hurts and the weight of his shame. This is a really emotional book, but there’s so much heart on every page. It’s hard to believe this is a debut.

Older fans of Jarrett Lerner’s A Work in Progress or books that explore trauma, like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, will find this a gripping read.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Brett is Mexican American (the just right word he uses is mestizo). Another character is queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Lots of profanity. References to racist comments. Fatphobic comments.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brett ogles a girl and draws a sexy cartoon character based on her body. (He realizes this is wrong.) A girl undresses in front of Brett while doing an art project involving making prints of her body.

Spiritual Content
The mythic stories in Brett’s life that most impact him are the ones he wrote himself about a superhero and constellations in the sky. The constellation that represents his hero is called the Great Cool Ranch Dorito.

Violent Content
Some scenes explicitly show Brett experiencing symptoms of disordered eating, such as binging and purging. Other characters confess to anorexia and bulimia. Two boys break into school after hours to distribute copies of an anonymous comic book. Two boys fight each other. A boy is injured when a trampoline spring breaks.

Drug Content
Brett drinks vodka, which he keeps hidden in his room in his old house.

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 Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

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The Birchbark House (The Birchbark House #1)
Louise Erdrich
Hyperion Books for Children
Published June 3, 2002 (orig. 1999)

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About The Birchbark House

Nineteenth-century American pioneer life was introduced to thousands of young readers by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved Little House books. With THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE, award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s first novel for young readers, this same slice of history is seen through the eyes of the spirited, 7-year-old Ojibwa girl Omakayas, or Little Frog, so named because her first step was a hop. The sole survivor of a smallpox epidemic on Spirit Island, Omakayas, then only a baby girl, was rescued by a fearless woman named Tallow and welcomed into an Ojibwa family on Lake Superior’s Madeline Island, the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. We follow Omakayas and her adopted family through a cycle of four seasons in 1847, including the winter, when a historically documented outbreak of smallpox overtook the island.

Readers will be riveted by the daily life of this Native American family, in which tanning moose hides, picking berries, and scaring crows from the cornfield are as commonplace as encounters with bear cubs and fireside ghost stories. Erdrich–a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwa–spoke to Ojibwa elders about the spirit and significance of Madeline Island, read letters from travelers, and even spent time with her own children on the island, observing their reactions to woods, stones, crayfish, bear, and deer.

The author’s softly hewn pencil drawings infuse life and authenticity to her poetic, exquisitely wrought narrative. Omakayas is an intense, strong, likable character to whom young readers will fully relate–from her mixed emotions about her siblings, to her discovery of her unique talents, to her devotion to her pet crow Andeg, to her budding understanding of death, life, and her role in the natural world. We look forward to reading more about this brave, intuitive girl–and wholeheartedly welcome Erdrich’s future series to the canon of children’s classics. (Ages 9 and older) –Karin Snelson

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for a super long time. I’m really glad I was finally able to read it. I own a hard copy of THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE, but I discovered the audiobook version is included in my Audible membership, so I listened to it through that app.

For the most part, this is a really gentle story– the same sort of tempo as LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, but focused on the lives of an Ojibwa family. Omakayas navigates feelings of envy, annoyance, and love for her siblings. She discovers a connection with a family of bears in the forest. A crow becomes a beloved pet.

I loved the moments of mischief and childhood fun. Omakayas hears stories from her father and grandmother. She forges connections with her youngest brother and with an older woman, a hunter who leaves gifts with her family and seems to have a special place in her heart for Omakayas.

It’s such a sweet story, and so beautifully told. THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE is the first in a series of five books. After reading this one, I think I’d enjoy reading the rest of the series. I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially life in America in the 1800s.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Omakayas and her family are members of the Ojibwe tribe.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Omakayas briefly worries about what will happen when her older sister marries and creates a home of her own.

Spiritual Content
Omakayas sees her grandmother leave tobacco as an offering when she takes birchbark from a tree. She prays to the spirits for protection and safety for her family. They celebrate the coming of winter with other families in the tribe. Omakayas begins to dream and connect with the spirit of the bear, a healing animal. This means she will be a healer, like her grandmother.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some descriptions of illness (smallpox) and death.

Drug Content
Omakayas’ grandmother and other adults smoke tobacco in a pipe.

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Review: The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer

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The Search for Us
Susan Azim Boyer
Wednesday Books
Published October 24, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Search for Us

“A sharp-witted and illuminating, impressive sophomore novel.” – Isaac Blum, author of the award-nominated The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen

Two half-siblings who have never met embark on a search together for the Iranian immigrant and U.S. Army veteran father they never knew.

Samira Murphy will do anything to keep her fractured family from falling apart, including caring for her widowed grandmother and getting her older brother into recovery for alcohol addiction. With attendance at her dream college on the line, she takes a long shot DNA test to find the support she so desperately needs from a father she hasn’t seen since she was a baby.

Henry Owen is torn between his well-meaning but unreliable bio-mom and his overly strict aunt and uncle, who stepped in to raise him but don’t seem to see him for who he is. Looking to forge a stronger connection to his own identity, he takes a DNA test to find the one person who might love him for exactly who he is―the biological father he never knew.

Instead of a DNA match with their father, Samira and Henry are matched with each other. They begin to search for their father together and slowly unravel the difficult truth of their shared past, forming a connection that only siblings can have and recovering precious parts of their past that have been lost. Brimming with emotional resonance, Susan Azim Boyer’s THE SEARCH FOR US beautifully renders what it means to find your place in the world through the deep and abiding power of family.

My Review

Stories about the power of family, both found family and biological family, always hit me deep. This book is no exception. It has a lot of layers, which I think is hard to do well, but is well done here. The story feels full rather than crowded. The issues Henry and Samira face tie together and bring them together in unexpected ways.

As a person who grew up with a view of alcoholism in my extended family, a lot of things in the story about Samira and her impulses and beliefs really resonated with me. I liked the way the story addressed her codependency and tendency to “over-function” or control situations.

The chapters alternate between Samira’s and Henry’s points of view. I really liked both of them as characters, so it was really easy to get into the story. The chapters each had so much going on that I felt propelled from one to the next all the way to the end of the book. It felt like a really quick read.

All in all, I loved the messages about family, forgiveness, and relationships in this book. I think readers who enjoyed books like YOU’D BE HOME NOW by Kathleen Glasgow or YOU HAVE A MATCH by Emma Lord will love this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Henry and Samira are biracial, both Iranian and white. Samira’s best friend identifies as bisexual. Henry’s girlfriend, Linh, is Vietnamese and adopted by white parents.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Brief statement about “roaming hands” during a makeout session between a boy and girl. Samira’s best friend describes crushes on both boys and girls.

Spiritual Content
A man discusses his experience with Islamophobia. Someone defaces his Koran. He’s not allowed to pray when he should be able to.

Violent Content
Some references to Islamophobia. Henry fights a boy in a hockey game and later hits a man in a gas station he perceives as threatening.

Drug Content
Samira’s brother and two other relatives have alcohol use disorder. Henry’s girlfriend, Linh, smokes weed.

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 SEARCH FOR US in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird by Tim Probert

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Shadow of the Bird (Lightfall #2)
Tim Probert
HarperAlley
Published April 26, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird

In the second installment of the Lightfall series, Bea and Cad continue their quest to stop Kest, the mythic bird who stole the sun.

After a battle that nearly cost them their lives, Bea and Cad awaken in the hidden settlement of the Arsai, mysterious creatures who can glimpse into the future. The Arsai’s vision paints a dire picture for their planet, as the bird Kest Ke Belenus–now awoken from a restless slumber–threatens to destroy all the Lights of Irpa. Desperate for a solution, Bea and Cad seek out the help of a water spirit known as Lorgon, whose ancient wisdom may help them find a way to take down Kest and save Irpa from utter destruction.

But when their time with Lorgon presents more questions than answers, Bea and Cad must decide what’s more important . . . stopping Kest or uncovering the truth.

My Review

After I finished the first book in the Lightfall series, I couldn’t WAIT to read the second one. Originally I bought the first one to share with my nephew and niece who are into graphic novels. My nephew read the first one and was pretty excited about it. He is looking forward to reading this one, too.

I thought SHADOW OF THE BIRD was a little scarier than the first book in the series. There are some scenes that are a little more intense where Cad and Bea confront a powerful enemy. Just as with THE GIRL AND THE GALDURIAN, though, Cad’s upbeat attitude keeps things lighter than they might be otherwise. Bea continues to wrestle with fear and anxiety, shown in the panels as a dark cloud that wraps around her when she gets scared and anxious.

There’s a great balance between Cad and Bea, too. Though Cad is the intrepid explorer and warrior, Bea is the one who thinks things through carefully, the one who notices things Cad would otherwise overlook. Also, I love that her cat Nimm comes along on the journey with them!

I’m a big fan of this series so far, and really looking forward to the release of the third book. Since book one came out in 2020, and this one in 2022, I’m guessing book three won’t be out until next year.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Cad is a Galdurian, which means he looks a little bit like a giant axolotl?? There are minor characters with brown skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Cad and Bea search for a spirit of the sea to ask for his help. They learn some information about another spirit, too.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story by Sarah Myer

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Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story
Sarah Myer
First Second
Published June 27, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Monstrous

A poignant young adult graphic memoir about a Korean-American girl who uses fandom and art-making to overcome racist bullying. Perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Almost American Girl!

Sarah has always struggled to fit in. Born in South Korea and adopted at birth by a white couple, she grows up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors. People whisper in the supermarket. Classmates bully her. She has trouble containing her anger in these moments―but through it all, she has her art. She’s always been a compulsive drawer, and when she discovers anime, her hobby becomes an obsession.

Though drawing and cosplay offer her an escape, she still struggles to connect with others. And in high school, the bullies are louder and meaner. Sarah’s bubbling rage is threatening to burst.

My Review

I loved this memoir, though parts of it were heartbreaking to read. No one should be treated the way the author was. The descriptions of early childhood and particularly the difficulty of telling the difference between anxiety and having a wild imagination made so much sense to me. I think back in the 80s and 90s in particular, we didn’t talk about fear and worry in terms of mental health. It was viewed more as personal quirkiness maybe? I definitely grew up thinking that a lot of my own struggles with anxiety were simply my overactive imagination. So reading about Sarah’s experience with that was both sad and very validating.

I think what’s truly brilliant about this book is the way that Myer uses concrete visual storytelling to tell the story of a really abstract idea. Because ultimately what the book is about is the journey Sarah takes to learn self-love and peace. I love that art is such a huge part of that story– the fact that the artist is telling their own story through art adds a whole extra layer to the message, too. Because not only has Sarah learned self-love through art, they’ve also found a way to use art to share their story and welcome others into an exploration of self-love, too.

I also love the relationships in the book and the way that each character in Sarah’s family isn’t perfect, but it’s clear that there’s love between them.

This is a great book for anyone struggling with anger, anxiety, or bullying.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sarah and her sister are Korean American, adopted by white parents.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently. Racial and homophobic slurs used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Infrequent use of homophobic slurs. Sarah wonders about a couple of past friendships and whether those were also crushes.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some scenes include racist comments and stereotypes. Others bully Sarah. She sometimes reacts by name-calling or hitting them.

Drug Content
References to teens drinking beer.

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 MONSTROUS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Girl and the Galdurian by Tim Probert

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

The Girl and the Galdurian (Lightfall #1)
Tim Probert
HarperAlley
Published September 1, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Girl and the Galdurian

Deep in the heart of the planet Irpa stands the Salty Pig’s House of Tonics & Tinctures, home of the wise Pig Wizard and his adopted granddaughter, Bea. As keepers of the Endless Flame, they live a quiet and peaceful life, crafting medicines and potions for the people of their once-prosperous world.

All that changes one day when, while walking through the woods, Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurians, an ancient race thought to be long-extinct. Cad believes that if anyone can help him find his missing people, it’s the Pig Wizard.

But when the two arrive home, the Pig Wizard is nowhere to be found—all that’s left is the Jar of Endless Flame and a mysterious note. Fearing for the Pig Wizard’s safety, Bea and Cad set out across Irpa to find him, while danger fights its way out of the shadows and into the light.

Will these two unexpected friends find the beloved Pig Wizard and prevent eternal darkness from blanketing their world? Or has Irpa truly seen its last sunrise?

My Review

What a fun book! I loved the dynamic between Bea and Cad. Bea is more timid and anxious, and Cad is the epitome of a can-do guy. He always believes they’ll get free from every trap or bad situation. I loved the way the two of them worked together as a team.

The illustrations are gorgeous. I feel like I’m really picky about graphic novels. I tend to love ones that have a more epic fantasy feel to them with more woodsy or nature-centered artwork. So this one scratched all those itches for me. I thought there were a few panels that were maybe a little dark or lower contrast that were a bit hard for me to see, but only a very few. The whole of the story more than made up for the fact that I had to slow down a bit a few times.

I think readers who enjoyed ESTRANGED by Ethan Aldridge or the Amulet series will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Cad is a Galdurian, a race of people thought to be extinct. Bea is adopted by her wizard grandfather.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some cartoonish battle sequences fighting giant crabs, a tentacled monster, and hungry lizards.

Drug Content
None.

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