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Review: The Redemption of Daya Keane by Gia Gordon

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The Redemption of Daya Keane by Gia Gordon

The Redemption of Daya Keane
Gia Gordon
Publisher
Published May 28, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Redemption of Daya Keane

The end of Daya Keane’s junior year in Escondido, Arizona, is anything but expected.

And it starts when her longtime, swoon-worthy crush, Beckett Wild, actually talks to her at a party neither of them should’ve been at.

But as Daya’s best friends, Stella and B’Rad, are quick to point out, smart, cute, artistic Beckett is also the poster girl for the wildly popular youth group at Grace Redeemer, the megachurch Daya’s mom prays at and pushes her daughter to attend.

Amid the concert-worthy light shows, high-energy live band, and pastor preaching to love thy neighbor so long as thy neighbor “gets right with God” first, Daya struggles to find her place in a house of worship that doesn’t seem to create space for someone like her. Then again, she never planned to fall this hard for a girl like Beckett Wild.

Now Daya has to decide how far she’s willing to surrender to Beckett’s world of Grace Redeemer, and who she’s willing to become to be with her.

A fearless and profound tale ideal for readers of Jeff Zentner and Jennifer Dugan, The Redemption of Daya Keane gives an intimate and unforgettable look into a world that demands to be seen.

My Review

This might be the most triggering book that I’ve ever read in terms of its religious representation. I’ll get to that, though.

First, I want to say that this book is one of those debuts that really doesn’t read like a debut. The characterization is so perfect. The banter between characters feels so authentic and had me literally laughing out loud in a few scenes. I love Daya and her two closest friends so much.

In the story, Daya visits a church that reminds me of places I’ve attended myself in the past. The worship service is highly polished and filled with songs that sound identical to those performed by popular artists on the radio. It’s funny because I grew up in that environment, so reading about someone looking in from the outside was a whole new experience for me.

Daya’s critique of the church world rang true. She spots hypocrisy in the way the church has perfected its merchandising and glittery appeal. Her assessment of the kids in the Great Wait club also landed a bullseye. It made me think of a passage from Barking to the Choir by Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle:

“In a recent New Yorker profile of American Baptists, the congregation’s leadership resigned itself to the fact that “secular culture” would always be “hostile” to Christianity. I don’t believe this is true. Our culture is hostile only to the inauthentic living of the gospel. It sniffs out hypocrisy everywhere and knows when Christians aren’t taking seriously what Jesus took seriously.”

That’s how the scenes in this book struck me. It’s not that Daya was necessarily on a deep spiritual quest, though she was desperately trying to understand her mom’s perspective and wanted to give the church a chance for her mom’s sake. But instead of finding life, and life abundant, she found a performative, control-based, rules-oriented organization that devalued her without ever bothering to get to know her.

All that to say that this book struck a deep chord with me, and I have a feeling I’ll return to this story again in the future. If you like young adult books by Jeff Zentner or Adam Sass, definitely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex. One scene includes characters undressing and a brief description of sex.

Spiritual Content
Daya attends church with her mother, religious club meetings, and a dance centered around abstinence.

Violent Content
Several scenes include homophobic statements and beliefs, including reference to conversion therapy and being kicked out of one’s home because of being LGBTQIA+.

One character reveals that their parents died by murder-suicide. A man drunkenly rages in a nearby house.

Drug Content
References to teen drinking and smoking pot. In one scene, Daya smokes with two other teens.

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: You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

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You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!
Alex Gino
Scholastic Press
Published September 25, 2018

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!

Alex Gino, the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Melissa, is back with another sensitive tale based on increasingly relevant social justice issues.

Jilly thinks she’s figured out how life works. But when her sister, Emma, is born deaf, she realizes how much she still has to learn. The world is going to treat Jilly, who is white and hearing, differently from Emma, just as it will treat them both differently from their Black cousins.

A big fantasy reader, Jilly makes a connection online with another fantasy fan, Derek, who is a Deaf, Black ASL user. She goes to Derek for help with Emma but doesn’t always know the best way or time to ask for it.

As she and Derek meet in person, have some really fun conversations, and become friends, Jilly makes some mistakes . . . but comes to understand that it’s up to her, not Derek to figure out how to do better next time–especially when she wants to be there for Derek the most.

Within a world where kids like Derek and Emma aren’t assured the same freedom or safety as kids like Jilly, Jilly is starting to learn all the things she doesn’t know–and by doing that, she’s also working to discover how to support her family and her friends.

With You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!, award-winning author Alex Gino uses their trademark humor, heart, and humanity to show readers how being open to difference can make you a better person, and how being open to change can make you change in the best possible ways.

My Review

I’m so grateful that middle grade fiction includes work by Alex Gino. They are an incredibly talented writer, but more than simply having a gift with words, they have a wonderful way of bringing important conversations into the middle grade sphere and creating opportunities for MG readers to talk about these important things. I love how they never talk down to their readers, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end of this book acknowledging some components of the story and revealing some of the research done along the journey to bring it to the page.

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! is the second book by Gino I’ve read. I started with Melissa, and I knew before I’d finished that I would want to read more by this author.

In this novel, Jilly hears troubling news stories about Black teens and children being shot by police. In one instance, a Deaf Black girl is shot after she does not respond to police commands she cannot hear.

At the same time that the news stories unfold around her, Jilly experiences uncomfortable family gatherings. Relatives say sometimes well-meaning but racist things to her aunt, a Black woman. When a rift in the family occurs, Jilly wants to understand why. She wants to know what she can do to support her aunt and cousins.

Additionally, Jilly’s parents have a new baby who was born with hearing loss. As the family navigates medical questions and decisions, Jilly discovers she doesn’t understand a lot about Deaf culture.

It might seem like the book has a lot of threads running through it, and it does. Gino ties all these ideas together nicely through Jilly’s experience trying to learn the right things to say and sometimes making big mistakes.

Ultimately, Jilly learns that avoiding mistakes isn’t the solution. Learning to try, make changes, and brave uncomfortable conversations help her form closer bonds with people from different communities. I love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jilly has a crush on a boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Reference to police brutality and the deaths of two Black children at the hands of police. (Nothing happens on scene.)

Some racist or ableist comments. (No slurs used. These are more like microaggressions and ignorance, but still harmful and hurtful.)

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake

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Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea
Ashley Herring Blake
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published May 25, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea

A poignant yet hopeful novel about a girl navigating grief, trauma, and friendship, from Ashley Herring Blake, the award-winning author of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World.

Hazel Bly used to live in the perfect house with the perfect family in sunny California. But when a kayaking trip goes horribly wrong, Mum is suddenly gone forever and Hazel is left with crippling anxiety and a jagged scar on her face. After Mum’s death, Hazel, her other mother, Mama, and her little sister, Peach, need a fresh start. So for the last two years, the Bly girls have lived all over the country, never settling anywhere for more than a few months.

When the family arrives in Rose Harbor, Maine, there’s a wildness to the small town that feels like magic. But when Mama runs into an old childhood friend—Claire—suddenly Hazel’s tight-knit world is infiltrated. To make it worse, she has a daughter Hazel’s age, Lemon, who can’t stop rambling on and on about the Rose Maid, a local 150-year-old mermaid myth.

Soon, Hazel finds herself just as obsessed with the Rose Maid as Lemon is—because what if magic were real? What if grief really could change you so much, you weren’t even yourself anymore? And what if instead you emerged from the darkness stronger than before?

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for a long time. I finally managed to read it in a book club with other KidLit reviewers, which was a super exciting experience. I get to talk about a book that I read with other humans who have read it! JOY!

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea is one of those books that has a lot going on in it, but the author manages the flow of information, character development, and pacing so well that I didn’t really notice just how much was going on until sitting down to write this review.

The book has a hair of magical realism in it, which I loved. It’s kind of there and up to you what you believe about what happened. It’s left open to interpretation, which I loved.

The characters were really nicely done. Hazel meets three kids who are all part of an Ocean Club summer program. One girl, Lemon, is so enthusiastic. I loved the way that her enthusiasm made her resilient and helped her bulldoze past some of Hazel’s grief-driven frostiness. I also loved Lemon’s two closest friends. They’re protective of Lemon in a way that makes so much sense as we learn about their lives and the history of their friendship.

Hazel’s relationship with Mama was such a tender part of this book, too. It was hard to read some of the earlier scenes with those two in them. It’s so clear they are not communicating and that Mama doesn’t grasp what’s going on with Hazel and the deep, unhealed grief and trauma she’s carrying. It feels like she thinks if she ignores Hazel’s anxiety, it’ll go away. That struck a chord for me.

I loved the overall message about how grief changes you and how we need each other as we grieve. I also loved how new relationships, while scary, can be healing, not only for ourselves. In new relationships, we find opportunities to bring healing to others, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some feelings of attraction between one character and another. Adults kissing.

Spiritual Content
Hazel’s mom attends a Summer Solstice party.

Violent Content
Hazel describes a kayaking accident that left her injured and her mum dead. References to a boat sinking and killing passengers a long time ago. Hazel experiences a panic attack.

Drug Content
Hazel hears her mom agree to another glass of wine while on the phone with her.

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

Review: On the Block: Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh

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On the Block: Stories of Home
Edited by Ellen Oh
Crown Books for Young Readers
Published October 22, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About On the Block: Stories of Home

From We Need Diverse Books comes a heart-warming middle-grade anthology that follows the loosely interconnected lives of multigenerational immigrant families inhabiting the Entrada apartment building. Edited by Ellen Oh, a founding member of WNDB.”The beauty of their shared home does not come from any single person, but instead from the sum of their experiences” -Meg Medina, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

12 Families. 12 Cultures. 1 Building.Welcome to the Entrada, home to these everyday Americans, includingthe new kid on the block, who is both homesick and curiousa Popsicle-bridge builder, a ghost hunter, and a lion dancer their families, friends, and neighbors from all around the world!

Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this uplifting anthology features award-winning authors Tracey Baptiste, David Bowles, Adrianna Cuevas, Sayantani DasGupta, Debbi Michiko Florence, Adam Gidwitz, Erin Entrada Kelly, Minh Lê, Ellen Oh, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Andrea Wang, and Jasmine Warga.

These inspiring stories celebrate family, friendship, culture, and American immigrant life today.

My Review

I love how cleverly this story collection is put together. Each story is identified by the apartment number where the main character lives (or the story takes place… sometimes it’s a grandparents’ apartment) rather than a traditional title. The stories intersect and reference characters appearing in other stories, but each one could be read independently.

It was interesting reading the book and thinking about the location of each apartment in the building. I think it would have been really cool to have a table of contents or a kind of map that organized the stories visually, so that readers could note where each one takes place in relation to the others. A map of the overall building and surrounding area would have been fun, too. Maybe someone will make one online (or has already!).

Several of the stories center on immigrant families sharing traditional celebrations, food, and forming connections across cultural lines. The underlying message about community and neighborliness repeats in each story, sometimes subtly and other times more overtly.

As someone who grew up in a suburban neighborhood, I’m always fascinated with stories about apartment life. I imagine the same is true for other kids who grew up in similar ways.

Ellen Oh, CEO of We Need Diverse Books, edited the collection which features some well-known middle grade authors, and many that I’ve been meaning to read. The only author featured in the collection that I had read before is David Bowles. I will definitely read more by several of these authors.

I also own an e-book version of another collection edited by Ellen Oh, Flying Lessons and Other Stories, so I’m excited to read that now as well.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a middle school student with a crush on someone.

Spiritual Content
One character lights incense and prays to their ancestors.

Violent Content
Reference to a child dying of pneumonia. (Happens off-scene.)

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: City Spies by James Ponti

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , , , , ,

City Spies (City Spies #1)
James Ponti
Aladdin
Published March 10, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About City Spies

Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency.

Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t.

Before she knows what she’s doing, Sarah is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team.

No one said saving the world was easy…

My Review

I’m waaay behind on the City Spies series, but I keep hearing people talk about it, so I wanted to give it a try. I have books five and six on my shelf, so I would love to catch up enough to read them.

The first novel that I read by James Ponti is The Sherlock Society, which I had a ton of fun reading. The tone of that one is different than City Spies, which makes sense, since one is a mystery and the other is a spy thriller. I think personally, I prefer the more low-key, Florida-based mystery vibe in The Sherlock Society, but I still found a lot to like about City Spies.

City Spies rotates through several points of view. It starts out with Sarah’s perspective and then introduces Paris’s point-of-view and that of the mentor they call “Mother.” We also see some scenes from the perspective of a girl no longer on the City Spies team. This allows us to get some backstory on how the team formed and what’s truly at stake. It also created a really nice setup for a sweet moment between Sarah and Mother at the end.

The book perfectly set up the series. It leaves tons of room for future adventures for the team who operate under the names of the cities they were recruited from. I love that little snippet of geography and the fact that future books take the team to different places. I’m interested to read more.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Someone threatens others with a biological weapon.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my library. All opinions are my own.

Review: Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos by Alex Evanovich

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

Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos
Alex Evanovich
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published October 8, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos

For graduates of Percy Jackson comes the adventure-filled story of an average boy offered a life of villainy that’s about good vs. evil, mischief vs. mayhem, and making your mark on the world, by acclaimed author Alex Evanovich. 

If you’ve ever lost a sock in the dryer, it might have been the work of the Evil Villains International League, EVIL. And if your feet smell so bad, they keep you from making friends, good news! You might be invited to join.

After growing up in the care of his nagging grandmother and coasting through school with a mediocre GPA, Keeper Chance gets invited to try out for a spot in his local chapter of EVIL. Keeper’s not sure his unremarkable life makes him villain material, but things get more remarkable, and fast, when Keeper and another new recruit, Toby, face the chapter’s first test—and disasters begin to snowball.

As cookies and members of EVIL go missing, a mysterious girl named Y who doesn’t miss anything joins Keeper and Toby’s efforts. Despite the urgency of his mission, Keeper still can’t shake the question of why he was chosen for the league when he’s nothing special.

As Keeper races against the clock to save his new friends, nothing is easy, and nothing is ever as it seems. Can he uncover his true nature in time to ensure the survival of villainy—or does his true destiny follow a different path?

My Review

This is such a silly book. Though main characters Keeper Chance and his new best friends are sixteen, the lighthearted, caricature-ish story feels targeted to upper middle grade readers. The characters behave more independently than younger characters might believably act, too.

The story roams between points of view, taking readers into the minds of the villains and heroes alike, showing both adult and teen perspectives. Some of the characters, such as Keeper’s grandmother, are pretty cartoonish, but that feels like the vibe the story is going for, so it works.

I enjoyed how the plot seamlessly leads Keeper and Toby from one problem to the next. A search for cookies leads them to a lost dog and a kidnapping that’s part of a larger plot. This kept the story moving and balanced the danger and mischief elements while adding lots of fun into the mix.

Overall, this one is like The Incredibles, with the silliness dialed way up. I can see fans of superhero stories getting a pretty big kick out of this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to attraction between two characters.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have special superhuman abilities.

Violent Content
Situations of peril.

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.