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Review: Don’t Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan

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Don't Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan

Don’t Call Me a Hurricane
Ellen Hagan
Bloomsbury
Published July 19, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Don’t Call Me a Hurricane

An affecting and resonant YA novel in verse that explores family, community, the changing ocean tides, and what it means to fall in love with someone who sees the world in a different way.

It’s been five years since a hurricane ravaged Eliza Marino’s life and home in her quiet town on the Jersey shore. Now a senior in high school, Eliza is passionate about fighting climate change-starting with saving Clam Cove Reserve, an area of marshland that is scheduled to be turned into buildable lots. Protecting the island helps Eliza deal with her lingering trauma from the storm, but she still can’t shake the fear that something will come along and wash out her life once again.
When Eliza meets Milo Harris at a party, she tries to hate him. Milo is one of the rich tourists who flock to the island every summer. But after Eliza reluctantly agrees to give Milo surfing lessons, she can’t help falling for him. Still, Eliza’s not sure if she’s ready to risk letting an outsider into the life she’s rebuilt. Especially once she discovers that Milo is keeping a devastating secret.
Told in stunning verse, DON’T CALL ME A HURRICANE is a love story for the people and places we come from, and a journey to preserve what we love most about home.

My Review

I think this is my favorite solo novel by Ellen Hagan. I loved the descriptions of Eliza out on the water, whether she was swimming or surfing. Those felt so much like my own experiences when I’m out on the water and feeling connected to nature and what’s happening around me.

Another great thing about DON’T CALL ME A HURRICANE is the scenes showing the meetings to raise awareness and protect the island’s marshland. It gave a visual to Eliza’s activism– though we see that in lots of other areas, too. She makes conscious decisions to buy clothes from thrift stores rather than purchase fast fashion items. She bikes all over the island. She and her siblings compete to see who can take the shortest showers to save water.

Those things might seem extreme to someone who isn’t experiencing the effects of climate change in their community. But as Eliza grapples with rising tides and new construction devastating natural habitats, her decisions, her proactiveness make so much sense. (Not that it should take direct experience to make a change…)

Eliza’s story isn’t simply the story of a girl fighting for climate justice. It’s also the story of a girl wrestling with trauma from surviving a violent hurricane, and a girl falling in love for the first time. Her emotional journey through the pages of the story gripped me. I loved each triumph and rooted for her through each heartbreak.

I think readers who enjoyed THE SEA IS SALT AND SO AM I by Cassandra Hartt or WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS by Adi Alsaid will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes for Don’t Call Me a Hurricane

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Eliza’s family is Sicilian American. Her best friend Isa is Puerto Rican. Another friend is nonbinary.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Eliza practices meditation to help manage her anxiety.

Violent Content
Eliza revisits memories of the hurricane that destroyed her home and nearly killed a family member.

Drug Content
Eliza and her friends get drunk and vandalize a home that’s under construction.

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 DON’T CALL ME A HURRICANE in exchange for my honest review.

10 Great Books on the Environment and Climate Change for Young Readers

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10 Great Books on the Environment and Climate Change for Young Readers

It’s Earth Day on April 22, so to celebrate, I wanted to share some of my favorite books on the environment and climate change for young readers. These books cover topics from the water crisis in Flint, Michigan to the falling populations of giraffes or butterflies. Some explore the damage to the environment (and to us!) caused by pollution. Others tell stories about activists who’ve dedicated their time and energy to problem-solving and speaking out to protect the planet.

Trashing the Planet by Stuart K. Allen

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: What happens if trash isn’t properly handled? How are we going to fix environmental crises caused by trash? This book started my interest in environmental reading, and I still sometimes refer back to it for information. A fabulous read.

Ages: 10 up | Published August 1, 2017 | My Review

Giraffe Extinction by Tanya Anderson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Great balance of interesting facts, history and context for why giraffes are threatened and what happens to their environment if they become extinct. I learned so much from this book.

Ages: 12 up | Published October 1, 2019 | My Review

Making Waves: Saving Our Oceans by Albert Bates

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Focuses on how pollution harms marine life and ecosystems. Beautiful illustrations. Great for middle school readers.

Ages: 10-14 | Published August 5, 2021 | My Review

When the World Runs Dry by Nancy F. Castaldo

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Explores LOTS of causes of water crises from environmental to border issues to contamination. Each chapter features case studies exploring real communities facing these problems. Really well done.

Ages: 10 up | Published January 18, 2022 | My Review

Poisoned Water by Candy J. Cooper with Mark Aronson

Review | Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: An informative, heartbreaking look at what citizens in Michigan endured (and are still enduring) in their fight for clean water. A must-read book.

Ages: 14 up | Published May 19, 2020 | My Review

The Story of More by Hope Jahren

Review | Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Gives a great overview of how we got to where we are with climate change from changes in human population, farming and other industries, etc. Looks at how individual changes can impact communities.

Ages: 14 up | Published November 2, 2021 | My Review

Bugs in Danger by Mark Kurlansky

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Great starting point for understanding how important bees, butterflies and beetles are to our environment. Easy to read. Informative and engaging.

Ages: 10 up | Published November 12, 2019 | My Review

The Environment: Explore, Create and Investigate by Jonathon Litton

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: I really liked the broad reach of the information it offers and pairs with experiments and activities. Perfect for use with a science unit or to inspire summer crafts.

Ages: 6-12 | Published September 22, 2020 | My Review

The Magic and Mystery of Trees by Jen Green and Claire McElfatrick

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Packed with fascinating information and gorgeous diagrams explaining processes from growth to reproduction to communication and protection. I bought the ebook version of this book on sale and ended up ordering a hard copy as well.

Ages: 8 up | Published March 5, 2019 | My Review

Girl Warriors by Rachel Sarah

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: 25 profiles of young climate activists under 25 years old, how they got started making changes and how their work impacts communities across the globe. I found these stories incredibly inspiring and hopeful.

Ages: 8 up | Published April 6, 2021 | My Review

What are your favorite books on the environment or climate change?

What are some of your favorite books on the environment and climate change for young readers? Let me know if you’ve read any of these books or have other favorites I should check out! I’d love to expand my library and add more books for review. Happy Earth Day!

Review: When the World Runs Dry by Nancy F. Castaldo

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When the World Runs Dry
Nancy F. Castaldo
Algonquin Young Readers
Published January 18, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About When the World Runs Dry

What would you do if you turned on the faucet one day and nothing happened? What if you learned the water in your home was harmful to drink? Water is essential for life on this planet, but not every community has the safe, clean water it needs. In WHEN THE WORLD RUNS DRY, award-winning science writer Nancy Castaldo takes readers from Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey, to Iran and Cape Town, South Africa, to explore the various ways in which water around the world is in danger, why we must act now, and why you’re never too young to make a difference.

Topics include: Lead and water infrastructure problems, pollution, fracking contamination, harmful algal blooms, water supply issues, rising sea levels, and potential solutions.

My Review

If you’ve been following my blog awhile, you have probably seen some other climate-slash-water-slash-pollution books come through my review listings. Hopefully I’ll be doing a whole list post featuring those kinds of books in early April to get ready for Earth Day, so they’ll all be listed in one place then.

This book, WHEN THE WORLD RUNS DRY had a lot of great information exploring various causes of water crisis– too little water, too much water, contaminated water, border issues, etc. So it took a slightly different approach than the other books that I’ve read. Each chapter is devoted to a specific kind of water crisis, which made the book really easy to follow. Each chapter explores case studies of communities faced with the type of water crisis talked about in the chapter, so there are real examples of communities dealing with these issues. Some of them I recognized from news headlines, while others were completely new to me.

I thought the case studies were well-presented. They included a lot of facts and information without being overwhelming or too data-heavy. Though I’d read books on similar topics in the past, there was a lot of new information in this book that I hadn’t come across before, so that was really helpful, too. I liked that the chapters often talked about activists or new legislation that was making a difference in the issue. The last chapter focuses on what can be done to help. So, the book definitely works to include positivity and hope, which I appreciated as well.

WHEN THE WORLD RUNS DRY had some overlap with a couple of the other books on water or the environment that I’ve read recently, namely THE STORY OF MORE by Hope Jahren and TRASHING THE PLANET by Stuart A. Kallen. There’s also a section in the book that covers the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, which I also read about in POISONED WATER by Candy J. Cooper and Marc Aronson. Those books were also really worth checking out if this is a topic that interests you.

I also recommend WHEN THE WORLD RUNS DRY. I think it’s a great look across the board at a lot of different types of water crises, examples of them in different communities, and what we can do to help.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
The book includes case studies and personal stories from BIPOC.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief mentions of spiritual ceremonies.

Violent Content
Brief mention of a protest in which someone chained himself to a bulldozer and was arrested.

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 WHEN THE WORLD RUNS DRY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Making Waves by Albert Bates

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Making Waves: Saving Our Oceans
Albert Bates
Groundswell
Published August 5, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Making Waves

This book provides an educational and engaging look at the interdependent relationship between the oceans and ourselves, and what is needed to protect the oceans’ ecosystems. Young adults learn about a variety of human activities that affect water temperature, oxygen levels, acidity, ice density, sea levels and sea-life populations.

Bates explains how measures such as blue carbon initiatives to prohibit deep-sea mining, replanting mangroves, protecting salt marshes and seagrasses and restoring coral reefs have benefits that have a multiplier effect–and that it is more cost-effective and financially rewarding to do these now rather than later.

My Review

I’ve read a couple of other books on the ocean, climate change, and the growing amount of trash and pollution in the world’s oceans. It’s always interesting to me to compare the books, because those are such huge topics. There are always places the information overlaps and places it builds on or adds to my current understanding. That definitely happened here.

MAKING WAVES focuses on the ocean (as opposed to books that talk about climate change or pollution and how those impact forests or rivers). There were lots of things I either didn’t know or things that the book broadened my perspective on or put in a more complete context. I had never heard or thought about, for instance, the way that the noise of ships or mining or even sonar can harm marine animals. Certainly I’d thought about how oil spills from mining could cause harm. I had never thought about the impact of the noise, though. So that way an interesting thing to think about.

I liked that the book included some information about microplastics and perspective on cleanup efforts and the futility of focusing strictly on cleaning up plastic if we ignore the problem of plastics being produced so broadly and ending up in the ocean in the first place.

For a short book, MAKING WAVES packs a big punch. It breaks down complex information in a way that’s easy for young readers to read and digest. The pages feature gorgeous, compelling photographs as well as diagrams that illustrate the points Bates makes in the narrative.

On the whole, I think this is a great book for middle school science classrooms or libraries. I think it would make an excellent resource for homeschool students as well, or any young reader interested in knowing more about the environment, specifically the oceans.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
The book is about the oceans and marine life.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

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 MAKING WAVES in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Sea is Salt and So Am I by Cassandra Hartt

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The Sea Is Salt and So Am I
Cassandra Hartt
Roaring Brook Press
Published June 8, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Sea Is Salt and So Am I

West Finch is one hurricane away from falling into the sea.

Yet sixteen-year-old Harlow Prout is determined to save her small Maine hometown. If only she could stop getting in her own way and find someone, anyone, willing to help. But her best friend Ellis MacQueen “fixes” problems by running away from them―including his broken relationship with his twin brother, Tommy. And Tommy’s depression has hit a new low, so he’s not up for fixing anything.

In the wake of the town’s latest devastating storm, Tommy goes out for a swim that he doesn’t intend to survive. It’s his unexpected return that sets into motion a sea change between these three teens. One that tests old loyalties, sparks new romance, and uncovers painful secrets. And nothing stays secret in West Finch for long.

My Review

This book wrecked me so badly. In a good way, I think? Haha.

It’s got big emotions. Secrets. People who desperately care about each other but somehow go to great lengths to do anything besides deal with the ways they’ve hurt each other. I couldn’t stop reading it. I thought about it for days after I finished reading it.

The writing is so steeped in feeling. It’s got an amazing small town setting, where everyone is waiting for storms to hit and knowing they might destroy the places they love. The story is complex. It’s deep. It’s unforgettable.

And then the ending. I… don’t even know what to say.

The ending is great, just…. abrupt? I love the book, and I’m not unhappy with the ending, I think it just left something unclear that I wanted more completely spelled out for me. But even that doesn’t dim the incredible journey that reading this story was for me. I loved it.

I think readers who enjoy books with big emotions and small towns packed with secrets will love this one. Fans of John Green or Kyrie McCauley should absolutely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Tommy has depression. Ellis is bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing betwen boy and girl. Kissing between two boys. A couple scenes show people kissing without shirts and reference sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for suicide attempt.
One character tries to die by suicide by swimming away from shore.

Drug Content
Tommy is on medication for depression but isn’t happy with how it makes him feel. He stops taking the medication at one point. He drinks beer with Ellis at one point, which he isn’t supposed to do on his medication, either.

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 SEA IS SALT AND SO AM I in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Story of More by Hope Jahren

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The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here (Adapted for Young Adults)
Hope Jahren
Delacorte Press
Published November 2, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Story of More

Hope Jahren, acclaimed geochemist and geobiologist, details the science behind key inventions, clarifying how electricity, large-scale farming, and automobiles have both helped and harmed our world.

Jahren explains the current and projected consequences of unchecked global warming, from superstorms to rising sea levels, resulting from the unprecedented amounts of greenhouse gases being released into our atmosphere. The links between human consumption habits and our endangered existence are very real, with consequences leading to a crossroads of survival and extinction.

Still, Jahren maintains that our ever-broadening science-based knowledge can help us counter this dilemma. The eye-opening information provided in THE STORY OF MORE will help readers understand the path we must take. If we collectively make informed choices now, Jahren reassures us, our future can be as bright as we imagine it can be.

This young adult adaptation of acclaimed geochemist and geobiologist Hope Jahren’s highly respected nonfiction work is the perfect book for those interested in learning about climate change and how they can contribute to creating a more sustainable future.

My Review

One of the cool things about this book is that it doesn’t strictly talk about climate change in terms of the effects we see today and the industrial causes. I like that the author kind of zooms out and gives a chapter by chapter overview of things. She discusses things like the way human population has changed over thousands of years or the ways in which farming has evolved. Each topic is discussed in only a few pages but paints a much more complete picture of how we got to where we are with carbon levels, food waste, and pollution.

I also like that the book takes time to focus on what individuals can do to make a difference. The issue of Climate Change can be really overwhelming because it feels like the most significant changes have to be made at an industry or government level in order to make a real impact. This doesn’t address how to make those changes specifically. It does look at what meaningful things individuals can do and how making those changes can cause ripple effects across our lives and the lives of others.

One of the most shocking things that the book discussed that I hadn’t heard before actually had to do with the Winter Olympics. The games need a specific environment to be played– snow slopes for instance. The number of places which have the ability to host the games has shrunk considerably since the games began. That was something I hadn’t really specifically thought about before.

I think readers who enjoy books about environmental issues will definitely want to check this one out. If you liked TRASHING THE PLANET or GIRL WARRIORS, then be sure add THE STORY OF MORE to your reading list!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The author is a white woman in her 50s.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

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 THE STORY OF MORE in exchange for my honest review.