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

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

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

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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: Under the Neon Lights by Arriel Vinson

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

Under the Neon Lights
Arriel Vinson
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Published June 3, 2025

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About Under the Neon Lights

In this sparkling and heartfelt debut YA novel in verse, a young Black girl discovers first love, self-worth, and the power of a good skate. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Joya Goffney.

Sixteen-year-old Jaelyn Coleman lives for Saturdays at WestSide Roll, the iconic neighborhood roller rink. On these magical nights, Jae can lose herself in the music of DJ Sunny, the smell of nachos from the concession, and the crowd of some of her favorite people—old heads, dance crews, and other regulars like herself. Here, Jae and other Black teens can fully be themselves.

One Saturday, as Jae skates away her worries, she crashes into the cutest boy she’s ever seen. Trey’s dimples, rich brown skin, and warm smile make it impossible for her to be mad at him though. Best of all, he can’t stop finding excuses to be around her. A nice change for once, in contrast with her best friend’s cold distance of late or her estranged father creeping back into her life.

Just as Jae thinks her summer might change for the better, devastating news hits: Westside Roll is shutting down. The gentrification rapidly taking over her predominantly Black Indianapolis neighborhood, filling it with luxury apartments and fancy boutiques, has come for her safe-haven. And this is just one trouble Jae can’t skate away from.

Debut author Arriel Vinson’s lyrical and contemplative story of young Black love and coming of age in Indianapolis ushers in an exciting new voice in YA literature.

My Review

The descriptions of the skating rink were so perfect. My memories of going skating and the sounds, smells, the stickiness in the air, all of that, came springing back to life in my head as I read this book. The descriptions of the music let you know what’s going on without ever slowing down the story. I felt like I was right there with Jae.

What’s really awesome, too, is that the story paints the picture of the skating rink as this hub for community. It’s a space where people gather and celebrate music, relationships, and the joy of roller skating. I loved every one of those scenes.

The story also makes space to explore the ways that relationships change. Sometimes things break, and we don’t know how to fix them. Sometimes people let us down. And sometimes people change. Figuring out when to fight or confront versus when to let things go is not easy, and Jae faces several complex choices in her relationships.

Jae also lives in a town that’s facing increasing gentrification. It’s no the theme of the story. This isn’t a book about mobilizing the community to stop what’s happening. It’s about figuring out how to be who you are in an ever-changing world, and how to hold onto the things that matter to you even when the world keeps changing. There are some great moments in which Jae calls out gentrification and acknowledges the harm it’s causing. So while it’s not a story that centers on saving the skating rink, it does address the impact of the closure on the community.

I was engaged from the first page to the last. The verse lines move quickly, drawing our attention to the perfect amount of detail and creating a rich emotional story. I cannot wait to see what the author writes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few instances of strong profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Scenes show people falling while skating. References to racism and prejudice. Jae’s neighborhood faces increasing gentrification.

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: Salvación by Sandra Proudman

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

Salvación
Sandra Proudman
Wednesday Books
Published May 20, 2025

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About Salvación

In this Latinx YA fantasy inspired by El Zorro, Lola de La Peña becomes the masked heroine Salvación in order to save her family and town from a man who would destroy it for the magic it contains…if she doesn’t fall in love with one of his men first.

Lola de La Peña yearns to be free from the societal expectations of a young Mexican lady of her station. She spends her days pretending to be delicate and proper while watching her mamá cure the sick and injured with sal negra (black salt), a recently discovered magic that heals even the most mortal of sicknesses and wounds. But by night, she is Salvación, the free-spirit lady vigilante protecting the town of Coloma from those who threaten its peace and safety among the rising tension in Alta California after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

But one night, a woman races into Coloma, barely alive, to tell the horrifying tale of how her town was obliterated by sal roja, a potent, deadly magic capable of obliterating anything it comes into contact with and the man who wields it: Damien Hernández. And when Hernández arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong and promises of returning Alta California to México, Lola knows it’s only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule—all Hernández needs is the next full moon and the stolen, ancient amulet he carries to mine enough sal roja to conquer the land. Determined to protect everything she loves, Lola races against time as Salvación to stop his plans. What she didn’t count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernández but doesn’t seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernández getting closer to his goals, Lola will do anything to foil his plans, even teaming up with Alejandro—who she doesn’t fully trust, but can’t help but fall in love with.

My Review

The setting of this book took me back to my childhood memories of watching Zorro episodes on TV. It’s set in California in a town built up around a mine where someone has discovered a salt with healing power. Lola lives a privileged life in her town, but she wants nothing to do with the fancy dresses and future romance that her family might want for her. Instead, she wants to help others. Particularly, she wants to protect the people in her town from those who would harm them.

The story doesn’t follow a stereotypical superhero path. For one thing, though Lola has a secret identity as Salvación, she shares the identity with her brother. The two of them work as a team, but he stays in the shadows. As Salvación, she’s the face of their team.

I liked exploring the teamwork and their relationship as brother and sister within the story. Lola also isn’t the kind of hero who charges into danger with a sword every time there’s trouble. She does background investigating. She forms relationships. The girl has layers! I love that.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book. It really delivered the vibe of the Zorro TV episodes I watched as a little kid while telling a Latinx-centered story. If you like historical fantasy, you’ll want this one on your reading list.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few instances of profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Salt with magical properties can either help or harm someone.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle violence. A couple scenes include someone killing a captive or enemy.

Drug Content
Salt with healing properties cures disease and injury. Salt with destructive properties destroys any living thing it touches.

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: Malcolm Lives! by Ibram X. Kendi

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

Malcolm Lives!: The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Readers
Ibram X. Kendi
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published May 13, 2025

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About Malcolm Lives!: The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Readers

In collaboration with the Malcolm X Estate, this powerful biography for young readers is a modern classic in the making, written by #1 New York Times-bestselling, National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi.

Published 100 years after his birth, Malcolm Lives! is a ground-breaking narrative biography of one of the most influential Americans of all time.

Dr. Kendi expertly crafts a propulsive telling of Malcolm X’s life—from birth to death. He provides context for both Malcolm’s choices—and those around him—not just painting an intimate picture of a famous figure, but of the social and political landscape of America during the civil rights movement. Ultimately, Malcolm’s true legacy is a journey toward anti-racism. Just like history, Malcolm lives.

With short, evocative chapters, exclusive archival documents, photographs from the Malcolm X Collection at the NYPL Schomburg Center, and extensive backmatter, this is a thoughtful and accessible, must-read for all Americans.

My Review

I feel like my history textbooks never gave the appropriate amount of space to Malcolm X, his life, and his work. I suspect that some of that has to do with the fact that his message was a lot more challenging, especially for white Americans. At times, he was very clear that he had nothing to say to white America. For much of his life, he saw his mission, his calling as being to Black America.

This book doesn’t only relate Malcolm X’s life story from beginning to end. It also offers some context for the choices he made. At certain points, Dr. Kendi asks readers directly to consider the facts of history. He asks reader to think beyond what happened in one moment of Malcolm X’s life, but to look at the pattern of history before his life and since.

Some of the story follows Malcolm X’s life as a member of the Nation of Islam. I think the book explains the goals of the organization and their values really well. It also discusses where the leaders fell short of the values they preached. Dr. Kendi offers some thoughtful critique and, again, some historical context that will help readers place these events in the larger arc of history. He also emphasizes some of the reasons it’s important to know this history.

Conclusion

Earlier this year, I read a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Jonathan Eig. It’s interesting thinking about the lives of these two men, who lived through many of the same moments in history. They had very different experiences and different ideas about what the best path forward for Black Americans would be. I think reading both books or at least learning about both leaders is something that we should all be doing. Malcolm Lives! does a great job educating readers about Malcolm X’s life and his work in America.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to marriage and dating relationships.

Spiritual Content
The book explains the establishment and history of the Nation of Islam and its teachings. Some brief explanations delve into the difference between the teaching of the Nation of Islam and the Islamic faith.

Violent Content
References to racist violence, lynching deaths, destruction of property, attempted murder, murder, and police brutality. Some reference to self-defense. These things are not described in any detail and are mentioned in the context of history. For example, the narrative discusses how someone set fire to Malcolm X’s house when he was a young child, and how it happened again while he was an adult, and that triggered those childhood memories. The author also draws a parallel between the police response to both crimes.

Drug Content
References to smoking cigarettes and using drugs. Nothing shown graphically. This also shows how seriously Malcolm X took his faith, because he stopped smoking or using drugs when he joined the Nation of Islam and later converted to Islam.

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

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

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

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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: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

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All American Boys
Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Simon & Schuster
Published September 29, 2015

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About All American Boys

Rashad is absent again today.

That’s the sidewalk graffiti that started it all…

Well, no, actually, a lady tripping over Rashad at the store, making him drop a bag of chips, was what started it all. Because it didn’t matter what Rashad said next—that it was an accident, that he wasn’t stealing—the cop just kept pounding him. Over and over, pummeling him into the pavement. So then Rashad, an ROTC kid with mad art skills, was absent again…and again…stuck in a hospital room. Why? Because it looked like he was stealing. And he was a black kid in baggy clothes. So he must have been stealing.

And that’s how it started.

And that’s what Quinn, a white kid, saw. He saw his best friend’s older brother beating the daylights out of a classmate. At first Quinn doesn’t tell a soul…He’s not even sure he understands it. And does it matter? The whole thing was caught on camera, anyway. But when the school—and nation—start to divide on what happens, blame spreads like wildfire fed by ugly words like “racism” and “police brutality.” Quinn realizes he’s got to understand it, because, bystander or not, he’s a part of history. He just has to figure out what side of history that will be.

Rashad and Quinn—one black, one white, both American—face the unspeakable truth that racism and prejudice didn’t die after the civil rights movement. There’s a future at stake, a future where no one else will have to be absent because of police brutality. They just have to risk everything to change the world.

Cuz that’s how it can end.

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for years. I’ve heard so much about it, from the awards that it garnered to the way the story moves readers. In some ways, I feel like I don’t have anything to add to the conversation that hasn’t already been said. It’s an incredible book.

I love that the authors chose to tell this book from two different perspectives: a black boy who experienced brutality at the hands of a police officer and a white boy who bore witness.

Through Rashad’s perspective, we are asked to walk through the physical pain, the shame, and the rage that he feels as a result of his experience. We see his family’s different reactions. His friends.

Then we step into Quinn’s point of view, and we walk through his discomfort. We watch him wrestle with how to respond and what actions to take. We have to sit with the discomfort that he feels. Like Quinn, we go beyond sympathizing with the boy in the hospital. His perspective asks us to do that emotional work for ourselves.

Having point of view characters of two different races also crafts the conversation about race within the story in terms of how racism and privilege impact us all. This is the kind of book that makes you think, and it’s couched in such an accessible story. Both points of view are written conversationally, so it feels like a friend relating what happened directly to you.

I read this book in a single day. It’s the kind of book that you don’t want to put down. Even though I’ve finished, I find myself returning to some moments in the story to think about them again. There’s a lot to think about in these pages.

If you haven’t read All American Boys, add it to your reading list. It’s the kind of book that asks you to listen and bear witness in a really necessary way. Especially now.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity appears in the book.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to some romantic attraction.

Spiritual Content
References to church service and prayer. Rashad shares his anger at the idea that God watched what happened to him and allowed it to happen. He wonders if he’d feel better if God was looking away or busy instead. He shares these feelings as he’s processing what happened to him and the things that other people say to him about it.

Violent Content
References to police brutality. One scene shows a police officer beating up a teenage boy from the boy’s perspective. Other scenes reference this moment from other perspectives.

Another officer shares an experience in which an unarmed teen was shot.

Police wait at the site of a permitted protest with a tank as if they expect rioting and violence.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol from a flask. One boy convinces a man to buy beer for him and his friends, who are on their way to a party.

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