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Review: Mind Over Monsters by Betsy Uhrig

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Mind Over Monsters by Betsy Uhrig

Mind Over Monsters
Betsy Uhrig
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published July 16, 2024

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About Mind Over Monsters

Gordon Korman meets Scooby-Doo when anxiety-prone middle schoolers try a mindfulness app that has them face their fears all-too-literally in this spooky and humorous middle grade adventure.

FACE YOUR FEARS! That’s what the meditation app with the cheesy name De-stress-o-rama is telling Lena to do. She’s one of seven always-worried middle schoolers trying out this new app to see if it can help students handle stress. But something is going wrong—very, very wrong.

The group’s fears are becoming all too real, first lurking and dangling, then chasing them around and threatening to swallow them whole. From a stubborn inky blob that is fear of the dark, to the queasy giant in sweaty underpants that is fear of public speaking, monsters are invading Cranberry Bog Middle School! Can Lena’s group of worriers figure out how to conquer their fears before the whole school is swarmed?

My Review

This was a really fun book with some really cool moments. I liked that the story featured meditation as a helpful practice for people with anxiety. Of course, if your meditation app created real creatures based on your fears, it wouldn’t be very helpful. I still liked that meditation is shown in the book, and many kids found it helpful (sans monsters).

Another thing I liked a lot was Lena’s relationship with her mom. There was a moment in the book where I thought I knew what was going on, and I remember thinking I was going to be mad if the book left this thing unaddressed. And Betsy Uhrig proved yet again that my trust in her is well-placed because I loved how she handled the issue between Lena and her mom.

The monsters that emerged from the app made sense but also weren’t meant to be super terrifying. It made sense that the kids in the book would be scared, since the creatures were tailored to the kids’ specific fears, but they didn’t make the book overly scary. I think the story is really accessible to kids with big fears. I love that, too.

The monsters emerging into real life in this book made me think of The Darkdeep by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs. I think readers who enjoyed that series will like this one. I recommend it for middle grade readers struggling with fears, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Lena is white, but her group of friends, the Worriers, is pretty diverse.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Lena’s best friend seems to have a crush on a boy who likes her.

Spiritual Content
Fears begin appearing in the form of three-dimensional beings.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Descriptions of fears.

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: Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

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

Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragons #1)
Amber Chen
Viking Books for Young Readers
Published June 18, 2024

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About Of Jade and Dragons

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming a brilliant engineer just like her beloved father – but her life is torn apart when she arrives a moment too late to stop his murder, and worse, lets the killer slip out of reach. Left with only a journal containing his greatest engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, Ying vows to take revenge into her own hands.

Disguised as her brother, Ying heads to the capital city, and discovers that the answer to finding who killed her father lies behind the walls of the prestigious Engineers Guild – the home of a past her father never wanted to talk about. With the help of an unlikely ally – Aogiya Ye-yang, a taciturn (but very handsome) young prince – Ying must navigate a world fraught with rules, challenges and politics she can barely grasp, let alone understand.

But to survive, she must fight to stay one step ahead of everyone. And when faced with the choice between doing what’s right and what’s necessary, Ying will have to decide if her revenge is truly worthwhile, if it means going against everything her father stood for . . .

My Review

This book definitely has some Mulan vibes. It reminded me a bit of Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim, especially in the first quarter. (Girl goes to a big city and attempts to enter an elite, male-only guild.) I liked the relationships Ying cultivates with the other guild hopefuls, especially a younger one who becomes a close ally. (I hope book two includes this character.)

When I first saw this book, for some reason, I thought it was a middle grade book. It’s not. It’s clearly intended for a young adult audience. Sometimes, the writing and the way the characters related to one another felt more in line with a middle grade story. That isn’t to say anything is wrong with the writing or character relationships. It’s possible I felt that way because I had the other age group stuck in my head already.

There is a romantic subplot in the story, too. I love that the author doesn’t follow every expectation readers might have with a romance story. Ying is a strong character and has a deep commitment to her mission. She doesn’t want anything to distract her from finding out who had her father killed. She wants entry into the engineers’ guild to finish his work.

I love that this book includes so much about engineering as a field of study. A lot of the lessons and tests shown in the story involve defensive or offensive vehicles and weaponry, but some characters mention other kinds of engineering. I would have enjoyed seeing more of a spectrum of engineering projects, but I can see why those focuses would fit better in the story because of the push toward war.

On the whole, I enjoyed this one. It looks like the start of a series, so I’m curious to see where the story goes from here.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Chinese-coded.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Characters pray to and mention Abka Han, the god of the skies and guardian of Ying’s homeland. When a good or bad thing happens, it’s taken as an omen from Abka Han.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Characters face assassins and armed enemies in several scenes. References to and reports of warfare. In one scene, an assailant stabs an unarmed man after ransacking a room.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at social events.

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: Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin

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

Unbecoming
Seema Yasmin
Simon & Schuster
Published July 9, 2024

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About Unbecoming

Two Muslim teens in Texas fight for access to abortion while one harbors a painful secret in this funny and heartfelt near-future speculative novel perfect for fans of Unpregnant .

In a not-too-distant America, abortions are prosecuted and the right to choose is no longer an option. But best friends Laylah and Noor want to change the world. After graduating high school, they’ll become an OBGYN and a journalist, but in the meantime, they’re working on an illegal guide to abortion in Texas.

In response to the unfair laws, underground networks of clinics have sprung up, but the good fight has gotten even more precarious as it becomes harder to secure safe medication and supplies. Both Layla and Noor are passionate about getting their guide completed so it can help those in need, but Laylah treats their project with an urgency Noor doesn’t understand—that may have something to do with the strange goings-on between their mosque and a local politician.

Fighting for what they believe in may involve even more obstacles than they bargained for, but the two best friends will continue as they always together.

My Review

The book begins with a note from the author explaining that she began writing this story about a dystopian future in which girls and women could not access birth control or abortions before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. I don’t know how that change in the law impacted her journey writing the book, but I imagine there were some big, complicated feelings.

This was a hard book for me to read, but I think the author does an amazing job balancing the hard parts of the story with lighter parts, such as Laylah’s Bollywood blackouts. (I kind of wish there were more of those, honestly.) There are also lots of scenes showing baking and celebrating the joy of preparing and eating food together. The book also lifts up the power of support women offer other women. Most of the story’s central characters are female.

Unbecoming also shows the messy side of activism. It’s easy for anyone to believe claims that echo what we already believe to be true and to do harm by perpetuating unverified information. It’s also easy for us to reduce our understanding of people to one idea or one virtue/vice. And it’s easy amid fear and turmoil to forget that we need each other; we need community and a support network.

Though this story left me feeling more somber than many others I’ve read lately, I think it raises some really important questions and offers valuable insights about friendship, activism, and community.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Laylah and Noor are both Muslim. Noor is pansexual and in a relationship with a girl. Laylah’s little brother has Down Syndrome.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
F-bombs appear somewhat frequently with other profanity used here and there.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to sex. Kissing between girls.

Spiritual Content
Noor recalls attending events at the mosque and why she stopped going. Laylah is still connected to the mosque community and prays at different times of day.

Violent Content
References to the death penalty. References to police brutality against protestors.

Drug Content
Birth control and hormone therapy of any kind are outlawed in the book. Medications that cause an abortion or are used for IVF are also illegal.

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.

Rockstar Book Tours Review: The Legendary Mo Seto by A. Y. Chan

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , , ,

The Legendary Mo Seto
A. Y. Chan
Publisher
Published June 4, 2024

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About Legendary Mo Seto

A fast-paced, high-kicking debut that’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets Stand Up, Yumi Chung as a young taekwondo artist uses an ancient book to help save her dreams—and her father.

Twelve-year-old Modesty “Mo” Seto dreams of being a taekwondo champion. Even though her mom disapproves, Mo can always count on her dad, who is her number one fan and biggest supporter. Lately, Mo has been on a losing streak, and it doesn’t help that she keeps losing to her archnemesis, Dax, who’s much bigger than her. If only she were faster, stronger, not so petite. Mo can’t even lean on her dad like usual with how distracted he’s been lately.

When Mo learns about the chance to audition to star alongside her idol and legendary martial artist and movie star Cody Kwok, she knows this her chance to prove to her dad, to the world, and to herself that she can compete with anyone, no matter her size. Unfortunately, Dax is auditioning, too. As Mo and her nemesis progress to callbacks, someone attempts to sabotage the movie set and Mo’s dad disappears—and both events seem linked to a mysterious book, the Book of Joy.

The book contains information on a secret dance-like martial art developed by Mo’s ancestral grandmother. Armed with these powerful moves and an unexpected ally, Mo embarks on a high-octane adventure to rescue her father, save the movie, and discover an unexpected joy in being small.

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.

My Review

Reading this book took me back to watching Jackie Chan movies back in the day. I loved the energy of the scenes showing martial arts sparring or competition. Mo is a great character, too. She has goofy, awkward moments, but she is also incredibly sincere and passionate about everything she does.

I liked the relationship she has with her mom. Really, she struggles to understand both of her parents and believes they don’t see her for who she is or don’t value her for the things about herself that she cherishes. As the story progresses, Mo’s understanding of her parents changes, and she begins to see them in different ways.

Her relationships with others evolve as well. Mo and Nacho cling to their close friendship even as sparks begin to fly between them. There are hints at a possible romance, but their feelings remain on the sidelines as Mo deals with more urgent problems like her missing dad and the audition sabotages.

This story has a lot of pep in its pages, making it a lot of fun to read. I think readers who enjoy books about martial arts, movie auditions, or exploring relationships with family and close friends will find lots of reasons to love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Mo and her family are Chinese American. There are other characters whose families are from other parts of Asia.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Mo and another character seem attracted to one another.

Spiritual Content
Mo begins to learn moves for a secret form of martial arts. When she executes the moves, she feels happy inside.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some scenes show Mo sparring with opponents. Someone sabotages the movie auditions in increasingly dangerous ways. Two people kidnap others. Mo fights people dressed in black.

Drug Content
None.

About A. Y. Chan

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

A. Y. Chan grew up in Canada’s Greater Toronto Area reading all the middle grade and young adult books she could get her hands on. To this day, those remain her favorite genres. After achieving her black belt in Taekwondo, she explored other martial arts, such as Wing Chun, Hapkido, and Muay Thai. These days, she continues her martial arts training some mornings, writes in the afternoons, takes long walks to muddle out plot points, and falls asleep reading.

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Review: A Magic Fierce and Bright by Hemant Nayat

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A Magic Fierce and Bright
Hemant Nayat
Simon & Schuster
Published July 9, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Magic Fierce and Bright

A young technomancer teams up with a handsome thief to save her sister in this propulsive, magic-filled young adult fantasy that is perfect for fans of Gearbreakers and Iron Widow.

Adya wants nothing more than to be left alone. Content to be loyal to no one but herself in the isolated jungles of South India, she dreams only of finding her lost sister, Priya, and making enough money to take care of their family. It’s too bad that her rare ability to wake electric machines—using the magic that wiped them out five centuries ago—also makes her a coveted political pawn. Everyone seems to believe that her technomancy can help them win the endless war for control over the magic’s supernatural source.

These senseless power struggles mean little to Adya. But when her enemies dangle news of her sister before her, she’s all too quick to leap at the chance to bring Priya home—even if it means teaming up with a rakish, disreputable thief in order to do it. With the threat of invasion looming ever larger on the horizon, Adya must reconcile the kind of person she is with the kind of person she wants to be and untangle the web of intrigue, conspiracy, and deceit that threatens to take all of India down with it.

My Review

Once in a while I read a debut novel and come away from it knowing I’ll happily read whatever the author writes next. A Magic Fierce and Bright is one of those debuts.

The story has so many incredible elements. First, I love the unusual magic of the technomancers. In this book, machines have souls, and Adya can sense them. They communicate with her, too. Honestly, there’s one motorcycle that’s quite possibly my favorite character in the whole book. It’s got a great personality and hilarious insults.

I’m also a huge fan of sister stories, so Adya’s quest to find her missing sister absolutely resonated with me. Her relationship with her overly optimistic younger brother is so sweet, and her antagonistic relationship with Dsouza, the boy she refers to as Bad Day made me laugh. (And maybe swoon, a little bit.)

I devoured chapter after chapter of this book, getting lost in its dense jungle and magic-soaked cities. It’s a fantastic adventure with a sliver of romance. I have no idea if it’s a standalone or the beginning of a series, but I will eagerly watch for the next book by this author.

Fans of Flower and Thorn by Rati Mehrotra or The Star-touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most characters are Indian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A brief kiss between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Adya prays to focus her magic. She encounters the spirits of different machines and can repair them using magic. Other kinds of magic exist in India, too. Adya’s mother believed combining them could be incredibly powerful, but Adya believes it’s what got her killed.

The story contains other fantasy characters and creatures like giants, elves, werewolves, and vampires.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to torture. A group of mercenaries burn a home to the ground with a woman trapped inside. A powerful gangster executes people who displease him in a cage into which he lowers a spiked platform.

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: It’s Only a Game by Kelsey Yu

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s Only a Game
Kelsey Yu
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 9, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About It’s Only a Game

In this twisty, fast-paced YA thriller, a dangerous game becomes all too real when Marina and her friends are framed for murder.

When Marina Chan ran from her old life, she brought nothing with her-not even her real name. Now she lives in fear of her past being discovered. But when her online gaming team is offered a tour of their favorite game company, Marina can’t resist accepting, even though she knows it might put her fake identity at risk.

Then the creator of the game is murdered during their tour. Whoever killed him plans to frame Marina and her friends for the murder unless they win four rounds of a dangerous game. A game that requires them to lie, trespass, and steal. A game that could destroy everything Marina’s worked so hard to build…. A game that she might not survive.

My Review

The really interesting part of this book is that it mashes up what is essentially a video game contest with a murder mystery. Marina carries secrets that she worries could put her friends and teammates in danger, but she longs to have uncomplicated connections with people and values the closeness in those relationships.

The chapters alternate between two different timelines. In the present, Marina and her team attempt to complete challenging levels of a video game to meet the demands of an unidentified person who threatens to harm the people each teammate loves. The other timeline begins ten years earlier and shows glimpses of Marina’s past, where she lives with her mom. She tries to piece together why the two live such an isolated life.

The tension spikes as the two timelines intersect, and pieces of the mystery come together. The relationships between the characters impact the story in some interesting ways, and I found it easy to root for all of them.

While this isn’t my favorite style of book, I did enjoy reading it. It felt like a quick read with its short chapters, and I particularly liked the mash-up of video game conquests and murder mystery elements. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that done before, and it worked really well here.

Readers who enjoy books by Karen McManus or liked How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao should check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Marina is Chinese American and romantically interested in a girl. One of her friends is transgender. Another friend is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Marina witnesses a shooting. Someone threatens Marina and her friends, effectively holding them hostage until they complete a series of tasks. A woman harms child repeatedly.

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.