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Review: All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson

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All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson

All the Blues in the Sky
Renée Watson
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published February 4, 2025

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About All the Blues in the Sky

# 1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor author Renée Watson explores friendship, loss, and life with grief in this poignant new novel in verse and vignettes.

Sage’s thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn’t predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life — and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all.

In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is an important story of a girl’s journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands.

My Review

I could not put this book down, and that did not surprise me since I have LOVED everything by Renée Watson that I’ve ever read. She’s an incredibly talented writer with some serious range– writing young adult and middle grade fiction, a poetry collection, and this novel in verse. She’s amazing. I can’t say it enough.

Sage’s story drew me in from its first pages. Her grief is raw. You can feel it pulsing beneath the words on the page like a heartbeat. She feels guilty for unresolved parts of her friendship with her best friend. She envies others who got to say goodbye to their loved ones. Her feelings are moving and easy to understand.

I love the sense of community around Sage. She’s part of a grief support group for kids, and even though she feels closer to some kids than others, she learns different things from each of the kids in her group. She has meaningful relationships with adults in her life, too, beyond her parents.

The book includes an author’s note in which Watson shares that she lost 15 loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic and how this made her think about the losses that children were experiencing during that time.

All the Blues in the Sky offers hope amid the heartache and reminds us how much we need our connections to one another. I love this book and recommend it wholeheartedly.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A kiss on the cheek and then the mouth.

Spiritual Content
References to attending funeral services. One character describes memories of attending church with their grandmother.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of an accident in which a car struck a girl on a bike, killing her. References to someone who was murdered by police officers. Reference to fatal illnesses and loss of child and adult family members. (These are mentioned in the grief group Sage attends. They’re described appropriately for the audience.)

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.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
Random House
Published April 21, 2009 (Orig. 1969)

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About I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.
 
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
 
Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity.”—James Baldwin

Thoughts About Reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

As I read this book, I thought back through my English literature education. Other than at least one poem by Langston Hughes in seventh grade, I can’t remember specifically reading any Black authors. It’s possible we read poetry by Maya Angelou. I especially do not remember ever reading about life in segregated America from a Black perspective, which seems like a huge thing when I think about it.

It is honestly a little bit alarming to me that I’m this old and just now reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings for the first time. I’ve read a pathetically small amount of classic literature by Black authors and/or authors of color in general. This is a problem I’m working to fix.

My Review

I love the way the author describes things. Some of the descriptions are pure poetry. Others vividly recount a moment or experience with such specificity that I felt like I was there witnessing the scene.

I listened to the audiobook version, read by the author, which I deeply enjoyed. She sings the hymns written in the text. She reads in a way that shows off the beauty of the poetic descriptions in the text while inviting the reader into each moment.

As I mentioned above, I think this is the first book I’ve read that shows segregated life in America from a Black perspective. (The more I think about it, the more I think that should absolutely be a requirement for high school literature. Wow.) I’m not sure I will ever forget the scene in which Maya and her brother hide her uncle in a vegetable bin and pile onions and potatoes on top of him because they’ve been warned that the Klan will be riding through their town looking for someone to harm.

The author describes the people in her life really well, too. As I read, I could sense both her admiration and her frustration with her mother and grandmother. These were both strong women with different values. They protected her and wounded her, sometimes knowingly, and sometimes without meaning to do so.

Conclusion

I’m so glad I read this book. It’s haunting and beautiful. There are some scenes that are hard to read (see content warnings below), but I really believe books like this are important. I am looking forward to reading more of Maya Angelou’s work.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A couple uses of the N-word as Maya heard it used. In one scene, she lists other derogatory terms she heard used.

Romance/Sexual Content
A man abuses Maya (a child) multiple times, the last time being the most violent. Descriptions are brief. It’s hard to read, but it does show the trauma and the complicated feelings and conclusions she drew from the experience as a child.

Maya worries about her body’s development. She reads about lesbianism and intersex conditions at the library and then speaks with her mom, who helps her understand that what’s happening to her body is normal development. There’s a little bit of biological description here.

One scene briefly relates Maya’s first (consensual) sexual experience. It’s not very specific except to relate how functional rather than romantic it was.

Spiritual Content
References to attending church and singing hymns. Maya’s grandmother, Mama, believes that if you’re good, God will love you.

Violent Content
Brief mentions of harm to children. Maya’s uncle threatens to burn her on the stove if she can’t answer his questions. She believes, looking back, that he never would have harmed her. Reference to a woman hitting a child’s legs with a switch if they didn’t wash properly or teachers striking the palms of students with rulers if they disobeyed.

Maya’s grandmother hits her as punishment for using the term “by the way,” which her grandmother considers swearing.

Drug Content
Several scenes reference adults smoking cigarettes.

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: Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology by Vania Stoyanova and Rosiee Thor

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Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology
Edited by Vania Stoyanova and Rosiee Thor
Page Street YA
Published February 4, 2025

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About Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology

With stories from NYT bestselling and debut authors, Why on Earth uses an accidental alien invasion to explore love and identity.

What starts as a simple rescue mission for a crew of teen aliens to recover one of their own soon becomes an interstellar encounter no one will forget.

Captain Iona is organizing an impromptu retrieval for her brother, an undercover alien posing as a movie star. But her efforts go awry when a technical malfunction turns her heroic rescue into an unintentional invasion. With tales of disguised extraterrestrials stuck in theme parks, starship engineers hitchhiking to get home, and myth-inspired intergalactic sibling reunions, each story in this multi-author anthology explores the universal desire to be loved and understood, no matter where you come from. After all…aliens are just like us.

“This anthology twinkles with an adventurous spirit, quirky personalities, hope, and a sense of belonging. Stellar.”
―Kirkus Reviews

“Out of this world!”
―Scott Reintgen, New York Times bestselling author of A Door in the Dark

“Epic fun exploring themes of acceptance and the desire to connect, regardless of species, Why on Earth is an absolute blast!”
―Alechia Dow, author of The Sound of Stars

“A delightful collection of offbeat, otherworldly stories filled with heartwarming moments and loads of entertaining, imaginative writing.”
―Kimberly Jones, New York Times bestselling author of I’m Not Dying with You Tonight

“An all-star lineup of brilliant authors with stories that make you laugh, feel, and cheer.”
―Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of Wish of the Wicked

“Whether it’s a story to build the world we’re beaming into, misguided crushes in the middle of an alien invasion, or the most charmingly awkward teen alien this side of the Milky Way, there will be plenty for readers to enjoy in this anthology!”
―Preeti Chhibber, author of Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot

My Review

This might be the most fun anthology that I’ve read to this point. I loved how the individual stories connected together. Each one, as the cover copy infers, explores love and identity. Some follow romantic relationships or hopes, while others explore a character’s dreams and what makes them feel they belong.

The opening story tells about an alien captain and her crew on a rescue mission to earth to retrieve a family member the captain fears is being held captive. Each story that follows connects to the stories that came before it in some way. Some of them include the same characters. Others witness the alien ship crash or lift off.

I enjoyed every single story. The individual stories feature an inclusive cast of characters. The authors captured a sense of humanity, wonder, and what it means to be alive and connected to others. This is a great anthology for this moment in time. It’s filled with hope and humor. Definitely worth a read!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few stories have some limited profanity. I think a couple have the F-bomb.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two characters. The alien characters refer to this human experience as “a meeting of the lips,” which I found absolutely charming.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. People react to the news of the alien ship crashlanding on earth by worrying that an invasion is imminent. Some panic. Police and other officials yell and try to clear the street to enforce a shelter-in-place order.

A few stories contain brief homophobic or transphobic comments. Some characters are misgendered or rejected for their identities. One character has been kicked out of their home because they came out to their family.

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: After Life by Gayle Forman

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After Life
Gayle Forman
Quill Tree Books
Published January 7, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About After Life

“After Life is a masterful tale about a family coping with loss, showing the way grief affects us and people we don’t even know in ways we don’t see. Once I met Amber and her family, I didn’t want to let them go.” -—Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of Carving Shadows into Stone

“Forman is a master at making her readers fall in love—with a girl whose life is over, with a community of people in a small town who are barely surviving her loss, and with the incredible, surprising way everyone’s stories knit together into a heartbreaking and hopeful whole.” —E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud

One spring afternoon after school, Amber arrives home on her bike. It’s just another perfectly normal day. But when Amber’s mom sees her, she screams.

Because Amber died seven years ago, hit by a car while on the very same bicycle she’s inexplicably riding now.

This return doesn’t only impact Amber. Her sister, Melissa, now seven years older, must be a new kind of sibling to Amber. Amber’s estranged parents are battling over her. And the changes ripple farther and farther Amber’s friends, boyfriend, and even people she met only once have been deeply affected by her life and death. In the midst of everyone’s turmoil, Amber is struggling with herself. What kind of person was she? How and why was she given this second chance?

This magnificent tour de force by acclaimed author Gayle Forman brilliantly explores the porous veil between life and death, examines the impact that one person can have on the world, and celebrates life in all its beautiful complexity.

My Review

The first novel by Gayle Forman I ever read was If I Stay. (Which, apparently, I never reviewed! Hmm.) My first thought about After Life was that it has a similar ethereal vibe to If I Stay.

In After Life, Amber returns, but there’s a veil between her and her past life, seven years ago. Some things about her life are fresh in her mind and still feel present to her, but to everyone else, she’s been gone seven years. Her return isn’t just miraculous; it’s jarring.

The story jumps around a lot from past to present and different perspectives. I kept everything straight easily, maybe because the chapters were so short. Maybe because the characters are all so different from one another. The story felt pretty straightforward like everything contributed to a whole.

Only one scene struck me as super weird. In it, the romance escalates quickly and suddenly halts. I thought that considering the history of the characters, it seemed strange that the scene played out that way. I just didn’t find it believable, especially as I continued reading.

The rest of the book had some hard-hitting emotional scenes. The town where Amber’s family lives has an It’s a Wonderful Life feel. Threads connect characters in sometimes surprising ways. One character’s actions have a ripple effect, impacting other people in the story. The way the narrative jumps around allows readers to focus on those threads and see how the characters are connected.

At the core of the story is a relationship between two sisters. Melissa and Amber had a complicated relationship before Amber’s death. Amber wants to make up for lost time and for the harm she has caused. The tenderness and acceptance between those two is my favorite part of the story.

The book also explores our different responses to grief. Forman wrote an insightful afterward that explains why she wrote the story and her thoughts on how we grieve. I loved the book before I read her note, but I loved it even more after reading it.

Conclusion

All in all, this is a good one, especially if you like books that break convention to explore a spiritual or relational idea. It’s also less than 300 pages, so a pretty quick read. I highly recommend it.

The cast of the story is pretty inclusive. It includes a person with severe allergies, several queer people, and people of color.

Content Notes for After Life

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some profanity used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex and cheating on a partner. Some scenes describe nudity and, briefly, sex.

Spiritual Content
References to Christian faith and atheism. (One of Amber’s parents was an atheist before her death and appears to have a change of heart when she reappears. Her other parent kept faith as a core part of life, which Amber’s death appears to have challenged.) The family (minus Amber) attends church (off-scene) and speaks to their pastor about miracles.

Violent Content
A boy grabs a girl by the shoulders and shakes her. A man punches someone (several scenes reference this). References to an accident in which a car struck a girl on a bike, killing her. Her injuries are briefly described.

Drug Content
More than one character (adults) drinks too much alcohol or appears to be an alcoholic. A teen drinks alcohol. References to drug use or selling/buying drugs.

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: Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee

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

Breath of the Dragon (Breathmarked #1)
Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee
Wednesday Books
Published January 7, 2025

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About Breath of the Dragon

The first novel in a sweeping YA fantasy duology based on characters and teachings created by Bruce Lee!

Sixteen-year-old Jun dreams of proving his worth as a warrior in the elite Guardian’s Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Earth to a new protector. Eager to prove his skills, Jun hopes that a win will restore his father’s honor—righting a horrible mistake that caused their banishment from his home, mother, and twin brother.

But Jun’s father strictly forbids him from participating. There is no future in honing his skills as a warrior, especially considering Jun is not breathmarked, born with a patch of dragon scales and blessed with special abilities like his twin. Determined to be the next Guardian, Jun stows away in the wagon of Chang and his daughter, Ren, performers on their way to the capital where the tournament will take place.

As Jun competes, he quickly realizes he may be fighting for not just a better life, but the fate of the country itself.

My Review

Jun displays a huge amount of growth as a character through this first book in the duology. He begins as a talented and ambitious kid whose interest in the tournament has more to do with proving his ability to others and finally making his dad proud of him. As the story progresses and he meets other fighters and allies, he begins to see the larger picture and the broader scope of responsibility in the role of the Guardian.

I thought that growth was really realistic and well-paced. I also enjoyed the ways that his relationships with other characters developed over the course of the story.

For some reason, I didn’t expect as much of the story to be centered on literal one-on-one fighting in a competitive setting. The early chapters show Jun competing for victory at his martial arts school, where the top student will go on to compete in a national tournament. Then, once he gets to the city, more scenes focus on the matches between fighters.

At some points, I could see why a scene was important to the larger story. The fights started to feel repetitive after a while, though.

Breath of the Dragon nicely wraps up the central plot of the book while setting up the major conflict in the sequel. We are left with new threads to pull in the next book, and I’m interested to see where the story goes.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some swearing and a few F-bombs.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jun feels attracted to a girl and jealous when someone else shows interest in her, too.

Spiritual Content
People revere the Dragon, whose breath gives extraordinary ability to certain people, and the Lady of Many Hands, who recorded his teachings in two indestructible scrolls. In the West, only the Guardian and those he permits to can look at the Dragon scroll.

Some characters have dragon scales on their bodies, which is evidence that they have special abilities from the Dragon. Others have a strong presence of Breath inside them, which they can draw on for energy and power.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle violence. Fatal combat. Soldiers kill unarmed workers. Reference to execution. Death of a parent.

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: The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

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

The Secret Year
Jennifer Hubbard
Viking Books for Young Readers
Published January 7, 2025 (Orig. 2010)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Secret Year

For fans of Laura Nowlin’s If Only I Had Told Her, a deeply romantic novel that explores the raw emotions of love, pain and grief.

Colt and Julia were secretly together for a year . . . and nobody knew. Not that anyone would suspect–Colt and Julia were from two different crowds: Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt down in the flats. They’d meet in secret by the river–their chemistry electric, exhilarating, intoxicating.

Until everything came to a screaming halt.

Julia is pronounced dead from a car accident, and suddenly Colt’s memories come flooding back. One about the fight they’d had on their last night together . . .

When Julia’s diary falls into Colt’s hands, it gives him the chance to learn all her hidden thoughts, private details she refused to share with him. It might even answer his questions about what happened on the night she died.

Julia’s words have the power to mend Colt’s broken heart, or they can reveal a web of secrets that threaten to shatter his entire world.

My Review

I have so many questions.

It looks like this was first published in 2010 and has recently been re-released. I’m not sure when the story is supposed to take place. I think only the Black Mountain (wealthy neighborhood) kids have cell phones, so I assume maybe this was supposed to happen during the late 1990s when cell phones first became widely available. There’s no mention of texting, just calling. There are a couple of mentions of email, which could still track with the late 1990s timing. I don’t think the narrative specifies.

The story’s tone has a little bit of a Holden Caulfield vibe. Colt isn’t trying to be particularly likable. Neither is Julia, honestly. And that was fine. I mostly appreciated their frankness. After someone comes out as gay, Colt does a couple of things that are not great. I get that his reaction is realistic, but I wish the narrative had at least weighed in on his thoughts as negative.

Julia’s letters to Colt interrupt the scenes periodically, and sometimes, I got confused at the bouncing back and forth between her letters and Colt’s perspective. I also felt like the back cover copy implies that the story has a lot more suspense than it does. Colt does remember details about a fight he had with Julia. He does read letters she wrote to him. But I didn’t feel a sense of suspense about any of that. This isn’t a story about uncovering secret reasons for her death. This is the story of a boy who’s experiencing complicated grief because his relationship with a girl was a secret, and he can’t grieve publicly.

I found the story of his grief compelling, but it wasn’t really what I expected the book to be about.

For me, the uncertainty of the timeline (which could have contextualized some of the characters’ behavior) and the confusion over the genre of the story made this one a weird read. I read the book pretty quickly, so I’d say the writing is compelling.

Readers who like books by Matthew Quick might enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
One character comes out as gay in the story.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some f-bombs and other profanity used moderately.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex and making out. In a couple of scenes, characters remove their tops. One scene briefly references a girl pacing around a room naked. The story doesn’t focus on the romance. Mostly, it leads up to the start of a sexual encounter and then jumps ahead to afterward.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Colt learns that Julia died in a car accident. He briefly references thinking about her injuries. A group of boys attack another boy, seriously injuring him. Brief references to Colt’s mom smacking him or his brother.

One character comes out as gay, and his family reacts with homophobic comments and rejects him.

Drug Content
Julia mentions drinking alcohol. She calls her boyfriend an alcoholic and mentions that he abuses prescription drugs.

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.