Tag Archives: foster care

Review: Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood by Robert Beatty

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , , ,
Sylvia Doe and the 100-year Flood by Robert Beatty

Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood
Robert Beatty
Disney Hyperion
Published October 8, 2024

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About Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood

Sylvia Doe doesn’t know where she was born or the people she came from. She doesn’t even know her real last name. Sylvia has lived at the Highground Home for Children in the mountains of North Carolina for as long as she can remember. Whenever the administrators place her with a foster family in the city, she runs away, back to her horse Kitty Hawk—her best friend—and the other horses in the herd, the only place she feels like she belongs.

When Hurricane Jessamine causes the remote mountain valley where she lives to flood, Sylvia must rescue her beloved horses. But she begins to encounter strange and wondrous things floating down the river. Glittering gemstones and wild animals that don’t belong — everything’s out of place. Then she spots an unconscious boy floating in the water. As she drags him onto the shore and their adventure together begins, Sylvia wonders who he is and where he came from. And why does she feel such a strong connection to this mysterious boy?

SYLVIA DOE has earned the prestigious STARRED REVIEW from both Kirkus Reviews and Publisher’s Weekly. The award-winning author Kwame Alexander praised the story, saying “Magical realism at its best!”

My Review

This book came out right around the time when Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina with rain and flooding. It took me a while to circle back to read the story, but I’d heard so many amazing things about it that I didn’t want to miss it.

Robert Beatty has an incredible ability to write about difficult or intense things in what feels like this very gentle way. Sylvia Doe and the 100-year Flood has some high-energy scenes in which the characters face situations of peril as they’re swept away by floodwater or desperately searching for storm survivors. Yet the tone of the story remains gentle. I love that.

The story includes a little bit of romance between Sylvia and another character. It stays very sweet, with some blushing and attraction. I think there’s a scene where the two snuggle together and another where they kiss each other. I like that their feelings for one another don’t overtake the story and that the disaster situations remain the focus despite their shifting emotions.

Sylvia has been in foster care since she was found alone in the wilderness. She recognizes that the foster care system, and in particular, her social worker, is trying to do good things. The story doesn’t demonize the system or highlight its many challenges or places it can cause harm. But it does present a story in which the system, even as it functions the way it should, isn’t a good fit for Sylvia as a child. She needs something the foster care system can’t provide for her.

The strong connections Sylvia feels to animals, especially horses and birds, will make this one a great fit for animal-loving readers. The magical realism elements add an otherworldly feel that makes Sylvia Doe and the 100-year Flood appealing to readers looking for something beyond the reality in which we live.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Sylvia has light brown skin tones. She has grown up in foster care.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Some unseen force has pulled animals and other things from other times and places into a flooded North Carolina river.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Reference to flash flooding and hurricane damage. Sylvia spots a group of dead sandhill cranes, apparently killed in the hurricane. Three children die (off-scene) due to the hurricane and flood conditions.

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: We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

We Called Them Giants
Kieron Gillen
Image Comics
Published November 12, 2024

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About We Called Them Giants

“What an astonishing piece of work. Beautiful and moving.” —Neil Gaiman

We Called Them Giants is a story of communication across a chasm at the end of the world.

Lori wakes to find the streets empty. Everyone has gone. Or at least, nearly everyone. She’s thrown into a world where she has to scrape by in the ruins of civilization, nearly starving, hiding from gangs when …

They arrive.

The award-winning team behind dark fantasy smash DIE release their first stand alone original graphic novel.

My Review

The artwork in this short (just over 100 pages long) graphic novel is striking. The images feel as apocalyptic as the story, showing characters in a dark, shadowy landscape. One of the things I love about the book is that all three central human characters are women. At the beginning, Lori and Annette meet someone in a mask with a weapon who tries to prevent them from stealing cans of food. This person turns out to be an older woman the girls eventually meet again.

Much of the story is told in narrative that’s divided into short sentences arranged at the top or bottom of the panels. I love the way the panels are arranged on the pages. A lot of pages have tall, narrow panels side by side, showing a sequence of events. This made each panel seem huge and drew attention to the details of each image.

The storytelling itself is a little bit choppy, jumping from a few lines about Lori’s backstory straight into the present apocalyptic world without offering much explanation about what happened. The story leaves a lot of unanswered questions. We never learn what caused so much of the population to disappear, for example.

What does come into stark focus, though, is the relationship between Lori and her friends and the giant they call Red. They look for ways to communicate their needs and ultimately form what feels like the kind of relationship between a caregiver and a pet.

All in all, I can see why so many people are talking about this book. The illustrations are truly compelling. Readers who like dark fantasy will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes for We Called Them Giants

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Lori’s friend Annette is pictured with brown skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have otherworldly abilities. Annette wonders if everyone else disappeared because of the rapture, a reference to an apocalyptic belief that some Christians share.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Giant wolves attack Lori and her allies. Lori sees the dead bodies of other people and creatures.

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 Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko

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The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Gennifer Choldenko
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published June 11, 2024

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About The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman

Readers will be rooting for a happy ending for Hank in Newbery-Honor-winner Gennifer Choldenko’s gripping story of a boy struggling to hold his family together when his mom doesn’t come home.

When eleven-year-old Hank’s mom doesn’t come home, he takes care of his toddler sister, Boo, like he always does. But it’s been a week now. They are out of food and mom has never stayed away this long… Hank knows he needs help, so he and Boo seek out the stranger listed as their emergency contact.

But asking for help has consequences. It means social workers, and a new school, and having to answer questions about his mom that he’s been trying to keep secret. And if they can’t find his mom soon, Hank and Boo may end up in different foster homes–he could lose everything.

Gennifer Choldenko has written a heart-wrenching, healing, and ultimately hopeful story about how complicated family can be. About how you can love someone, even when you can’t rely on them. And about the transformative power of second chances.

My Review

This book is as good as everyone says it is. Every review I’ve seen has raved about how full of heart and unbelievably fabulous this book is.

Well. It really is! Oh my gosh. Hank’s relationship with his little sister Boo is the absolute sweetest. He takes care of her so attentively. They have these little rhymes or songs they do together, rituals that he uses to comfort her or help her settle.

After he takes Boo to a family friend’s house to wait for his mom to return, the story really kicks into high gear. Hank has a challenging relationship with his new caregiver, who keeps referring to him (age eleven) as a teenager in a way that leaves no doubt she’s got some baggage or past trauma somewhere in there. Their relationship makes so much sense, though. Sometimes Hank does kid things, and she reacts as if he’s deliberately trying to be hurtful. It’s not all bad, though. She is an excellent caregiver for Boo and helps Hank regear their relationship into one more appropriate to siblings rather than child and caregiver.

Hank is awesome, too. He draws pictures, plays basketball, and skateboards. I could see him being a really relatable character at a lot of levels.

I thought the story did a great job showing some of the big feelings that kids experience in a family in crisis and some of the layers to those feelings. Hank shuts people out, not wanting to connect since he doesn’t know how long he’ll be with his caregiver. He holds his anger close. Because his ability to trust adults (starting with his mom) has been broken, he has a really hard time trusting the other adults in his life. His behavior felt pretty realistic.

I can easily see why so many people love this book. I felt like I flew through the pages and could not stop reading. If you enjoyed Kyra Just for Today by Sara Zarr, definitely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Hank enters the foster care system shortly after the book begins. His mom is an alcoholic. He has a diverse group of school friends and is close to a Latine family.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to someone getting a divorce in the past. References to Hank’s mom’s past boyfriends.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Someone has gotten in a car accident (off scene), and the car shows the damage still. A toddler sits in the back seat of a car without a car seat. A drunk person attempts to operate a vehicle with children inside it. A caregiver abandons children at a store.

Drug Content
Hank sees his mom drink alcohol. In one scene, she’s very drunk. At one point, he tries to reconcile her behavior and her statements about it. He rationalizes that every adult drinks sometimes. It doesn’t mean his mom has a problem. It sounds like he’s regurgitating things that his mom has said about her drinking. He can’t escape the knowledge that when she drinks, she doesn’t take care of him or Boo very well.

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: Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston

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Shark Teeth
Sherri Winston
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published January 16, 2024

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About Shark Teeth

From National Book Award longlisted author Sherri Winston comes an important middle grade novel about a girl’s tumultuous journey to keep her family together, even when she’s falling apart.

Sharkita “Kita” Hayes is always waiting.
Waiting for her mama to mess up.
Waiting for social services to be called again.
Waiting for her and her siblings to be separated.
Waiting for her worst fear to come true.

But Mama promises things are different now. She’s got a good job, she’s stopped drinking, stopped going out every night-it’s almost enough to make Kita believe her this time. But even as Kita’s life is going good, she can’t shake the feeling that everything could go up in flames at any moment. When her assistant principal and trusted dance coach starts asking questions about her home life, Kita is more determined than ever to keep up appearances and make sure her family stays together-even if it means falling apart herself.

As the threat of her family being separated again circles like a shark in the water, the pressure starts to get to Kita. But could it be that Kita’s worst fear is actually the best thing that could happen to her family . . . and to her?

My Review

Writing about kids in foster care is such an important thing and such a complex thing to do. Here, I felt like the author tackled these topics with care and gentleness without romanticizing or glossing over the messiness and trauma these experiences bring with them.

As I read each scene relating Kita’s life at home, it was so easy to feel the pressure her mom placed on her and the weight of her siblings’ needs. She seemed caught in the middle in so many ways.

I love that the book shows how her involvement in a baton twirling group provided a safe place for her to be a kid and to forge her own supportive community around her. I remember having friends with painful or complicated lives at home who had similar experiences with school programs. I loved seeing that celebrated in this book.

There were a couple of moments in which the story dealt with Kita’s anxiety that I wished had progressed more slowly. For the most part, I think the author described Kita’s experiences with anxiety, panic attacks, and sleep paralysis really well. I pieced some things together from the symptoms she described, but there were a couple of points when it felt like the story rushed through Kita processing new information about what she experienced.

So much of the story pulled me straight into Kita’s mind and heart, though. I felt her protectiveness toward her younger siblings. Kita’s desperation for her mom’s love and approval, combined with her frustration and anger toward her, made so much sense. I rooted for Kita from the first page to the last.

All in all, SHARK TEETH is a book I’d easily recommend. It’s an incredibly moving story with unforgettable characters.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Kita and her family are Black, as are some of the other minor characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A boy kisses Kita on the cheek. She wonders about what it’d be like to have a boyfriend.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Kita’s mom says cutting things to her sometimes. Kita gets injured while trying to take care of her younger siblings. Her brother pushes her and accidentally hits her in the nose with his head. A child starts a fire.

Drug Content
Kita and her siblings worry that her mother, who is an alcoholic, will start drinking alcohol again. In one scene, Kita sees her mom drinking alcoholic drinks with her friends. In another, her mom is hung over and trying to hide it.

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 SHARK TEETH in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Brighter Than the Moon by David Valdes

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

Brighter Than the Moon
David Valdes
Bloomsbury YA
Published January 10, 2023

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About Brighter Than the Moon

Shy foster kid Jonas and self-assured vlogger Shani met online, and so far, that’s where their relationship has stayed, sharing memes and baring their souls from behind their screens. Shani is eager to finally meet up, but Jonas isn’t so sure–he’s not confident Shani will like the real him . . . if he’s even sure who that is.

Jonas knows he’s trapped himself in a lie with Shani–and wants to dig himself out. But Shani, who’s been burned before, may not give him a chance: she talks her best friend Ash into playing spy and finding out the truth. When Ash falls for Jonas, too, he keeps that news from Shani, and soon they’re all keeping secrets. Will it matter that their hearts are in the right place? Coming clean will require them to figure out who they really are, which is no easy task when all the pieces of your identity go beyond easy boxes and labels.

Lauded writer David Valdes offers a heartfelt, clever, and thought-provoking story about how we figure out who we want to be–online and IRL–for fans of David Levithan and Adam Silvera.

My Review

It’s kind of rare for a story to be told in three points of view the way this one is. I love that it’s third person, present tense. That made everything feel close and immediate. I felt like the author did a great job balancing all three perspectives in the story, too. They all felt equally intimate even though they were three very different characters.

I read David Valdes’s debut, SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND, last year, and it was bursting with energy so much that I wasn’t sure how he would follow it up. BRIGHTER THAN THE MOON is a whole different story, and I love it just as much. The energy is different, but still really great. I love all three main characters.

The only thing that hit me weirdly was the way the online deception resolved. I’ve read a couple other catphishing type stories lately (NO FILTER AND OTHER LIES by Crystal Maldonado and TAKE A BOW, NOAH MITCHELL by Tobias Madden), so it might be that I’m worn on that trope right now? I don’t know. It seemed like Jonas and Shani both had big trust issues, and Ash seemed like he couldn’t help creating trust issues, so it was hard for me to imagine things working out quite the way they did?

Despite that, I really enjoyed so many things about this book, though. I loved the setting and all of the places mentioned– especially the coffee shop, Curious Liquids. I liked the community around each of the characters, too, especially Shani’s dad, and Ash’s friend from the coffee shop, Tee.

On the whole, I can totally see fans of Adam Silvera loving this book. If you love books about self-discovery and found family, BRIGHTER THAN THE MOON is one you should check out.

Content Notes for Brighter Than the Moon

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Jonas is a brown boy who is unsure of his background. He is in foster care. His foster mom is black. Shani’s mom was black and her dad is white. Ash is trans and his dad is Indian American and his mom is Iranian American. A minor character is also trans and another is a lesbian. Three characters are in a polyamorous relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Characters experience attraction and think about kissing.

Spiritual Content
Shani attends church at Christmas. Characters attend a funeral service at a church. A singer performs “I Sing Because I’m Happy,” a song that deeply moves Shani, Ash, and Jonas.

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 BRIGHTER THAN THE MOON in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

Spells for Lost Things
Jenna Evans Welch
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published September 27, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Spells for Lost Things

From the New York Times bestselling author of LOVE & GELATO comes a poignant and romantic novel about two teens trying to find their place in the world after being unceremoniously dragged to Salem, Massachusetts, for the summer.

Willow has never felt like she belonged anywhere and is convinced that the only way to find a true home is to travel the world. But her plans to act on her dream are put on hold when her aloof and often absent mother drags Willow to Salem, Massachusetts, to wrap up the affairs of an aunt Willow didn’t even know she had. An aunt who may or may not have been a witch.

There, she meets Mason, a loner who’s always felt out of place and has been in and out of foster homes his entire life. He’s been classified as one of the runaways, constantly searching for ways to make it back to his mom; even if she can’t take care of him, it’s his job to try and take care of her. Isn’t it?

Naturally pulled to one another, Willow and Mason set out across Salem to discover the secret past of Willow’s mother, her aunt, and the ambiguous history of her family. During all of this, the two can’t help but act on their natural connection. But with the amount of baggage between them—and Willow’s growing conviction her family might be cursed—can they manage to hold onto each other?

My Review

One of the things that I find interesting about this book is the fact that both characters have issues with their moms. Willow’s mom is emotionally absent. She’s there, but she’s so remote that Willow feels distant from her. Add to that the fact that she has this whole secret past life including a family Willow has never even heard of, much less met, and it only makes sense that she’d feel estranged.

Then there’s Mason, whose mom has been missing for the last few years while he’s been shuffled around in foster care. He clings to rituals they used to share about looking for signs and exploring new places together, but he knows she’s a mess. It’s part of why he feels like he needs to find her. To help her get her life straight. After all, that’s what you do for the people you love, right?

So mom issues on both sides. Which is an interesting choice because Mason is seventeen. It seems unusual (though not impossible) that a boy that age would focus on his mom in that way. I thought that made him an unusual and empathetic character.

Willow’s great aunts were a lot of fun. I liked that they leaned into the witchy-ness of Salem and the family lore. I also loved the things that came up as Willow and Mason began to look more into their family history and to try to understand what happened and learn about Willow’s potential family curse.

The historical setting and letters from Willow’s aunt about the past all added some nice layers to the story. I think those were my favorite parts, actually. I loved getting to piece all that together and the way things shifted the more we learned about the past.

SPELLS FOR LOST THINGS is the second book by Jenna Evans Welch that I’ve read. I enjoyed it for sure– I’ve been reading such dark (spooky!) books lately that it was really nice to take a break and read a fluffy romance. I think I liked LOVE & OLIVES a teeny bit better than this one. That might be because of the Greek setting and the amazing bookstore in the book. It’s hard to beat that!

I think fans of Jennifer E. Smith or Kasie West will like this sweet romance.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Mason is in the foster care system.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
The bulk of the story is set in Salem, Massachusetts. There’s some discussion about its history, specifically the Salem Witch Trials. The town has also leaned into its witchy history and there are lots of businesses that references witchy things. Willow’s great aunts also describe themselves as witches and celebrate rituals at the full moon. There are rumors that the women in Willow’s family are under a curse which Willow decides to investigate.

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 SPELLS FOR LOST THINGS in exchange for my honest review.