Tag Archives: friendship

Review: Not Lucille by Mike Steele

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Not Lucille by Mike Steele

Not Lucille
Mike Steele
Creative James Media
Published June 24, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Not Lucille

It’s 1931, and children should be seen and not heard.

Ten-year-old Lucy Contento can’t help but be seen and heard. And she’s always in trouble for it. She talks too much. She’s impulsive. She writes with the wrong hand. Her parents would be mad enough knowing she routinely earns afterschool detentions. They’d be furious if they found out she’s been sneaking onto the campus of the nearby Trenton Academy for the Deaf. But there, Lucy has met Florence, a lonely and profoundly deaf girl her own age. Florence doesn’t mind Lucy’s flaws. Though Florence can’t speak, she has a unique way of communicating. If Lucy can figure out how to learn Florence’s special language, the two could be friends.

Lucy devises a plan, but it’s going to cost a whopping seven dollars and ninety-eight cents—more money than she’s got. She can’t tell her parents why she wants the funds without revealing she’s been visiting Florence. Besides, her parents don’t have a penny to spare. Her father has been out of work for months. And nobody else in the Contento family has an income. Or do they? Lucy soon discovers she’s not the only member of her family hiding something. Can she get the money she needs while keeping everyone’s secrets? Or will her scheming land her in the biggest trouble of her life?

In this story of friendship and belonging, a young girl navigates prejudice, punishment, and identity while establishing her voice in a world that often tries to keep her silent.

My Review

This story has a hint of the A Tree Grows in Brooklyn vibe to it. The time period, the northeast city setting, the scenes showing Lucy in class, and some of the dynamics in her family all made me think of that story (though the books don’t serve the same audience).

I like that this is historical story includes neurodivergent and disabled characters. Lucy experiences symptopms that today would prompt her to be screened for ASD/ADHD. Her friend Florence is Deaf. The story draws readers into a moment in history when Irish and Italian immigrants faced steep discrimination– a reality that my own family faced in those days.

The story is well-suited to middle grade readers, crafting scenes that show what life was like without slowing down the story or getting lost in the details. It sounds from the author’s note that Steele has his own family history that connects to the story (namely his grandmother Lucy and her experiences) and that he made sure to include sensitivity readers who could evaluate the scenes that include Deaf representation.

Through her experiences, Lucy learns new ways to communicate and how to appreciate the differences between herself and others. She learns that sometimes people we think we know and don’t like can surprise us. I liked the way that some of the other characters in the story surprised Lucy.

Young readers interested in the early 1930s in America will find this an informative, enjoyable story. The short chapters make this a quick, engaging read. The author’s note in the back of the book also offers some context for elements of the story, which helps explain why, for instance, Florence wasn’t allowed to use sign language at school.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Early in the story, Lucy refers to the students at a school for the Deaf by a name that she later realizes is derogatory. She stops using the term. A boy picks on her in the halls at school. Her father faces discrimination as an Italian immigrant and struggles to find work. The story also references illegal gambling activity.

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 Redemption of Daya Keane by Gia Gordon

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The Redemption of Daya Keane
Gia Gordon
Publisher
Published May 28, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Redemption of Daya Keane

The end of Daya Keane’s junior year in Escondido, Arizona, is anything but expected.

And it starts when her longtime, swoon-worthy crush, Beckett Wild, actually talks to her at a party neither of them should’ve been at.

But as Daya’s best friends, Stella and B’Rad, are quick to point out, smart, cute, artistic Beckett is also the poster girl for the wildly popular youth group at Grace Redeemer, the megachurch Daya’s mom prays at and pushes her daughter to attend.

Amid the concert-worthy light shows, high-energy live band, and pastor preaching to love thy neighbor so long as thy neighbor “gets right with God” first, Daya struggles to find her place in a house of worship that doesn’t seem to create space for someone like her. Then again, she never planned to fall this hard for a girl like Beckett Wild.

Now Daya has to decide how far she’s willing to surrender to Beckett’s world of Grace Redeemer, and who she’s willing to become to be with her.

A fearless and profound tale ideal for readers of Jeff Zentner and Jennifer Dugan, The Redemption of Daya Keane gives an intimate and unforgettable look into a world that demands to be seen.

My Review

This might be the most triggering book that I’ve ever read in terms of its religious representation. I’ll get to that, though.

First, I want to say that this book is one of those debuts that really doesn’t read like a debut. The characterization is so perfect. The banter between characters feels so authentic and had me literally laughing out loud in a few scenes. I love Daya and her two closest friends so much.

In the story, Daya visits a church that reminds me of places I’ve attended myself in the past. The worship service is highly polished and filled with songs that sound identical to those performed by popular artists on the radio. It’s funny because I grew up in that environment, so reading about someone looking in from the outside was a whole new experience for me.

Daya’s critique of the church world rang true. She spots hypocrisy in the way the church has perfected its merchandising and glittery appeal. Her assessment of the kids in the Great Wait club also landed a bullseye. It made me think of a passage from Barking to the Choir by Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle:

“In a recent New Yorker profile of American Baptists, the congregation’s leadership resigned itself to the fact that “secular culture” would always be “hostile” to Christianity. I don’t believe this is true. Our culture is hostile only to the inauthentic living of the gospel. It sniffs out hypocrisy everywhere and knows when Christians aren’t taking seriously what Jesus took seriously.”

That’s how the scenes in this book struck me. It’s not that Daya was necessarily on a deep spiritual quest, though she was desperately trying to understand her mom’s perspective and wanted to give the church a chance for her mom’s sake. But instead of finding life, and life abundant, she found a performative, control-based, rules-oriented organization that devalued her without ever bothering to get to know her.

All that to say that this book struck a deep chord with me, and I have a feeling I’ll return to this story again in the future. If you like young adult books by Jeff Zentner or Adam Sass, definitely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex. One scene includes characters undressing and a brief description of sex.

Spiritual Content
Daya attends church with her mother, religious club meetings, and a dance centered around abstinence.

Violent Content
Several scenes include homophobic statements and beliefs, including reference to conversion therapy and being kicked out of one’s home because of being LGBTQIA+.

One character reveals that their parents died by murder-suicide. A man drunkenly rages in a nearby house.

Drug Content
References to teen drinking and smoking pot. In one scene, Daya smokes with two other teens.

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: Threat of the Spider by Michael P. Spradlin

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Threat of the Spider (The Web of the Spider #2)
Michael P. Spradlin
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published June 24, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Threat of the Spider

A twelve-year-old boy searches for his father and fights for free press amid the chilling rise of Hitler’s Germany in this second book in the action-packed middle grade series Web of the Spider for fans of I Survived and A Night Divided.

Ansel has never been afraid to say what’s on his mind. He’s always the first among his friends to speak up when something doesn’t feel right. When the Hitler Youth first set up shop in Heroldsberg the year before, Ansel quickly made enemies of the chapter’s arrogant leader, Hans. Of course, Ansel is also twelve years old, so he spends much of his time reading his favorite Dirk Goodly, Boy Detective novels and trying to make his friends laugh.

But more and more of his classmates have been swayed by Hans’s tactics and the Youth organization is growing throughout the city. Ansel knows that Hans and his group are spreading false information—after all, Ansel’s father is a journalist for the local paper and has been going toe to toe with Nazi propaganda for a long time.

Then Ansel’s father goes missing right before a prominent Nazi leader comes to town. With the local police in the Nazi’s pocket, can Ansel and his friends use their detective skills to find his father and thwart the Nazi’s plans to suppress the truth?

My Review

This book came out at kind of a wild moment for US residents. (Have we had NOT wild moments lately? Hmm.)

So this one takes place in 1930 in Heroldsberg. The Hitler Youth are a growing organization, and one Ansel and his friends have zero interest in joining. Ansel’s father is a journalist who continues to report on violence against his Jewish neighbors and the harm of the Nazi rhetoric.

It’s clear that Ansel’s family is being targeted because of his father speaking out. Ansel and his friends routinely encounter a group of boys in the HJ who bully them.

Despite those heavy topics, Ansel’s tone is light. He’s smart and tends to view things with a wry sense of humor. He and his friends settle a dispute with the HJ boys in a game of capture the flag. At one point, he is mystified by a girl’s strange shy behavior, and when someone tells him it must be because she’s in love, he thinks, wow, who could she be in love with? Which definitely got a little chuckle out of me.

The content stays appropriate for the audience while relating critical facts about German history. It’s nicely done. It’s just also quite surreal to read about this period in history right now.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially that about World War II will not want to miss this series. Here’s my review of the first book, Rise of the Spider.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Vague references to characters swearing. What they say isn’t listed.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vague references to a girl having a crush on someone. Ansel can’t figure out who it is.

Spiritual Content
References to some characters Jewish identities.

Violent Content
Ansel and his friends get into arguments and later a fight with members of the Hitler Youth program. Someone kidnaps another person. A man with a gun chases Ansel and fires the gun. Someone lies on the ground, apparently the victim of gun violence.

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: Out of Step, Into You by Ciera Burch

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

Out of Step, Into You
Ciera Burch
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published May 20, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

Out of Step, into You is a sapphic contemporary romance following childhood friends turned cross-country team rivals who are forced to work together to win the state championship – for fans of She Gets the Girl.

You can’t outrun love.

Taylor and Marianna were each other’s whole world – best friends, running partners, practically sisters – until Marianna moved away and Taylor promptly ghosted her. When the former best friends turned rivals end up on the same cross-country team three years later, everything is a competition… and a reminder of past feelings, as well as blossoming new ones.

Marianna runs because she’s angry. The oldest child of a single mother, she knows all about responsibility – for her siblings, at her part-time job. She just has to stay focused and be faster than the past nipping at her heels if she wants to secure a new, brighter future. With or without Taylor.

Taylor runs to prove herself. The only child of an almost-Olympian, she’s no stranger to high expectations. With enough effort, she knows she can immortalize herself with a state record and make her parents proud. Then, she can figure out her own passion. She definitely doesn’t have time to untangle her feelings towards Mari.

Can this pair figure out a way to work together before their past catches up with them?

About Out of Step, Into You

My Review

A long time ago I saw someone posting that their favorite trope was friends to enemies to lovers, which I hadn’t thought a lot about. Since then, I’ve read several books that qualify, and I tend to enjoy them (as long as the reconnection and romance don’t seem forced). While Taylor and Marianna aren’t precisely enemies, they begin the story on rival cross country teams after an estrangement in their friendship. So, just about as close as you can get to that trope in a contemporary romance.

The story alternates between each girl’s point of view, and I liked both right away. Marianna is under so much pressure at home with her mom needing her help with younger siblings. Taylor’s dad has a serious health issue that she can’t always count on her parents to be honest with her about. They both have a lot on their plates in addition to competing on the cross country team.

The romance develops tentatively, and it has several really sweet moments between the girls. They dance around whether they can be friends again (or even want to) while they each feel a growing warmth toward one another that is definitely more than friendship.

I’m also not super familiar with cross country as a sport, so it was cool reading something that informed me about it and helped me understand the stakes and celebrate the victories that each girl faced.

All in all, this is a fun romance read, perfect for summer.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Characters attend a party where some of them drink alcohol. The next day, they perform poorly at cross country.

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: Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky by Pari Thomson

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Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky (Greenwild #3)
Pari Thomson
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published June 3, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky

The Secret Garden meets A Wrinkle in Time in the spellbinding final book of the New York Times-bestselling Greenwild series.

Daisy and her friends may have defeated the Grim Reapers in Iffenwild, but it’s clear that the battle for the Greenwild is only just beginning…

With the support of the Iffenwilders and their mighty water magic, Daisy and her friends are finally setting off to rescue the Botanists held prisoner in the heart of the Amazon rainforest – including Daisy’s ma and the Prof’s grandfather.

But when an unexpected attack sends the rescue mission spinning off course, Daisy, Indigo, and the Prof find themselves in the Amazon alone – where they must draw on every ounce of their courage, magic, and ingenuity to survive. This is a battle that can’t be won single-handedly, and Daisy will need the support of her new friend Max, a strange Grayside girl called Fen, and the massed might of the Amazerians, guardians of the biggest and most magical pocket in the Greenwild – if she is to take on the Reapers once and for all.

Readers will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to the Greenwild series.

My Review

I’ve been eagerly following this series from the very beginning. Reading the last book in a series is always bittersweet, because it means the characters’ journeys end, but it also means we know how the story plays out. I saved reading this one for the perfect moment in my recovery, when I’d be able to read far past bedtime and get completely lost in the pages.

The story follows two groups of characters. First, there’s Daisy, Indigo, and Prof, who head off to the Amazon to find the Greenwild pocket of Amazeria. Then, there’s Max and Acorn, who try to follow them and end up on a separate adventure. The chapters alternate between Daisy and Max’s points of view. I think the chapters from Max’s perspective had a sweet tenderness to them as he discovered things about his family members that he never knew and had the space to grow into his magic and his identity.

I also liked the way that magic is used through the course of the book. Daisy can talk to plants and do some plant magic. Indigo can talk to animals. Max has water magic. These abilities come in handy in sometimes unexpected ways. I liked that all of them had value and limits, so no one ability was outsized.

The ending of the book unfolds so quickly. (Or maybe I just read it quickly because I was so eager??) There were a couple of moments in which the identity of some characters is revealed, and I found myself wishing we’d lingered in that realization a little bit more. It was totally okay as is. I don’t think any of those reveals were shortchanged. Possibly, I just wanted longer to revel in the ending of the book and to spend a little more time in this rich story world.

I think readers who enjoy rich, magical fantasy stories will really enjoy getting lost in this botanical series. The story explores family relationships and found family as well as finding courage and bravery within oneself. It’s got strong positive messages and a powerful, hopeful message.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vague references to a possible crush between characters.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can do magic. There’s green magic, or magic involving plants and blue magic, or magic involving water.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief battles between Reapers and Botanists. In one scene, Caimans chase the characters. One bites a character (happens off-scene). Reference to a quarrel that ends in murder (happens off-scene). Someone offers themselves to an enemy in place of another character. In one scene, a falling tree lands on a cat.

Drug Content
Plants cause dreams, remedy illnesses, and cause confusion, depending on the type and use.

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 Could Be Magic by Marissa Meyer and Joelle Murray

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We Could Be Magic
Marissa Meyer
Art by Joelle Murray
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 3, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Could Be Magic

A swoon-worthy young adult graphic novel about a girl’s summer job at a theme park from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

When Tabitha Laurie was growing up, a visit to Sommerland saved her belief in true love, even as her parents’ marriage was falling apart. Now she’s landed her dream job at the theme park’s prestigious summer program, where she can make magical memories for other kids, guests, and superfans just like her. All she has to do is audition for one of the coveted princess roles, and soon her dreams will come true.

There’s just one problem. The heroes and heroines at Sommerland are all, well… thin. And no matter how much Tabi lives for the magic, she simply doesn’t fit the park’s idea of a princess.

Given a not-so-regal position at a nacho food stand instead, Tabi is going to need the support of new friends, a new crush, and a whole lot of magic if she’s going to devise her own happily ever after. . . without getting herself fired in the process.

With art by Joelle Murray, the wonder of Sommerland comes to life with charming characters and whimsical backdrops. We Could Be Magic is a perfect read for anyone looking to get swept away by a sparkly summer romance.

My Review

I was so excited to receive a finished copy of We Could Be Magic from the publisher in my mailbox a few days after I had surgery recently. It was a really nice pick-me-up at a time when I needed one!

It’s such an enthusiastic story. Tabi has the epitome of a can-do attitude. She shows up at her summer internship determined to bring the Summerland magic to every guest encounter she has. I loved that.

It was hard to watch some of her setbacks, just because she deserved so much more. But, as she finds allies and even a romance, you see the tide start to turn for her. Her hard work pays off in big and unexpected ways.

So Tabitha works at a theme park that’s been a huge part of her life. She loves the line of princess movies and the magic of the theme park experience. It’s not hard to squint and see some parallels to another popular theme park with a canon of princess stories.

I think this book would work really well as a transitional read for upper middle grade readers and those ready to transition to young adult books. The themes (summer romance, summer internship, and the importance of a positive attitude) give We Could Be Magic broad appeal.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A few instances of fat shaming.

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.