Tag Archives: PTSD

Review: Spark by Chris Baron

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Poetry, , , , , , , ,
Spark by Chris Baron

Spark
Chris Baron
Feiwel & Friends
Published July 15, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Spark

As a community recovers from a devastating wildfire, two friends find their way back to each other and their homes, by award-winning author Chris Baron.

Perfect for fans of Alan Gratz and Lauren Tarshis.

Finn and his friend, nicknamed Rabbit, live in a rural area that’s been hit hard by wildfires. Families were displaced and school was interrupted. Moreover, their beloved forest is suffering — animals and plants haven’t been able to come back, and the two friends wonder if there’s anything they can do to help. Rabbit’s uncle, a science teacher, is part of a study that may help bring the forest back to life, but Finn and Rabbit wonder if the forest can wait. And what if another fire comes in the meantime? They believe a small part of the forest — the forest heart — that survived the wildfire may hold the key to regrowth, but first, they have to find it and then convince the adults around them to listen.

For any young person who’s ever felt powerless against the world, here is a story about two kids doing all they can to understand their natural world and preserve it.

My Review

This is the second novel by Chris Baron that I’ve read, but the first in verse, and what a treat! Like, it’s largely a serious story that bravely excavates some big feelings and mental health issues. I found it incredibly easy to get lost in this story, though. A couple times, I had to pause and just breathe.

In the story, Finn faces some scary situations. Afterward, he experiences some symptoms of PTSD. I remember experiencing some of the symptoms he described. Those lines took me back to those moments– it felt like the kind of observations that had to come from someone who’d been through what Finn felt.

It’s also such a hopeful story, and that’s so important. Wildfires and the threat of them is terrifying. What can one person do in the face of such a huge fire or a serious threat? Baron’s characters explore these questions themselves and look for ways they can help their families and community. They celebrate a connection with nature that others don’t always understand. As they continue sharing their hope and passion, others begin to listen and forge their own connections with the natural world.

I loved that the story faces hardship head-on but remains so focused on hope. I can’t think of anything we need more than stories that take our kids fears and experiences seriously and make space for those things but also remind us to be hopeful and remind us how powerful a little hope can be.

Expect to see Spark on end of the year favorites lists. It’s so worth reading.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Finn and his family celebrate the sabbath and attend services at a synogogue.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Finn’s family must evacuate when a fire gets too close to their home. Their escape is a bit harrowing, though the descriptions of the danger are brief. Finn learns about others who also had to hunker down (safely/with gear) and let the fire pass by. Some people lose homes. A girl searches for a missing dog. A man slides off the roof of his house (because he’s in a hurry to get his family to safety) and injures his leg.

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: Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake

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

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea
Ashley Herring Blake
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published May 25, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea

A poignant yet hopeful novel about a girl navigating grief, trauma, and friendship, from Ashley Herring Blake, the award-winning author of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World.

Hazel Bly used to live in the perfect house with the perfect family in sunny California. But when a kayaking trip goes horribly wrong, Mum is suddenly gone forever and Hazel is left with crippling anxiety and a jagged scar on her face. After Mum’s death, Hazel, her other mother, Mama, and her little sister, Peach, need a fresh start. So for the last two years, the Bly girls have lived all over the country, never settling anywhere for more than a few months.

When the family arrives in Rose Harbor, Maine, there’s a wildness to the small town that feels like magic. But when Mama runs into an old childhood friend—Claire—suddenly Hazel’s tight-knit world is infiltrated. To make it worse, she has a daughter Hazel’s age, Lemon, who can’t stop rambling on and on about the Rose Maid, a local 150-year-old mermaid myth.

Soon, Hazel finds herself just as obsessed with the Rose Maid as Lemon is—because what if magic were real? What if grief really could change you so much, you weren’t even yourself anymore? And what if instead you emerged from the darkness stronger than before?

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for a long time. I finally managed to read it in a book club with other KidLit reviewers, which was a super exciting experience. I get to talk about a book that I read with other humans who have read it! JOY!

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea is one of those books that has a lot going on in it, but the author manages the flow of information, character development, and pacing so well that I didn’t really notice just how much was going on until sitting down to write this review.

The book has a hair of magical realism in it, which I loved. It’s kind of there and up to you what you believe about what happened. It’s left open to interpretation, which I loved.

The characters were really nicely done. Hazel meets three kids who are all part of an Ocean Club summer program. One girl, Lemon, is so enthusiastic. I loved the way that her enthusiasm made her resilient and helped her bulldoze past some of Hazel’s grief-driven frostiness. I also loved Lemon’s two closest friends. They’re protective of Lemon in a way that makes so much sense as we learn about their lives and the history of their friendship.

Hazel’s relationship with Mama was such a tender part of this book, too. It was hard to read some of the earlier scenes with those two in them. It’s so clear they are not communicating and that Mama doesn’t grasp what’s going on with Hazel and the deep, unhealed grief and trauma she’s carrying. It feels like she thinks if she ignores Hazel’s anxiety, it’ll go away. That struck a chord for me.

I loved the overall message about how grief changes you and how we need each other as we grieve. I also loved how new relationships, while scary, can be healing, not only for ourselves. In new relationships, we find opportunities to bring healing to others, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some feelings of attraction between one character and another. Adults kissing.

Spiritual Content
Hazel’s mom attends a Summer Solstice party.

Violent Content
Hazel describes a kayaking accident that left her injured and her mum dead. References to a boat sinking and killing passengers a long time ago. Hazel experiences a panic attack.

Drug Content
Hazel hears her mom agree to another glass of wine while on the phone with her.

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

MMGM Review: Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid

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

Just Lizzie
Karen Wilfrid
Clarion Books
Published November 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Just Lizzie

A 2024 LAMBDA AWARD FINALIST

In this beautifully written contemporary middle grade debut, an eighth grader’s study of asexuality in science class leads her to understand her own asexual identity as she embarks on a journey toward self-discovery and self-advocacy. For readers of Alex Gino and Ashley Herring Blake.

“There’s the part of me that doesn’t understand kissing or cuteness or attraction, and then there’s the part of me that feels so lonely. How do I make sense of those two parts? Maybe I’ll never make sense of them.”

What do you do when there’s a question inside you that feels so big, you don’t know how to put words to it? How do you even begin to ask it?

Fourteen-year-old Lizzie is experiencing a lot of change: Her family had to move after the incident with their neighbor, leaving behind not only her beloved apple tree but what feels like her childhood along with it. Lizzie’s brother is too busy for her in his first semester of college, and her friends are more interested in dating than dolls. It’s hard not to feel left behind, especially as she tries to explain the fact that she still has zero interest in boys, girls, or the baffling behavior known as “flirting.”

But just as Lizzie’s world feels like it’s closing in, a class lesson on asexual reproduction in plants piques her curiosity, leading her to look up whether people can be asexual too—and suddenly her world opens up. Lizzie finally finds an identity, a word for all her messy, unnamable feelings that feels like it fits, although she quickly realizes that a label isn’t enough if no one believes it’s real.

Accessible, moving, and compassionate, Just Lizzie effortlessly braids a nuanced individual journey of identity with the bittersweet angst of growing up, growing apart, and learning there are many ways to live and love.

My Review

I have zero surprise that this book was nominated for awards.

This is one of those books that has so much going on in it, but it’s paced so perfectly that the story never feels cluttered or too busy. It never feels like a thread is dropped only to awkwardly reappear later.

At the start of the story, Lizzie is in the midst of a lot of changes. Her family recently moved from a house she loved because of an incident with a neighbor. This incident left Lizzie and her mom traumatized. Lizzie’s best friend has also just started dating a boy from school. Dating and attraction don’t make sense to Lizzie, so she struggles to respond to her friend’s relationship troubles and questions about who she likes.

One really cool part of the book is that Lizzie takes a self-defense class on Saturdays. In the class, she learns about fight, flight, and freeze responses. Learning to defend herself makes her feel more empowered. She also builds surprising connections with a couple of mentors through the class.

Adults in Lizzie’s life don’t always respond to her in the ways she expects. She faces disappointments, but she also has experiences where adults she thought would brush her off take time to see her. I loved that.

I don’t think I went into this book expecting it to be a favorite, but this is a story I’m going to hold onto for a long time. Just Lizzie perfectly captures that middle school experience where so many changes happen so quickly that it’s hard to keep up. I loved the ace representation. It’s an incredible book, and I hope that a lot more people discover and read it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very rarely.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to kissing and feelings of attraction. Boys show each other diagrams of the human body from their science textbooks, giggling and trying to make people uncomfortable. Vague references to making out or touching. (Nothing is described in the scene.)

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A neighbor pushed Lizzie’s front door open after being asked to leave, scaring Lizzie and injuring her mom. Lizzie takes a self-defense class and practices defensive maneuvers. A boy at school repeatedly kicks Lizzie’s chair and, at one point, shoves her.

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.

Review: The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Poetry, , , , , , , , ,

The Trouble with Heroes
Kate Messner
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published April 29, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Trouble with Heroes

Bestselling and award-winning author Kate Messner takes readers on a heart-filling journey as a boy finds his path to healing.

One summer.
46 mountain peaks.
A second chance to make things right.

Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn’s about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now.

Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he’s in big trouble for kicking down some dead old lady’s headstone. But it turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer…climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks with her dead mother’s dog, and they can call it even.

In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don’t care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn’s final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.

My Review

This story is mostly told in verse with a few letters and articles mixed in. At first, Finn writes poems as part of an English assignment for school. The early poems are written unwillingly, so some of the things he writes are funny from the perspective of watching a kid try to weasel out of doing work. But as he keeps writing, he begins to appreciate poetry as a vehicle to process his thoughts and experiences.

The same is true of his hiking experience. At first, he’s only participating unwillingly. He knows his mom can’t afford to replace the headstone he broke, and this is an alternative way that he can apologize for his behavior and make it right. As he spends more time outdoors, he starts noticing more of the natural world around him and even forms connections with his hiking mentors.

That leads him to process his grief over losing his dad during COVID-19. As the story unfolds, he also learns about connections between his hiking life and his dad’s experiences. I loved some of those connections. One in particular really hits deep, so grab some tissues as you get to the end of the book.

I have enjoyed every book by Kate Messner that I’ve ever read, so it isn’t a huge surprise that I loved this one. I think this is the first novel in verse that I’ve read by her, and I think she did a fabulous job with it.

If you’re looking for a nature-centered book about hiking or a story about a kid who’s made some bad choices and has a chance to turn things around, you’ll want to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Finn kicked over a headstone in a graveyard and broke it. References to September 11th. References to an injured person carried by a firefighter. The story includes brief memories of the COVID-19 pandemic. References to an animal attack. References to the death of a parent.

Drug Content
Finn’s dad struggled with alcohol addiction.

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 Underwood Tapes by Amanda DeWitt

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

The Underwood Tapes
Amanda DeWitt
Peachtree Teen
Published February 4, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Underwood Tapes

A captivating and profoundly moving novel with hints of supernatural intrigue, blending We Were Liars and Your Name into a can’t-miss read for fans of You’ve Reached Sam.

Thirty years ago, Grace’s mom left her hometown of Hermitage, Florida and never looked back—which is exactly why Grace thinks it’s the safest place to spend her summer now. Since her mom died in a car crash, Grace has been desperate to get away from the memories and reminders of her loss. Spending the summer transcribing cassette tapes for the Hermitage Historical Society might be boring, but boring is just what Grace needs.

Until she hears the voice of Jake Underwood—the boy who first recorded the cassette tapes back in 1992. When Grace realizes he can hear anything she records, despite thirty years of time between them, she strikes up an impossible conversation with Jake through the tapes.

But the past isn’t any simpler than the present, and a mystery has haunted Hermitage through the generations. In the 1970’s, a hurricane made landfall and resulted in the tragic death of Jake’s uncle Charley. In a town as suffocatingly small as Hermitage, it’s impossible not to notice how no one talks about that storm, or Charley, and as the mystery unfurls, Grace can’t help but realize a worse truth: No one talks about Jake either.

A beautifully written exploration of grief and what happens when untreated wounds bleed into future generations, The Underwood Tapes is the perfect read for anyone in need of a good, cathartic cry.

My Review

I really enjoyed some things about this book. It’s such a unique idea. Conceptually, it reminded me a little bit of the movie The Lake House, in which people from two separate timelines communicate through letters in a mailbox.

The characters were nicely done, too. I felt an immediate connection with Grace, a girl still reeling from the unexpected loss of her mother. She seemed so adrift, and her connection with Jake helped her find a way to anchor herself. I loved Grace’s cousin Laura and her third cousin Griffin, too, though I didn’t expect to at first.

The story has this tidal feel to it. Grace’s grandparents’ generation contains a close-knit group of friends. Her mother’s generation has one, too. And then Grace joins Laura and Griffin. I loved the way that echoed the feel of a tide coming in and out. The friendships grew close, and then something broke them apart, until Grace’s generation, in which they began fragmented, but through her experience in the small town, she created strong bonds.

The only thing I wish was different about this book is that I wish the ending had been a little longer. It felt somewhat rushed, and there wasn’t really any resolution beyond knowing more about what happened. I wish there had been something more there.

On the whole, though, I really enjoyed the emotional journey and the descriptions of a small town in south Florida. I can see fans of You’ve Reached Sam really liking this one. It has some of the same themes about complex, incomplete grief and the work of healing and moving forward.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few instances of the F-bomb and other profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
A girl can communicate with a teenage boy from thirty years earlier through recorded messages on cassette tapes. One particular geographical location also seems to allow her to slip into other moments in time.

Violent Content
References to a fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver. Grace experiences symptoms of PTSD while in the car. One scene shows someone’s apparent death by drowning. In another, someone is fatally injured.

Drug Content
A man drives home drunk from a bar. Grace attends a beach party where someone gives her a drink of alcohol. She holds the cup but quietly refuses to drink it.

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: How We Ricochet by Faith Gardner

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

How We Ricochet
Faith Gardner
HarperTeen
Published May 24, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About How We Ricochet

Intimate, impactful, and incisive, this newest novel from Faith Gardner, critically acclaimed author of GIRL ON THE LINE, is an unflinching look into the devastating consequences of a mass shooting for one girl and her close-knit family, for readers of THIS IS HOW IT ENDS and ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES.

It seems sometimes a charade that we continue celebrating in the face of relentless tragedy.

How dare we? But then . . . what else is there to do?

Betty’s mom needed new pants for her job.

That was why Betty was at the mall with her mom and sister when the shooting started.

Afterward, nothing is the same.

There are no easy answers to be found, and Betty’s search for them leads her to Michael, the brother of the shooter. But this path only shows Betty one thing: that everything she thought she knew—about herself, about the world around her—can change in a heartbeat.

A moving, powerful journey of life after tragedy, HOW WE RICOCHET is an unflinching and necessary story for our time that will resonate with readers everywhere.

My Review

The whole book is told from Betty’s point-of-view. I liked that, and I truly loved the writing, so I think that was great. I did honestly wonder what the story would have been like if it had been divided between Michael and Betty’s points-of-view.

This is one of those books where there’s a LOT going on. Betty, her mom, and her sister are recovering from the experience of the mall shooting. The girls have a difficult relationship with their dad, who has been absent from their lives for ten years besides occasional phone calls and random gifts in the mail. Betty is trying to break into the fashion industry as a copy writer, something she isn’t sure she has a real passion for anymore. Her sister is spiraling into a bad place, and Betty doesn’t know how to help her. Her mom has leapt into a new identity as an activist for gun safety, leaving Betty feeling super isolated.

And then, of course, there’s her getting to know Michael, the brother of the shooter. There’s the way they dance around one another’s grief. The way they process their losses side by side, comforting each other without speaking about it. I loved the way their relationship unfolded. I liked that they were safe harbors for one another in the storm.

Conclusion

On the whole, I found this to be a deeply moving story with great writing and heartfelt relationships. This is the first book by Faith Gardner that I’ve ever read, but I am super interested in her other books now, too.

The cover copy compares this story to a book called THIS IS HOW IT ENDS, but I wonder if they meant THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS by Marieke Nijkamp? That second book is a story about the unfolding of a school shooting, which is why I wondered about that.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Betty and another character identify as pansexual. One of her close friends is gay. Betty experiences some symptoms of PTSD after being near a shooting involving her mom and sister. Her sister also experiences debilitating PTSD symptoms.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Betty was next door during a shooting in a store where her mother and sister were. She heard the shots but didn’t see it happen. Her mom briefly describes what she witnessed.

Drug Content
Betty’s sister takes medication for panic attacks. She and Betty and others drink alcohol.

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 HOW WE RICOCHET in exchange for my honest review.