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Review: Rise of the Spider by Michael P. Spradlin

Book Review and Content, Historical, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,
The Rise of the Spider by Michael P. Spradlin

Rise of the Spider (Web of the Spider #1)
Michael P. Spradlin
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published September 24, 2024

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About Rise of the Spider

Witness the chilling rise of the Nazi Party through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy in this first book in the action-packed middle grade series Web of the Spider for fans of I Survived and A Night Divided.

1929, Heroldsberg, Germany. Rolf might only be twelve years old, but he’s old enough to know that things have not been good in his country since the end of the Great War. Half of Germany is out of work, and a new political movement is taking hold that scares him. Every night, Rolf’s father and older brother, Romer, have increasingly heated arguments about politics at the dinner table. And when two members of the new Nazi Party, Hans and Nils, move to town as part of the Hitler Youth, Rolf is uneasy to see how enamored Romer is by their promises of bringing Germany to glory.

Rolf doesn’t trust Hans and Nils for a moment. For all their talk of greatness, they act more like bullies, antagonizing shop owners who are Rolf’s friends and neighbors. Yet Romer becomes increasingly obsessed with their message of division, and Rolf watches in horror as his family fractures even further.

When there is an act of vandalism against a Jewish-owned business in town, Rolf fears Romer might have had something to do with it. Can Rolf find a way to intervene before things get any worse?

My Review

This is a sad book. It’s an important story, as it follows the rise of the Nazis in Germany through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy who can’t believe it’s happening. He realizes how hateful the rhetoric is and how it contradicts his family’s values and beliefs. But he also witnesses someone close to him embrace those ideas and join the movement.

The book is pretty short, and the writing style is simple enough to make it accessible for younger middle grade readers interested in historical fiction. It’s the opening to a new series that will follow twelve-year-old Rolf’s experience in Heroldsberg, Germany each year leading up to when Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. Creating a window for younger readers to see how Hitler rose to power is a great idea. It’s a moment of history that isn’t often deeply explored with kids that age, but an important one.

I also appreciated the author’s note at the back of the book in which Spradlin discussed his experience seeing the town of Heroldsberg and how his research affected him. This seems like a great fit for upper elementary-aged readers interested in historical fiction and World War II in particular.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white Germans. A few minor characters are Jewish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief reference to church and synagogue services.

Violent Content
Someone sets fire to a local Jewish-owned business. Hitler Youth members intimidate and threaten shop owners and shoppers. A group of them beat up an elderly Jewish man. (The narrator can’t see the blow-by-blow but knows it’s happening.) At a rally, a group of Nazi supporters attack a man who protests against them. The narrator can’t see specifics but is scared.

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

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

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: Joined at the Joints Marissa Eller

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

Joined at the Joints
Marissa Eller
Holiday House
Published July 2, 2024

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About Joined at the Joints

When baking-obsessed Ivy meets a super-hot boy who shares her rare diagnosis, sparks fly outside of the kitchen for the first time in her life!

Chronically ill seventeen-year-old Ivy has stayed in watching the Food Network all summer—pies are better than people, and they don’t trigger her social anxiety. So when her (also) chronically ill mom and sister cook up a plan to get Ivy out of the house and into a support group, Ivy doesn’t expect to say more than a few words.

And she certainly doesn’t expect Grant. Grant is CUTE: class-clown cute, perfectly-messy-hair cute, will-always-text-you-back cute. There’s an instant connection between them. He has the same diagnosis as her–juvenille rheumatoid arthritis–and he actually understands Ivy’s world.

But just because he understands Ivy’s pain doesn’t mean he can take it away. And she wishes he could—because it’s getting worse. Ivy has always tried her best to appear pain-free, but between treatment plans, symptom management, and struggling with medical self-advocacy, being sick feels more and more difficult. Will Ivy’s delicious new romance pan out? Can she keep up the façade, for him and for the world… or should she be brave and let it go?

Marissa Eller serves up a sweet, satisfying romcom that tackles the realities of chronic illness—and coming-of-age milestones from friend breakups to first kisses—with wry humor, tons of heart, and a huge helping of honesty. Nuanced, poignant, and deeply enjoyable, readers will fall for Eller’s voice in this compelling debut that offers all the right ingredients.

My Review

This is such a sweet book. I loved that because both characters understand rheumatoid arthritis, there’s not a lot of one character educating the other. Both Ivy and Grant have some similarities and differences in their experiences, and they share enough common ground to offer support to one another when it’s needed.

Ivy is a great character. I love stories about baking or cooking, so the scenes in which she prepares food were great. When a character’s love language is food, I find it easy to connect with them. I also liked her relationship with her sister, Caroline. They look out for one another but give each other space and autonomy, too. They have a great balance. The descriptions of their younger brother, Ethan, made me laugh, too. He felt like such an energetic character, even when he was just in the periphery of a scene.

The relationship between Grant and Ivy is great, too. They like each other from the start, but it didn’t feel too insta-love-y to me. Maybe because Ivy is so shy and takes so long to admit that she likes him and that he seems to like her, too. I liked the progression of the relationship and how they leaned on one another.

In terms of a summer romance, Joined at the Joints hits all the right notes. It’s sweet, thoughtful, and full of fun. Definitely a good one for a weekend read.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Ivy and Grant have juvenile idiopathic arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis). Ivy also has social anxiety. Ivy’s sister, Caroline, has celiac disease. Her mom has lupus. Caroline and Ivy join a support group for teens with chronic illnesses.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
F-bombs used infrequently. Strong profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A baseball strikes a character, leaving an ugly bruise. Ivy experiences growing pain in her joints that becomes increasingly debilitating. Some references to ableist comments.

Drug Content
Just the drugs prescribed by Ivy’s doctor.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

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

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

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Of Jade and Dragons

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

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

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

My Review

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

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

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

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

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

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Chinese-coded.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

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

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

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at social events.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson

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

The Ballad of Darcy and Russell
Morgan Matson
Simon & Schuster
Published May 7, 2024

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About The Ballad of Darcy and Russell

Darcy believes in love at first sight. Even though it’s never happened to her, she’s spent her whole life waiting for that magical moment, hoping that when she meets the right guy, everything will fall into place perfectly.

But right now, her life is anything but perfect. Heading home from a music festival, engine trouble means she’s stranded at a Nevada bus station until morning. Even worse, it’s the day before she leaves for college, her phone is dead, and she has no cash. Darcy’s convinced nothing good can come of this night…but then she meets Russell. Cute, nice, funny, and kind, this is the guy—and the moment—she’s been waiting for. As they walk and talk, the two connect, and Darcy is able to put aside all her fears and doubts about the future to focus on this perfect guy.

Over the course of one fateful night, Darcy and Russell discover things they never imagined about each other and themselves. But can you really know someone after only a handful of hours? Is it possible to fall in love in less than day? Before they part, both their lives will be changed, and Darcy and Russell will have to decide if it’s worth saying hello when you know you’re destined for a goodbye.

My Review

Until this book, I’d never read anything by Morgan Matson, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The swoony storytelling reminds me a bit of Kasie West, but with a little bit more physical romance. The Ballad of Darcy and Russell features big, blended families and complicated relationships with parents as Darcy and Russell transition from high school to college.

The only part that really gave me pause in the story is near the beginning, when Darcy and Russell meet and leave the bus station together to look for a phone charger. If Darcy were my friend, I would have encouraged her not to leave the bus station with someone she’d never met, especially if she didn’t have the ability to use her cell phone. At first, I thought they left the bus station at night, but then I think it turned out to be late afternoon.

I wanted to enjoy the romance blossoming between Darcy and Russell, so I put all that aside as the story progressed. Their exchanges over puns and fun facts were cute and highlighted their well-suited relationship. The information reveals happened at great moments, and Darcy’s reaction made a lot of sense. Her response to unexpectedly meeting a large group of people made sense, too.

The descriptions of everyone hanging out together and the ease between them despite the nature of some of their relationships felt genuine. It made me want to hang out with a group like that. Those scenes really captured how inviting that crew was and how much Darcy longed for connections, even if she didn’t recognize it at first.

All in all, this was a fun summer romance. It’s exactly right for a beach or poolside afternoon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
A few minor characters are BIPOC. Two girls (minor characters) are in a relationship. Lots of sets of twins mentioned or appearing in the book.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A small number of F-bombs scattered throughout. No other swearing.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A couple swims in their underwear and kisses. One scene shows a couple tumble into bed and then fades to black after clarifying that each partner checks in with the other and makes sure they’re okay at every phase of the encounter.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a bus station in Vegas at night not being the safest place for a girl traveling alone.

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: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Book Review and Content, Coming of Age, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Memoir, Nonfiction, , , , , , , ,

Gender Queer
Maia Kobabe
Lion Forge Comics
Published May 28, 2019

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Gender Queer

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, GENDER QUEER is here.

Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, GENDER QUEER is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

My Review

I think what’s really cool about this book is that the author takes time to give clear, well-explored explanations of key moments in eir life when eir identity came into focus. Maia Kobabe diligently and openly explains eir relationship with eir body as a child, an adolescent, and later as an adult. Why did female pronouns feel so wrong for em? Why do sexual fantasies feel so much more satisfying to em than experiences do?

Having these conversations plainly and openly offers solidarity to others having similar experiences. It shows people who have similar questions that they’re not alone. They’re not the first ones to feel a disconnect with their bodies. It also provides a roadmap for people who do not identify as genderqueer. Reading a book like this, a story that details someone’s personal experience, allows readers to bring questions to a safe space where there’s no judgment or intrusion. Reading about Maia’s experience allows us to listen and cultivate empathy for others who may have a different life experience than we do.

Banning Gender Queer

One of the reasons I opted to read this book is because I hear it discussed so often in the context of being banned in schools. If you’ve been on my blog awhile, you probably already know that I’m not a fan of book bans, and it’s not a position I came to lightly. The core of the decision really is this: as a parent, my job is to be part of the decision-making about books my child reads. It is not my job to decide which books are okay for someone else’s child to read.

With that said, I think GENDER QUEER brings some important topics to the table for discussion. It does address some mature topics, so I think it would generally be more appropriate to older readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Maia identifies as genderqueer and uses Spivak pronouns (e/em/eir), which are a set of gender-neutral, grammatically singular pronouns. Some other people appearing in the memoir are queer as well.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to gay pornography. References to sex. In one scene, Maia very briefly outlines with a partner the things e would not feel comfortable doing sexually. One line later states that e and eir partner have made out and had sex. In one scene, Maia lists a snippet of a sexually explicit conversation e had with eir partner and the divergence of eir feelings about the fantasy of the experience versus the actual experience.

Maia is also very open about eir personal experience with arousal and masturbation. E explains these feelings as part of a larger explanation of eir asexuality and/or gender dysphoria. It didn’t come across as something meant to be sexy. Instead, it appeared to be a thoughtful examination of how eir body reacts to touch and visual stimulation and how that might differ from others’ experiences.

There are a few panels that show some cartoon nudity. One panel shows two men kissing from their hips upward. One shows two men facing each other, referencing a fantasy Maia had based on Plato’s SYMPOSIUM. A couple show Maia from the side, sitting on a toilet, after e has discovered the start of eir period. One page shows Maia undressing for an examination with a gynecologist. One panel shows em naked from the front.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Maia describes the pain of a gynecological exam as feeling like e has been stabbed through the abdomen. The illustration shows a torso without gender details with a blade stabbed through the abdomen. Another illustration shows a similar image, but from a side view.

Drug Content
None.

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