Tag Archives: skateboarding

Review: Dog Trouble by Kristin Varner

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Dog Trouble by Kristin Varner

Dog Trouble
Kristin Varner
First Second
Published October 29, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Dog Trouble

From the author of Horse Trouble comes a graphic novel perfect for fans of PAWS and Allergic!

Ash is a good kid at heart. But his grades are slipping, and when he gets caught vandalizing an old building, it’s the last straw. It’s decided: Ash will spend some time away from the city, at his dad’s place on Ferncliff Island.

It’s bad enough that Ash has no friends on the island (just an annoying little stepsister), but his parents are also making him do community service! He volunteers at the local animal shelter, even though he’s not really a dog person. Dogs slobber! They smell! And the dogs at the shelter bark, bark, and bark. But as Ash bonds with the dogs―especially Cooper, a clever, fun-loving pointer that gives sloppy kisses―he starts to see that maybe his time on Ferncliff Island isn’t a total loss.

My Review

If a book had the power to make me a dog person, this one would probably do it! (I don’t hate dogs, but I’m solidly a cat person.)

The story follows Ash, a boy who must spend his summer volunteering at an animal shelter after getting into trouble with some friends. At the start of many of the chapters, a dog profile appears, introducing readers to a dog that will appear later in the story and giving some information about its breed and personality. Some terms related to the care of animals appear in bold in the text. Those are defined at the bottom of the page. I liked that format of keeping the panels focused on the story but continually making caring for animals accessible to inexperienced readers.

Ash makes a lot of mistakes, and sometimes, even when he’s doing the right things, accidents happen. I loved that his supervisor at the shelter responded calmly, acknowledged his anxiety, and helped him navigate whatever issue was at hand.

Ash also makes an unexpected friend and forms a closer bond with his stepsister than he imagined would be possible through his experience of staying with his dad for the summer. Having gone through some of the blended family challenges, I felt like the portrayal of those relationships made a lot of sense, and the evolution felt organic.

All in all, if you love dogs and/or stories about navigating family challenges or skateboarding, Dog Trouble is one story you won’t want to miss.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 to 12.

Representation
Ash’s parents are divorced. His stepmom and stepsister are Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to animal abuse or trauma. (Nothing shown on scene.) One of the dogs in the book dies (off-scene). The loss is unexpected and difficult for Ash.

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: Where Was Goodbye? by Janice Lynn Mather

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

Where Was Goodbye?
Janice Lynn Mather
Simon & Schuster
Published April 30, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Where Was Goodbye

A teen girl searches for closure after her brother dies by suicide in this breathtaking novel from the author of Learning to Breathe and Facing the Sun.

Karmen is about to start her last year of high school, but it’s only been six weeks since her brother, Julian, died by suicide. How is she supposed to focus on school when huge questions Why is Julian gone? How could she have missed seeing his pain? Could she have helped him?

When a blowup at school gets Karmen sent home for a few weeks, life gets more things between her parents are tenser than ever, her best friend’s acting like a stranger, and her search to understand why Julian died keeps coming up empty.

New friend Pru both baffles and comforts Karmen, and there might finally be something happening with her crush, Isaiah, but does she have time for either, or are they just more distractions? Will she ever understand Julian’s struggle and tragedy? If not, can she love—and live—again?

My Review

If you know me, you probably know why this book would be difficult for me to read and review. I also think it’s a really important topic and one I want to see young adult literature cover and cover well, so I wanted to read it anyway.

Karmen’s quiet life at home in the Bahamas turned upside down the night her family learned about her brother’s death by suicide. As Karmen tries to piece together what happened and why, she hunts down people who knew Julian and the places he visited, including the cliffs where he ended his life.

At its core, Where Was Goodbye is a grief journey. It’s Karmen wrestling with unanswered questions. Her anger. Sadness. The emptiness around the dining room table. The growing distance between her parents.

People around Karmen react differently to grief as well. Her parents handle it in different ways, some causing additional harm to other relationships. Karmen’s best friend wants desperately to help, but doesn’t seem to understand what she’s going through. Instead, she reduces it to a clinical process.

I like that the author set the story in the Bahamas. I can’t think of anything else I’ve read off the top of my head that’s been set there. The setting is significant in a couple of places in the story, but many other scenes include quiet cues about Bahamian food and culture.

In the story, Karmen also learns to skateboard. She primarily uses the board for transportation and to connect with others.

Identifying with Karmen’s grief and her questions in the wake of her brother’s death felt easy. Her parents’ grief felt raw and real, as did Karmen’s. I like that the author was careful to avoid language and statements that stigmatize depression and suicide, though the story does include a few people harassing Karmen about her brother’s death.

This is definitely a book to approach with care, but it may be helpful for anyone who knows someone who has thought about suicide or experienced depression.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Karmen’s brother has died by suicide. Karmen and her family are Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Karmen and her friend attend youth group at their church. Karmen ends up ducking out for the service.

Violent Content
References to her brother’s death and specifically how he died. A boy at school says something cruel to Karmen, referencing her brother’s death. Later, a tabloid reporter tries to pressure Karmen into talking about her family’s loss. One scene includes suicidal ideation and a description of a moment when someone nearly attempts to end their life.

Drug Content
Karmen goes to a bar with friends. She sips a drink they give her and realizes it’s alcoholic. One of her friends gets very drunk. Another person offers to drive the group a short distance. Karmen gets out of the car when it becomes obvious the driver is drunk.

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: Learning to Fall by Sally Engelfried

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Learning to Fall
Sally Engelfried
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published September 6, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Learning to Fall

Twelve-year-old Daphne reconciles with her father, who left her stranded three years ago and learns forgiveness one fall at a time in this heartwarming debut by Sally Engelfried. For fans of The​ First Rule of Punk.

Daphne doesn’t want to be stuck in Oakland with her dad. She wants to get on the first plane to Prague, where her mom is shooting a movie. Armed with her grandparents’ phone number and strict instructions from her mom to call them if her dad starts drinking again, Daphne has no problem being cold to him. But there’s one thing Daphne can’t keep herself from joining her dad and her new friend Arlo at a weekly skate session.  When her dad promises to teach her how to ollie and she lands the trick, Daphne starts to believe in him again. He starts to show up for her, and Daphne learns things are not as black and white with her dad as she used to think. The way Daphne’s dad tells it, skating is all about accepting failure and moving on. But can Daphne really let go of her dad’s past mistakes? Either way life is a lot like it’s all about getting back up after you fall. 

My Review

I’ve been struggling a bit with reading lately, but you’d never know it if you watched me read this one. I read the entire story in a single sitting because I simply couldn’t stop.

Daphne has so many powerful experiences and is so easy to identify with. She quit skateboarding after an accident left her physically and emotionally bruised. Then, she has to move in with her dad, the person who got her interested in skating to begin with. She’s got a lot of doubts and bad feelings about him since he all but disappeared from her life for a few years. As she gets to know him again, she has to decide whether she can trust him. She also gains some new perspective on his disappearance, and sees her relationship with her mom in a new light, too.

This story expertly balances a young narrator and complex adult issues. Daphne’s dad is an alcoholic in recovery, and while he never drinks alcohol on-scene, he does get real with Daphne about his past struggles, how he feels in difficult moments, and his regrets. Daphne also realizes that her relationship with her mom, whom she idolizes, isn’t as simple as she once thought. Though it’s not the central point of the story, the narrative does an excellent job of showing how it feels to grapple with complex relationships and realize that people aren’t simply one thing or one way.

All in all, I loved this one both for its girl skater rep and its brave exploration of complex emotions and relationships. Give this one to fans of Gillian McDunn.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Daphne and her family are white. Her dad is an alcoholic in recovery. Daphne’s neighbors are Latino.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Daphne’s neighbor’s girlfriend and son move in with him.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Daphne recalls falling and getting hurt after some boys say cruel things to her. She hears a loud bang, and discovers that her dad threw something in the other room. He apologizes.

Drug Content
Daphne’s dad used to drink a lot of alcohol and talks frankly about mistakes he made while he was drinking, such as making promises he’d forget.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything but help support this blog. I received a free copy of LEARNING TO FALL in exchange for my honest review.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays

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