This Time Will Be Different

 

Stars: 4 Family, history, racism, conforming versus fighting

My Thoughts:

This female centered book is a coming of awareness story with CJ who is a generation below the model minority generation of her nisei mother. Readers can look at this story through different lenses. There is the racial lens around CJ's issue with her mother working for the same family that stole many of the properties and businesses from Japanese during the WWII internment. To CJ, her mother is a sell out. 

There is also the lens of the daughter who does not feel she can live up to her mother's ambitions and expectations. In Joy Luck Club style, CJ is never good enough.

Then there is the family business and friend to lover lens going on in the failing floral shop. 

Whichever lens readers use, CJ comes out with a different awareness of herself, her family, and her world. The bottom line is, it's complicated. 

From the Publisher:

The author of the Asian Pacific American Award-winning It’s Not Like It’s a Secret is back with another smartly drawn coming-of-age novel that weaves riveting family drama, surprising humor, and delightful romance into a story that will draw you in from the very first page.

Katsuyamas never quit—but seventeen-year-old CJ doesn’t even know where to start. She’s never lived up to her mom’s type A ambition, and she’s perfectly happy just helping her aunt, Hannah, at their family’s flower shop.

She doesn’t buy into Hannah’s romantic ideas about flowers and their hidden meanings, but when it comes to arranging the perfect bouquet, CJ discovers a knack she never knew she had. A skill she might even be proud of.

Then her mom decides to sell the shop—to the family who swindled CJ’s grandparents when thousands of Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during WWII. Soon a rift threatens to splinter CJ’s family, friends, and their entire Northern California community; and for the first time, CJ has found something she wants to fight for.

Publication Information:

Author: Misa Sugiura

Publisher: Harper Teen (June 9, 2020)

ISBN-13: 978-0062473455

Paperback: 416 pages

Grade level: 8-12

Anna K: A Love Story

 

Stars: 5 Use this as comparative literature to examine shifting values and stable values through time, cultures, nations, families, economic classes.

From the Publisher:

At seventeen, Anna K is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society (even if she prefers the company of her horses and dogs); she has the perfect (if perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander W.; and she has always made her Korean-American father proud (even if he can be a little controlling). Meanwhile, Anna's brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are trying to weather a sexting scandal; Lolly’s little sister, Kimmie, is struggling to recalibrate to normal life after an injury derails her ice dancing career; and Steven’s best friend, Dustin, is madly (and one-sidedly) in love with Kimmie.

As her friends struggle with the pitfalls of ordinary teenage life, Anna always seems to be able to sail gracefully above it all. That is…until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky at Grand Central. A notorious playboy who has bounced around boarding schools and who lives for his own pleasure, Alexia is everything Anna is not. But he has never been in love until he meets Anna, and maybe she hasn’t, either. As Alexia and Anna are pulled irresistibly together, she has to decide how much of her life she is willing to let go for the chance to be with him. And when a shocking revelation threatens to shatter their relationship, she is forced to question if she has ever known herself at all.

My Thoughts:

Anna K is a modern take on Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Rather than the cheating wife trope and the warning about swift change between traditional and progressive Russian lifestyles, though, this modern take is more like a Gossip Girls story played out in Manhattan and Greenwich. Ms. Lee uses very similar names for the characters, except these are teenagers and young adults and everyone is wealthy (except for Dustin). 

Although the story starts with older brother and black sheep Steven, Korean-American Anna K is the protagonist. She is steady, lives away from home, has been in a long relationship with the OG of Greenwich and is the family mediator and star. On a train (another homage to Anna Karenina), she befriends a woman who is meeting her son at Grand Central, Alexia "Count" Vronsky. Steven also knows Count so they are talking at the station in the same way that Anna K and Count's mother are talking in the train. This is the start of both the intense love affair and the intense tragedy to come. 

There is a follow up book, but I am all for good romantic tragedy  (like These Violent Delights and Anatomy), so I think I am good with just reading this one book. I feel like the protagonist has the rest of her life to figure out how she finds herself again. The end.

Product Information:

Author: Jenny Lee

Publisher: Flatiron Books (March 23, 2021)

Paperback: 400 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1250236449

Grade level: 10-12

Home (Picture Book)

 

Stars: 4 This picture book is both beautiful, buyable and easily used in the middle school classroom as a mentor text.

My Thoughts: 

This is an extended metaphor poem by one of my favorite YA authors, Matt De La Peña, on the different manifestations of home. Of course it is not a place. Of course it includes vital people and times and memories. However, what I also loved is that it also includes school and a teacher at the door of a classroom as home. I have met many students over my years who feel like school is their safe place and their home. I continue to remind my teacher candidates that this is a fact, not something made up to explain why it is so important to create a safe, loving space for learning and healing within the classroom, even in secondary. Even in college.  The author and illustrator do a superb job of bringing that home for readers.

In the middle school classroom, use this as a mentor text for an extended metaphor writing assignment. Better yet, use this as a skills lesson for essays to show how to continue to roll out an argument.

From the Publishers:

Home is a tired lullaby
and a late-night traffic that mumbles in
through a crack in your curtains.

Home is the faint trumpet of a distant barge
as your grandfather casts his line
from the edge of his houseboat.

With lyrical text and expressive artwork, Matt de la Peña and Loren Long celebrate the beauty and love found in every home, no matter its size. They show how a home is more than just a place . . . People can be a kind of home—a family and a community that cares for one another. And the natural world is another kind of home, a refuge we share with every living thing on Earth.

This deeply moving ode to the universal pull of home, whatever its form, is destined to become a new classic that will be cherished by readers of every age.

Publication Information:

Author: Matt De La Peña

Illustrator: Loren Long

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (March 11, 2025)

Hardcover: 48 pages

Stars and Smoke (Novel 1)

 

Stars: 3 It's a good escape. As far as enemies-to-lovers novels goes, it is a solid 3 because it does not give in to the happily ever after tropes, which means it's great for YA.

My Thoughts:

You have a teenage super spy and a teenage pop idol. You also have an elite covert ops group called Panacea who sits above any government agency. Again, go back to the teenage super spy for Panacea being a female, and suspend any kind of questions you may have. Once you do that, this is a fun read. It has danger and travel. It has beautiful people and killers. Really, it is a good way to spend a weekend. 

From the Publishers:

Meet Winter Young―A global pop sensation, with a voice like velvet and looks that could kill.

Meet Sydney Cossette―An agent in an elite covert ops group, and an ice queen whose moves are as dangerous as her comebacks.

When a major crime boss gifts his daughter a private Winter Young concert for her birthday, Sydney’s and Winter’s lives suddenly collide. To stop an international disaster, the two must infiltrate the organization’s inner
circle, with Sydney posing as Winter’s bodyguard and Winter tapped to join her as a new spy recruit. Sydney may be the only person impervious to Winter’s charms, but as their mission brings them closer, she’s forced to
admit that there’s more to Winter Young than just a handsome face . . .

Publication Information:

Author: Marie Lu

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (March 28, 2023)

Hardcover: 336 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1250852816

Grade level: 7-9

Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights Duet, book 2)

 

Stars: 5 Yes, use this as an alternative to R&J in your classroom. If you really must talk about iambic pentameter and rhyme scheme, use several of Shakespeare's sonnets and leave the action/drama/romance of R&J to Ms. Gong. 

My Thoughts:

   DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST BOOK!!!

Wicked Fox Audiobook

 

Stars: 3 In my quest for non white fantasy, this one should be added for YA

My Thoughts:

I am sure if I read this again, I will rate it higher, but I don't have time to reread right now. I am desperately trying to get through my TBR list. I think my confusion is that I did not look at the cover on my phone. If I had looked at the cover, I would know that this is in modern Seoul, Korea, and not a historical fiction fantasy. That would have saved me time as I was listening to the audiobook from my library.  By the time Gu Miyoung saves Jihoon from a goblin in the forest, I was so confused and made the scenery fit my mind when it really did not.

Once I got over my mistake, then it read like a K-drama, but with magic. This is a very different take on fantasy, magic and Cho offers up a different take on Asian fantasy.

From the Publisher:

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret--she's a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead--her gumiho soul--in the process.

Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl--he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to men. He's drawn to her anyway. 

With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous and reignite a generations-old feud . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon's.

Publication Information:

Author: Kat Cho

Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller

Publisher: Listening Library (June 25, 2019)

Length: 11. hours 47 minutes

Immortality: A Love Story (Anatomy Duology, Book 2)

4 stars: This is a high 4 for me as a science nerd. If you like historical science fantasy, this will grab you.

My Thoughts:

My secret dream job when I was in college was to cut things up. Not things. That is not fair. I did not want to be a chef. I really wanted to cut up bodies, but not to heal or anything. More to just see how things worked. I spent so much time in the lab that my body exuded formaldehyde and riding the bus home in the evenings, people tended to move away from me when I sat down. 

Immortality is the second story following Anatomy: A Love Story. Hazel Sinnett has lost Jack. She is not sure if he took the vial for immortality or even if the vial for immortality is just a scam. Either way, Jack is gone and she needs to find her way in this world alone.  Although she has not been able to go to school, she continues to treat patients, especially women at her home, Hawthornden Castle. She does an abortion and is turned in by the woman and scheduled to die until the court notifies her that they want her to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte.

This story continues to be a feminist drama, a medical mystery, as well as a romance gone wrong. This second one was a fast read, or listen in this case. I don't think I slept much. 

From the Publisher:

Hazel Sinnett is alone and half-convinced the events of the year before—the immortality, Beecham’s vial—were a figment of her imagination. She doesn’t even know if Jack is alive or dead. All she can really do now is treat patients and maintain Hawthornden Castle as it starts to decay around her.

When saving a life leads to her arrest, Hazel seems doomed to rot in prison until a message intervenes: Hazel has been specifically requested to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte, the sickly granddaughter of King George III. Soon Hazel is dragged into the glamor and romance of a court where everyone has something to hide, especially the enigmatic, brilliant members of a social club known as the Companions to the Death.

As Hazel’s work entangles her more and more with the British court, she realizes that her own future as a surgeon isn't the only thing at stake for her. Malicious forces are at work in the monarchy, and Hazel may be the only one capable of setting things right.

Publication Information:

Author: Dana Schwartz

Narrator: Mhairi Morrison, Tim Campbell

Publisher: MacMillan Audio (February 28, 2023)

Length: 12 hours, 2 minutes

 

These Violent Delights, series Book 1, Audiobook

 

Stars: 5 The difference between a 4 star and a 5 star is that a 5 star can be used in the classroom. 

My Thoughts:

Shanghai in 1926. The gangs, one Chinese, and one Russian rule Shanghai. But there is a blood feud between the Scarlets and the White Flowers and there was a hidden teen romance between the two heirs to the Scarlets (Juliette Cai) and the heir to the White Flowers, Roma Montagov. Yes, this is a Romeo and Juliet combined with a Romeo + Juliet gangster vibe. If the two "kids" broke up because of family pressure and came back together to fight a strange "monster" that spreads bugs that makes people kill themselves by ripping their throats out, then this is the story.

Juliette is back in Shanghai ready to take over the family business when she runs into her first love and her greatest enemy in Roma. But with the monster killing gangsters and business people on both sides of the blood feud, as well as the rising Communist disruptors, the two teens need to put their feud aside to try and solve the mystery.

Juliette and Roma have the kind of chemistry that will break your heart. This would make a fabulous comparative literature conversation with students because what these young people have that the Shakespeare version does not have is a sense of filial piety that becomes a real barrier to their work together. These teens are not free to do whatever they want, so it actually feels more authentic and heartbreaking. 

From the Publisher: 

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is 18-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang - a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette's first love...and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns - and grudges - aside and work together, for if they can't stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

Publication Information:

Author: Chloe Gong

Narrator: Cindy Kay

Publisher: Tantor Audio (January 26, 2021)

Length: 14 hours 14 minutes

Anatomy: A Love Story (Anatomy Duology Book 1)

STARS: 4 this speaks to the science nerd girl in me who wanted to be a pathologist when I entered college. Historical fiction out of England, feminism, lady surgeon. . .and a romance over stolen dead bodies. . .plus the cover. So clever.

My Thoughts:

Besides the thoughts above, I am not reading white YA authors as I want to spend more time with non-white authors, however, this is a historical fiction piece about a young woman who wants to be a surgeon and lives in a society where she has to dress up in her dead brother's clothes to get bodies. She also has to sneak in side doors just to learn because unless a man escorts her, doors are closed to her. 

In addition, there is the class difference between Hazel and Jack. Who does not love a secret dalliance with a boy who is well below your social station? In the game of smash or pass, this is a hard smash. 

I am also going to add a spoiler here. She loses the boy at the end when her ex fiancee has him killed. But there is one last chance of hope, so make sure you have the second book in the duology, even if it more about her coping without Jack and trying to live out her dream.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and if you want a professional reader in your ear reading in an accent, definitely borrow the audiobook from your local library. 

From the Publisher:

Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy: A Love Story is a gothic tale full of mystery and romance.

Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.

When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, Beecham will allow her to continue her medical career. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books―she’ll need corpses to study.

Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living.

But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets, and the dreaded Roman Fever, which wiped out thousands a few years ago, is back with a vengeance. Nobody important cares―until Hazel.

Now, Hazel and Jack must work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.

Publication Information:

Author: Dana Schwarz

Narrator: Mhairi Morrison, Tim Campbell

Publisher: McMillan Audio (January 18, 2022)

Length: 9 hours 35 minutes

 

Raybearer: Audiobook

 

4 stars: Good if you like fantasy, magic, a different kind of world building, afrofuturism.

My Thoughts:

“You don’t have to help me change the world. But you mark my words; when I get going, this world will change. And you can be a part of that...or you can stand back and watch.”

16 year old Tarisai wants a family, wants to love and be loved. But the Lady, her mother, who for some reason I thought was a figment of her imagination, has other ideas for Tarisai. When Tarisai tries to kill the crown prince who she actually loves, she has to do what she needs to do to actually stop being a pawn and remove herself from all hope of family, love and goodness. Readers will feel for her as she fights for love. It is more than a 16 year old should bear.

The storytelling is lush and diverse for YA readers who are used to reading western centered novels. I think that is why I say it is a kind of world building. As our own country is in turmoil and unrecognizable as a civilization and nation of dreamers, it is good to be in a different culture and world to escape. This is a good escape. 

As far as the narrator, this was an easy listen, even at 13  plus hours. 

From the Publisher:

Nothing is more important than loyalty. But what if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?

Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as the Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the crown prince’s Council of Eleven. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But the Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: kill the crown prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn - but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?

With extraordinary world-building and breathtaking prose, Raybearer is the story of loyalty, fate, and the lengths we’re willing to go for the ones we love.

Publication Information:

Author: Jordan Ifueko

Narrator: Joniece Abbott-Pratt

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing (August 18, 2020)

Listening Length: 13 hours, 48 minutes

Manga Classics Sherlock Holmes, Vol 1: A Study in Scarlet (Manga)

 

4 stars: Good read. Could go up and down depending on genre preference of the reader. I would add it to my class collection.

From the Publisher:

London, 1888. In the heart of the fog a terrible murder is committed, the word RACHE scrawled in blood on the wall over the body. The police, baffled, turn to the only consulting detective in town for aid--and he, in turn, leads them down that slender scarlet trail to expose a tale of love and revenge which spawns both continents and decades.

'Manga Classics: Sherlock Holmes: A Study In Scarlet' marks the debut of the eccentric detective Sherlock Holmes and his constant companion Dr. John Watson a legendary duo whose adventure have thrilled readers ever since. Manga Classics is proud to present a full-color manga version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's debut novel, in which their timeless partnership first begins!

My Thoughts:

If you like Manga Classic styling, like I do, then this manga is quite appealing and beautiful. Sherlock has the classic brooding, androgynous yet strong features. He also has the disruptive swagger of the Sherlock Holmes played by Robert Downey Junior. If you also like a little bit of dark mystery like the classic book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this will be a fun read. The length, one volume is just right for those who prefer the manga style to reading the orignial books. 

What makes this a great volume 1 is that this is the first time we are seeing Holmes and Watson meet. It is nice to see why the long suffering Watson would stick with Holmes and I enjoyed seeing the relationship build.

Finally, at 210 pages, it is both just enough as well as not enough, which is what all manga series want to achieve with readers. Unfortunately, the Manga Classic volume 2: A Scandal in Bohemia and Other Stories will not come out until the summer of 2025, half a year. Still, they are buy worthy, so art takes time. 

Publication Information:

Original author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Manga author: Crystal Chan

Artist: Julian Choy

Publisher: Manga Classic (January 21, 2025)

ISBN-13: 978-1947808324

Pages: 200

Grade level: 7-9

Monsters Born and Made

 

My Thoughts:

Although this novel has a lot of potential to be very exciting, culturally relevant and a good non-white fantasy book, I was very disappointed at the end. I kept re-reading the end thinking that I must have read too fast and missed something crucial, but that did not help. Reading other reviews, I realize that I am not the only one that plowed through and left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

I have a copy of the book if anyone wants it. Despite what seems to be a bad review, I think there is potential. The creation of the beast, in this case, the maristags, is very similar to Beast Player. The question, like Beast Player, is about humane treatment of animals. In both novels, the humans seem more beastly in actions towards each other than the beasts. That is what makes this intriguing. I still recommend this as a non-white fantasy. Perhaps start with Beast Player first.

From the Publisher:

Sixteen-year-old Koral and her older brother Emrik risk their lives each day to capture the monstrous maristags that live in the black seas around their island. They have to, or else their family will starve.

In an oceanic world swarming with vicious beasts, the Landers―the ruling elite, have indentured Koral's family to provide the maristags for the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament reserved for the upper class. The winning contender receives gold and glory. The others―if they're lucky―survive.

When the last maristag of the year escapes and Koral has no new maristag to sell, her family's financial situation takes a turn for the worse and they can't afford medicine for her chronically ill little sister. Koral's only choice is to do what no one in the world has ever dared: cheat her way into the Glory Race.

But every step of the way is unpredictable as Koral races against competitors―including her ex-boyfriend―who have trained for this their whole lives and who have no intention of letting a low-caste girl steal their glory. As a rebellion rises and rogues attack Koral to try and force her to drop out, she must choose―her life or her sister's―before the whole island burns.

Publication Information:

Author: Tanvi Berwah

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (August 1, 2023)

Paperback: 352 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1728268842

Grade level: 8-12

K-Pop Confidential

 My Thoughts:

If this is your genre - bubblegum fiction, K-drama, K-pop culture, YA romance, easy reading, girl idols. . .then this book is for you. It is saccharine sweet, mean girl mean and it pushes back against the K-pop system. As I was facing deadlines for work, this was a great no think read and exactly what I needed to stop my mind from churning.  The publishers do a very thorough job of describing the story, so I will leave it here. 

This is not a book to buy as a classroom set, but it is definitely a book to have on your classroom shelf, from middle school up. The cover and the title will bring the girls in, so put it in a prominent shelf or give it some space during AAPI awareness month.  Ladders: XOXO and ASAP by Axie Oh, and Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho. 

From the Publisher:

In this romantic coming-of-age novel about chasing big dreams, a Korean-American girl travels to Seoul in hopes of debuting in a girl group at the same K-pop company behind the most popular boy band on the planet. Perfect for fans of Mary H. K. Choi and Jenny Han.

Candace Park knows a lot about playing a role. For most of her life, she's been playing the role of the quiet Korean girl who takes all AP classes and plays a classical instrument, keeping her dreams of stardom-and her obsession with SLK, K-pop's top boyband-to herself. She doesn't see how a regular girl like her could possibly become one of those K-pop goddesses she sees on YouTube. Even though she can sing. Like, really sing.So when Candace secretly enters a global audition held by SLK's music label, the last thing she expects is to actually get a coveted spot in their trainee program. And convincing her strict parents to let her to go is all but impossible ... although it's nothing compared to what comes next. Under the strict supervision of her instructors at the label's headquarters in Seoul, Candace must perfect her performance skills to within an inch of her life, learn to speak Korean fluently, and navigate the complex hierarchies of her fellow trainees, all while following the strict rules of the industry. Rule number one? NO DATING, which becomes impossible to follow when she meets a dreamy boy trainee. And in the all-out battle to debut, Candace is in danger of planting herself in the middle of a scandal lighting up the K-pop fandom around the world.If she doesn't have what it takes to become a perfect, hair-flipping K-pop idol, what will that mean for her family, who have sacrificed everything to give her the chance? And is a spot in the most hyped K-pop girl group of all time really worth risking her friendships, her future, and everything she believes in?

Publication information

Author: Stephan Lee

Publisher: Point (September 15, 2020)

ISBN 13: 978-1338639933

Grades 7-9