Let Me Hear a Rhyme: Audiobook

 

From the Publisher:

Brooklyn, 1998. Biggie Smalls was right: Things done changed. But that doesn’t mean that Quadir and Jarrell are cool letting their best friend Steph’s music lie forgotten under his bed after he’s murdered—not when his rhymes could turn any Bed Stuy corner into a party.

With the help of Steph’s younger sister Jasmine, they come up with a plan to promote Steph’s music under a new rap name: the Architect. Soon, everyone wants a piece of him. When his demo catches the attention of a hotheaded music label rep, the trio must prove Steph’s talent from beyond the grave.

As the pressure of keeping their secret grows, Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine are forced to confront the truth about what happened to Steph. Only, each has something to hide. And with everything riding on Steph’s fame, they need to decide what they stand for or lose all that they’ve worked so hard to hold on to—including each other.

My Thoughts:

This book needs to be listened to. It is written in the rhythm of the streets. It is about a sister's sorrow and the loss of an up and coming rap star. Steph could have been a star and two friends and a little sister use Steph's voice to solve a mystery and go through their grief. Ms. Jackson has an ear for the streets. 

Publication information:

Author: Tiffany D. Jackson

Narrators: Korey Jackson, Nile Bullock, Adenrele Ojo, Adam Lazarre-White

Publisher: Harper Audio (May 21, 2019)

Listening length: 9 hours 21 minutes

Leap Graphic Novel

 

My Thoughts:

Leap by author/illustrator/artoonist Simina Popescu (they/she) of Romania joins other difficult LGBTQIA+ coming of age graphic novels like Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, Sunhead by Alex Assan, and Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao. I would perhaps also include a connection to Skim by Mariko Tamaki here.  Some of these connections are complicated, or rather, my feelings about the graphic novels are complicated. However, I connect these because my feelings toward this graphic novel are also complicated.

Perhaps complicated is the wrong word. I felt so bad/sad/sorry for Ana as she just kept giving and giving to Carina without any real commitment back. As a high school teacher, I have seen this where one partner is not willing to give the other partner the same amount of devotion. It does not matter if the couples are same sex or cis. What matters is that the some partners want to be on the down low for lots of reasons that harm the other partner. As a teacher, it is difficult to watch, but also difficult to stop. It is part of the coming of age process. We can advise, but ultimately, it is the teen or young adult that needs to learn from this and come out stronger in the end (hopefully). That may be inaccurate or even bad advice on my part. Granted, I am not a trained counselor/psychologist. But really, that transactional conflict where the text digs into my own teaching experiences is what makes this a complicated read for me. I could not distance this text from my own students. 

Ultimately, perhaps the best advice I should use is to give the right book at the right time when I am not sure what else I can do. 

From the Publisher:

A coming-of-age graphic novel following two dancers at a conservative performing arts school―exploring friendship, first love, and what it means to fall out of step with your own dreams.

Ana has been studying contemporary dance since she was little, but her heart isn’t in it anymore. Instead her focus is on Carina―a beautiful, ambitious ballerina whose fear of being outed keeps Ana in the closet and their fragile relationship from seeing the light of day. Risking her own career, Ana gives up more and more in order to fit into the shadows of Carina’s life.

Sara, on the other hand, is fielding whispers she may be the best dancer their school has produced in years. Much of that is thanks to her mentor and instructor, Marlena, who plucked Sara from the classical track and encouraged her to blossom as a contemporary dancer. Sara has always been in awe of Marlena, but recently, that admiration has sparked into something more, and Sara’s not sure what to do about it.

As junior year at their performing arts school begins, Ana and Sara are assigned as roommates. What starts off as a tentative friendship soon becomes a much-needed anchor.

Publication Information:

Author/Illustrator: Simina Popescu

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (November 12, 2024)

Paperback: 304 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1250838308

Palestine: Graphic Novel

 

My Thoughts:

Palestine and Israel is a complicated history of walls and war. Perhaps the easiest way to understand what is going on now is to look at what went on before. This is not a current graphic novel, but this is Joe Sacco's graphic novel from the early 1990s when Joe Sacco spent two months in Gaza. I imagine that the images in here are similar to the images in real like. The suffering is the same, just one generation later. 

This will help young adults understand politics, but what they will really understand is the power of images as a tool for reporting history, even if they are drawn images. This is war correspondence at its most powerful. 

The Palestinian plight in these current times are more emotionally wrenching because of this graphic non-fiction. We live in a complex world. Sacco depicts it well even if this is almost 30 years old. 

From the Publisher:

In late 1991 and early 1992, at the time of the first Intifada, Joe Sacco spent two months with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, travelling and taking notes. Upon returning to the United States, he started writing and drawing Palestine, which combines the techniques of eyewitness reportage with the medium of comic-book storytelling to explore this complex, emotionally weighty situation. He captures the heart of the Palestinian experience in image after unforgettable image, with great insight and remarkable humour. The nine-issue comics series won a 1996 American Book Award. It is now published for the first time in one volume, befitting its status as one of the great classics of graphic non-fiction.

Publication Information:

Author/Illustrator: Joe Sacco

Publisher: Jonathan Cape (November 2009)

Paperback: 266 pages

ISBN 13: 978-0224069823

On the Block: Stories of Home

 

My Thoughts:

Written by various YA and middle level writers, these short stories, tied together with the voices and foods and smells of mostly immigrant families will pull readers in, one story at a time. As readers, each story starts with the apartment number and then moves on to another floor, another apartment number, another family, another story. However, at the end, and especially at the potluck, it was so nice to see the families coming together. This was just a joyful book. It is a perfect summer read. It will also work as a chapter a day book for middle level readers. 

The appeal for middle level male and female readers is that the kids "on the block" sound like them. They have similar issues, and similar interests. It is a feel good book on diverse families, diverse cultures and using kindness as the answer to racism and hatred.  In a world full of misunderstanding and fear toward people that are "different," this book shows us compassion and appreciation for the power of difference in making this country a better place. 

This is a 5-star, buy this and use it in your classroom kind of book for upper elementary and middle school readers. 

From the Publisher:

2 Families. 12 Cultures. 1 Building.

Welcome to the Entrada, home to these everyday Americans, including

• the new kid on the block, who is both homesick and curious
• a Popsicle-bridge builder, a ghost hunter, and a lion dancer
• their families, friends, and neighbors from all around the world!

Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this anthology features award-winning authors Tracey Baptiste, David Bowles, Adrianna Cuevas, Sayantani DasGupta, Debbi Michiko Florence, Adam Gidwitz, Erin Entrada Kelly, Minh Lê, Ellen Oh, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Andrea Wang, and Jasmine Warga. These inspiring stories celebrate family, friendship, culture, and American immigrant life today.

Publication Information:

Editor: Ellen Oh

Authors: various (see above)

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers (Oct 22, 2024)

Hardcover: 208 pages

ISBN 13: 978-0593648445

Grade level: 3-7

We Are Not Free

 

My Thoughts:

When I taught American literature in the high school classroom, I was pretty proud of the resources I was able to gather for the book Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. This was an account of the author's time at Manzanar as a young teen, but I was even more interested in the stories of her older siblings in high school. There is a famous picture of a young girl sitting on one of these brown suitcases that are on the cover. This kind of primary documents provided by my social studies counterpart helped me to get my hands on the actual yearbook from Manzanar. However, since this is a personal accounting, as the years went on, the book just did not grab my students. The characters seemed too old fashioned. 

Much later in 2019, Star Trek actor, activist and survivor wrote They Called Us Enemy, a graphic novel accounting of he and his family's internment at one of the Japanese centers.  I really liked that it was a graphic novel. It could sit on the bookshelf with John Lewis' March series on the civil rights movement. The problem, though, was that Takei writes from his child perspective since he was even younger than Wakatsuki Houston. 

Traci Chee finally came out with a high school version of the Japanese American experience. This is much needed and long awaited. I really liked the voices of the different characters. The teens felt both time bound because of their circumstances, but also very contemporary. I liked this story so much that I also borrowed the audiobook from the public library. The audiobook is even better than reading it alone! With a full cast of readers, the story comes alive. The pain is more painful, the humor, more funny, and the fear more palpable. This one deserved to be the National Book Award winner. 

For the classroom teachers, I don't believe in using this as a class novel where each section has an assessment and the reading is as slow as the slowest reader, however, take advantage of the teacher's guide below. Use it to tweak for your own intentions and then definitely check out the online site for the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center or the Japanese American National Museum.

We Are Not Free teacher's guide prepared by Heart Mountain Interpretive Center

From the Publisher:

From New York Times best-selling and acclaimed author Traci Chee comes We Are Not Free, the collective account of a tight-knit group of young Nisei, second-generation Japanese American citizens, whose lives are irrevocably changed by the mass U.S. incarcerations of World War II.

Fourteen teens who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco.

Fourteen teens who form a community and a family, as interconnected as they are conflicted.

Fourteen teens whose lives are turned upside down when over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry are removed from their homes and forced into desolate incarceration camps.

In a world that seems determined to hate them, these young Nisei must rally together as racism and injustice threaten to pull them apart.

Publication Information:

Author: Traci Chee

Publisher: Clarion Books (March 1, 2022)

Paperback: 400 pages

ISBN 13: 978-0358668107

Grade level: 6-9

Pahua and the Dragon's Secret: A Pahua Moua Novel, book 2

 

My Thoughts:

Pahua Moua is back for the second installation of this Hmong modern fantasy tale. When Pahua and  the Soul Stealer concluded, she and shaman-in-training Zhong were able to defeat Xov and place him behind an enchanted prison that straddles different worlds. The problem is that Xov's cage is eroding and Pahua, her mother and little brother are still in danger. 

Although she gets into the Hogwarts-like school for shamans, nothing is ever easy for Pahua. In order to keep everyone safe, this next adventure takes her to the Land of Dragons, accompanied by Miv, her talking cat and Zhong. There is even a ring of power, "my precious" literary cameo from LORTR for older readers. It is one of the reasons why as an adult, I just love YA. 

Pahua must once again face an ethical dilemma in this next story. After all, there are always sacrifices necessary with powerful magic. More importantly for middle school readers, if they like this series, this story leaves the door open for more adventures with Pahua. 

From the Publisher:

A snarky cat spirit, a rivalry between two shamans-in-training, a dangerous dragon encounter, and a stand-off with a thunder god are just a few of the delights and thrills in this sequel to Pahua and the Soul Stealer, winner of the 2022 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature.

Eleven-year-old Hmong girl Pahua Moua recently discovered that she's the reincarnation of Shee Yee, a renowned warrior. With the help of her friends Miv, a talking cat; and Zhong, a shaman-in-training, Pahua defeated Xov, the god of wrath, destruction, and thunder. Now she has to retrieve some metallic dragon scales to reinforce his weakened prison cell.

Pahua, Zhong, and Miv travel to the Land of Dragons, where they come upon the truth stone, an object that reveals the world as it is. The stone will help them locate the second seal that will bind Xov. However, magic is circular, and if Pahua wants to create something as powerful as a cage for a god, she will have to make an equally powerful sacrifice. . . .

Publication Information:

Author: Lori M. Lee

Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents (September 10, 2024)

Hardcover: 432 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1368083416

Grade level: 3-7

Cormac McCarthy's The Road: a Graphic Novel Adaptation

 

My Thoughts:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a dystopian adult novel about a father and his son who are in a post apocalyptic world where they are trying to survive, stay away from hordes of Zombie-like gangs and not die in the process. This novel was so difficult to get through and so disturbing that I talked my husband into reading the book with me. He tried and then refused to finish it. I was disturbed by the struggle. I almost with there were Zombies as they would be less scary than gangs of desperate and starving human beings. For my husband, he could not get over McCarthy's writing style. His big beef was on the author's use of 50 words in a sentence to say something that could be written much simpler with the same effect. It was just too wordy for him and this road was dragging on too long so he abandoned it.  I slogged through because I needed to get to the end of the road, or death, or whatever came first, but I was not having fun slogging through. I also want to say that Cormac McCarthy died last summer (June 2023) at 89, so I am not trying to speak ill of this American author who has garnered multiple writing awards, however, his outlook on America and humanity is dark, dark, dark, so I am not saying anything new. 

What I wanted to focus on is not the tone of his story, but on the issue my husband has, which is McCarthy's prose style which is just difficult to read. He does not write for the common man/woman. He does not have much wit to him. His vocabulary tends to be pedantic. So if you take away the prose and stick with the tone and premise of a father and son trying to get to the coast in a post apocalyptic world, as readers we are faced with a more familiar story of survival and the ability of the young son to keep his humanity while the father tries to protect him from seeing the horrors that will stick in his memory. 

Manu Larcenet does a fabulous job of keeping the feeling of cold, hunger and sorrow within his illustrations. He does not need a lot of words to tell this story. However, the conversations that he does include in the book gives us just enough horror and hope. Job well done! The Road in this adaptation is just as haunting as the original, but I would use this adaptation over the original for a literature group choice if we are looking at dystopia or post apocalyptic pieces caused by climate change, natural disasters, or man made disasters.

Suggestions for Curriculum and Classroom Use:

Thematic Currents:

• Death in a Dying World
• Humanity and Ethics
• Philosophy of Survival
• Parent/Child or Father/Son relationships
• Survival

Activity:

• Literature workshop on dystopia - if you are not sure how to do a literature workshop in a secondary classroom, this blog post is not enough time to go over it. I would need a whole semester of an English methods course to even introduce it, however, Sheridan Blau has a great book called The Literature Workshop by Heinemann Publishers. Check that out and choose something to try. I trust this publisher as they print books by teacher practitioners rather than education scholars who have not set foot in a K-12 classroom in many years. Chapter 2 is about the power of rereading. Although they use a poem, imaging doing a rereading of some key scenes of this graphic novel so that students "read" the illustrations and sparse text to have students go through the process and also record their understanding as they reread

• Other books that can be paired with this graphic novel:
• Life as We Knew It series by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• Hiroshima by John Hersey
• Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakagawa (graphic by an atomic bomb survivor)

Publication Information:

Illustrator: Manu Larcenet

Publisher: Abrams ComicArts (September 17, 2024)

Hardcover: 160 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1419776779

Reading Age: 13 years and up

Taxi Ghost (a Graphic Novel)

 

From the Publisher:

In this hilarious and heartwarming graphic novel, a young girl's first period brings an unexpected gift: the ability to see ghosts! As she meets these spectral visitors, she uncovers her family's secret lineage of mediums, while learning about the power of compassion and community.

Adèle just wants to spend her winter break at the library, cozied up with her favorite books, and completely forgetting abut her friends who are all traveling to warmer climates. Unfortunately, life has other plans...not only does Adèle get her first period...but she learns she comes from a long line of mediums!

And if seeing ghosts wasn't enough of a surprise, Adèle learns that not only can she interact with them, but apparently, they've been using her sister's car to get around the city for years! When the ghosts won't leave her alone Adèle starts to get to know about them and their problems. Maybe helping them out will be just what she needs for an exciting winter break!

From Sophie Escabasse, the author of the beloved Witches of Brooklyn, comes a brilliant graphic novel that explores growing up and the importance of standing up for what you believe in.

My Thoughts:

What a shock when Adèle gets her first period and can suddenly see and talk to ghosts. In addition, once these neighborhood ghosts figure out that she can see, hear and talk to them, she starts getting ghosts stalking her. That seems scary to have a ghost out in the snow outside your New York apartment waiting for you, but for Adèle, once she gets over the freak out, she learns so much about these people that have always been in her neighborhood. 

She soon finds out that this ability to see and talk to ghosts is a gift in her family that seems to skip women, but always comes with the first menses cycle. Her older sister does not have the gift, so she can only join her quest vicariously through seemingly one sided conversations. 

There is so much in here that I cannot talk about, but as I'm reading, those scenes still make me smile. The title has to do with the ghosts in her neighborhood putting a ghost mark on people's car so that when they want to go from one place to another, they know which car is going near their "home." That is how Adèle lets her sister know that she has been a Taxi for neighborhood ghosts. Hilarious.

The other funny scene is when Adèle learns that ghosts have a hard time in the NY snow (unless they are very old), so when she wants to take a ghost somewhere (like her cute library friend), she drags a flattened cardboard behind her and the ghost rides along while others think she is just a girl dragging a cardboard sled behind her. 

This is not a book that I would use in whole class activities, however, this is a great book to have in your classroom library for silent independent reading. It is approachable, but it is also complex with both seriousness (gentrification, social justice) as well as levity and spirituality.

Follow this with:

There really is no story like this, but if you look at this as a kind of coming of age story, I would suggest the following. There is no really good fit, so I am looking more at the age level and the use of both social commentary and humor.

• Turtles in Paradise a Graphic Novel by Jennifer L. Holm. Taking place in Key West, Floriday in 1935, Turtle, the main character, is a spunky and convincing liar who finds adventure as a member of the "Diaper Gang."
• Girl on Fire graphic novel by Alicia Keyes. 14 year old Lolo goes through two disturbing incidents in the neighborhood which triggers her superpower abilities. She tries to keep her powers secret, but the local drug dealer wants to use her as a weapon for his crew.
• Sheets by Brenna Thummler. This one is a little more emotional, but it is lovely. Read the review. I cannot do it justice here.

Publication Information:

Author: Sophie Escabasse

Publisher: Random House Graphics (September 3, 2024)

Paperback: 224 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0593565971

Grade level: 3-7

If You Could See the Sun

My Thoughts:

In an overpopulated cis YA romance field, Liang's YA debut stands out as a genre-bending, speculative fiction that highlights academic rivalry, private school privilege, classism, and a supernatural "gift." At the end of the day, though, this is a love story, even if the main character, Alice Sun does not know that she is in a love story. For her, she is in a tragedy of circumstance and poverty.Except for her favorite teacher, Alice has felt invisible to most of her teachers, her classmates, even the guard at the front of the school that insists on seeing her ID even if she is wearing the school uniform. The only person that "sees" her is her academic rival and irritatingly beautiful, popular and rich Henry Li. So when Alice finds that she has the ability to literally disappear, this may be her solution for paying for her elite education in Beijing. 

This is not a book I would use in curriculum except to have it in my classroom library, however, if teachers are making a book stack for speculative fiction, this would be one to add. Speculative fiction seems to be a fairly new label of genre, so making readres aware of what this is may help to encourage more lifelong readers who are interested in genre fluid stories and both the possibilities and impossibilities of this genre. In the same way that there is a greater acceptance in gender fluidity, I think as a way to decolonize language arts, we should be looking at genre fluid works like this too. In fact we should stop trying to pigeonhole stories into silos any way. I'm talking to the publishers. A good story is a good story is a good story. This was a good story. It may not be a candidate for a class novel or a literature circle (which for this blog are the 5 star books), however, this is still a good story. I enjoyed it and recommend it. In addition, the audiobook is also well done. 

From the Publisher:

Alice Sun has always felt invisible at her elite Beijing international boarding school, where she’s the only scholarship student among China’s most rich and influential teens. But then she starts uncontrollably turning invisible—actually invisible.

When her parents drop the news that they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice hatches a plan to monetize her strange new power—she’ll discover the scandalous secrets her classmates want to know, for a price.

But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it’s worth losing her conscience—or even her life.

Publication Information:

Author: Ann Liang

Publisher: Inkyard Press (November 14, 2023)

Paperback: 320 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1335005984

Grade level: 7-9

• 
  

 

Ariel Crashes a Train

My Thoughts:

This novel in verse puts the reader in the mind of Ariel who suffers from an extreme case of OCD. The first person narration into Ariel's violent thoughts, freaking out about the crocodile, the blood, trying to control reality versus mental instability is a visceral full speed train crash of an experience. I had to stop to breathe, put down the book. The struggle is about mental health, gender, sexuality, religion, family, chaos. But there is also kindness, and loving hope. I have never understood OCD at this level. This is a necessary window, mirror and sliding glass door for teens. No one should have to do this alone. No one. We need to educate ourselves so we can help our students. 

Even if you do not know a student now, this is a must in your classroom library. Period. 

From the Publisher:

Ariel is afraid of her own mind. She already feels like she is too big, too queer, too rough to live up to her parents' exacting expectations, or to fit into what the world expects of a “good girl.” And as violent fantasies she can’t control take over every aspect of her life, she is convinced something much deeper is wrong with her. Ever since her older sister escaped to college, Ariel isn't sure if her careful rituals and practiced distance will be enough to keep those around her safe anymore.

Then a summer job at a carnival brings new friends into Ariel’s fractured world , and she finds herself questioning her desire to keep everyone out—of her head and her heart. But if they knew what she was really thinking, they would run in the other direction—right? Instead, with help and support, Ariel discovers a future where she can be at home in her mind and body, and for the first time learns there’s a name for what she struggles with—Obsessive Compulsive Disorder—and that she’s not broken, and not alone.

Publication Information:

Author: Olivia A. Cole

Publisher: Labyrinth Road (March 12, 2024)

Hardcover: 464 pages

ISBN-13:  978-0593644669

Grade level: 9-12

 

Paper Dragons: The Fight for the Hidden Realm

 

My Thoughts:

Zhi Ging enters the middle level fantasy genre as the next spunky 12-year-old heroine in this Hong Kong inspired undersea adventure. What I was NOT paying attention to is that this is a duology. I admit that I did not pay attention to that, so when Zhi Ging must step up to her save the world moment, the book was done! I was not prepared. In other words, know before you start reading this aloud to your upper elementary child or let the tweens know that the next book does not come out until March 2025. 

The appeal of this book is that it takes a plucky girl who is orphaned and bullied as a talentless "no glow," and gives her a chance to shine in this delightful magic-school genre. The world building, or under sea building is new and a solid contribution that makes me want to go to the local aquarium and study jellyfish.  In other words, think Pippi or Anne of Green Gables, but Asian with Cantonese cultural motifs and magic food spoons. I am most obsessed with the spoons and would like to visit the movie set in the sea near Hong Kong so I can bowl with a stone, choose a spoon and eat whatever appears when I pour hot water in the bowl and crack the spoon on the stone. 

In reality, I don't know if there will be a movie, but if you get to the north island of New Zealand, you can visit Hobbiton in Matamata. The tour takes you through the movie set shire, and it ends at the Green Dragon Inn where you get a complimentary beverage. Pay a little more and you can join others for second breakfast or a dinner feast. The food in Paper Dragons would be worth a visit to Hong Kong. 

From the Publishers:

An outsider in her village above the cloud sea, 12-year-old orphan Yeung Zhi Ging’s only hope of escape is to win the single invitation to train as a Silhouette: an apprentice to the immortals. After her ill-fated attempt to impress the Silhouette scout leads to a dragon attack on the jade mountain, Zhi Ging is sure that her chances, and her life, are over. But the scout spots her potential and offers her protection and a second chance. She’s in.

In her lessons in Hok Woh, the underwater realm of the immortals, Zhi Ging must face the challenging trials set by her teachers to prove that she’s worthy of being a Silhouette—despite her rivals' attempts to sabotage her. But as Zhi Ging’s power grows, so do the rumours of the return of the Fui Gwai, an evil spirit that turns people into grey-eyed thralls.

When the impossible happens and the Fui Gwai attack the Silhouettes, can Zhi Ging use her newly uncovered talents to save her friends and the world beyond? Or will the grey-eyed spirit consume them all?

Publication Information:

Author: Siobhan McDermott

Publisher: Delacorte Press (March 5, 2024)

Hardcover: 384 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0593706114

Grade level: 5-6

Promise Boys

 

From the Publisher:

The prestigious Urban Promise Prep school might look pristine on the outside, but deadly secrets lurk within. When the principal ends up murdered on school premises and the cops come sniffing around, a trio of students―J.B., Ramón, and Trey―emerge as the prime suspects. They had the means, they had the motive . . . and they may have had the murder weapon. But with all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. Or is the true culprit hiding among them?

Find out who killed Principal Moore in Nick Brooks's murder mystery, Promise Boys―The Hate U Give meets One of Us Is Lying.

My Thoughts:

I got this book from NCTE a couple of years ago and I tied to read it several times. It's a mystery, the principal is killed and of course three boys who have their own stories of hardship and pain are accused. But I could not finish this book in the same way that I turned of Ava Duverney's Origin two minutes into it. I am teaching a course at the graduate level on social justice leadership and it is tiring. Doing social justice work is tiring too so I feel bad saying, hey, let's all be social justice leaders. 

This book gave me all the feels as to why even as social justice leaders we need to really check ourselves. That principal needed to die despite his accolades. The savior mentality, break them to make them attitude was just too much and I could not keep from hurting for these boys. I could not see it to the end. 

Publication Information:

Author: Nick Brooks

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (January 31, 2023)

Hardcover: 304 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1250866974

Grade level: 10-12

Mid-Air

 

My Thoughts:

Perfect for middle level readers, this is the story of Isaiah, his inner turmoil of fear, guilt, grief and eventually self forgiveness. "Be like water," Isaiah says. "Always," replies Darius as he takes off on his bike to break the Guinness world record for the wheelie. Isaiah is the lookout person for cars, but there is an unexpected confrontation that ends in Darius' death.  Williams' handling of the heavy themes in this book are also like water. She has a delicate touch with sensitive topics like death of a teenager, grief, racism and gender expression.  The illustrations by Novgorodoff add to the feeling of vulnerability and hopefulness. 

I think struggling middle level readers, especially boys, need to be given more novels in verse like this. It will bring them back to reading. 

From the Publisher:

It’s the last few months of eighth grade, and Isaiah feels lost. He thought his summer was going to be him and his boys Drew and Darius, hanging out, doing wheelies, watching martial arts movies, and breaking tons of Guinness World Records before high school. But now, more and more, Drew seems to be fading from their friendship, and though he won’t admit it, Isaiah knows exactly why. Because Darius is…gone.

A hit and run killed Darius in the midst of a record-breaking long wheelie when Isaiah should have been keeping watch, ready to warn: “CAR!” Now, Drew can barely look at Isaiah. But Isaiah, already quaking with ache and guilt, can’t lose two friends. So, he comes up with a plan to keep Drew and him together­­­—they can spend the summer breaking records, for Darius.

But Drew’s not the same Drew since Darius was killed, and Isaiah being Isaiah isn’t enough for Drew anymore. Not his taste in clothes, his love for rock music, or his aversion to jumping off rooftops. And one day something unspeakable happens to Isaiah that makes him think Drew’s right. If only he could be less sensitive, more tough, less weird, more cool, less him, things would be easier. But how much can Isaiah keep inside until he shatters wide open?

Publication Information:

Author: Alicia D. Williams

Illustrator: Danica Novgorodoff

Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books (April 23, 2024)

Hardcover: 320 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1481465830