Until We Meet Again

 

Rating: 3 

My Thoughts:

The publishers ask the essential question below, "can she escape the inherited trauma passed down by her immigrant parents?" And yet I think this family, and Ms. Qian's story has nothing to do with the fact that they are immigrants. Her mother showed signs of mental distress even before they came to Canada, and even when her mother returned. The fact that her father, despite all of the trauma he goes through to help keep the family together, realizes that he needs to move them back to China in order to take care of his wife is really about the manifestation of the vows, "in sickness and in health." This memoir, then, is not just a coming of age book documenting the mental health struggles of both mother and daughter, but this is a love letter to her father who does the best that he can. 

Told in limited color  (basically the colors on the cover are the only colors used) with non traditional paneling, this book reads more like a noir picture book with some abstract metaphors used to set a tone. The graphics move like a camera, wide to extreme close up, to a shift in point of view. It just adds to the confusion of this main character as she tries so hard to make things right, or hide what is wrong. 

The telephone metaphor, the cutting of the string - the metaphors in here are deep and worthy of discussion. 

From the Publisher:

Lily isn't sure where home is anymore. Her family is constantly on the move, resettling

in different towns across Canada and, eventually, in Shanghai, China. Her father plays 

the role of primary caregiver while her mother is absent for long periods of time. 

When she reappears, her strange behavior turns Lily's life upside down. As Lily enters her 

college years, she strives to better understand her family and her place in the world. 

But can she escape the inherited trauma passed down by her immigrant parents?

Publication Information:

Author/artist: Lily Kim Qian

Publisher: First Second (April 21, 2026)

Print length: 224 pages

Kirio Fan Club 1

 

Rating: 3/5 (Teacher's Scale: A solid buy for school libraries or Scholastic fairs; great for capturing "teenage awkwardness")

My Thoughts:

The publisher poses an essential question (EQ) that should probably be stamped on the front of every copy: What would you do if your crush had ear-splitting farts?

That hook alone is a stroke of philosophical genius, providing the exact jolt needed to stand out in a saturated manga market. The art style feels familiar -- classic Kodansha -- which offers a comfortable entry point for readers, but it is the "uhinged" premise that keeps you turning the pages. 

The story follows Aimi and Nami, inseparable friends who are currently "fighting" over their oblivious classmate, Kirio. Their rivalry is intense: at one point, they equate the idea of sharing him to splitting a wet tissue. As for Kirio? He has absolutely no clue he is the center of a romantic arms race.

Just as the girls seem ready to give up, a small gesture--an offered umbrella in the rain--pulls them right back in. To see where the absurdity goes next, you'll have to check out Volume 2. 

From the Publisher:

What would you do if your crush had ear-splitting farts?

Such are the deep, philosophical questions Aimi and Nami, two friends-slash-rivals in romance, ponder as they pull out every unhinged stop to catch the eye of their oblivious classmate Kirio—conducting nightly rituals to entice him into their dreams and listing what they love about him down to the very last organ.

But can their hilarious friendship survive the battle for the heart of this boy who hardly seems to know they exist?

First adapted into a live-action drama and soon to debut as an anime, this rip-roaring romcom will prove once and for all what is fair in love and war—or, if nothing else, what’s fair in love and rock, paper, scissors.

Publication Information:

• Author: Chikyu no Osakana Ponchan (Ponchan, the fish of the world)
• Publisher: Kodansha Comics|Vertical Comics
• Publication Date:  April 28, 2026
• Print length: 164 pages

The Tea Dragon Society

 

Rating: 4 for kawaii illustrations that pushes into YA with a gentle queer feel that is refreshing.

My Thoughts:

On the surface, this is a gentle and whimsical story about slow crafting, animal husbandry, gardening and meeting craftspeople. The illustrations feel like if the Welsh designer Laura Ashley suddenly decided to become a chibi-style manga illustrator. The book is divided into seasons, which seems very British, like going into the Secret Garden. I think it just signifies that this relationship is a long, slow reveal.

The cutest part of this is that the tea dragons grow tea leaves on their horns and it is part of their magical gift. Each dragon is named after a familiar tea like Jasmine and Roiboos. It feels like the tea comes from love, patience and the tight relationship between the little dragons and their life partners/caretakers. 

Reading this on a day when there is a cold  front of rain and thunder in Hawaiʻi just means that I am making a large pot of hojicha as I read this book. 

I think this would work for elementary, but I also think that this uses the fantastical elements to also normalize LGBTQIA+ characters so although this looks like an elementary book, I would also put it in a middle school classroom. Someone that needs to find it for the tea element, for the fantasy element, for the ability to honor what comes with slow growth and patience element will come across this and love it. 

From the Publisher:

From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY, the beloved and charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

• Winner of the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids
• Winner of the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Webcomic
• ALA Rainbow List (2018)
• 2018 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids Comics Winner
• Amazon.com's Best Comics & Graphic Novels (2017)
• School Library Journal's Top 10 Graphic Novels (2017)

Publication Information:

Author/Ilustrator: K. OʻNeill
Publisher: Oni Press (October 31, 2017); Random House Graphic (June 2, 2026)**

Print length: 72 pages

Grade level suggestion: 2-8

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Random House Children's Books, which by practice means that I normally wait until the publication date is a month out before I publish, however this is a republished book so I am publishing this post immediately. After all, this is a 2017 and 2018 book winner, including several Eisner Award wins in 2018. Congratulations to the author/illustrator.

Kingdom, Volume 1

 Rating: 3 action, adventure, orphan to hero

My Thoughts:

This is an English translation of a manga. It has also been an anime series and the story comes originally from a Chinese historical text. All of that does not matter. It is an adventure story of two orphans, Piao and Xin who train themselves as warriors by practicing in the fields after they are done with their chores. When a high ranking general seems they fighting in the field, the boys explain that they have sparred over 1,000 times and their win/loss record is very close. The general takes Piao to the court and Xin is left in the country to train on his own. The next time Xin sees Piao, there has been a coup and Piao, before he dies, sends Xin to a small shack in a dangerous town. 

The story gives us just enough to rush to get the 2nd volume before more assassins come looking for Xin and his new companion. The graphics are exciting. The drawings of the court officials are grossly exaggerated which makes this even more appealing. 

From the Publisher:

Xin is a war orphan in a poor village in the kingdom of Qin. He has big dreams of becoming a great general, and when his best friend’s life is cut short by political machinations, Xin sets off to find a deposed ruler and help restore his place on the throne, while working his way up through the ranks of the Qin kingdom’s army to do what no one has ever done before—unify China.

Xin’s journey begins when his friend Piao, another war orphan who imparts to Xin the same dream of becoming the Greatest Generals Under the Heavens, is offered a position in court in the capital. He leaves Xin behind to train on his own, and to meet him there one day. One fateful night, Piao returns bloodied and on the brink of death, with his dying words being for Xin to go meet a boy who turns out to look exactly like Piao. But this is no ordinary boy—it’s the king of Qin, Ying Zheng! And assassins are hot on his tail!

Publication Information:

Author                    Yasuhisa Hara

Publisher                Viz Media LLC (November 11, 2025)

Print length            224 pages

Elatsoe

 

Rating: 4 add this to your classroom library of Native American stories by Native American authors.

My Thoughts:

November is Native American Heritage Month, so start early to find or add books to your classroom for next fall. In 2015, data from the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) indicated that there were about 20 books written or illustrated by American Indians. In 2018, Indigenous creators made up about 1.4% of all YA authors. In 2023, it rose to 2.4%. In 2024, CCBC counted 102 books by Indigenous authors/creators, aggregated between Canadian First Nation authors/illustrators and Native American authors/illustrators. When the numbers are so small, it is good to read both, but this author, Dr. Darcie Little Badger is a Native American, Lipan Apache writer with her PhD in oceanography.  Ellie's foray into the underworld ancestral sea was a fascinating way for Ellie to really get to know her ancestral gift and the ways that this knowledge might help her later on in the book. 

The fact that Dr. Little Badger is American is significant for middle and secondary teachers looking to diversify their 'literature closets' by replacing of supplementing copies of  Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. I have been in enough public and private school classrooms in Hawai'i to know that there are still class sets of Island in literature closets.  Books like this and other #ownvoices literature by Native authors might replace or supplement Island. Bringing in something like Elatsoe could balance out, or avoid reinforcing the stereotypes, tropes and historical inaccuracy found in O'Dell's work. If you want to read more about the analysis and critique of Island -- in case you need to answer to school boards, administrators, parents, other stakeholders --  get your fuel from the article "A critical look at O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Dr. Debbie Reese, a Nambé Pueblo scholar and founder of the blog site American Indians In Children's Literature. 

As far as the story, I found a video of the author that does a much better job in selling this book. The only other two things I want to say are that:

1.  This is book one of a duology.
2. I wish I had the power to be protected by my own ghost dog. 

My childhood dog was a goofy doberman/German shepherd mutt named Squirt who was clumsy and hilarious, but also loyal and kind. 

From the Publisher:

Elatsoe―Ellie for short―lives in an alternate contemporary America shaped by the ancestral magics and knowledge of its Indigenous and immigrant groups. She can raise the spirits of dead animals―most importantly, her ghost dog Kirby. When her beloved cousin dies, all signs point to a car crash, but his ghost tells her otherwise: He was murdered.

Who killed him and how did he die? With the help of her family, her best friend Jay, and the memory great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, Elatsoe, must track down the killer and unravel the mystery of this creepy town and its dark past. But will the nefarious townsfolk and a mysterious Doctor stop her before she gets started?

The breathtaking debut novel from Darcie Little Badger features an asexual, Apache teen protagonist―and combines mystery, horror, noir, ancestral knowledge, haunting illustrations, and fantasy elements, in one of the most-talked-about books in years.

Publication Information:

Author                 Darcie Little Badger

Illustrator           Rovina Cai

Publisher            Levine Querido (August 25, 2020)

Print length        368 pages

Grade level         7-12

Ladders and Bridges:

Key First Nation (Canadian) YA Authors:

• Wab Kinew: Walking in Two Worlds
• Cherie Dimaline: The Marrow Thieves, Funeral Songs for Dying Girls
• This Place: 150 Years Retold is a collective of First Nation authors/illustrators who explore the past and future through a native perspective in graphic form. 
• Jen Ferguson: The Summer of Bitter and Sweet

Key American Native YA Authors:

• Cynthia Leitich Smith: Hearts Unbroken founder of the Heartdrum imprint, editor of the fabulous anthology Legendary Frybread Drive-In (includes authors on this list)
• Darcie Little Badger: Sheine Lende (book 2), Snake Falls to Earth 
• Angeline Boulley: Firekeeper's Daughter, Warrior Girl Unearthed
• Byron Graves: Rez Ball
• Andrea L. Rogers: Man Made Monsters (Elatsoe for older readers who are ready for "the horror")

The Singular Life of Aria Patel

 

Rating: 4.5 because the author, Samira Ahmed is a former English teacher and a writer who represents many of the identities that vocal Americans hate (female, person of color, daughter of immigrants). Her writing is full of radical love and culture. 

My Thoughts:

I like authors who are not afraid to be unapologetically human. If you like that too, watch the Virtual School Visit with authors Alex London and Samira Ahmed.

But back to this book. Think The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. Take the swoony romance, science-y, nerdy girl best parts of that book. Add it to the speculative fiction meets science fiction part of If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang, then add the physics/poetry/falling through multiverses of time/space/place and you have The Singular Life, which in and of itself is an ironic title as you will soon see. 
This is a unique book in a YA market that, at its most comforting, is predictable. Be prepared to wander and wonder. As an adult reader and a sci fi reader for most of my 50 years, I knew who wrote the poem. What I did not know was how or even if she should go back to her original life. The key was a surprise. I am going to leave it at that. 

From the Publisher:

Aria Patel likes stability, certainty, predictability. It’s why she’s so into science. It's why she dumped her boyfriend before they went to different colleges because the odds were that something would go wrong, eventually. In a life that’s already so chaotic, why obsess over complicated relationships and shadowy unknowns when the scientific method gives you direction and a straight path to avoid all the drama.  
But there’s no avoiding anything when Aria finds herself suddenly falling through parallel universes and there’s no formula that can save her. She can’t explain why she’s been waking up in a new reality almost every day, or why Rohan, and a poem from her English class, seem to be following her through every new life.
As Aria desperately attempts to find a way home, she eventually ends up stuck in a parallel world very similar to her own. She cherishes this new version of her family, and she finds herself unable to deny the yearning she has for Rohan…but it’s not her life or her Rohan. It belongs to another Aria, another girl, and unless Aria can get back home, she’ll have taken this happiness away from someone else forever. And she may never find her own. 

This whirlwind novel from New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed will whisk you through worlds unknown, all while putting a multiverse spin on one of BookTok’s favorite tropes: second chance romance.

Publication Information:

Author: Samira Ahmed
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (May 13, 2025)
Page length: 368 pages
Grade level: 7 and up

Sheeta's Little Big World 1

 

Rating: 3 for cuteness and nostalgia

My Thoughts: 

In the 1950s and 60s, there was a children's book series called The Borrowers about a family of tiny people who secretly live in the walls and floors of an English house and "borrow" from the big people in order to survive. The book was by Mary Norton and it included some little drawings in the book. That book series became a movie in the 1997 with John Goodman as the big father and owner of the house. I still liked the book better than the movie, but I think that was the trend in the kinds of movies made for kids at that time.

But this book in tone reminds me more of the Ghibli animated film The Secret World of Arrietty (2010). I believe this is Japan's homage to the original Borrowers books because the family is the Clock family, which is the family from the original series. Arrietty is the young teen daughter of the Clock family, and like Sheeta and Nala in this book, they are a bit adventurous and reckless for their own good. 

In this first book in the series, Sheeta and Nala are wandering beyond their tree and quickly get into trouble, but the two boys have set up traps to help them. Unlike the Borrowers, the boys live in a forest so most of their run ins are from predators like rats and weasels. They do get separated, and at the end, while looking for Nala with another little person looking for Sheeta's father, there are large footprints in the mud, so that is for another story. 

Nothing gets settled or found except other groups of little people and lots of problems to conquer so this will keep children entertained. 

From the Publisher:

A charming new adventure manga for readers young and old! The very little Sheeta lives in a town inside a hollowed-out log. His neighbors are friendly, supportive, and above all, careful. But soon, Sheeta's longing to explore is going to bring him face to face with dangers he never imagined…

Taking inspiration from The Borrowers, Studio Ghibli, and children's classics like Treasure Island, Sheeta's Little Big World is a beautifully-illustrated, three-volume story perfect to read alone or with your own little companion.

Sheeta and Nala live happily inside a hollowed-out log with their fellow "littlefolk," who stand no taller than a blade of grass. When Nala runs off one day to investigate a mysterious smoke signal, Sheeta must summon all his courage and wits as he sets off in pursuit. Rats, ants, weasels, giants... The wide world is full of dangers, but the plucky Sheeta will stop at nothing to find his friend.

Publication Information:

Author, illustrator: Yuki Kamba

Publisher: Kodansha Comics (September 22, 2025)

Print length: 192 pages

Songs for Ghosts: A. Novel

 

Rating: 4 because it is complex and difficult to label

My Thoughts:

This was a complex story because I could not find the right label or genre for this. What was it? How do I describe it? Sometimes it is just a mystery. But it is also a ghost story. It is a family story, but like any good mystery, I am not sure how things connect, and when connections revealed itself in the story, I was just as surprised as the character. So it is also about not just one, but two unreliable narrators. It is about loss, tragedy, young love, mature love, mother's love, child's love, betrayal. It is a "play within a play" of sorts. It is about ghosts amongst us. It is about music. It is about being lost in translation. It is about queer love as well as mixed race love. It is about forbidden love. It is about two cultures. It is about being hapa and in multiple worlds and cultures at once, much like the author. Young readers can glom onto any of the different labels based on what they need from this novel. 

Perhaps in the end, for me, this is a story about remembering. I think I will go to the graveyard this weekend to visit some ancestors.

From the Publisher:

When Adam discovers a diary in his attic, he is enthralled by its account of a young woman's life in Nagasaki. A hundred years separate them, yet like Adam, she is caught between cultures, relationships, and heartbreak.

She also writes of the ghosts that have begun to seek her out, which Adam dismisses as fantasy—until he begins to be haunted by her terrifying spirit. Unravelling the mystery of her identity—and the wrong done to her—seems to be the only way to save himself.

This leads Adam to a home stay in Nagasaki, where he begins to reconnect to his heritage not only through Japanese language and culture, but also by connecting with long-lost family members. And then begins a race against time as Adam and his new crush, Jo, attempt to untangle a story that has rippled through generations . .

Publication Information:

Author: Clara Kumagai

Publisher: Amulet Books (August 12, 2025)

Print length: 400 pages

Centuria, Volume 1

 

Rating: 3 for the balance between death and love, tragedy and hope

My Thoughts:

Julian is a teenager who sneaks onto a slave ship as a stowaway to get away from his cruel master. His own mother sold him into slavery for a few coins, so he also has a sole survivor instinct that tells him that no one will protect him but himself. But when he is caught on the slave ship and the captain threatens to kill him, a pregnant slave, Mira, offers to share her food with him. For the first time, through his relationship with Mira who mothers him, Julian understands that it is not natural human behavior to sell your children off.

Tragedy happens on the ship. An ancient monster from the deep asks for a sacrifice in exchange for supernatural power. In the end, Julian is left to get to land and take care of Miraʻs baby. As this is a series, more will happen, but what Julian is learning about is the ability to nurture and love Diana, the baby. Along the way, he also learns about the power of a mother's love, as other women take him (and the baby) under wing. In return, he is growing to be someone who has the capacity to contribute and nurture, despite the horrors that happen to him.

From the Publisher:

Sold into slavery by his own mother, Julian has known nothing but pain and brutality. All that changes when, aboard a slave ship, he experiences the kindness and tender touch of a loving person for the first time. But fate has plans for Julian in the bloody awakening of an ancient god who strikes a cruel bargain: an innocent life in exchange for extraordinary powers—abilities he must use to protect a helpless baby in a cruel and violent world!

Caught as a stowaway aboard a slave ship, Julian narrowly escapes death by the kindness of fellow slaves who take pity on him, especially a pregnant slave by the name of Mira. But when the slaver decides to liquidate his holdings, the bloodbath calls forth an ancient god from the sea. A deal is made at the cost of a life and Julian is forever changed, gaining fantastic powers. But even with his new abilities, monsters at sea and on land pose a threat in this dark and dangerous world!

Publication Information:

Author: Tohru Kuramori

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC (February 17, 2026)

Length: 200 pages

Ghost Boys: Graphic Novel adaptation

 

Rating: 4 for reaching readers in a multimodal world

My Thoughts: 

This story, by Jewell Parker Rhodes navigates a healing journey to police brutality and young, black bodies being gunned down in the streets. The opening scene is Jerome, face down on the road, blood coming out, dead, alone, just a police officer standing over him and his toy gun. 

Jerome speaks to us as a ghost, and he is witness to his family’s suffering and anger. He is also visited by a ghost boy (Emmet Till) and eventually other young ghost boys who were similarly killed. Emmett helps Jerome make sense of the racism and white fear that continues to see young black boys as dangerous and feared.

In addition, the daughter of the officer that shot Jerome (still living) can also see Jerome. Through her, the readers see a different perspective of the officer, especially when even his daughter questions his decision making after seeing the video. 

This story, as a graphic novel is immediate and visceral. Words are sparse and important. The graphics bring life to the characters and tell a story that needs to be remembered. We are not thriving as a society and this is a reminder of that fact. 

From the Publisher:

Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that is unleashed on his family and community in the wake of this unjust and brutal killing.

Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey toward recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer who shot him, as she grapples with her father's actions.

Now gorgeously a graphic novel with gripping artwork from Black Panther illustrator Setor Fiadzigbey, Ghost Boys once again deftly explores the historical and sociopolitical layers involved in how children and families face the complexities of today’s world—and how one boy, in particular, comes to understand American Blackness in the aftermath of his own death.

Publication Information:

Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes

Illustrator: Setor Fiadzigbey

Publisher: Little, Brown, Ink (December 2, 2025)

Print length: 264 pages

Mushishi Collector's Edition Volume 1

 

Rating: 4 for Studio Ghibli level creativity and atmospheric wonder

My Thoughts:

This collection of stories/manga is so novel to the kinds of stories that I know that it is difficult to really explain what this is about. Although I did not know this before hand, I found that this is a collector's item piece because of the limited publication exposure the original series  has gotten outside of Japan. 

Basically, these are short stories as the main character, Ginko, a mushishi, or mushi expert, travels around the countryside to track down unusual, strange happenings and behaviors. Most times these happenings, even in the way that people change are tracked down to the influence of mushi, these small nature spirits with sprite like beings who can be harmless, but also vicious and naughty at the same time. 

The artwork is beautiful in the best manga style and although I got this as a ebook from NetGalley, this is one that I am going to order as a hardcover just to hold on to it. 

I describe this as Studio Ghibli level creativity mainly because there is a good balance of mystery, innocence and spookiness. Also the mushi remind me of those living dust bunnies in My Neighbor Totoro. 

From the Publisher:

Though invisible to most, tiny creatures known as mushi lurk beneath the surface of everyday reality. They exert a strange and occasionally terrifying influence on people's lives, and only experts known as mushishi carry the knowledge of how to deal with them. A mushishi named Ginko wanders the Japanese countryside, following rumors of various unusual occurences: a young man who dreams the future; a child with horns growing from his forehead; a boy with the power to write creatures into being; and more...

Publication Information:

Author/artist: Yuki Urushibara

Publisher: Kodansha (November 4, 2025)

Print length: 464 pages

The Reckoning of Roku, Book 5

Rating: 3, more if you are fans of Avatar the Last Airbender series

My Thoughts:

My Goodreads reading summary of 2025 showed me that I started the year off with Randy Ribay's Everything We Never Had, so I wanted to start with another Randy Ribay book. I can't imagine that he is still teaching based on the kinds of projects he is doing, both original work like Patron Saints and Everything as well as being a team writer for a series like this. 

I think what he brings to this series is the angsty complex "hero" voice of Roku. I have seen that same voice in Patron and as a writer he is good at showing that complexity of character. I miss the playful Aang, but I think I love Aang because he reminds me of the Japanese comic series of the monk boy Ikkyū-san. 

This is a different kind of story in a good way mostly because Roku is fairly new at this Avatar role, but he is trying (sort of). He also has a cast of characters, like his best friend Prince Sozin, as well as his airbending master who refuses to teach him any airbending because he cannot figure out how to "let go." 

I actually listened to the audiobook since I gave back my iPad which I use as a Kindle for my ebooks, so I have the information on the ebook too. The ebook narrator, Nancy Wu, is easy to listen to. That is a good thing because this is a long listen.

 This is book 1 of 2026. #2026.1

From the Publisher:

Roku never expected to be the Avatar. Even his best friend, Crown Prince Sozin of the Fire Nation, doubts the accuracy of the Fire Sages’ announcement. After all, Sozin is the strongest Firebender of their generation, while Roku struggles to grasp basic airbending principles—even after months of training under Sister Disha, his airbending master.

 
When Sozin requests the new Avatar’s aid in preventing the Earth Kingdom from claiming a remote Fire Nation island, it doesn’t surprise Roku that Sister Disha advises him to decline. Convinced the Earth King’s aggressive expansion of territory points to a more insidious agenda, Roku steals away with the help of an irritating young Airbender named Gyatso. As the reluctant companions delve deeper into their wayward mission, they realize the fog-shrouded island harbors a secret that could lead to catastrophe in the wrong hands.
 

Plagued by self-doubt but eager to confront the dangers ahead, Avatar Roku must learn where to place his trust and what it means to be a spirit of no nation . . . even if the lesson comes at a great personal cost.that makes this series entertaining. 

Publication Information:

Author: Randy Ribay

Publisher for print book: Amulet Books (July 23, 2024)

Print length: 368 pages

Audiobook narrator: Nancy Wu

Publisher audio: Blackstone Publishing

Listening length: 11 hours, 27 minutes

Source: Hawaiʻi Public Library, Libby app

 

Felix Ever After

 

Rating: 3 for learning more about trans complexity

My Thoughts:

In simple terms, this is a love story. 

In more complex terms, this is about the dangers of labeling. Although as a society we now have many more terms (LGBTQIA+++), there is a danger in even labeling because it forces people to choose even if the full of a label like transfemale does not quite fit. It pigeonholes people.

I have stopped using the term BIPOC author or AAPI author (even if I used it here before). Mostly because even saying an author of color not just (black, indigenous people of color OR asian american pacific islander) creates a white and north american normative.

In Hawaiʻi most locals refer to the states in North America as the "mainland." I call Hawaiʻi my mainland = main land. Instead, I refer to the states in North America as the continent. So my youngest son lives in Portland, or he lives on the continent, not the mainland.

All of these are just labels that are meant to remind us brownies of who is in charge or what is "normal." The book Felix Ever After taught me that even within the transgender realm, there are nuances and labels and that all are acceptable ways of identifying oneself. I just want to point out that in the Hawaiian language, there is a gender less pronoun, ʻoia, that can be used to push back against this need to label ourselves with our pronouns. It is so unnecessary and this book talks about that same thing which is the harm of having to choose and label oneself. 

From the Publisher:

Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle....

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

Publication Information:

Author: Kacen Callender

Publisher: HarperCollins (May 5, 2020)

Print length: 362 pages

Grade level: 9-12

Source: Hawaiʻi Public Library