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

The Leaving Room

 

Rating: 4 for speculative poetry in verse and trusted author

My Thoughts:

This novel starts as a wondering by the author, or perhaps a hope of the author that when young people, children die, there is an in between place that helps them to transition. The leaving room is such a place. This leaving room is hosted by a Keeper, Gospel. Gospel collects memories in jars and offers the young souls a treat and a hot drink. As a Keeper, the collecting of memories makes her question what are her memories versus what are others' memories. And then a portal opens up and she meets Melodee, another Keeper. In a span of four minutes, their two worlds shift, things fall a part, and rules are broken. This speculative novel is typical for Amber McBride. Readers need to pay attention, most likely re read and try to fall into the world without question. 

From the Publisher:

For fans of You've Reached Sam and If I Stay, a hauntingly beautiful, ultimately hopeful novel-in-verse about a girl in between life and death, by National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.

Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room—a place all young people must phase through when they die. The young are never ready to leave; they need a moment to remember and a Keeper to help their wispy souls along.

When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melodee arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel's seriousness melts and Melodee’s fear of connection fades, but still—are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love. In a novel that takes place over four minutes, National Book Award finalist Amber McBride explores connection, memory, and hope in ways that are unforgettable and poignant.

Publication Information:

Author: Amber McBride
Publisher: Feiwel Friends (October 14, 2025)

Print length: 224 pages

Reading age: 12-18

In Mourning

 

Rating: 3 stars for the ability to be a mirror or a sliding glass door on losing a mother

My Thoughts:

The back cover has a graphic of a phone with the words "call your mother" on it. That is really what this book is a reminder of. It is about being present for each other through the good memories as well as the not as good memories. It is about embracing each person in our life, both chosen and given to us, through  health and illness, scarcity and abundance. 

This is a story of a daughter, and although she is an adult, she is still also a daughter. She loses her mother to cancer and talks about being on a cliff with the dark abyss below her called grief. It is messy and self destructive, but for readers who need this, it will help them to feel less alone. As for me, I think I will call my mother. 

Just a side note: Paula Cheshire sounds like a very white name. I said that for the next 4 years of Trump hell, I am sticking to my mission to read only diverse, non-white authors writing diverse books. So here is a little about Paula Cheshire. This is the pen name for Spanish cartoonist and illustrator Paula Garci Vázquez. International. Not American. 

Finally, from We Need Diverse Books, here is the definition of diversity that I am using to choose my books:

We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA+, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural and religious minorities. 

From the Publisher:

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE DIES?
The fact of the matter is, no one really knows. What is left behind is what we really know: a tornado of emotions and a feeling of deep, complex change: that what was once there now no longer is.

Paula Cheshire tells the story of her complex feelings and her grieving process after the loss of her mother, walking us through the process of her loss. And, while this loss hurts more than anything, the grieving process—being in mourning—leads to one goal: learning to live with this newfound pain and learning to grow from it without letting it take you over.

Publication Information:

Author: Paula Cheshire

Publisher: Maverick (August 26, 2025)

Print length: 136 pages

Funeral Girl: Audiobook

 

My Thoughts:

The premise of this book is intriguing if you were captured by the premise of the television show Pushing Daisies, a comedy-drama show (2007-2009) where a pastry chef with the power to bring dead people back to life solves murder mysteries with his resurrected childhood sweetheart. 

In Funeral Girl, Georgia Richter is able to awaken the spirit of the departed, find out what they want help with, then retouch them so that they go to some unknown place in the afterlife. 

Her parents run the Richter Funeral Home and she and her twin, in high school, help the family run the home, which is how she has access to the dead bodies. When her classmate Miloʻs body comes to the funeral home, he asks her not to send him anywhere, so Milo and Georgia spend the novel on a ethical, moral and spiritual journey to cope with grief, mortality, suffering, betrayal and forgiveness. Georgia learns that everyone is coping the best way they know how, and grief must be faced and felt.  

From the Publisher:

With one touch of any body that passes through Richter Funeral Home, Georgia Richter can awaken the spirit of the departed. With one more touch, she makes the spirit disappear to a fate that remains mysterious to her. To cope with her deep anxiety about death, she does her best to fulfill the final wishes of the deceased whose ghosts she briefly revives. 

Then her classmate Milo's body arrives at Richter—and his spirit wants help with unfinished business, forcing her to reckon with her relationship to grief and mortality.

Publication Information:

Author: Emma K. Ohland

Narrator: Jess Nahikian

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC (September 06, 2022)