American Street

From the Publishers:
American Street is an evocative and powerful coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Everything, Everything; Bone Gap; and All American Boys.

In this stunning debut novel, Pushcart-nominated author Ibi Zoboi draws on her own experience as a young Haitian immigrant, infusing this lyrical exploration of America with magical realism and vodou culture.

On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie—a good life.

But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola’s mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit’s west side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own.

Just as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will she pay the price for the American dream?

My thoughts:

I don't think the description really captures the magic and pain of this book, nor does it fully capture the clash of Fabiola's identity and values with the identity of her aunt and cousins who seem to have been severed from their Haitian identity and float aimlessly, unaware that they are shadows, and not fully formed. This book just ends before I was ready for it to end, but I think that is what makes it so memorable. 

I hope there are more accolades for this writer and this immigrant from Haiti. It is well deserved.

TBR: Fall 2019

I thought I would have more time to read this summer, but between hanging deadlines and grandkids coming over, I probably will not make it to my 100 books read goal for the year. Still fall follows summer, school is about to start at the university, my alumni are in their classrooms teaching and so it is time to dust off the TBR list and just remind myself why the books are in my Kindle in the first place.

1. 

Review: Twelve-year-old Natsu and her family live a quiet farm life in Manchuria, near the border of the Soviet Union. But the life they’ve known begins to unravel when her father is recruited to the Japanese army, and Natsu and her little sister, Cricket, are left orphaned and destitute.

In a desperate move to keep her sister alive, Natsu sells Cricket to a Russian family following the 1945 Soviet occupation. The journey to redemption for Natsu's broken family is rife with struggles, but Natsu is tenacious and will stop at nothing to get her little sister back.

Literary and historically insightful, this is one of the great untold stories of WWII. Much like the Newbery Honor book Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Mariko Nagai's Under the Broken Sky is powerful, poignant, and ultimately hopeful.

Christy Ottaviano Books publishing on Oct 15, 2019

I am excited because this was just a browse find for me. I was caught by the beautiful cover and a historical fiction topic that is new to me. In addition, this is a novel in verse! I think the historical fiction novel in verse books for Children and tweens have been a pwerful writing style for this age group so I am very excited. 

2. 

Kylee is ensconsed in the Sky Castle, training with Mem Uku to master the Hollow Tongue and the Ghost Eagle. But political intrigue abounds and court drama seems to seep through the castle's stones like blood from a broken feather. Meanwhile, Brysen is still in the Six Villages, preparing for an attack by the Kartami. The Villages have become Uztar's first line of defense, and refugees are flooding in from the plains. But their arrival lays bare the villagers' darkest instincts. As Brysen navigates the growing turmoil, he must also grapple with a newfound gift, a burgeoning crush on a mysterious boy, and a shocking betrayal.

The two will meet again on the battlefield, fighting the same war from different sides. But the Ghost Eagle has its own plans.

Publication date: September 3, 2019

This is a follow up to Black Wings Beating and though I still hate this cover, I am eager to read this so thanks to Net Galley for making this available to me.  My sky theme is not purposeful. 

3.  

Folk of Air series one. No there is no sky, but air? Any way, this one is showing up on the TBR YA lists so I don't want to miss the plane. I am actually currently reading this and it pulled me in right away so I understand the hype. Review here (8/20/19)

Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him--and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

4.  

Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism—all through the arc of a transcendent coming-of-age story for fans of Renee Watson's Piecing Me Together and Ibi Zoboi's American Street.

Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor.

Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she’s worked for.

 Christy Ottaviano Books  published January 14, 2020

I think the subtitle is unfortunate but the cover is eye catching. However, what brought me was the homage to Watson's Piecing Me Together and Zoboi's American Street, both of which I enjoyed. Brown has large shoes to fill. 

5. 

Parveen Shams, a college senior in search of a calling, feels pulled between her charismatic and mercurial anthropology professor and the comfortable but predictable Afghan-American community in her Northern California hometown. When she discovers a bestselling book called Mother Afghanistan, a memoir by humanitarian Gideon Crane that has become a bible for American engagement in the country, she is inspired. Galvanized by Crane's experience, Parveen travels to a remote village in the land of her birth to join the work of his charitable foundation. 
When she arrives, however, Crane's maternity clinic, while grandly equipped, is mostly unstaffed. The villagers do not exhibit the gratitude she expected to receive. And Crane's memoir appears to be littered with mistakes, or outright fabrications. As the reasons for Parveen's pilgrimage crumble beneath her, the U.S. military, also drawn by Crane's book, turns up to pave the solde road to the village, bringing the war in their wake. When a fatal ambush occurs, Parveen must decide whether her loyalties lie with the villagers or the soldiers -- and she must determine her own relationship to the truth. 
Amy Waldman, who reported from Afghanistan for the New York Times after 9/11, has created a taut, propulsive novel about power, perspective, and idealism, brushing aside the dust of America's longest-standing war to reveal the complicated truths beneath. A Door in the Earth is the rarest of books, one that helps us understand living history through poignant characters and unforgettable storytelling.

This one is a stretch for me, but it is in my Kindle and it comes out at the end of August, 2019. I do not read many adult books. I think the last one is The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but I am not averse to complexity. I also just heard a podcast with a very similar story. 

Black Girl Unlimited

 

Rating: 3/5 -- this one speaks to fans of Renee Watson Piecing Me Together and Ibi Zoboi's American Street

My Thoughts: 

This coming of age story by Echo Brown puts the protagonist, "Echo" in  a family and a community that is falling apart at the seams, whether it is from drug addiction, violence, sexual exploitation, or all of the above. This is a semi autobiographical novel about the author's own coming of age story as she balances two worlds and finds her magical wizard powers. 

It is a story of black girl magic, and it is also a story of the magic that is in every young woman. This story is about healing and resilience through tapping into unlimited power/magic and releasing the black veil that threatens to choke us out. Don't let the subtitle, "The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard," lull you into thinking that this is a fantasy book. The emotions are raw and biting, but her coming into her own power is worth the read.

From the Publisher: 

Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism―all through the arc of a transcendent coming-of-age story for fans of Renee Watson's Piecing Me Together and Ibi Zoboi's American Street.

Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor.

Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she’s worked for.

Publication Information:

• Author: Echo Brown
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
• Publication Date: January 14, 2020
• Print length: 304 pages
• Grade level: 10-12

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Audiobook)

 

Stars: 5 for the potential to use this in a high school class

From the Publisher:

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.

But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.

Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

My Thoughts:

Julia (Wholeeah) has American parent expectations from her Mexican immigrant parents. Think the mother from Like Water for Chocolate, but with a YA second daughter and in America. Her parents are immigrant parents, with first generation difficulties and struggles. They also have certain expectations that were brought over from their own country. Julia struggles with these non-American expectations because she wants to live like any American teen. She wants to not have everything figured out. She wants her parents to be ok with that, and as long Julia has her older sister Olga continued to be the good Mexican daughter, then Julia was ok. But when Olga gets killed in a pedestrian accident, Julia is full of anger. She finds something in Olga's room, and she just cannot let it go. This is where the text gets a little heavy handed. Julia is irritating in her immaturity, in the same way that I found Laura Jean Song irritating in To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Still, many young readers enjoyed it and I think they will like this one too.

In the classroom:

There are many standards that will fit this book:

• Determine a text's theme or central idea
• Analyze complex characters
• Analyze a case in which another culture is being portrayed
• For literature circles - if you want similar books try:
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

 Publication Information:

Author: Erika L. Sanchez

Narrator: Kyla Garcia

Publisher: Listening Library October 17, 2017

Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

 

My Thoughts:

This journalistic non fiction book, heavily researched and humanized for YA researchers is a piece of American history that has taken 100 years to come to light. Not only is it sad that a community thousands of miles away in another state (Hawai'i) is hearing this American history story for the first time, but based on the silencing of even higher education departments in  Oklahoma, following the 1921 event, this story might have quietly slipped out of the consciousness of Oklahoma residents. 

There is hope that in 2020, some work has been done to unearth mass graves in Tulsa to try and bring closure for families of victims, however it has taken 100 years to even start uncovering truth and trauma. It is now time to acknowledge the massacre in the Greenwood district as well as in the city of Tulsa, but before that happens, the many "why" questions need to be asked in order to combat historic erasure. That work needs to happen before any kind of healing can happen. Colbert's work is one weapon in combatting erasure and forcing legislative advocacy that is necessary to change policy and promote healing, not just for black Americans, but also the original Natives displaced from their homelands and forced into Oklahoma.  If we are beginning to ask questions and do some radical self assessment as a  country, then we need to tell the whole truth, including, like Colbert, going back before the incident in order to continue to ask questions on why the community, and this country made it possible for such an atrocity to happen as well as to bring to the forefront the continued trauma happening now. 

For teachers - this is the kind of resource that we need to have in our classrooms to show the power of research as storytelling. As a model text, this book is a discussion starter, perfect for philosophical questioning and discussion. Add it to your repertoire. 

From the author's note:

Black American history is beautiful and horrific, full of progress and setbacks that have defined the story of the United States since its founding. But no matter how it looks, everyone deserves to know the truth about the past and how it informs the present. - Brandy Colbert

From the Publisher:

A searing new work of nonfiction from award-winning author Brandy Colbert about the history and legacy of one of the most deadly and destructive acts of racial violence in American history: the Tulsa Race Massacre.

In the early morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob marched across the train tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and into its predominantly Black Greenwood District—a thriving, affluent neighborhood known as America's Black Wall Street. They brought with them firearms, gasoline, and explosives.

In a few short hours, they'd razed thirty-five square blocks to the ground, leaving hundreds dead. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass? What exactly happened? And why are the events unknown to so many of us today?

These are the questions that award-winning author Brandy Colbert seeks to answer in this unflinching nonfiction account of the Tulsa Race Massacre. In examining the tension that was brought to a boil by many factors—white resentment of Black economic and political advancement, the resurgence of white supremacist groups, the tone and perspective of the media, and more—a portrait is drawn of an event singular in its devastation, but not in its kind. It is part of a legacy of white violence that can be traced from our country's earliest days through Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement in the mid–twentieth century, and the fight for justice and accountability Black Americans still face today.

The Tulsa Race Massacre has long failed to fit into the story Americans like to tell themselves about the history of their country. This book, ambitious and intimate in turn, explores the ways in which the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre is the story of America—and by showing us who we are, points to a way forward.

(S)Kin: Novel in Verse

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 | Culture, magic, folklore in a fast paced novel in verse

My Thoughts: 

Theme/Plot --

Zoboi handles themes like colonialism, colorism, racism, and identity in a fast-paced raw feat of storytelling. The way a monster keeps track of who hurt her over a month waiting for transition, the implications of calling Daniel "The Collector," the different twists that happen throughout the novel are all part of the magic that seems like less urban fantasy and more about vengeance dreaming come to life on the streets of New York. Maybe this is happening still? I hope so. 

Zoboi, as an author, takes her Haitian background and infuses each work with the magical realism that allows her characters to address contemporary issues in a way where they both win and lose at the same time. Perhaps like Byron Graves' Medicine Wheels, happy endings for marginalized characters contain both loss and gain. There is no story where everyone wins. That is what makes this another powerful piece from Zoboi. 

Recommendations -- 

If your readers like this, send them to some of her other works: American Street, Punching the Air with Yusef Salaam, Okoye to the People: A Black Panther novel and Pride, her update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I think Zoboi's Pride should actually be read or listened to first before reading the original. If they are younger middle, send them to Okoye first. 

Personal Reading Experience -- 

The only issue I had was completely external: I had to return my iPad when my huband retired, so I ended up reading this book entirely on my phone. When reading a novel in verse on a phone screen, the intentional formatting and white space decisions made by the author do not always translate well. I found myself reading lines jammed up on the far right, and some poems were even missing the beginning of words. While it has nothing to do with the book itself or my Kindle library, the formatting glitch was frustrating enough that I skipped a few poems when my eyes got tired.

From the Publisher:

“Our new home with its

thick walls and locked doors

wants me to stay trapped in my skin—

but I am fury and flame.”

Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.

Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.

But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.

Publication Information:

• Author: Ibi Zoboi
• Publisher: Versify
• Publication Date: February 11, 2025
• Print length: 400 pages
• Reading Age: 13 years and up

Pride Audiobook

 

Rating: 4 stars for a good romance to heartbreak and back again journey

My Thoughts:

This is a remix of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice done by Haitian born writer Ibi Zoboi and read former slam poetry champion and award winning author of Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo. 

In the gentrifying neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, there comes a black family with economic privilege, the Darcys, moving into Zuri Benitez's neighborhood. The Darcy brothers are fine specimens of gentility. The two older Benitez sisters are famous in their neighborhood for being both beautiful and smart. As a reader, I know the story. I know there is going to be issues with cultural identity, class, gentrification, first love, misunderstanding, broken hearts. . .this is still Pride and Prejudice. But what I love is that the update stays true to the neighborhood. These kids really could be living across the street from each other and come from two different worlds. This is a more realistic, American version of Pride and Prejudice, still with the romance, but also more familiar in its culture and class clashes. This is a great update that should actually be read first. 

From the Publishers:

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick s changing landscape, or lose it all.

In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, critically acclaimed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.

Publication Information:

Author: Ibi Zoboi

Narrator: Elizabeth Acevedo

Publishers: Harper Collins Publishers (September 18, 2018)

Grade level: 7-9

Vinyl Moon

 

My Thoughts:

Snaps to black girl magic in this multi genre book about Angel, a teen sent to Brooklyn after an incident with her abusive boyfriend. In New York, she lives with a loving, hard working uncle. At her new school, she finds a teacher who guides her to reconnect with herself and reimagine her future through the books in her room as well as through the other girls in Ms. Gʻs H.E.R. advisory (Her Excellence is Resilience & Honoring Everyones Roots). The vignettes and poems are about Angel, her dreams, her awakening, her friends, her music. But it is also a song for Brooklyn in the same way that House on Mango Street is a song about Chicago. 

For English teachers, this is a mentor text for your writers, as well as a book list of what should be in the literary American canon. If as high school English teachers, we have not offered these books to our students, are we preparing them?: 

• James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time, Notes of a Native Son
• Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye, Sula
• Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Ms. Browne, through Angel, brings these writers back into the consciousness of new readers in a format that will make them curious and perhaps pick it up on their own. As an educator and a former AP teacher, I appreciate that. I remember giving my public school students The Bluest Eye for summer reading, then spending the whole summer wondering if I was going to get called in by the principal or an irate parent. I had my intention and justification papers ready, and although I never got questioned, I knew it was a risk. I also enjoyed the little rant Angel has with the librarian about what is classic and should be read and what is not valued. Using this book as a pep talk for English teachers to pay attention to this kind of student who uses reading as a window, a mirror, a sliding glass door, as well as a healing stone is an important reminder as we start to think again about creating our own curriculum and our own resources for these times of upheaval. 

Bring Vinyl Moon into the classroom as a mentor text for writing workshop. Bring it in as a stepping stone for other books. Pair it with House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros or the Oceania vignettes of Girl in the Moon Circle by Sia Figiel. Let black and brown girl magic from the diaspora vibrate through your classroom. Wouldn't that be fabulous? I am already excited to create curriculum.

Finally, when authors bother to write letters in the beginning of the book, I like to read it. I like to hear others talk about their intentionality and their "why," so I also want to honor that.

This is a story about finding your way. This is one of so many of our stories. I hope it brings you closer to sharing your voice. I hope it lights a candle in the cavern where you hide yourself. I hope it feels safe to read these voices and know they are thinking about you being and breathing. Wherever you are.  --Mahogany L. Browne

From the. Publisher:

When Darius told Angel he loved her, she believed him. But five weeks after the incident, Angel finds herself in Brooklyn, far from her family, from him, and from the California life she has known.
 
Angel feels out of sync with her new neighborhood. At school, she can’t shake the feeling everyone knows what happened—and that it was her fault. The only place that makes sense is Ms. G’s class. There, Angel’s classmates share their own stories of pain, joy, and fortitude. And as Angel becomes immersed in her revolutionary literature course, the words from Black writers like Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and Zora NEale Hurston speak to her and begin to heal the wounds of her past.

This stunning novel weaves together prose, poems, and vignettes to tell the story of Angel, a young woman whose past was shaped by domestic violence but whose love of language and music and the gift of community grant her the chance to find herself again.

 

A Pho Love Story

" Two households, both alike in dignity. . ."

That is the beginning of the prologue for Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Luckily, this YA rom com is not a tragedy, but the elements of long-seated family feuding, family secrets and a hidden relationship are in this new novel coming out in February of 2021. 

Two Vietnamese American teens, Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai know that they are not to talk to each other. It was made clear one day at temple when the two young kids happened to connect and start playing. When the parents found out, they were quickly separated, and now in high school, they have not had any classes together and they do not share the same friends.

But what they do have in common is that both teens work for their family pho restaurant across the street from each other. They at first believe that this is perhaps the source of the bitter feud, but when Bao finds Linh distraught in the alley behind her restaurant one night, he cannot turn away. Cue the music - their lives were changed. 

The readers are brought into the mystery along with Bao and Linh who soon realize that the family feud has nothing to do with the restaurant and more to do with something that happened between the two families in Vietnam. 

My thoughts:

Although pho is in the title, it is not the foodie book that I hoped it would be. There were some references to certain dishes that I would have liked more information about. I also would have liked some recipes at the end, but again, this is not that kind of book. 

What I really like is the character of Bao who, before he gets to know Linh, is really kind of rudderless. He is an Asian student who does ok to get by, but does not really have a plan in mind for college and beyond. His parents also do not seem to put a lot of pressure on him to do well. He is ok to just skate by. But once he gets involved with Linh, he seems to find purpose in getting her to see her purpose. He suddenly becomes a community activist of sorts, and at least an advocate for Linh and her potential. 

Linh's situation is very different. She is the second daughter and follows her elder sister who fits into the expected mold of smart, obedient older sister at a good college, pursuing an acceptable degree (that leads to a good job). Linh is different because she wants to do art. Others know she is a great artist but she does not see this as a possibility beyond one of being a hobby. 

Similar books that cover culture, cultural norms, filial piety, cutesy rom com:

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (any of her books)

Natalie Tan's Book of Love and Fortune by Roselle Lim 

Somewhere Only We Know by Maureen Goo 

Warcross

From the Publisher:

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

My Thoughts:

This blog was started because as an English teacher, I was always trying to up the number of books I could booktalk that would appeal to the reluctant (mostly male) reader. I still believe, based on my 26 years in the classroom, that we lose our male adult readers if we do not capture them in middle school. 

I used to see this 20 something Hawaiian kid on the airplane when I was flying a lot for work. He always sat down early and had a paperback novel with him. I was not as bold as to ask him what he was reading, but he always read for the whole 40 minute interisland airplane ride. I look for books that will appeal to the younger him and will create this kind of young man who will continue to read way beyond the school assignment to read.

For those kind of male readers, if you like sci fi, dystopia, the action part (versus the political part) of Hunger Games, online gaming, this book is for you. If you liked the movie Hackers or Ready Player One, this is your next read. Warcross should be a movie, it is that fast paced. 

For me, this book appeals to me because it is headed by a street smart, on her own Asian American, Emika Chen. It is a science fiction novel written by an Asian female author. Although it talks about the ethics of technology, it really is about the chase. If that appeals to you too, this is your next book. 

Finally some Hideo Tanaka-isms.

Everything's science fiction until someone makes it science fact.

Everyone pays lip service to world peace. They use it as a pretty answer to pointless questions. 

Well, That Was Unexpected

 

My Thoughts:

Like We Deserve Monuments, a teenage senior is forced to temporarily leave her friends and home to travel to her mother's home town, in this case, Indonesia. Throughout the book, both girls find that their mother's are holding secrets that will change their relationship. However, that is where the two stories verge away from each other. 

Unlike the drama of Monuments, this is a cute romcom, family meddling, crazy rich Asians style adventure through Indonesia. From the beginning, as readers we know that they are going to get together eventually, so this was really a love story about the place too, from a lot of coffee and street food to beautiful scenery, it really. makes me want to visit Indonesia. I learned so much about it through this book. 

From the Publisher:

A laugh-out-loud YA rom-com about a girl who's whisked from LA to her mother's native Indonesia to get back to her roots and finds herself fake-dating the son of one of the wealthiest families there, from the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties and The Obsession

After Sharlot Citra's mother catches her in a compromising position, she finds herself whisked away from LA to her mother’s native Indonesia. It'll be exactly what they both need. Or so her mother thinks.  

When George Clooney Tanuwijaya's father (who is obsessed with American celebrities) fears he no longer understands how to get through to his son, he decides to take matters into his own hands. 

To ensure that their children find the right kind of romantic partner, Sharlot's mother and George's father do what any "good" parent would do: they strike up a conversation online, pretending to be their children.

When the kids find out about their parents’ actions, they’re horrified. Not even a trip to one of the most romantic places on earth could possibly make Sharlot and George fall for each other. But as the layers peel back and the person they thought they knew from online is revealed, the truth becomes more complicated. As unlikely as it may seem, did their parents manage to find their true match after all?

Publication Information:

Author:  Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publisher: Delacorte Press (Sept. 27, 2022)

Best of 2021

 

2021 was a big read year for me = 100 books. I cannot do that in 2022, but I tried to take the 100 books and really hone down and figure out what my top 7 were.  As I look at the poster, I realize that all of these are BIPOC or AAPI authors writing about BIPOC or AAPI things. Thank you publishing companies for encouraging diverse authors to write diverse books such that they do not become outliers but just great YA stories. In no particular order but bottom row, left to right, then top row, left to right:

• Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusuf Salaam of the Exonerated Five- novel in verse about a wrongfully incarcerated black boy. 
• (Me) Moth by Amber McBride novel in verse, OMG (period).
• Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Bouley, Indigenous mystery, science girl power
• Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay Filipino. "It's a sad thing when you map the borders of a friendship and find it's a narrow country than you expected."
• Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo - YES, I see the pattern. I am not stupid. But I am a poet in love with words and these novels in verse this year. I can't help it. One of two love letters to Sandra Cisneros and House on Mango Street
• When We Make It by Elisabet Velasquez novel in verse and the other love letter to Cisneros. This can be a ride along
• Crying in H Mart: a Memoir by Michelle Zauner Every big year needs a great adult memoir. This is it. I gave this one to my mom, who gave it to my sister and we pass it on. Pass it on. Pass it on.

Other noteworthy books that did not make it on the grid of 7 poster:

Middle grades top 3:

• Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac, novel in verse about a young girl taking care of her grandparents on the Wabanaki reservation. . .and a spiritual dog, of course.
• Pahua and the Soul Stealer by Lori M. Lee. This is a Rick Riordan presents book with Hmong mythology
• The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim another Rick Riordan presents. These have been so well written, and I don't think they are getting enough air play. The most memorable literature from teaching 6th grade was my mythology unit. This one is Korean mythology. 

Adult books:

• There There by Tommy Orange. This is not a new book. But it is a national bestseller for good reason. It is a novel of 12 characters from Native communities who are all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow in California.
• The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: a novel - brilliant storytelling of an African American family similar to Joy Luck Club in scope and time (and secrets)