Tag Archive | brothers

H is spooky HARVEST HOUSE, a stalker nearby, and young Native women in danger! by Cynthia Leitich Smith (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr9
Book cover of Harvest House, by Cynthia Leitich Smith; shows a native teen boy walking away from a haunted house, surrounded by crows; upside down image of dark-haired young woman walking through dead trees with flying crows.

She was killed at the crossroads.
He still stalks young Native women,
so her spirit lingers there and attacks!

School budget cuts mean no fall play, and Hughie is bereft. Guess the indigenous teen will have time to volunteer at the haunted house fundraiser with new pal Sam after all.

Ick – the Harvest House organizer makes the legend of a Native girl killed at the Kansas crossroads into a racist trope and asks Hughie (Muscogee) and Sam (Hispanic) to dress up as murderous savages.

Sam’s sister works at the crossroads’ Grub Pub, is stalked by a guy one night, and then saved by the intervention of …a wolf!

Hughie helps student reporter Cricket connect with local elders and area history as the teens begin researching the mystery of the crossroads.

Progress on Harvest House maze (no Indian burial ground, please), seeking info on past encounters with the crossroads stalker, trying to ask Marie on a real date – Hughie’s life is suddenly complicated and not just a little dangerous.

Why do so many weird things happen at this particular crossroads?
Will Hughie’s spring play script with non-White characters be accepted?
Will the crossroads ever be safe for young dark-haired women?

Each chapter counts down the days until Halloween, interspersed with mysterious asides from Celeste who commands animals and birds to protect young women alone at night at the crossroads.

Find the story of Hughie’s big sister Louise during their family’s first year in Kansas in Hearts Unbroken, recommended at https://booksyalove.com/?p=10216.

Do you know a local legend that’s grounded in facts?
**kmm

Book info: Harvest House / Cynthia Leitich Smith. Candlewick Press, 2023 (paperback 2024). [author site https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/ya-books/ya_index/] [publisher site https://www.candlewick.com/9781536218602/harvest-house/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

F is for fashion, friendship & faith ANY WAY YOU LOOK, by Maleeha Siddiqui (MG fiction) #A2Z

Apr7
book cover of Any Way You Look, by Maleeha Siddiqui; shows 3 tween girls at a clothing store counter, 1 wearing hijab with skirt & leggings, 1 with modest top & leggings, 1 wearing hijab with trendy slacks.

Summer means time for fun,
time with her friends,
time to work in her mom’s custom clothing shop at last!

Aspiring designer Ainy is eager to build up her portfolio of modest fashions and give her Amma more time to make the stylish saris, dresses, and salwar kameez so popular with the Southeastern Asian women in their Virginia suburb.

Her grandmother’s cancer took dad back to Pakistan for a time, so the new shop must succeed!

So busy now! Friend time with Safiya goes down, and stress about their biggest client’s son Yasir harassing her goes up. Maybe if Ainy starts wearing the hijab now, instead of on the first day of 7th grade, he’ll stop noticing her.

Amma says Ainy can design the bridesmaids’ dresses for Yasir’s sister – will she finish in time?
Is her crush on Izyann immodest for a good Muslim girl, even when boys and girls don’t hang out?
Big sister Bajjo suddenly stops wearing the hijab – why?

Dressmaking deadlines, financial worries, wondering if she’s choosing to wear the hijab for the right reasons…
Any way you look, this will be a different summer than Ainy expected!

By the author of Barakah Beats, recommended here at https://booksyalove.com/?p=12568.

When have you had to decide to follow your friends’ lead or not?
**kmm

Book info: Any Way You Look / Maleeha Siddiqui. Scholastic Press, 2024. [author site https://www.maleehasiddiqui.com/books-1] [publisher site https://tradecatalog.scholastic.com/tradecatalog/any-way-you-look-9781339010267.html#key-details] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

In TENMILE mining town, what future does she have? by Sandra Dallas (MG book review)

May9
Back of young girl with long hair, looking at old western town at base of mountains - book cover of Tenmile, by Sandra Dallas

Beautiful mountains above,
gold in the ground below,
the many toiling to benefit a few..

Some have enough, most have little, a few have so much – life in their Colorado gold mining town isn’t fair, her widowed doctor father tells 13-year-old Sissy.

“She’d asked him once why he hadn’t moved to Denver, where there were beautiful houses and grass and leafy trees. ‘Because people in Tenmile need me,’ he’d replied.” (p.85)

When their fathers are injured in the mines, some of her friends must drop out of school to support their families, working as maids, clothes washers, even down in the mines as young teens…

Willie Gilpin’s big brother died of scarlet fever, so his worried mother keeps him home from school. The rich mine owner’s son has gotten spoiled and mean; 13-year-old Sissy will tutor him, but not put up with his bad behavior.

Oh, no! Another mine accident! Sissy runs to help.
Doc has taught her many treatments and remedies; she helps him setting broken bones and delivering babies – but no one thinks a girl can be a doctor in 1880!

Look for this 2022 release in hardcover, paperback, or eBook at your local library or independent bookstore (not affiliate links).

What dream job are you aiming for, despite what others say?
**kmm

Book info: Tenmile / Sandra Dallas. Sleeping Bear Press, hardcover 2022. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Z is for alien Zyx fused with FELIX YZ – can they survive separation? by Lisa Bunker (MG book review) #A2Z

Apr30
DNA spiral rising vertically from book title of Felix Yz, by Lisa Bunker

Thirty days till the Procedure –
a successful separation
or death sentence for them both?

The gigantic experiment that killed his scientists father fused a fourth-dimensional alien into Felix at age three, leaving his body contorted and hyperintelligent Zyx permanently part of his brain.

Zyx is a secret from everyone except Felix’s older sister Beatrix (piano genius), Mom, and Grandy (grandparent who is Vera with pearls or Vern in flannel or neither) – and the government group where Dad worked.

When Zyx encounters something new, its enthusiasm causes body spasms so Felix is shunned or bullied at school, his own mental capacity questioned by most teachers, except Mrs. C who encourages him to enter the annual essay contest.

The government experts say that the 13 year old and Zyx must be separated now, or Felix won’t grow to adulthood!

Felix journals what he and Zyx think about and encounter during the 30 days leading up to the Procedure – Zyx’s new-found joy in online chess making Mom’s boyfriend think Felix is a chess genius; Felix finally talking to his crush Hector, then a big misunderstanding; Zyx taking Felix on a small journey into the fourth dimension…

Because whether Zyx and Felix survive the Procedure or not, now is the time to celebrate the most important things in life! And finish that essay.

If you knew you had a short time to live, what would you do first?
**kmm

Book info: Felix Yz / Lisa Bunker. Puffin Books, hardcover 2017, paperback 2018. [author site] [publisher site] Personal copy; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

L is LUMINOUS LIFE OF LUCY LANDRY: orphan, treasure seeker, by Anna Rose Johnson (MG book review) #A2Z

Apr13
book cover of The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry, by Anna Rose Johnson. Published by Holiday House/PRH

Mama the actress died, then Papa,
now her guardian too –
where will Lucy go?

A remote lighthouse on a tiny island in vast Lake Superior!? Living with a family she’s never met? Thankfully, they’re also of Ojibwe and Acadian heritage…

So 11-year-old Lucy goes to the Martin family in 1912, an only child in hand-me-down clothes with a big imagination and few practical skills now among a bustling family of eight.

They gather seagulls’ eggs for cooking, their school lessons arrive every month with the household supply order and a box of books, and not one of the six children believes that Lucy’s mother was a famous actress…

Her ship-captain father told Lucy of a valuable ruby necklace lost when the Elva Jane shipwrecked and how a grand piano from its cargo washed ashore at Mermaid’s Cove across the water from this island – she’s determined to find that necklace in memory of her father!

But first she has to get over her fear of boats and convince the older Martin children to help her search and not make more mistakes at the lighthouse (that scary inspector could arrive any time).

The necklace’s owner is still living? Perhaps she knows a little more.
Who’s that boy searching for the necklace? Lucy must find it first!
A storm is coming while Mr. Martin is away? The children must light up the lighthouse for sailors’ safety!

Lucy tries to find her place in a new family in northern Michigan while keeping memories of her parents alive in this historical novel touched with mystery, glossary of Ojibwe and French words included.

Could you live on an island with little communication to the outside world?
**kmm

Book info: The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry / Anna Rose Johnson. Holiday House, 2024. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

J is THE JOCKEY AND HER HORSE – yes, a Black girl should ride in races! by Sarah Maslin Nir & Raymond White Jr. (MG book review)

Apr11
Book cover of The Jockey and Her Horse, by Sarah Maslin Nir & Raymond White Jr. Published by Cameron Kids/ Abrams

To understand without words,
to work as a team of two,
horse and rider, running together with one mind!

Was the horse barn was Cheryl’s favorite place in the world, or the pasture where the queen mare ran with their herd? Only riding in races on Jetolara, the first thoroughbred she ever loved, could ever be better than growing up on their Ohio racehorse farm.

Dreaming of a better future for their children, her White mother and Black father married well before the 1964 Civil Rights Act allowed it nationwide.

Cheryl’s great-grandfather was a Black horse trainer who refused to let prejudice force him out of racing. Her father continues the business with pride and knowledge. He is sure that little brother Drew will be a winning jockey, when it’s really Cheryl who has the desire and skill.

A whiz at school, she accepts her mother’s challenge for 1971- if Cheryl aces her senior year classes, she’ll get to race on powerful filly Ace Regard to earn her jockey license!

Studying for academic quiz show tryouts and the jockey license exam, riding Jetolara and Ace in training runs, preparing to race nearby and travel far away to Senegal – can Cheryl do it all?

Listen in on the thoughts of Jetolara and Ace as they find their places in the herd and in Cheryl’s life, too.

This fictionalized story of Cheryl White, the first Black female professional jockey and winner of 750 races, was co-written by Cheryl’s little brother who held almost every job in horse racing – except jockey, because he grew too tall!

What’s your dream job and what will you do to get there?
**kmm

Book info: The Jockey and Her Horse (Once Upon a Horse, book 2) / Sarah Maslin Nir & Raymond White Jr., art by Laylie Frazier. Cameron Kids/Cameron + Company, 2023. [co-author interview] [artist page] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

I is for OUR INCREDIBLE LIBRARY BOOK and the Wonderful Journeys It Took, by Caroline Crowe & John Joseph (Picturebook review) #A2Z

Apr10
book cover of Our Incredible Library Book and the Wonderful Journeys It Took, written by Caroline Cooke, illustrated by John Joseph. Published by Floris Books

“Ready, Set, Library!” for National Library Week (7-13 April 2024)!

Welcome to the children’s area of a public library, filled with kids and books and parents from every part of the community.

So many books to choose from! Beyond the story told by author and illustrator in each book is “the tale of the journey it’s been on as well…”

Let’s follow a picture book from the New Books display to Nia’s house, where she read it over and over, even while her cocoa got cold (and left a little ring on a page).

Returned to the library, the book is borrowed by Luis – the first book he can read all by himself! He reads it to Abuela and even Ana while she’s in the tub (just a little bubble bath splashes onto a page).

And on and on this incredible library book travels through town in bouncy rhymes as young readers nudge sleepy cats off it (pawprints), read it to ducks in the park (muddy fingerprints), use it as a bridge for toy trucks after reading together, and as a shield in the rain. Each encounter leaves a mark on its pages or cover, showing how much this book is loved and shared.

Readers can see themselves and families like theirs in this book – kids with glasses, kids with missing front teeth, wheelchair users, moms in hijab, single dads, families of many ethnicities – as they are reminded that we can enjoy books in many places, as solo readers or with others.

What stories could your favorite book tell of its travels?
**kmm

Book info: Our Incredible Library Book and the Wonderful Journeys It Took / written by Caroline Cooke, illustrated by John Joseph. Floris Books, UK 2022, USA 2023. [illustrator site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

F is this FAR OUT! festival, with UFOs and mysteries, by Anne Bustard (MG book review) #A2Z

Apr6
book cover of Far Out! by Anne Bustard. Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

“Welcome to our extraterrestrial festivities, with aliens as guests of honor!”

Well, invitations have officially been extended to any and all space people for the first annual Come On Down Day at Totter, Texas in November 1964.

Mary Jane and her best friend Nick can’t wait to see an actual meteorite at the library’s new display, but it goes missing before the grand opening!

MJ’s beloved grandmother is arrested as the main suspect (by a deputy, not MJ’s dad/the sheriff), so the 11 year old starts gathering evidence to prove that Mimi is innocent.

How many people had a library key? Who was in the town square that night? Who wants to mess up Come On Down Day?!

Space-themed bingo at school, counting down to the big day, then Mimi goes missing!

Was she abducted by aliens? Does the visiting UFO expert have information to share? Can Dad’s photos shed light on the matter?

A big day in their small town – hope the aliens Come On Down!

Also available in paperback on 24 April 2024.

Have you ever spotted a UFO?
**kmm

Book info: Far Out! / Anne Bustard. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2023. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Her talents rejected? ‘Tis A SEASON MOST UNFAIR! by J. Anderson Coats (Middle grade book review)

Oct11
cover image of A Season Most Unfair / J. Anderson Coats. Atheneum Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Candlemaking is hot, stinky work, but Scholastica helps her father render the tallow and twist the wicks and dip the candles until they’re just right. Her loving stepmother can’t have children or bend down with her leg brace, so Tick has worked with Papa since she was tiny.

This year Tick is old enough to mold the Agnus Dei charms for travelers’ safety, using pricy beeswax and expensive paints. The charms sell well at the Stourbridge Fair, and Papa can’t see well enough now to paint their fine details.

So why does Papa think he needs an apprentice?!

Tick doesn’t care that Henry’s father and Papa are friends – how will an inexperienced boy help make enough candles to sell to get them through the bitter winter?

If only she can get some beeswax and make the charms…
If only she can find a way to Stourbridge Fair…
If only she can be sure that Papa still loves her enough…

There are joys among the hardships of living in medieval England, and Tick just wants to do the job that makes her happy!

By the author of The Night Ride, recommended here: https://booksyalove.com/?p=13684

What task did you like to help your family with when you were younger?
**kmm

Book info: A Season Most Unfair / J. Anderson Coats. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2023. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

It’s not fair! Teens incite THE PEACH REBELLION post-WWII, by Wendelin Van Draanen (YA book review)

Aug22
book cover of The Peach Rebellion, by Wendelin Van Draanen. Alfred A. Knopf | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Over a decade since coming to California during the Dust Bowl days, her tiny brothers dying of sickness and buried under a creekside tree north of here, and folks are still calling Ginny Rose’s family “Okies” after World War II, despite all their hard work.

After her first day working at the peach cannery, a flat bike tire detours the 17 year old to Peggy’s peach farm where she meets banker’s daughter Lisette.

Wow, Papa and Mama tell Ginny Rose to keep half her wages for new school clothes and her future! Her sister Anna Mae is aghast at the idea of being left behind with their deeply depressed mother…

Peggy’s big sister opens the teen’s eyes to truths about the family peach farm, very unwelcome facts that explain why Doris hasn’t brought her baby back to visit.

Lisette’s fancy new house? Her father’s bank foreclosed on his good friend’s house, then the banker bought it instead of stopping the seizure?!

Ginny Rose discovers Babyland in the cemetery, where the tiniest children are buried – could she bring her little brothers here, for good?

The three teens from very different parts of society find a common purpose as Peggy and Lisette decide to help Ginny Rose on her quest!

Told in alternating chapters by Ginny Rose and Peggy during the sweltering summer of 1947.

Which friends would help you with a challenge?
**kmm

Book info: The Peach Rebellion / Wendelin Van Draanen. Alfred A. Knopf /PRH, 2022. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.