Tag Archive | family

Can her Sleepless knight find the assassin? by Sarah Vaughn & Leila Del Duca (book review)

Oct25

book cover of Sleepless, by Sarah Vaughn and Leila Del Duca. Published by Image Comics. | recommended on BooksYALove.comHer father dead, a new king crowned.
Her destiny unclear, her life in peril!
O, that she could read the stars as her mother does, so far away!

As a royal daughter, Lady Pyppenia (Poppy to her friends) knows she has little control over her future, but she hadn’t imagined falling in love with her protector!

See the first few pages here (thank you, artist preview service) to meet Lady Poppy, her late father, and the Sleepless knight Cyrenic who swore to protect her by staying ever-awake (burning the candle of his own life at both ends). Her adorable long-eared animal friend Bini has an important role in this multicultural story, too.

If healing now would take away time from the end of your life, would you do it?
**kmm

Book info: Sleepless / Sarah Vaughn, illustrated by Leila Del Duca, with Alissa Sallah and Deron Bennett. Image Comics, 2018. [artist Twitter] [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Shadows deepen in Harbeny as assassins target Lady Pyppenia, teen daughter of the late king and Mrebeshi star-reader Amena, under the protection of a magically Sleepless knight.

Each minute that Cyrenic is Sleepless removes time from his life; the strength of his bond to Lady Poppy may weaken his hold on the present as well, just as three attempts are made to kill her!

The new king orders lovely dark Poppy as companion to his pale daughter just arrived from Etland, but can the cousins ever become friends?

Princess Rellen will someday become queen, while Lady Poppy never could – why is Lord Helder wooing them both?

Poppy just wants to leave Harbeny and go back to her mother’s country – what reason does King Surno have for keeping her here?

May the Stars watch over Lady Poppy amid court intrigue, and Time keep her Sleepless knight Cyrenic in the present as his increasing drifts into the past could rob him of full attention to the dangers of now in this richly colored graphic novel collecting volumes 1-6 of the ongoing comic series.

Orphaned now, One Shadow on the Wall to guide him, by Leah Henderson (book review)

Oct22

book cover of One Shadow on the Wall, by Leah Henderson. Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com His late father’s voice lends advice,
His late mother’s spirit appears in silence.
Can he honor his promise to keep the family together?

No social safety nets in Mor’s Senegal village, just fishing nets, small boats, and the gang of bullies who ran away from home and threaten to steal any food he is given or money the 11-year-old can earn for his sisters’ schooling.

To meet Mor and his sisters just after their father’s burial, read chapter 1 on the publisher’s website free.

Look for this as 2017 hardcover or June 2018 paperback at your local library or independent bookstore.

When resources are scarce, how can you be resourceful?
**kmm

Book info: One Shadow on the Wall / Leah Henderson. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017 hardcover, 2018 paperback. [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Guided by his parents’ spirits, eleven-year-old Mor strives to keep his family together, braving bullies, the sea’s perils, and well-meaning neighbors in their Senegalese fishing village – will it be enough?

So little food left when they are orphaned – how to feed his sisters?
Men also seek work – who will hire a young boy?
His brilliant sister’s school fees are due – can he stop the bully gang from stealing what he can earn?

When his former best friend tells Mor that joining the gang is the only way to keep his sisters safe, he must make a hard choice and live with its consequences.

Growing up female in USA: Our Stories, Our Voices – edited by Amy Reed (book review)

Oct20

book cover of Our Stories, Our Voices. Edited by Amy Reed, published by Simon Pulse. | recommended on BooksYALove.comGirls have been marginalized,
belittled, abused, attacked, ignored –
time to tell the stories and fight injustice!

Strong personal essays by Martha Brockenbrough, Jaye Robin Brown, Sona Charaipotra, Brandy Colbert, Somaiya Daud, Christine Day, Alexandra Duncan, I.W. Gregorio, Maurene Goo, Ellen Hopkins, Stephanie Kuehnert, Nina LaCour, Anna-Marie McLemore, Sandhya Menon, Hannah Moskowitz, Julie Murphy, Aisha Saeed, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Amber Smith, and Tracy Walker bring a wide range of young female experiences together in this book, begun in the wake of 2016 election.

You’ll recognize some names from my recent recommendations of their fiction – like Amy Reed – The Nowhere Girls,
Julie Murphy – Dumplin’,
Maureen Goo – I Believe in a Thing Called Love,
Sandhya Menon – When Dimple Met Rishi, From Twinkle With Love –
and others from books you’ve encountered in libraries, bookshops, and friends’ collections.

Meet them, hear their voices, find your voice, vote whenever you can!
**kmm

Book info: Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America / edited by Amy Reed. Simon Pulse, 2018. [editor site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Growing up female in the US became even less safe after the 2016 elections, but personal essays by 21 YA authors can bring readers empathy, empowering messages, and a measure of hope mixed with sparks toward moving forward.

Intersectionality – being female and (non-white, immigrant, LGBQT, disabled, fat, bullied) – is the reality for many of these authors who may or may not have transformed their shame, anger, or sorrow into wide-open political activism.

Essays can cover subjects which are very difficult for some readers, so the Editor’s Note specifies which titles discuss abuse, sexual assault, and racist violence.

Read these experiences and seek out others, consult the resources given, be aware of the powers each of us has to steer the future, make your voice heard.

Hope the journey is worth it for Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home, by Mark Lowery (book review)

Oct15

US book cover of Charlie and Me, by Mark Lowery, published by Yellow Jacket Books| recommended on BooksYALove.com

US cover

UK book cover of Charlie and Me, by Mark Lowery, published by Yellow Jacket Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

UK cover

It was the best vacation their family ever had,
Charlie loved the dolphins, Martin loved the sea…
Just have to go back, recapture the good times!

Most middle grade guys wouldn’t voluntarily take their very individual younger brother on a very long train trip, but Martin isn’t most guys: his extremely different brother has been his annoyance and best friend since Charlie’s premature birth ten years ago.

So if Charlie would be happiest seeing the dolphins again at the seacoast hundreds of miles away, then that’s what Martin will do! No need to involve ever-sad Mum and always-working Dad – not the same since that vacation…

Us or UK cover – which do you prefer for this journey saga?
**kmm

Book info: Charlie and Me: 421 Miles From Home / Mark Lowery. Yellow Jacket Books (Bonnier), 2018. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Getting back to the Cornwall seaside town where they saw the dolphins will make Charlie so happy that 13-year-old Martin takes all his savings, puts their favorite Christmas cookie tin in his pack, and heads to the train station with his neurologically special little brother – later, they’ll update their parents…

If the Dolphinwatch app is correct, they can get to the coast just in time…
As long as the railway police don’t stop them, like Mum and Dad would have if Martin had told them his plans…

Will the Angry Girl they meet on the third train (or maybe fourth) help them or not?
What if they run out of money on the way or Charlie has another asthma attack?
Can Martin really pull this off for his best-bud, pain-in-the-youknowwhat, dolphin-obsessed little brother?

Each chapter begins with the distance traveled (mostly in the right direction) and one of Martin’s poems as the two brothers traverse England on this singular journey.

Teen tales of Love & Profanity, bullying, friendship, and more (book review)

Oct13

hardback book cover of Love & Profanity, edited by Nick Healy et al. Published by Switch Press | recommended on BooksYALove.comTeen angst and adoration,
family, friends, love, work –
40 true stories from authors you know and authors you’ll want to meet.

The book’s subtitle explains it all: “a Collection of True, Tortured, Wild, Hilarious, Concise, and Intense Tales of Teenage Life” and its subject index includes Stories about… Authority Figures, Being Sneaky, Friends-Bad, Friends-Good, and much more.

You can find this eclectic book at your local library or independent bookstore as the 2015 hardcover or 2016 paperback (2 different covers).

What personal story would you be bold enough to share?
**kmm

Book info: Love and Profanity: a Collection of True, Tortured, Wild, Hilarious, Concise, and Intense Tales of Teenage Life / edited by Nick Healy, with Kristen Mohn, Nate LeBoutillier, and Lindsy O’Brien. Switch Press, 2015 (hardcover), 2016 (paperback) [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Writers share vignettes from their teen years in this collection of autobiographical short stories, ranging from mild to wild, mundane to life-altering, divided into four “Love and” sections – profanity, physics, madness, and apologies.

By including YA authors we recognize like Kwame Alexander, Carrie Mesrobian, and Jon Scieszka alongside new-to-us writers like essayist Joey Franklin and science writer Esther Porter, we see a wide range of teen experiences from different genders and sexualities, regions of the US, economic and social conditions, and family configurations.

The subject index itself portrays teenage life, noting Stories About… Being Helpful (or Not), Bullying, Cars, Crushes, Romance Gone Wrong, Siblings, Struggling to Fit In, Working, and much more.

Prophecy? really… My So-Called Bollywood Life, by Nisha Sharma (book review)

Oct11

book cover of My So-Called Bollywood Life, by Nisha Sharma, published by Crown Books for Young Readers| recommended on BooksYALove.comChair the prestigious student film festival,
Attend NYU Film School with the love of her life…
then it all falls apart!!

Raj knows the prophecy, knows that he’s Winnie’s destined true love – so why is he with Jenny?!

Why does he get to chair the film festival when Winnie needs that honor on her film school applications?

Wait, is her best friend keeping secrets now? Is her own Bollywood movie-loving life suddenly a dud?

Meet Winnie as you read the first chapter free on the publisher’s website, then head for your local library or independent bookstore to see if her prophesied true love bursts into her life in the best Bollywood movie tradition!

Any prophecies come true for you?
**kmm

Book info: My So-Called Bollywood Life / Nisha Sharma. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2018. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Meet her great love before she turn 18? Ha! When Winnie finds “perfect boyfriend” Raj with another girl, all she has left for their senior year is Film Club, but their new advisor is taking Raj’s ideas instead of hers!

Not the Film Festival chair this year? She needs that on her resume for NYU Film School application!

Her writing about great Bollywood movies will never be a career? Raj is such a jerk!

Could Dev be the one prophesied for her? Winnie’s birthday is getting nearer, but she doesn’t want to rush…

Dramatic events at the Festival fundraiser dance have the whole school abuzz, the Indian community in their New Jersey town wonders about the prophesy, and Winnie must use the best of Bollywood’s plot twists to make everything turn out right.

Baseball (and bullies) and The Rhino in Right Field, by Susan DeKeyser (book review)

Oct8

book cover of Rhino in Right Field, by Susan DeKeyser, published by Margaret K McElderry Books | recommended on BooksYALove.comBaseball practice needs a flat open space,
so the city park is a great place!
But sharing the outfield with the zoo can be beastly!

Nick and his buddies love baseball, practicing whenever and wherever they can (no Little League yet in Wisconsin in 1948). They’re thrilled when the new owner of the town’s pro team promises a chance for kids to be on the field for opening day! (or is it just for boys?)

Read the first chapter here to meet Nick and the rhino (free, courtesy of the publisher), then head to your local library or independent bookstore for the rest of the story.

Your close encounter with unusual animals and/or minor league baseball?
**kmm

Book info: The Rhino in Right Field / Susan DeKeyser. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2018.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: For the chance to be Mudpuppy batboy for day, 12-year-old Nick will do anything – work harder in Pop’s shoe repair shop, help uncle Spiro with mysterious errands – as the baseball team’s new owner plans an extravaganza for Opening Day.

That bully Pete thinks he’ll be chosen batboy, but Nick can win this contest based on essay-writing and baseball skills – if only his Pop would sign the permission slip… hmmm

He and Ace practice fielding with Penny (wow, can she throw!), hoping Nick’s baseball won’t wind up in the rhino enclosure (again).

His Greek immigrant father is sure that working hard in the family shop is Nick’s destiny, but Uncle Spiro wants to make his own way in post-World War II Wisconsin.

Where will Nick be on Opening Day – in the Mudpuppy dugout or listening on the radio in the shoe shop?

The raiders are coming! Evangelina Takes Flight with her family, by Diana J. Noble (book review)

Oct4

book cover of Evangelina Takes Flight, by Diana J. Noble, published by Pinata Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com Pancho Villa‘s rebels are coming!
Carry what you can and flee – or be killed!
But refugees aren’t welcomed when they cross into Texas…

So much for 13-year-old Evangelina to cope with now – a girl trying to steal her suitcase on the train (with grandfather’s secret box inside!), store signs in the Texas town that say “No Mexicans” (where can they buy food?), and wondering if they can ever go home to Mexico (is anyone safe there?).

The story is set in 1911, but many things still resonate today in the borderlands.
**kmm

Book info: Evangelina Takes Flight / Diana J. Noble. Pinata Books/Arte Publico Press, 2017. [author Facebook]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Pancho Villa and his rebel soldiers are coming? As big sister celebrates her quinceanera before the family flees their northern Mexico rancho, Evangelina worries about little Tomas’ recovering so slowly from a scorpion sting, whether grandfather can travel north with them, what they will find at her aunt’s house in Texas.

By mule wagon, with the men herding their best cattle on another trail, Evangelina’s mother gets the children to the crowded train station, but the journey onward is anything but smooth, and the Texas border town holds no welcome for refugees.

Why is wailing woman La Llorona coming into her dreams?
Will the townspeople’s prejudice keep her and Dr. Taylor from saving lives?
What is in the box grandfather gave her for safekeeping?

Evangelina might even be brave enough to attend the town meeting where rich white people are demanding that only white children can attend the school!

Body double or weapon for justice? Impostors, by Scott Westerfeld (book review)

Sep29

book cover of Impostors by Scott Westerfeld, published by Scholastic | recommended on BooksYALove.comOne daughter loved by all, one never seen,
the ruthless dictator created them as his tools,
but the twins may have other ideas…

First of four promised books set in the Uglies future world, Impostors should be available at your local library or independent bookstore…unless the twins’ father suppresses them all!

Hoverboards, nanotech everywhere, the chance to not repeat the past’s destructive selfishness – what rebellions are you planning?
**kmm

Book info: Impostors / Scott Westerfeld. Scholastic Press, 2018. [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Frey lives only as body double and protector for her twin sister Rafi, just as their dictator father decrees.

When he agrees to an alliance with another state, it’s warrior-trained Frey who is sent to the Palafox family, masquerading as elegant Rafi – but why?

Open conversations, art, and laughter – no spy dust in Victoria sending every word and gesture to the government, as in Shreve?

Col Palafox is a First Family son with hidden talents – would he stay near Frey if he knew she wasn’t really Rafi?

Tally shattered the broken Uglies/Pretties system years ago, but “she isn’t coming to save us.” It’s up to rebels and rebellious youth like Frey and Col to stop their world from descending into war!

Light ever has a shadow – The Crescent Stone, by Matt Mikalatos (book review)

Sep27

book cover of The Crescent Stone by Matt Mikalatos, published by Tyndale | recommended on BooksYALove.comNo cure for her lung disease,
so little time remains –
how should she live to make the most of it?

Who could blame Madeline for making a bargain with the shimmering man who promises that if she leaves this world for just a year, the teen’s fatal lung disease will vanish?!

However, there’s more to the story, including a grieving classmate who goes with Maddy to the joyously bright magical kingdom and now must fight their war against an impoverished and bitter nation, one night soon with no magic to protect her, and beings of many descriptions and temperaments.

Bargain to avoid death or stand fast?
**kmm

Book info: The Crescent Stone (The Sunlit Lands, book 1) / Matt Mikalatos. Tyndale, 2018. [author site]  [series website] [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A year serving the beautiful Elanil in exchange for curing her fatal lung disease sounds like a worthwhile bargain to Madeline, but when she and classmate Jason leave behind our world for realms of magic and war, they rethink their choice – between battles and luxury, alliances formed and broken, secrets kept and told.

Being acclaimed by competing nations as “the one foretold” to save them, Maddy worries about Jason on the front lines with his war unicorn, her boyfriend left behind on human Earth before she could tell him about leaving, and what other unexpected things will be required during her year of service.

If the vicious Scim warriors can capture her, the Elanil kingdom will be in dire peril.
If Maddie heeds the advice of other nations, both could fall.
If she isn’t true to her agreement with the Elanil, this breath will be her last…

First in a series with many good questions and few answers yet!