Tag Archive | flying

Siku and the Zambezi River, connected forever, until the KARIBA dam! by Daniel & James Clarke (Graphic novel review)

book cover of Kariba, by Daniel & James Clarke. Published by Catalyst Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Great river spirit Nyaminyami dies and is reborn every epoch; this rebalancing time of Rumuko is near.

But Zimbabwe’s cities need electricity, so the giant Kariba Dam will block the Zambezi River soon. That is, if the Italian engineer and her team can get past the problems created as a greedy British manager tries secretly to trap Nyaminyami!

Siku lives with her father and auntie on the river and feels at home under its waters. Her dreams of flood and disaster and a giant snake get stronger – Baba says she must resist them, especially as he goes to work at Kariba.

The 11 year old doesn’t know that when she was a baby, Baba found her in an ancient place behind a waterfall and has continued to ignore the supernatural beings calling for Siku’s help with Rumuko.

River pirates attack Siku’s home just as a floatplane taking the engineer’s son to Kariba stops for fuel! The two young people escape in the plane, following Siku’s beloved river toward the dam, and her visions increase.

Of course, the pirates pursue – even on land! What do they want with Siku?

Evidence of Nyaminyami’s presence behind the near-complete dam is undeniable – can it truly be captured?

The Shonga people will be displaced when the lake begins rising behind the completed dam – can Siku help them stay in their homeland?

Happy book birthday this week to Kariba, another stellar addition to Catalyst Press’ catalog of African books published for North American readers.

What stories are told of the river spirits near you?
**kmm

Book info: Kariba / Daniel & James Clarke. Catalyst Press, 2023 [author & illustrator interview] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Oh, such joy! ONCE UPON AN EID, edited by S.K. Ali & Aisha Saeed (book review)

book cover of Once Upon an Eid, edited by S.K. Ali & Aisha Saeed. Published by Amulet Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Watching for the new moon to appear,
Special foods enjoyed for generations,
Gifts and love and faith and joy!

Muslims observe the two Eid holidays with celebratory traditions as varied as the world is wide.

New clothes can be a hallmark of Eid – even as cousins Hawa and Fanta disagree about which style of dress is “Perfect” during the African community’s Eid parties in New York City or Makayla worries that friends will make fun of her new-ish abaya from the second-hand store in “Creative Fixes.”

Gifts” make Eid special for Idrees who begins understanding that giving is more important than getting, and a young man saving up for a new bike is repeatedly reminded by his grandmother that his name “Kareem means ‘generous’. “

The same foods every year are family traditions, so when big sister is busy, it’s just “Yusuf and the Big Brownie Mishap”, and Nadia quietly goes to the bakery for their favorite pastries while Mama sleeps after chemo in “Don’ut Break Tradition.”

Despair lifts when a kind Greek villager helps Bassem “Searching for Blue” bring the taste of Eid love to his refugee camp, and a grieving father helps his daughter try to make the “Taste” of Mama’s special lontong, always cooked by heart in their Malaysian apartment instead of written down.

Going high above the City of Boundless Light, “Seraj Captures the Moon” marking the end of Ramadan in a graphic novel illustrated by the same artist who sketched the chapter headings and book cover showing young people preparing for Eid from Canada to the US to Australia.

Fifteen Muslim authors bring us stories that reflect the wide range of community and family traditions for celebrating Eid – all with food, all with love, all with renewed hope.

What says home and hope to you?
**kmm

Book info: Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices / edited by S. K. Ali and Aisha Saeed; illustrated by Sara Alfageeh. Amulet Books, 2020. [S. K. site] [Aisha site] [Sara site] [publisher site] Personal copy; video and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Vampires, BRASS CARRIAGES & GLASS HEARTS, by Nancy Campbell Allen (book review)

book cover of Brass Carriages and Class Hearts, by Nancy Campbell Allen. Published by Shadow Mountain | recommended on BooksYALove.com

A menacing letter,
a dashing detective –
she cannot stop in her quest for justice!

Emme firmly believes that shape-shifters have the same rights as every other person – most of those transformed for 3 days by each full moon are no danger to anyone.

Detective Oliver Reed has arrested the young woman more than once in London during her protests against new restrictive laws, and Emme’s so-elegant stepsisters are dismissive of her new role as regional spokesperson for the International Shape-Shifter Rights Organization.

As the ISRO Summit in Edinburgh nears, Emme receives a credible death threat, Detective Reed is assigned as her bodyguard, and near-accidents become frequent.

Who is trying to stop Emme from speaking at the Summit?
Can Emme and Oliver deny their growing attraction?

A fascinating steampunk world of automaton, airships, vampires, and Tesla lights, with a smattering of story elements from the Cinderella tale, this August 4, 2020 release stands on its own among the author’s ‘retellings’ under the Proper Romance banner.

Where are you standing up for the rights of the oppressed?
**kmm

Book info: Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts: a Steampunk Cinderella (Proper Romance) / Nancy Campbell Allen. Shadow Mountain, 2020. [author Facebook] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

THE TROUBLE WITH SHOOTING STARS & scars & moondust & memories, by Meg Cannistra (MG book review)

book cover of The Trouble With Shooting Stars, by Meg Cannistra. Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

The car wreck changed everything,
healing is so slow –
can fractured relationships be mended too?

More operations ahead for Luna after the accident that left Dad in a wheelchair and the 12 year old with big facial scars under a treatment mask.

Her new neighbors are truly magical, as young Alessandro and Chiara ignore Luna’s scars and take her up with them in their zeppelin to brush the dust from the Moon and stars, as all spazzatrici do.

Only Uncle Mike understands how she needs to keep drawing every night when the pain won’t let her sleep – and that the spazzatrici are real.

She can’t stand to see the pity in Tailee’s eyes, stops returning her best friend’s phone calls, wants things to just be normal again.

Would stardust make Dad less sad about not working in their Italian-American family deli?

Could a shooting star grant Luna’s wish for healing if she caught one?

Sail up from Staten Island to help place new stars in their constellations and enjoy the drawings that Luna delivers to other neighbors in this magical tale – happy book birthday to The Trouble With Shooting Stars!
**kmm

Book info: The Trouble With Shooting Stars / Meg Cannistra, art by Dana Wulfekotte. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Off with her grandmother on The Last Great Adventure, by Rebecca Behrens (book review)

book cover of The Last Grand Adventure, by Sarah Behrens. Published by Aladdin/Simon & Schuster | recommended on BooksYALove.com

To find her long-lost sister,
to find her place in a new family,
to make things the way they used to be…

In 1967, World War II was just one generation ago, the Summer of Love calls for peace, and Bea’s grandmother knows that it’s time to meet up with her sister Amelia Earhart back in their favorite childhood place, no matter what!

If someone’s dream seems possible, but very unlikely, what will you do?
**kmm

Book info: The Last Grand Adventure / Rebecca Behrens. Aladdin, 2018. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Her grandmother wants to reunite with her long-lost sister, and 12-year-old Bea wants to get away from her new stepfamily – a trip from California to Kansas sounds great! Never mind that only grandmother Pidge has heard from her sister Amelia since the famous aviator went missing or that Bea was only staying at Pidge’s new retirement village for a short visit…

With 30 years of Meelie’s letters in Pidge’s purse, the pair hops an eastbound train headed for Atchison (never mind about reservations for a sleeper), as Bea writes about their trip in her new adventure journal.

Her parents’ divorce made Bea so sad – why did Dad have to remarry?

Pidge keeps changing her mind about things – is she really in control of the situation?

Train, plane, automobile – will they get to Atchison in time to meet Meelie?

Family stories old, new, and being written form the heart of this road trip during the “summer of love” in 1967 as Pidge tries to reconnect with her beloved adventurous sister.


Chaos of Standing Still, grief-numbed as life moves on, by Jessica Brody (book review)

book cover of The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody, published by Simon Pulse | recommended on BooksYALove.comSurvivor’s guilt
Constantly seeking answers on her phone –
Will Ryn stay stuck on what happened last year forever?

A year ago, a month ago, even a day ago, Ryn couldn’t have imagined that she’d be smiling (okay, be made to smile by guy who’s also hiding pain) on the anniversary of such trauma.

How do two teens stranded in an airport by New Year’s Eve blizzard make one another’s lives better in such a short time? Read the first chapter here free (courtesy of publisher) as Ryn and Xander meet, very much by accident.

Advice on moving on after stunning events?
**kmm

Book info: The Chaos of Standing Still / Jessica Brody. Simon Pulse, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Stranded in an airport on New Year’s Eve, she worries for the millionth time about that unread text message from her best friend, but Ryn can’t open it, can’t move past losing Lottie 364 days ago, doesn’t want to be alone or with anyone for that terrible anniversary. Xander would rather be blizzard-bound in the Denver airport than be with his famous child-expert parents or stay at the faraway school where they sent him.

Maybe not so random that Ryn and Xander get their identical Dr. Who phones mixed up. Or that he’s the first person she really begins to tell about how lovely, zany Lottie made Ryn’s boring, predictable life so much more. Or that she is the one person who might see Xander for himself instead of as a biracial extension of his celebrity parents.

That flight attendant looks just like Lottie, grown-up… the last career wish of her ever-changing list.

Ryn’s parents moved to different cities after the divorce…like leaving Portland would erase tragedy.

When the runways are cleared for departure, what future will Ryn and Xander be flying toward?

Hijacked in 1970! teen Girl on a Plane, by Miriam Moss (book review)

book cover of Girl on a Plane by Miriam Moss Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt  | recommended on BooksYALove.comFirst-time solo air trip,
not her first time on this flight route.
First airline hijackings by terrorists!

The author was aboard this hijacked flight as a teenager in 1970, when no one knew just how far the Palestinian fighters would go with their threats to blow up the planes and passengers.

Read an excerpt here as the age of terrorism begins with the first plane hijackings as political statement.

Girl on a Plane is being released in paperback today, or find it in hardcover at your local library or independent bookstore.

Cooperate or fight back?
**kmm

Book info: Girl on a Plane / Miriam Moss. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, 2016 (hardcover), 2017 (paperback). [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Flying back to boarding school from her father’s Army posting in Bahrain, Anna’s 1970 journey becomes a death watch as Palestinians hijack the BOAC plane headed for England!

At 15, Anna is old enough to fly on her own passport, young enough to be seated with other kids returning to school, routine travel for them all.

Suddenly, men in the cabin flourish guns, forcing the captain to fly far into the Jordanian desert where the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine guerillas await.

Explosives are loaded onto the plane, food is not. With the engines off, their plane becomes a sweltering prison – Anna wonders if she, David, and young Tim with his pet turtle will ever get to school, will live to see another day…

Based on the author’s experiences as a teen, this gripping story is a glimpse into the tension-filled history of the Middle East and the passion of those who’d risk anything and everything for their cause.

Prince Without a Kingdom, by Timothee de Fombelle (book review) – rooftops, espionage, war, love, danger

book cover of A Prince Without Kingdom by Timothee de Fombelle, translated by Sarah Ardizzone, published by Candlewick Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com A zeppelin, skyscrapers, a quest,
war looming, young people fleeing,
across countries, toward memories…

Through the early years of World War II, intrepid teens try to outwit ingenious villains in a game of chase through the US and Europe with deadly consequences.

Yes, it’s Book 2 of a duology. No, you don’t have to read Vango: Between Earth and Sky to get up to speed on the complex and fascinating storylines (I had only this one and easily got up to speed on who was who, etc.). But if you can get Book 1, do it, just so you can doubly glory in the wordplay, round-the-world plots, and stunning translations of the adventurous tale of Vango, Cat, the invisible monastery, Ethel, and Zefiro.

Who would you follow across oceans?
**kmm

Book info: A Prince Without a Kingdom (Vango, book 2) / Timothee de Fombelle, translated by Sarah Ardizzone. Candlewick Press, 2015. [author bio] [translator interview] [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Chased from his childhood refuge, orphaned teen Vango uses disguise and stealth to track down the man trying to kill him, while Ethel formulates plans to assist him as World War II erupts.

Intricate webs of love, hatred, family, loss, and intrigue flow between Vango and Ethel, a nanny in Russia and a doctor in Italy, an out-of-tune piano and the Black Sea in 1913 and a prize-fighter impersonating a prince, as oceans are crossed by airships, identities are cross-wired, and missed connections can mean life, death, or dessert…

The Cat connects clues and Resistance fighters as she traverses the rooftops of Occupied Paris – too many enemies?
How can the abbot of the Invisible Monastery be aboard the Hindenburg zeppelin?
Is Edith’s brother safe as an Allied aviator?

Second in the Vango duology, A Prince Without a Kingdom can easily be read alone as a cross-continent, multi-stranded adventure of love and loyalty during wartime, stunningly translated from the French original.

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Courage vs. discrimination – audiobooks free this week!

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC feature courage in the face of racial discrimination, ready for you to read with your ears!

Remember that although these complete audiobooks are only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Click on a title to go straight to its free download page at AudioSync – download only requires your name and an email address.

CD cover of Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles  by Tanya Lee Stone | Read by J.D. Jackson Published by Brilliance AudioCourage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles
by Tanya Lee Stone
Read by J.D. Jackson
Published by Brilliance Audio

During World War II, the first American black paratroopers fought a little-known Japanese attack on the West Coast, as well as widespread prejudice throughout the US military.

A great YA novel considering the Triple Nickles from the viewpoint of a black officer’s son is Jump Into the Sky,  by Shelley Pearsall (my recommendation here).

John Ball’s In the Heat of the NightCD cover of John Ball’s In the Heat of the Night by Matt Pelfrey | Read by Ryan Vincent Anderson, Michael Hammond, Kalen Harriman, Travis Johns, James Morrison, Darren Richardson, Tom Virtue Published by L.A. Theatre Works
by Matt Pelfrey
Read by Ryan Vincent Anderson, Michael Hammond, Kalen Harriman, Travis Johns, James Morrison, Darren Richardson, Tom Virtue
Published by L.A. Theatre Works

A black detective from California begins investigating murder in a small Alabama town during desegregation in the 1960s – this is the off-Broadway production based on the novel which was adapted into award-winning movie and television series.

Other tales of discrimination-fighting that you’d recommend?
**kmm

Strong young women in WWII – free audiobooks of high prices paid

Stories of courage, read by professionals – welcome to World War Two, through free audiobooks.

Remember that although these free complete audiobooks are only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you can listen to them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

One tale is fiction, the other is biographical, both tell stories that we must never forget.
CD cover of Rose Under Fire  by Elizabeth Wein | Read by Sasha Pick Published by Bolinda Publishing Rose Under Fire
by Elizabeth Wein
Read by Sasha Pick<
Published by Bolinda Publishing

A young American woman flying Allied transport planes is downed in Germany and must survive the infamous Ravensbrück Nazi concentration camp. A companion book to Code Name Verity.

 

Anne Frank RememberedCD cover of Anne Frank Remembered  by Miep Gies, Alison Leslie Gold | Read by Barbara Rosenblat Published by Oasis Audio
by Miep Gies, Alison Leslie Gold
Read by Barbara Rosenblat
Published by Oasis Audio

The couple who sheltered Anne Frank’s family risked their lives daily for two years. Now Mies shares the story of her own life and those dangerous days in World War II.

What other tales of bravery by “everyday people” do you recommend?
**kmm