Tag Archive | growing up

Is this place the best SPACE FOR SAFFRON, her interests, and her moms? by Rie Neal (MG book review)

Jun24
A red-headed tween girl wearing hearing aids, jeans, and backpack holds a volcano model in doorway of a bakery on book cover of Space for Saffron, by Rie Neal.

Constantly in motion,
dreaming of science,
needing her own space in the world.

Saffron didn’t plan for her volcano experiment to make such a mess up, but the mean boss fires Mama and says the 10 year old has to pay to clean up the diner!

Not many jobs in their small Iowa town, so when Gran calls to ask her moms to run the family’s cafe in California while she travels, it’s worth a try. Mimi says she can get construction work there, if Saffron is willing to move before the school science fair.

So they pack up (volcano included) and drive to Oakvale where they’ll live above the cafe (Saffron on a couch-bed for now) – wow, so much work needed downstairs to bring customers back in.

Different schedule and classes, finding new friends, explaining her hearing aids and ADHD, but the science fair at Saffron’s new school is still ahead – another chance for her volcano!

Uncle Toby helps when he can, but the cafe needs something special to compete for customers here in Silicon Valley, where Granpy worked with NASA scientists.

Oh, her classmates have planned projects with robots and coding and computers – will her simple volcano be enough?
They help her brainstorm for STEM ideas that will make the cafe stand out – will the grownups agree?
If Gran wants to run the cafe again after her vacation – where will Saffron and her moms go?

Family and friends, volcanos and space – maybe Saffron can find a space that’s truly hers!

What was your favorite science fair experiment?
**kmm

Book info: Space for Saffron / Rie Neal. Aladdin, 2026. [author site https://www.rienealwrites.com/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Space-for-Saffron/Rie-Neal/9781665972529] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Lakota teen must escape THUNDEROUS magical world! by Smoker, Peeterse & Deforest (YA Graphic Novel review)

Jun18
On book cover of graphic novel Thunderous, a Native American teen crouches on cliff top amid lightning, ready to spring upward, Behind her is gigantic silhouette of wolf's head with snarling mouth, a flying raven, and dimming sun. By ML Smoker and Natalie Peeterse.

Off the rez,
in the city –
new school! New friends?

Aiyana is happy for a new start in town, even if her grandmother recounts Lakota tales when the teen would rather be on social media.

Her younger cousin Kola loves those traditional tales and makes comics of them; for him, their South Dakota reservation will always be home.

On a field trip to sacred Black Elk Mountain, the popular girls make fun of Kola and dare Aiyana to take a selfie from the high tower as a storm approaches.

A crash of thunder and she falls into a magical place where Raven counsels that only wise Iktomi the Spider can send her home.

Uh-oh, bargaining with that trickster gives Aiyana only 2 days to get to the Badlands or be trapped here forever!

With no GPS, how will she find her way?
Can she trust any of the other animals she meets?
Does she remember enough of Grandmother’s tales to properly greet Iktomi?

This Native-created graphic novel uses color to great effect, with dark purples and blues for the storm (and Raven’s attempts to slow down Aiyana’s journey) and warm clear colors as she meets the animals long-beloved by her people. Includes an area map and Lakota glossary.

What other tricksters in traditional stories do you know?
**kmm

Book info: Thunderous / M.L. Smoker & Natalie Peeterse; art by Dale Deforest; colors by Adriano Augusto, Wendy Broome, Lisa Moore, Omi Remalante Jr. Curiosity Books/ Dynamite Entertainment, 2022. [M.L. Smoker info https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ml-smoker] [Natalie Peeterse site https://nataliepeeterse.com/] {artist site https://daledeforest.squarespace.com/] [publisher site https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?CAT=DF-Thunderous or https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/thunderous-9781338877748.html] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

ALICE ECLAIR, SPY EXTRAORDINAIRE: Recipe For Trouble! by Sarah Todd Taylor (MG book review)

Jun17
A young French teen girl in red hat runs alongside a steam train at night, followed by a white cat. Above them is series title Alice Eclair, Spy Extraordinaire in a puff of pink smoke, below them is the book title A Recipe for Trouble, by Sarah Todd Taylor

Code-breaking,
puzzle solving,
spy training?

When she’s not making intricate creations of sugar and chocolate for Maman’s bakery, Alice follows mysterious messages through Paris – puzzles, secretive package exchanges. So much like the tasks set by her late Uncle Robert, gone for two years now.

The 13 year old goes undercover as a maid to retrieve microfilm from a spy and is most surprised at who she delivers it to!

Aha! The spy will be traveling on the luxurious Sapphire Express to the coast, carrying documents that will endanger brave French agents if they reach their destination – Alice must find a way to be on that train…

Her pastry-making skills get her on board, a chance encounter with a lively British teen girl gives her a potential ally, and she watches all the first-class passengers for clues – only a few days to figure it all out.

Twin dancing brothers are nervous when a fancy resort is mentioned, a glamorous woman insists that the pianist play only her sheet music, and a professor is taking mysterious notes.

Who is the spy?
Can Alice recover the papers?
Can she keep her job on the train while she tries?

As Europe watches Germany with great worry in the mid-1930s, a young spy-in-training must decide who to trust and what her true mission is. Followed by A Spoonful of Spying, A Sprinkling of Danger, and A Dash of Daring, as Alice’s amazing adventures continue.

Have you ever traveled on an overnight train?
**kmm

Book info: Alice Eclair, Spy Extraordinaire: Recipe for Trouble / Sarah Todd Taylor. Nosy Crow, 2025. [author site https://sarahtoddtaylor.com/alice-eclair-spy-extraordinaire/] [publisher site https://nosycrow.us/product/alice-eclair-spy-extraordinaire-a-recipe-for-trouble/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Her past lives, her SOULMATCH now, no future? by Rebecca Danzenbaker (YA book review)

Jun16
Book cover of Soulmatch, by Rebecca Danzenbaker, features a porcelain bust of a young woman with her eyes closed, elaborately adorned with many flowers, golden crown, and velvet choker with large pink jewel.

Control and power,
self-determination and destiny,
past and future…

The test must be wrong! Of course she has past lives on record, just like everyone else in these days of peace, two centuries after World War Three!

Like every 18 year old, Sivon reports for her kirling, when her soulid is matched with its past lives whose inheritance can provide a great start to this life.

Hopefully, she isn’t a Bad Soul, immediately marched to prison to finish her past self’s sentence! Or worse yet, be Flavinsky who commits suicide immediately after their kirling – 11 times so far…

Whoa, how can this be? Sivon is a New Soul, no soulid match at all, no past lives, no heritage or inheritance! She renames herself Carrefour from her new soulid, echoing the x in circle she always dreams, but others say Creature – a miracle, a messiah, a menace to all society?

The Prime Minister wants her to work on his re-election team, prompted by his nearly-18 nephew Janus, and will guard her artist mother’s safety.

Her bodyguard Shepherd’s soulmate is due to be kirled soon – their love has endured across many lifetimes. She can’t be attracted to him, she can’t!

What secrets lurk in The Fringe lands, among those who don’t trust kirling or the government?
Will she ever be safe again, ever have a soulmatch?
Are the ones calling her Creature the prophets?

Trust her instincts, guard her heart, seize her power – advice from the Institute is so hard to follow!

Do you believe in soulmates?
**kmm

Book info: Soulmatch / Rebecca Danzenbaker. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. [author site https://www.rebeccadanzenbakerbooks.com/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Soulmatch/Rebecca-Danzenbaker/9781665963701] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Bedtime reading, if you dare… NIGHT STORIES: FOLKTALES FROM LATIN AMERICA, by Liniers (Graphic Novel)

Jun11
Book cover of Night Stories: Folktales from Latin America, shows a brother and sister in their bunk bed flying across the night sky above roads, trees, and hills, with author name Liniers and introduction by David Bowles below them.

Danger on the river,
in the town,
on the pampas!

One night in their bunk beds, a brother and sister are telling each other scary stories from folktales they’ve heard.

There’s the one about the mermaid and the pink dolphin in the Amazon River – that’s Iara, Mother of the water.

And beware the Witch-Owl of the Mexico borderlands – when this bruja calls your name, you know that your death is near!

On the pampas grasslands of South America, the Evil Light threatens to steal travelers’ souls – is it the gates of Hell opening a crack?

“As you read these stories, you will get at thrill from them. You might feel scared. But I hope you will keep in mind all the layers of meaning they contain,” says writer David Bowles in the heavily researched introduction “Why We Tell Tales” (pg. 6).

More about each folktale is found in the notes at the end of this entertaining and chilling graphic novel. Available in Spanish as Cuentos de noche: Relatos de Latinoamérica.

What’s your favorite folktale from the Western Hemisphere?
**kmm

Book info: Night Stories: Folktales from Latin America / Liniers; introduction by David Bowles. Toon Graphic, 2024. [about the author/artist https://www.lambiek.net/artists/l/liniers.htm] [publisher site https://www.toon-books.com/store/p330/Night_Stories%3A_Folktales_from_Latin_America_by_Liniers.html ] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

MINNOW, who speaks for the orcas in peril! by Willie Poll & Emily Graceanna Pearson (MG Graphic Novel review)

Jun10
A large orca and a First Nations girl with fish tail swim beneath the nighttime waves, a city silhouetted against hills behind them and graphic novel title Minnow, by Willie Poll & Emily Graceanna Pearson below.

Called to the sea,
concerned about its creatures,
what can she do?

As Minnow walks the Vancouver shoreline, picking up trash on the beach as she always did with her grandmother, the grieving young teen is certain that an orca just offshore is following her. But that can’t be true – orcas stay in deeper safe waters, right?

Mom takes her to the aquarium, where the fish follow Minnow as she walks along their huge tanks and the sea lions flee in the middle of feeding time – very strange.

There she meets Celia, new here from the Great Lakes. When they use the aquarium’s equipment to listen to the captive orca there, Celia hears screeches and clicks, but Minnow hears words!

Their summer times together include days at the beach, where Minnow’s feet turn to flippers in the water and her eyes become as black and deep as an orca’s – what is happening?

Minnow’s mom tells her the ancestral story of this gift handed down by countless generations of grandmothers – the ability to communicate with water creatures and the responsibility to speak for them to the human world.

Gran has been missing for 74 days, last seen at the proposed pipeline site on the shoreline, but investigating the disappearance of indigenous women isn’t a priority for Canadian authorities.

Time to find Gran’s journal and decide how a pair of young women can help the remaining group of orcas, before it’s too late!

This debut graphic novel by First Nations author and illustrator duo celebrates the power of community and connections for change.

Which sea creature would you like to hear speaking to you?
**kmm

Book info: Minnow / Willie Poll; art by Emily Graceanna Pearson. Medicine Wheel Publishing, 2026. [author site https://www.williepoll.com/] [illustrator site https://emilygraceannapearson.ca/about/] [publisher site https://shop.medicinewheelpublishing.com/en-us/products/minnow1] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

Summer of new friends, new enemies, THE ENDLESS GAME, by J. D. Amato & Sophie Morse (MG Graphic Novel)

Jun3
A tween boy looks back as he runs in front of his friends, while others on hillside ride bikes & are lookouts. On hills behind them rise towers with different flags, on either side of book title The Endless Game. Graphic novel written by J D Amato, art by Sophie Morse

His family moved again!
What’s there to do around here?
Oh, capture the flag – all summer!

Lakeside is divided by more than the stream running through the middle of town. For 75 years, the Uphill versus Downhill feud has been channeled into the kids’ summer-long game of Capture the Flag, with each side having a ‘castle’ and a king and a flag and a jail.

When Fred moves to the Illinois town in 1998, his frazzled mom with baby forces the quiet middle schooler to go outside and meet neighbor kids who introduce him to the game which is still going on because no one has ever captured the flag.

The Council of homeschooled kids is neutral and sets the rules: no adult help allowed, tagged kids stay in the other side’s jail from 11 a.m. till the evening streetlights come on every day for the rest of the summer or until rescued!

Downhillers know that cheater Uphill king Jamie caused their king Mike to get sent away for the summer, so they want Uphill to lose more than ever.

While Fred waits for his dad to get transferred from their old town, he’s busy making new friends, learning what skills he’s good at (or not), and trying to help Downhill finally win the game!

Travel Lakeside’s woods and streets with resourceful tweens in this graphic novel of cooperation, competition, and confidence.

What’s your favorite outdoor summer game?
**kmm

Book info: The Endless Game / J. D. Amato; art by Sophie Morse. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2026. [author & illustrator interview https://smack-dab-in-the-middle.blogspot.com/2026/05/interview-with-jd-amato-and-sophie.html] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Endless-Game/J-D-Amato/9781665927154] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Yes, indeed BLACK HISTORY IS YOUR HISTORY! by Taylor Cassidy (YA nonfiction & memoir review)

May28
Book title Black History is Your History is encircled by hand-drawn portraits of noteworthy Black men and women, below author's name Taylor Cassidy

Angelou and Hurston,
Banneker and Jemison,
the who and the how and the why.

Based on her popular TikTok series “Fast Black History,” Taylor Cassidy presents the stories of 12 important Black people in US history, some of whom should be much better known.

Chapter titles spotlight each person’s legacy, like actress “Cicely Tyson and why good representation matters.”

We meet Ledger Smith, who roller skated from Chicago to D.C. in 1963 to attend the March on Washington and encourage others to go, too.

Gordon Parks overcame many obstacles to become a noted photographer of everyday Black life, segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Each chapter includes a very personal “Taystory” section where the author relates experiences in her young life where she called upon lessons learned from these Black heroes to deal with her emotions and others’ expectations.

Whose example inspires you?
**kmm

Book info: Black History is Your History / Taylor Cassidy; illustrated by Adriana Bellet. Atheneum / Simon & Schuster, 2025. [author site https://www.instagram.com/taylorcassidyj/] [illustrator site https://jeezvanilla.com/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Black-History-Is-Your-History/Taylor-Cassidy/9781665957700] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Her family is like ALL FOUR QUARTERS OF THE MOON, but where is she? by Shirley Marr (MG fiction book review)

May27
In front of a large full moon, a young Chinese girl cups her hands around those of her little sister who holds a paper rabbit. Above them is book title All Four Quarters of the Moon by Shirley Marr. In the foreground below are trees, animals, and a barn, all cut from paper.

New country,
new expectations,
old worries.

It’s good that Ba Ba doesn’t have to work every day of the week as he did in Singapore, but in their new Australian home there are no aunties down the hall for Ma Ma to visit or play mahjongg with Ah Ma.

No cousins to play with, so it’s even harder for 11-year-old Peijing to keep her impulsive little sister Biju in check, as their very traditional family expects.

Speak only English at school, only Chinese at home. Speak up when answering the teacher, never talk back to their parents. Peijing is always worried about doing something wrong.

Thankfully, the sisters can escape to the paper world that they’ve drawn and cut out, where Biju retells the rabbit in the moon story and more.

Ma Ma feels trapped at home with her limited English, Ba Ba gets to do more with the family now, and grandmother Ah Ma has begun forgetting.

How can Peijing help her new schoolfriend Joanna, always hungry?
Why does she have to take Biju wherever she goes, even to a birthday party?
When will Ma Ma ever appreciate her artistic skills?

Peijing feels like her four family members with their varied temperaments are like the four quarters of her favorite mooncakes of the Mid-Autumn Festival, as she tries to work out where she fits in at home and at school.

Another rich and tender story of a family from another country finding their new life in Australia but the author of Glasshouse of Stars , recommended here: https://booksyalove.com/?p=12451.

Where are you in your family’s order of birth?
**kmm

Book info: All Four Quarters of the Moon / Shirley Marr. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, hardcover 2022, paperback 2023. [author site https://www.shirleymarr.net/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-Four-Quarters-of-the-Moon/Shirley-Marr/9781534488861] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Together on THE LAST BEST QUEST EVER! by F.T. Lukens (YA book review)

May26
In a forest clearing, a teen girl lies on her back and looks up, holding a hunting knife to the neck of the royal young person looking down into her eyes while they point an arrow at her heart. Above them, the book title The Last Best Quest Ever, by F.T. Lukens

Dragon vanquished,
giant spiders dispatched –
sort of…

At 17, Ellinore the Brave is tired of finagling her way through quests to entertain the royals. No one knows that she’s won every quest with problem-solving instead of swordplay.

She’s earned enough money for her parents to retire, so it’s time to quit and go visit the dragon she relocated instead of slaying (shhh…)

Except that her impulsive twin brother Zig tried to scam the wrong mages and instead earned a death curse. Now she has to locate and bring back a truly mythical item in a short time or the mages will remove Zig’s heart!

As for Princet Aven? Fed up with finishing second to Ellinore on every quest, they swiftly find her and Zig at home, eager to assist in this near-impossible quest to find the never-seen mythic Elder Beast.

Along the way, the trio is joined by a teen fan-girl who’s had a few quarterstaff lessons and a young scholar (very intent on debunking the bards’ songs about Ellinore’s daring feats) who agrees to take them to his grandfather’s secret knowledge trove.

As the group encounters magical beings and treacherous territory, it gets harder for Ellinore to keep her secrets and ignore her long-standing attraction to Aven. They may be last in the royal line of succession, but are still far above her commoner status.

Oh no! The other questers of the realm have also heard about the Elder Beast and will do anything to get there first! Wherever there is…

Does the Elder Beast truly exist?
Can Ellinore and Aven keep their inexperienced quest-mates safe?
Can she save her brother’s life?

By the author of
In Deeper Waters https://booksyalove.com/?p=12378
So This Is Ever After https://booksyalove.com/?p=12989
Spell Bound https://booksyalove.com/?p=13689
Otherworldly https://booksyalove.com/?p=14421
Love at Second Sight https://booksyalove.com/?p=15085

Happy book birthday to The Last Best Quest Ever – if Lukens writes it, I want to read it!

Which of your pals would you choose for your quest team?
**kmm

Book info: The Last Best Quest Ever / F.T. Lukens. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2026. [author site https://www.ft-lukens.com/thelastbestquestever] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Last-Best-Quest-Ever/F-T-Lukens/9781665950978] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.