Kate Mester
Whew. No surprise but this is a stunner staight out of the gate for Christopher Myers' new imprint, Make Me a World. His introduction alone will give teens & teachers ideas to chew on and discuss. Though a short book, I read this so slowly because it was beautifully written (the kennings they created, the impact and heft of their word choices) and emotional and powerful and I wanted to savor it. They created a world after social justice movements like BLM have been successful, but the adults have become complacent in their safety, so it takes teens to see through the lens of magical realism and confront the monster in their midst to force their community to remember their shared promises to one another. I can't wait to share this with teachers and students, as this would be an ideal book to discuss and analyze together.
Meh. I felt compelled to finish it, but never thought it broke the surface, unlike the searing analysis of class and privilege she clearly intended it to be. The 90s setting really only served to make plot points convenient. I liked the jumping around in character perspectives but felt like overall I was told/led too much for this book to be that thought provoking.
Though I normally like to listen to the audio version so he can tell me his stories, I grabbed Liz's library copy before she returned it, but then had to keep interrupting her while reading to ask, “Where have we read this before?” There are a few of the stories that I know I've already read word for word and many that feel very deja vu, enough that I kept checking the copyright date to see if this was somehow an older work that I was accidentally re-reading. Even with that, he still lands a few perfect laugh-out-loud and need-to-repeat-them lines, but maybe now I've reached peak Sedaris saturation.
Worth the 28 mins to listen to the audio if you're a fan of Lauren Graham. Peak Graham: charming, witty, and down-to-earth with a hopeful but light message
3.5 A good introduction to defunding (and perhaps ultimately abolishing) police, with lots of data and research that backs up each of the 10 topics. It's not a personal or narrative read, but how Vitale simply breaks down each topic (policing in education, sex work, drug trade, borders, mental health, etc) by the history, the hard harmful data, the reforms enacted, why those reforms aren't working, and possible solutions helps to give a full view of why a total system change is needed.
The audio by Jesse Martin was a treat for the ears. I have meant to read this for years, and now having read it, really wish that I had read it first in high school and then could be re-reading it for relevancy over the years. Definitely will try to correct that error of letting high school me down by talking about it with high school students now. I took so many notes as there are so many passages that (rather horrifyingly) apply exactly to today's cultural and political climate without any change in 50 years. I will need to get a physical copy to return to.
Totally enjoyable start to finish. Her reading of her essays was tone perfect, just like a good friend over a glass of wine. She's honest, hilarious, and reflective, doesn't let herself or her subjects off the hook, and gices great and empowering advice to readers. One of the best essay/memoirs I've read.
Absolutely excellent. All 3 tales are so well done and told with such poignancy and urgency, enough that students will leave feeling an understanding of refugee experiences. Planning to order a few for the library and have talked to a few teachers about using this for book groups.
Wow. Beyond deserving of all the awards and accolades. The audio is stunning and perfectly cast. Rutina Wesley is always welcome and a real magical pairing of voice and text and JoJo was spot on. I'll definitely be recommending this to adults and teens, and it will stay with me for a long time.
5 stars to the audiobook, but 3 for the book itself. Took a while to get into but it was enjoyable. Another great audiobook from Robert Petkoff, who has now become one of my faves. I've listened to books (like this one) I wasn't planning to read just for his performance. Content wise, nothing laugh out loud funny but overall amusing and hopeful.
3.5. For once a quick synopsis did the book justice: Breakfast Club: Murder Edition. Not the newest concept but well done and a quick and engaging read.
It took me foreeeever to read this, in part because of life happening but also becasue this was beautifully written (honestly, her writing has always been good but it's so clearly elevated over the series) BRUTALITY. This series was always about the atrocities and human costs of war, but the body count in this one and the stacks of suffering are especially hard to read right now after a full pandemic year counted in tragedies of every kind. As promised by the title, Tahir does end the series on a hopeful note, and the journeys feels earned for her characters, but prepare yourself going in to it or if you're just starting the series. Light it is not.
Still mostly cute and written for an upper elem/MG audience, but it does tend to explicitly lay out didactical messages without any nuance or elegance. Can't say the messages aren't good or needed, just wish they weren't so hammered.
Whew. The audiobook was well done and I definitely cried on the way to work all week listening to it. Moving and thoughtful, and though I know his verbosity and word choices were complaints from other readers, I always welcome a chance encounter with seldomly used words, like ineluctable. This book will stay with me.
Maybe I'm not familiar enough (or at all) with Black Panther to understand the story, but I finished the volume unsure of who was fighting whom about what. A first volume should lay that out pretty clearly
Really enjoyable and well written. Juliet was such a vibrant character that readers need more of. Queer/feminist theory didacticism slowed it down in a few places, and could have been woven into the plot perhaps more organically, as there were a few times the book felt more like a “message” than a story. Looking forward to more from Rivera, especially her America Marvel series.
Honestly wasn't expecting more than a formulaic dysta-fantasy, but this was really enjoyable! The characters were multi-faceted, the love quadrangle was better than most, the world building was detailed, and the pace/plotting was great without sacrificing the first three. The threat of rape was constant, and though I understand its service to the violent narrative, I felt like it was dialed too high. Other than that, will be an easy sell, especially as an HBOB book. Interested in continuing the journey for the next in the series. Audio narrators were good, only one voice of the many characters the female narrator voiced was awkward to listen to.
3.5 Zipped along in a few parts but reaaaaally dragged in others and started very slowly. He also has a habit of adding in a romance plotline bc maybe he believes it necessary for genre YA but that little part of the storyline is always flat and unearned, no exception here. I'm curious to see where he's taking this series and will probably read at least the 2nd one to talk about it with the BOB kids but for all the hype I consider it midpack amongst his books.
Whitehead doesn't let the reader off the hook for a second. Gut-wrenching history mixed with a slight amount of magical realism. I didn't initially think I'd like the character asides, but they gave a deeper window into the actions of characters secondary to Cora.
Highly enjoyable. Started off reminding me too much of Ready Player One, but got more original and action-packed as the book progressed. Emmett felt realistic and the other characters were interesting, though not as deeply fleshed out. Good cliffhanger leading into the next book, will be interested to see whether trilogy goes. This will be an easy sell to kids!
This series kept it weird and twisty up until the end. A very satisfying conclusion to a style of story I don't usually like but a series I greatly enjoyed.
3.5 Good pacing and action and Black has always done well with world building. In spite of that I found Jude saying “xxx sucks” jarring and both out of character and out of world. Think my BOB team will like it and I'm interested enough to read/skim the next one.
Propulsive plot and continuously good world and character building, now I'm in deep enough to read the third book.
Solid 4.5 and perhaps edging ahead of Out of the Easy as my favorite Septys. The variable narrators in the audio did a lovely job conveying the characters, and i was genuinely moved by the stories. I was inspired to do much more research into the sinking, which I barely knew anything about. I'd love to find a great nonfiction pair for this book.
I appreciated Jade's voice and the clarity of Watson's message, found it well written and the charcters well developed, but I didn't find it particularly compelling to read. Have it on offer as part of our new book sets collection, have booktalked it a few times, and hope it finds more readers. Hoping I hear some kid opinion that's different than my own!