By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural
With: 0 Comments

Winifred Conkling’s Sylvia & Aki introduces an unlikely pair of friends: Sylvia Mendez is 9 years old and looking forward to starting the third grade. Her parents are leasing a large asparagus farm in Orange County, CA, and she will be able to enroll in the local elementary school, rather than the poor barrio school she attended last year in Santa Ana, CA.  Aki Munemitsu should be starting fourth grade, but her family has been relocated to the Poston Internment Camp, leaving behind their asparagus farm in Orange County and any hope Aki had for a normal life.  Both girls face heartbreaking challenges: Sylvia and her brothers areRead More →

By:
On:
In: Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction (YA), Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Multicultural (YA), Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense (YA), Romance (YA), Supernatural & Horror, Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

August, 1896: 17 year old Willie is a liar and a thief.  She’s fleeing to Indian Territory, using a stolen name and teacher’s certificate, to take a position as English teacher at the Cherokee Female Seminary.  Willie assumes she’ll be teaching backwards Indian children and hopes that the chances of being discovered and sent back to her family farm are slim.  But she’s not prepared for what awaits her in Oklahoma: the Seminary boarding school educates both the daughters of the Cherokee Elite, and the poor tribal girls there on scholarship, many of whom are more educated that Willie is; the Headmistress is stern and extremelyRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Action & Adventure (YA), Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Multicultural (YA), Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense (YA), Supernatural & Horror, Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

I read a lot of books; fortunately, my profession and one of my hobbies jive like that.  And since I read so many books, I find myself jaded by the repetition on theme, the slight variations on popular books that are churned out in the hopes of finding “the next whatever“, and the lackluster writing and poor editing that occurs in the rush to print more and more.  So it’s a rare day when I am so engrossed in a book I cannot stop reading it and then cannot stop telling people about it.  And on Saturday, I got to have one of those days whenRead More →

By:
On:
In: Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural
With: 0 Comments

5 years ago, Nora’s father left their small village in Mexico for America, promising that this was the only way to save the family orchard.  Up until a few months ago, her father kept his promise to send money and an occasional note, but now the situation has become dire: no word, no money, and a terrible grapefruit harvest has pushed Nora, her mother, and her grandmother to the brink of ruin.  15 year old Nora hears a whisper in the orchards, telling her to follow her father to Houston and once she finds him, all will be well. She convinces her mother to join her andRead More →

By:
On:
In: Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Multicultural (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 1 Comment

There’s certainly something special about debut author Trent Reedy’s Words in the Dust.  Zulaikha has never dared to hope: born with a cleft palate, she is teased and shunned by the people in her small Afghan town.  Her prospects for a good husband are dim even though she is a very hard worker, taking care of her family’s compound and watching after her two younger half-brothers.   Her life is very hard, but despite the challenges, now that the Taliban is gone, Zulaikha feels the stirrings of hope that things may get better for her and her family –“Inshallah,” God willing.  Then she meets Meena, an old friend of herRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Sci Fi & Fantasy
With: 1 Comment

Jeffrey Kluger’s Freedom Stone is a rare gem of a book.  He takes the reader on a magical journey to a beautifully realized time and place and leaves the reader feeling connected with the characters long after the last word is read. Lillie has lived her whole life on the Greenfog plantation in South Carolina with her parents and younger brother, Plato.  With the War not going well for the Confederate Army, slave volunteers are being accepted to fight with the promise of freedom for themselves and their families.  Lillie’s father joined up, but months ago he was killed in action and with Union gold found inRead More →

By:
On:
In: Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction (YA), Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Multicultural (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

12 year old Blaise Fortune, also known as Koumail, has been fleeing west across Eastern Europe with his guardian, Gloria, since he was 7.  When the Soviet Union fell and the Caucasus states began to fight for their independence, Blaise and Gloria become two of thousands of war refugees scrabbling across a battle-scarred land in search of safety and a better life. As they’ve traveled westward towards France, Gloria has told Blaise the story of his past many times: picking fruit in her father’s vast orchards in Georgia, Gloria heard the derailment of an express train; in her rush to help the vicitms, she discovered a French womanRead More →

By:
On:
In: Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Multicultural (YA), Romance (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

15 year old Pearl lives with her recently divorced mother on her uncle’s sprawling California avocado farm.  Uncle Hoyt routinely hires migrant labor to work in the groves and until the day when Pearl notices beautiful, mysterious, quiet Amiel, she’d never thought twice about the undocumented migrant workers’ plight.  But something about shy Amiel speaks to Pearl: he’s beautiful, of course, but there’s more; he’s mute due to a tragic accident in his past, he seems vulnerable and kind, and he’s very reluctant to open up to her overtures of friendship.  Pearl finds herself drawn repeatedly to the quiet bend in the river after she discovers Amiel’s small campsite where he’s beenRead More →

By:
On:
In: Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Multicultural (YA), Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Tell Us We’re Home, a fresh new book from Marina Budhos, has an interesting plot line, making a book full of mystery, friendship, and hardship. This new novel kept me reading for hours. Jaya, Maria, and Lola are just ordinary girls living in the town of Meadowbrook, New Jersey. Ordinary, that is, until you see that the girls have two things in common; they are all the daughters of maids and nannies, and they have all emigrated from a foreign country. Besides the obvious problem that they go to school with the people their mothers work for, all three also have many issues they mustRead More →