The Other Talk: Reckoning with Our White Privilege by Brendan Kiely

The Other Talk: Reckoning with Our White Privilege by Brendan Kiely
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a very relatable honest read from an awesome YA author who is very close friends with Jason Reynolds, another awesome YA author. I think this book should be read by students, teachers, and everyone else. Brendan uses personal stories about him as well as history and present day to reach out to readers about understanding racism while being white. He writes with humor and honesty, many many facts & figures and challenges white readers to listen and believe when they listen to those of color. This is a complicated, necessary book and will make readers uncomfortable but also give them to tools and voice to understand racism. Highly recommended.

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Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Deacon King Kong by James McBride
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by Dominic Hoffman, this was a good story about a varied community in South Brooklyn in 1969 witnessing the shooting of a drug thug, Deems, by an old guy a deacon, Sportcoat, in the Five Ends Church for seemingly no reason at all. As the reader delves into finding out the circumstances that led to this act, we meet many of those in the neighborhood, as well as the police, as leads are sought, witnesses interviewed. I did not really like/relate to many of the characters; I liked the story but found myself irritated MOST of the time with Sportcoat, Deems and Elephante.

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True Blue by Robert Baldacci

True Blue by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a great stand alone novel about 2 sisters, one a cop unjustly imprisoned, Mace, and her sister, the top cop, Beth, who stands by her even when everyone believes she was guilty. After she spends 2 years in prison, all Mace wants to do when she gets out of prison is get back onto the force. There is no easy way to do that---solve a case or prove she was innocent (this will not happen---since the DA has been making sure Mace will never get to the truth) and the DA also wants to get her sister in trouble and get rid of her as well. There was alot going on and Mace and a lawyer who found a dead co-worker, work together to try and find out what happened. But there are forces out to silence them (murder them). Luckily Mace and Beth are a fore to be reckoned with! A fantastic could not put it down mystery, who done it thriller with enough suspense to keep me up to finish this awesome book!

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Long Road to Mercy (Atlee Pine, #1) by David Baldacci

Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this first book in the Atlee Pine series and I will continue to read the whole series! Baldacci did a great job with Atlee Pine as a determined FBI Agent in southwest United States who tries to solve a case in the grand canyon involving a dead mule and missing rider while also endeavoring to find her missing twin's killer.

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The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow (The Okay Witch, #2) by Emma Steinkellner

The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this 2nd middle grade graphic novel in the Okay Witch series and Steinkellner ensures the reader will laugh and hold their breath as Moth uses a cursed charm to try to battle the bullies in her school. I particularly liked her mom and teacher dating (hysterical) and the strong grandmother witch who preaches witch history and being strong---but Moth can't really listen and understand her words. I loved her friend Charlie and the talking cat, a great 2nd book, I want more!

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Clarice the Brave by Lisa McMann

Clarice the Brave by Lisa McMann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great story!!! I love animal stories and Clarice, her brother, Charles Sebastian and her sworn enemy, the cat, Special Lady were my favorites! Imagine you are on a ship, a mutiny occurs and then the traitors are pushed onto a small leaky boat and Clarice and her brother are separated! While Clarice winds up on the leaky boat, her baby brother is on the ship. Surprise, surprise when Clarice realizes she is not the only animal on the boat with the Captain and his crew---the cat, Special Lady is looking at Clarice as her next meal. So much happens on the 2 boats and the 2 mice, I could not stop turning the pages---there is adventure on the high seas, but also awful storms, hunger and thirst, starvation trying to stay alive. I loved this story so much and middle grade students will too!

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Ben Y and the Ghost in the Machine (The Kids Under the Stairs, #2) by K. A. Holt

Ben Y and the Ghost in the Machine by K.A. Holt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the kids under the stairs and this 2nd in the series brings back Ben Y, Ben B, Jordan and Javier as the divergent learners and friends who is led by the greatest teacher in the world, Ms J and the new after school club, Newspaper Typing Room which accomplishes 2 things- playing in the Sandbox and now because of the heinous principal---they have to write newspaper articles. While all of this is going on, Ben Y (Benita) misses her dead brother, Benicio, desperately--they were very close and used Sandbox (Benicio's invention) to talk, fight, argue, and remember. The bullying still continues and there is a new weird kid, Ace that Ben Y has mixed feelings about. This book is as strong as the first, using text messages and emojis, and her awesome novel in verse! A must read!

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The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book because it received a Nerdy Book Club 2021 YA Fiction award. But I have read and loved all of Anna-Marie McLemore's books and been moved by the magical realism and their worlds of diverse Latinx characters. This book is different (read the Author Note after you have read the book) and though many tough topics are discussed, YA readers will relate to Ciela and Lock in their worlds of color and privilege. Both are struggling with what happened to them at a party (two rooms next to one another) by awful privileged white students whose parents names appear on school buildings. Ceila and Lock do not know one another at the beginning of the book, but become friends when he is a new student at her high school. Ciela has magic that has been passed down by her family and when she is assaulted that ability stops. How Ciela reclaims her life and becomes Lock's friend show what a strong brown girl feels for what is right, even as it shatters her life like a shard of glass nestling in her body. I could not stop turning the pages, and many times it was a difficult read because of what was perpetrated on these teens by classmates. Highly recommended!

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Himawari House by Harmony Becker

Himawari House by Harmony Becker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nao, Hyejung, and Tina come to Tokyo for different reasons and live together in Himawari House and go to school together. They become friends with others and endure struggles with language barriers, judgments of others, and other personal insecurities. It was nice to see through the drawings and the characters thoughts and words how they become friends and support each other through language barriers and by celebrating customs and foods and Chinese New Year. This is a graphic novel that uses spare black and white drawings and delivers a book that is quietly powerful.

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Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne

Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this because it was awarded The Nerdy Book Club Poetry & Novel In Verse and I loved it. This novel in verse was about Sky, an African American girl in high school, Sky, who struggles as her best friend drops her, lies about her, and how she makes her way through---by playing basketball, hearing rumors, traversing a new boyfriend and making a new friend. Teens will relate to Sky and grow with her as they read this book!

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Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This 2nd book was just as beautiful as the first and I absolutely loved the authentic, beautiful narration by Lin-Manuel Miranda. As men are dying of AIDS Ari and Dante remain in love but conflicted about being gay and what it will mean for their futures. I loved the different yet lovable personalities of Ari and Dante, their supportive and worried parents, friendships lost but found, and their profound love for each other in an uncertain world. I would love to read a 3rd book about them in college or maybe after? A must read, YA readers will relate on many levels.

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The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just as I loved A Gentleman From Moscow (read & listened to it 4x) The Lincoln Highway was such a great read---brothers Emmett and Billy were great characters and I loved how the author used Woolley & Duchess as foils to the plans the brothers have to get out of town and travel The Lincoln Highway. Spread out over 10 days, with a book about heroes being read by Billy to himself and others, so much happens and many secondary characters (Ulysses, Sally, Sarah) come in and out of Emmett and Billy's lives over those 10 days and impact these brothers as well. Taking Place in the 1950s, there are many famous places on the postcards Billy has, Woolley and Duchess have their agendas and places and people to see and the many wonderful stories from Billy's hero book weave a road trip this reader will never forget! Highly recommended!

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The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This audiobook & the story WERE SO GOOD! Awesomely narrated by Isabella Star LaBlanc, this reader was treated to an awesome story, a kick-ass heroine, and immersed in the Ojibwe tribe which Daunis is not a member of (yet). When her best friend is murdered by her boyfriend who then takes his life, Daunis is asked to go undercover by the FBI to find out who is responsible for meth production in the tribe---and oh does she get involved in so much more than that. She is partnered with an FBI agent posing as a high school hockey player. I was glued to the story, the history, the traditions in the community and hockey teams. I highly recommend this suspenseful story; it offers a look into Native beliefs, practices, and traditions in this amazing must read story.

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Park Avenue Player by Penelope War and Vi Keeland

Park Avenue Player by Penelope Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked the plot of this book! Elodie, Hollis, Hailey and Bree were strong characters, Elodie and Hailey were great together and funny too! The games between Hollis and Elodie added humor and suspense while the burn ratcheted up between these two people who had been burned and really did not trust anymore. An enjoyable read!

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Pretty Little Lion (Third Shift #2) by Suleikha Snyder

Pretty Little Lion by Suleikha Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book 2 in the Third Shift series brings one of the owners, Elijah (lion shapeshifter) trying to infiltrate bad guy from Book 1, Mirko and his organization. The way Third Shift finds a way in is through his girlfriend, Meghna---but she is not at all what Elijah thinks and as they find out the hard way (murder) Meghna and Elijah form a very uneasy alliance (why? because they care about one another) and so the cat and mouse game begins---I loved this book as much as the first but oh boy what an ending----I need another book in this series, please!

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Big Bad Wolf (Third Shift #1) by Suleikha Snyder

Big Bad Wolf by Suleikha Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this new series featuring shapeshifters in a new world since 2016 where Third Shift is run by 2 supernatural beings but also employ humans to help rid the world of bad guys (human and supernatural). Joe Peluso's story is awesome---and when he is hunted for the justice he took in his dead foster brother's name---the action takes off! His lawyer is a human but also holds a degree in psychology and there is instant attraction between Joe and Neha. How they get together and escape to try to find answers, keep from dying, and a lot of romance in between kept me turning the pages! I loved the plot, so many of the characters, and the author's world she built around Joe and Neha. Can't wait to read Book 2 in this series!

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