Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another winner from Raina Telgemeier as she uses Maya's cystic fibrosis as a reason for the family to move to a warmer climate. Cat is not happy about the move, leaving her friends, but she is a supportive big sister. When they arrive in Bahia de la Luna the girls find out from their next door neighbor there is a long history of celebrating ghosts and loved ones who have passed on. I loved Maya's joy and exploring nature and Cat's protective side. Cat's mom loves the new neighbors because they are Mexican American like her and many new dishes and cultural roots are explored. I loved the ghosts, the beauty of the Day of the Dead and Cat's acceptance of many things in her new home, family and friends. This graphic novel will be flying off the shelves!

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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book for the May topic of crossover books for the twitter chat with #yearofya. I love Patrick Ness and also his author friend, Siobhan Dowd, who shared this idea with him before she died of cancer. Connor is 13 years old and his mother has been battling cancer---he has a recurring dream with a monster in it---but one night a different monster (the yew tree in the yard) comes calling (he tells Connor he called him to come) and has 3 tales to tell Connor and then Connor must tell him 1. Boy are those tales tough for Connor----no easy answers and impossible tasks---who needs this when he is suffering in school (a bully and his crew pick on him and everyone else treats him like he is invisible) and now his grandmother is taking care of him, and worse still--his father (now with a new family in the US) comes to visit him, why? This story broke my heart.

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The Mystery of Alice by Lee Bacon

The Mystery of Alice by Lee Bacon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this Audible mystery; while it is an adult mystery and involves middle school kids, I view it as a crossover for middle school/adult. This unabridged audiobook involved lots of narrators Bryan Kennedy, Jessica Almasy, Josh Hurley, Cassandra Morris, Libby McKnight, Emily Bauer, Michael Crouch, contained a good story and an even better technology component with the apps tracking people's lives, etc. I liked Emily Poe's video diary of her life and was very surprised with the ending; a great whodunit thriller!

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Planet Earth Is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos

Planet Earth Is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and Wendy Lamb Books for the advance reader copy of Planet Earth is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos, in exchange for an honest review. I could not put this book down, debut author, Nicole Panteleakos, nails Nova’s nonverbal autism, her daily frustrations being silent, missing her big sister, Bridget (who gets Nova and champions Nova’s vast knowledge of space and everything else!!!) excitement for the liftoff of the Challenger, a new school, and foster family. This is a must read for all middle school students and will benefit Young Adult and adult readers (school teachers, guidance counselors too) as a window into what it is like to be an autistic foster child. This book does a stellar job of creating empathy both for Nova and Bridget but the reader also learns more about the challenges and desperate hope and love of the foster family. I also found the Author’s Note and Acknowledgments invaluable for the information it provides on autism and the author’s own Asperger’s.


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Midsummer's Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca

Midsummer's Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to @rajanilrocca (Rajani LaRocca), Yellow Jacket (an imprint of Bonnier Publishing USA) and #BookJunkies for allowing me to be an early reader of Midsummer’s Mayhem by awesome debut author, Rajani LaRocca, in exchange for an honest review. Wow, did I love this debut novel for middle grade children. Just let me gush about the beauty of LaRocca’s language – the descriptions of the foods (Indian, sweet, and salty) had me drooling; I wanted to eat (and bake) everything in this contemporary retelling mixing fantasy elements of fairies, friends, and the importance of family. The beauty of Mimi’s woods (the trees, herbs, and flowers) held me captive when I realized this was no ordinary forest. In addition, I loved strong, reasonable but mighty main character, Mimi and her passion for baking sweet treats. But Mimi feels outshined by everyone else in her family, has lost her best friend, and struggles with the baking contest she has entered. When new kid, Vik rescue’s Mimi in a tree; her summer turns into one of foodie love, a fast friendship, and many new adventures in her woods. With her siblings’ involvement in the summer play, Midsummer Night’s Dream, paralleling Mimi’s summer of mayhem, the reader is ensconced in Mimi’s world of sweet treats, family drama, and the magic of food and fairies. Food lovers, Shakespearean lure, and the diversity of Indian food, customs, and folklore will delight readers of all ages. You will also enjoy at the end; The Acknowledgements, Baking Terms and even recipes from the book; I am certainly going to be baking these mouth-watering treats! Highly recommended; get your copy in a store near you, June 2019.

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Rescued by Eliot Schrefer

Rescued by Eliot Schrefer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book as pat of the #yearofya twitter chat featuring middle school books taking place Tues 10/9 at 8PM EST. I have read Schrefer's previous two books in this compelling heartbreaking series and this book was so sad as it covers the loneliness of a child/teen and his pet/brother, orangutan Raja which his father brings back to the US as a pet for his young son, John. Both John and Raja are very sympathetic characters as life (his parents' divorce) and the horrors of endangered animals become the driving force as teen John breaks out of his shell to rescue and try to give Raja his life back in the rain forest.

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Sandwiches!: More Than You've Ever Wanted to Know about Making and Eating America's Favorite Food by Alison Deering & Bob Lentz

Sandwiches!: More Than You've Ever Wanted to Know about Making and Eating America's Favorite Food by Alison Deering
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this wonderful, in-depth look at making sandwiches for the 2018 HUB Reading Challenge. What I loved about this book was the drawings of each the sandwiches- each sandwich is shown made and then on the opposite page there is a step by step of how to put it together plus tips, history, and other essential information. The sandwiches begin with Level 1 - Plate and Knife and moves to another level Toaster & Microwave, Level 3 Oven/Broiler, Level 4 Stone, Skillet & Panini Press & Level 5 The Big Time- Extra Cooking, Recipes & Prep Work. Deering & Lentz have compiled a visually appealing, fun, homage to sandwiches!

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Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this novel as part of #yabookchat twitter discussion. When we meet Maisie, she is enjoying a morning run, loves being on the track team, loves her boyfriend, Chirag and best friend, Ellen. As she finishes her run, she stops to enjoy the morning when a lightning storm hits, and that is all she remembers until she wakes in a hospital and part of her face is gone. Together with her parents she accepts getting a face transplant; the many pills and routines that will become part of her life FOREVER. It is during this time, summer and school is out, that I really started not liking Maisie. She did/did not want to see her boyfriend (who she thought about ALL the time) and best friend. She withdrew further and further, became insolent, angry, and lashed out at her parents and friends. It is was only in the final part of the book (I thought it should have happened much sooner) that Maisie joins a therapy support group- BOY did she need it; that she finally started coming around, figuring things out (lots of discussion) with her support friends, then slowly with her best friend and even slower with her ex-boyfriend and I really thought Maisie was a good person once again like she was at the beginning of the book. Teens will love this book, but I wished Maisie had sought out help MUCH sooner, thankfully she had tight, loyal friends.

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