The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maudie is an autistic middle schooler who looks forward to spending her summers with her Dad and the rest of the time with her mom and stepfather. This summer she has to keep a secret from her Dad & as soon as she arrives there are California wildfires that destroy his home. Her Dad decides to take them back to where he grew up, a beach town with waves and surfers beckoning to her. I loved Maudie, she was relatable as she tries to find strength to surf & tell the secret her mother warns her she must keep. I could not stop turning the pages; middle school kids will be turning those pages as they see & root for Maudie to succeed again and again.

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The Little Flower Shop (Indiana Summers Series, #2) by Lori Foster

The Little Flower Shop by Lori Foster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this latest book in the Indiana Summers Series! Emily & Saul are good people in small town where gossip is a favorite past time. The story of how they CONNECT is a great read; full of fun and laughter.

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Four Eyes by Rex Vogle and illustrated by Dave Valeza

Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel by Rex Ogle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this 2nd graphic novel from Rex Ogle about his middle grade year of needing glasses & hating the whole experience!!! His mother is divorced & works at a minimum wage job waitressing while his stepdad stutters and also makes minimum wage. In school his best friend dumps him and helps the school bully pick on Rex. When he needs glasses, his family can't pay for the GREAT looking ones he wants & he is picked on because of the cheap glasses. Rex really has a tough time & becomes friendly with a kid at lunch and as 6th grade progresses, Rex experiences lots of highs and lows. I highly recommend this graphic novel!!!

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Twin Cities by Jos Pimienta

Twin Cities by José Pimienta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Twins, Fernando & Teresa live in Mexicali, Mexico but in the fall they will be going to different schools for the first time ever with Teresa crossing the border to a private school. There is the normal brother and sister drama but it reaches a hostile roar---will Fer & Teresa ever be close again? I learned alot about the different sides of the border and I loved the illustrations!

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Controlled Burn by Erin Soderberg Downing

Controlled Burn by Erin Soderberg Downing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved Maia's character, her journey both within and out (going to the forest fire tower with her grandfather). After a horrible house fire, which Maia blames herself for, her parents send her to her grandparents for the summer as they deal with her sister, Amelia's, burns and recovery, insurance, and life. But Maia's insecurities threaten to overwhelm her and it is the love of a dog, a new friend, and Maia's determination to become a more brave, carefree person that make this summer one she will never forget. A must read!!!

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The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED every single book in this series! It was addicting, satisfying and so suspenseful with all the twists and turns, games and lies, with Avery being challenged at every turn---with security, snooping journalists (online and around town) and as the GAME ratchets up, there are many characters who may be trying to torpedo Avery's investigations. I love all the Hawthorne brothers, and the friends/Hawthorne characters (head of security and her lawyer) who unite to help Avery try to figure out the final puzzle before she turns 18, time ticks away and with each page turned the suspense was spine tingling! A great series to savor and read!

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Meena Meets Her Match (Meena Zee, #1) by Karla Manternach

Meena Meets Her Match by Karla Manternach
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this first book in the Meena Zee series, I will definitely be reading these and passing along to my granddaughters! Meena looks at the world in terms of bright colors and how "anything" (including trash & other disgusting stuff) cab be used for her art projects in school and at home. But the bright colors darken when Meena has a medical event that turns her world upside down. Also her best friend, Sophie stays in now at recess and Meena is upset and angry about this. I loved all the characters, the plot was so enjoyable, and all of the resolutions were authentic. I especially liked the Author Note at the end. I also liked that this book was for 3rd graders, a middle grade beginner book, readers will enjoy and ask for more!

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The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden (The Vanderbeekers, #2) by Karina Yan Glaser

The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This 2nd book in the series was so much fun to read- hilarious, mysterious, and lots of fun. Their dear friend has a stroke and while he, his wife and the Vanderbeeker children's mom spend every day in the hospital, the kids hatch a plan to turn a littered lot into a garden for their neighbor's homecoming. I could not stop turning the pages as each seed and flower, and tree was planted in this garden. What a great book and series!!!

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Rainbow High (Rainbow Trilogy, #2) by Alex Sanchez

Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by: Alston Brown, I love the continued coming out and friendship and romance Kyle, Jason and Nelson navigate their senior year. The interplay of family, school, and coach dynamics really paints a varied but realistic picture of queer teen boys at home and in school (with a new GSA club) and in relationships (both the pain and wonder). I can't wait for the 3rd audiobook, but I will be sorry to leave these boys ---they have made an impact on me and I will miss them!

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Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh did I love this collaboration between Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin! The words (Jason Reynolds) c0mbined with the beautiful, realistic, images (Jason Griffin) gives a powerful, moving story about a black family quarantined during Covid, but is about history and reality. Just important and a must read!

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Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman

Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh how I loved Gayle Forman's middle grade book! Bug looks forward to her summers at the beach with her brother, Danny while her mom works for the mayor's office. But during this summer of 1987, there is a serial killer on the loose in California. Now Bug's summer has changed and she is so not happy about it. But with the arrival of Frankie, a few years older, Bug's summer expands. Dealing with cultural and social issues; the friendship of Bug and Frankie has many highs and lows. I loved Phillip, Bug's neighbor who is colorful, loves to cook, and calls his friends by their full names, no nicknames, thank you very much. Danny is a very supportive older brother, which Bug knows but she does not understand why they can't go to the beach everyday like they used to and why does he need to be called Daniel anyway? I loved seeing the Venice beach and characters through Bug's eyes and I cheered for Bug's demand to know what secrets her family is keeping from her. I could not stop turning the pages of this lush, lovely book that needs to be read by everyone.

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A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Using a Greek Chorus to ask and raise questions, this was a story of what a good neighborhood and what it became when a new family moved in. Valerie has raised her biracial son in Oak Knoll, she knows everyone, is a professor, hold book clubs and has set opinions about ecology. When the Whitman's an upwardly mobile family moves in next door, trouble begins when Brad Whitman assumes Xavier is hired help, both parents keep a tight lock on their daughter, Juniper with a purity pledge and many restrictions. It really gets problematic when Xavier and Juniper become romantically involved and Valerie sues Brad Whitman over his destruction of an old oak tree. Delving into many themes and issues such as class, race, environmental concerns, love, lies, secrecy, consequences, family dysfunction and lawsuits this character driven book is heartbreakingly real. A must read!

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Aven Green Sleuthing Machine by Dusti Bowling

Aven Green Sleuthing Machine by Dusti Bowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this great book bringing me one of my favorite characters, Aven Green as a private investigator! Lots of chuckles as Aven adds her own thoughts as she investigates "many" cases in her home and elementary school. I read this to my youngest granddaughter and gave it as a gift to my oldest granddaughter. She likes mysteries and I know she will enjoy this...as will all readers! Such a treat!

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What's Done in Darkness by Laura McHugh

What's Done in Darkness by Laura McHugh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advance reader copy, What’s Done in Darkness by Laura McHugh in exchange for an honest review. What an intense look at the psychological trauma of a girl before, during, and after, her kidnapping in a rural farm community where religion is grasped wholeheartedly by members and families and taken to extremes in daily life. Sarabeth is the female protagonist, living with her family in a small town. Suddenly her father injures himself and with his recuperation he undergoes a religious epiphany that Laura’s mother profoundly grasps. Now the normal family she truly loved; Sarabeth sees her books taken away, TV thrown out, switched for a move to a remote farm with no amenities, a new church, fervent sermons, bible readings, and crushing punishments, anger, and distance from her parents. Sarabeth is seventeen and wants to escape this stifling new family dynamic. But before she is able, she is abducted by a masked man, bound, stripped of her clothes, and kept in darkness and silence. After a terror filled week, Sarabeth is released and finds her family and sheriff do not believe her claims of the masked abductor. It is only when advocates finally get to speak with Sarabeth that she is able to flee and begin a new life, away from her family and thankfully, no contact. What I loved about this suspenseful mystery is how McHugh goes back and forth each chapter with Then and Now. This technique is perfect in building the taut uncertainty that permeates this deliciously deceptive thriller as the reader turns those pages in hopes of solving not only Sara’s (she now goes by Sara in a new town, with a new job and life) kidnapping but also other girls. A detective is able to state a case to her for the similarities in other girls’ disappearances. I rooted for Sara and readers will totally engage as the mystery compounds and unfolds. Both absorbing and affecting as a taut psychological mystery; readers will LOVE this riveting read! This book will be available June 2021, preorder it now!

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Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read and love all of Tiffany D. Jackson's books and Grown is a compelling, gripping and essential read! Enchanted loves to sing and attends a mic night (with Mom in tow) to hopefully break into the music scene. In this ripped from the headlines story, Enchanted becomes famous singer, Korey Fields' find and as she dreams of making an album, Korey makes promises to her family as he takes her on the road and they make a good singing duo. But pretty quickly, we all see what Enchanted does not, Korey is insecure, controlling with out of control anger and punishments. I could not stop turning the pages as Enchanted becomes of prisoner of her own thoughts and Korey's awful techniques to control her. Another highly recommended read from Tiffany D. Jackson!

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Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved Juliet; she is real, funny, insecure except when she is not; leaving the Bronx for a summer internship with a writer in Portland Oregon who has written a feminist manifesto. Juliet comes out to her family before she leaves and that doesn't go entirely as planned. And when she arrives in Portland, there is a whole lot going on, Juliet's girlfriend broke up with her with a letter, and now that she is in Portland; Juliet is not really sure Harlow Brisbane is all she says she is...as she figures her life, her summer and her internship out, Juliet finds she will be alright, has many staunch friends looking out for her in Portland and don't forget her cousin Ava, and her mom!!! I learned alot as I read about Juliet and was glad I read this book! I loved Juliet's message and you will too!

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Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This 2nd in the series is just as awesome as the first book!!! Darius has it all; a boyfriend, a place on the soccer team with friends who look out for him and a job at the tea shop he loves, until things begin to change. As Darius continues to struggle with his depression, he finds his dad is depressed again, he can sense tension in the house and doesn't know why. He is still be being bullied by Trent but his best friend, Chip is being nice to him now. Author Adib Khorram does such a stellar job with his characters, the plot and of course a high school setting. I really love Darius, his cousin Sohrab, his friends on the soccer team who understand he is gay and stand up to bullies. But in this book, the family struggles while his father has to travel, his mother is working long hours and Darius grandmothers are staying with Darius and he questions if they even like him! I look forward to more Darius books, BUT if there are no more, I will certainly read any Adib Khorram book because he gets teens, their drama, their mental and physical struggles. This book is a must read but also a must is Darius the Great Is Not Okay!!!

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The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to my daughter in law for this heart stopping romance between Lucy and Gabe while students at Columbia. They are wildly in love with one another but since they were blind-sided by 9/11 they want to give commitment and service and make their mark in their jobs. Gabe is offered a job in the Middle East and Lucy has her career as director of a children's show in New York and neither is willing to follow the other. As Lucy tells their story, even as their lives change and move away from each other, they are still very connected. I could not put down this book; will Lucy and Gabe find each other?

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When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Victoria Jamieson in collaboration with Somali refugee, Omar Mohamed, hits it out of the park with this graphic novel depicting Omar and his brother, Hassan's life in a refugee camp. The reader feels their boredom, anger, frustration, hope, and community as they live each day in a camp with thousands of others. Omar is a true caregiver to his brother yet he is able to attend school, look for his mother, and work to leave the camp for a better life. All students MUST read this book; highly recommended!

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Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott

Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, #BookJunkies, @BecElliott, Peachtree Publishing Company and Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC for the advance reader copy of Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott, in exchange for an honest review. I loved irrepressible, funny Haylah who yearns to be a stand up comic. In this time of Covid-19, Haylah, nicknamed Pig, made me laugh with her sardonic wit, laugh out loud jokes and humorous monologues. But Haylah does not recognize all the good things about herself. Since she is plus size, she is very insecure about her looks and confidence, but she constantly and valiantly battles her inferiority complex making her one awesome protagonist I rooted for on every single page. Her love for her brother, Noah, and her Mom is so nice to see in a YA book. She has two best friends who have her back, but her inferiority complex has her so wrong about their motivations and sincerity. When Haylah deems her mother’s new friend (love interest?) Rueben a no go because he doesn’t wear socks and has a big beard, she jumps in and pushes him out. Haylah learns so much when she begins to slip her own jokes into awesome, popular Leo’s locker and becomes a friend, muse, and maybe something more? Readers will love this book as they see themselves in so many of the characters in this must read, laugh out loud book! Highly recommended.

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