Icon: Teaches About Culture

Healer of the Water Monster

The prospect of spending his summer in Phoenix with his father and his new girlfriend, Leandra, makes Nathan feel sick to his stomach. Still unsettled by his parent’s impending divorce, Nathan decides to spend his summer with his grandmother, Nali. At her mobile home, away from cell service and the luxuries of modern technology, Nathan starts a summer project to keep him busy that involves growing corn in his grandmother’s garden.  

However, his summer gets off to a more exciting start than Nathan bargained for when his corn seeds start going missing. While trying to catch the thief in action, Nathan stumbles across a water monster named Pond, a creature from Navajo legend that can control the water. However, Pond’s lake is dried up and his power is fading, rendering him unable to sing the water monster songs that bring rain to the area. Nathan learns that Pond has been poisoned by radiation from a nearby excavated uranium mine. To save Pond, Nathan needs to go to the Third World and get medicine from Mother Water Monster, the strongest of all water monsters. 

Meanwhile, Nathan’s Uncle Jet is struggling with his alcohol addiction. Nali wants Uncle Jet to have an Enemy Way Ceremony, a cleansing ritual that will help Jet on his road to recovery. However, Uncle Jet is against the ceremony since he is depressed and doesn’t believe it will work. Nathan discovers that an Ash Being is clinging to Uncle Jet, a dark creature who is increasing Uncle Jet’s feelings of hopelessness.  

After learning a few water monster songs to protect him in the Third World, Nathan unites with other Holy Beings, such as Wind and Darkness, to meet Mother Water Monster. They solve a series of puzzles in the Third World before meeting her and getting the medicine for Pond. Nathan returns home to discover that Mother Water Monster did not give him medicine, but a rock instead, and Pond passes away. Nathan feels all his work was in vain, but Changing Woman, a Navajo Holy Being, reassures him: “You gave Pond a great pool of hope, for his own health and for the return of the rains. Hope is a very powerful medicine and can give every minute we have alive a great deal of meaning and worth.” 

Nathan realizes that he has someone else who needs hope – his Uncle Jet. He rushes to be present at Uncle Jet’s Enemy Way, in which the Ash Being is successfully expelled. The story ends as Nathan discovers that the rock is actually a water monster egg, which is now his duty to care for and continue Pond’s legacy.  

The main theme of Healer of the Water Monster, as Nathan learns, is hope. Nathan feels hopeless for various reasons: he struggles to learn the water monster songs, his parents are unhappy, and he’s losing his friend, Pond. However, by relying on others and asking for help when he needs it, he is able to prevail. The other characters, such as Uncle Jet, learn this valuable lesson too.  

Readers will find that Nathan is a relatable character due to his insecurities. He admits that he is afraid of the journey to the Third World and doubts that he is the right person to make such a dangerous and important journey. However, with reassurance from his friends, Nathan accepts that it’s his duty to help the water monsters. At the end of the story, Nathan also takes the responsibility of passing on the water monster’s songs to the baby water monster, who is a symbol of hope. 

This story, the prequel to Heroes of the Water Monster, is easier to read than the second book. There are only two main plots in this story, while the second book is difficult to follow due to its much larger scope. Thus, in Healer of the Water Monster, the reader is able to learn about Nathan in more detail. The inclusion of Navajo culture is interesting and straightforward, and it doesn’t overshadow the plot of Uncle Jet and his struggles with alcoholism. Uncle Jet’s dark thoughts brought on by the Ash Being and his PTSD from serving as a marine are heavy topics for this story but mentioned sparingly. Healer of the Water Monster focuses more on spreading hope, overcoming insecurities, and looking to the future than it does on the fantasy action which makes it more thoughtful – but not any less worthwhile – than its sequel. Readers who want to connect with other Indigenous characters should also read Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac and When the Butterflies Came by Kimberley Griffiths Little.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Nathan accidentally gets hurt while trying to pass by a fight and gets knocked out. “Two big men [were] fighting each other in the middle of the cars and trucks. They were cursing and saying many things that would make his mom mad. Their fists and knees slammed into each other’s bodies. . . They both fell to the earth, and a large dust cloud bloomed around them. Some dust flew into Nathan’s eyes. As he was rubbing his eyes, Nathan felt the full weight of two massive bodies pushing him up against the car. . . Nathan fell to the earth. Last thing he remembered, he heard a loud smack and then a lightning-like flare of pain made his vision blurry, then go dark.” 
  • Darkness uses its powers on a man who steals. “Darkness wrapped the shadows around the man. The man knelt down. His screaming was muffled, as if his head were under a pillow. The man screamed and writhed. It was kind of terrifying, and Nathan hoped the man wasn’t in pain. In seconds, the shadows unraveled, and like black ink slipped off the man, who was sound asleep.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Uncle Jet smokes once. “When [Uncle Jet] noticed Nathan was heading toward him, Uncle Jet quickly put out his cigarette.” 
  • Devin, a medicine man that Nathan and Nali visit, smokes tobacco. “Devin lit the tobacco with a lighter and puffed on it.” 
  • Uncle Jet is an alcoholic. This is mentioned multiple times in the story, but there are only a few instances where the reader sees him drinking. For example, Nathan finds Uncle Jet sleeping after many drinks. “The stench of alcohol crept up Nathan’s nostrils.” Nathan leaves him to rest. 
  • Uncle Jet takes Nathan to a party where people are drinking and he has a few drinks. “A crowd passed brown bottles and silver aluminum cans around. . . Uncle Jet chugged a can.” 

Language    

  • Nathan calls someone “stupid.” 

Supernatural  

  • The Water Monsters are a group of Holy Beings that play a central role in the story. They are creatures of legend from Navajo stories that inhabit bodies of water and look like lizards. They have many powers, including controlling water, turning it to ice, using it to travel long distances, and more. Other than Pond, Nathan’s water monster friend, Nathan also meets Mother Water Monster. “Far in the distance, a creature of titanic proportions rose from the water. Waterfalls cascaded from its scaly body. . . Water cleared from the face of the creature, and a pair of bloodred eyes stared at Nathan.” 
  • To control water, water monsters sing songs. Nathan learns some of these water monster songs; this allows him to freeze water and control it. Nathan freezes a water bottle to prove to his father that the water monsters, and their songs, are real. “Nathan stopped singing in his mind. . . [he] handed his father the water bottle that he had frozen completely solid. Both his father and Nali looked at the bottle in utter surprise. Tiny frost crystals had formed on the outside.” Later, Nathan uses the same song to freeze a lake in the Third World. 
  • Nathan discovers that a horned toad-looking creature is stealing his seeds. This creature, Seed Collector, is a being from the Third World. He can speak and stand on two legs. “Shocked, [Nathan] froze in place when he saw the large horned toad standing on its hind legs and holding a glowing quartz crystal. Atop its head was a tiny, horizontally striped turkey feather. A turquoise necklace dangled around its thorny neck. . . a trail of cactus flowers followed it, hovering right about its shoulder area.”  
  • Nathan has a turquoise stone that allows him to communicate with all beings. He uses it to speak to the water monsters and Holy Beings.  
  • Nathan befriends a spider. Nathan uses his communication stone to talk to Spider. She comes with him on the journey to the Third World, spinning webs for him so that Nathan can find his way back to the Fourth World. 
  • An Ash Being is a shadow-like creature that feeds on one’s fears and worsens feelings of anxiety and depression. Nathan notices that an Ash Being has latched onto his Uncle Jet. At one point, it latches onto Nathan, calling him “worthless” and making him feel depressed for a short time until the Holy Beings scare it away. 
  • A butterfly with rainbow wings called Changing Woman – a Navajo Holy Being – congratulates Nathan on his return from the Third World.  

Spiritual Content  

  • This story centers around Navajo beliefs, which are mentioned frequently. The main focus is the Holy Beings who help Nathan rescue Pond, including Wind and Darkness, figureless beings that are the personification of wind and darkness. The Navajo language is also used frequently, which can be translated with the glossary in the back of the book.  
  • The Third World and Fourth World are mentioned in the story multiple times. Humans occupy the Fourth World, while Holy Beings such as Water Monsters and more live in the Third World. A large part of the story is Nathan’s journey to the Third World to meet Mother Water Monster. 
  • The story describes these different worlds and how they came to be. “Ages before humans lived in our current Fourth World, it has been said that the ancestors of the Navajo left the mists and clouds of the Second World for the shimmering waters of the Third World. First to crawl onto the land were the beings of thought, First Woman and First Man. Second were the beings of land, Coyote, Turkey, Deer, Turtle, Cougar, Bear. . . ” This Navajo creation story spans four pages and describes how Coyote steals a baby water monster, enraging Mother Water Monster who attempts to destroy the third world, prompting the First Man, First Woman, and creatures of land into moving to the Fourth World where they now reside.  
  • An Enemy Way is a Navajo ceremony that people undergo when they experience trauma in their lives and undergo a spiritual cleanse to aid the process of recovery. A large aspect of the story is Uncle Jet undertaking this ceremony to start his road to recovery. In this multi-day ceremony usually for warriors who have returned from war, singing and other rituals are used to combat the dangerous effects of ghosts. 
  • A few times in the story, sweetgrass is discussed. The Navajo use sweetgrass as medicine that they burn and inhale the smoke of to purify the spirit and energize the body. Pond uses his sweetgrass to prolong his life and inhales it a few times. Two times, he lets Nathan do it too. “Nathan picked up the sweetgrass and held it in front of the water monster’s nose. The water monster blew upon it and small embers ignited. Soon, a sweet smoke wafted through the air and into its nostrils. Some of the smoke entered Nathan’s nose, and in an instant, he was no longer tired. He was alert, like he had awakened from the night of great sleep, though he was still hungry and thirsty.” 
  • Other sacred objects include corn pollen and turquoise; both of which are mentioned a few times in the story.  

Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth

It’s a big weekend for Jasmine Toguchi! She’s excited to celebrate Girl’s Day—a Japanese holiday honoring women and girls—with her sister, mother, and best friend, Linnie.  

On Friday after school, Linnie comes over to plan their outfits for the Girl’s Day celebrations, and Jasmine’s neighbor, Mrs. Reese, lets them search through her old clothes for the perfect accessories. But the clothes are in her dark garage, which is kind of scary. And then Linnie decides to go home early, which is kind of weird. Plus Jasmine’s big sister, Sophie, doesn’t seem to want to join in the Girl’s Day fun this year, which is kind of confusing. WHAT is going on?

As her big weekend plans start to unravel, Jasmine must use her sleuthing skills to spot the clues around her. Then maybe, just maybe, she can put everything back in order before Girl’s Day is over! 

Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth explores the topic of friendship with a relatable conflict between Jasmine and her best friend, Linnie. Jasmine and Linne play dress-up at their neighbor Mrs. Reese’s house. Afterward, they do not have time to properly clean up. Jasmine tells Mrs. Reese that it was Linnie’s fault that the clothes weren’t put away right. This upsets Linnie, who then tells Jasmine’s mom that she wants to go home. When Linnie explains why she is upset, Jasmine thinks, “Linnie was snitching on me! She was not a good friend at all.”  

After Linnie goes home, Jasmine “was afraid Linnie would be mad at me forever. I was afraid she would not be my friend anymore. I needed to make things right.” Jasmine realizes that even though she tries to be a super sleuth, she “missed some important clues” that prove Linnie is a super friend. In the end, even though it’s difficult, Jasmine apologizes and the friendship is repaired.  

The story is accessible to fluent readers who are ready for a book with multiple plots. Black and white illustrations appear every two to three pages and show Jasmine’s daily life. Many of the illustrations show the characters’ facial expressions, which will help readers understand the characters’ emotions. Another positive aspect of the story is that difficult words are explained within the text. For example, Jasmine’s teacher asks the class what a detective is. Jasmine answers, “A detective is someone who solves mysteries by using clues. Another word for detective is sleuth.”  

Even though Jasmine Toguchi is a series, the books do not need to be read in order because each book focuses on a new storyline. And for even more fun, the back of the book has directions on how to make origami paper dolls. 

Young readers will enjoy the engaging plot of Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth. With relatable conflicts, positive adult role models, and a kind protagonist, Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth will please young readers and their parents. One of the best aspects of the story is how Jasmine uses her powers of observation to solve a mystery and understand others. In addition, the story has positive life lessons about friendship, communication, and dealing with changes. Jasmine’s mom says, ”Change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Growing up. . . is a part of life. Just make sure you’re doing things because you want to, not because of what others might think.” Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth will appeal to many readers, especially those who love to imagine themselves as super sleuths. For another educational and entertaining mystery, check out King & Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code by Dori Hillestad Butler. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Jasmine’s friend, Linnie, celebrates Hanukkah. However, the holiday is not described. 

Middle School Mischief

Nadia loves fun facts. Here are a few about her: 

  • There was a magical—and hilarious—ancient Egyptian teacher named Titi trapped in her hippo amulet until she freed him last fall. 
  • Her school is choosing a new mascot and her idea is totally going to win! 
  • She’s going to kick butt writing for the school newspaper this term. . .  

A couple of weeks in, the newspaper is a big mess. The mascot contest is mayhem, too. (Who knew choosing a costumed character could cause such controversy?!) Then Nadia and Titi discover that the hippo amulet holds a second secret, one that’s super powerful—and super scary. Too bad they have no idea how to stop it. But Nadia is on the case! If she can solve the mystery of an ancient amulet, then winning the mascot contest and acing her reporter assignments should be easy. . . right? 

In the second installment of The Magical Reality of Nadia Series, Nadia learns that sometimes good intentions go awry. In hopes of bringing the student body together, Nadia proposed that the school’s mascot, the petunia, be replaced with something that represents everyone. Unfortunately, the contest to find a new mascot causes unexpected drama. In an effort to be heard, Nadia writes several articles. However, the first one is off-putting because it is preachy and the second one gives false information. Through it all, Nadia learns the importance of checking the validity of internet sources.  

Readers will connect with Nadia, who is imperfect and often makes mistakes. Like many middle school students, she unintentionally hurts people’s feelings which causes friendship problems. Since Nadia loves to tell people fun facts, she often comes off as a know-it-all. Despite this, Nadia’s imperfections and good intentions make her an extremely likable protagonist.  

Titi, an ancient professor, becomes a substitute teacher at Nadia’s school. Nadia begins to feel jealous when Titi has less time for her. Plus, Nadia begins to wonder if Titi is a true friend or if he is just using her. Nadia’s relationship with Titi adds suspense and humor to the story as well as reminds readers not to make assumptions.  

Middle School Mischief’s fun format and fast-paced plot will appeal to many readers. While most of the story is in traditional text, the book includes sections of black-and-white comics and lively black-and-white illustrations throughout. Several times throughout the story, Nadia mentions admiring Nellie Bly, which may spark the reader’s interest in the journalist. Unlike the first installment of the series, in Middle School Mischief Nadia’s fun facts are not integrated into the story; instead, they appear in the margins which makes it easy to overlook them.  

Middle School Mischief has many positive aspects that will appeal to middle-grade readers. While the story is full of humor, it also has many important life lessons including how mistakes are an important part of learning. The entertaining story also shows the importance of inclusion. In addition, the book briefly mentions microaggressions and explains that “just because something isn’t familiar to you doesn’t mean it’s weird.” Middle School Mischief is a highly entertaining book that reminds readers that no one is perfect.   

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Titi’s enemy, the magician Khefren, is determined to get revenge. The magician “turned on the news. And there it was—the scene of the ‘accident’ he’d orchestrated—the crushed chandelier, the broken glass, the flashing lights of the ambulances.” A news anchor goes on to explain, “A deranged squirrel caused massive destruction to the foyer of Elvis Presley’s historic home. The rodent chewed through a cable, causing a chandelier to fall on a local tour guide and Elvis impersonator.” No one is injured.  
  • When Titi lived in ancient Egypt, his friend Khefren became “very powerful. There were rumors that he had put a dark spell over the pharaoh. Our good and noble leader was now weak and confused. Anyone who questioned Khefren was put to death or imprisoned.” 
  • During lunch, Nadia was speaking to the student body. Someone gets upset and then, “Something hit the megaphone, then oozed off. Someone had thrown coleslaw at Nadia.” A food fight breaks out, but no one is injured.  
  • While in a classroom at Nadia’s school, Khefren gets angry and “pulled back his hand, fathering red smoke and sparks, and threw them toward Titi. The sparks bounced off him, hitting a gigantic seahorse and shattering it.”  
  • Khefren threatens to hurt Nadia and her friend Adam. “Titi dove to block the green and yellow sparks that flew from Khefren’s hand toward Adam. Adam hightailed it out of the classroom. . . Then [Khefren] threw electric blue sparks at the gigantic fish net hanging above. It landed on Nadia and Titi as Khefren disappeared down the hallway.”  
  • Khefren chases Adam down a hallway. To help Adam, Titi uses magic. “Suddenly, Nadia, Titi, and Adam were tiny animated versions of themselves, standing on the bake sale poster. ‘Eat us! Eat us!’ The cupcakes cried, jumping up and down.” As the three jump from poster to poster, the animated items on the poster chase them. 
  • Nadia, Titi, and Adam lock themselves in the gym. Khefren turns into a crocodile. “Croc-Khefren. . . rammed into the doors with his massive body. The lock broke like it was made of cheap plastic.” The students in the gym think the crocodile is part of Titi’s magic show. After an epic magic battle, Khefren is sent into an amulet.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • After the magic fight in the gym, Titi uses his magic to give everyone cotton candy. Titi says, “That delectable delight is filled with memory-erasing magic. Once everyone has a taste, all they’ll recall from today is that they saw a really amazing magic show. . .” 

Language  

  • Heck is used twice. 
  • Titi has many interesting ways to show surprise. For example, he exclaims, “Heavens to Mentuhotep” (an Egyptian pharaoh), “Cleopatra’s needles,” “for the love of Iris” (goddess of the rainbow), and more. 
  • Khefren calls Titi pathetic and a fool. 

Supernatural 

  • Khefren can shapeshift. To get revenge, he takes over another human’s body. 
  • Titi can dive inside a comic book “to any point in history and bring Nadia and Adam along.”  
  • Titi is sent into a poster. For example, “Titi snapped his fingers and—POOF!—suddenly appeared on a poster of Pompei next to the whiteboard, a tiny animated version of himself.” 
  • Khefren takes over Principal Taylor’s body. Khefren believes Titi is in an amulet, so he plans to destroy it. “Taylor began chanting some ancient words, presumably the spell that would destroy the amulet forever. Purple smoke, then sparks began to form around his hand. . . Titi recites the backward words out loud and . . .purple sparks bounced off the amulet and head back toward Taylor.” This forces Khefren out of Taylor’s body. 

Spiritual Content  

  • Nadia makes a comment about how hawks “were revered in ancient Egypt—there was even an all-powerful hawk-headed god named Horus.”  

City of Magic

In the third installment of Avi’s Midnight Magic series, Fabrizio and Mangus the Magician are back for a final adventure. It is Pergamontio, Italy in 1492, and King Claudio and the tax collector call the elderly Mangus to them. As Pergamontio is losing money, Mangus must find the “magical” book about numbers written by Franciscan monk Luca Pacioli. If Mangus and Fabrizio don’t succeed in their mission, they risk death. The biggest issue: the book – and the monk – are in Venice. 

City of Magic mirrors the first book, Murder at Midnight, in a few ways. The king is especially superstitious and requires Mangus to sort out any foreign entities that may enter the kingdom. In this case, accounting has become Mangus’s new domain, which Fabrizio and Mangus realize is not something they understand. Since Mangus is elderly and in poor health, they are reluctant to take a long and arduous journey to Venice. The tax collector, like the other villains of the series, is obviously evil. The similarities to the first book did make certain plot elements, like the villains, feel a bit repetitive. 

In this installment, Fabrizio is less wide-eyed than in previous ones. However, he has become more interested in earning respect for using his illusions and tricks. As a servant and a child, he doesn’t have the same access to power that Mangus the Magician or King Claudio have, so he sometimes makes bad choices because he’s looking after his interests – in this case, being respected and honored by others. Fabrizio pressures Mangus into traveling to Venice. While there, Fabrizio realizes that he’s made a series of horrible mistakes and tries to atone for them by saving Mangus.  

As the characters enter Venice, the reader learns that Venice values secrets and money more than anything else. In many ways, it is a different world than Pergamontio, including the secret Black Hoods who act as an undercover police force and take people to prison. As Fabrizio is liable to give away excess information to strangers, he inadvertently gets Mangus arrested. Fabrizio also gets several other characters wrapped up in his adventure. The difference in location adds interest but also shifts the tone in a slightly darker direction. 

Similar to the first book, City of Magic has many historical references, including the Franciscan monk Brother Luca Pacioli, who during his lifetime was a philosopher and friend of Leonardo Da Vinci. Avi provides further historical notes at the end of the book. As usual, the story’s pacing is fast and upbeat, which moves the characters along at breakneck speed through the mystery, weaving in and around the narrow Venetian streets. Fans of the previous two books will enjoy this one as well, and they’ll find  

Fabrizio’s journey into maturity is compelling. Young readers will identify with Fabrizio’s desire to be respected for his intelligence and ultimately prove himself useful, even if it sometimes gets him into  trouble. Learning how to gain this respect is something readers and Fabrizio can learn through the course of the book. This was a solid new installment to the series, even if it reuses some key ideas from the previous books. Readers who want to be drawn into another magical series should read The Magic Misfits Series by Neil Patrick Harris.

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • Fabrizio and Mangus enter Venice and are not greeted very kindly at the immigration port. A man warns them of another man lying at the base of one of the columns, saying, “he’s dead. Executed for breaking our laws.” Fabrizio looks at the man initially and only thinks that he’s sleeping. Other details of this body are not given. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • The tax collector shows up at Mangus’s home and demands that he come to see King Claudio immediately. Fabrizio comments to the tax collector that his master no longer practices magic, which is illegal, and the tax collector responds, “I don’t give a fig what Mangus does.” 
  • Light language is used throughout. Terms include fool and stupid. 

Supernatural 

  • Mangus the Magician no longer practices his magic, but Fabrizio does. Fabrizio notes that Mangus refuses to teach him magic. Fabrizio says, “[Mangus] claimed he didn’t know any. How exasperating. How annoying. How regrettable. If I’d known even a bit of magic, I would have done all manner of marvelous things.” 
  • Fabrizio says he once learned that “if you don’t cover your mouth when you yawn, evil spirits can slip into your body.” He believes in many superstitions like this and occasionally brings them up. 

Spiritual Content  

  • City of Magic is set in 1492 Italy, in the Kingdom of Pergamontio. All the characters are Catholic and will frequently make exclamations of God’s name or saints’ names, and they will pray in times of fear. Mangus’s wife Sophia, for instance, exclaims “Dearest Saint Monica” and crosses herself when the king summons her husband. 
  • Fabrizio and his new Venetian friend Bianca hide out in a church during what Fabrizio notices is “Midnight Mass.” Bianca notes, “I come here often and pray…I like to be alone with Saint Antonio.” She prays for her father’s return. 

Pippa Park Raises Her Game

Pippa Park’s seventh-grade year is looking bleak. With her failing math grade, Pippa’s older sister Mina is thinking about restricting her from trying out for the basketball team. However, a scholarship allows Pippa to reinvent herself by transferring to the prestigious Lakeview Private (as long as she keeps her grades up).  

At first, everything seems to go smoothly; she makes new friends, establishes herself as a star player on the basketball team, and even improves her math grade through tutoring sessions with the school’s resident jock, Eliot Haverford. Pippa has officially invented herself as “cool.” But the cost of her newfound popularity is her family and former friends. Pippa starts to ignore her best friend Buddy, who is “uncool” by her new friends’ standards. Most of her friends come from privileged backgrounds, so Pippa feels pressure to hide the fact that she’s being raised by her sister, Mina, who owns a laundromat. In addition, Pippa absolutely can’t let anyone know about her crush on Eliot Haverford, or that she hails from Victoria Middle School, the public school that is Lakeview Private’s number one enemy.  

Soon, Pippa’s lies start to catch up with her, and an anonymous cyberbully starts to send her threatening messages online, exposing the truth of Pippa’s past. Her friendship with Buddy is ruined, her new “friends” turn against her due to her interest in Eliot, and her scholarship falls into jeopardy when her math grade plummets. Additionally, her desire to learn more about Eliot has caused a rift in his family.  

Overnight, Pippa’s life falls apart. Pippa says, “I got caught up in this idea that I could be someone different . . . I kept thinking that if I just made myself into someone else, then one day I would become [popular]. I would be Eliot’s girlfriend. I would belong at Lakeview. But I never will. It’s not my world.” Mina’s husband, Jung-Hwa, reassures Pippa by saying, “Everyone makes mistakes. . . This will pass eventually.” This advice, though simple, helps Pippa reassess the situation and start to make amends for the things she can change, like apologizing to Buddy. Soon, she is able to embrace her past, repair her friendships, and start anew – this time, as her true self – at Lakeview Private. 

Pippa Park Raises Her Game is a story about self-acceptance. Middle school is a trying time – both an opportunity to reinvent oneself and a challenge to figure out who you are. Pippa believes that trying to be cool will make her happy. But she discovers that accepting herself, her background, and her flaws gives her more happiness than trying to fit the mold of a typical Lakeview Private student. Pippa is a relatable character because she’s similar to middle school kids who are trying to find their identity, and caving to societal pressures. Pippa is a bit impulsive, which gives the story more action than a typical middle school novel. The overall plot is simple but has enough layers to be interesting and keep readers guessing until the end. Pippa’s love for basketball (and her knack for getting into trouble) makes this story entertaining.  

Pippa is also Korean American, and her family occasionally speaks in Korean, which is Romanized from the Korean alphabet in the book. The language makes sense in context and is paired with Pippa referencing Korean cultural touchpoints, like snacks, Kpop, Kdramas, and Chuseok, which Pippa explains is like a Korean Thanksgiving. Other characters do occasionally commit microaggressions against Pippa, making comments on various aspects of her Korean identity. For instance, one of Pippa’s teammates smells the kimchi that Pippa brings for lunch. When Pippa explains what it is, the girl says, “I was wondering what that smell was.” In the text, it is not meant kindly, and it deters Pippa from bringing her family’s leftovers for lunch in the future. Although these moments aren’t the focus of the text, they present a real battle that Pippa must deal with at her new, upper-crust, and presumably white school. 

Pippa’s shame and acceptance of her culture is another point of contention with her Lakeview identity. She says, “The shame I’d felt about Jung-Hwa’s homemade lunches, irritation at his clumsy gestures of affection, and embarrassment at his grimy clothes – they all sent a wave of guilt over me. He was the kindest man I’d ever known. Why did any of the rest of it matter?” Pippa thinks that being cool means not associating herself with her family or her origins, but ends up wondering why she should have to be ashamed of her family to fit in. Overall, Pippa ends up being a layered, yet relatable narrator who learns that embracing her identity – not running from it – leads to more genuine happiness.  

Pippa Park Raises Her Game is good for basketball fans and students who are looking for a novel that doesn’t only focus is basketball. Pippa’s story is not uncommon, and it’s important that young readers learn to recognize and empathize with these themes. Although the dialogue sometimes feels a bit young for middle schoolers, the story doesn’t lose impact because of it. Young readers will be able to take away many lessons from this book, especially about staying true to oneself and improving self-esteem. If you’re looking for a book with similar themes, check out I’m Ok by Patti Kim and The Comeback: A Figure Skating Novel by E.L. Shen. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Eliot’s grandfather and grandmother died in a car accident. Eliot’s grandparents’ car “ran off the road” leaving “their little baby son an orphan.” It’s described once briefly, “some maniac ran their car off the road.” This is mentioned a few times. 
  • Mina is Pippa’s older sister who raised her. In many ways, Mina is like Pippa’s parent. Mina is angry at Pippa one day and says, “I have half a mind to really bring you up by the hand . . . The tips of Mina’s fingers twitched, like she was thinking about giving [Pippa] a good slap.” 
  • Jung-Hwa, Mina’s husband, brings news that Pippa’s mom has been in a car crash in Korea. Jung-Hwa says, “She’s in the hospital, in critical condition.” Mina explains later that, “She ran a stoplight. Another car slammed right into her. After it hit the passenger side, her car spun out of control, and she had a head-on collision with a light pole.” Pippa’s mom survives the crash. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language    

  • Pippa calls herself an “idiot” for telling her name to a stranger, “Oh man! I definitely wasn’t supposed to tell him my name. I wanted to hit my palm against my forehead. Idiot!”  
  • Light language is used occasionally throughout the book. Terms include lousy, stupid, and jerk. 
  • Pippa is Korean American, and some of the people she meets are openly racist towards her. For instance, Pippa struggles with math and one student in class says to her, “Aren’t Asians supposed to be good at math?”  
  • Pippa mentions other backhanded racist comments that people often say. For example, Pippa is talking about Disney movies and mentions that most people think that Mulan is her favorite because they say, “You look just like her!” 
  • A classmate of Pippa’s, Caroline, comments on Pippa’s skin tone, inadvertently being racist. Caroline says to Pippa, “You do look a little sick. Or maybe you’re always this washed-out.” The other girls reprimand her, but don’t address why what Caroline said was rude. 
  • Another girl comments on the medical care that Pippa’s mom is receiving in Korea. She says, “I’m sure there are really good doctors in Seoul. My dentist is Korean —  he’s great.” 

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

The Rhino in Right Field

Nick wants to change his life. For twelve years, he’s done what his hard-working, immigrant parents want him to do. Now he’s looking for his own American dream and he thinks he’s found it. The local baseball team is having a batboy contest, and Nick wants to win.

But the contest is on a Saturday—the day Nick has to work in his father’s shop. There’s one other tiny—well, not so tiny—problem. A 2,000-pound rhinoceros named Tank. Nick and his friends play ball in the city zoo—and Tank lives just beyond the right field fence. Nick’s experience getting the ball out of Tank’s pen has left him frozen with fear whenever a fly ball comes his way. How’s a lousy fielder going to win the contest?

Nick practices every day with his best friend, Ace, and a new girl who has an impressive throwing arm! But that’s not enough—to get to the contest, Nick has to lie to his parents and blackmail his uncle. All while dodging the school bully, who’s determined to win even by playing dirty. Nick will need to keep his eye on the ball in this fast, funny story about a game that can throw you some curveballs—just like life! 

Nick, the protagonist in The Rhino in Right Field, is a likable and relatable protagonist, who deals with relatable conflicts. Like many middle-grade readers, Nick is frustrated with his mother who still treats him like a baby. Nick is also upset that his father makes him work in the family shop, every Saturday. His father’s uncompromising ways lead Nick to lie to his family in order to participate in a baseball contest. Even though Nick wins the contest, his joy is tampered because he can’t share the news with his parents. In the end, everyone in the family—Nick, his mother, and his father—sneak off to watch the same baseball game. While the scene is funny, Nick and his family come to a new understanding—that fun should also be a regular part of their life.

Although baseball plays a major part in the story, no actual baseball games are described. Despite this, The Rhino in Right Field is still engaging enough to please sports fans. Nick and his friends play baseball at the zoo, which adds interest and humor to the book. A batboy contest, a bully, and an unusual baseball-throwing girl help propel the story to an unexpected conclusion that shows the importance of hard work and having fun.  

Dekeyser takes readers back to the 1940s when both women and men played professional baseball.  However, the time period is a little fuzzy because there are few context clues as to the time period. The use of terms such as “holy cow” and “knucklehead” are clues that the story takes place in the past. In addition, Nick occasionally mentions the price of items. For example, Nick says a baseball cost ninety-eight cents which is three weeks’ worth of tip money. While these give clues that the story doesn’t take place in the present, readers likely will not be able to identify the time period.   

The Rhino in Right Field has many positive aspects that will appeal to middle-grade readers including a well-intentioned, humorous protagonist. While the supporting characters are not well-developed, they add suspense and interest. In addition, the book’s short chapters and fast pace keep the action hopping until the very end. Readers will also be introduced to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and can learn more about girls in baseball by reading Out of Left Field by Ellen Klages. Readers interested in more humorous middle-grade stories should also read The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade by Jordan Sonnenblick. 

Sexual Content  

  • Penny’s sister, Josie, played professional baseball. Penny says, “One lady told Josie that if she kept playing ball, she’d never be able to have babies.” 
  • After talking to Penny, Nick thinks “I’m not too swift on the female anatomy, though you can’t say I haven’t tried. One time I happened to find a cheesecake magazine in Uncle Spiro’s room, but I only got a peek at a leg and some garters before he walked in and hollered at me to get out of his room forever.”

Violence  

  • While in second grade, Pete, the school bully, “actually punched a kid for calling him Taki to his face.” Taki is a nickname for Pete’s Greek name which is Panagiotakis. 
  • Nick sees one of his classmates, Penny, crying. She wasn’t able to enter the contest because she is a girl. While at the contest, Pete yells, “How did that hairy monkey get in here, anyway? That’s right—go back to the zoo!” 
  • While at church, Pete tries to punch Nick. Pete “swung at me. . . My survival skills kicked in, and I ducked out of the way just in time. With nothing for his fist to land on, Pete was thrown off balance. He spun around on his heels, and when his face came into view again. . . I punched him right in the nose.” The punch caused a “trickle of blood” to drip from Pete’s nose. 
  • When the doorbell rings, Nick opens the door and sees Pete. “And before I knew it, he [Pete] hauled off and slugged me. I dropped to the floor like a sack of marbles. . . Then he stomped down the porch steps and out into the night.” After being hit, Nick’s “left eye was throbbing, and it was already hard to see out of it.” Nick’s mom puts a cold piece of liver on Nick’s eye and the swelling goes down. 
  • The zoo puts some animals in cages and they ride in a parade. A zookeeper has an elephant gun with him that has tranquilizers in it. The gun is never used.

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • A secretary who works at the ballfield smokes. When her boss sees her with a cigarette, he says, “Miss Garble, how many times have I told you? That stuff’ll kill you.”  

Language  

  • Heck and darn are used occasionally. 
  • Dang is used a few times. For example, when Pete threatens Nick, Nick says something to him in Greek. When Pete replies, Nick explains, “But I wasn’t going to explain what I’d said, and I dang well knew Peter wouldn’t either.” 
  • Frequently, the kids call each other names such as chicken, idiot, punk, and weasel.  
  • Both the children and the adults frequently call people knuckleheads.  
  • Holy cow, holy moly, holy smokes, and similar exclamations are used frequently. 
  • Nick is mad at his uncle so he calls him a “shifty freeloader.” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Nick and his family go to church. During service, Pete “kept giving [Nick] the stink eye which I hope is a sin if you do it in church.”  
  • While at church, Nick falls asleep. When he wakes up, his mother “gave [him] the stink eye, which probably isn’t a sin if your mother does it, even in church.” 
  • After the church service ends, Nick is impatient to leave. He thinks, “I’d already spent two hours in church. Not even God could expect me to hang around longer than that.” 
  • After church, a woman asks Nick’s uncle. Nick thinks, “I happened to know that Uncle Spiro was a shameless heathen who avoided church religiously.” 

Nic Blake and The Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy

Nic Blake has a secret to keep from the rest of the world—she has a magical power called the Gift. This makes her, like her father, a Remarkable. Nic explains her life as a Remarkable in an Unremarkable world, “an Unremarkable . . . doesn’t have the Gift or any supernatural ability.” Nic knows that the majority of people in her town are Unremarkables and that “a majority of Unremarkables don’t know about the Gift or know that Remarkable creatures exist. Though Nic knows she has these powers, she still does not know how to use them. As she is about to have her twelfth birthday, Nic is excited that, “My dad’s gonna teach me how to use the Gift so I can finally be a real Manifestor.” Nic reveals, “Although we Manifestors are born with the Gift inside of us, we still have to learn how to use it, and there are lots of ways to use it, too.”

In Jackson, Mississippi, Nic is happily living with her father, Calvin, and hanging out with her best friend, JP. Her world is about to change, however, when Nic’s mother, who Nic has not seen since she was a baby, suddenly reappears in her life—along with a twin brother, Alex, whom Nic didn’t know she even had. Nic’s twin brother Alex and Nic’s mom reveal that they had to find Nic because her father has been accused of stealing a magical weapon by the Remarkable government. Nic’s mom and her brother have come all the way from the land they call home, Uhuru, a super technologically advanced city where only Remarkables live, to find Nic.

When Nic’s dad is accused of stealing a dangerous, magical weapon, Nic, JP, and Alex must set out on a quest to find the magical weapon and prove that Nic’s father is innocent. Along the way, Nic shows herself to be an extremely insightful Manifestor, even though she doesn’t know how to control the Gift. Throughout the novel, Nic learns more about her powers as well as how they connect with her ancestry. For instance, Nic recalls a story about how some of her ancestors who were caught by slavecatchers were freed by a Manifestor who “whispered ancient words to them, and they remembered who they were . . . They flew off like birds to freedom.” Nic recognizes that the Gift “helps us when we need it,” and gradually learns how to use her powers.   

Nic is an extremely empathetic character, who struggles to comprehend having a mom and brother enter her life unexpectedly. Nic explains, “It feels like my world was made of sand and I didn’t know it, and a gigantic wave has crashed in, wiped it out, and left me with something that doesn’t resemble my life.” Readers will appreciate the sacrifices Nic makes to prove her father’s innocence, even though her family dynamic is completely uprooted. Nic thinks, “I never would’ve thought that my dad would be a wanted criminal . . . it’s hard to believe this is my life.” Nic’s father admits his mistakes in keeping secrets from her. Nic’s dad says, “No matter my reasoning, I kept you from an amazing mom and brother.”  

Another reason readers will love Nic is that she is a very open-minded character and treats each new person she meets with respect, Remarkable or not, because her father has taught her that “some Manfestors like to make sure other Remarkables know that [Manifestors] are the most powerful Remarkables. Dad says it’s silly; that as Black folks we’ve seen people like us get treated as inferior and we shouldn’t do that to others.”

A major theme in Nic Blake and The Remarkables is reconnecting with estranged or lost family. Nic is dealing with a lot: “finding out I was kidnapped, that my dad may be a criminal, and that I have a mom and a twin brother.” Throughout the novel, Nic has to learn to trust and rely on Alex to help her navigate through Uhuru. Alex shows Nic how to use Uhuru’s technology. But Nic also helps Alex by demonstrating bravery, such as when she approaches a dragon for help, while “Alex whimpers.” In this way, both Nic and Alex bring something to the table and help each other on their journey. Alex and Nic’s relationship adds a great deal of heart to the story, as they realize that they actually have a lot in common, they even begin to call this “twin telepathy.”

Nic Blake and The Remarkables ends on a cliffhanger, with Nic receiving a threatening message from an anonymous source because she has found and returned the magical weapon. The threat tells Nic, “You think you’re gonna get away with finding what I hid?” This ending will certainly keep readers on their toes and excited to read the next book. Readers who enjoy stories with fantasy, action, and family will find this book absolutely delightful. Nic’s journey leaves readers with an amazing message about trusting in your own abilities. As Nic says, “The power to save myself, it lies within me.” 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Nic’s powers accidentally knock out her Uncle Ty. Nic explains, “Our hands touch, and everything happens in a flash. Uncle Ty’s Glow goes out like a fire doused with water, and a jolt shoots through my palms, making my own aura glow so bright, it blinds me . . . [Uncle Ty] hits the ground with a thud.” Uncle Ty recovers quickly, but Nic feels extremely worried that she accidentally hurt someone.  
  • Nic and her dad visit a Civil Rights Museum when her dad tells her what happened to Emmett Till. Nic explains what her father taught her about the event, saying, “[Emmett] was accused of whistling at a woman. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but Dad said that back then because Emmett was Black and the woman was white, some people did think it was a big deal. The woman’s husband and brother-in-law kidnapped Emmett in the middle of the night and killed him. [Emmett] was fourteen; a kid like me.” 
  • Nic and JP encounter a Boo Hag, which Nic explains is like a vampire except that these creatures “live off breath instead of blood. They climb on victims at night and suck the oxygen from their bodies, and sometimes they steal the person’s skin.” 
  • Nic and her friends encounter a ghost-like creature called a haint. JP asks the haint how he died: “[the haint] points at a tree, hangs his head, and holds his hand up as if it’s a rope. ‘Oh,’ JP murmurs. ‘You were lynched.’” 
  • Based on his interpretation of a prophecy, Uncle Ty believes that he is meant to defeat Nic and attacks her. Nic says, “My brain doesn’t process what he’s said until the lightning bolt whizzes straight for me.” Nic is able to escape Ty with her mom and dad’s help.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • Nic’s father gets her a hellhound as a birthday present: “The woods dissolve, revealing my backyard, and that fire-breathing, gigantic hellhound is a tail-wagging little hellhound pup.” 
  • Nic explains the difference between the Gift and magic. “The Gift is an innate power that lives in us Manifestors. Magic, on the other hand, is a corrupt form of the Gift. It’s hard to control and super destructive. Also, magic in real life can only be performed with a wand, and the magic in wands runs out after a while. We Manifestors don’t need wands.” 
  • While Nic is in the kitchen, “a deep growl rattles the door to the basement.” Nic asks, “Is that the demon you caught at the governor’s mansion?” Nic’s dad explains that it is a demon, saying, “I swear, demons can’t stay away from that place.” 
  • Nic can identify other Remarkables. Nic says, “the Remarkables light the place up a bit thanks to the Glow, different-colored auras that tell you the kinda Remarkable they are.” 
  • Nic’s dad creates an illusion of stars on her ceiling. “With the wave of his hand, my ceiling disappears and a night sky takes its place.” 
  • Nic’s father’s best friend, whom she calls Uncle Ty, gives Nic a G-Pen. Uncle Ty explains that the “Gift-Infused technology” can only be bought in Remarkable cities. The G-Pen allows Nic to “write to any [Remarkable person] with it, and they’ll see it wherever they are . . . You simply think about the person and write to them in midair.” 

Spiritual Content  

  • JP has very religious parents. JP’s parents tell him, “Phones are quick access to the Devil.”  
  • Nic’s neighbor, Mr. Zeke, takes a trip to “a Remarkable city or historic site” each year, and this year “he went to Africa to see the Garden of Eden.” 
  • Nic and her friends encounter a woman named DD, but they realize something about her real identity. Nic says, “You’re the Devil’s daughter,” and then Nic hears, “Countless voices wail as a cackle echoes in the distance, sounding as evil as the Devil himself. That’s because it is the Devil himself.” 
  • JP saves Nic from the Devil’s daughter by chanting “Jesus” and “holding a cross made of forks, spoons, and rubber bands like a shield. [JP] points it in DD’s direction. ‘Jeeee-suuus!’ The skeletal hands explode into dust, freeing [Nic].” 

Treasure Island: Runaway Gold

Three kids. One dog. And the island of Manhattan laid out in an old treasure map.  

Zane is itching for an adventure that will take him away from his family’s boarding house in Rockaway, Queens—and from the memory of his dad’s recent death. Some days it seems like the most exciting part of his life is listening to his favorite boarder, Captain Maddie, recount her tales of sailing the seven seas. 

But when a threatening crew of skater kids crashes the boardinghouse, a dying Captain Maddie entrusts Zane with a secret: a real treasure map, leading to a spot somewhere in Manhattan. Zane wastes no time in riding the ferry over to the city to start the search with his friends Kiko and Jack, and his dog, Hip-Hop.  

Through strange coincidence, they meet a man who is eager to help them find the treasure: John, a sailor who knows all about the buried history of Black New Yorkers of centuries past—and the gold that is hidden somewhere in those stories. But as a vicious rival skateboard crew follows them around the city, Zane and his friends begin to wonder who they can trust. And soon it becomes clear that treasure hunting is a dangerous business . . . 

Treasure Island: Runaway Gold reimagines Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic book Treasure Island. While the books have a similar plot line, many of the original story’s details are changed. Treasure Island: Runaway Gold revolves around Zane and his three friends, who are searching for a lost pirate treasure. Along the way, they meet Captain John, who claims that he wants to help the kids find the treasure but doesn’t want a share of the prize for himself. Right from the start, many red flags show that Captain John cannot be trusted, and Captain John eventually betrays Zane’s trust. However, Captain John was clearly a villain from the start, so his betrayal feels anticlimactic.  

The first chapter jumps right into action and there is never any lull. Fast-paced action scenes dominate the book. Despite this, the book finds time to shine a light on how Black slaves were used to build Wall Street and other important Manhattan buildings. In death, many were buried in a graveyard. However, “colonists didn’t care about a Black cemetery. For centuries, folks kept building over and through their graves.” This historical information blends seamlessly into the story, creating a cohesive mystery that is tied to the pirate treasure.  

Readers who want a story with plenty of action and suspense will quickly be swept away by Treasure Island: Runaway Gold. However, the story’s fast pace doesn’t leave a lot of room for character development, the ending is rushed, and readers will be left with many questions. Despite these flaws, Treasure Island: Runaway Gold uses an interesting premise to teach about Black history.  

A few black-and-white illustrations are scattered throughout the book, which helps bring the events to life. In addition, the back of the book has a glossary of Zane’s skateboarding tricks and an Afterword that explains “how the [enslaved] Black people contributed to New York becoming the economic heart of the world,” as well as how “Thomas Downing, the son of enslaved people,” used his wealth to fund the Underground Railroad. Readers who want to learn more about the Underground Railroad should also read The Underground Abductor: An Abolitionist Tale about Harriet Tubman by Nathan Hale and Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Zane has a friend named Jack, who has an abusive father. Zane explains, “Since second grade, I’ve known the pattern. Dad home, Jack had accidents. Bruises, sprains. A black eye.” Later it is revealed that his father once broke Jack’s arm. 
  • Jack shows up at the skate park with “his body tilting left while his hand holds his side. Kiko says, ‘His dad still thinks he’s a punching bag.’ ” The conversation stops there. 
  • Zane gets home and finds, “it looks like a bomb has hit the dining room. Broken plates, shattered glasses, oatmeal, soft eggs, and crushed toast are on the floor. . .” Zane runs upstairs to find Captain Maddie “passed out cold.” Zane’s mother explains that skater kids and “that nasty boy came in frightening our guests, tearing up the place. Demanding to see Captain Maddie.” 
  • When the doctor comes, Captain Maddie, “is upright, flailing a small knife, slick with blood.” Captain Maddie dies. The doctor says, “The shock was too much for her. Probably an aneurysm.”  
  • During the night, the skater kids come back to Zane’s house. “Six skaters dressed in black, canvassing the house . . . Hip-Hop dives, racing across the grass, and bites someone. A scream. Jack is right behind Hip-Hop, punching right, left. . . Zane and his friends begin throwing baseballs at them . . . Some boys try blocking with their skateboards. Others limp away. Another runs. . .” 
  • Zane, Jack, and Kiko go to Manhattan to look for treasure. The skater crew swarms them. “Brave, ready for a fight, Jack sails into the gang, his board sideswiping other boards, his hands shoving, unbalancing the skater. . . A kid pulls Jack’s arms behind his back. . . [Zane] pull[s] the kid off Jack while Jack punches back at three kids trying to get a hit.” 
  • As the fight continues, “Jack gets pinned, his face against asphalt. I tug one kid off before I’m pounded in the gut and taken down.” At the end of the fight, “bloodred bruises cover his [Jack’s] face and arms. More, I know, are hidden beneath his shirt. He took the brunt of the beating. . .” The fight is described over five pages. No one is seriously injured.   
  • Zane and his friends are on a boat driven by John when the skater boys begin to “tail our boat, edging closer and closer, gunning, then leveling the engine. Almost like he’s going to ram us.” The skater boys’ boat gets so close that “a wall of water rises, slaps, and [Zane] topple[s] overboard.” 
  • John, Zane, and his friends sneak under a restaurant that was used to hide slaves. When men hear them, the men give chase. Zane describes, “The men are closer. Close. I’m not going to make it. . . I kick. The man grunts, stumbles back. . . Jack, beside John, is furiously pitching oyster shells. With a grunt, he throws his weight against a shelf filled with dusty jars, and jugs. The shelf falls, crashing, shattering glass and ceramic.” John, Zane, and his friends slip under the restaurant and escape. 
  • Zane and Kiko sneak into the old Woolworth’s building. A guard sees them entering an elevator and the guard gives chase. Zane shouts, “startling the guard, using my skateboard to whack his hand away.”  
  • One of the skater boys, Findley, grabs Hip-Hop and puts him in a sack. Matt, another boy, grabs Zane. Zane describes how Matt “twist[s] my arm. My knees buckle. He punches, kicks me. I crumple.”  
  • Kiko tries to help Zane. She grabs a cane and “like lightening, the cane flashes down on his arm, swings sideways—whack—slamming into [Matt’s] side. . . [Matt] dashing forward and back. Hopping left, then right. Feigning a punch. . .” Kiko uses the cane to smack Matt who “gasps, drops to his knees. He’s not unconscious, but it’s still a knockout . . .” The scene is described over three pages. 
  • In a multi-chapter conclusion, Jack reveals that when his father beats him, his mother “doesn’t defend me. Never did. Even when I was little, she said, ‘A boy needs to learn how to defend himself.’ When Dad started whaling on me, she left the mobile home.” 
  • John reveals that he is the lead of the skater boys’ gang, and takes Zane and Kiko to his secret hideout. John’s “first mate” Rattler makes sure Zane and Kido can’t escape. “Taunting, Rattler faces me as two pirates pin my arms beneath my back, roping my hands together.” Kiko is also tied up. Afterwards, Zane is hit occasionally. 
  • John’s secret hideout is under the city in an old, abandoned tunnel system. To search for treasure, John has his crew begin dynamiting the ceiling of a tunnel. “Gunpowder with wicks are driven into the tunnel’s sides, its unfinished ceiling.” Petey, who is about eight years old, is tasked with lighting the dynamite. When the dynamite goes off, “Petey tumbles. The torch arcs, twirls like a giant sparkler, landing on Petey’s back. . . Jack’s on it. Kicking aside the torch, he drops, patting Petey’s shirt, smothering flames. . . Petey groans. Beneath his shirt’s jagged burnouts, his skin is red, blistering.” Petey passes out and Kiko administers first aid. 
  • As the skater crew continues to set off explosions, the bones of the people buried there begin to fall. The kids are “tossing skeletons like ordinary sticks. . . ‘Look at this.’ A kid holds a skull and happily throws it to his mate.” Zane is upset that John and his crew are “disturbing graves.” 
  • John taunts Zane by saying, “Zane, a mama’s boy. Worse, a weak, whiny boy missing his dad.” Zane goes “berserk. I’m hitting, kicking, punching John. . . I fall flat, seeing stars. John slapped, shoved me.” When Zane and Kiko refuse to join John’s crew, they make them “walk the plank.”  
  • While in an underground abandoned subway, Zane and Kiko are forced to “walk the plank” which is an old pipe that is dangerously high. Kiko goes first and the crew begin throwing bones at her. “Findley lets a rib bone fly. Others throw rocks. Kiko wabbles, tries to duck low. Arms protecting her head, she shifts forward and back, side to side.” Kiko makes it across the pipe. 
  • As Zane walks the plank, “stones, skeletons fly. Rocks sail wide, especially from younger boys. Others bruise my shoulder and arm.” Zane makes it across the pipe. 
  • Zane and Rattler, one of the skater boys, duel it out by skating. After Zane has a good run, “Rattler leaps toward me, swinging his board at my head.” Kiko jumps in, “Knocking it out of his hands.” The fight ends. 
  • While in an underground tunnel, Zane, Kiko, and Hip-Hop find “hundreds of rats. Rats squeaking, running, crawling over one another. . . In his jaws, Hip-Hop snaps rat after rat. Shaking his head, he breaks their necks. He’s an efficient, killing machine. . . Hip-Hop has made a path—but it’s gross. Limp rats, blood. . .” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Jack’s father spends his money on alcohol instead of food and bills. 
  • John tells Zane that his “best mate” was a woman who would “drink gallons of rum and never spend a day hungover.” 
  • While talking about the history of slaves being used to build Wall Street, John says, “I need a swig. . .Rum helps set the mind straight.”  
  • Jack says, “Alcohol turns my dad into a wild man. . .” 
  • At one point, John is “sauntering off-balance” because he’s drunk. He offers Zane a flask and says, “Rum cures a lot of ills.” 
  • When a young boy is burned, Kiko gives him ibuprofen. 

Language  

  • Occasionally, there is name-calling such as brat, loser, failure, jerk, and traitor. 
  • John opens an old trunk expecting to see treasure. When the trunk is empty, he yells, “Aargh. Damnation.” 
  • John calls one of the skater boys a “gutless swine.” 

Supernatural 

  • Zane sees visions of the past. “Images like photographs. Now they seem like a silent movie. Figures move, stumble. I see a long line of shackled people, some stumbling, some wailing . . .” During the three-page vision, Captain Maddie shows Zane how slaves were used to build Wall Street.  
  • Occasionally Captain Maddie appears, but Zane is the only person who can see her ghost.  
  • Zane has a vision of Thomas Downing, a wealthy Black man who helped hide people who were escaping slavery. The vision guides Zane to the underground room where Thomas hid slaves.

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

On Air with Zoe Washington

Marks’ novel follows fourteen-year-old Zoe as she begins her summer job working at a local bakery, where she and her biological father, Marcus, begin to bond over their love of baking. Marcus has recently been exonerated, after being previously incarcerated for most of Zoe’s childhood. Zoe and Marcus decide to open a barbecue food truck together, but first, they have to reckon with the systemic obstacles facing Marcus as an exoneree. Though Marcus is entitled to compensation from the state as an exoneree, Zoe quickly realizes that this process often takes a very long time. Marcus explains, “My lawyer is already working on it, but he told me not to expect compensation anytime soon,” as the state can make obtaining this compensation difficult.  

Because Marcus was in prison for so long, he does not have credit in the eyes of the bank and thus he is denied a loan to open a business. After this setback, Zoe begins researching how the lives of exonerees are affected after they are released from prison. Zoe finds that for many exonerees, “the original conviction was still on [their] record, and [they] had a hard time getting a job.” Zoe believes that “it didn’t seem fair. Was it really justice if [exonerees] couldn’t get back to living a regular life?” This realization motivates Zoe to start a podcast, which she calls “On Air with Zoe Washington.” For her podcast, Zoe interviews exonerees and lawyers who frequently work with them. Zoe hopes to help amplify exonerees’ voices on how being incarcerated affects their lives.  

Zoe is a determined, hard-working, loveable character that readers will be drawn to immediately. She not only wants to help her biological father open his business, but she also wants to help raise awareness for the systemic obstacles that affect formerly incarcerated individuals. Zoe uses her podcast as a platform to bring attention to the fundraising page she and Marcus created for their food truck business, and how they intend to hire previously incarcerated people to work with them. Throughout the book, Zoe learns from the people she interviews on her podcast, as well as from Marcus, the importance of not making assumptions and judgments about individuals. Marcus reminds Zoe of the people he met in prison and the importance of second chances, especially when it comes to finding work after incarceration.  

Marcus is also an extremely empathetic character. He helps Zoe become more open-minded towards the idea of hiring previously incarcerated people. Marcus explains that he met many people in prison who “weren’t innocent of their crimes but served their time and are ready to do better.” However, prisoners struggle to find jobs after their release because “people on the outside judge. They think ‘Once a criminal, always a criminal.’ But if they were more open-minded, they’d see that’s not the case for a lot of folks.” Marcus helps Zoe realize that “previous offenders were like many of us—worthy of another chance.” Zoe learns that if she wants things to be better for Marcus, she also has to try to make things better for others.  

Overall, On Air with Zoe Washington emphasizes the importance of not being judgmental towards others. Marks maintains the familiar characters from the first book in this two-part series, From the Desk of Zoe Washington. Though this second novel could be read as a stand-alone book, Zoe’s journey in reconnecting with Marcus and helping him prove his innocence is central to From the Desk of Zoe Washington, and frequently referenced in this novel as well.  

The book also raises awareness about the stigma and systemic obstacles facing formerly incarcerated individuals. This is highlighted through Marcus as he struggles to use new technology, and he isn’t “able to get exoneree compensation from the state, or any other assistance or loans.” The key takeaway of this novel is best exemplified by what Zoe explains: “I learned so much from all of [the people Zoe interviewed], and in the end, I was happy the panel topic had shifted to include prior inmates who had committed their crimes. Because they deserved grace, support, and a better life, too.”  

Readers who are interested in social issues such as the ones discussed in On the Air with Zoe Washington, should also read A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee and Clean Getaway by Nic Stone. 

Sexual Content  

  • Zoe’s best friend, Maya, tells Zoe about how she kissed her boyfriend, Trevor, for the first time. Maya says, “Trevor and I . . . we finally kissed.” Maya says the kiss was “kind of awkward the first few seconds, but it got way better after that.”  

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Zoe talks with Hannah, a girl whose mom is incarcerated. Hannah says her mom’s “crimes are all drug-related like she got caught with drugs. Usually, she ends up in prison for a while, and when she gets out, she’ll agree to go to rehab . . . But then she ends up back on drugs, gets arrested again, and it’s this whole horrible cycle.” 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Marcus leads Zoe and the rest of her family in prayer before their dinner. “Marcus closed his eyes and thanked God for the food and this opportunity to be together.” 
  • Zoe explains, “My parents and Grandma weren’t religious, so I hadn’t grown up going to church. Praying wasn’t usually something we did before eating. It felt right, though, to give thanks in that moment.” 

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

On the outside, Yumi Chung suffers from #shygirlproblems, a perm-gone-wrong, and kids calling her “Yu-MEAT” because she smells like her family’s Korean barbecue restaurant. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special. Her notebook is filled with mortifying memories that she’s reworked into comedy gold. All she needs is a stage and some courage.

But instead of spending the summer studying her favorite YouTube comedians, Yumi is enrolled in test-prep tutoring to qualify for a private school scholarship, which will help in a time of hardship at the restaurant. Then one day after class, Yumi stumbles on an opportunity that will change her life: a comedy camp for kids taught by one of her favorite YouTube stars, Jasmine Jasper. The only problem is that the instructor and all the students think she’s a girl named Kay Nakamura — and Yumi doesn’t correct them.  

As this case of mistaken identity unravels, Yumi must decide to stand up and reveal the truth or risk losing her dreams and disappointing everyone she cares about. 

Middle-grade readers will instantly connect to Yumi, who struggles with typical conflicts such as self-doubt, feeling inadequate, making friends, and trying to make her parents happy. Yumi’s humor and honesty make her instantly likable. Many readers will relate to Yumi’s desire to reinvent herself into a more confident and popular person. With the help of new friends and the comedian Jasmine Jasper, Yumi is encouraged to challenge herself and to do things that make her uncomfortable. Along her journey, Yumi learns the importance of being her true self instead of trying to change herself to meet others’ expectations. 

One of Yumi’s main conflicts is that her parents do not understand her desire to be a comedian. Instead, they focus on the importance of earning good grades in school. This problem is compounded by Yumi’s sister, who graduated high school two years early and is currently in medical school. This conflict is further exasperated when Yumi begins lying to her parents. At one point, Yumi wonders, “What does it mean to follow my heart, anyway? What if pleasing my parents and comedy are both pieces of my heart?” 

Yumi reveals her secret to a friend, who says, “You have to speak if you want people to hear you.” When Yumi’s secret is finally revealed, she is forced to have an honest discussion with her family. This discussion allows Yumi and her family to understand and support each other even if they don’t necessarily agree on everything. Yumi’s experiences highlight the importance of being honest as well as the importance of forgiveness. 

Stand Up, Yumi Chung! will resonate with readers because of the likable protagonist and the relatable conflicts. While there are many humorous moments, the story also teaches important life lessons about self-acceptance and open communication. In the end, the story reminds readers that making mistakes is an unavoidable part of life and that “there is no such thing as failure. Just a chance to pivot and try something different.”  

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • After her family has the grand reopening of their restaurant, Yumi finds her father in the alley smoking a cigarette. “He only smokes when he’s really stressed out.” 

Language  

  • The kids in school call Yumi “Yu-meat, Wet Poodle, and Top Ramen.” 
  • Heck and dang are used occasionally.  
  • Fricking is used twice.  
  • OMG is used once. 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Midnight Magic

Princess Teresina of the kingdom of Pergamontio is being haunted by a ghost, and the former magician Mangus is called upon to help solve the mystery. But not all is what it seems in a kingdom that outlaws magic and once convicted Mangus for magic. Now, Mangus’s assistant, Fabrizio, joins his master at the castle to discover what secrets lie within the secret passageways. 

Avi’s Midnight Magic is the second book in the series, though the books do not need to be read in order to be understood. The book’s protagonist and narrator, Fabrizio, sets up the story and explains the context well for those who are unfamiliar with the previous installment. Fabrizio is aiding his master, Mangus the Magician, as the magician tries to solve the mystery of the ghost in the castle. Fabrizio is a likable but naïve boy, who wants to impress his master. Mangus is older and more jaded, and he occasionally mocks his young assistant; however, Mangus does like Fabrizio and praises him when he does well. 

The Kingdom of Pergamontio outlaws magic, and it becomes clear early on that Mangus the Magician is more Sherlock Holmes-clever rather than magical. He doesn’t believe that the princess is being haunted, despite Fabrizio’s clear belief in this supernatural specter. Instead, Mangus uses the power of reasoning to uncover the secrets of the castle. Although magic isn’t used, Fabrizio uses tarot cards throughout the book, something for which Mangus mocks him. Much of the book discusses the way faith and reason interact, leaning heavily on reason and logic being the wisest ways to learn about the world. Fabrizio, despite being overly trusting in others, does note that stories and context link together otherwise meaningless facts. To solve the mystery of the princess’s ghost, faith and reason must work together.  

As he spends time wandering the castle, Fabrizio learns about the royal family and accidentally befriends the princess. He also does his best to avoid the king’s terrifying advisor, Scarazoni, who wants Mangus killed, and who is rumored to have killed the missing prince. Each character’s personality, even the classic stereotypes like the evil advisor and brash, manipulative princess, brings further intrigue into an otherwise twisting mystery. The intrigue is fun and fast-paced, and readers will find themselves unable to put the book down. 

For younger readers, Midnight Magic is a great introduction to both the medieval fantasy and mystery genres because it discusses the real and unreal, and the characters are able to uncover the mystery thanks to their ability to come together and use both logic and faith. The tone of the story is mostly serious, though the inclusion of magic adds a hint of whimsy and wonder that helps bring the story to life. Fabrizio notes that stories, though sometimes fictitious, can speak the truth in spirit and emotion rather than content. To help solve the mystery, Fabrizio is able to seek out context to paint a larger picture; this highlights that there are many pieces to a good story, and sometimes they come from the most unlikely places. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Fabrizio notes that there’s a stick near the doorway. He describes it as “a cudgel with which he was supposed to beat away anyone who tried to enter the house.” 
  • Mangus becomes upset with the impossible task of dealing with a ghost, and he “in a pique of frustration, pushes [Fabrizio] away.” He apologizes after. 
  • Princess Teresina explains that she believes the ghost is her brother. She says, “A few months ago he was sent as an emissary to the pope, in Rome. He never reached the holy city. I believe he was murdered and the ghost we saw is . . . his.” There are no further details about his alleged murder. 
  • Fabrizio overhears the royal advisor, Scarazoni, conspiring with the princess’s tutor. Scarazoni confirms that “the prince was killed. There is no more to say.” 
  • The queen and Fabrizio come across the dead body of the princess’s tutor. No further descriptions of the dead body are given, but it is established that he was murdered. 
  • After Mangus, Princess Teresina, and Fabrizio see the supposed apparition, Mangus alerts the king and Scarazoni of the situation. Scarazoni becomes enraged, wanting to prove the princess wrong. Scarazoni “grabs hold of Mangus’s robe at the throat and shoves the old man hard against the wall.” Scarazoni proceeds to yell at Mangus for answers, and Mangus has difficulty speaking as he’s being held at the throat. This scene lasts for about a page. 
  • Scarazoni raises his hand to hit Mangus, and Fabrizio throws himself between them. Fabrizio describes, “When [his hand] came, [it] struck him down.” 
  • Fabrizio finds the kitchen boy, Rinaldo, in the chapel. “The boy’s clothing was torn in many places and streaked with blood. His face was marked with what also looked like blood. All around him were bits of broken candles. A sword was at his side. What’s more, he was writhing about, clutching his left leg tightly.” It is revealed that Rinaldo is the supposedly murdered prince, alive and well, living in the castle. 
  • Scarazoni’s plot is revealed, and he is sentenced “to be executed.” The reader does not see this execution scene. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • Fabrizio encounters a soldier who wants to speak with the magician Mangus. Fabrizio has some practiced replies that he uses to deter people, but the soldier responds in a mocking tone, “Well spoken, cur.” 
  • Mangus refers to the princess’s tutor as “a dolt.” 
  • Fabrizio announces that he believes in ghosts, and Mangus, unimpressed, says, “You are the living proof that even someone who reads can be a fool.” 
  • Light language such as stupid and fool is used often. 

Supernatural 

  • In the Kingdom of Pergamontio, there is magic as well as magicians. However, magicians are forbidden in the kingdom. Mangus was, “arrested and brought to trial in that same castello, had, under threat of torture, confessed and repented of being a magician.” The book occasionally uses Italian terms like castello, which in this case means castle. 
  • Fabrizio uses tarot cards to help divine events come. He notes, “These cards, he believed, could fashion the future. Since he could envision no life for himself other than as a servant, it was his master’s fate he wished to shape.” Mangus dislikes tarot cards and says “tarot cards are nothing but ignorant superstition.” 
  • The king’s daughter, Teresina, is being haunted by “a terrifying ghost.” Teresina recounts, “What I saw could not, would not, be felt. My hand passed right through it.” 
  • While wandering through the castle, Fabrizio sees the ghost. “It stood – or rather floated – four feet above the ground, with a fluttering radiance that kept within a specific niche. The more Fabrizio stared at it, the more convinced he grew that the illumination contained the shape of a person.” This is the central mystery of the book, and it is later revealed to be a trick of reflections. 

Spiritual Content  

  • Mangus, when summoned by the king, makes “the sign of the cross over his own heart” and says, “The Lord knows I’ll need all the help I can get.”  
  • When Mangus’s wife, Sophia, hears the ominous news that her husband has been summoned by the king, she exclaims, “God have mercy!” These expressions are used occasionally. 
  • The punishment for witchcraft and wizardry is to be burned at the stake, but Mangus escaped this fate. One government figure named Scarazoni states, “If you dance with the Devil, your feet will feel the heat.” These beliefs are strongly rooted in Christianity, which Mangus notes when he proclaims that “I am not now – nor have I ever been – a dabbler in ways of evil. I seek to be a good Christian.” 
  • After seeing the ghost for the first time, Teresina says that she “hastened to say a prayer.” 
  • After speaking to the princess about the ghost, the princess’s lady-in-waiting “joined a nunnery and [had] taken a sacred vow of silence.”
  • Many characters say prayers, but the prayers themselves are not written out. The text usually states, for instance, “Mangus said a prayer.” Further detail is not given. 
  • In the castle, there is a statue of the Mother Mary. It becomes a focal point as it is where the princess sees the ghost several times. 
  • Mangus prays in front of a “portrait of the Blessed Martyr, Saint Stephano, so pierced with arrows.” 

The Magical Reality of Nadia

Nadia loves fun facts. Here are a few facts about her: 

  • She collects bobbleheads — she has 77 so far.
  • She moved from Egypt to America when she was six years old.
  • The hippo amulet she wears is ancient…as in it’s literally from ancient Egypt.
  • She’s going to win the contest to design a new exhibit at the local museum. Because how cool would that be?!

Okay, so that last one isn’t a fact just yet, but Nadia has plans to make it one. But then a new kid shows up and teases Nadia about her Egyptian heritage. It’s totally unexpected and totally throws her off her game. 

Then something else happens that Nadia can’t explain: Her amulet starts glowing! She soon discovers that the hippo is holding a hilarious — and helpful — secret. Can she use it to confront the new kid and win the contest? 

Nadia often acts like a know-it-all who loves telling people interesting facts about random subjects. Despite this, Nadia is a likable protagonist who learns that “being a leader didn’t mean telling people what to do or doing it all yourself. It was about guiding everyone else to come to a solution together.” Nadia’s quirky personality will draw readers into the story, but it is Titi who is the star of the story.  

While living in Ancient Egypt, a magician curses Titi by sending him into a hippo amulet. When Nadia purchases the amulet, she discovers the secret to breaking the curse—Titi can only be set free by helping Nadia six times. Titi is energetic, optimistic, and funny. And as a teacher, he has plenty of wisdom to impart. For instance, Nadia and Titi jump into the parable of “The Eloquent Peasant.” The parable comes to life in comic-style panels that educate about Egyptian history in a unique and entertaining way. While in the comic, Nadia learns a powerful lesson about how to deal with a bully. Even though Titi lived in a different time period, he is still able to help Nadia with her friendship problems.  

One of Nadia’s problems is that the new kid, Jason, is very vocal about his dislike of Nadia’s Egyptian heritage. For example, he makes fun of Nadia’s lunch because “it smells weird.” In addition, he says he only eats “American food. . . not desert people food.” However, Jason’s mean comments are not just confined to school. While at the fall fair, Jason asks the DJ to play the song “Walk Like an Egyptian.” Then, Jason “took a couple of staggering steps forward with his arms in the awkward position. He moved his head forward and back like a pigeon, too, a huge grin on his face.” In this situation, Nadia uses the parable of “The Eloquent Peasant” to find a solution, but not everything goes as she planned. 

At first, Jason’s behavior makes Nadia want to hide her Egyptian heritage, but her parents explain how they handle microaggressions. When a cashier at the local supermarket made rude comments, Nadia’s Mama began talking about things they had in common. Mama said, “It showed her that we aren’t so different after all. . . Getting to know me has allowed her view to shift.”  

The Magical Reality of Nadia uses humor to highlight the importance of finding common ground with others. Nadia points out that, “Unless you are Native American, we all have an immigrant story in our past. Each of us is here today because one of our ancestors came to America and started a life for their family.” While most of the story is in traditional text, the book includes sections of black-and-white comics as well as lively black-and-white illustrations throughout.  

While The Magical Reality of Nadia is humorous and entertaining, the story hits on topics of prejudice, friendship, and courage. Nadia’s story will help readers have empathy for people who are different from them and in the end, the lessons from The Magical Reality of Nadia will stay with readers long after they put the book down.  

Readers looking for another book about immigrating to another country should also read Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga and Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros. However, if you’d like to learn more about Ancient Egypt’s culture, check out the Kid Detective Zet Series by Scott Peters and the TombQuest Series by Michael Northrop. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • During summer vacation, one of Nadia’s friends went to London. Afterward, Nadia asks, “Did you know they used to display chopped-off heads on the original London Bridge?”  
  • Jason goes to the museum and destroys Nadia and her friends’ project. 
  • While at an ice cream shop, Jason starts making fun of Nadia’s heritage. Nadia gets upset with “her hands balling into fists. She’d never hit anyone before, but there was a first time for everything. She lunged at Jason . . . and tripped over her backpack. Jason laughed, but as Nadia fell, she knocked into him and he lost his balance falling backwards onto the table.” Jason falls onto an ice cream sundae. One of Jason’s friends says, “It looks like you pooped your pants!”  
  • Nadia’s parents left Egypt during the Arab Spring. Her mom says, “People who opposed the government were still being imprisoned, and tortured, and killed. We realized we did not want to raise you in that kind of environment.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • A teacher teases a magician. Afterwards, the magician calls the teacher a fool. 
  • Titi tells Nadia to “close your mouth. You look like Hatmehit’s hat! Hatmehit was an ancient Egyptian fish goddess.”  
  • Freakin’ and heck are both used once. 
  • After reading a parable, Nadia says one of the characters is a doofus and a fool. 
  • When Nadia tells her friend they “can’t toss a football in a museum,” her friend tells her to “Calm down, Grandma.” 
  • Jason calls one of his friends an idiot. 
  • Jason calls Nadia an “Egyptian Queen.” Then he says, “You don’t even belong here. Why don’t you just go back where you came from?!”  

Supernatural 

  • A teacher is cursed by an angry magician. “The next thing the teacher knew, there was a great wind and a loud sucking noise. Then everything turned black.” The teacher is confined to an Egyptian necklace.  
  • “Ancient Egyptians wore hippo amulets to ward off evil.” 
  • Nadia held her hippo amulet and asked for help. Then, “Nadia went over to the desk . . . There, on the college-ruled pages of what was to be her math notebook, a little animated man was jumping up and down, waving wildly at her.”  
  • At first, Nadia is confused when she discovers “a little animated man [Titi] haunting her math notebook!” But then she realizes that if she shuts the notebook, the man disappears. However, Titi and Nadia soon set boundaries that allow the two to communicate when appropriate.  

Spiritual Content   

  • One of Nadia’s fun facts revolves around the Ancient Egyptian’s beliefs about death. The Book of the Dead says “When a person died and was judged by the ancient gods, they had to swear to two things: that they had not lied, or cheated, or killed, or harmed others; and that they preserved the Nile River and kept it pure. . .” 

Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen

Eight-year-old Jasmine Toguchi is a flamingo fan, tree climber, and top-notch mess-maker!

She’s also tired of her big sister, Sophie, always getting to do things first. For once, Jasmine wishes SHE could do something before Sophie—something special, something different. The New Year approaches, and as the Toguchi family gathers in Los Angeles to celebrate, Jasmine is jealous that her sister gets to help roll mochi balls by hand with the women. Her mom says that Jasmine is still too young to join in, so Jasmine hatches a plan to help the men pound the mochi rice instead. Surely her sister has never done THAT before.

But pounding mochi is traditionally reserved for boys. And the mochi hammer is heavier than it looks. Can Jasmine build her case and her mochi-making muscles in time for New Year’s Day? 

Jasmine is determined to prove that she is strong enough to pound mochi. In order to get her wish, she comes up with some unique and silly ways to get more muscles. However, Jasmine will also need to convince her family to break tradition — after all, pounding mochi is only for boys who are ten years or older. While Jasmine appeals to her father, he doesn’t give her a quick answer. Instead, before making his decision, he talks to the other family members to get their approval. In the end, Jasmine discovers that pounding mochi takes a lot of strength and hard work. She’s disappointed that she was only able to lift the heavy hammer one time. Despite this, Jasmine’s family showers her with praise because “you’re the first under-ten-year-old and the first girl to pound mochi in our family.”  

The story is accessible to fluent readers who are ready for a book with multiple plots. Black and white illustrations appear every two to three pages and show Jasmine’s daily life. Many of the illustrations show the characters’ facial expressions, which will help readers understand the characters’ emotions. Another positive aspect of the story is that difficult words are explained within the text. For example, Jasmine explains that her mom is an editor. “An editor reads other people’s work and fixes the words.” For more fun, the back of the book has a recipe for microwave mochi. Even though Jasmine Toguchi is a series, the books do not need to be read in order because each book focuses on a new storyline.  

Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen is an entertaining chapter book that teaches the importance of controlling one’s emotions. For instance, Jasmine has a cousin named Eddie, who often teases her. To control her anger, Jasmine uses a counting strategy that works…most of the time. Jasmine can do this because her family members have taught her healthy communication skills. 

Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen will encourage readers to work towards a goal — even those that seem unlikely to happen. Because the story focuses on Jasmine, young readers will feel as if they have made a new friend. Readers will also adore Jasmine’s spunky attitude and understand her determination to do something before her sister. In the end, Jasmine is an admirable character not because she has muscles, but because, “You’re strong. . . You believe in something and you don’t let anyone change your mind.”  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • When Eddie makes fun of Jasmine, she “forgot to count to ten again. My foot flew out from under me and kicked the ball. Smack! It pounded Eddie in the back.” Afterwards, Eddie leaves the room. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Jasmine’s cousin Eddie is mean to her. He calls her “Jasmine Pee” and says she’s a weakling. 
  • When Jasmine ignores Eddie, he asks, “Are you so dumb you can’t make conversation?” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None

The Miracle of the First Poinsettia

It is la Noche Buena, Christmas Eve, and soon festivities will be taking place in the mountain village that is Juanita’s home. But as she wanders through the colorful marketplace, Juanita feels lonely and sad. This year, her father is out of work, and their family has no pesos for parties or gifts. How can she enter the church for midnight mass with nothing—not even the tiniest present—to give to the baby Christ Child?

As her family prepares for the holiday, Juanita is embarrassed that she doesn’t have a gift to present to the baby Christ Child. However, when an angel statue speaks to Juanita, the young girl trusts the angel and plucks the weeds from around the statue. At first, Juanita was “frightened and confused. She wondered how she could bring such plain weeds to the Baby Jesus.” However, Juanita follows the angel’s instructions and takes the weeds into the church. As Juanita walks down the aisle, the weeds miraculously turn into poinsettia flowers, which today grow in abundance in Mexico.

The Miracle of the First Poinsettia explains the story behind the first Poinsettia. Each illustration uses the dark red tone of the flower to bring traditional Old-World Mexico to life. Even though the illustrations are enchanting, young readers will have a difficult time sitting still through the entire story. Because of the text-heavy pages, which have up to 15 complex sentences, parents will need to read the book to their children. To highlight Mexican culture, Spanish words are used within the text. Each Spanish word appears in italics and a glossary appears at the back of the book to aid non-Spanish speakers. 

The Miracle of the First Poinsettia is a beautiful story about the wonder of Christmas. At first, Juanita focuses on the gift-giving traditions. Even though Juanita does not have a gift to give, her mother reminds her, “Ah, mi hija, you give gifts all the time. You gave your galletas to your brothers. You sang songs for Papá. You bring such joy. To us, you are a gift!” Through her difficulties, Juanita learns that “a gift from the heart is the best gift of all.”

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language   

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • The story focuses on the Christmas season and the miracle of the first poinsettia.

Heroes of the Water Monster

Edward isn’t sure about this whole “step-brother” thing, especially now that his dad is moving in with his girlfriend and her preteen son, Nathan. Their new place in Arizona may be nice, but relocating is already hard enough due to their family’s Navajo—also known as Diné—heritage. According to the Diné, children lose communication with the Holy Beings once they hit puberty, and Nathan’s already started the process of becoming a man. For most people, this is part of growing older, but Nathan has become the guardian of a young water monster named Dew. Nathan’s ability to see her is fading, so he quickly has to entrust Dew’s care to Edward.  

To make matters more complicated, Dew’s older sister, a powerful water monster named Yitoo, is coming to The Fourth World—Earth—to teach Dew the traditional songs of the water monsters. Having been away in the Third World for nearly 150 years, Yitoo’s return is ruined when she discovers that something is wrong in the Fourth World. The waters from her river are depleted and the environment is suffering. Alongside Dew, Edward, and Nathan, Yitoo travels the length of her river to find the source of the cutoff. To her dismay, the city of Pheonix, Arizona has redirected her river to service the population’s waterparks, golf courses, and sprinkler systems. This frivolous use of her precious resource prompts her to vow revenge on humankind. 

Together, Dew, Edward, and Nathan team up to stop Yitoo from using her water monster power to unleash a massive hurricane on the Phoenix area. They meet other creatures and people from Diné creation stories who give them advice and special gear for their final confrontation. Eventually, the team of friends is able to stop Yitoo before she can punish humanity. As Nathan sees Dew, Yitoo, and the other Holy Beings for the last time before growing up, he and Edward promise to keep their Diné heritage alive and work towards a future where humans treat the natural world with respect.  

Heroes of the Water Monster’s plot is a straightforward save-the-world type of story, but the traveling between different worlds and mythical creatures can be confusing at times. As for the narrators, the story switches between the perspectives of Nathan and Edward. Nathan’s point of view is more mature and forgiving towards others, while Edward is more impulsive and childish. Edward is also half Diné, half white, which creates interesting tension as he struggles with his mixed identity. The difference between the narrators gives a unique perspective on the events of the story, especially when Edward and Nathan disagree on whether or not to help Yitoo. Because Edward and Nathan are both likable and thoughtful narrators, the reader understands why each boy feels the way they do. Despite their different ages, both Edward and Nathan had valuable input and opinions on the story’s events. 

Heroes of the Water Monster is an interesting tale filled with many cultural references. If readers have no prior experience with Navajo/Diné culture, this story may be a bit difficult to read. However, in order to understand the story, some readers may need to use the glossary provided at the end of the book.  

The main theme of Heroes of the Water Monster is generational trauma, which is showcased through the water monster Yitoo. While Yitoo is the villain in the end of the story, she is also Edward and Nathan’s friend. She has lived for hundreds of years, which means that she lived through the forced relocation of the Diné. She exhibits the rage that displaced people experience when they are horribly mistreatment and the destruction of the sacred environment they once called home.  

At first, Edward and Nathan don’t know if they have a right to stop Yitoo, but they realize that they have a shared history, and a shared future, too. While they may not be the legendary Twin Heroes who defeated fearsome creatures of legend in Diné stories, they do have the power to impact the world their descendants will inherit. A Holy Being advises Nathan and Edward that, “It stands to reason that a Modern Enemy would surrender to Modern Heroes.” 

Thus, the modern heroes, Edward and Nathan, work to convince Yitoo and themselves that they can’t hold the current population responsible for what their ancestors did. A better future isn’t achieved through revenge, but by educating and making changes for the better. Edward, Nathan, Yitoo, and Dew all have to grapple with their identity and the painful past that comes with it. In order to heal, they have to accept the past as part of their identity and use their grief in constructive ways. Edward’s father says, “We Diné, like all Indigenous Nations, have a past filled with heartbreak and devastation. But we also have a brilliant, shining future.” 

Sexual Content  

  • Janet, Nathan’s Mom, and Ted, Edward’s Dad, greet each other. “Janet . . . walked into [Ted’s] arms. They kissed.”   

Violence  

  • Occasionally, the Diné’s forced relocation is discussed. These stories mention some of the abuse, murder, torture, and death of the Diné at the hands of the U.S. government. One story mentions two brothers whose parents were killed in front of them. “From the cornfield, the boys saw their dad arguing with a soldier. The other solider pointed their rifles at the mom and dad. . . [They] covered their eyes but still heard the loud shots.”  
  • After killing their parents, the soldiers kill all their livestock and force the boys to walk to Fort Defiance, Arizona where they are imprisoned. They were almost fed poison, but were saved by a handful of nurses who tossed their food on the ground. “[Those] who had eaten the rations became deathly ill. . . The sick were left to die. . . The rest were forced to march in many long lines eastward. . .” 
  • On the trail, there was more hardship and death. Those who fell behind were killed. Elderly, young kids, and even pregnant women. The Diné were also forced to swim across a river, and one of the brothers drowns. “The elderly and the young people around them struggled against the strong current. . . A sound more disturbing than the screaming of the drowning grew. It was silence. Many bodies sank beneath, did not rise again, and drifted downriver. Halfway across, the river took [the] younger brother.” 
  • Yitoo describes her perspective of the aforementioned story: the forced relocation of the Diné crossing her river. “One by one, the Diné walked down the hill and into the river. The elderly and youth struggled around the strong current. Blankets of water smothered them. I did my best to calm the waters. But I couldn’t sing. I was too shocked at everything around me. . . A curtain of bubbles arose from all the violent thrashing of the drowning. Their screams quieted. Their bodies became cold. When I’m alone, I still hear their screams. When I sleep, I dream of the faces of those who sank beneath the river and did not rise again.” 
  • When Nathan and Drew try to stop Yitto from attacking Phoenix, Yitoo attacks them with her water. “A rope of water wrapped around [Nathan’s] waist and Dew’s neck and pulled them into the crater. Warm water invaded every atom of Nathan’s being. . . He couldn’t stop the invisible force yanking his waist. . . Just then, Dew appeared in front of him. With a mighty jaw snap near his belly button, she severed the pull.”  
  • Edward, Nathan, and Dew are attacked by a Guardian when visiting a sacred mountain that takes the shape of a mountain lion. The Guardians are creatures meant to protect the mountains from intruders. “Edward yelled in horror as in seconds a mountain lion with velvet fur, the color of sunflower petals, had already snuck up on them. It leaped into the air and landed in front of them with an earthquaking thud. . .  Its tree-thick tail slammed into Nathan’s chest, sending him flying yards away from them. The Guardian lifted a paw and slapped Dew across her jaw. Dew dizzily walked forward and then was pinned under the Guardian’s other paw. . . Then the most horrifying thing happened. The Guardian bit down into the back of Dew’s neck. Dew squealed a blood-curdling wail that made Edward nauseous. Dew’s body went completely silent and limp.” Dew survives.  
  • The final fight between Edward, Dew, Nathan, and Yitoo lasts nearly 30 pages. Much of the confrontation is conversation, but it does get violent when Yitoo fights back against Edward, Nathan, and Dew. Yitoo has impenetrable armor that protects her for the majority of the fight, but the armor is weakened when the boys use one of the Sacred Arrows against her, and it breaks open a spot in Yitoo’s armor that Edward stabs. “Edward jabbed the tip of the knife against Yitoo. Immediately, ribbons of lightning raced across Yitoo’s body. They covered her entire body from head to tail, shoulders to toes, and entered her throat as she howled in pain. Even if she wasn’t his favorite Holy Being, [Edward] hated hearing how much pain she was in. Still, he held the knife on to her. More and more bolts of lightning raced from the tip of the knife throughout her massive body. But finally, after a few seconds that felt like an hour of seeing Yitoo squirm and spasm, the lightning disappeared and her entire body fell against the ocean, creating one last final wave. . . Yitoo lay limp, and smoke emerged from her mouth.” This does not kill Yitoo, and she is exiled to the Fifth World.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Nathan’s Uncle Jet, who is briefly mentioned, deals with PTSD which led to his alcoholism and depression. He is not shown drinking during the story. 

Language    

  • Yitoo calls the behavior of “The Pale People,” a term for white colonists, “damnable.” 

Supernatural  

  • Water monsters are a type of Holy Being that play a large role in the story. They are creatures of legend that inhabit bodies of water. They have many powers, including controlling water, turning it to ice, using it to travel long distances and more. They use these powers frequently, which is done by singing.  
  • Yitoo and Dew are both water monsters. Water monsters look like lizards. Edward describes Dew as “a tiny Komodo dragon” with “diamond designs like a Diné rug” on her back and stomach. They can also speak.  
  • Nathan learns water monster songs, which gives him some control over water. Water monsters are also able to control their size by taking in or expelling water, such as when Yitoo grows herself into a massive size to create the hurricane.  
  • Yitoo can keep her water as jewelry and unleash it at will.  
  • Nathan has a ring made of turquoise that allows him to communicate with all beings. He uses it to speak to the water monsters. Later, Edward gets one too. 
  • Two Holy Beings called Jet Stone Boy and Jet Stone Girl meet Nathan. They have crystal-like skin and travel on a rainbow. 

Spiritual Content  

  • There are countless references to Diné beliefs. The main ones include creation stories, Holy Beings, and the water monsters. The Diné language is also used frequently, which can be translated using a glossary in the back of the book.  
  • Some of the Holy Beings include Spider Woman, a legendary weaver, Father Sun, who created the universe, Mother Earth, Moon Lady, and Tall Woman. 
  • In addition to the Holy Beings, which are typically good or neutral beings, there are evil beings called Enemies who, in Diné legend, are defeated by the Twin Heroes, two Holy Being brothers who fought the Enemies. Edward gives examples of the Enemies: “Thunderbird, who could summon dangerous lightning storms; and Wild Boar, who could run at unheard-of speeds to hunt humans for hundreds of years.”  
  • One of the references in the story is to the Third World, Fourth World, Fifth World, and Celestial Realm. The Third World is a realm where Holy Beings, such as the water monsters, come from.  
  • Yitoo came from the Third World. She was the first water monster to come into the Fourth World, Earth. “Yitoo was the first one. She’s so powerful that she bit into the ocean of the Third World and brought that water [to the Fourth World].” The Fifth world is a mystical land beyond these worlds that Yitoo travels to when she is exiled. 
  • Diné Bikéyah is the term for the holy land of the Diné, located between the Four Sacred Mountains.  
  • Three times in the story, sweetgrass is discussed. The burning of sweetgrass is a native ritual practice used to purify the spirit. “Nathan asked Yitoo for some of her energizing sweetgrass. She happily provided some from her medicine bag. . . Nathan lit the tips of the sweetgrass and then immediately blew them out. A thin trail of smoke wafted in the air. Both Nathan and Edward inhaled. The delicious smoke flowed into their nostrils. . . The dark shadows underneath Edward’s eyelids disappear[ed] and his posture straighten[ed]” 
  • Edward and Nathan climb one of the sacred mountains, Tsoodził. After sprinkling corn pollen on the ground as a sign of respect, Edward says, “Ted had said that only medicine folk were allowed to set foot on the mountains to gather sacred medicine and sands. The medicine folk had to sing ceremonial songs the entire time they were on the mountain to protect themselves and as a gesture of respect.” Each of the scared mountains are protected by a Guardian, a powerful creature meant to kill intruders.  
  • Edward and Nathan obtain two objects when visiting the Celestial Realm, the Obsidian Armor and Sacred Arrows. The arrows can create various magical effects, such as a bright light or a rainbow, and the Obsidian Armor will protect the wearer against Holy Beings and fit them perfectly.  

The Christmas Witch: An Italian Legend

Belifna spent her time cleaning and sweeping and singing. But the people in her town thought her singing was awful and the kids in her town thought she looked like a witch. One night, Belifna saw a strange new star. Next, she saw a procession of travelers. The travelers stopped and three kings asked Belifna to join the group who were traveling to welcome the newborn Christ Child. Belfina was afraid to go without gifts, so she went into her house and closed the door.

Belifna kept thinking about the star, but when she went to look for it, she couldn’t find it. On the first Christmas, Belfina missed her chance to go to Bethlehem. Now, each year, the good Christmas Witch leaves cookies and gifts at the homes of sleeping children. For even now, Belfina is still hoping to find the Christ Child. 

The Christmas Witch introduces an Italian legend that explains why children receive gifts on Christmas Eve. Belfina’s story will instantly captivate young readers, who will relate to Belfina’s fear of leaving home. Even though the story revolves around the birth of Christ, the story mostly focuses on Belfina’s missed chance to meet the Christ Child. The Christmas Witch is a fun story that shows how different cultures explain the Christmas gift-giving tradition.

The Christmas Witch is perfect for early independent readers and for parents looking to read a book aloud. Each page has large illustrations that are similar to watercolors. Plus, readers will have fun finding Belfina’s cat which appears on almost every page. The story uses simple vocabulary words with two to five sentences per page which makes it accessible to early readers.

The Italian legend is an interesting retelling that shows how an old woman became the Christmas Witch. The Christmas Witch can be used to start a conversation with your child about different cultural beliefs as well as the true meaning of Christmas. Readers interested in more Christmas-themed books should read Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson and The Little Reindeer by Nicola Killen.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language   

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • The story retells the story of the first Christmas. When Belfina looks for the dazzling new star, she sees “the sky filled with a shower of heavenly lights. And a choir of angels sang. . . Joy to the world!”

Murder at Midnight

Murder at Midnight presents the story of Mangus the Magician and his newest servant, Fabrizio. The story takes place in the kingdom of Pergamontio, Italy in 1490. Pergamontio is behind the times, and the hapless King Claudio is terribly superstitious in this traditionally Catholic kingdom. When hundreds of identical papers calling for treason against the crown appear overnight, the royal advisor accuses Mangus of witchcraft. Desperate to save his new master’s life, Fabrizio sets out to help prove Mangus’s innocence and discover what created these documents. 

The main protagonist, Fabrizio, is a delightful mix of naïve and brash – he’s never quite sure how he’s going to help Mangus, but he’s determined to try even though he’s likely to make many life-threatening mistakes along the way. In some other characters, this might be trite or annoying, but Fabrizio is ten years old and genuinely doesn’t know any better. He believes in magic wholeheartedly despite Mangus’s repeated explanations about how he’s an illusionist, not a magician. Fabrizio wants nothing more than to save Mangus from certain death – except, maybe, learn magic himself. 

At the start of the novel, Mangus is curmudgeonly and deeply uninterested in Fabrizio, but by the end when Fabrizio and his friend Maria help save his life, he’s just curmudgeonly. Their dynamic involves plenty of Mangus demeaning Fabrizio for not being smart enough, which motivates Fabrizio to want to be a better servant. Mangus is a self-proclaimed philosopher, and he relies on reasoning to make decisions. He serves as a counterweight to Fabrizio whose decisions are motivated entirely by his heart. Although these two never quite see eye-to-eye, they grow a close bond. 

These two characters are well-developed for future installments, and the mystery plot of this first book works well. Fabrizio meets Maria, the daughter of immigrants who bring a printing press to Pergamontio. As the kingdom is somewhat backward, this situation is slowly unveiled through the course of the novel, eventually showing that the scandal runs right to the heart of the king’s inner circle. The plot is interesting with semi-historical elements, and it’s action-packed enough to keep the attention of younger readers. 

Murder at Midnight deals with some light violence as the story is set in 1490s Italy with plenty of intrigue and quite literally backstabbing. The main conflict revolves around Mangus, whose life is threatened since he’s accused of witchcraft and the punishment is death. The book also deals with some Catholic-related themes since Italy is a historically Catholic nation, though the book doesn’t take any stance on religion. Murder at Midnight is a fun introduction to the printing press and censorship. In addition, the dynamic between reason and emotion comes through, showing readers that a balance of the two ideas leads to better outcomes than just reason or emotion separate from each other. Through cooperation and patience, Fabrizio and his various companions can save Mangus and go on with living their peaceful lives – that is, until the next book, Midnight Magic.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • When the other servants, Benito and Giuseppe, speak to Fabrizio, they often take swings at him because they don’t like him. For instance, Fabrizio is coerced into telling them secrets from Mangus. When he’s trying to run off, Fabrizio notes that he is “trying to dodge a flurry of blows.” This happens somewhat often. Fabrizio notes that from this particular altercation, he receives bruises from them and nothing more. 
  • The king’s officials, DeLaBina and Scarazoni, threaten to “burn [Mangus] at the stake” and “cut out his heart” if he truly is a magician. Mangus, of course, is not a magician but an illusionist, but the other characters don’t necessarily understand this. 
  • Fabrizio is falsely accused of distributing treasonous papers, and he is taken down to the dungeon to be executed. While there, he nearly trips over a corpse. A soldier asks if the body is dead, and the executioner says, “I hope so. I broke his neck three days ago.”  Fabrizio is not executed, and there is no further discussion about the corpse. 
  • Fabrizio and his new friend Maria find DeLaBina dead in the dungeons. Fabrizio notes, “Beneath lay a man with his head twisted to one side. A ruby-encrusted dagger was sticking out of his back. On the ground, a pool of wet blood was spreading.” This is the extent of the description. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Light language is used frequently. Terms include: fool, stupid, ignorant, blockhead, nasty, ugly, and fat. 

Supernatural 

  • Fabrizio works and lives with Mangus the Magician, who performs, as far as Fabrizio is concerned, “real magic” as well as sleight-of-hand tricks. Much of the book’s main plot deals with how the Kingdom of Pergamontio feels about magic that is rooted in anything other than Christian miracles. Mangus notes that the king “is deeply superstitious” and that he has “outlawed magic.” 
  • One night, Fabrizio watches Mangus perform and decides what is real magic and what is fake, saying that when “a burning candle was pulled from an ear” and “a box changed into a hat” it was for sure “true magic.” 
  • The king of Pergamontio expresses his true fears as to who made the identical treasonous papers that have been distributed throughout the kingdom. He says, “Ghosts? Is that who made the papers? Ghosts can do anything they wish, you know.” DeLaBina expresses that it’s instead magic and someone who “is in league with the devil.” 

Spiritual Content  

  • Since the book is set in 1490 Italy, the characters are notably Catholic. For instance, Mangus notes that “God gave us the gift of reason.” 
  • The kingdom has a curfew, and Mangus tells the crowd that there’s a curfew because “the king loves us and wishes to keep us safe from devils.” 
  • Fabrizio makes an astute comment that catches Mangus’s attention, and Fabrizio attributes it to living on the streets. Fabrizio says, “When you are a homeless orphan – as I was – the teachers God provides are one’s own eyes and ears.” 
  • After seeing a treasonous document, Mangus exclaims, “God protect us!” 
  • Mangus is accused of using magic to make treasonous documents to overthrow the king. As this is 1490 Italy, the king is uncomfortable with modern inventions like the printing press, and identical documents are outside the bounds of imagination. The top prosecutor for the kingdom says, “Such identical replication is impossible for human hands! Not even God – in all his greatness – makes two things alike.” 
  • Fabrizio refers to the treasonous papers against the king as “the devil’s work.” Mangus corrects him that the papers were definitely done by human hands. 
  • The executioner, Agrippa, explains his profession to Fabrizio. Agrippa says that he wanted to be a stonemason, but “the good God willed it otherwise, didn’t he?” 
  • A knock sounds at the door of the execution room, and Fabrizio, who thinks he’s about to be executed, “fell to his knees and began to murmur frantic prayers.”  
  • Fabrizio meets Maria, the daughter of immigrants from Milan who own a printing business and use a printing press. Maria introduces herself as a “printer’s devil” because she’s covered in the black ink she works with, and it’s incredibly hard to scrub off. 
  • When Mangus’s wife, Sophia, learns that her husband has been arrested, she “clasped her hands in brief prayer.” 

The Holiday Switch

Lila Santos is ready for her last winter break of high school. The snow in her small town of Holly, New York is plentiful, the mood as cozy as a fuzzy Christmas sweater, and she’s earning extra cash working at the local inn. In other words, it is the setting for the greatest film of all time, Holiday by the Lake—while moonlighting as an anonymous book blogger.

But her perfect holiday plans crash to a halt when her boss’ frustratingly cute nephew, Teddy Rivera, becomes her coworker. Lila is Type A while Teddy is Type “Anything but Lila’s Way,” and the two of them can’t stop butting heads over tangled icicle lights and messy gift shop merch. But when they accidentally switch phones one afternoon, they realize they’ve both been hiding things from each other. Will their secrets—and an unexpected snowstorm—bring these rivals together?

While Lila’s conflict is understandable, her judgmental attitude makes it difficult to connect with her. Even though Lila is the protagonist, Teddy is more likable because he goes out of his way to show Lila that he cares for her. For instance, when Teddy finds Lila’s list of Christmas activities that she wants to do, he plans ways to get Lila to spend time with him by taking her to the different activities on her list. 

The two teens eventually connect because they are both keeping secrets from their parents. Both are afraid their parents won’t understand their passions. Readers will relate to Teddy’s and Lila’s desire to meet their parents’ expectations as well as live their own dreams. In the end, both teens discover their fears are unfounded. While Lila’s parents are upset about her dishonesty, they support her goals. Likewise, Teddy also learns that his family supports his dreams.

Readers who want to snuggle up with a book during the holiday will appreciate The Holiday Switch because of the town’s over-the-top Christmas activities. The winter puns also add to the romance’s cuteness. For example, while ice skating, one of the characters “slipped on the ice and said, ‘Holy night.’” The predictable plot has some sweet moments that will warm readers’ hearts and get them into the holiday spirit. However, if you’re looking for a holiday romance that will be more memorable, grab a hot cocoa and a copy of What Light by Jay Asher.

Sexual Content 

  • Lila babysits for a couple who “party like they’d been caged animals in a zoo. They come home sweaty and red-faced, and the PDA is over the top embarrassing.”
  • While outside, Teddy asks Lila if he can kiss her. She says yes and then, “I rise up to my tiptoes and shut my eyes. When his lips feather against mine, I’m infused with energy and thrill. My hands climb his back, his cup my face, and he kisses me as if I’m another puzzle he has to explore.” 
  • Before Teddy begins a climbing competition, he kisses Lila. “Teddy lifts my chin with a finger and presses a kiss to my lips.” 

Violence 

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language   

  • Oh my God and God are used as exclamations occasionally. 
  • Crap and pissed are used several times.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • None

The Dreamer

The Dreamer follows eleven-year-old Neftalí, a young boy who struggles to live up to the strict expectations of his father. Neftalí explains that he enjoys daydreaming and nature; he “collected twisted sticks, liked to read, and was not good at mathematics.”  

Neftalí’s father does not want his son to daydream. In fact, Neftalí’s father says, “Stop that incessant daydreaming!” and warns Neftalí that his “mother was the same, scribbling on bits of paper, her mind was always in another world.” Neftalí’s father also implies that this may have caused Neftalí’s mother’s death. Neftalí reveals his mother “had died two months after [Neftalí] was born.”  Neftalí wonders, “Was Father right? Could daydreaming make you weak? Had it made his mother so weak that she had died?”  

Neftalí’s father’s extremely negative mentality towards creative arts also affects his older brother, Rodolfo, who dreams of attending a conservatory to study music. Rodolfo explains, “My teacher and headmaster say . . . that if I study music, I might be able to get a scholarship to the conservatory.” Their father responds to this by aggressively “slamming his fist on the table” and yelling at Rodolfo, “There will be no more wasting time on music.” Because Neftalí’s father ridicules him for his love of reading and writing, Neftalí tries to conceal his writing projects from his father.  

Neftalí is an extremely sympathetic character that readers will appreciate because of his constant determination to do what he loves. Neftalí does not let his father’s constant tirades about his writing stop him. For instance, even when Father tries to make Neftalí stop daydreaming, Neftalí still “wrote words everywhere: on fence posts, on bleached driftwood, and on the old boats near the shore.” 

Another character that will capture readers’ hearts is Neftalí’s Uncle Orlando, who owns a local newspaper called La Mañana and encourages Neftalí’s writing abilities. It is Uncle Orlando who advocates for Neftalí to come work at his newspaper office, even though Father calls Neftalí’s essays “frivolity, nothing more.” Uncle Orlando advocates for the local indigenous people, the Mapuche, who are being pushed off of their land by developers by offering up his newspaper shop as a meeting place for organizing protests. Neftalí is inspired by “Uncle Orlando’s sincere voice as he talked about the rights of the Mapuche, the plans for a peaceful protest, the common outcry for respect for all humanity.” 

Readers who enjoy exploring nature will enjoy the way each chapter continues the story of Neftalí’s growth as a writer alongside drawings reflecting Neftalí’s surroundings. Each chapter is named after an element of nature, such as “ocean,” “rain,” or “mud.” Neftalí often discusses the beauty of Chile, where he lives, and this inspires him as he writes. For instance, Neftalí “looked up at the Andes mountains, hovering like a white-robed choir . . . He closed his eyes and wondered what lay beyond, past the places of Labranza, Boroa, and Ranquilco, where the sea plucked at the rugged land.” 

This book occasionally uses Spanish words in reference to the beauty of Chile and its nature; however, readers will be able to easily understand these words based on the text’s context clues. Because the book follows Neftalí—who is revealed at the end of the book to be the poet, Pablo Neruda—readers will likely want to flip back through the book to reread the sections of poetry and will likely feel inspired by Neftalí’s journey. Overall, this fictionalized retelling of the life of Pablo Neruda encourages readers to persevere, to reach for their dreams, and to appreciate the beauty of life around them.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • When Neftalí’s brother, Rodolfo, tells Father he wants to study music, Father “slammed his fist on the table.” 
  • Rodolfo did not hear his father’s whistle to come back to the agreed meeting place. “When [Father] found me, I was disobeying him . . . I still have the bruises. Do you understand? You do not want Father to catch you doing something . . . wrong.” 
  • Neftalí’s father wants his children to grow physically stronger. Because of this, Father forces Neftalí and his little sister, Laurita, into the choppy waves of the ocean even though they are both terrified of the waves, as “the swells rose higher than their heads.” Father argues, “It will make you strong. And if you do not wade out far enough, I will make you stay in longer.”  
  • Father forces Neftalí and Laurita to stay in the water, even when “a wave broke against their chests. Laurita slipped under the dark water. Neftalí jerked her up. She choked and sputtered and began to cry.” Neftalí says, “Surely now they could come in,” but Father “shot an arm forward and pointed to the waves again.” 
  • After Father forces Neftalí and Laurita into the ocean, Neftalí has frequent nightmares that “Laurita was drowning, and he could not save her because he was drowning, too.” 
  • Neftalí encounters a hurt swan. “In the muddy reeds, the male swan wobbled. Blood pooled beneath him.” Sadly, the swan quietly passes away in Neftalí’s arms. Neftalí does not understand what happened as the swan’s wounds appeared to be healed, but suddenly, “the life disappeared from [the swan’s] body.” 
  • Uncle Orlando worries about what the developers will do if they find out where people are protesting. The developers “have killed so many already . . .” 
  • Uncle Orlando hosts a meeting to protest on behalf of the Mapuche, so the angry developers set Uncle Orlando’s newspaper office on fire. Neftalí explains, “When he turned the corner to the main road, he saw the ball of fire rising into the night.” His uncle’s shop is destroyed, but Uncle Orlando tells Neftalí he will not give up, “There are editors who will hire me.” 
  • When Father discovers that Neftalí’s essay advocating for the rights of the Mapuche has been published in a college magazine, he is furious. Father lashes out and “grabbed a notebook and flung it out the window . . . Father flung another notebook and another.” Then Father sets Neftalí’s writings on fire.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Neftalí’s Father insults Neftalí and his siblings when they disobey him. For example, he calls Neftalí “a skinny weakling” that will “amount to nothing.” 
  • Rodolfo, Neftalí’s brother, is frustrated that Neftalí likes to stop and examine small things in nature as they walk to school. Rodolfo calls Neftalí “dim-witted” and asks Neftalí, “Can you not walk like other boys?” 
  • When Neftalí struggles to respond to one of his father’s coworkers, Father calls Neftalí “absentminded” and says, “There’s no telling what will become of [Neftalí].” 
  • Father calls Neftalí a “scatterbrain” for reading. He also tells Neftalí, “You are nothing more than a brittle twig . . . And this obsession with books will not make you vigorous!” 

Supernatural 

  • Rodolfo tells Neftalí a legend about the “chucao bird,” which Father says, “is a bird in the forest that tells the future.” Rodolfo reveals to Neftalí, “If you hear it call on your right side, it is a good omen and means fortune and happiness. If you hear it on your left, it is a warning and means bad luck and disappointment.” 
  • As Neftalí explores a nearby forest, he finds a large rhinoceros beetle and stares at it. Neftalí recounts, “As he marveled at the beetle, the shell contorted and bulged, growing bigger and bigger. Its legs elongated until it was as tall as a pony.” Neftalí then describes riding the giant beetle, “Oddly unafraid, Neftalí climbed onto its sturdy back, and rode it through the forest.” 

Spiritual Content  

  • When Neftalí asks Laurita for help trying to heal a hurt swan, “Laurita put her hands together, in prayer, ‘He must get better.’” 

Truly, Madly, Royally

Zora Emerson’s summer plans are simple: to attend the pre-university program at Halstead U and continue her community work in her hometown of Appleton. Zora is Black and from a modest background, which doesn’t fit the typical picture of students at Halsted U nor the royal family of Landerel – a small country in Europe. Dodging reporters, dating a prince, and attending a royal wedding were not part of the plan.  

After meeting a mystery boy in the library, Zora falls for his charm, only to discover that she’s fallen for Owen Whittelsey, the son of the Queen of Landerel. Soon, Zora’s studies and volunteering is split between dates with Owen. However great Zora’s dates with her Prince Charming are in private, the royal life is not as glamorous as it seems. Owen is constantly monitored by his security team, and the budding relationship between Zora and Owen is investigated by the press. When Zora wins a grant to bolster her after-school program, the award is taken away when outsiders hint that her connections to the royal family give her an unfair advantage.  

Despite the setbacks and scrutiny, Zora persists in growing her after-school program through different means while managing her relationship with Owen. Eventually, he invites Zora to attend the wedding of his brother as a guest of honor. During the trip of a lifetime, Zora learns how to be confident in herself and embrace her heritage.  

Truly, Madly, Royally is a romance story mixed with a unique narrator whose heart lies with helping her community. Despite the majority of students at Halstead being from rich, white families, Zora is determined to embrace her African heritage and prove that she has a place among them by excelling in the classroom and her community work. Zora’s confidence is admirable even as she’s faced with large setbacks, such as grant money for her community work being taken away. Instead of giving up, Zora runs her own fundraiser, earning the money on her own. At the end of the story, African culture is highlighted as the royal wedding is between Owen’s brother and a Black woman named Sadie. However, the romance plot takes center stage, so the book doesn’t teach much about African culture beyond these basic issues. 

Truly, Madly, Royally is an easy, quick read. However, there’s not much to learn or gain from this story due to its simplistic and predictable plot. Readers who typically enjoy the romance genre will be disappointed by the development of Zora and Owen. While the romance is underwhelming, the story of Zora’s relationship she has with kids from her after-school program is heartwarming. Beyond that, however, the story highlights the importance of community. Zora truly wants to make a difference in her community and works hard to achieve her goals. Zora’s caring nature, confidence, and African heritage bring a unique element to this common romance trope.  

Sexual Content  

  • Skye, Zora’s friend, admits that she and Zora’s brother Zach kissed. 
  • Owen invites Zora to the royal ball. Then, “Owen bows his head and kisses my hand.” Afterwards, he asks, “Am I welcome to kiss you?” Zora says yes, and Owen kisses Zora for the first time. Zora describes, “Owen closes the distance between us and bows his head closer. It’s a kiss that starts with one soft, sweet peck, quickly followed by another. We look at each other and smile before taking a deeper dive with a tender kiss that lingers. We stay holding hands the whole time. A few seconds later, we pull back slowly.” 
  • Owen kisses Zora in a lecture hall at Halstead. “He pulls me in closer for a quick, wonderful kiss.”  
  • Owen hugs and kisses Zora while dancing in a friend’s dorm. “[Owen] lifts me off the floor. He lowers my feet with a quick kiss.”  
  • When Zora shows up at a wedding, Owen greets her. “[Owen] wraps his arms around me and kisses my forehead.”  

Violence  

  • Owen’s sister, Emily, committed suicide, which Zora learns from an article that provides the details of her death. “Apparently, when [Emily] was younger, a royal biographer dubbed her the ‘redheaded stepchild.’ Sadly, the unfortunate moniker stuck. . . [Emily] was considered chubby. The body shaming, the merciless trolling, the unflattering memes everywhere all threw her down a self-destructive path that ultimately led to her tragic death. Her body was found off a cliff in a mountain range along the southern coast of Landerel.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • When Owen’s sister died, there was “a high level of alcohol in her system.” 

Language  

  • Zora’s mother claims that her ex-husband, Zora’s dad, is always “showing his ass.”  

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Zora’s mother is religious and occasionally mentions God and praying. She says, “I’m gonna pray you find a friend there you can relate to. You know God always listens to a mother’s prayer.”  
  • Zora’s father says “the only person ruling this house is Jesus.” 
  • Zora is at a community event where she feels like she has to keep standing up to greet people. “I stand up, sit down, and then stand up and sit down again. You would think I am at a Catholic church service.” 
  • The royal wedding is held in a chapel in Landerel. 

Saints of the Household

Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri (indigenous Puerto Rican) American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down.

But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, instinct takes over and they intervene, breaking up a fight and beating their high school’s star soccer player to a pulp. This act of violence threatens the brothers’ dreams for the future and their beliefs about who they are. As the true details of that fateful afternoon unfold over the course of the novel, Max and Jay grapple with the weight of their actions, their shifting relationship as brothers, and the realization that they may be more like their father than they thought. They’ll have to reach back to their Bribri roots to find their way forward. 

Told in alternating perspectives, Saints of the Household outlines Jay’s and Max’s stress as they enter their final year of high school. Ari Tison is Bribri herself and brings Bribri stories and language into the text. She integrates these elements seamlessly. It gives insight into Bribri culture and provides a contrast to rural Minnesota. The boys’ connections with their home and their mother’s family are deeply important to the story, as it provides a sense of normalcy and peace in an environment that is otherwise uncertain. 

Jay and Max’s relationship drives the tone of the story. The brothers have different personalities, which causes conflict. Max wants to escape his home situation and often pulls away from Jay, who is always preoccupied with family and school matters. The brother’s bond fluctuates; the more Jay and Max exist in harmony, the more hopeful the story becomes. Both Jay and Max are sympathetic characters, and readers will find it easy to connect with them. 

Since Jay and Max are familiar with domestic violence, Saints of the Household includes violent scenes. In addition, when their classmate Luca physically abuses Nicole – his then-girlfriend – the brothers beat up Luca in order to protect Nicole. Some readers may find the abuse troubling as Tison’s remarkably succinct writing style makes the descriptions of these scenes short, yet powerful. Despite this, in the quiet moments, Jay and Max find solace in each other and in their Bribri traditions even though they live in the tundra of Minnesota. Jay also seeks comfort in his friend Nicole, while Max finds it in his art. 

In order to help readers distinguish between the brothers, Max’s chapters are all written in wandering verse, which is in stark contrast to Jay, who writes his thoughts in prose. The changing points of view illustrate the differences between the brothers as well as highlights how differently they understand their current situations. Another factor that affects the story is that religion plays a significant role in the story as the boys’ beliefs balance between Christianity and Bribri traditions. As with other elements of the book, these are integrated seamlessly into the story and there aren’t any strong stances taken on the topic itself. Religion is as much a part of Jay and Max’s life as Bribri culture, or their mom’s hot chocolate: it just is. 

Despite the darkness that cloaks the events in Saints of the Household, the ending is uplifting. The brothers have witnessed violence and have even stooped to physically fighting each other. Despite this, the conclusion hints that Max and Jay will make it through these difficult times through their family’s and friends’ love. Saints of the Household will appeal to readers looking for a more literary and thoughtful text rather than an action-packed adventure. The story ends on a hopeful note and shows that the characters will make it through to the next stages of their lives. It also reminds readers that life can get better. For more perspective from indigenous authors, read The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline and Powwow Summer by Nahanni Shingoose. 

Sexual Content  

  • Jay finds one of his dad’s porn magazines. The magazine has “a woman with a low-cut shirt lean[ing] forward on the cover.”  
  • Nicole used to date Aaron, but she “think[s] Aaron was hooking up with someone else right after we broke up because of something I saw online. They were flirting in the comments somewhere.”  
  • Max and his girlfriend, Melody, kiss. Max describes, “She leans over and kisses me./ We kiss hard, and I cry.” 
  • Max mentions that he says “no to [Melody] when she asks about sex” because he’s worried he’ll hurt her. 
  • At a school dance, Max and Melody kiss. Max describes, “Before we get to the hall,/ she turns off the lights,/ and then I kiss her, and we kiss, and we kiss,/ by the dark door.” 
  • Max and Melody “mess around, pulling clothes;/ she’s musk, honey, stomach,/ ochre colors filling my mind/ with every kiss and touch/ we unfurl on the bed,/ until she’s over me.” Max stops before things can go any further. 
  • After an absence, Nicole sees Aaron again. “Before Aaron can say anything, they hug each other, and hug and hug. She kisses him on the cheek. He kisses her back, and they start really kissing.”  

Violence  

  • The narrator asks God for forgiveness for “kicking the neighbor’s dog, for shouting at the sky, for beating up that boy.” The event where the boy, Luca, is beaten up is explained later in the book as the book’s plot follows the aftermath. 
  • After they beat up Luca, Jay and Max see a counselor. The counselor asks, “Why didn’t you stop? Why did you kick him in the face? You broke his nose…His face is severely injured.” 
  • Jay explains what happened the day they beat up Luca. Jay says, “Luca was pulling at [Nicole’s] jacket, and she pushed his hands away. Then Luca’s hands were on her shoulders while she swore at him. . . She pushed him off, then he grabbed her hand and yanked it down and then leaned forward to say something in her ear. And we snapped. We were on him, pulling him away from Nicole, and he swore at us. He shoved Max, and I shoved him back, then he shoved me back, and then we beat the heck out of him.” This description lasts for one page. 
  • Jay describes the first time his dad hit him. Jay says, “Dad opened the door and caught me listening. I saw his usual hard anger turned hot, but hotter this time. I can still feel it. That first time he swung. My body crumpled onto the wooden floor.” The description ends after a page, but it is established that this happens regularly. 
  • Jay explains his father’s domestic violence further. Jay says, “After Max’s fourteenth birthday, he took to hitting me whenever I did anything that upset him…Then he started on Max. He made us swear never to tell Mom, because she wouldn’t understand that it was what we deserved for acting like fools, for not doing what he asked, for looking at him the wrong way and how it showed him disrespect. That didn’t last long, because his anger turned to her soon.”  
  • The brother’s mom tells a story about two young men who have to stop mystical eagles from stealing children from a tribe. They lull the eagles to sleep and, while they slept, the two men “swiftly took a knife to [the eagle’s] throat and cut [them] to pieces.”  
  • Max and Jay come home and see their mom crying and holding her shoulder. Their dad is yelling. Jay reacts: “With two long strides, I am right up to him, him and his sour breath. I send my fist right to his face.” Their dad ends up leaving the house without taking a swing at Jay.  
  • Jay’s dad tries to be nice to Jay’s mom, but then Jay says, “I lay him out when he drinks too much and goes after Mom again.” It is insinuated later that his dad hit his mom in the face. 
  • After an absence, Jay and Max’s dad comes home. Jay details: “Late at night, I hear a loud bang at the back door. Mom opens it, like she does. And I hear it, the lick of fist to skin. I see Dad’s hands go hard to her neck. Max jumps on Dad.” Their dad is arrested. 
  • Jay has dreams about his dad physically abusing him. He has “dreams where Dad’s hands hit me across the face, harder for calling the authorities on him…I see the time he decked me for taking it out and how he marched me out to the alley and pushed my face into the can so hard the plastic edge cut into my skin.” His descriptions last for a page. 
  • Jay’s grandpa, Grandpa Fernando, talks to Jay about depression. He says, “I used to get sad, too. You know your great-uncle? It was so much he took his own life. I don’t want that for you.”  
  • Max and Jay fight. Max says, “I go for you first./ I go for your ankles,/ and your back cracks/ against the wood./ I’m on you,/ swinging and swearing.” The fight ends when Grandpa Fernando hits Max over the head with “a big book in his hands.” The description of the fight lasts for a few pages. Jay sustains bruises on his face, but both brothers are otherwise fine. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • The brother’s dad physically abuses his family, “especially when he drinks.” Jay elaborates that his dad “likes rum and Coke.” 
  • Max paints Melody’s portrait at a park next to a trailer park. Max notes, “there, a smoking empty bean can/ with cigarette butts on the steps.” 

Language  

  • Profanity is used somewhat infrequently. Profanity includes: shitty, asshole, damn, hell, jackass, and fuck. 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • The book opens with a passage about communion and Christian church service. An unnamed narrator says, “I keep crying at the time of the reflection, asking God for forgiveness. I can’t stop thinking about it —  before I am told to eat the cracker and drink the two-inch cup of black-red wine.” The passage lasts for half a page, and God’s name is invoked frequently throughout the book. Jay and Max’s family does attend church. 
  • Max and Jay are indigenous Costa Rican, and Jay notes that the ocean is traditionally sacred and revered. He says that they’d “have to pray to even get close” to the ocean. 
  • Grandpa Fernando would tell Max and Jay stories about their ancestors, who were the first indigenous peoples of Costa Rica – the Bribri. He would tell them “of tricksters, the Creator Sibö, and men who were cursed after selfishness.” There are short chapters dedicated to various Bribri stories, and they each last for a couple of pages. One story is about the birth of Creator Sibö. 
  • Jay references an Old Testament story where “Jonathan risks his life for King David, and a verse says that David loved Jonathan with more love than a man had for a woman — and Max and I are like that. Brothers born eleven months apart.” 
  • Max and Jay’s mom tells them a story about mystical eagles. She explains that “the mystical eagles were the dragons of Talamanca…They’d come down from the mountains, tearing children from their mothers’ arms, snatching those who went out in the day from the pathways.” The story lasts for a page. 
  • Max says that he remembers him and Jay “laughing at the sex-garden references in the Bible—Eden, then the gardens in the Song of Solomon.” 

When the Butterflies Came

Tara Doucet is a twelve-year old who seems to have everything going for her. She comes from one of the oldest families in New Iberia Parish and is a descendant of the original Paris Doucet Family. However, beneath the surface, Tara is struggling with a number of challenges. Her beloved Grammy Claire recently passed away, leaving a void in Tara’s life. Additionally, her mother has become reclusive and is unable to deal with her recent divorce or the looming foreclosure of their family plantation, leaving Tara to shoulder much of the burden. To make matters worse, Tara and her sister have never seen eye-to-eye, causing further tension and conflict within the family. 

Despite these difficulties, Tara’s life takes an unexpected turn for the better when she has a remarkable experience. After Tara’s grandmother’s funeral, a beautiful, velvety purple butterfly visits her, almost as if it were sent by her grandmother. Moments later, Tara receives a letter that sets her on a quest to unlock the mystery surrounding her Grammy Claire’s research with butterflies. As she delves deeper into her grandmother’s past, Tara must confront her own fears and insecurities and learn to embrace the beauty and complexity of life. 

The letter Tara receives from her grandmother leads her on an unexpected adventure to protect the butterflies that her grandmother discovered. Tara’s journey takes her to her grandmother’s house where she finds 10 keys and more letters with cryptic clues; the letters urge Tara to protect the butterflies and trust no one. As Tara progresses from clue to clue, she learns of her grandmother’s amazing scientific discovery. However, the discovery is what put her grandmother’s life and the existence of the butterflies in peril. 

The suspense builds as Tara relies on her wits and follows her heart to find the clues. She risks everything to save her grandmother’s butterflies. Tara’s wondrous tale is narrated in a gripping first-person, present tense, which allows readers to experience the intense range of emotions Tara goes through, including emotions from the depths of grief to the heights of wonder, from gripping fear to overwhelming surprise. As the reader follows Tara’s journey, they will be drawn into the vivid and enchanting landscape that is painted, where the rules of reality are suspended and anything is possible.  

Throughout Tara’s journey, she encounters various obstacles and challenges that she must overcome to succeed in her mission to protect the butterflies. Tara learns more about her grandmother’s life and the scientific discoveries she made. She also uncovers a sinister plot to destroy the butterflies and their habitat. Tara must use all of her skills and intelligence to stop the plot and protect the butterflies.  

However, figuring out who is behind all the danger is not an easy task. Tara must travel to the island of Chuuk, where her grandmother lived and her research began five years ago. There, she dives deep into her grandmother’s research, searching for clues that will help her uncover the truth of who is behind the plot to destroy the butterflies. Her journey to Chuuk reveals a world full of secrets and dangers that Tara never imagined. But with each new challenge, she grows stronger and more determined to complete her mission and protect the butterflies. 

Overall, Tara’s adventure is a thrilling and exciting story that teaches readers about the importance of protecting the environment and the creatures that inhabit it. When the Butterflies Came highlights the importance of perseverance, courage, and intelligence in overcoming obstacles and achieving goals. The story also emphasizes the power of family, even in the face of adversity, and the importance of cherishing the memories of those who have passed on. Tara’s journey is a story of growth and discovery, of facing one’s fears and finding the strength to overcome them, and of the enduring power of love. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Tara is up at two in the morning trying to determine what the seventh key, that her grandmother leaves as a clue towards her secrets of the butterflies, unlocks when she hears someone moving around upstairs. She goes to her Grammy Claire’s laboratory that should have been locked shut. Instead, she finds it unlocked and one of the precious butterflies, crushed on a desk. Tara wonders, “‘What happened here? How did she die?’ And then I started to cry even harder because I know deep in my heart that the Giant Pink butterfly didn’t die of old age. It didn’t have an accident. Its life span didn’t just run out. It was murdered.”  
  • In a letter following the seventh key, Grammy Claire outlines that there is someone who is willing to put their lives in danger for the butterflies. “Someone wants to hurt the [butterflies]. To steal them, and destroy them. I cannot allow that to happen. They are precious. They hold a secret the world is not ready for, but which someone is willing to kill for. I often make myself crazy thinking about each person I know on the island and wondering who wants the butterflies. And who might want me dead.” The letter makes Tara question how her grandmother died. She begins to wonder if her grandmother’s car accident, wasn’t truly an accident.  
  • Tara finds her sister, Riley, splayed out at the bottom of the stairs, which are covered in water and oil. Riley begins to draw conclusions of her own that she shares with Tara. Riley says, “These stairs were just fine last night . . . I think somebody tried to hurt me. Or you.” 
  • While Tara and Riley are attending a barbecue, two gunshots go off. “A second later, there’s two ear-splitting pops that rupture the air. Instantly, the bark of the palm tree I’m sitting next to spurts a shower of splinters. My cheeks sting from flying, razor-like slivers, and then shredded bark sprays over my hair, my lap, and clothes. I’m screaming as I fall to the ground.” Tara is okay, but they find a bullet missed her head by inches. Riley and Tara run to escape. 
  • After finding the final last chest that unlocks the secrets of the butterflies, Riley and Tara try to leave the island when they are intercepted by the individuals who have been after their family the whole time. Tara is suddenly “tackled from behind and flung to the ground. The treasure chest launches out of my arms and I get a mouthful of sand. Then someone huge and strong reaches around and clasps their hand around my mouth.” Tara remains pinned in the sand.  
  • Tara and Riley’s captors talk about how to dispose of them. “‘Rope.’ ‘Nope. Grotto.’ ‘Hmm . . . might be easiest’ ‘. . . found Claire’s hidden chest. Look like they drowned getting it.’” 
  • As Tara and Riley’s captors held their heads over the water, Riley screams out to Tara. Riley’s “voice is instantly muffled as a hand roughly shoves my head under the water. I never get a chance to take a decent breath. Almost immediately, bubbles escape my nose. After twenty more seconds, my eyes bulge, trying to see in the dark water, staring up at the cavern roof. Beams of light flash here and there, squiggly and hazy . . . Now I’m bursting. I am truly drowning. My lungs are on fire. I’m going to die! Die!” Right before Tara’s body can completely give out, the men release because people show up. 

Drugs and Alcohol   

  • None 

Language  

  • In Grammy Claire’s third note, she mentions the importance of nipwisipwis, but Tara doesn’t quite understand what it means. It isn’t until her sister Riley looks up that it is written in another language –Chuukese. “I can barely choke out the words. ‘Nipwisipwis means butterfly!’” Nipwisipwis is utilized frequently for the rest of the book.  
  • ‘Kinnisow’ means ‘thank you’ in Chuukese. Eloni, Grammy Claire’s research assistant, teaches this to Tara so that she may use it while on the island.  

Supernatural   

  • The first butterfly to visit Tara is a small, purple one that floats into her room. It sits and stares into her eyes, making Tara question if there is something special about the butterfly. “This butterfly ain’t no regular butterfly. ‘Are you magic?’ I say real quiet, because I don’t want it to fly away and disappear.” 
  • In Grammy Claire’s second note, she talks about her dear friend who used to help Tara’s mom come out of her bouts of melancholy. To do so, she utilized herbal practices to create a concoction. Tara says, “’I’ll bet Grammy Claire’s talking about the mother of Miz Mirage, the woman who lives in the swamp. The one all the kids at school call a swamp witch. . . Maybe what she does ain’t bad magic at all.’ Words dance in front of my eyes. Herbs. Healing. Prayers. Love.” 
  • Someone shows Tara the magic of the butterflies. Tara begins to realize that the purple ones with a yellow outline can make music of their own.  
  • Upon finding the last chest, Tara and Riley begin to read some of the curious findings that make their grandmother’s work with butterflies so dangerous. “I stare inside the thick envelope, trying to focus. Words jump out at me. Nipwisipwis is written over and over again on every sheet. Giant Pink. Experiments. Turn back time.” 

Spiritual Content   

  • After Grammy Claire dies, Tara receives a letter from her that was written in the event of her death. The letter says, “What does gone mean, after all? Am I six feet under? Floating in the air or dancing on a cloud? Maybe I am having tea with God and making Him answer the long list of questions I’ve been hungering after for decades . . . even if that means I’ll wake up in heaven next time I see you. You can bet I’ll be the first in line to hug you and smother you with kisses.” 
  • In a letter, Grammy Claire tells Tara how she is looking down on her from heaven. “In Chuukese, they call heaven naangenu, the place we came from and the place we return after death. Where I am, I will be with you in spirit. Always” 
  • Eloni, Grammy Claire’s research assistant, tries to comfort Tara. Eloni says Grammy Claire is still looking over them and that Grammy Claire, “is right now watching. From naangenu. . . It means heaven. Where the gods live. And one day, we live there, too.” 

My Diwali Light

Devi loves the Diwali season. It’s a time to wear her favorite red dindi and eat samosas until she bursts! Make mithai and design rangoli with her papa. And paint diyas with her nani—a reminder to shine her light brightly all year long.

The story, with vibrant collage illustrations, follows one girl’s Diwali traditions as her family celebrates their favorite holiday with the ones they love. The illustrations are full of interesting details that feature Devi’s clothing, her family, and her neighborhood. The pictures’ brilliant, bright colors give the book a joyous, festive tone. Each page has one to five sentences. However, both the complex sentence structure and the frequent use of Hindi words will require the book to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. Since the book doesn’t contain a glossary, My Diwali Light will not help children from other cultures to understand the customs associated with Diwali. 

Devi’s activities show a strong sense of family and the importance of learning from your elders. For example, “Nani says when we clean our home, we remember to keep our hearts clean, too.” During the holiday preparations, Devi’s family strings marigolds and twinkling lights and also paints diyas. While they are preparing for the holiday, Nani says “the flame is a reminder for all of us to shine our lights brightly, to be kind, helpful, and loving.” 

While readers unfamiliar with the holiday may have difficulty understanding some of the book’s language, the general concept of allowing your kindness to shine will be understood by all readers. My Diwali Light revolves around Devi’s family, who show kindness to each other as well as others. 

While all of Devi’s family celebrates the season, they all celebrate differently, which allows readers to understand that the holiday is about sharing the Diwali light and sparkle. 

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language   

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • As part of the holiday tradition, Devi’s Papa gets the thali ready and Devi “sprinkle[s] the rice and the water and help[s] shower the statures in the mandir with milk, yogurt, honey, ghee, and sugar. We offer flowers and mithai. I shake the coins. Mama sings the aarti, and I ring my bell loudly.”
  • Devi’s family prays “our own prayers, quietly whispering words of hope from deep in our hearts.” The family prays for health, happiness, peace, and that “we are always together on Diwali.” 

Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs

Solimar, a soon-to-be princess of the kingdom of San Gregorio, is about to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. “After the quinceañera, she would be considered a princess of the world. And she would also officially be crowned Princess Solimar Socorro Reyes Guadalupe of San Gregorio.” 

Solimar’s home is known for its oyamel forest, a sacred place for the monarch butterflies that migrate each year. Solimar decides to watch the new generation of monarchs arrive in the oyamel forest. When Solimar goes to oyamel, she is surrounded by butterflies, who completely cover her arms and her rebozo, or shawl. Afterwards, Solimar notices that her rebozo looks as if it has “butterfly wings embedded in the fabric . . . and they’re shimmering.” The encounter with the monarchs gives Solimar the ability to predict the near future while she is wearing the rebozo and standing in sunlight. 

But then, on the eve of the kingdom’s annual supply trip, Solimar’s brother tells her, “He’s running away from home to join a ship because he doesn’t want to be king anytime soon, or possibly ever.” On top of this, when her father and brother set off on the trip, a neighboring king and his guards invade Solimar’s kingdom and take her mother and abuela hostage. The invading king plans to use Solimar’s mother and the rest of their family as a bargaining tool to force Solimar’s father to give him a thousand acres of their oyamel forest. Solimar hides just in time to escape the notice of the invaders and realizes it is up to her to find a way to warn her father of the invaders and their plans. Solimar, her bird Lázaro, and an enchanted talking doll set off on their quest down the river, in an attempt to “warn her father in time and change the destiny of her kingdom.”

Solimar is a sympathetic and strong female character that readers will connect with due to her determination and willingness to go against the mold. Though she is a soon-to-be princess, Solimar does not believe she needs to look a specific way to be considered royal. She explains that she prefers her hair short, and says, “Where does it say what a princess must look like?” She even argues with her brother and father for reform within the kingdom. She explains, “I wanted to change things in my kingdom. I have ideas about forming a council of men and women who advise the king and allowing everyone in the kingdom to vote,” instead of just men. 

Readers who enjoy fantasy and heroic journeys will love Solimar’s adventure to rescue her kingdom. This book occasionally showcases Spanish words, which can expand readers’ exposure to new vocabulary. The first time the Spanish words are used, they are typically explained in English, but readers will also be able to use context clues to identify the meanings. There is also a map of all the different locations Solimar visits as she journeys through the kingdom of San Gregorio at the front of the novel. 

Readers will sympathize with Solimar as she learns to appreciate her responsibilities to the kingdom. Solimar’s family also shows growth, as they ultimately decide to let their son, the prince, pursue the life of a sailor and “creat[e] a transport fleet for [their kingdom].” Another example of growth is when Solimar is hesitant to put on a crown, fancy shoes, and a gown for her quinceañera. Her dislike of these formalities symbolizes that she is afraid that in becoming a princess she will still not have a voice in making decisions that impact the kingdom. However, by the end of the novel, Solimar grows to appreciate her family, who trust her input and ideas and even appreciate the quinceañera’s formal ceremony. Overall, this book showcases the importance of family, friendship, and finding trustworthy people in tough situations. Readers eager to explore more books about friendship should also read A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi and A Hundred Horses by Sarah Lean.

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Abuela’s friend who practices enchantments, Doña Flor, tells Solimar what will happen if someone tries to steal the magical rebozo from her. Doña Flor says, “Anyone who tries to break the bond would suffer the wrath of the ancestral spirits,” which means, “Rage, madness, impending doom.”
  • A leader of a rival kingdom breaks into Solimar’s family home. “Mothers called for their daughters. Girls cried. Footsteps scuffled. Chairs tipped over. A man’s booming voice ordered, ‘Be quiet!’” Solimar’s mother, grandmother, and friends are trapped and kept as hostages. “Abuela glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of Solimar. Her eyes filled with alarm, and almost imperceptibly . . .Abuela waved for Solimar to go away.” Solimar stays hidden and escapes.
  • The guards from the rival kingdom surround Solimar’s mother, abuela, and their advisors. “One stepped forward and announced, ‘By order of King Aveno, you all are under house arrest and may not leave the castle.’” When King Aveno enters, he reveals he is holding hostages to “gain the advantage I needed to negotiate for the land I wish to buy” from Solimar’s father, King Sebastián. 
  • Solimar’s friend, Berto, talks about his father who “died five years ago.” Berto does not describe the event in detail. 
  • King Aveno snatches the rebozo from Solimar and suddenly “the sky darkened, and a wind stirred and steadily grew . . . From the forest, a dark, tornado-like cloud raced toward the stage. [The king’s spy] and King Aveno held on to each other in an attempt to withstand the fierce gale. The wind roared.” The tornado “lifted away, growing smaller and smaller until it vanished. When the wind and world quieted, King Aveno and [his spy] were nowhere to be seen. All that remained were their boots and Solimar’s crumpled rebozo.”

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • Occasionally, Solimar’s Abuela proclaims “for heaven’s sake.”

Supernatural

  • When Solimar goes to watch the migration of the monarch butterflies, she suddenly is surrounded by them: “A swarm of monarchs descended and swirled around her—a blur of black, orange, and coral—creating an iridescent mist as if she was swaddled in the softest and nicest blanket.” She starts to hear “a rhythmic humming” and is not sure where it is coming from as, “The song persisted, though, and grew louder and louder until it reached a crescendo of haunting voices.”
  • After her encounter with the monarchs, Solimar notices a mystical substance around her. “Glittery specks lingered in the air like suspended jewels” and her shawl, or rebozo, is covered in the magical substance. “One side looks as if the butterfly wings are embedded in the fabric . . . and they’re shimmering.”
  • After Solimar’s encounter with the butterflies, she can predict things, such as when her abuela is about to fall down a hill while searching for a specific herb. Solimar explains, “I’ve never seen that herb before. I just knew where it was and that she would fall. But I don’t know how I knew.”
  • Solimar’s friend Josefina tells Solimar, “[My boyfriend] asked to meet me tonight, but he was so serious and standoffish that I am worried his feelings for me have changed. What will he tell me?” Solimar instantly begins to predict a proposal, “Only that he loves you…” And sure enough, this prediction does come true. 
  • To see if her predictions are only lucky guesses, Solimar asks her friend Maria to, “Ask me something else. Maybe about the expedition. Something I couldn’t already know.” Maria says, “When I talked to [the stable hand] only an hour ago, he mentioned your father had just decided on the horse he would ride in the lead tomorrow. Which stallion will have the honor of wearing the king’s colors?” Solimar answers correctly, confirming she can make predictions while wearing the magical shawl. 
  • Abuela takes Solimar to see a folk healer, “where few dared to travel unless they needed to be rid of a curse or cleansed of evil spirits.”
  • The folk healer, Doña Flor, taught Solimar’s grandma how to use herbs to help heal ailments. Abuela says, “Her enchantment is for good . . . some things at Doña Flor’s house are charmed. Just . . . be accepting. That’s all I ask. Embrace the mystery and the peculiarities.”
  • Doña Flor tells Solimar, “Your rebozo is the swaddle for the butterflies. You are now their protector and inseparably connected to them.” Because of this, Doña Flor reveals that the magic of the butterflies in the shawl “are safely embedded. It’s part of the magic, as is the ability for [Solimar] alone to bear their intuition about the near future and what lies ahead.”
  • Though Solimar is now able to access the magical intuition of the monarchs, she knows “each day that it is sunny, [Solimar] must open the rebozo to warm and strengthen those you carry. Otherwise [the monarchs] will never have the stamina to take leave and cluster in the trees.” In addition, Solimar must avoid people asking her questions in the sun because, “For every question you answer, it drains a little of [the butterflies’] strength. If they lose too much they will surely die.”
  • Doña Flor has enchanted dolls that “begin to chatter.” Doña Flor tells Solimar that “their enchantment is strong, yet they are generous souls and very helpful.”
  • Abuela has tried to use spells. She says, “I tried to make a love potion on [my cat] and the stable cat, hoping to make them compatible. But I wasn’t exactly successful . . . But instead of falling in love with each other, they fell in love with the first inanimate object they touched. In [her cat’s] case, it happened to be that green woolen sock she carries everywhere.”
  • Solimar uses magic to figure out which way to go in the dangerous devil’s river. Solimar “heard the chorus again — mystical and ancient and with such harmony that her arms prickled and tears filled her eyes. A clutch of monarchs lifted from the rebozo, their wings beating in time to the rhythmic song, and trailed after the swarm toward the waterway on the right.”
  • The magic of the monarchs can move a canoe without Solimar paddling it at all. “The canoe glided to the right, following the monarchs’ path.”
  • Solimar uses her predictive abilities to help navigate a perilous labyrinth of caves. She reveals, “The tunnel on the right is navigable, but there is no through passage. The water is stagnant, and the air is foul-smelling. The one in the middle has a rock ceiling that eventually becomes so low that the only way to pass is by swimming beneath it, underwater. The tunnel on the left leads to a long corridor and a bat-filled chamber.” She makes it safely out of the caves. 
  • Solimar and her abuela plan to distract the invading guards with an enchantment. As the invaders sit in the middle of the room waiting for the greedy king’s decision about his hostages, “The awnings above the audience collapsed, spilling all manner of household items into the audience: feather dusters, wooden spoons, tea towels. . . Everyone who had been forewarned about the pastries and had not eaten them laughed as each guard picked up an inanimate object — and immediately fell hopelessly in love with it. At least for a few weeks, they would be as lovestruck and preoccupied as [Abuela’s cat], whose sweetheart was a green woolen sock.”
  • Solimar carries the rebozo and protects the monarchs that are magically embedded inside until they are strong enough to leave. At that point, “A wave of butterflies erupted from the oyamel forest. They dove and swooped around Solimar. . . The ancient song began, beautiful and melodic. The butterflies lifted the fabric, turning it around and around in the sun, and waving it so that it rippled until the creases fell away.” The last butterfly “emerged . . . the last one she protected landed on [Solimar’s] finger, then flew away to join the others in the oyamel forest.”      

Spiritual Content 

  • Solimar’s kingdom is home to “the oyamel forest,” a forest that draws in monarch butterflies. She explains, “Like everyone in the kingdom, Solimar believed that the ancestors of the monarch butterflies inhabited the oyamel forest, and that year after year, their spirits lured a new generation of butterflies to this spot during their migrations.”
  • In Solimar’s kingdom of San Gregorio, “the forest and the monarchs were revered and protected,” and the forest is often referred to as “the sacred place.”
  • Solimar ponders what draws the butterflies to the forest each year. “Isn’t it amazing that the butterflies, that have never been here before, arrive season after season at the same spot as their ancestors? Is it the magnetic pull of the earth or the position of the sun as the scientists suggest? Or do the spirits of their fathers and mothers whisper directions to them in a dream? Is it some magical intuition that allows them to know what lies ahead? . . . it’s a miracle.”
  • The dangerous river that prevents Solimar’s kingdom from trading goods is referred to as “Río Diablo,” or the devil’s river. 
  • When Solimar and her abuela visit Doña Flor for advice on Solimar’s ability to predict things, Doña Flor uses scents and vapors to help her. Doña Flor “stopped and picked a few leaves from one of the dried bouquets hanging from the ceiling and tossed them on the fire. A crisp fragrance, like a muddle of pine and mint, filled the room. Doña Flor waved the vapors toward her and inhaled deeply.” Abuela explains, “The strong scent of eucalyptus helps with remembering.”
  • Doña Flor explains that when any of the monarchs of the oyamel forest are weak, “on those occasions, the ancestral sprits of the monarchs choose a benevolent courier to protect the stragglers until they are strong enough to join the others” on their migration.
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