Viva, Rose!

From Publisher's Weekly

Sydney Taylor (older readers) honor

Set in 1915, Krawitz’s first novel combines the world of a storied revolutionary with that of Russian Jewish immigrants who settled in the west. Thirteen-year-old Rose Solomon is enraged to discover, via a newspaper photo, that her older brother, Abraham, has not left their Texas home to be a cowboy, but rather to be “a low-life bandit in a cowboy hat,” alongside outlaw Pancho Villa. Rose is herself tempted to run from her traditional, conservative family, but when she ventures off to mail her brother a piece of her mind, she is kidnapped by Villa’s men. Her eyes are opened wide living with revolutionaries at Villa’s bandido camp, where she learns to ride a horse, the truth about her brother, and the complexities of the Mexican Revolution. Readers will enjoy Rose’s fiery personality and equally brash narration in this engaging historical adventure. Yiddish and Spanish glossaries and an author’s note detailing how her story sticks to and diverges from actual events (Rose and Abe are based on Krawitz’s own relatives) are included. Ages 10–up. 

Excellent!

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place

From Publisher's Weekly...

Set in England in 1952, Agatha-winner Bradley’s outstanding ninth Flavia de Luce novel (after 2016’s Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d) finds 12-year-old Flavia contemplating suicide in the wake of a family tragedy. To relieve the increased tension between Flavia and her two older sisters, Dogger, the de Luce family’s long-serving and devoted servant, proposes an extended boat trip on the river. All is uneventful until the skiff nears the site where a notorious poisoner, Canon Whitbread, discarded the chalice he used in his crimes. Flavia’s hand, trailing behind the boat, comes into contact with the corpse of the canon’s son, Orlando. Unperturbed, Flavia uses her handkerchief to swab liquid from the dead man’s lips, and she and Dogger jury-rig a forensic lab to examine the sample. Though disappointed when the evidence shows Orlando was drowned instead of poisoned, Flavia persists with her amateur detecting, even as she runs afoul of the local constable. As usual, Bradley makes his improbable series conceit work and relieves the plot’s inherent darkness with clever humor.

Entertaining, but not as good as others in the series.  

The Stars Beneath Our Feet

From Publisher's Weekly..
John Steptoe Award for New Talent (Coretta Scott King) 2018

Wallace “Lolly” Rachpaul, 12, is still reeling from the murder of his older brother, Jermaine. The only thing that makes him feel better is building with Legos, and after his mother’s girlfriend, Yvonne, gives him two trash bags full of loose Legos for Christmas, he lets his imagination soar. When Lolly’s creation outgrows his West Indian family’s Harlem apartment, he moves it to the rec center. Encouraged by the facility’s director, Mr. Ali, Lolly and Big Rose, a girl with autism, begin to build “the alien metropolis of Harmonee.” Outside the safety of the rec center, life for Lolly and his best friend Vega is getting more complicated. Two older boys, Harp and Gully, are hassling them, and their menacing presence escalates into an act of violence. Debut author Moore delivers a realistic and at times brutal portrait of life for young people of color who are living on the edge of poverty. At the same time, Moore infuses the story with hope and aspiration, giving Lolly the chance to find salvation through creativity. Ages 10–up.

Excellent! I loved the artistic lego building aspect.

We Are Okay

From Publisher's Weekly...
2018 Printz Award

Over the winter holidays, college freshman Marin opts to remain in an empty dorm in New York rather than go home to California. The reasons she decides to stay gently unfold one layer at a time, in an introspective novel that powerfully explores her solitude and conflicted emotions against the backdrop of a stormy, icy winter. Marin’s temptation to burrow under the covers and “stay in bed all day” has to be put on hold when an old friend, Mabel, comes for a visit. As Mabel attempts to persuade Marin to return to San Francisco (at least for a while), Marin is forced to confront the past she is trying to forget, namely the summer that began with Marin and Mabel taking their friendship into thrilling new territory and ended with the death of Marin’s caretaker grandfather and the exposure of disturbing secrets. Through Marin’s memories and cautious conversations with Mabel, LaCour (Hold Still) conjures a moving portrait of a girl struggling to rebound after everything she’s known has been thrown into disarray. Ages 14–up. 

Beautiful!

The Epic Fail or Arturo Zamora

From Publisher's Weekly...

Belpre Author Honor

In a vibrant debut novel about family, friendship, and community, Cartaya introduces 13-year-old Arturo Zamora, whose mother runs the family’s busy Miami restaurant, which overflows with cousins and customers. But it’s the family’s charismatic matriarch, Abuela, whose warmth makes every customer feel appreciated. Complications ensue with the arrival of Carmen, a family friend from Spain who stirs romantic feelings in Arturo, and after Arturo learns that the restaurant is being threatened by a developer’s plans to build an upscale multi-use high-rise. In addition to Arturo’s funny and candid narration, Cartaya’s storytelling features Twitter exchanges, script-style dialogue, letters from Arturo’s deceased Abuelo, and poetry by activist José Martí; the dialogue smoothly shifts between English and Spanish, and readers unfamiliar with the latter should have no trouble using context to discern words and phrases they don’t know. A memorable supporting cast bolsters Arturo as he tries to preserve the restaurant and his family’s apartment complex, navigates his first romance, and learns more about his Cuban roots from the precious letters Abuela gives him. Ages 10–up. 

Ok, got better towards the end.  

Lucky Broken Girl

From Publisher's Weekly...
Pura Belpre

Set in 1966, this strongly sketched novel, adult author Behar’s first for children, focuses on a 10-year-old Cuban immigrant whose injury forces a prolonged convalescence and rehabilitation. The story begins with Ruthie Mizrahi moving up from the “dumb class” (where she learned English) to the “regular fifth grade class” at her school in New York City. However, a car accident leaves Ruthie so severely injured that she spends almost a year sequestered in her room in a body cast (“My bed is my island; my bed is my prison; my bed is my home”). Readers will get a powerful sense of the historical setting through Ruthie’s narration, but the novel is perhaps defined even more by her family’s status as immigrants and by its memorable multicultural cast. Some dialogue can ring false (“I am a bit of a hippie. I believe in peace, love, and flower power,” explains the tutor sent to work with Ruthie), but Behar successfully juggles several engaging plot threads, and Ruthie’s complicated relationship with her mother, given the demands of her care, is especially compelling. Ages 10–up. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Apr.)

Beautiful! Although the main character is wise beyond her years...

Piecing me Together

From Publisher's Weekly...

Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Winner

Jade Butler, an African-American artist-in-the-making, lives with her mother in Portland, Ore., and travels by bus to private school, where she is both grateful for and resentful of the opportunities presented to her. In short, poetic chapters, Jade ponders her family, school, and neighborhood relationships, wondering where she fits in: “How I am someone’s answered prayer but also someone’s deferred dream.” Watson (This Side of Home) weaves collage imagery throughout the story as Jade ruminates over historical figures such as York, the slave who traveled with Lewis and Clark, and distressing current events, including police violence against a neighborhood girl: “I am ripping and cutting. Gluing and pasting. Rearranging reality, redefining, covering, disguising. Tonight I am taking ugly and making beautiful.” Jade’s narrative voice offers compelling reflections on the complexities of race and gender, class and privilege, and fear and courage, while conveying the conflicted emotions of an ambitious, loyal girl. Teeming with compassion and insight, Watson’s story trumpets the power of artistic expression to re-envision and change the world. Ages 12–up. 

Very good! Similar to The Hate You Give but without the violence and profanity.