All the Impossible Things

Red has been in foster care since her mother went to prison two years ago, but she only has a little over a year left to endure the trial of group homes and families who don't really care about her.  Things were better when she lived with her grandmother, but now that Gamma is dead and Mom is in prison, there's no one left for Red.

She has no desire to connect to this new foster home or her newest set of temporary guardians.  Celine and Jackson are different, and they aren't put off by Red's prickly self-defense system.  They own and live at a petting zoo full of interesting creatures including Tuck, the tortoise.  Despite herself, Red feels an instant connection with the large animal and his scars evidencing his traumatic past. 

Red also has a secret gift that feels more like a curse.  The wind moves according to her emotions, and her emotions are generally stormy.  She is working hard to control this ability, but the more upset she is about her situation, the worse the weather is. 

Just as she starts to find her way with Jackson and Celine, her mother blows back into her life.  Her greatest wish has been granted, but will it be the happy ending she's been counting on?

Lindsay Lackey's debut novel is a bittersweet gem perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate and Dan Gemeinhart.  Despite the magical realism of Red's ability, Lackey deals with some heavy issues in a  realistic way,  Unfortunately, adults let down the kids in their lives all the time, and too many young children who should be protected have already dealt with terrible trauma.  This book reminds us there is always hope.  Highly recommended.

This Light Between Us

Ten-year-old Alex Maki is disgusted to find he has been accidentally been paired with a girl for his international pen pal, but Carlie Levy's enthusiasm is undaunted, and the two quickly become friends.  In fact, even years after the assignment is finished, they are still communicating even as life becomes more difficult for both of them on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Alex's family is sent to an internment camp along with other Japanese Americans.  His father is being held at another camp, his mother is aging by the day under the strain, and his older brother who was once a hero has become idle and embittered.  Alex's light in the darkness of the camp is his letters from Charlie.

Life in Paris becomes increasingly difficult for French Jews like Charlie.  She tries to remain optimistic, but Alex is horrified by the tales she tells of Nazi-occupied Paris.  When her letters stop abruptly, he is desperate for news of her safety especially after he reads a news article about Nazi death camps.

When a recruiting officer shows up at Alex's camp, many people are angry.  Why should they fight for a country that treats them like criminals?  But Alex begins to have hope.  The recruitment officer has promised to reunite his father with the rest of the family, and he secretly hopes he can make it to France to find Charlie.

But war is worse than anything Alex could have imagined, and it seems impossible he could find Charlie amid all the chaos and blood of WWII Europe.

Andrew Fukuda's new book is heartbreaking and dark and reveals the horrors of war for European Jews and the injustices done to Japanese Americans.  Charlie's story is one we have heard before.  It is a terrible story of pain and genocide--one which we must continue to tell.  Alex's story is not as commonly known.  Most people would rather sweep the truths of racism and Japanese internment under the rug, but it is a painful truth that while Americans were off fighting the good war for truth and justice in Europe and the Pacific, many communities in this country were marginalized and stripped of their rights as citizens.  Highly recommended for grades 8 and up.

Sauerkraut

HD Shenk's summer plans are all about the computer he wants to build.  He's going to clean out his uncle's basement to make money, buy all the parts himself, build it, and win a blue ribbon at the county fair.  Done!  He also has his best friend Eli around to help him while Eli's mom is out of town.  Perfect summer.

But on the first day of basement cleanup, the ghost of his great-great-grandmother appears, and this summer takes an interesting turn.  HD is a little creeped out at first, but it's pretty clear this is not a vengeful ghost.  He's also not sure she will understand who he is since Oma was born in Germany, and HD looks more like his African American mom. 

That's not a problem for Oma though.  The only thing she cares about is making sauerkraut.  Her ghost has been stuck in the basement living in her sauerkraut crock for 50 years, and now she wants HD to help her make her special recipe and win first place at the county fair. 

HD's summer plans are getting a slight alteration.  He still has to clean out the basement and build his computer, but he also has to make sauerkraut with his ghostly Oma and convince his family and friends she's real! 

I enjoyed Kelly Jones's new book more than I thought I would!  It's funny, strange, and clever.  The whole thing is kind of a bizarre concept, and I'm not sure many kids even know what sauerkraut is, but they will definitely relate to HD's place in a biracial family.  It does have a bit of an after school special vibe at times with life lessons tucked into every corner, but I really enjoy the overall message that spending time with family and friends and feeling pride in your own accomplishments are more important than winning.  Recommended.

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

Tristan is most definitely distracted when he loses his first real boxing match.  He still blames himself for his best friend's death.  After the bus crash, he saw Eddie's hand reaching for help, but he got scared, and now Eddie is dead.

His father thinks he needs to spend some time in Alabama with his grandparents where his grandfather thinks hard work will cure his sadness.  The only thing he has to remember Eddie is the journal where Eddie wrote down all the stories the two boys collected together.  He can't bring himself to open it, but he always has it nearby.

On his first night in Alabama, he is awakened by a small wooden doll who leaves a sticky trail of sap behind her.  This cannot be real.  But Gum Baby has a serious attitude, and she's not leaving without Eddie's journal.

In the ensuing chase and fight, Tristan accidentally opens a portal to another world and the two fall through.  Now he's in a strange place with a burning sea, bone ships, and a huge hole in the sky make by one Tristan Strong.  He is in Midpass, and it doesn't seem possible, but the characters from his grandmother's stories are here!  Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit, John Henry...they're all real, and they are all angry.

That hole in the sky has made things a lot worse in Midpass.  Armies of fetterlings, living iron shackles, are attacking and dragging people away to the Maafa.  Tristan just wants to go home, but the people of Midpass hold him responsible.  He heads out on a quest with a couple of new friends and one super annoying Gum Baby to find a way to stop the fetterlings before Midpass is destroyed.

Their only hope is to find Anansi, the great spider god, and somehow convince him to fix the hole in the sky before it's too late.

This debut novel by Kwame Mbalia is a blast!  It's an incredible fantasy adventure set in a fresh new fantasy world blending traditional West African mythology with the folklore of the American south.  Don't forget to throw in the role of slavery in shaping both Africa and America.  Anansi is every bit the trickster god, and Gum Baby is a hilarious sidekick.   Seriously, stop what you are doing, and read this book now!

When You Trap a Tiger

When Lily and her family suddenly leave home to move in with Halmoni, she and her sister struggle with the change.  It's harder for Sam who is a sticky person.  People remember her; it's easy for her to make friends.  Sam always calls Lily a QAG, Quiet Asian Girl; it's hard for her to make friends, and easy for her to become invisible. 

Both girls grew up with Halmoni's Korean stories of tigers and gods, but Sam has stopped believing. Lily is shocked when she sees a large tiger on the road as they are traveling on a rainy night.  No one else notices the animal, and she wonders if maybe it is the tiger from Halmoni's stories.

Once they arrive, it's clear Halmoni's health is worse than she thought.  Halmoni can't die.  After listening to the stories her whole life, Lily knows there has to be something she can do.  In the stories, the gods can grant favors.  Lily decides to set a trap.

The tiger tells Lily that long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers, and now they want it back.  The tiger offers a deal:  return what Halmoni stole, and the tiger will heal her.  Should Lily trust the tiger?  In the stories, tigers are tricky, but Lily doesn't see any other choice.

Tae Keller's new novel is a beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful exploration of the relationships between mothers and daughters, particularly in families of immigrants.  I absolutely loved this book!  It is just beautifully written and full of wisdom for anyone dealing with grief.  Highly recommended.  Plus, I am obsessed with that cover!

All-American Muslim Girl

With her fair skin and strawberry blond hair, Allie doesn't really look like a Muslim to outsiders.  Her Circassion Jordanian father grew up in an Islamic family speaking Arabic, but he no longer has faith in his family's religion.  Her American mother is ambivalent toward the faith even though she converted when she married. 

Allie was raised without religion, but after an awkward incident on an airplane where she has to play the placating white girl to reassure everyone her brown-skinned Arabic speaking father isn't a terrorist, she's had enough.  Why should she hide her religion?  It's been the faith of her family for generations, and her father's refusal to teach her Arabic has left her feeling like an outsider to the world at large and to her family in particular.

She knows her father wouldn't approve, but Allie joins a Koran study group and starts learning on her own.  Her father isn't the only problem.  What would her friends say if they knew the truth? 

There's also the matter of Wells Henderson who is adorable, kind, and quickly making his way into Allie's heart.  Allie is already falling for him before she realizes his father is Jack Henderson, the most popular conservative radio host in America.  Jack Henderson makes money from racism and Islamaphobia, and Allie is crushing on his son.

Nadine Jolie Courtney's book is a gentle story about a girl figuring out her own identity.  Muslim readers will see themselves in her struggle, but readers of other faiths will see themselves here, as well.  Allie deftly navigates her way through family history, cultural identity, and modern American life.  She does seem a bit wise for her age at times, but I would definitely recommend this book, and anyone who is willing to spend time here will come away better.