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.

Roll with It

Life has never been easy for Ellie.  Her cerebral palsy (CP) means she uses a wheelchair, has a mother who's constantly worried, and has a full-time aid following her everywhere at school. 

Ellie's favorite thing is baking.  It doesn't matter if she's in a wheelchair as long as everything she needs is within reach.  When she's baking, there's no room left in her brain for worrying about CP, nosy aids, or her sick grandfather.

When her grandfather crashes his truck into a building, Ellie and mom leave Nashville to move into a tiny trailer with Mema and Grandpa. 

Ellie is happy to be with her grandparents but nervous about starting a new school.  She has one goal:  no full-time aid.  Having an adult you around everywhere including the bathroom and making all your decisions is not the way to blend in.

Even though she's nervous about school, she's starting with something she's never had before--a real friend.  Coralee lives with her grandparents next door in the trailer park.  She wants to be a country music star, and she's decided she and Ellie should be friends. 

Eufala, Oklahoma, may not be perfect, but it's pretty darn good, and Ellie is learning to roll with the good and the bad.

Jamie Sumner's new book is a sweet story about a girl dealing with the challenges of middle school, a grandfather with Alzheimer's, and divorced parents while also being a girl with a disability.  CP is a big part of the novel because it's a big part of Ellie's life, but it's not the whole story.  This is a refreshing story about a fully realized character and not just a disability personified.  Readers will cheer for Ellie and get a little insight into life with a disability.  The author is also the mother of a son with cerebral palsy and writes for parents of special needs children.  Highly recommended!

There's Something About Sweetie

After Ashish's ex-girlfriend breaks his heart, he loses his mojo.  Normally, he's a charmer and a basketball star, but now he has no game on or off the court.  Plus, his parents are so obnoxiously sure they could set him up with the perfect girl.  Ashish absolutely doesn't want his parents involved in his love life.  He reluctantly agrees to let them try, mostly to prove them wrong.

Sweetie Nair is a great friend, a track superstar, and a dutiful daughter, but she will never be good enough to please her mother because she's fat.  Her mother is constantly picking at Sweetie about her weight even forcing her to wear a boring blend in outfit for her own birthday party.  Sweetie is sick of it, so she decides to launch the Sassy Sweetie Project to step out of the shadows and become the girl she wants to be.

As they set out on the series of wacky dates Ashish's parents set up for them, they are both trying to assert their identities.  Neither of them is really looking for love, but their attraction is undeniable.  Could this really be a perfect match?

Sandhya Menon's new book is my favorite of hers so far!  It's so sweet and fun, and the characters are both absolutely charming.  This is a perfect PG romance!  This is a companion novel to When Dimple Met Rishi, but you can totally read it independently of the first book.

Allies

Dee is really too young to be in the army.  At age 16, he lied to enlist and fight against Hitler's army, but that isn't the only lie he's told.  His name is really Dietrich, and he was born in Germany.

Now he's waiting in a boat at Omaha Beach preparing for D-Day with his best friend, Sid, hoping they can make it through the day alive.

Samira's mother works for the French resistance, but when she is captured by German soldiers, Samira must decide if she will try to rescue her mother or try to relay their message to the resistance fighters.

Henry always wanted to be a doctor, but he faced discrimination as an African American.  When he joined the army as a medic, he hoped the men would begin to see him as a fellow soldier, but the army has its share of racists, and the German army is shooting at everyone on D-Day, medic or soldier.

There are other characters from different countries, all Allies in the war against Hitler, who tell their part in the story of the D-Day invasion.  It will take a global alliance to bring down Hitler, and many soldiers will not last the day.

This newest book from Alan Gratz treads familiar WWII territory, but on the restricted timeline of the D-Day invasion.  The multiple timelines could be difficult to track, but that fast pace and confusion adds to the reality of war Gratz conveys in the book.  This is a perfect fit for readers who enjoy WWII stories and for Gratz's legion of fans.  The author also successfully conveys the idea that humanity must unite against injustice and oppression.  Recommended.

Look Both Ways

This is a collection of ten short stories about kids making their way home from school all connected by the idea of a school bus falling from the sky.  There are the kids who steal pocket change to make enough money to buy something special on the way home.  There is the kid whose friends try to help look better before approaching his crush.  What about the skateboarding who has an unfortunate run-in with some bullies on the way home?  Or the kid who doesn't want to be a bully but joins in anyway to save himself?  Finally, there the kid whose mother is the crossing guard.

You will meet them all and more in this book.  I really enjoyed most of the stories, which are more like vignettes, but it was a little disappointing to realize the book would not return to their stories.  Some of them felt more like the first chapter than a complete story.

I normally love Jason Reynolds, but this book didn't really do it for me, and I think a lot of kids will be frustrated with it, too.  Honestly, the school bus falling from the sky felt like a tease by the time you get to the end and figure out what it really is.