MAY

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage (Set in a Small Town)

Summary:

Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone’s business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she’s been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her “upstream mother,” she’s found a home with the Colonel–a café owner with a forgotten past of his own–and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.

Review:

Every year that I do First Chapter Friday with my students, I read this, and every year, the students do not enjoy it.

This year, I made the decision to actually read the book, and it wasn’t as bad as many of my students believed it would be. 

The main characters are eccentric, and the small town setting allows for many ideas of what to expect and who to trust to be turned upside down. There were some moments where it became slow and boring or too outlandish, but for the most part, it was an enjoyable mystery to read.

Rating:

4/5

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen (YA Novel, Book by an Author You Love, About a Scandal, Beach Read, Coming of Age Story)

Summary:

Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she’s carrying his baby, she’s devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it’ll never break—because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

Review:

Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite writers, but I felt so frustrated with the main character of this story. She made so many stupid decisions, and her storyline wasn’t as interesting as I thought it would be. 

What saves this story for me are the side characters that we get along the way. 

Rating:

3/5

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (YA Novel, Includes Recipes)

Summary:

With her daughter to care for and her abuela to help support, high school senior Emoni Santiago has to make the tough decisions, and do what must be done. The one place she can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Still, she knows she doesn’t have enough time for her school’s new culinary arts class, doesn’t have the money for the class’s trip to Spain—and shouldn’t still be dreaming of someday working in a real kitchen. But even with all the rules she has for her life—and all the rules everyone expects her to play by—once Emoni starts cooking, her only real choice is to let her talent break free.

Review:

As someone who has always wanted to read a book by Acevedo, this was a great one to read. I loved the main character and her story. There were literally moments where I couldn’t stop reading it because of how well the story was written. I will definitely read more from this author.

Rating:

5/5

I Know You’re Lying by Daphne Benedis-Grab (Righting a Wrong)

Summary:

There’s been a theft at the middle school!

Sasha’s bag has been stolen from her locker. The security cams on the school’s front entrance have captured four students entering the building early. Present at the time of the crime, Maddie, Jack, Nora, and Henry become top suspects. Each of them has a reason to dislike Sasha. Each has something to hide. But which of them is responsible for the break-in? And can they figure out who the thief is before Sasha gets her revenge… on all of them.

Review:

This author has a type of story that they like writing. This book is basically the same as the last one I read from her. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t the best either. It was boring at times, and the characters sometimes made dumb decisions like is expected of their age. However, I would recommend it to my middle school students as the story works for what it is.

Rating:

3/5

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator) (Sherlockian Character, Includes Recipes, Set in a Small Town)

Summary:

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason customers stop by . . .

The father-daughter duo are ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person’s treasured memories – dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility.

Review:

Outside of a couple of moments in the book, this was super repetitive and not as enjoyable as I wished it could be. Each chapter followed the same format, and I soon became bored with the story. 

Rating:

3/5

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing (About an Exclusive Group or Club, About a Scandal, Righting a Wrong)

Summary:

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the esteemed Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest.

He says his wife couldn’t be more proud—though no one has seen her in a while.

Teddy really can’t be bothered with the death of a school parent that’s looking more and more like murder or the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is on pushing these kids to their full academic potential.

All he wants is for his colleagues—and the endlessly meddlesome parents—to stay out of his way.

It’s really too bad that sometimes excellence can come at such a high cost.

Review:

When I say that I could not put this book down, it would be an understatement. 

This book kept me hooked with each page. I’m always interested to see how a story follows a thriller or mystery based around teachers, and I really enjoyed this one.

From the characters to the plot to the writing, I loved reading this book. 

Rating:

5/5

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Tricksters by Various Authors (Book about Switching Places, Mythology Retelling, About an Ancient Civilization, Elderly Protagonist, Righting a Wrong, A Graphic Novel, Purple Cover)

Summary:

WHO IS THE GREATEST MISCHIEF MAKER OF ALL TIME? Is it the King of Stories, Anansi? Or Eshu, the Nigerian trickster god? Perhaps Thor’s infamous brother, Loki? Or cunning Reynard the Fox? 

Discover these legendary tricksters and judge for yourself through the lens of The Storyteller as he regales his faithful canine companion… and you! Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Tricksters showcases four clever tales of mischief makers and the lessons they teach us. Each one inspired by folklore from around the world and told in the spirit of Jim Henson’s beloved television series.

Review:

As someone who loves learning about tricksters in mythology, I really loved reading this. The main narrator and dog that connected each tale were hilarious in their interactions, and I loved learning about the different cultures on display.

Rating:

5/5

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong (Editor)

Summary:

One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.

From Harriet McBryde Johnson’s account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love.

Review:

Hearing all of these stories and experiences from people with different disabilities opened my eyes to what different groups go through that I may not be aware of. This collection of essays is important because it creates the opportunity for these needed conversations to happen and for change to come around. 

Rating:

4/5