Review of Ferris, by Kate DiCamillo

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

Ferris

by Kate DiCamillo
read by Cherry Jones

Listening Library, 2024. 4 hours, 6 minutes.
Review written May 22, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.

You can’t go wrong with a Kate DiCamillo book. This one didn’t charm me as much as her recently published beginning chapter book, Orris and Timble, but it would be a wonderful book for a younger kid who’s ready for a true children’s novel.

In classic Kate DiCamillo fashion, we’ve got a set of quirky characters interacting in fun ways, where a small detail from the beginning of the story becomes crucial later in the story, and all the threads weave together by the end.

Of course the featured character is Ferris, a girl who’s just finished fourth grade and who was born under the Ferris wheel at the county fair. Her beloved grandmother is ailing and sees a ghost who wants them to light for the first time the chandelier in the dining room of their old house. Ferris’s uncle Ted lives in the basement, having separated from his wife Shirley, and endeavoring to paint the history of the world without much progress. Ferris’s father reads the encyclopedia for fun and insists there are raccoons in their attic. And Ferris’s sister dreams of getting her picture on a Wanted poster and takes steps to make that happen. Then there’s Ferris’s best friend, a piano player, and their teacher Mrs. Milk, who taught them wonderful vocabulary words, but is now bereft.

All of this adds up to a sweet story with lots of character and lots of heart, proving the wise saying that all good stories are love stories.

katedicamillo.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Thirsty, by Jas Hammonds

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Thirsty

by Jas Hammonds
read by Alaska Jackson

Macmillan Young Listeners, 2024. 8 hours, 10 minutes.
Review written June 25, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

You love to see it when a debut author wins an award for their first novel (in this case, the John Steptoe Award for New Talent for We Deserve Monuments) and then goes on to write a second book that’s even better. For both books, Jas Hammonds has shown great skill in creating characters, but this one found its way deeper into my heart.

In the summer after high school, Blake and her beautiful girlfriend Ella want nothing more than to get into the secret Serena Society for accomplished Black women. Ella’s mother is even still the advisor for undergraduates in the society, so she’s a sure thing. But Blake doesn’t have the connections, the clout, or the money of Ella’s family.

But Blake finds that she can be the life of the party – and impress the president of the Serena Society – when she drinks. She transforms into Big, Bad Bee, and she’s not afraid to be somebody.

When her best friend expresses concern about Blake’s drinking, her reaction is anger and defensiveness. But as the pledging process gets more intense, Blake ends up having a lot to grapple with.

I didn’t see myself in Blake. I went to a Christian high school and college and, believe it or not, we didn’t drink at parties. But Jas Hammonds skillfully pulls us into Blake’s perspective and we’re completely with her, understanding her pull to alcohol and her need to impress the richer kids around her. The author paints a picture of addiction that is sympathetic to Blake’s plight rather than condemning her. And not to give anything away, but I do like the way it resolves, both realistic and hopeful.

jashammonds.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of When You Look Like Us, by Pamela N. Harris

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Teen Fiction Review 0

When You Look Like Us

by Pamela N. Harris
read by Preston Butler III

Quill Tree Books, 2021. 8 hours, 54 minutes.
Review written March 22, 2022, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2022 Odyssey Award Winner for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Young Adults

This audiobook takes the perspective of Jay Murphy, a young Black teen who is tired of covering for his sister. When he gets a call from her late at night, he thinks she’s been sampling the wares of her drug dealer boyfriend and hangs up on her. He covers for her with their grandma in the morning, but then she doesn’t turn up that day or the day after that.

When Jay finally goes to the police, they seem to think a Black teen brought whatever trouble she got into on herself. So Jay’s going to have to track her down himself. He gets some help from the pastor’s daughter — the one he used to tolerate because his grandma made him teach little kids’ Sunday school with her. But when lead after lead turns into a dead end, Jay is afraid his sister has met her end.

And why do people assume he’s trouble just because of how he looks?

This mystery will pull at your heart while drawing you into Jay’s world. Since it’s an Odyssey winner, I wasn’t surprised that the narrator did an excellent job bringing the book to life.

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of My Contrary Mary, by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, narrated by Fiona Hardingham

Audiobooks, Historical, Paranormal, Teen Fiction Review 0

My Contrary Mary

by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
narrated by Fiona Hardingham

HarperAudio, 2021. 12 hours, 18 minutes.
Review written March 12, 2022, from a library eaudiobook

Well, this crew of authors who play fast-and-loose with history have finally turned away from Janes to write about Marys — Mary, Queen of Scots, in this case, and an upcoming book about Mary Shelley.

I’m afraid I’m getting a little tired of the style, though it is fun if you’re in the right mood. I liked that this one went back to the world created in their first book, My Lady Jane. In this world, instead of Protestants and Catholics fighting about the thrones of Europe, you’ve got Verities and Edians. Edians are shapeshifters who can transform into their inner animal and believe everyone has one. But Verities believe humans should be human and Edians should be put to death.

Once again, we’ve got three viewpoint characters, each written by one of the authorial trio (though we don’t know which gets which character). Mary, Queen of Scots, has been growing up in the court of France along with her betrothed, Francis the Dauphin of France. The other viewpoint character is Aristotle, who goes by Ari, the daughter of Nostradamus. She does get visions, but they aren’t helpful at all. (The modern reader will enjoy recognizing scenes from modern films.) What Ari is good at is making potions. And that skill is commandeered by Catherine de Medici, Francis’s powerful and scheming mother.

To add to the fun, Mary and her four ladies-in-waiting, who are also named Mary but have nicknames, are all secretly Edians themselves. Mary can turn into a mouse, which is perfect for court gossip – and spying.

But there’s lots of intrigue going on at court, and Mary and Francis are doomed to ascend the throne of France much sooner than they meant to.

I’m not sure how much of real history you’ll learn from this book. The authors give Mary a happy outcome — which is very different from what happened to her in her real life. I confess, I enjoyed her Happily Ever After — even if the repercussions probably would have completely changed the modern world. I also really enjoyed that we saw the characters from My Lady Jane and got to see how well their lives were going.

That book had an outcome that matched very well with history — resulting in Queen Elizabeth on the throne even though Lady Jane Grey and King Edward weren’t actually dead, they were Edians. This book? Well, if it happened, European history would have turned out very differently, with less war and death, which is all good in my book.

Read these books when you’re up for silliness and happy endings involving historical characters who suddenly got much more interesting.

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of The Shape of Thunder, by Jasmine Warga

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

The Shape of Thunder

by Jasmine Warga
performed by Reena Dutt and Jennifer Jill Araya

HarperAudio, 2021. 7.25 hours on 6 discs.
Review written November 29, 2021, from a library audiobook
Starred Review

The Shape of Thunder is about two best friends, Cora and Quinn, who have been torn apart by grief and horror.

Almost a year ago, Cora’s sister Mabel was killed in a school shooting. Quinn’s brother Parker was the one who did the shooting.

Neither girl’s family is coping well with what happened. They still live next door to one another, but Cora refuses to even speak to Quinn.

Then Quinn gives Cora some articles – articles about time travel. The girls get caught up in the idea that they can find a wormhole and put back time and fix all that was broken.

Cora approaches the effort as a scientist, reading interviews from scientists at MIT, clinging to any thread that time travel might be possible.

I’ll be honest, at risk of spoiling the story – if two twelve-year-old girls had managed to discover a wormhole and go back in time, I would have been disgusted with the book and the false hopes it might give to other girls.

So maybe I’m giving something away when I say that this book is a beautiful look at hard things – grief, friendship, family, life itself. A heart-wrenching story that is ultimately hopeful.

jasminewarga.com
harperaudio.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Remarkably Bright Creatures

by Shelby Van Pelt
read by Marin Ireland and Michael Urie

Harperaudio, 2022. 11 hours, 17 minutes.
Review written July 9, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Oh, this one is truly wonderful. Here’s a feel-good story about some good people – and a Giant Pacific Octopus – whose lives entwine.

The first character we meet is the octopus, Marcellus. He speaks with a sardonic, knowing tone and tells us how many days he’s lived in captivity at the Sowell Bay aquarium – in a small town in Washington, off the coast of Puget Sound.

It turns out that Marcellus likes to roam the aquarium at night and help himself to snacks from the other tanks – as our next main character learns one night when he gets stuck in some electrical cords. Tova Sullivan is in her 70s, and she started cleaning at the aquarium after her husband died, because she wanted something to do. She has no living children – her son Erik disappeared in an apparent boat accident thirty years ago when he was eighteen years old. She rescues Marcellus and starts to notice how remarkable he is.

Our third main character is a thirty-year-old drifter named Cameron. He lost his job – again – and then his girlfriend kicked him out because he lied about it. So he’s at loose ends until the aunt who brought him up gives him some things that belonged to his mother – the mother who left him when he was nine years old. It turns out that his mother went to high school in Sowell Bay. She left a class ring and a picture of herself with a man – a man whom research reveals to be a wealthy real estate developer. If this is his father, Cameron finally has a way to get a boost in life.

So he borrows money from his aunt, heads north to Washington, and one thing leads to another – and Cameron ends up getting a temp job at the aquarium after Tova sprained her ankle. Unbeknownst to others, Tova can’t stay away, so she comes in at night and shows Cameron the proper way to clean. And she says hello to Marcellus while she’s at it, showing Cameron that he’s friendly.

Marcellus can see things about them that they are blind to. But how can he tell them? While Cameron is waiting to get an appointment with his would-be father, he gets pulled into small town life, where everyone seems to know about everybody else. Meanwhile, after her ankle sprain, Tova is coming to terms with aging without anyone to look after her, and she thinks it’s time to retire to an old folks’ home.

This book is completely charming as the different threads come together and we come to care about the conscientious and capable woman living alone as well as the irresponsible young man who might be learning a thing or two about putting down roots. And of course, also about the Giant Pacific Octopus.

shelbyvanpelt.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Stamped (for Kids), by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul

Audiobooks, Children's Nonfiction Review, Current Issues, History 0

Stamped

(For Kids)

Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul
read by Pe’Tehn Raighn-Kem Jackson

Hachette Audio, 2021. 2 hours, 22 minutes on 2 CDs.
Review written April 13, 2022, from a library audiobook
Starred Review

This is now the third iteration of this book, and the third I’ve read or listened to. First, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi wrote a big and long and scholarly book for adults called Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. Then Jason Reynolds “remixed” that content into a book for teens, called Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. That was the first version I listened to. It was accessible and easy to understand, but had some powerful and thought-provoking content.

Now they’ve gone another step, and Sonja Cherry-Paul has adapted the content from Jason Reynolds’ book into an even shorter version that is easy for kids to understand. I like the kid narrator who reads the audiobook, making it feel like a kid talking with his friends.

I was happy to refresh my memory of these ideas. The authors give the history of racist ideas in America. They explain segregationalists, who believe Black people are inferior, assimilationists, who believe Black people can be good people if they work at it, and antiracists who believe that Black people are human and valuable and just as worthy as anyone else.

I also appreciate the explanation that most people aren’t just one thing all the time. They explain why ideas like the “Talented Tenth” are assimilationist, even when those putting forward the ideas are trying to be helpful. Even in this short and simple adaptation, we’ve got complex concepts clearly explained.

And make no mistake about it — this is a book about fairness and caring and seeing past discrimination. Kids who listen to this audiobook or read this book will be able to spot policies that treat any one class of people as inferior to others. Here’s to a new generation of antiracists!

jasonwritesbooks.com
ibramxkendi.com
Downpour.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Root Magic, by Eden Royce, read by Imani Parks

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Historical, Paranormal 0

Root Magic

by Eden Royce
read by Imani Parks

HarperAudio, 2021. 10 hours on 8 compact discs.
Review written February 18, 2022, from a library audiobook.
2022 Walter Award Honor Book

Root Magic is set on a South Carolina island in 1963 among people with Gullah Geechee heritage. Jez is facing big changes after the death of her Gran. She’s been moved ahead a year in school, so for the first time, she won’t be in a class with her twin brother, Jay. But after school, their uncle, Doc, has decided they’re finally old enough to begin learning Root Magic.

Root Magic has been passed down in their family, and Gran was powerful enough to leave Jez a doll with some amazing powers. Doc tells them that Root work is mainly about protection — but their family needs protection. Their Daddy has been missing for years, there are haints in the marsh, girls at school are mean, and a white police officer is known for harassing root workers.

This book had some big surprises as Jez begins to learn to use her power. She shows compassion and plants seeds that will help her in time of need.

I have to say that I wasn’t crazy about the way the narrator read this book, and I think I might have enjoyed it more in print. But I’m glad I kept listening. I grew up hearing stories about “witch doctors” in Africa, and this presentation of root work as family heritage done with love and compassion shook up some of those ideas. Though many of the things that happened were firmly in the realm of fantasy, I appreciated the honor the book gave to family, friendship, and tradition. And I enjoyed the surprising twists and turns in the plot.

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of A Complicated Love Story Set in Space, by Shaun David Hutchinson

Audiobooks, Romance, Science Fiction, Teen Fiction Review 0

A Complicated Love Story Set in Space

by Shaun David Hutchinson
narrated by Kevin R. Free with Gibson Frazier and Candace Thaxton

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2021. 11 hours, 2 minutes.
Review written December 24, 2021, from a library eaudio

Well, the title of this book tells the truth. This is a very complicated love story, and it’s set in space.

In fact, the book begins when 16-year-old Noa North wakes up in a spacesuit outside a ship. He remembers going to sleep in his own bed and has no idea how he got in space. He’s not feeling good about it. And when he gets to the airlock ready to go into the safety of the ship, a voice tells him that the ship is about to explode and he needs to patch a hole on the outside of the ship. Which is not an easy thing to do.

And that’s just the beginning of their adventures in space. There are only two other people on the ship – DJ, the owner of the voice that helped him fix the ship, and Jenny, whom they later find locked in a restroom. They are all sixteen years old. But are they the only people on board?

The things that happen to them after that, ranging from finding another person on the ship, fighting an alien monster, and getting stuck in a time loop, all seem oddly episodic. On top of that, their efforts to get back to earth are consistently thwarted. But things really get interesting as they begin to discover why they’re on the ship in the first place and who put them there.

But meanwhile, Noa’s wrestling with a bad experience in his past that makes him afraid to give in to his feelings for DJ. Can they find love in such a complicated setting?

The story, once we know what happened, all seems wild and farfetched, but let’s be honest, it’s still a whole lot of fun. Noa is endearing, and you’ve got to feel for a guy who wakes up in outer space. Don’t read this one for believability, but do read it for a fun romance between two guys caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of Between Perfect and Real, by Ray Stoeve

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Between Perfect and Real

by Ray Stoeve
read by MW Cartozian Wilson

Recorded Books, 2021. 7 hours, 24 minutes.
Review written from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review

Between Perfect and Real gives us the coming-out journey of Dean Foster, who has recently figured out he’s a transgender guy, but doesn’t quite know how to tell people. His classmates and even his girlfriend think he’s a lesbian, and coming out as a lesbian to his mother was hard enough.

But then the drama teacher casts Dean as Romeo in their school production of Romeo and Juliet, thinking to play it as a lesbian romance. But Dean quickly discovers he wants to play Romeo as a guy — which means coming out.

The journey isn’t easy. Some people are supportive, some are hostile, and some are “trying.” This audiobook takes us with Dean on that journey, with all the ups and downs.

I had recently read another young adult book where a senior in high school had their heart set on getting into Tish, the drama program at NYU, so that sounded almost too familiar. However, once the book got going, it was a very different story, and a story I wanted to hear, a story told with compassion, helping the listener understand a little better how it feels to be transgender.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.