Review of That Self-Same Metal, by Brittany N. Williams, read by Patricia Allison

Historical, Paranormal, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

That Self-Same Metal

by Brittany N. Williams
read by Patricia Allison

OrangeSky Audio, 2023. 10 hours, 31 minutes.
Review written August 4, 2023, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

That Self-Same Metal is a historical fantasy set in the time of Shakespeare, in fact, among Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men. This book happens in 1605, shortly after King James has taken the throne – and the patronage of Shakespeare’s company. Our heroine is Joan Sands, a Black girl with a magical ability to manipulate metals, a gift given to her by her Head Orisha, Ogun. She not only makes swords for the company, but she stages their swordfights. Her twin brother James is an apprentice with the players, taking women’s roles, because of course it’s illegal for women to perform on stage.

Joan and James, as followers of the Orisha, have always been able to see when the Fae are among them, because they give off a glow under their skin. But they know that Fae cannot harm humankind. However, Joan’s godfather tells her that he needs to renew the pact between the Fae and the new king – and then he is arrested. The pact is not in effect, and Fae very much begin to harm people.

When Joan defends herself and others using blades she’s coated in iron, she makes some powerful enemies, both among the Fae and in the royal court. Can she protect her family and those she loves from these enemies?

It’s all played out in a well-drawn historical setting, with Shakespeare himself one of the characters, and his plays going on in the Globe theater. It turns out the characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream are based on actual Fae, but they are quite different than he portrayed them. Joan’s adventures include needing to step in and act when James is injured, hoping no one will notice the difference, and watching another play with the queen and her ladies, who treat her like an exotic pet. And she’s not sure what to make of her attraction to one of the handsome players as well as to a mysterious girl who asks for her brother’s help.

It’s all woven together in a way that hooked me, and the narrator’s British accent is a delight. The author clearly did her research – naming the characters who were actual people at the end of the book.

My one word of warning is that there are some excessively gory scenes, so you may not want to listen if you get squeamish easily. They did establish that the stakes were very high.

There is a reversal at the end, and yes, I will want to read or hopefully listen to the next installment.

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Review of Song of a Blackbird, by Maria van Lieshout

Graphic Novel, Historical, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Song of a Blackbird

by Maria van Lieshout

First Second, 2025. 256 pages.
Review written October 27, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review

This historical teen graphic novel is set in Amsterdam in 1943 and 2011, with maps on the endpapers showing important buildings in the city at both time periods. Notes at the back tell how the author took actual historical people and incidents to craft this story of Annick’s grandmother, who learns when being tested for a bone marrow match that the people she thought were her siblings aren’t related to her at all. Annick sets out to learn her grandmother’s background, using a series of prints of buildings in Amsterdam to lead her to the truth.

And we get a parallel story of a young woman in 1943 Amsterdam who learned that Jewish people were being deported, possibly to their deaths, and got involved with a group who were saving children from this fate. And then she got involved with a group of printers who were forging documents, because a priest wouldn’t take one more boy unless they had more ration cards.

There are more adventures in 1943, including a bank heist (based on an actual heist), but also some executions. In 2011, Annick follows the pictures to find out what really happened to her grandmother during the war.

It’s all skillfully done. A blackbird narrates both time periods, representing hope and art. Maria van Lieshout uses actual historical photographs of buildings in Amsterdam in the 1943 sections. And she makes you care about the children and about those who risked their lives in the resistance. The author goes back and forth between time periods smoothly, and helps us understand that the story plays out in the same city, in the same buildings, almost 70 years apart.

This graphic novel is a stunning work of art that makes a powerful statement.

vanlieshoutstudio.com
firstsecondbooks.com

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Review of Stars, Hide Your Fires, by Jessica Mary Best

Science Fiction, Teen Fiction Review 0

Stars, Hide Your Fires

by Jessica Mary Best

Quirk Books, 2023. 301 pages.
Review written May 20, 2023, from an advance reader copy.

Stars, Hide Your Fires is a completely fun science fiction adventure. Cass has grown up on a planet whose resources have all been plundered by the Empire. She makes a living by pickpocketing the tourists. So when she hears about the Ascension Ball – where all the wealthiest families will be in attendance when the emperor announces who will ascend to the throne – Cass realizes that if she can attend, she could lift enough jewels to retire and take her sick father to a healthier planet.

She does get to the planet hosting the ball, and she does almost miraculously score a ticket. But once there, the emperor gets murdered – and it looks like Cass is being set up to take the blame, along with the revolutionary organization that has long been a thorn in the empire’s side. So when an attractive girl from that organization tells Cass that they need to solve the murder before they are accused and the empire has an excuse for war – Cass is happy to work with her, hoping to save her own skin.

The plotting in this one felt a little transparent. But reading it was completely fun. I finished reading, because I really enjoyed the characters. The romance is refreshing, and I liked the way gender is dealt with – people wear a pendant, and the shape shows what gender they identify with. Several of the characters were smoothly referred to as they. I also liked the way clones of the emperor were shown not to be identical (all different ages) and with independent thoughts. So details were well done, even if the main plot wasn’t subtle. Very much a fun read.

jessicamarybest.com
quirkbooks.com

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Review of Oathbound, by Tracy Deonn

Fantasy, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Oathbound

by Tracy Deonn
read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Andrew Eiden, Hillary Huber, Tim Paige, and Adenrele Ojo

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2025. 25 hours.
Review written July 28, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

25 hours listening to Book Three and the series still is not done! Fair warning about that – but honestly, with the kicker ending to this book, I’m not upset – I want to hear more.

This series is growing on me. I think after listening to Book Three, I’m willing to call myself a fan. I liked the concept of Book One – a Black girl destroying expectations by proving herself to be a part of a magical secret society of descendants of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I thought that was what the series would be about.

But Book Two showed us, right at the start, that of course the white men accustomed to ruling the Order wouldn’t put up with that. And we find out that Bree has another kind of magic from her Black foremothers, and she meets practitioners of that art – all while seeing scenes from Arthur’s life as he, too, tries to control her. And basically Book Two was pretty confusing for me – different kinds of magic, different practitioners, lots of “dreamwalking,” and I wasn’t even sure who Bree was really in love with.

I enjoyed Book Three, though. I didn’t worry about remembering what went on before and got the idea pretty quickly. It seems like she’d established how the different kinds of magic worked in the earlier books, and now it was easier for me to simply accept what’s happening. In this book, Bree is trying to learn to use her power apart from Arthur – apart from all her friends, too. (Oh! Something I appreciated was that Arthur was hardly mentioned in this book. Every single time the narrator said the word “Author,” I couldn’t help myself and said “Arrrthur” under my breath – this happened much less in Book Three than it had in Book Two.)

This book progresses at a leisurely pace – 25 hours! – and I think could have been done without so many viewpoint characters. But I especially liked what’s basically a heist set-up in the last half of the book – and getting to become clear on which one is actually Bree’s love interest.

And there’s a huge kick at the end – that packs a punch precisely because of what you’ve learned during the course of the book.

So, yes, this series is growing on me. Bree Matthews is a character you can’t help but root for. One thing’s for sure – the white patriarchy shouldn’t underestimate her.

tracydeonn.com

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Review of Ride or Die, by Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu

Contemporary, Teen Fiction Review 0

Ride or Die

by Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu

Soho Teen, 2023. 368 pages.
Review written July 31, 2023, from a library book

Ride or Die is the story of a rich Black teenage girl named Loli who likes to shake up expectations. She’s gotten into trouble many times, but her best friends Ryan and Cairo always back her up.

Then Loli meets a mysterious stranger – in a closet at a party.

Loli’s not one to hang out in closets at parties. But when she goes after her missing necklace in the pocket of a coat in the closet, there’s someone sitting in there. And they do some talking. She accidentally leaves the necklace behind with him.

But the next day, she gets it back in an envelope at her regular hang-out. Along with a letter proposing that they don’t investigate each other’s identity – but that they do start setting missions for each other. Adventures to solve, and then prove that they’ve accomplished them. To fail a mission is to stop the adventure.

And Loli can’t resist. When the missions get more and more out there, she gets hooked on the adrenalin. And then they start thinking about meeting.

But while Loli is obsessed with accomplishing each task (and creating her own clever challenges), she starts neglecting her current friends, the folks who have stood by her forever.

I enjoyed this novel, and the mystery kept me going. It was refreshing that race was not an issue, but that the privileged rich girl at the center of it was Black. However, as it went along, some of the things she did in the name of completing these missions went way too far for me. I know that was partly what the book was about, but I lost some sympathy for her. Now, I did like the way the ending took that into account. And I did thoroughly enjoy the story. But here’s fair warning: You won’t want to try any of these things at home.

Sohoteen.com

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Review of The Dagger and the Flame, by Catherine Doyle

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

The Dagger and the Flame

by Catherine Doyle
read by Emily Carey and Freddy Carter

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2024. 13 hours, 23 minutes.
Review written July 21, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

This is another eaudiobook I decided to put on hold because so many other people had done so. Maybe they were onto something! I saw that the sequel is out soon, and it already has lots of NotifyMe tags in Libby – I decided to see what the fuss is about, and was glad I did.

This is a romantasy with a dash of violence, but a unique set of fantasy world-building. Seraphine has grown up on a farm with her mother, a smuggler of Shade – a magical substance with an affinity for shadows. But the Prologue tells us about a strange experiment her mother didn’t want her to see, when something she did with Shade turned their cat into a monster.

There are two groups in the city that use Shade, but Sera’s mother only sold to the Cloaks. The Cloaks wear cloaks woven and sewn and created with Shade that enable the wearer to turn invisible in shadows. They are a guild of thieves, hired by those who desire their services. Sera’s mother told her to go to them if she is ever in trouble.

So when Sera comes home to find her mother dead, their farm burned, and sees a member of the other guild, the Daggers, standing over her – Sera runs to the Cloaks. She knows she may be next if she can’t find sanctuary. Can she fit in with them and learn to be a thief? She’s used to Shade, but not to wielding it.

After establishing all this, we hear from our second viewpoint character – Ransom, a Dagger who has indeed been tasked with assassinating Seraphine. He’s in no hurry, but finds himself more intrigued by his mark than he’s accustomed to. Daggers actually drink a potion made of Shade. It’s said that drinking Shade eventually eats out their hearts, but they can actually wield shadows and kill with impunity.

And then some monsters start appearing in the city, killing people with much less finesse than the Daggers used – but the same symptoms on their bodies. Does it have something to do with Sera’s mother’s experiments? And then when Ransom tries to carry out his assignment – she discovers the necklace her mother gave her has a strange power.

The history of the city, the guilds, and shade, is all woven into the story. Both characters have strong friendships in their guilds that help guide their actions and choices. It all builds to a crisis that leaves things unsettled, but with a new kind of power to explore. I’m definitely wanting to find out what happens next – coming in September! (And I’m currently in line for the eaudiobook. Note: I think it’s related to the author being Irish, but the ebook and eaudiobook are available to the library before the print book, which comes out in December.)

catherinedoylebooks.com

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Review of Pedro and Daniel, by Federico Erebia

Historical, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Pedro and Daniel

by Federico Erebia

Levine Querido, 2023. 425 pages.
Review written July 28, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

The author gives us a hint of what we’re in for in an Introduction:

This novel is a work of fiction based on my memorable relationship with Daniel, my brother. Other characters, and some scenes, are composites, and/or fictional. All other names are fictional.

We know from the start how the book will end:

After Daniel’s death in 1993 at age thirty, the seeds of this novel were planted within the fertile grounds of the controlled chaos of my mind, where they germinated – constantly calling out for the light of day, to be written down, to be shared with others.

Yes, this is the story of two brothers, Pedro and Daniel, close in age and close in spirit. They have a frighteningly abusive mother, who especially targets Pedro with her physical and verbal abuse.

I’m going back and forth thinking whether this book is an epic tapestry of the lives of two brothers, or if it’s a slightly self-indulgent set of memories that were only partly shaped into a novel. It’s interesting that it’s marketed for young adults, because there’s more about the brothers’ childhood and after-college years than the time they spent in high school and college, when they were separated.

But as I reflect, I’m leaning more toward thinking of it as an epic tapestry. I remember how I eagerly began, but bogged down in the middle where it got a little slower, a little more meditative. We feel their bond, and the different ways the two of them approach life. Both are gay, though Pedro took longer to admit it to himself. Daniel wants to be a priest, and Pedro wants to be a doctor. This becomes poignant when Daniel contracts HIV which progresses into AIDS, and Pedro knows medically what he’s going through, but still didn’t have any effective treatment to help him.

I enjoyed the Dichos that Daniel loves – Mexican proverbs. They’re given throughout the book, with translations. An index at the back is fun to read through. I have to say that he caught many biblical references, but I did find four biblical proverbs that were listed as “Origin unknown.” Oh well, if Daniel had been the one writing the book, he probably would have known.

This is not an action-packed novel. It’s a literary novel that covers the boys’ entire lives, with plenty of social commentary along the way. They were born about the same time as me, and I appreciated the little details that reminded me of my very different childhood. Give this to teens who like to read and think deeply. And I hope that gay boys who read it will find kindred souls in Pedro and Daniel.

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Review of Truth Is, by Hannah V. Sawyerr

Award Winners, Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Truth Is

by Hannah V. Sawyerr

Amulet Books, 2025. 474 pages.
Review written September 23, 2025, from an Advance Reader Copy signed by the author.
Starred Review
2025 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Longlist

I’m definitely biased about this book, since it came with a hug! Hannah Sawyerr was one of the debut authors who was a Morris Award Finalist the year I was on the Morris committee, and we got to have lunch with the authors after the award ceremony. So when I was in line at ALA Annual Conference this year to get this Advance Reader Copy, Hannah recognized me at once and gave me a hug! It had me smiling all day because she is a genuinely great author, and being on the Morris feels like we’re discovering authors – even though the Walter Award committee and the Cybils committee also recognized her first book, All the Fighting Parts.

So I was thrilled when her second book showed up on the National Book Award Longlist. I had just gotten around (finally) to reading the ARC. It shows that I may be biased, but I am certainly not wrong in thinking that her writing is good!

Truth Is is about a girl named Truth Bangura who is a slam poet in Philadelphia, starting her Senior year, and trying to decide what to do after she graduates.

And then she discovers she’s pregnant by her ex-boyfriend. She wrestles with the decision, but chooses an abortion. That brings consequences especially in her relationship with her best friend. But it doesn’t bring regret.

Truth is hiding a lot of things from her mother, including her pregnancy and abortion, but also her participation on the slam poetry team. So when her performance of a poem goes viral – about the abortion and about how she’s scared to tell her mother – her mother is not happy.

I love the Author’s Note at the front of the Advance Reader Copy (I hope it will be in the finished book!), especially this part:

Truth Is is a pro-choice novel in every sense of the phrase. Truth’s choice to move forward with an abortion is made early on in the novel, and the majority of the novel focuses on her life and her choices after the abortion. My intention behind this was always to show readers that life continues after big decisions.

For young people who decide to read Truth Is, it is important to me that you know that, like Truth’s poetry, life is filled with many deliberate choices and a whole lot of revision. A lot of questions and heartbreak. But a lot of gain and victories too. You have the power to make new decisions every day and can always choose to revise and write a new story.

Hannah Sawyerr beautifully pulls off this theme, as besides navigating her senior year and her relationships, Truth is learning to be a slam poet. We see the three poems Truth ends up taking to the slam poetry competition at the end of the year – and how Truth revises them along the way.

The book takes us through three trimesters of the school year, and Truth’s choice at the end about what she should do next. Like All the Fighting Parts, this story is told with power and beauty.

hannahsawyerr.com

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Review of My Father, the Panda Killer, by Jamie Jo Hoang

Historical, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

My Father, the Panda Killer

by Jamie Jo Hoang
read by Quyen Ngo

Listening Library, 2023. 10 hours, 17 minutes.
Review written November 3, 2023, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

My Father, the Panda Killer is the story of Jane, an American teen living in San Jose in 1999, the daughter of Vietnamese refugees. Jane’s mother left their family four years before, leaving Jane to go through high school as the mother of her little brother, then three years old. As well as giving her the responsibility to spend most of her time helping her father run their family convenience store. And bearing the brunt of her father’s unpredictable wrath and violent beatings.

Now it’s the summer after Jane’s senior year. She’s been accepted to UCLA, but doesn’t know how her father will respond to the news that she’s leaving. And she doesn’t know how to even begin to tell her brother that she won’t be there any longer to shepherd him through life and protect him from their father.

But alongside Jane’s story, we also hear the story of her father’s harrowing journey as a 13-year-old refugee from Vietnam. That part of the story is horrific with lots of death and life-threatening situations. But as Jane pieces together her father’s history, including a trip to Vietnam where she meets her grandparents for the first time, she begins to understand him better. As she understands her father better, she’s better able to understand herself and her heritage.

One little problem with this? I’m not sure I actually wanted Jane to come to terms with her father’s abuse in that way. I was reminded very strongly of the nonfiction book What My Bones Know,, by Stephanie Foo, and her C-PTSD and journey to come to terms with it through therapy as an adult. This book implies that even calling it abuse is a violation of Vietnamese culture. It left me feeling uneasy.

However, it certainly gave you sympathy and understanding for Jane’s father. In view of the horrors he endured, you can understand his ways of coping much better. So I was left not wanting to judge – but I still don’t think the beatings his daughter received are okay. Understandable, but not okay.

Anyway, the author’s note at the end said that the next book will be about the little brother – and his mother. I definitely want to read more. The interweaving of the father’s journey with the daughter’s conflicts was a big strength of the book. The front of the book says, “THIS IS NOT A HISTORY LESSON,” but at the same time the author points out that there aren’t many narratives of the Vietnam War told from the perspective of the Vietnamese people. At the very least, this book is valuable for filling that gap.

heyjamie.com

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Review of Somadina, by Akwaeke Emezi

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Somadina

by Akwaeke Emezi
read by Nene Nwoko

Listening Library, 2025. 9 hours, 47 minutes.
Review written September 2, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Somadina is a powerful fantasy novel about a girl with magical powers on a quest to rescue her twin. The story is completely rooted in an African cultural world, a refreshing change from the usual white medieval-based fantasy stories I read.

It’s been many years since the Split – when to protect themselves in a war, the magic-users in the community did such powerful magic, the earth split open – and everyone who survived ever since gets a magical gift when they come of age. But Somadina and her twin Jayaike are slow to get their gifts and slow to develop physically, confirming to some in the village that twins are inherently evil and should have been left to die.

But then when their gifts do manifest, they’re surprisingly powerful. When Somadina uses her gift to protect her friend being raped, the result revives the village’s fear that she is evil. Her own mother calls her an abomination. As if that weren’t enough, her twin brother is taken by a man who has appeared in Somadina’s dreams, telling her he’s going to eat their power. Her brother is like another part of her, and Somadina is compelled to find him, which brings its own adventures.

I was glad I listened to this book, because I love the narrator’s African accent that helped me feel immersed in that world. The story is full of mythic elements and comes to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion after the big showdown at the end.

A powerful fantasy tale that is definitely not the same old thing.

akwaeke.com

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