Review of Lemonade in Winter, by Emily Jenkins and G. Brian Karas

Contemporary, Mathematical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Lemonade in Winter

A Book About Two Kids Counting Money

written by Emily Jenkins
illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Schwartz and Wade Books (Random House), 2012. 36 pages.
Review written October 4, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review
2023 Mathical Honor Book, age 5-7

Okay, here’s a super fun story that also teaches kids how to count money — exactly the sort of thing we look for in the Mathical Book Prize.

It’s a freezing cold day in the neighborhood. Everything’s covered with thick snow, and icicles are hanging everywhere. Inside, big sister Pauline gets what she thinks is a brilliant idea: Let’s have a lemonade stand! Her little brother John-John gets excited, too, and wants to help.

Both parents discourage the idea: “Don’t you see it’s freezing?” “Don’t you hear the wind?”

But the kids gather all the quarters they can find:

“Each time you get four quarters, that’s a dollar,” says Pauline.
“Four quarters, that’s money!” says John-John.

They buy lemons and limes for a dollar each, sugar for two dollars, and cups for two dollars. I like the way the picture shows the quarters laid out on the counter in front of each item.

“We have twenty-four quarters, and that’s six dollars,”
Pauline tells John-John as she counts out the money.

When they’re getting ready to go out, their parents are still discouraging, but they make the lemonade and limeade and set up their stand in the snow in front of their house. They’re selling for fifty cents a cup.

When no one comes, they decide to advertise, and sing a catchy song about lemonade and limeade for fifty cents a cup. (Perfect for reading aloud at storytime!)

Every time they sell a cup, Pauline explains the amounts to John-John:

Fifty cents, that’s two quarters,” Pauline tells John-John.
“Two drinks is four quarters — and that’s a dollar.”
She puts the money in a green plastic box.

They try entertainment — John-John does cartwheels. They keep singing their song. When there still aren’t many people about, they decide to have a sale. Now it’s twenty-five cents a cup. Then they add decorations. And keep singing their song.

When they empty both pitchers, Pauline diagrams out how many cups they sold for how many quarters and adds it all up. When she realizes they only made four dollars, she starts to cry. They started with six dollars!

But John-John has the perfect solution of what to do with their hard-earned four dollars.

After the story, there’s a page at the back with the heading “Pauline Explains Money to John-John.” There’s a wonderful explanation of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills.

I love this book because it’s a truly delightful picture book story, and it’s super good practice counting quarters and how much they’re worth. As well as introducing the concepts of profit and loss. But with a happy ending, despite the loss.

Tremendous fun!

emilyjenkins.com
gbriankaras.com
randomhouse.com/kids

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Review of Out of My Heart, by Sharon M. Draper, read by Sisi Aisha Johnson

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

Out of My Heart

by Sharon M. Draper
read by Sisi Aisha Johnson

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2021. 7 hours, 21 minutes.
Review written October 12, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I’ve long intended to read this sequel to the brilliant Out of My Mind, and finally placed a hold on the audiobook when I heard that a third book is out. Took me long enough! But I’m so glad I finally did listen to this story.

Once again, we’re spending time with Melody, a brilliant girl with cerebral palsy. In the first book, she learned to talk at last with the help of a machine, and instead of being in the class for kids with mental difficulties, got moved to the regular class and won a place on the quiz team. But that book had a sad thing happen at the end.

I’m happy to report that this book is only happy for Melody. She goes to camp! It’s a camp specifically for kids with special needs, and Melody gets to swim, paint, ride on a boat, swing on swings, ride a zipline, ride a horse, and even dance. She makes firm friendships with the three other girls in her cabin and even with a boy in another cabin.

Yes, there are adventures and small setbacks, but this is a happy book, all about Melody getting to do lots of things for the very first time that many would say are a normal part of childhood. It made me happy to read it and also wonder about how many experiences like that are available to kids like Melody. It’s a lovely story, well-told.

sharondraper.com

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Review of Compound Fracture, by Andrew Joseph White

Contemporary, Paranormal, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Compound Fracture

by Andrew Joseph White

Peachtree Teen, 2024. 371 pages.
Review written November 19, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

I have gone back and forth many times as to whether to review this book. The folks who like the books I usually review shouldn’t take for granted that they’ll like this one. But let me say: The writing is stellar. The fact that I’ve been thinking about the book all day the day after I finished it says much about it.

My problem with the book? Well, it felt like a step too far when the protagonist’s friend was planning premeditated murder. It was justified! – and I didn’t like that either.

Now, the author walks the line with this incredibly well. Our protagonist is responsible for more than one death, but is not guilty of murder. And the book doesn’t end well for anyone who is guilty of murder. But there’s horrific violence here. And efforts that have been made to peacefully or politically overcome the bad guys – represented by the sheriff in this West Virginia county – are what ticks off that horrific violence. I feel like the message is: Sometimes the only way to overcome violence is with violence. And I don’t like that message or agree with it – even if it’s satisfying to see the evil ones lose in a fictional setting. (Not that the good folks aren’t traumatized along the way – I did warn you!)

The book has a wonderful sense of place, too, with pictures of coal miners on the endpapers. Miles Abernathy’s family has lived in Twist Creek County, West Virginia, for generations, and his great-great-grandfather led a coal miners’ strike – and was executed by the sheriff – the ancestor of the current sheriff – by hammering a railroad spike through his mouth.

As the book opens, Miles writes an email for his parents, telling them he’s trans, and then heads to a high school graduation party to show his friend Cooper photographic evidence he got from his dad’s safe that Sheriff Davies was the one responsible for the accident that caused Cooper’s mother’s death and Miles’ dad’s disability. Okay, that sentence was too long – but the book starts with Miles trying to do something for justice.

And that doesn’t end well. Miles gets brutally beaten and left for dead by the sheriff’s son and his two friends. In the hospital later, when Sheriff Davies talks to him, he has to pretend to have forgotten everything. But then in an encounter with one of his attackers, the other boy accidentally falls, hits his head, and dies. It was an accident, but Miles has no evidence – so Cooper helps him hide the body in the old mine. And from there… well, let’s just say that things escalate.

The author writes a letter at the front of the book, even while writing it hoping he’ll be able to change it before the book was published, but sad that he hasn’t been able to. Here’s part of that letter:

Instead, I have to write about how tough it is to be trans in America right now. By the time Compound Fracture is released, I’ll be twenty-six years old, and I’ll have seen bathroom bills, state-sponsored attempts to remove trans kids from supportive parents, crackdowns on gender-related care, and so much more. And if you’re disabled on top of it? Christ.

I guess what I’m saying is, I’m sorry it’s so difficult. We shouldn’t have to fight so hard to exist. We deserve better.

But, of course, this is a book about fighting as hard as you can. So please note that we’re going to deal with some difficult topics: graphic violence including police violence, transphobia, opioid use and withdrawal, and disturbing images. This is a book about an autistic, queer trans kid who loves his family and all the people who love him back . . . as well as all the people who want him dead. Actually, this book is kind of like moonshine. It’s gonna burn like hell going down….

If I promise you that this book has a happy ending, does that make it better? Does that make any of it easier to swallow?

And typing out that note reminds me of things I love about the book. Miles is a fully fleshed-out character and a great portrayal of an autistic, queer trans kid dealing with hard things as best he can. Another thing I love is the community portrayed in this book. There are loving parents also going through hard things, and in the end the whole community stands for what’s right.

But it’s a hard story along the way. And let me say again: Although it feels therapeutic to read about triumphing over hateful violence with violence, please don’t try this at home! I personally believe that nonviolence is more powerful in the long run.

But if this book can shine light on the injustice of targeting people who speak up against abuses of power? If it can show you a trans kid just trying to live his life (and the lovely imperfect way his family responds to his coming out)? – Then it’s doing good work.

Whatever else you think of it, this story will stick with you.

andrewjosephwhite.com

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Review of My Two Border Towns, by David Bowles, illustrated by Erika Meza

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

My Two Border Towns

by David Bowles
illustrated by Erika Meza

Kokila (Penguin Random House), 2021. 36 pages.
Review written September 30, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

Here’s a joyful and brightly-colored picture book about a boy who lives in Texas not far from the border with Mexico and goes back and forth between the towns on either side of the river with his father often. I’ve heard the award-winning author speak at library conferences and award celebrations about growing up near the border and about liminal spaces.

This book tells about the boy and his father getting up early, getting a list from his mother, and spending a day on the Other Side.

This town’s a twin of the one where I live, with Spanish spoken everywhere just the same,
but English mostly missing till it pops up like grains of sugar on a chili pepper.

The have an errand at the boy’s aunt and uncle’s jewelry shop, and he plays with his cousins while his dad takes care of that. The boy had brought a special bag with things for his “friends,” and when they work on the shopping list and prescriptions for Mamá, they pick up more things for them.

On the way back over the border, the line is long, but Dad pulls over to the side.

A line of people camp along the edge, entire families from the Caribbean and Central America.

Refugees, Dad calls them. Stuck between two countries.

The U.S. says there’s no room, and Mexico says it can hardly look after its own gente.

Élder sees me and rushes over. His hair is longer than when we first met, almost six months back.

They share their special handshake and the boy shows him the stuff he brought. They have medicine for Élder’s mother, too.

He wishes Élder and his family could go back and forth across the border like they do with their passports.

“Soon, m’ijo,” Dad says. “It’s unfair to make him wait, since our country has room for his family right now.

“But when they get their chance at last, we’ll welcome him with open arms.”

All the way home I imagine a wonderful day,
when all my friends from the Other Side
can go back and forth
between my two
border towns,
just like me.

This book tackles a tough topic, but leaves the reader with an entirely happy message. It gives me a window — I don’t really know anything about what life is like near the border. But it also leaves me in awe of this family who matter-of-factly care for those who need it and don’t see it as doing the needy a favor, but as joyfully sharing with friends.

davidbowles.us
penguin.com/kids

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Review of May the Best Player Win, by Kyla Zhao

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

May the Best Player Win

by Kyla Zhao

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024. 225 pages.
Review written October 28, 2024, from a book sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review

May the Best Player Win is about a middle school student named May who loves playing chess. As the book opens, she wins a trophy for being the top girl player at the State Middle School competition.

That gets her lots of attention from her school, and even from the media – but also prompts some jealousy from her competition on her own team. She thought Ralph was her friend, and they tied at the competition, but he tells her she’s not really that good and is only getting the attention because she’s a girl. So that starts a bet between them over which one will be named team captain when they compete at Nationals.

Meanwhile, her school’s doing a publicity campaign, and they pair May up with Mario, a soccer star, who turns out to be nice as well as athletic. But May needs to keep working on her chess game, and her friend Becca (who’s also on the team) wants time with her, and the school schedules picture-taking with Mario. When May starts telling little white lies to keep her schedule straight, Becca feels hurt.

This book does a great job of portraying middle school concerns and middle school pressures. We’re with May in her struggles to prioritize it all. And I like the natural way she gets to thinking about regaining her joy in playing chess that she had when she started playing at six years old, when she wasn’t thinking so much about winning.

The book gives each chapter a title that’s a chess term, with its definition, and they all fit remarkably well. It does a nice job of giving us the feel of what goes into being a serious chess player without getting lost in the details. It also felt like a genuine explanation of the game without hand-waving or magical abilities that just make the player “good” – I suspect because the author reveals at the back that she learned to play chess at six years old, like May – but later dropped out after encountering discrimination and criticism of girls and feeling pressured to win. I love that she’s got May facing those same obstacles and overcoming. May this be true for more and more girls today.

I love her letter to the reader at the back of the book (and the story is strong enough to carry it), which ends like this:

I hope May’s adventures inspire you to hold on to the joy of playing – in chess or in any activity you choose. Don’t let the weight of expectations dim the sparkle of your love for the game. Don’t let others tell you whether you are or aren’t good enough, because the only thing that should matter is your passion and determination. So, keep playing, keep dreaming, and most importantly, enjoy every moment on and off the chessboard.

KylaZhao.com

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Review of Sunrise Nights, by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Romance, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Sunrise Nights

by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro
read by Alexandra Hunter and Michael Crouch

Quill Tree Books, 2024. 7 hours, 28 minutes.
Review written October 30, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Sunrise Nights is a sweet young adult romance described by the publisher as a “novel in verse and dialogue.” Since I was listening to it, I didn’t realize the verse was there until I got to a few spots that were artistically poetry. Most of the book read as the girl and the boy describing their night.

And the book takes place during three all-night parties at the end of a summer camp for the arts. Florence is there for dance, and Jude is there for photography. They don’t meet until the last night – Sunrise Night – of their first year in the program. They go out on the town, and they hit it off in ways that are delightful to witness. Then they make a pact not to contact each other until the next Sunrise Night the following year.

Their first night together, Jude has a girlfriend. So that keeps them both from acknowledging their attraction. The second Sunrise Night, Florence has a boyfriend. But, well, the discussion between the two of them makes her rethink that.

And still, despite Jude saying he’s not going to let a simple misunderstanding make this like a teen rom com, they still don’t talk about their attraction until the third Sunrise Night.

I like that Florence and Jude are nuanced characters. Florence is losing her ability to dance because she has a deteriorating eye condition that destroys her balance. Jude is the first person besides her parents that she’s talked with about it. Jude has OCD that is undiagnosed until he takes Florence’s suggestion to see a therapist. He only knows the first year that his thoughts spiral. He’s also hurting because his parents recently split up, and he’s afraid that he drives away love.

It all adds up to a sweet story of two teens who are open with one another and find a listening ear when they need it most. But then they go a year between these times of connection. Which builds exactly the right amount of romantic tension.

jeffzentnerbooks.com
brittanycavallaro.com

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Review of The It Girl, by Ruth Ware, read by Imogen Church

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Fiction Review, Mystery, Starred Review, Suspense 0

The It Girl

by Ruth Ware
read by Imogen Church

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2023. 17 hours, 9 minutes.
Review written August 9, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Well, I have to confess – as I began listening to this audiobook, I was sure right from the start that I knew who the killer was and that I’ve been listening to too many Ruth Ware books. Reader, I was wrong. I’ll say no more except that she can still keep me guessing! And even when I thought I knew the solution, the story still kept me listening.

The It Girl is about a murder that happened ten years ago at an Oxford college to April Clarke-Cliveden, the roommate of Hannah Jones, at the end of their first year.

April was everything Hannah wasn’t, beautiful and rich and popular. She did have a habit of playing practical jokes that edged on mean-spirited, and she obviously wasn’t faithful to her boyfriend Will – a guy Hannah had a crush on – but April was vibrant and alive and drew a circle of friends around them.

As the book opens in the present, the man who was convicted for April’s murder, the creepy porter of their college, has died in prison, still maintaining his innocence. It all makes Hannah very uneasy, since she gave the evidence that put him away. Could she have been wrong?

We get the story told us “Before” and “After” – the story leading up to April’s death, their happy days at Oxford, and in the present, ten years later, with Hannah happily married to Will and expecting their first child. But a reporter who’s friends with one of their friends from Oxford gets under Hannah’s skin with the idea that maybe that porter wasn’t guilty after all.

And yes, Ruth Ware managed to surprise me. She tells a story so engaging it’s hard to stop listening, with characters you feel like you know, and then she adds a compelling mystery with of course danger to the main character when she learns too much, too late.

There are still some Ruth Ware books I haven’t read, and let’s see how long I can stand to wait before putting the next one on hold.

ruthware.com

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Review of Death at Morning House, by Maureen Johnson, read by Katherine Littrell

Contemporary, Mystery, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Death at Morning House

by Maureen Johnson
read by Katherine Littrell

HarperTeen, 2024. 9 hours, 23 minutes.
Review written October 28, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I believe that in reading this book, I’ve caught up on all the Maureen-Johnson-authored murder mysteries. And they’re good! As you can tell from her guidebook for adults, Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village, she knows the conventions of the great mystery novels and how to use them to create something modern and new.

Death at Morning House is a stand-alone murder mystery, not part of the Stevie Bell Truly Devious series, but like those books, there’s a place where mysterious deaths happened almost a hundred years ago – and there’s a more recent death – and then someone goes missing in the novel’s present day. We do get the story of the old deaths slowly revealed, and our teen protagonist Marlowe Wexler discovers clues to the modern-day deaths. And yes, finding those clues puts Marlowe in great danger – in this book, before she even knows who’s responsible.

As the book opens, it’s the start of summer, and Marlowe is taking the girl she’s long had a crush on to her aunt and uncle’s cabin – a place Marlowe is paid to watch over in their absence. Marlowe had gotten a special scented candle in a scent her crush likes – and while they are kissing, the candle explodes and the house sustains serious fire damage.

Marlowe does not respond well. She’s afraid to talk to her crush. She becomes famous in her small town as a pyromaniac (even though the police confirm it was an accident), and she decides the only way to cope is to mope around in bed.

But then her history teacher tells Marlowe about an opportunity to spend the summer on an island in the St. Lawrence River, part of a team of teens offering tours of a historic home there. It sounds like a great way to get out of town, but the teacher doesn’t tell Marlowe that the reason there’s an opening is that one of the local teens who was planning to be there recently died at a party after prom. And part of the history of the house is the two children who died there from the original family that owned the house.

It all adds up to a great story with interesting characters and a strong sense of place. And of course, a big storm comes in not long after someone new goes missing, so there’s no way to get off the island for help if anything bad should happen.

I have to say that I am completely on board with Maureen Johnson’s recent trend of writing mysteries. She’s good! The situations and characters are varied, but there’s always an intriguing puzzle and characters you enjoy spending time with – and hope will stay alive.

maureenjohnsonbooks.com

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Review of We Are Big Time, written by Hena Khan, illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Graphic Novel 0

We Are Big Time

written by Hena Khan
illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui

Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. 233 pages.
Review written October 9, 2024, from a library book.

This graphic novel opens as Aliyah and her family are moving from Tampa to Milwaukee, to be near her grandparents. Aliyah’s not happy about it. She misses the beaches, her school, her friends, her neighborhood, the sunshine, and her basketball team.

In Milwaukee, everything is bigger – bigger house, a bigger job for her dad, and a bigger family with their grandparents and other relatives. But it makes Aliyah feel small.

And it turns out that her school is bigger, too. It’s a private Muslim school, Peace Academy. And they have a girls’ basketball team! Historically, though, they’ve always been pretty bad.

From there, this becomes a classic sports graphic novel. The school has hired a new coach who’s not Muslim but has great basketball skills. Aliyah’s named as co-captain, even though she’s a Freshman new to the school, and she has a lot of self-doubt.

But something interesting about this team is that all the girls wear a hijab. Their uniforms cover their arms and legs. And that seems to be what other people pay attention to.

So when they start turning things around and winning ball games, they get some media attention – and they seem surprised that Muslim families are supportive of their girls playing basketball, and that the girls can play just fine with longer uniforms and head scarves.

This graphic novel gets you cheering for these girls, who learn to work together as a team, represent their community, and have a whole lot of fun.

henakhan.com
safiyaz.com
rhcbooks.com

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Review of Unbecoming, by Seema Yasmin

Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Unbecoming

by Seema Yasmin

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024. 352 pages.
Review written October 21, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

Unbecoming is just barely speculative fiction – may it continue to be speculative! It’s about a near-future United States where abortion is illegal, and so is any and all type of hormonal pill. So birth control pills are illegal, as is hormone replacement therapy and IVF.

Our two teen protagonists, Laylah and Noor, are seniors in high school living in Texas in a Muslim community. Laylah is active with the mosque youth group, but Noor has been staying away for a couple years. They are working together to write an online website called “A Texas Teen’s Guide to Safe Abortion.”

But as the book opens, Laylah is in a sketchy mobile clinic disguised as a taco truck – and learns that she is pregnant.

This does not fit with her plans to go to medical school and become a doctor. She would like to take the abortion pill within 70 days since her last period – the time when it’s effective – but that clinic is out of them and says they’re impossible to find in Texas.

So the book is about Laylah trying to pretend nothing is wrong and that she’s researching for the Guide – but trying to find a way to get the abortion pill before she runs out of time. Her adventures include a couple of dangerous scenarios, and the clock is ticking the whole time. (If she has to get a surgical abortion, she’s told she’ll have to go to Mexico.)

Meanwhile, Noor is working to become an investigative journalist, and she’s convinced the wife of the iman and leader of the mosque’s youth group is up to something shady with mosque funds. But she doesn’t want to tell Laylah, because Laylah trusts the woman. And on top of this there are family expectations, not to mention the expectations of all the ladies in their community. So both Laylah and Noor have secrets from each other and feel guilty about it.

This is a good book to read before the election – may it never come true!

Now, if you believe abortion is murder (as I once did), this might be hard to read. Laylah doesn’t give a thought to the beginning life inside her and can be taken as an example of someone who forgot to use birth control and now is paying the price. (It didn’t help that the birth control pill is illegal, but her partner didn’t use a condom, either, and she’s kicking herself.)

But hold on. Even if you believe that, this book illustrates the exact thing that made me stop being a one-issue voter about abortion. Why would banning abortion work any better than Prohibition did? If you pass a law that the majority do not feel is right – it’s going to become a matter of pride and virtue to help people get around that law. All the mobile clinics, including the sketchy ones, the teen guide – you’d better believe a whole network would rise up to subvert the law. It would end up being only the people with the most resources and connections who could find safe treatment, but definitely a movement would rise up.

Either way, you’re going to have sympathy for a teen who made one bad decision, knows she did, and now must deal with the consequences. Seema Yasmin tells a good story about interesting characters. Oh, and there’s a historical story in this book about her grandmother in India who almost got involuntarily sterilized by her government in the 1970s. (I had no idea that happened.) Controlling people’s reproductivity has a long history.

This book gives you a good story, but it also makes you think.

seemayasmin.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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