Review of Coyote Lost and Found, by Dan Gemeinhart

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Coyote Lost and Found

by Dan Gemeinhart

Henry Holt and Company, 2024. 275 pages.
Review written April 29, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

This book is a follow-up to the amazing and wonderful book The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, and the sequel is equally amazing and wonderful. I think you can enjoy the second book without reading the first, but why would you? If you have not read the book that introduces us to Coyote and her dad Rodeo, please do so as soon as possible!

As this book opens, Coyote and Rodeo have been settled down in a small town in Oregon for about a year. Coyote hasn’t exactly fit in well at her new school. And in her spare time, she likes to hang out in their old bus, Yager.

Then, one day, Coyote makes a momentous discovery. Fallen behind a bookcase, she finds a special box. And that box has her mother’s ashes in it. Coyote’s mother and her big sister and little sister all died in a car accident before the events of the first book, and those deaths were what prompted Rodeo to hit the road with Coyote. When Coyote confronts Rodeo with her discovery, he said that yes, they buried her sisters, but her mother had wanted to be cremated, and she had told Rodeo the location where he should bury her ashes in one of her favorite books.

But when Coyote goes to find the book — it isn’t there. She’s sure it was one of the books she dropped off at a thrift store somewhere on their journey last summer. But she doesn’t have the heart to tell Rodeo. One thing leads to another, and they set out again in Yager. Rodeo thinks that Coyote’s mom set them a journey, but Coyote is going back to the thrift shops from last summer, particularly the four she wasn’t able to reach by phone.

And the journey is much like the first one. Again, they pick up fellow travelers along the way. Again, they get into adventures both humorous and poignant. And again, they’re dealing with the past, but learning to look forward to the future.

This book wrenched my heart in all the best ways. You can’t find better travel companions anywhere than Coyote and Rodeo.

dangemeinhart.com
mackids.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 Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim, narrated by Greta Jung

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

by Jessica Kim
narrated by Greta Jung

Penguin Random House Audio, 2020. 6 hours, 57 minutes.
Review written July 4, 2020, from a library eaudiobook

Yumi Chung hoped to spend her summer working on her comedy routines, studying her favorite YouTube star, Jasmine Jasper’s directions. Instead, her parents’ Korean Barbecue restaurant is struggling, and they want Yumi to win a scholarship to stay at her private school, even though Yumi isn’t happy there. So they sign Yumi up for an intensive study class and tell her to go straight to the library after class.

But a new comedy club has opened up across the library parking lot. When Yumi peeks inside, she sees Jasmine Jasper herself! And she’s leading a summer camp to train kid comedians – and thinks that Yumi is the missing Kay Nakamura who didn’t show up the first day.

What’s a girl to do? If Yumi goes along with it, she gets to learn about comedy in person with her hero. She also makes new friends at the camp. But are they really friends if you don’t tell them your real name?

Yes, things do fall apart for Yumi before the end of the book. A strength of the book was how she dealt with it and her relationships. I thought the original coincidence – that Yumi’s YouTube hero would show up in person and be running a camp – was way too big for my personal suspension of disbelief. But I did like the characters and that Yumi’s parents, while being overly pushy immigrant parents, did show more depth when Yumi took the time to talk with them.

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Source: This review is based on an eaudiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

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 Where Lily Isn’t, by Julie Paschkis, illustrations by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Where Lily Isn’t

by Julie Paschkis
illustrations by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

Godwin Books (Henry Holt and Company), 2020. 32 pages.
Review written March 5, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

Here’s a simple but beautiful book about loss. I wouldn’t use it for storytime. But I think it would be appreciated if you read it with a child who’d lost a pet. It leaves room for sadness, but has a message of hope that transcends being trite because the weight of this beautiful book is behind it.

Lily was a loving, happy dog. Here’s how the book begins:

Lily ran

and jumped and barked and whimpered and growled and wiggled and wagged

and licked and snuggled.

But not now.

And then the book catalogs all the places where Lily isn’t now, places like “beside my chair, waiting for some food to fall” or “waiting just inside the door.” At the park now, the bushes are unsniffed. And when the letter carrier puts letters through the slot, they just fall to the floor, with no barks.

The book ends with the sentiment that Lily will always be in the girl’s heart, and shows her drawing many pictures of Lily in places we’ve already discussed.

This book wouldn’t have to be as nice as it is. But the pictures go beautifully with the words, and thinking about all the ways Lily interacted with her owner as she went through her day makes the reader feel the loss, too.

juliepaschkis.com
chodos-irvine.com
mackids.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

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 The Reappearance of Rachel Price, by Holly Jackson

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Teen Fiction Review 0

The Reappearance of Rachel Price

by Holly Jackson
read by Sophie Amoss

Listening Library, 2024. 16 hours, 34 minutes.
Review written April 22, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price is by the author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, so I knew to expect a thriller where you couldn’t count on police to do the right thing and there’s going to be scary danger by the end.

The book begins with Bel Price being interviewed for a documentary about her 16-years-missing mother, Rachel Price. In the context of the documentary, we learn that Rachel Price disappeared twice, first in a mall when she vanished from the cameras with Bel (who was then two years old), and second from a car off the side of a road, where baby Bel was found in the back seat, with the door closed and the heater running, but Rachel completely gone.

Bel’s father Charlie went on trial for Rachel’s murder, but he had an alibi and was acquitted. Now Bel relies on him as the only person who will never leave her.

But then, as they’re filming a reenactment of the event, Rachel Price returns. She says she’s been held in a basement all that time and the guy finally let her go.

But things aren’t as Bel dreamed they would be when her mother came back. And her mother doesn’t tell her story the same way each time. What if Rachel Price is lying? But why would she lie? And what actually happened to her? And why won’t she leave Bel alone so she can get back to her normal life?

To me, this book dragged a bit in the middle. I wasn’t completely tracking with Bel’s suspicions. I was also taken out of the story by the time they played a video of two-year-old Bel, because she was babbling like a not-quite-one-year-old, only able to say “Mama,” which isn’t consistent with a two-year-old at all.

However, as usual with a Holly Jackson book, by the time we started finding out what actually happened, it didn’t drag a bit. In fact, I turned on the audiobook as I was working on a jigsaw puzzle and when the audiobook finished, it was fully two hours later than I’d thought it was.

Holly Jackson doesn’t go for realism, but she does go for pulled from outrageous headlines, and she did surprise but satisfy me with the outcome of this twisty thriller.

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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 Dial A for Aunties, by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Fiction Review 0

Version 1.0.0
Dial A for Aunties

by Jesse Q. Sutanto
read by Risa Mei

Penguin Audio, 2021. 10 hours, 22 minutes.
Review written April 16, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.

I checked out this audiobook because of how much I enjoyed the author’s book Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. This one, too, had a lot of madcap fun.

Dial A for Aunties answers the question, at least for one Chinese Indonesian American twenty-something young woman, “Who would you call if you have to dispose of a dead body?”

Since graduating from college and breaking up with the love of her life so that she wouldn’t hold him back, photographer Meddelin Chan has been working in her family’s wedding business. Her mother and her mother’s three sisters provide flowers, make-up, cake, and entertainment, especially at big Chinese or Indonesian weddings.

The night before one of their biggest events ever, Meddelin goes on a blind date that her mother set up for her by posing as Meddy on an online dating site — and completely missing the sexual innuendoes of what the guy was going to expect. When the date goes south, Meddy pulls out her taser — but causes an accident.

She comes to in a deserted area of Los Angeles with a dead cellphone and nobody coming by. The guy appears to be dead. What’s a girl to do? She ends up putting the body in her trunk. (Not necessarily thinking clearly, but hey, extenuating circumstances.) She calls her mother, who calls in the Aunties. They all rally together to figure out what to do.

But the next day they’ll be leaving early for the wedding at a resort on an island off the coast. They don’t want the body to stink, so it needs to go in Big Aunt’s cooler, because she’s the one who has enough room.

But in the morning, the very helpful assistant brings all the coolers to the island. So now there’s a body in one of their coolers at the island wedding, and they need to get rid of it with no one noticing and hundreds of people coming and going.

Oh and then? Turns out the love of Meddy’s life (Remember him?) is the new owner of the resort. This is his first big wedding and it needs to go well.

Madcap hilarity ensues. This author was definitely not going for realism. However, since every coincidence serves to make things worse, the reader buys it, because what can go wrong will go wrong, right? It’s pretty much over-the-top silliness, but it adds up to a whole lot of fun. The bickering Aunties are wonderful in what they will do for Meddy — even if their ideas don’t always work out in the best ways.

jesseqsutantoauthor.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 Mama’s Sleeping Scarf, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writing as Nwa Grace-James, illustrated by Joelle Avelino

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Mama’s Sleeping Scarf

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
writing as Nwa Grace-James
illustrated by Joelle Avelino

Alfred A. Knopf, 2023. 32 pages.
Review written December 13, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

Mama’s Sleeping Scarf is a bright and joyful picture book about a day in the life of a little preschool-age girl – and it’s held together by Mama’s sleeping scarf.

The book begins with Chino looking at Mama’s scarf. We get a full spread appreciating it:

Mama’s scarf is green.

It has big red circles and little blue circles.
Chino likes to trace the circles with her finger.
First, the big red circles.
Then, the little blue circles.

Chino likes to touch Mama’s scarf
because it is so silky and soft!

Next, the book explains that Mama wears the scarf at night to keep her hair all soft and nice. In the morning, Chino’s sad because Mama is getting ready to go to work. Mama assures Chino that she’ll always come back — and gives Chino her scarf to play with until she does.

And so begins a day of play with Mama’s scarf. I like the way at seveal points in the day, the scarf goes “wheeew!” and we see it floating across the pages.

Chino’s stuffed toy Bunny joins with her in all the play, talking to Chino in “her secret voice.” As the day goes on, Chino also interacts with Papa, Grandpa, and Grandma, with the scarf coming along, too.

After some peek-a-boo with Grandma, she offers to tie the scarf around Chino’s head — so she looks just like Mama.

Chino gets to wear the scarf all evening — even eating some vegetables the same color as in the scarf. When it’s time for bed, it’s time for Mama to wear the scarf, and when they take it off Chino’s head, the scarf again goes “Wheeew!”

A cozy happy story that ends with a child sleeping in bed, surrounded by love and good night wishes.

chimamanda.com
aaknopf.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 I Am Every Good Thing, by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

I Am Every Good Thing

by Derrick Barnes
illustrated by Gordon C. James

Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House), 2020. 32 pages.
Review written September 15, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

I Am Every Good Thing is by the same people who created the picture book Crown that won multiple awards, and like that, this book vibrantly and joyfully celebrates black boyhood.

I tend to dismiss picture books about self-esteem, unless they tell a good story. This one does not. It’s purely inspirational. But it does a wonderful job of being inspirational.

The colorful paintings show black boys doing many different things. The accompanying text is the voice of the kids pictured telling how wonderful they are:

I am
a nonstop ball of energy.
Powerful and full of light.
I am a go-getter. A difference maker.
A leader.

I am every good thing that makes the world go round.
You know – like gravity, or the glow of moonbeams
over a field of brand-new snow.

I am good to the core, like the center
of a cinnamon roll.

Yeah, that good.

The paintings are wonderful and varied. There’s a kid wincing after scraping his knee skateboarding and getting up again. There are kids swimming, playing music, looking through a microscope, and much more.

The book ends with an adorable boy smiling broadly at the reader. The words say:

And without a shadow
of a doubt,
I am worthy
to be loved.

I am worthy
to be loved.

And that was the moment when tears came to my eyes. Because it shouldn’t need to be said. But yes, it needs to be said. That black boy pictured there – and every black boy – is worthy of love, as is every child on earth. But this book helps me see the beauty, the lovability the inherent worthiness in one set of beautiful children.

And in seeing the particular, it spreads love to the universal.

derrickdbarnes.com
gordoncjames.com

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Source: This review is based on a book from Fairfax County Public Library

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 Lunar New Year Love Story, by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham

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

Lunar New Year Love Story

written by Gene Luen Yang
art by LeUyen Pham

First Second, 2024. 350 pages.
Review written March 27, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

This graphic novel is sweet and wonderful. Last night, I intended to just dip into it for a few minutes — and came up for air about an hour later, when I’d finished it.

It’s the story of Valentina, a junior in high school. She loved Valentine’s Day when she was a kid and made elaborate valentines with the spirit only she can see, Saint V. But back when she was a freshman, she had a disastrous Valentine’s Day. After that horrible and memorable day, she changed her feelings about Valentine’s Day, and Saint V stopped appearing to her as a sweet cherub, and more like a frightening ghost.

Now Saint V has given her one year to find true love – until next Valentine’s Day. He’s asking for her heart — if she gives her heart only to the old spirit, she can escape her family’s curse of suffering with love.

She finds a wonderful boy when she joins a group of Lion Dancers. But why won’t he call her his girlfriend? There’s a lot going on as she looks for love, and it’s tied together with her own family history, with lion dancing, with friends who have different attitudes toward love, with spirits, and with Val choosing her own path.

I really enjoyed seeing LeUyen Pham draw older characters than what I’m used to. I can still recognize her basic style, but it’s softened, and the result is truly beautiful images. In graphic novels, I like to be able to tell the characters apart, and she achieved that well.

I did not at all begrudge my unplanned hour reading this book, and closed it with a smile. A truly lovely graphic novel.

geneluenyang.com
leuyenpham.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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 Catch That Chicken! by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Readalouds, Starred Review 0

Catch That Chicken!

by Atinuke
illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

Candlewick Press, 2020. 32 pages.
Review written October 3, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review

I hope I will get a chance to read this book in a storytime some day. It’s set in a compound in Africa where Lami lives. The compound has lots of chickens, and Lami is the better than anyone at catching chickens.

The language is lyrical and has drama and will engage kids’ attention.

Lami leans!
Lami lunges!
Lami leaps!
And Lami catches her!
Lami is the best chicken catcher in the village.

But one day, Lami is going a little too fast and a little too recklessly. She chases a chicken up a baobab tree. Then she slips and falls and sprains her ankle. So she can’t chase after the chickens.

But there’s a nice little twist at the end when Lami thinks of another way to catch chickens, so she’s still the best chicken catcher in the village.

candlewick.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.

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 Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss, by Amy Noelle Parks

Contemporary, Romance, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss

by Amy Noelle Parks

Amulet Books, 2020. 361 pages.
Review written August 27, 2021, from a book purchased via Amazon.com
Starred Review
2022 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Grades 9-12

An adorable teen romance about a girl who’s a math genius, which always scores points for me.

Caleb has almost kissed his best friend Evie Beckham fourteen times. One of those times, when they were thirteen, he told her what he wanted to do, and she was not onboard. So he has been careful ever since not to let her know.

Almost four years ago, Evie talked him into applying to Newton Academy, a selective math and science boarding school. Caleb was surprised when he was accepted, but knew it was the right place for Evie. At Newton, he has watched guys try to ask Evie out, while she has shown no interest whatsoever.

But in their senior year, a new kid named Leo has come to Newton Academy. He gets Evie’s attention by being nearly as good at physics as she is, and Caleb is horrified when they start dating.

Caleb is still Evie’s best friend, though, and he knows how to help when she has an attack of social anxiety. Last year, Evie wasn’t able to cope with giving a presentation when her paper was accepted to the Frontier awards. So this year, she plans to do a project with Caleb. She’ll do the math, and he’ll do the coding.

This book maintains a wonderful balance of describing their high-level project while keeping the reader interested in the relationships. We alternate between Evie’s and Caleb’s perspectives and wonder if she’ll ever wake up to how her best friend feels about her.

The author is an associate professor of mathematics and I love that she can write such a relatable teen romance. I also appreciate that it’s the heroine who’s the star math student. The book does show many underestimating her because she’s female. There’s also some stereotyping of the mentally ill math genius, but since Evie is fighting against that stereotype – even coming from her own mother, it adds to the story instead of detracting. Evie takes her mental health into her own hands and throughout the book, we see her coping with her social anxiety in positive and helpful ways.

I confess – this book kept me reading into the small hours of the morning. Too much fun to stop!

amynoelleparks.com
piquebeyond.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. 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?