Review of Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone, by Tae Keller

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

Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone

by Tae Keller
read by Shannon Tyo and Carolyn Kang

Listening Library, 2022. 7 hours, 4 minutes.
Review written January 7, 2023, from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review

Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone is told from the perspective of Mallory, a middle school girl who worries about fitting in. Her best friend, Reagan, is the queen bee of the school. But when her neighbor, Jennifer Chan, goes missing, Mallory is terribly afraid it has something to do with “the Incident.”

When Jennifer moved into their neighborhood last summer, Mallory knew she was different. And Jennifer’s honesty about how she believes in aliens and is researching how to find them doesn’t help.

But then when Jennifer comes to school and seems to think she can get away without following the normal rules of popularity, Mallory doesn’t know what to think. Reagan feels she needs to be taught a lesson.

The timelines of the story go back and forth. Mallory thinks Jennifer was surely searching for aliens. Maybe if she can find some allies to follow in her footsteps, they can find Jennifer. But is that simply a way to avoid thinking about The Incident? What if that’s the real reason Jennifer left?

This book explores friendship and peer pressure and bullying and trying to figure out how to make amends. And it asks the question: Who do you want to be? Oh, and it also talks about aliens and how they might make themselves known to us.

I was especially moved by the author’s note at the back, read in the audiobook by Tae Keller, where she talks about how she was horribly bullied in middle school and her process in trying to channel that for this book. She did an amazing job of turning that awful experience into art that heals.

taekeller.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 Most Ardently, by Gabe Cole Novoa, read by Harrison Knights

Audiobooks, Austenalia, Historical, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Most Ardently

A Pride and Prejudice Remix

by Gabe Cole Novoa
read by Harrison Knights

Macmillan Young Listeners, 2024. 7 hours, 30 minutes.
Review written March 1, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2025 Stonewall Honor Book, Young Adult Literature

I have long loved Pride and Prejudice variants and everything related to Jane Austen. I even have a webpage devoted to reviews of such books – my Austenalia page.

I found this version of Pride and Prejudice completely delightful. The big switch? The second child in the Bennet family is actually a transgender boy named Oliver.

The scenes in the novel play out as Oliver is beginning to live as himself and stop pretending to be a girl named Elizabeth. His father is understanding and affirming, but he shudders at the thought of letting his mother know. And Oliver encounters Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy both when dressed as himself and when pretending to be a woman. It turns out that Mr. Darcy fancies men, but when appearing as Elizabeth, Oliver can’t let on that he knows that.

There were a couple of odd changes – Longbourne and Netherfield were much closer to London, for starters, as was, apparently, Pemberley and Hunsford. That did help the story speed up – this version got in most of the major scenes, but it was much shorter than the original novel. We also had Oliver not being much taken with Wickham right from the start – there was much less misunderstanding and later reversal than in the original, but it was kind of fun to watch Wickham try to flirt with Oliver, and Oliver having none of it.

Now, I was a little skeptical of how well most who learned about Oliver handled the news and accepted him as himself in that day and age. The historical note at the end did help me believe it could have happened – and regardless, it did my heart good to read about a young transgender man getting love and support from his family and friends.

All in all, it’s a delightful addition to Austenalia – with a new twist I haven’t seen before. Let me ardently recommend this book.

gabecolenovoa.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 A Plate of Hope, by Erin Frankel, illustrated by Paola Escobar, read by Luis Carlos de la Lombana

Audiobooks, Award Winners, Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

A Plate of Hope

The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen

by Erin Frankel
illustrated by Paola Escobar
read by Luis Carlos de la Lombana

Dreamscape Media, 2024. 15 minutes.
Random House Studio, 2024. 48 pages.
Review written January 31, 2025, from a library book and eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2025 Odyssey Winner, Children’s Audiobook
2024 Cybils Finalist, Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

I don’t normally listen to 15-minute audiobooks. But I do make a point of trying to listen to all the Odyssey Award Winners and Honor books. The award is given for the best children’s and young adult audiobooks, and they are always outstanding. Even knowing that, I was impressed with this short but amazing audiobook.

The original book is a picture book biography of the life of Chef José Andrés, how he grew up in Spain loving to be part of making food and feeding people, went on to work in an innovative kitchen, and was taken with the promise of America. Of course, it especially looks at how he developed World Central Kitchen to step in with good food immediately after a disaster. He gets folks in quickly after a crisis making good, local food when folks have lost so much else.

And the audiobook has music playing in the background throughout the whole book with judicious use of sound effects, such as sizzling food and chirping birds. The narrator’s Spanish accent combined with the music gives the story a lilting and joyful feeling. Of course, I recommend checking out both the audiobook and the print book so you can enjoy the pictures as well.

erinfrankel.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 Onyx Storm, by Rebecca Yarros, read by Rebecca Soler

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction Review 0

Onyx Storm

by Rebecca Yarros
read by Rebecca Soler, Teddy Hamilton, Justis Bolding, and Jasmin Walker

Recorded Books, 2025. 23 hours, 53 minutes.
Review written February 26, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.

I’m going to sound like a bit of a curmudgeon in this review, so let me begin by saying that I don’t review books I don’t like. And I certainly don’t spend 24 hours listening to a book I don’t like. So I did enjoy this book, and I’m very engaged with this series and will be reading the next book. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first two, though.

First off, this series doesn’t waste any time catching up the reader on what went before. It’s very much a continued story, not “companion novels.” It had been a year since I listened to the previous book, and I didn’t really remember the many characters, who was a dragon rider as opposed to who was a griffin flyer, for example. (Though, funny thing, the people I remembered least were the ones most in danger of dying – they felt like the red shirts of the story.)

So I’m only going to speak in general terms about what happens. It’s the continued story of Violet Sorengale – a cadet at Bezgaeth War College who is bonded to two powerful dragons. Oh, I should say that I loved the portrayal of Andarna as an adolescent dragon. Her whiny tone was delightful! A continued strong point of this series is the characters and the bonds they’re forming with each other.

First, there’s lots and lots of sex. I did laugh when Violet and Xaden broke furniture again. Though it’s kind of their trademark. But I also laughed about two-thirds into the book when they were obviously going to have sex and they closed and locked a door (using lesser magic) – and then the author actually ended the scene! I felt like that was a progression in Violet’s experience. She no longer had to gasp at every touch.

A good chunk of this book was a group of them exploring some distant islands, looking for allies and for more dragons of Andarna’s kind. That was an interesting development. But then each island served a different god and had different unusual customs and hoops that visitors had to go through – and that felt silly and unlikely after a while.

Speaking of contrived things, I recently finished another book using the trope of Everyone-Has-A-Magical-Power – and there are always ways that particular trope doesn’t work for me – you really do have to not think about it too hard. Because I’m sorry, but shadows do not have substance! The whole shadow-wielding idea – that you can make shadows hold someone up while having sex or choke someone in a battle – yeah, I have trouble believing that would work. And some of the other “signets” are problematic for me as well. But mostly, in the middle of the story, that’s not a big issue, and I’m caught up in the tale.

Now, the last big climactic battle took three hours of the audiobook. And that’s after a whole lot of fighting in the book already. So this is an audiobook where the narrator is describing lots of fighting and lots of sex – and it must have been exhausting for her! But by the time I was listening to the final battle, the narrator’s voice expressing excitement kind of flew past me. Exciting thing after exciting thing – and it stopped being exciting for me.

Now, I listen to audiobooks while I’m doing other things, so to really remember what’s going on, before the next book comes out, I should probably try rereading the entire thing in print. Trouble is, I doubt I’d want to give that much time to it – so I’ll probably be content with enjoying the story but maybe being a little confused – as I was with this one.

Speaking of confusion – the ending is kind of the opposite of a cliffhanger. A cliffhanger ending leaves you wondering what will come next. This ending left me wondering what just happened.

Without giving anything away, the big final battle took the last three hours of the book – and the final part of it was when we got to hear from three more narrators, for a nice change of pace and more perspectives on this enormous fight. At the end of the battle, Violet passed out. The story starts again twelve hours later in a different location, and Violet is told several very surprising things – but we don’t know why or how they happened. And then the book ends.

So by the time the next book comes out, I’m not sure I’ll remember what I was confused about. I’m also not at all sure where it’s going next – but I am sure that I’m going to want to go along for the ride.

rebeccayarros.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 Bitter, by Akwaeke Emezi, read by Bahni Turpin

Audiobooks, Paranormal, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Bitter

by Akwaeke Emezi
read by Bahni Turpin

Listening Library, 2022. 7 hours, 11 minutes.
Review written October 10, 2022, from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review

I heard great things about the author’s National Book Award Finalist last year, Pet, but I never did get it read. Now I am going to get my hands on it. This riveting novel was unusual and powerful. Bitter is a prequel to Pet. It’s set in a time of unrest in a city named Lucille.

Bitter is a queer Black girl who got recruited out of unloving foster care to attend a school for artists called Eucalyptus. Unfortunately, Eucalyptus is right in the city center, and the sounds of protests and violence come into Bitter’s room and fill her with fear. Some of her good friends have ties with Assata, an organization behind the protests, working for justice. Lucille is a place with police brutality based on skin color and where people in power exploit the poor.

Meanwhile, Bitter has a secret skill. She can paint small creatures and make them come to life with a drop of her blood. They don’t last long, but making them helps Bitter feel grounded and less alone.

But when one of Bitter’s friends gets horribly injured at a protest, Bitter gets angry. And she paints something bigger and more terrifying than she ever has before. When this creature comes to life, things start that Bitter doesn’t know how to control.

Something I appreciated in this novel, as opposed to some fantasy novels I read last year — I appreciated that the main characters shrank back from unnecessary violence, even in service to a needed revolution, even against people who had done terrible things. Of course, not everyone felt the same way, and events set in motion aren’t always easy to stop — but I appreciated the value placed on human life — even the life of humans who had done evil things.

akwaeke.com
listeninglibrary.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 Powerless, by Lauren Roberts

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

Powerless

by Lauren Roberts
read by Chase Brown and Cecily Bednar Schmidt

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2023. 17 hours, 28 minutes.
Review written February 20, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.

I only review books I like. That has always been true. I don’t ever want to imply that my judgment is better than people who like the book – there are always some people. And I don’t really want authors to find a bad review of their book on my site. Lately, if I have too many reservations, I’ve decided just to pass on reviewing the book. The trouble with that is that later on I forget what my reservations were, and just remember a general negative. So – with Powerless, I decided to review it on my blog only. I won’t even link to the review on social media, so think of this as bonus content for those who subscribe to my blog.

All that said – I did enjoy the book, and I did listen to all 17.5 hours of it. Well, the second time I tried. This book is wildly popular with our library customers, and since I love YA Fantasy novels, I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. But when I started listening to it this time, it was just familiar enough for me to remember that I’d tried listening to it earlier and had given up after several chapters. This time I was feeling more tolerant of tropes and listened to the whole thing. And enjoyed it.

But let me talk about tropes. This one has All the Tropes. We start out with the noble thief, living on the streets, expert at thieving and fighting – but good at heart, forced into it because her father was murdered when she was thirteen.

Then there’s the trope of everyone has a magic power. In this case, the explanation is that there was a plague that killed off most of the population, and those that survived have magic powers. But those who do not have magic powers – Ordinaries – are considered diseased and a blight on the kingdom and must be executed.

That part – executing the outcast group – is a trope, too. But it strikes way too close to home as blaming a group of outcasts for all society’s ills is a hallmark of fascism and is way, way too relevant today.

Another trope is the evil, horrible, repressive king (the one whose idea it is to execute all the Ordinaries) – but with a son who is good despite his evil father. Well, in this case, they’re also half-heartedly going for a love triangle trope – so the king has two sons, both who end up interested in our heroine. But I say it’s half-hearted, because only the younger son is also a viewpoint character, and it’s with him that we get lots of talk about “wanting” each other.

Let me add in here that there’s no sex in this book, but oh my goodness there’s enormous sexual tension – even some sleeping together in vulnerable situations where sex doesn’t happen. Lots of touching in provocative ways. Going out on a limb, I’m pretty sure there’s eventually going to be sex between those characters or the readers will be up at arms.

But the trope I didn’t like at all was the competition where lots of the competitors kill each other. Because again, it was half-hearted. Called the “purging trials,” it was never remotely clear what the point was. We didn’t even find out who won at the end – because votes from spectators are part of the score, and they never told us how that went, even though we found out who finished the last trial first. We also didn’t get the scoring details of the earlier trials. We were told that the “future enforcer” needed to win to impress the people of the kingdom – but not clear why or what would happen if he didn’t. Or what the winner even wins. And it’s clear from the start that many die in the Purging Trials – but many don’t die. I never understood why killing other competitors was necessary or expected. With the kingdom watching, did it ever occur to anyone to demand that those who murder other contestants be held accountable? And even if there’s immunity from killing someone in the trials, why wouldn’t many of the competitors simply refuse to do that? Our protagonists make alliances with some of the other competitors, but others seem to be fair game – and part of the way they’re shown as evil is because they attack friends of our protagonists. Because that’s worse than the killing our main characters do? It just all feels like an excuse to have some killing and show how evil the king is who encourages that – but also the evil characters who attack the people we like.

And oh yes, the thing about the Future Enforcer. He’s the second son of the king. His older brother will be the next king – and he will be his brother’s Enforcer. What I never understood is why was he not already considered the Enforcer? There’s never any mention of a current Enforcer, but he’s already going around finding Ordinaries to execute and torturing people in the dungeon. Even thinks about torturing as a way to blow off steam after the trials. I don’t understand why he’s going to hold this title – only after his father dies.

And speaking of torturing and killing – Okay, his horrible father is the one who forced him to learn to be a torturer and an executioner. Yes, that’s all very awful. But it’s kind of a great big romantic red flag? It seems like no matter what your body’s telling you and no matter how attractive you find him or how sorry for him you feel – it’s going to be fairly easy not to fall in love with him. (Never mind the big thing she only remembered at the end. Really?) So forgive me if I’m not all that excited about that relationship. And that’s disregarding the fact that I despise men who call women they are barely acquainted with “Darling.”

Another trope is dearly loved people being killed or nearly killed. More than one. And the one toward the end of the book, I never understood any justification for calling the person a “criminal.” Just to show what an awful person the king is?

Yes, the book is incredibly violent. The future Enforcer isn’t the only one who kills people. But they’re Bad People because they killed people our protagonists cared about.

So, yes, I had a bunch of issues with this book. But I finished it, and I enjoyed listening. I might even listen to more books in the series – there’s a novella, a sequel, and the third book of the trilogy coming out soon. Can I set aside all my reservations to find out what happens next? I’m not sure, but now at least I can look up this review and remember what happened in the first book.

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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 How to Solve Your Own Murder, by Kristen Perrin, read by Alexandra Dowling and Jaye Jacobs

Audiobooks, Fiction Review, Mystery, Starred Review 0

How to Solve Your Own Murder

by Kristen Perrin
read by Alexandra Dowling and Jaye Jacobs

Books on Tape, 2024. 10 hours, 52 minutes.
Review written February 13, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2025 Alex Award Winner

The Alex Awards are given every year to ten books published for adults that will be of interest to teens. How to Solve Your Own Murder is an excellent choice.

This is a cozy murder mystery, complete with an English village and manor as the setting. Our main sleuth is 20-something Annie Adams, who recently graduated from college and then lost her job, so she’s moved back into her mother’s house and dreams of writing mystery novels.

But one day a letter arrives from great-aunt Frances’s lawyer asking to meet with Annie because great-aunt Frances (whom Annie has never met) is changing her will. Well, when Annie shows up to the meeting, great-aunt Frances is late, but when they go to the manor to meet her there – they find her dead.

But it turns out that Frances has been expecting to be murdered since she was a teen in 1965 and got a detailed fortune that said she would likely be murdered. The local police were sick and tired of the way she thought every indigestion was poison and every last name a type of bird an omen. She found a way to have her theories taken seriously. Annie and the other possible heir, a man named Saxton, are told that whichever one of them solves Frances’ murder will inherit her entire fortune and become a millionaire. If nobody solves the case within a week, the whole estate will get parceled off and sold to developers.

Now, along with the present-day mystery and the high motivation that comes with it, there’s another mystery revealed in Frances’s old diary. In 1966, one year after getting her fateful fortune, her friend Emily disappeared, with her body never found. Annie has a feeling the two cases are linked. And meanwhile, someone’s leaving threatening notes on her pillow in her room at the manor.

So the book has two threads going, one from the past taken from Frances’s diary, and another from the present, that comes with multimillion-dollar stakes and a dash of danger. Someone killed Frances, so if Annie gets too near the truth, they may come for her, too.

It all adds up to a cozy mystery with a nice puzzle, fun characters, and plenty of suspense. I loved listening to this one.

kristenperrin.com
penguinrandomhouse.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 Black Girl, You Are Atlas, by Renée Watson, fine art by Ekua Holmes, read by Renée Watson

Audiobooks, Biography, Poetry, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

Black Girl, You Are Atlas

by Renée Watson
fine art by Ekua Holmes
read by Renée Watson

Kokila, 2024. 81 pages.
Listening Library, 2024. 52 minutes.
Review written February 10, 2025, from a library book and eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2025 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
2025 Odyssey Honor Audiobook
2025 Rise List Top Ten
2025 Cybils Winner, Poetry Collection

Black Girl, You Are Atlas is a book of poetry about growing up as a Black girl, as a sister, a daughter, and a Black girl seeing how the world around her treats Black girls.

The title poem refers to the Greek hero Atlas who held the weight of the world. But it also talks about an atlas that shows the way forward and the way back. It expresses all that a Black girl carries.

Other poems talk about turning 7, turning 13, turning 16, and turning 17, about being a sister, about surviving the teenage years. And about holding onto happiness.

Both the audio and the print versions of this book are exquisite. I always listen to every Odyssey Honor audiobook I can get my hands on. This one is read by the author and expresses her powerful words. The print version, on the other hand, has Ekua Holmes amazing art accompanying it. Both versions are short, so there’s no reason not to enjoy this book both ways.

As a white woman, I did appreciate these poems – but get them into the hands of every Black teenage girl you know. There are powerful words in this book.

reneewatson.net
ekuaholmes.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 Violet Made of Thorns, by Gina Chen

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Violet Made of Thorns

by Gina Chen
read by Emily Woo Zeller

Listening Library, 2022. 11 hours, 5 minutes.
Review written December 11, 2022, from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review

Violet has been a seer for the kingdom of Aveny since the day six years ago when she was ten and she used what she learned in a vision to save the young prince’s life.

Since then, she’s learned to please the king by lying about her visions and telling people what they want to hear and what the king wants them to hear. This pleases the king, but doesn’t please Prince Cyrus, and they’ve got a prickly relationship.

When the previous seer died, she prophesied a curse on Cyrus that can only be lifted with the help of his bride, but Cyrus has been slow about choosing a bride. The king wants him to hurry up about it.

And then Violet dreams that if Cyrus doesn’t die before the end of the summer, she will burn. And a way is given for her to kill him. But meanwhile, there’s a masked ball and a noble lady from the neighboring kingdom. The king wants Violet to convince Cyrus this lady is his true love.

But that lady is not what she seems. And on the night of the ball, beasts appear, and they go after Cyrus and Violet. Why does Cyrus protect Violet, endangering himself?

This book is full of plots and counterplots. Violet’s dreams are full of visions, but what do they mean and what should she do? There’s also sizzling sexual tension — in a relationship that doesn’t seem like a good choice for anybody, but seems impossible to stop.

It all barrels along with twists and turns to a bloody and surprising conclusion. We’ve got court intrigue, romantic tension, uncontrolled magic, confusing visions, fairy glamours, and the fate of nations in a novel that you won’t want to stop listening to.

actualgina.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 Across So Many Seas, by Ruth Behar

Audiobooks, Award Winners, Children's Fiction Review, Historical, Starred Review 0

Across So Many Seas

by Ruth Behar
read by Allison Strong, Victoria Villarreal, Sol Madariaga, and Frankie Corso

Listening Library, 2024. 5 hours, 53 minutes.
Review written February 15, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review
2025 Newbery Honor Book
2025 Sidney Taylor Silver Medal
2025 Capitol Choices Selection

Across So Many Seas is an intergenerational family saga for kids – featuring four 12-year-old girls, each of whom crossed a sea.

The book starts in 1492 with the expulsion of Jews from Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella. Their families had been there for centuries, but all Jews were told to leave, convert, or be executed. Benvenida and her family travel by foot to the port, her father carrying the Torah, and then travel across the sea to Constantinople.

Even in Turkey, they remember the language and customs of Spain, but the next girl featured is Reina, 450 years later, 12 years old in 1923, a descendant of Benvenida. After Reina disobeys her father and goes out at night with a boy to a party celebrating revolution in Turkey, she is sent in disgrace to Cuba as a companion to her aunt. In three years when she is 15, she will marry another Sephardic Jew her father has chosen for her and make a home in Cuba.

Next we meet her daughter Alegra, who is 12 years old in 1961, after Castro has come to power in the Cuban revolution. She joins the volunteer team of children who go out to the countryside to teach folks to read, and is proud and happy with her role – but is suddenly pulled back to Havana by her parents. They inform her that her father is not allowed to continue his business of selling shirts and they are being watched by the government. So they are sending Alegra to America, because it’s easier to get children out of the country first. They hope to follow soon.

And then we meet Alegra’s daughter, born in America, now 12 years old in 2003. And things come full circle when she travels on vacation to Spain with her mother and grandmother and they visit a museum in Toledo about the Sephardic Jews who were expelled in 1492.

Throughout the book, certain songs, foods, and customs link the girls together. I loved that the narrators sang the song that all the girls knew, about a girl in a tower in the sea. An interesting and lengthy historical note from the author came after the end of the book – it’s all based on her own family’s history. Even without such a family connection, it made me want to visit the museum in Toledo and think about the hundreds of years of history.

ruthbehar.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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