Claire and the Cathedral
Author/ Illustrator: Pam Fong
This is a wordless grayscale picture book, with pops of rainbow colors, for ages 4-8 about a young girl named Claire. When her mother takes her to a cathedral on a rainy day, she is initially quite bored. Then a brief ray of light shines through a stained-glass window and brings color and wonder back into Claire’s gray world. Soon she realizes there are rainbows all around her, if she looks closely.
But I'm a Pumpkin!: A Summerween Story by Heidi Moreno, Kat Choppy 
Author: Kat Choppy
Illustrator: Heidi Moreno
This picture book for ages 3-7 is about a little girl who can’t wait for Halloween. She plants a pumpkin patch and eagerly monitors the growth of her plants. The growing pumpkins can’t wait for Halloween either; they look forward to being turned into jack-o-lanterns. However, the girl finds a pumpkin with green stripes that just isn’t turning orange. She tries everything, from giving it extra water to thinking the halloweeniest thoughts, but it stays green. At first, the little girl is devastated to learn that her favorite pumpkin isn’t a pumpkin at all! But, she still carves it into a jack-o-lantern and creates a new Summerween tradition.
This reviewer’s favorite illustration is at the end of the book and depicts the old wilted, smelly ant-filled watermelon on the porch with the freshly- made pumpkin jack-o-lanterns. This book will inspire readers to create their own watermelon jack-o-lanterns.
5 stars
Reviewed by: Lindsey Hopkins, Jay-Niles Memorial Library, Jay
Listen to the Girls by Chrystal D. Giles 
Chrystal Giles’ new book Listen to the Girls is a middle grade chapter book about a student, Calla, who is finishing her 7th grade year. She finds out that her favorite teacher has been accused of inappropriate behavior with students at his previous school and begins to think critically about what it means to tell the truth.
When reading this book I found Calla and her friends to be realistic portrayals of middle school students. They wrestle with a complex issue while also supporting each other and other girls in their community. This book would be popular with students who enjoy realistic fiction and positive stories of girls supporting other girls. All of the characters in this story are dynamic and interesting, even the adults. This would be a fantastic and timely addition to any middle grade library.
Reviewed by Rebecca Duquette, MSAD 11.
Life on the Moon by Matthew Swanson, Robbi Behr Leo Brightstar is a twelve-year-old boy who joins his dad stepmother, Sally, to live on the first colony on the moon. Shortly after arrival, Leo’s dad and Sally disappear and Leo breaks all sorts of rules to find them, including stealing a talking rover. While searching, Leo discovers that the Moon is full of life, even though he was told several times there is no life on the Moon. Leo starts to question the truth of everything he has been told since his arrival, especially after becoming friends with some Valrootens, and then watching the Hortle eat his rival, Bobby. Leo does find his dad and Sally, and discovers they, too, had been eaten by the Hortle. He saves them but then needs to find a creative way to prevent them from getting in trouble with the Constable, who happens to be Bobby’s dad and the leader of the group trying to suppress the truth about life on the Moon. Bobby is also rescued and has been changed by his experience and becomes Leo’s ally. They both love the Moon and its creatures and will do anything to save them. Previous colonies have failed and life on the Moon is threatened, but Leo and Bobby are determined to do their best to save them. Their plan is risky, but they are motivated, so Bobby returns to Earth to tell the people about the Valrootens and Leo is intentionally eaten by the Hortle, who is not the evil villain he was portrayed to be.
On the surface this book seems like a fun science fiction book, which it is. It is full of adventure and imagination and plenty of action to keep readers hooked. There are black and white illustrations throughout the text, and some pages are written with white text on a black background, reflecting the dark atmosphere of the moon and the caves that the characters find themselves in. This book, however, is also much more. Leo asks tough questions about life and friendship, tackling important issues like belonging and purpose, not only regarding himself, but also for his mother who is struggling on Earth. More importantly, he learns what it means to be human and wants to share what he has learned with others, so they too, might become better versions of themselves. Middle grade readers who like to think deeply about big questions will enjoy exploring what Leo has learned. Readers will be left with a lot to thing about after reading this book. This is a great addition to public and school libraries serving 4th-7th graders.
Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library
A Comic Book History of the Big Bang and Beyond by Anna Claybourne, Rikus Ferreira The Earth was born 4.5 billion years ago and this book allows us to follow along until the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Formatted in comic book, graphic nonfiction styling with funny yet on point speech bubbles throughout, this book is highly accessible and easy to read. The quick bits of informational text and highly-detailed, colorful illustrations enable kids, and adults, in the evolution of Earth including how our solar system formed including the sun and moon, the beginning of lifeforms on Earth and the dinosaurs.
Backmatter includes a comprehensive glossary and an index.
Ages 8-12
Reviewed by MaryAnn Lopes, Elementary Librarian. Lewiston Public Schools, Lewiston, Maine.
Lulu Didn't Want a Dog by Laurel Molk Like oil and water cats and dogs are things that often don't mix well. Lulu is a cat who likes things a certain way and likes her time alone to enjoy them. When the news comes her family will be welcoming a rescue dog, Gus, into the family she is highly apprehensive and downright displeased.
Gus arrives loud and boisterous, disturbing Lulu’s much prized peace and quiet. Lulu spends her day trying to get away from Gus to be able to have her time alone. When she finds a place where she can be all alone she also finds herself in trouble and it is Gus to the rescue.
This story is a wonderful look at how to overcome as well as celebrate differences.Ages 4-8
Reviewed by MaryAnn Lopes, Elementary Librarian. Lewiston Public Schools, Lewiston, Maine.
The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst Sixteen-year-old Calisa’s perfect NYC summer plans are derailed when she catches her boyfriend cheating. To escape the city, her moms send her off to help Mom Kate’s Auntie Zee, who owns a bed and breakfast in the deep woods of Vermont. They haven’t visited Auntie Zee in years but Calisa has fuzzy childhood memories, and pictures her destination as the perfect place to recover from heartache.
However, when she arrives, she finds not the cozy B&B she was expecting, but a run-down inn in the middle of the forest. Her aunt is cantankerous and eccentric, and makes it clear that Calisa is not welcome. The single employee is a (very cute) teenager named Jack, and the few guests are…different. Despite the lack of warm welcome, Calisa is determined to stay. The last thing she wants to do is return to the city and watch her ex flirting with his new girlfriend.
In a bid to prove her worth to Auntie Zee, Calisa throws herself into long-overdue cleaning projects, bakes cakes to reinstate a defunct teatime tradition, and generally makes herself indispensable. Auntie Zee grudgingly gives her three days, but lays down the rules: No opening doors, and no asking questions.
Calisa agrees, but then opens the bathroom closet looking for cleaning supplies (oops!) and a very large winged “lizard” tumbles out. Jack is evasive about answering her questions. Guests act in inexplicable ways and arrive in the most unexpected manner. Then Auntie Zee disappears, and the truth of the magical nature of the inn finally becomes clear to Calisa. It’s equally apparent that only she has the power to find her aunt and save the inn.
A super fun story with one foot in the real world and one foot in the enchanted. Calisa is a relatable heroine with a character arc that brings her from standard-issue Brooklyn-dwelling teenager to one that discovers she is the youngest in a line of witches, and readers will enjoy both the magical world-building and the slow burn romance developing between her and Jack. Diversity is present in secondary but important characters; Calisa has two moms, and the various inn guests are magical creatures, generally human-adjacent in appearance, who visit via portals to different worlds; one couple is coded as gay. All stay at the inn as it is understood to be a safe, protected space from the larger world.
Aesthetically, the book cover is an eye-catcher with gorgeous sprayed edges. This is a great purchase for a YA collection, especially for anyone curating shelves aimed at younger YA, where readers enjoy fantasy and magical adventure with a romantic sub-plot.
5 stars
– Jenny Martinez, Maine State Library
We're a Bad Idea, Right? by K.L. Walther In the opening to her acknowledgements, Walther writes: “Every time I read this book, I laugh. Not because it’s funny (it is), but because it’s fun. These characters and their shenanigans are so much fun!” …and that’s a great way to describe this realistic (sort of) but always effervescent novel.
It’s the summer after senior year, and Audrey has been accepted into a great college program, but she’s also been accepted into a prestigious glass blowing fellowship that she has her heart set on. Her parents, however, have refused the tuition for the one-year fellowship, insisting she enroll in college right away. When they leave for the summer, her best friend has an idea: renting out the small guest apartment above the carriage house on her parent’s estate as a high-end vacation rental to earn the money for tuition.
Audrey and a small group of friends work together to pull off the scheme without her parents finding out, renting to a steady stream of odd and often demanding guests. Hijinks ensue – one couple accidentally gifts Audrey pot brownies, another appear to have checked out and taken some family heirlooms with them. As her parents’ return date looms and she still hasn’t earned all the money she needs to, Audrey takes the ultimate gamble: renting out her family’s mansion to a group of friends attending their 10-year college reunion and requesting to use her home for an after-hours party – the night before her parents are due to arrive home.
While all this is going on, Audrey has also agreed to help her best friend, Henry, win back his former girlfriend by embarking on a fake dating scheme. This storyline sticks a little more to the friends-to-fake-dating-to-lovers trope, but despite the lack of surprises rounds out this entirely fun read in a satisfying way.
There is not a lot of diversity in this story about teenagers set in a wealthy suburb of New York City, but most of them hold summer jobs at a local catering outfit; Henry is half Asian and lives with his mother and stepmother.
A thoroughly enjoyable summer read, attractively packaged, that will be popular in YA sections of libraries.
5 stars
-Jenny Martinez, Maine State Library
Forbidden Mountain (Guardians #1) by Brandon Mull
Forbidden Mountain is the first in the new Guardians series by Brandon Mull. Anoran children are matched with a spiritual guardian when they turn 14 years old. Mako hopes to become a great warrior like his father. When he matches with an Accursed, a guardian of destruction, he hopes to wield his new powers for good. Across the kingdom, Arden has a mysterious gift of knowing when someone is telling the truth. She hopes to use her gift to find her friend Kiko, who disappeared after joining a gang. When she double-crosses the boss, Arden and her family must run for their lives. Eventually, Mako and Arden’s paths cross when they both join Anoran Warmaster Rojan’s crew. Are Mako and Arden ready for epic adventures, battles, and conspiracies?
This book sets the stage for future books in this series. The pacing is slow with occasional action and predictable characters and plot lines. Students interested in epic world-building sagas may enjoy this one, but it is not necessarily written for your average middle/high school reader.
Reviewed by Jaime Beal, RSU 40, Waldoboro
Sprout by Taylor Tyng Middle schooler Sprout has ‘plantlers’, which is how she describes the woody growths protruding from her head that burst into bloom when she can’t control her emotions, so being out in the public eye seems out of the question. She generally keeps to herself, though she longs to go to public school and be able to be outside without a hat. After meeting a new friend named E.B. at her therapist’s office, the two set out to discover why Sprout is the way she is, and whether their New England town might be responsible for it. This would be tricky enough, but Sprout has a few run-ins with a creepy man who seems to know a lot about her, and soon she and E.B. are simultaneously working to solve their mystery and fleeing from a sinister trio of men who want to capture her.
There is a lot going on and the story is a bit frantic, but middle grade fantasy fans who might be a little young for Stranger Things or Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth will enjoy the magical realism of Sprout’s world. While it’s frightening that Sprout is being pursued, the book is ultimately an exploration of loving self-acceptance.
Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath