Category: Book Reviews

All the Lovely Bad Ones: A Ghost Story Graphic Novel

All the Lovely Bad Ones: A Ghost Story Graphic NovelAll the Lovely Bad Ones Graphic Novel: A Ghost Story Graphic Novel by Mary Downing Hahn, Naomi Franquiz, Joamette Gil, Brittany Peer, Scott Peterson
Published by Clarion Books on August 29, 2023
ISBN: 0358650143
Pages: 160
Genres: Horror, Supernatural
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
four-stars

Graphic Novel adaptation of Hahn’s horror story. When Travis and his sister Corey land themselves in a little too much trouble and are disinvited from their summer camp, their parents send them to Vermont to spend the summer with their grandmother. Their grandmother has recently purchased an old Inn but is worried that business is down. The Inn has a reputation as being haunted but tourists aren’t coming because there have been no alleged ghost sightings in years. Travis and Corey hatch a plan to fake ghost sightings to increase business. It works for awhile – business picks up and ghost hunters start visiting – but their grandmother is increasingly unhappy. When Travis and Corey’s antics wake up the real ghosts, things go from bad to worse. Travis and Corey learn the history of the Inn – it served as a poor house and was run by an evil brother and sister. The sister may be one of the ghosts they’ve awakened and her depiction by the artists is especially scary. This horror story is the perfect level of creepy and scary for upper elementary and middle grade readers.

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

four-stars

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your AssYaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass: The Graphic Novel by Meg Medina, Mel Valentine Vargas
Published by Candlewick Press on September 5, 2023
ISBN: 1536234737
Pages: 288
Genres: Mental Health, Realistic Fiction
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
five-stars
It’s hard enough to move away from your best friend and start a new high school, but Piddy Sanchez also has to deal with an invisible bully who allegedly hates her guts and would like to physically harm her. Piddy has no idea why; she doesn’t even know who Yaqui Delgado is. As the bullying inflicted by Delgado and her group escalates, Piddy withdraws emotionally which distresses her mother and others who love her.

This book is a graphic novel adaptation by Mel Valentine Vargas of Meg Medina’s 2013 novel and it belongs in every school library. Those who have been bullied or who have loved ones who have been bullied will recognize the despair and helplessness that it causes in teens and their families. It’s an honest look at the ripple effect of trauma that bullying causes and refuses to shy away from the frustration that can be felt when dealing with seemingly uncooperative school administrations. But it also highlights the support and love of family and friends; Piddy has some strong, consistent support even when she is unable to see it. Vargas’ illustrations are done in blue and grey tones which work well to carry the story’s emotions.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

five-stars

Give What You Can

Give What You CanAll Are Welcome: Give What You Can (Step into Reading) by Alexandra Penfold, Suzanne Kaufman
Series: All Are Welcome
Published by Random House on 09/05/2023
ISBN: 0593430077
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General
Format: Early Reader
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars
 

Give What You Can, part of the All Are Welcome series, is an early reader book with a great message for children.  The kids in the story work together to make their community better.  The bright, colorful illustrations are full of diverse characters with different ethnicities, religions and physical abilities.  This book is designed for children who recognize sight words and have basic decoding skills.  Some of the text repeats, which will also help the readers build their fluency skills.  This book is very inclusive and would be a great addition to an early reader collection.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library

four-stars

Every Day: The Graphic Novel

Every Day: The Graphic NovelEvery Day: The Graphic Novel by David Levithan, Dion MBD
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on May 2, 2023
ISBN: 0593428986
Pages: 208
Genres: Science Fiction
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
three-stars
The graphic novel adaptation of the popular novel by the author David Levithan is a solid read. A is a body jumper who gets one day inside each body that they inhabit. The graphic novel takes one page to explain A’s body jumping before having them take over Justin, in whose body they meet Rhiannon. Since this is the very heart of the story, it does feel quick so it seems that knowledge of the prose novel, published in 2012, would enhance the reading of the graphic version. Those unfamiliar with the original novel will still enjoy this book, but it will take longer to get into the rhythm of the plot. The book ends on a cliffhanger, so hopefully the rest of the novels are going to be adapted as well.

The pages are printed on paper with a grain on it; this, in conjunction with black backgrounds, makes some of the pages dark and the illustrations a little less clear. Since A jumps into so many bodies, the challenge for illustrator Dion MBD is to make every character distinctive enough that the reader can see that A is in a new body. This is mostly accomplished, but in some situations, contextual clues are needed to determine who/where A is.

The book deals with mature themes like self-harm, drinking, and sex. Give this to readers who can handle issues and who enjoy romances like Alice Oseman’s “Heartstopper” or Molly Ostertag’s Girl From the Sea.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School

three-stars

Silver Linings

Silver LiningsSilver Linings by Fiona Woodcock
Published by Greenwillow Books on February 28, 2023
ISBN: 0062995901
Pages: 32
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars
Pip and Parker are great friends who spend a lot of time together. Sometimes they spend time in companionable silence. Sometimes something goes wrong for one of them and they know what to do, which is to offer sympathy, a different perspective, a new activity, or a hug. The message in this picture book will resonate with kids who know that things can go wrong and that it’s nice to have an understanding friend by your side when they do. With a palette of teals and reds, the gentle artwork, created with hand-cut rubber stamps, stencils, acrylic paint, colored pencils, and oil pastels, highlights some of the small catastrophes and the silver linings that can come from the negative. Pip presents white and Parker is Black. A lovely story to use as a read aloud PreK-grade 2 classroom.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School

three-stars

This Is Not a Unicorn

This Is Not a UnicornThis is NOT a Unicorn! by Barry Timms, Ged Adamson
Published by Nosy Crow on Jun 6, 2023
Pages: 32
Genres: Humor
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars
This large picture book will grab readers from the start with its bright cover and promise of silliness. Using a lively authorial voice, Timms invites the reader to observe all of the ways that the creature in the book, who might *look* like a unicorn, is not. Ridiculous, but clever, rhymes are illustrated to perfection by Ged Adamson as the “not” unicorn demonstrates its other talents. Like the child in the book, listeners will be awed, entertained, and delighted by the surprising things the animal IS. Publisher Nosy Crow also offers a QR code on the back cover that can be scanned by a smartphone and provides a free audio reading of the book. Highly recommend for public library and pre-K and elementary school programs.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School

five-stars

Spy School: The Graphic Novel

Spy School: The Graphic NovelSpy School the Graphic Novel (Spy School Graphic Novels, #1) by Anjan Sarkar, Stuart Gibbs
on February 15, 2022
ISBN: 1534455434
Pages: 296
Genres: Adventure
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
three-stars
This graphic novel, adapted by author Stuart Gibbs, is a mostly faithful rendering that adds some fun and should pull in new readers to the series. The artwork by Anjan Sarkar infuses the story with fantastic visuals of all of the precarious and potentially lethal situations faced by Ben Ripley as he navigates his new school, the CIA’s Academy of Espionage. Scenes that might have been amusing in the prose novel become laugh-out-loud funny in the GN: Ben tasering a key pad or wearing a unicorn robe after fending off a ninja assassin. Some of the plot points are revealed a little sooner in the GN than in the prose novel, and there are some plot points that are changed. All major characters are included. The panels on each page are clear and characters are discernible. Fans of the series will enjoy this graphic novel version and it might get new readers hooked on the entire series (there are 10 prose novels).

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School

three-stars

Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans

Adia Kelbara and the Circle of ShamansAdia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans (Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, 1) by Isi Hendrix
Published by Balzer + Bray on 09/23
ISBN: 0063266334
Genres: Cultural / African American, Fantasy
Format: Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars
Twelve-year-old orphan Adia leads a lonely life in the Swamplands, despised by the aunt and uncle who raised her because they believe she is a demon. Adia applies for an apprenticeship for her Year of Practicality far from home, in the kitchens of the realm’s magic school, hoping someone there will help remove her curse. But when she arrives, she realizes that none of the students have real magic; they are just the wealthy offspring of the ruling class. Worse still, the emperor himself is possessed by the worst demon of them all – a demon who it was said had been vanquished centuries before but is now on the brink of regaining enough strength to once again rule. Slowly Adia begins to realize it is up to her to save the realm, along with the friends she has met along the way: a flippant goddess, a girl warrior lost to time, and a sometimes-suspicious boy warrior in training.

Adia is a fun adventure that balances tension, humor, magic and excitement alongside a subtle dose of social commentary. There is a strong theme of empowerment and liberation, as Adia takes her fate into her own hands despite the odds, and self-belief provides the final ingredient in her making positive change in her world.

This is the first book in a Afrofantasy trilogy, and will be easy to recommend to middle grade readers who have enjoyed other fantasy series’.

Reviewed by: Jenny Martinez Nocito, Maine State Library, Augusta

five-stars

Alma Head to Toe = Alma de pies a cabeza

Alma Head to Toe = Alma de pies a cabezaAlma, Head to Toe/Alma, de pies a cabeza (Alma's Words/Las palabras de Alma) by Juana Martinez-Neal
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on 9/5/23
ISBN: 9781536228878
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Board Book
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars
Alma Head to Toe=  Alma de pies a cabeza is a bilingual board book based on the picture book character from Alma and How She Got Her Name.   This book introduces children to basic body part vocabulary in English and Spanish. It starts off with a whole body diagram of Alma and the following pages are illustrations of close ups of Alma using specific body parts.  The text is easy to follow as the English in black text and the Spanish in light red.  The illustrations are large and simple and match the text perfectly.  This board book would be a great addition to any public library.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library

five-stars

Hoops

HoopsHoops: A Graphic Novel by Matt Tavares
Published by Candlewick Press on March 14, 2023
ISBN: 1536231959
Pages: 224
Genres: Historical Fiction
Format: Graphic Novel
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars
Inspired by a true story, this graphic novel dramatizes the historic struggle for gender equality in high school sports. A resourceful art teacher moonlights as the girls’ basketball coach and takes this high school girls basketball team to the 1976 Indiana state championships. They have to practice at the elementary school and the girls put their numbers on white t shirts with electrical tape. They play to empty bleachers. Both the art and the plot are spare but highly effective. The depiction of the challenges the girls faced was perfect as was the artist’s use of skin tone and hair texture to suggest racial diversity. This book will appeal to upper elementary and middle school students, especially girls but boys should be encouraged to read it, too.

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars