Category: Book Reviews

First Year Orientation

First Year OrientationFirst-Year Orientation by Adi Alsaid, Aminah Mae Safi, Anna Birch, Bryan Bliss, Dana L. Davis, Eric Smith, Farah Naz Rishi, Gloria Chao, Jennifer Chen, Kathleen Glasgow, Kristina Forest, Lance Rubin, Lauren Gibaldi, Olivia A. Cole, Phil Stamper, Sam Maggs
Published by Candlewick Press on April 4, 2023
ISBN: 1536224499
Pages: 336
Genres: Short Stories
Format: Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Sixteen college first-years arrive on campus and experience that first tremulous day. Each chapter is a short story told by a different author, so voice, style and even genre vary widely – but woven throughout are shared experiences that link them together; a scavenger hunt, frat party, concert on the quad, and the like. Characters and events from one chapter are frequently referred to, ususally in passing, in others. This serves to tie the reading experience together even while each piece offers something unique and different, from realistic fiction to magical realism. The undeniable theme throughout is that the first day at college can be scary for everyone, but in the end, each student will find their place.

A nice addition to shelves, especially if your library has a lot of older college-prepping teens who might enjoy that “first day” experience through literature before real life.

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

four-stars

One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth

One World: 24 Hours on Planet EarthOne World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth by Nicola Davies, Jenni Desmond
Published by Candlewick Press on March 14, 2023
Pages: 40
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

An ideal book to put on display for Earth Day, this gorgeous over-sized picture book uses the device of children traveling around the world to see what is happening at the exact same moment. At one minute to midnight on April 21 (the minute before it changes to April 22, the day that Earth Day is celebrated), two sisters from London, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) 11:59PM, witness that same minute across the globe. Focusing on natural scenes like turtles in India and pollinators in California, Davies’ clear prose highlights the flora and fauna at each location. Jenni Desmond’s beautiful, mixed-media illustrations fill each page and readers will delight in finding the sisters as they interact with the scene. Notes at the end of the book offer further insight into the book’s concept and defines climate change as well as suggesting actions readers can take to help preserve all of the wondrous sites and vulnerable plants and animals mentioned in the text. A well-crafted, thoughtful, and beautiful book.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School

five-stars

There’s No Way I’d Die First

There’s No Way I’d Die FirstThere's No Way I'd Die First by Lisa Springer
Published by Delacorte Press on September 5, 2023
ISBN: 0593643178
Genres: Horror
Format: Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

When Noelle is ready to debut her horror movie podcast, she shrewdly invites her school’s biggest influencers to her exclusive Halloween bash. The house is all decked out for the occasion, as are her guests, but when the hired clown shows up things get truly terrifying. As the teens start getting murdered, Noelle has to figure out who this clown is, and why he is after them. Luckily, she has an extensive repertoire of horror movie knowledge, and she is determined to be the Final Girl.

Final Girls are having a moment (as they should), and this book will be a hit with horror lovers, specifically lovers of slashers. It’s a tense, gory, cautionary tale about oversharing online. It’s so quickly paced it’s easy to ignore less interesting subplots and plausibility issues. Suggest to fans of the Terrifier and Scream movies, or Clown in a Corn Field, or any horror fans who can tolerate a high level of violence.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

four-stars

My Father, The Panda Killer

My Father, The Panda KillerMy Father, The Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang
ISBN: 0593642961
Genres: Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

“My Father, the Panda Killer” by Jamie Jo Hoang is a young adult historical fiction novel about a daughter’s relationship with her abusive Vietnamese father. Jane is leaving for college and is having trouble telling her younger brother that she’ll be leaving. The story switches from Jane’s life in 1999 to her retelling of her father’s story in 1975 of trying to escape the Vietnam war. The book is unflinching in its depiction of violence, both during the war and from Phuc, Jane’s father in the present day. Themes of generational trauma and abuse are clear. Hoang does a great job of making the characters seem like real people, flaws and all. We may not like all the characters, but we learn their backgrounds and see where they are coming from.

The author includes a note at the beginning of the book in all caps that “THIS BOOK IS NOT A HISTORY LESSON,” which I appreciate because too often readers will assume that historical fiction is specifically to teach about history, but this story is not meant to teach us about that historical event. It is its own fictional story. Readers may find the abuse and violence very hard to get through, but it is a key part of this novel. Recommended for ages 15 and up, this is a recommended purchase for YA collections.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, ME.

four-stars

Shannon in the Spotlight

Shannon in the SpotlightShannon in the Spotlight by Kalena Miller
Published by Delacorte Press on April 25, 2023
ISBN: 0593486056
Pages: 272
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

Shannon and her friends love participating in their community theater’s summer musical each year. Shannon and her friend Fatima work behind the scenes, while their friend Elise prefers to be up on stage in front of the audience. Shannon, suffering from severe OCD, sticks to her routines and tries not to draw attention to herself. However a chance encounter at auditions lands her one of the starring roles – unfortunately the role her bff Elise wanted. As rehearsals get underway, Elise distances herself from the friendship, Fatima becomes increasingly busy in the tech side of the play, and even her mom has misgivings about her ability to perform and doesn’t seem supportive. Just when things couldn’t get more stressful, a fire forces her cantankerous grandmother to move in with Shannon and her mother – and it is not an ideal living situation due to the stress and fighting between her mom and grandma, and her grandmother’s refusal to accept Shannon’s mental health issues. But Shannon relishes being on stage, and with the help of her new friend (crush) Micah, a fellow actor, she finds her place in the spotlight. This is a great middle grade read highlighting coping with mental illness, navigating rocky friendships and family situations, and overcoming your fears to let yourself shine. A solid pick for a middle grade collection.

Recommended for grades 4-7

Lee Remick, York Middle School, York

three-stars

A Snow Day For Plum

A Snow Day For PlumA Snow Day for Plum! by Matt Phelan
ISBN: 0063079208
Goodreads

Sequel to Leave It To Plum! This book finds six animals from the Athensville Zoo in a van on the way to a school visit in the middle of a snow storm. Plum the peacock is nervous about the visit, but when they arrive, they find that the children have been sent home for the day. Plum is relieved but his anxiety returns when he learns that due to severity of the weather, the animals will spend the night in the gym while zookeeper Lizzy stays at a nearby inn. When classroom pet mice show up to open the cages and set the zoo animals free to roam the school, the gang splits up to explore.  Talents are discovered, fears are confronted, an exiled class pet is reunited with his teacher, and the myrna bird speaks up for the first time to enact a rescue of animals in trouble.

With short chapters, copious pen-and-ink illustrations, and lots of action from the wandering crew of animal characters, this series will appeal to early chapter book readers. More titles in the series would be welcome.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School

Ready, Set, Run! The Amazing New York City Marathon

Ready, Set, Run! The Amazing New York City MarathonReady, Set, Run!: The Amazing New York City Marathon by Jessie Hartland, Leslie Kimmelman
ISBN: 0593433653
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

“Ready, Set, Run! The Amazing New York City Marathon” by Leslie Kimmelman and Jessie Hartland is a non-fiction picture book that gives a fun and brightly colored introduction to the NYC Marathon. Running the NYC Marathon is a big deal, as the book points out. The book gives fun facts (did you know that since 1979, a high school band at mile 9 plays the Rocky theme song repeatedly until all the runners have passed by!) and brings readers along the marathon route. Funny and interesting, this book is geared towards kids ages 4 to 8. A good additional purchase for libraries with large picture book non-fiction sections and definitely for collections near NYC.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, ME.

three-stars

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of EverythingBianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans
Published by Clarion on April 11, 2023
ISBN: 0358721644
Genres: Mystery
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Fans of the hit show “Only Murders in the Building” will love Justine Winans’ “Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything.” Borderline agoraphobic, sixteen year old Bianca Torre has two hobbies: birding and spying on her neighbors through the telescope in her bedroom. When she witnesses the actual murder of one of her reclusive neighbors, she enlists the help of her one friend, Anderson to solve the crime. Overcoming her many fears, as well as grappling with her burgeoning gender identity crisis, Bianca works with Anderson, and eventually her new crush Elaine, to solve the murder. What they uncover with their sleuthing is far bigger than they imagined.  This mystery thriller is darkly funny, with lots of focus on friendship, overcoming fears, and self exploration. A great pick for any YA shelf.

Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Lee Remick, York Middle School, York

five-stars

Be Happy: A Little Book of Mindfulness

Be Happy: A Little Book of MindfulnessBe Happy: A Little Book of Mindfulness by Maddy Bard, Emma Dodd
Published by Templar Books on March 7, 2023
ISBN: 1536229768
Pages: 24
Genres: Animals, Mental Health
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

This book is a simple explanation of the concepts of mindfulness paired with Emma Dodd’s signature adorable animals, here two dogs named Hucky and Buzz. Some of the topics are better articulated than others. “Be Thankful” explains that Hucky and Buzz appreciate the little things and ask that you “look at the beautiful world around you.” This is not very specific. The Talk to Someone and Keep Busy are clearer. The book would be a nice introduction to mindfulness for a family with very young children or an elementary classroom.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School

three-stars

Endangered Animals

Endangered AnimalsMy First Pop-Up Endangered Animals by Owen Davey
Published by Candlewick Press on March 21, 2023
ISBN: 1536228443
Pages: 32
Genres: Animals
Format: Board Book
Goodreads
four-stars

This is more of a 3.5 star book. The subject is important, informing readers about animals that are in danger of disappearing from our world, but the pages work best when open only 3/4 of the way; when fully open, they don’t pop that much nor do they close that easily. And though no fault of its own, a pop-up book has only limited circulation in a public library.

Each double-page spread features one animal, and while there are some very familiar animals like the tiger and the gorilla, there are also some lesser known animals like the okapi and the kakapo. The area of the world in which each animal is found is printed in the top left corner while the name of the animal along with one interesting fact is printed in the bottom right-hand corner. The overall design of the book is very clean and the color palette is appealing and stylish. This is an attractive book but will only have limited circulation due to construction and binding.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School

four-stars