Format: Chapter Book Fiction

I’ll Be the One

I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on June 16, 2020
ISBN: 0062936921
Pages: 328
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Recommending for Young Adult cream consideration.   In a fresh, first person voice of an aspiring K-pop singer and dancer, Korean- American Skye Haneul rocks the auditions for the latest K-pop competition in Los Angeles.  From an early age in ballet class up to these auditions, she has had a grueling, abusive, daily reminder from her mother that “fat girls can’t dance” and other body shaming behaviors.  Skye’s passion and talent for K-pop fuels her confidence and enables her to shake off the various microaggressions and speak up when they come from the judges of the competition.   Along the way, Skye snags the eye of the fetching young Korean celebrity Henry Cho and their new relationship goes viral.  They are both bisexual, some secondary characters are queer, and the majority of characters are Korean or Korean-American.  A fun romance that will have readers searching to see if there is a real K-pop competition to watch.   The copy reviewed was a library copy.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services, Springvale Public Library

five-stars

Houndsley and Catina at the Library

Houndsley and Catina at the Library by James Howe, Marie-Louise Gay
Published by Candlewick Press ISBN: 0763696625
Genres: Animals, Humor
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

In an ode to libraries and talented librarians, Howe provides a three chapter easy reader for grades 1-3 in his Houndsley and Catina series.  Regular Saturday mornings find the two friends, and Bert the stork, going to the library. Houndsley is a reading tutor, Catina attends the yoga class and Bert helps Trixie the librarian by shelving books.  This Saturday is unusual because Trixie the librarian didn’t seem like herself.  As the friends leave the library they see that Trixie is retiring and the library will be closing.  The friends go see Trixie at home and find out that she is not sad but excited to start a new career by going to circus school.  As the friends all prepare for Trixie’s goodbye party, Bert has the perfect present for her.  He offers to take over as librarian so the library can remain open.  From a librarian’s perspective, leaving to join the circus was hilarious.  Howe also plants the idea that librarian’s go to school, too.  Gay’s colorful illustrations provide many details for the setting and the interactions.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services, Springvale Public Library

four-stars

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim
on March 17, 2020
ISBN: 0525554971
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Yumi Chung just wants to be a stand-up comedian like her hero Jasmine Jasper. Her parents just want her to excel in school and enroll her at the hagwon (a Korean academy) to help her prep for a scholarship test so she can continue to attend a prestigious private school. On her way to the library to study, Yumi stumbles across a new comedy club and ends up attending comedy summer camp with her hero Jasper. The problem is that they think Yumi is someone else. While Yumi’s parent struggle to keep their restaurant afloat, Yumi must find the courage to stand up for herself and to come clean on who she really is.

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

five-stars

The Survivor: A Pioneer Novel

The Survivor: A Pioneer NovelThe Survivor (The Pioneer #2) by Bridget Tyler
Published by HarperTeen on March 10, 2020
ISBN: 0062658093
Pages: 432
Genres: Science Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

In this sequel to Pioneer, Earth no longer exists and the few remaining survivors need to come to grip with their new home, Tau and the native occupants who reside there. The initial encounter with the natives did not go as well as expected when Jo and other scientist arrived. Jo almost didn’t survive  and now, she and her companions, need to make this work, but elder members of the survivors, her grandfather included, have different plans.

Recommended for grades 7 and up. A good continuation from the first in the series and would be enjoyed by sci-fi fans alike.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford.

four-stars

The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea

The Mermaid, The Witch and The SeaThe Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
on May 5, 2020
ISBN: 1536204315
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Set in a fantasy world that has been taken over by Imperialism, with the only territory that remains free of Imperialistic control, is the sea. Main characters, Flora aka Florian, a pirate prodigy, and Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, a noblewoman on her way to an arranged marriage, meet aboard the ship The Dove, a pirate ship that lures unsuspecting passengers aboard, but in all actuality is a slave ship with a valuable cargo — the passengers! But Flora and Evelyn escape, defying the Imperial forces and find themselves in a swashbuckling adventure filled  with mermaids, witches, sea gods and the love they find for themselves.

Recommended for grade 9 and up.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford.

The Upside of Falling

The Upside of FallingThe Upside of Falling by Alex Light
Published by HarperTeen on February 18, 2020
ISBN: 0062918052
Pages: 288
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Becca is disillusioned with love, her parents divorce didn’t help her cause. So she delves into romance novels and their happy endings, because in real life, love never ends well. Until one day, when she finds herself in a “fake relationship” with her high school’s golden boy, Brett. What leads from here, is a fake relationship that realizes that love does end well and that friendships return and blossom when love is real and sincere.

Fans of Sarah Dessen and Deb Colasanti will enjoy this light hearted read. Recommended for grades 9 and up.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford.

five-stars

Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee

Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite MatineeRayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner
on February 26, 2019
ISBN: 1524720232
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Josie & Delilah have their own late night horror show on their local cable TV network, which shows “hokey” horror movies that were left behind when Delilah’s father left. The girls  have amassed a following with the show being syndicated in a few other cities. Josie has always wanted to go into TV production and Delilah wants to know why her father left. Delilah manages to get them an interview with another famous late night horror show host, but they have to go to ShiverCon in Florida to meet him. Josie hope this gets her the foot-in-the-door that she needs and Delilah hopes to see her father that abandoned her years ago. Love interest evolve along with the two girls’ friendship, while both try to find out what the future will bring and the compromises that will come with it.

A great read, with quite a bit of witticism and sarcasm between friends that will keep the readers going. Recommended for grades 9 and up.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford.

five-stars

How to Live on the Edge

How to Live on the EdgeHow to Live on the Edge by Sarah Lynn Scheerger
on August 4, 2020
ISBN: 1541578899
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Teens Cayenne and Saffron lost their mother as toddlers to what seems like a family curse that doesn’t allow women to live past the age of 37.  Knowing this has taken the sisters down two different paths.  Saffron is all about safety and order and being educated on the options.  Cayenne is all about taking risks and testing death by jumping off cliffs and dodging trains.  Their aunt, having tested positive for the BRCA breast cancer gene, decides to get a preventative mastectomy, which brings the subject to the forefront for the girls.  They also discover a journal and videos from their dead mother which brings even more perspective to their lives.  The essential question here is how to live with so much uncertainty and dread.  The author splits the narrative between the normal issues for teens (friends, boys, etc.) and specific information regarding the potential for breast cancer and the issues surrounding that.  Focusing more on one or the other would attract more readers. Most likely of interest mostly to those with some knowledge or experience with breast cancer. Back matter does include a list of resources.  Best for ages 14+.

Reviewed by  Kara Reiman, Maine State Library

three-stars

A Long Road on a Short Day

A Long Road on a Short DayA Long Road on a Short Day by Elizabeth Stickney, Eugene Yelchin, Gary D. Schmidt
Published by Clarion Books on November 10, 2020
ISBN: 0544888367
Pages: 64
Genres: Adventure, Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

After Mama’s expresses the need for a milk cow for their baby, Papa takes Samuel on a trading expedition. Starting with his hunting knife, they visitsone person after another, making trade after trade until he secures a milk cow. Papa treats Samuel as a partner, discussing various decisions they need to make along the way.

The phrase “Long road on a short day” is repeated by Papa and Samuel as they trod through the thickening snow and impending winter darkness.  At just 59 pages of widely-spaced lines, this is a great read aloud for elementary students to discuss and an independent read for transitional readers. Occasional full-color illustrations add to the mood and tone.

Trading up emphasizes the importance of starting small if you’re thinking big, and how different people assign different values to various objects. 

Reviewed by Lynn Mayer, Retired Librarian, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town

five-stars

Be Not Far from Me

Be Not Far from MeBe Not Far from Me by Mindy McGinnis
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on March 3, 2020
ISBN: 0062561626
Pages: 240
Genres: Adventure, Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Living near the Smoky Mountains has created a love of the forest for 17-year-old Ashley.  She’s even taken survival training, which gets tested when she becomes lost, injured, and disoriented in the woods.  She’s attending a camping party with her friends one night when she finds her boyfriend cheating on her with his ex.  Ashley takes off running in the dark and ends up falling down a ravine and crushes her foot beneath a rock.  Completely disoriented and majorly hurt, Ashley begins trekking through the forest, at first in hopes of finding her friends, but then in hopes of finding any sign of humanity.  Trusting her survival skills, including plant identification and direction finding, she works her way through the dense forest, reevaluating her life along the way.  This is a harrowing and dark tale, but ultimately hopeful as Ashley proves what you can accomplish if you never give up.  This is a page-turner and a must read for fans of Hatchet and Lost on a Mountain in Maine.  Recommended for ages 14+.

Reviewed by Kara Reiman, Maine State Library

five-stars