Format: Chapter Book Fiction

My Box-shaped Heart

My Box-shaped HeartMy Box-Shaped Heart by Rachael Lucas
Published by Feiwel & Friends on August 20th 2019
ISBN: 125013000X
Pages: 224
Goodreads
three-stars

Holly and Ed have a chance meeting at the pool and are instantly drawn together.  What they don’t know is that they are both struggling with trauma in their lives.  Holly’s mom is a hoarder and recently injured herself, so Holly is playing the parent role while taking care of her.  Ed’s secretive about his past, but he and his mom are in hiding from his abusive father. They both go to the pool to escape, and in the end, find each other.  This story is just okay. It doesn’t showcase the reality of the hoarding issue at all. In the end, someone comes to clean up the house and her mother just miraculously allows it and is okay.  Teens wanting to read stories that feature trauma and recovery from trauma would be better served reading one of Laurie Halse Anderson’s books. For ages 13 and up.

Reviewed by Kara Reiman, Maine State Library

three-stars

The Friendship War

The Friendship WarThe Friendship War by Andrew Clements
Published by Yearling Books on January 8th 2019
ISBN: 0399557628
Pages: 208
Goodreads
three-stars

Fads come and go, but what happens when all the hype challenges a long time friendship? Grace accidentally starts a fad of collecting and trading buttons that takes over her entire school, most of her life, and eventually reaches a breaking point with a long time friend, Ellie. Grace is a quirky, science-minded, borderline OCD with some hoarding tendencies kid who will resonate with many young readers, and students everywhere will connect with school fads and the difficulties of friendship dynamics. This is a fun, lighthearted read for 3-5 graders. Clements does not disappoint, per usual.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

three-stars

Briar and Rose and Jack

Briar and Rose and JackBriar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville
Published by Clarion Books on June 11th 2019
ISBN: 1328950050
Pages: 368
Goodreads
one-star

Briar and Rose are twins — Rose is beautiful, Briar is not, and their parents decide to raise them as friends so Rose, the second born, may be heir to the throne. Together, and with other friends, they form a group with plans to slay the local giant who demands unrealistic amounts of food, riches, and livestock from the entire village. This book is a retelling of several stories — Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, and likely more. It isn’t well done. The beginning is dreadfully slow, the entire book is too wordy, and the vocabulary is beyond the intended audience. The latter could potentially be viewed as a benefit for challenging young readers to expand their vocabulary. This book is a second purchase where this genre is especially popular with middle grade readers.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

one-star

American Royals

American RoyalsAmerican Royals (American Royals, #1) by Katharine McGee
Published by Random House LCC US on September 3rd 2019
ISBN: 0593123913
Pages: 438
Goodreads
three-stars

In McGee’s reimagining of American History where George Washington becomes America’s first king rather than its first president, Washington descendant, Beatrice Washington, is in line to become America’s first female monarch. Set in an America remarkably similar to our own present-day, Beatrice has always handled the weight of this responsibility well until her parents suggest it is time for her to marry. Along with her twin siblings Samantha (who feels very familiar to Britain’s Princess Margaret) and Jeffrey, Beatrice begins to challenge the strict protocols and expectations that come with being a “royal.” What comes next is forbidden love, betrayal, and ball gowns. This is a great read-alike for readers finished with Kiera Cass’s The Selection or Crazy Rich Asians and, of course, there is an obvious connection for viewers of the Netflix series, “The Crown.”  There is a planned sequel to this book which readers will be anxious to get their hands on. For grades 9 and up. 

Elizabeth Andersen, Librarian, Westbrook High School

three-stars

The Survival List

The Survival ListThe Survival List by Courtney Sheinmel
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on September 17th 2019
ISBN: 0062655000
Pages: 320
Goodreads
five-stars

The Survival List

 

Sloane is still alive, but her sister Talley is dead by suicide.  The guilt Sloane feels is almost unbearable, since on Talley’s last day of life she had begged Sloane to stay home from school with her, but Sloane had left because she had a test and orchestra practice and her best friend’s boyfriend had just broken up with her.  Talley had been depressed at home for weeks, not leaving her bed or showering.  But neither Sloane nor her father had realized how bad things had become.  After Talley’s death Sloane finds a note in Talley’s jeans pocket with a seemingly unrelated list of words.  Sloane knew how Talley had loved puzzles so she begins to follow the clues, traveling to California from Minnesota, reconnecting with an aunt she hadn’t seen in years, meeting Adam who joined in her search on a trip to the Big Sur area, and finally finding out the truth of her mother’s death, also by suicide.

This book gives a realistic picture of depression and the guilt of those relatives and friends who are left behind after a suicide.  The descriptions of California were awesome, and the closeness of Sloane and her best friend Juno was great to see. This book was hard to put down as Sloane discovers how the pieces of the puzzle fit together in Talley’s last gift to her.  This book is recommended for grades 9-12 and for the Cream of the Crop list.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

five-stars

The Confusion of Laurel Graham

The Confusion of Laurel GrahamThe Confusion of Laurel Graham by Adrienne Kisner
on June 4th 2019
ISBN: 1250146038
Pages: 288
Goodreads
three-stars

The Confusion of Laurel Graham

 

Since Laurel Graham is an engrossed birder, and since a confusion is a group of warblers, and since Laurel is confused about many aspects of her life, the title is apropos. 

Laurel is extremely close to her grandmother and not close to her mother.  When Laurel’s grandmother is severely injured by being hit by a car, Laurel blames herself because she had seen her gran in an unsafe location beside the road, tried to get her to leave, but had not been able to change her grandmother’s mind.

Laurel is a knowledgeable birder and works at a nature conservancy.  She is obsessed with entering a contest for nature photography and with finding a strange bird that may be her grandmother’s spirit. 

Besides all this her mom has become engaged to a man she has just met and Laurel is beginning a relationship with a girl she had always regarded as an enemy and saboteur of her previous contest photograph. 

Along with all the angst in Laurel’s life the corrupt city government is pushing for new schools to be built on the Conservancy land which is wetlands and not at all suitable.  It is time for a protest!

This book uses much gratuitous language which is not necessary for the story.  It doesn’t fit.  Finding a book about bird lovers, a gay relationship, a very believable mother who has had too many boyfriends, in Laurel’s opinion, and all the corruption in local politics is unique. 

It is recommended for grades 8-12.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

 

 

three-stars

The Candle and the Flame

The Candle and the FlameThe Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad
Published by Scholastic Press on May 14th 2019
ISBN: 1338306049
Pages: 391
Goodreads
five-stars

Fatima lives with her adoptive sister Sunaina in the city of Noor along the Silk Road. She and Sunaina and their adoptive grandmother are the only humans to have survived a vicious attack by the Shayateen, who are djinn known for creating chaos, that killed their parents. Noor is in the country of Qirat which is ruled by the human Maharajah Aarush. Aarush works closely with the Emir of Noor, Zulfikar who is an Ifrit. The Ifrit live their lives to protect humans. Fatima has grown close to an old bookseller, Firdaus, and when Firdaus is attacked, Fatima becomes Fatima Ghazala when she takes on some Ifrit fire. When rebel forces team with the Shayteen and traitors at the highest levels to overthrow the Maharajah, it is up to Zulfikar and Fatima Ghazala to stop the rebellion and prevent another Shayateen slaughter. The author weaves in several Middle Eastern and Muslim traditions and handily includes a glossary of terms used. A stunning debut.

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

five-stars

An Anatomy of Beasts

An Anatomy of BeastsAn Anatomy of Beasts (Faloiv, #2) by Olivia A. Cole
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on April 16th 2019
ISBN: 0062644246
Pages: 432
Goodreads
four-stars

Octavia must choose between the colony N’Terra, the only home she’s ever known, or the humans who live with the Faloii on the planet Faloiv. She has come to the realization that the rocket that brought her family to Faloiv also brought some of the evil that led to the destruction of the “origin planet.” There is urgency in Ocatvia’s quest as the planet itself is shifting because of the changes wrought by the humans. The sequel to A Conspiracy of Stars — be sure to read the prequel first. (Faloiv #2)

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

 

four-stars

How the Light Gets In

How the Light Gets InHow the Light Gets In by Katy Upperman
Published by Swoon Reads on August 6th 2019
ISBN: 1250305675
Pages: 336
Goodreads
four-stars

Callie has given up on school and swim team and started smoking marijuana since her sister died. Her parents aren’t doing much better and in an effort to make things better they offer her a summer at wilderness camp or visiting and helping her aunt fix up her house. Choosing her aunt’s house means reliving her sister’s death as it happened the previous summer while both sisters were visiting. Callie is desperate for some kind of closure — would her sister ever forgive her for her betrayal? Callie senses ghosts in the house and hopes to connect with her sister’s spirit. Along the way, she connects to a boy her aunt has hired to work on the yard and discovers that he is looking for his own answers.

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

four-stars

Wildfire: A Novel

Wildfire: A NovelWildfire by Rodman Philbrick
Published by The Blue Sky Press on September 3rd 2019
ISBN: 133826690X
Pages: 208
Goodreads
five-stars

Philbrick — Maine author, Lupine award winner, Maine Student Book Award nominee, and Newbery honor book writer — has done it again. A wildfire in Maine — inspired by the Great Fire of 1947 — sweeps through Sam’s summer camp.  As Sam is about to board an evacuation bus, he remembers he left his cell phone in his cabin. In an all-too-believable scene, Sam runs back to his cabin for his phone and in an instant is cut off from the buses when the fire flares up. Suddenly, he is in survival mode. Along the way, he meets up with Delphy who got separated from her summer camp and together they race to escape the fast-moving flames. This short chapter book is a fast read — chapters are short and the action never lets up. Philbrick includes brief sections on the recent increase in wildfires and survival tips at the end of the book. Talk about a page-turner!

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

Recommended for Cream of the Crop

five-stars