kalynwebb's Reviews (729)

Simi Singh is happy- she has just been promoted to captain of her hockey team, she loves her two best friends, and she adores her close-knit family. Unfortunately, anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise where she lives in India, and people have started directly targeting her interfaith family. After her father is attacked, their family makes the difficult decision to escape to the United States. 

Simi's journey is heartbreaking. When people are in danger, they will put themselves into high-risk situations in the hope that one day their family will be safe. The hardest thing about reading this book was knowing that Simi's situation isn't something imaginary, but the reality for many children entering the United States. 

I really enjoyed this book. In times like these with xenophobia on the rise, it feels incredibly important to read books that can expand our empathy to people who need it. 

4.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc.

Kaylani McKinnon is off to Martha's Vinyard for a few weeks over the summer, to her great dismay. Ever since her father went to prison, she has agonized by the phone desperate for the few minutes she gets to talk with him. She is invited by old family friends to their summer home in Martha's Vinyard, and Kaylani's mother believes it will be good for her to get out of the house and into a community where her father's situation doesn't haunt her.

Unfortunately, Kaylani's visit begins with a rough start. The Watson's are stuffy, and she doesn't have anything in common with their granddaughter London. Cassie, London's older sister, doesn't want anything to do with the younger girls, and Kaylani just wants to talk to her dad.

Things head up in the novel when a teenager on the island turns up dead from a shark attack. The situation is extremely suspicious, and Kaylani wants to get to the bottom of it.

When an author is as talented at Tiffany D. Jackson is at writing Young Adult fiction, I often worry when they write for Middle Grade. While there is overlap in the genres, it can often feel clunky to me. However, that was not the case here. Jackson has written an excellent Middle Grade thriller with historical ties that made me pull up Google as I read the book. It's always fun to read a book that makes you interested in history you never knew about, especially when you aren't expecting it. 

We often get requests for thrillers for a middle grade audience at my library, and I am looking forward to recommending Blood in the Water to those kids. 

4/5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc!