This is a collection of testimonials from children who were held in border camps.  Particularly the Clinton border camp.  They were locked away, split from their family, and made to live in inhumane conditions.  We did that.  American did it.  The President of the US did it.  And we can not forget it, and we can not let it happen again!.  Everylibrary and every school should have a copy of this book, so this pathetic event in our recent past, NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN! 

 This book is like Duck Rabbit.  Is it a dog or is it a bunny.  It does the things dogs do.  Even the doo-doo.  But is it a dog and can it be in this book?  This was a lot of fun.  I love how the illustrator kept the palette and the artwork simple but striking.  It just works.  This could be a great mini play for reader theater or a puppet show. 

For some reason, I always thought this book was a fantasy.  It made me think of the old movie the Wicker Man (both versions).  But that could not be farther away from the plot of this story.

This book is a look at two teen boys, August and Jack,  as they descend into madness.  You know this from the very beginning because as of page five you know one of them is in an asylum.  The story takes you through how August got there.

At times this story is hard to follow.  Each chapter is less than five pages and each has a heading that sometimes makes perfect sense, and other times could lead to debates on it’s meaning.  Most of the story is told from August’s point of view, but we see snatches from other friends who want to be helpful, but don’t know how.  The adults are useless, either because they are absent, dealing with their own mental difficulties, or not paying attention. August tries to be there, be the grownup for his best friend Jack.  But as Jack gets stranger and stranger, he pulls August under with him.  Literally in certain parts. 

The cast of friends see things happening, and try to help, but how can you help when things seem hopeless?  This book is also confusing, but I think it is intended to be that way, so the reader gets to feel a bit as the boys do;  lost and afloat looking for solid ground.  This book is both moving and terrifying in the best way.  It is well written, and thought provoking. I will need time to recover from this read.  It’s just … wow!

There is a novella that tells the story from Jack’s side, available as an ebook.  If you get to the end of this, that might be worth reading.  That would be the fantasy book I was thinking this was.  The idea intrigues me, but right now, I can’t do that.  I need a rest.  Like the boys, I need to sleep and be left alone with my thoughts.  

I can see why this book was getting so much praise when it came out four years ago.  It deserves every bit of it.  And it should be on library shelves for years to come, as there are things teens will see about themselves in the pages, and it may prompt them to get the help they need.

This book was fantastic.  It was hard, but it was worth reading, and a topic not readily found in many YA books.

TW: Non-graphic sex, mental instability

 

 This graphic novel was interesting.  At first it was hard to follow but once the story got  moving I was hooked.  A girl died and was reincarnated.  But she was reincarnated in a world she knows.  It’s the world of a video game like a romance version of The SIMS.  Not only is the story from a game, but she is the villain, and she does not want to be.  She is going to try her hardest to change the game from the inside with hope of a happy ending.  The interesting thing is no one knows or even acts like life is a game.  This is not Wreck It Ralph.  Honestly it is easy to forget that this is supposed to be a video game world.  I like the story and will continue the series for at least one more book to see where the story goes. 

 This is a simple fun book to explain the various types of pushpins. These fun cat doodles make people smile and so will this book. It’s a simple read, pretty brainless, but nice to pass the time away with. 

 This is the first book in a new series meant to compete against the “Who Was” series. It’s structured as a conversation between a brother and a sister each trying to top the other with interesting facts about the person the subject. It works out really well. This book is informative and has lots of infobits that teachers are normally looking for in school subjects or for reports like who was born on their birthday or what big events happened on that person‘s birthday etc. It’s really well done and a fun read. 

 Book number two in this new beginning biography series was really fun. Each book in this series starts out extremely formulaic, almost Word for Word, except changing out the subject's name and little clues or information about the subject. I really like how the book gives you something to look forward to and this time it’s knowing what happened to Einstein‘s brain in his eyeballs. The book is easy to understand and while it mentions the more boring stuff or as the book calls it “stuff your teacher wants you to know” it also has lots of things that seem very random but are intriguing and will keep kids attention. 

 This is a great earlier chapter book graphic novel.  A little girl follows a dog as it goes shopping one day.  And then when they go to the library, everyone thinks the dog belongs to her, so she gives it the name Pawcasso.  She pulls this off for the entire summer, but eventually the girl and the town have to find out who the real owner of Pawcasso is, and why they need to be on a leash.  This book was fun.  The illustrations are bright and colorful, and sure to interest kids in early elementary. 

 For a few years now I have read letter after letter to the author of this book for a local program.  Now that I have read it for myself I can see why.  This book is adorable.  Aven is just a girl who was born without arms and put up for adoption.  She has had a great family life.  But now it’s 8th grade and time to move for her dad’s job.  The move to Arizona to run a small amusement park.  A new life would be hard for anyone, let alone someone who is visibly different from her classmates.  But Aven is a sweetheart and makes friends, maybe not with everyone, but her friendships are deep and helpful for each of them.  Part of this story is what happened to the owner of the park, and why was Aven given up for adoption.  It all works out in the end and it was just perfect.  There is a second book in the series and I think I need to check it out too. 

 I grew up on Spam.  It was a constant on military bases.  But man this book made me want to eat it all over again. I bought it as a gag gift for my dad, and now we try a new recipe almost every week.  Yummmm.