At first, I could not for the life of me focus on the narrator's speech pattern/the author's writing style. It is stream-of-conscious and jumps around between a variety of characters and storylines. I kept rereading lines and started to get irritated with it. But, holy mackerel, I'm glad I didn't give up! The writing style is jarring but it adds *everything* to the story.

People who will love this book: Teens who like challenging or "classic" reads; first or second generation immigrants and people who love those kinds of stories; someone who wants a break from the first-person monotony of YA fic and, instead, wants their reading experience blown to smitherines by the gradual reveal of the narrator's vulnerabilities.

Bless this fantasy novel and the author who wrote it. The storyline is fresh and tantalizing. It has the feminist angle of The Handmaid's Tale and the action and world building of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The ending felt a little too nicely packaged but overall an exciting book from start to finish. Perfect for fans of fast-moving fantasy who like a light-hearted ending.

Age: High School+

An excellent sequel true to zombies, action, and examining historical injustices committed against African American people. Although the length is intimidating, the action is plentiful. (It could have easily been split into 2 books but glad I could keep reading without waiting 2 more years!)

If you like books with a large cast and multiple storylines, this may not be the book for you. But the handful of characters present in Deathless Divide are fully explored and complex.

Age: Toddler-Kindergarten

With one-sentence per page, Smith demonstrates what it means to be kind and how it feels when someone is kind to you. The second part really makes this book stand out beyond a simple list of ways to be kind.

Age: Kindergarten-2nd grade
Location: India
Family: Wedding of cousin
LGBTQ: Lesbians, prejudice and violence

Sometimes you give grace to a first-of-its-kind book. Maybe the illustrations aren't as charming as mainstream picture books or maybe the storyline has some bumps. This was not the case with Narvankar's first venture into publishing!

The illustrations are exciting, rich, and full of emotion. The storyline has a fantastic arc. It connects the child's perspective without losing sight of the hardship that a lesbian wedding would encounter in India. When the wedding party is dowsed in water by bigoted, hateful people, Ayesha jumps in to save the day and bring joy back to the ceremony.

Age: Preschool-Kindergarten

Shorter text presents a complex and relatable scenario that many children experience as first--or second--generation immigrants that are caught between their culture at home and American culture. The illustrations are detailed and invite off-text conversations between the reader and listener. Readers can truly feel the pull of two worlds as Shanti is illustrated walking back-and-forth between them, growing more and more tired.

A welcome discussion of immigration for the younger crowd.

Age: 10th grade+
Activism: Black Lives Matter
Family: 3 sisters
History: Jim Crow South
Tough Issue: Murder, police brutality

Lots of wonderful things in here: adding an extra genre spin (thriller) to the Black Lives Matter storyline, the power of sisterhood, the vile nature of police brutality, shorter page length for less-voracious readers, and confronting homophobia in your own family. But for all its positives, the multiple perspectives and the slew of characters were hard to keep track of in such a short amount of time. The thrilling twist at the ending felt like it belittled the persistent presence of police brutality in this country. It was shocking, just not for me.

Age: 4th-6th grade
Food: Cooking class
Identity: Pakistani-American
First line: "Cooking is painful."

Such a delight! Not only does this book excel at presenting children caught in the cross-hairs of racist interactions but the two main characters personalities felt so refreshing.

Age: 3rd-6th grade
Activism: Deportation, ethnic pride
Identity: Mexican American
First line: "Once again, Efren Nava woke up to a chubby pajamaed foot in his face."

Amazing, fast-paced story about one boy's fight to bring his mother back home. Efren has astounding growth throughout this story, within his household, at school, and with his own identity. Short, poignant, and well written.

Age: High School-Adult

A remarkable page-turner with a loveable curmudgeon as the protagonist. Fans of high fantasy, Harry Potter, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas will dig their claws into this dark series that tries not to take itself so seriously. I can't wait for the next in the series because it feels like something sinister will be exposed about the Scholomance school and the powers that be.