Omar's story of life in a refugee camp (Dadaab) with his brother Hassan and guardian Fatuma. I feel like this book does an excellent job of showing the moments of happiness and despair, how different people react when you are somewhere that is supposed to be temporary for years. It also has an excellent after word, and will hopefully inspire people to help refugees in their area.

A really important look at our prison industrial system and the toll it has taken on Black people. A lot more people should read and grapple with it.

If you thought that the right to vote was fought only by white women, think again. This book will introduce you to the many black women who fought for that right, before the 19th amendment and afterward. Dionne examines the intersection of getting Black men the vote vs white women (or all women, or all people), and shows the way voting for people of color was suppressed after Reconstruction, through the Civil Rights era, and into the present day. An important book for people to read.

Purely on a personal level--I need to remind myself to read sidebars after reading the full text. The formatting of this book was a little hard for me, especially with the black boxes with small white text. I wonder how the audio handles it.

I really enjoyed this one. Avery is plucked from her life where she is barely surviving to being the heir to a major fortune. There are tricks and games and riddles and a crazy large house, and there are traps for her everywhere. I thought it was fast-paced and quite enjoyable. Little quibbles with the romance plotline. The ending leaves space for a sequel.

Really good book about getting involved in social justice for upper elementary/middle school level readers.

This is one of my favorite books I read this year. I loved how the author switched between Kalyn's and Gus's perspectives. I loved how prickly Kalyn was, and I could see how living with her grandmother and her other life experiences would make her see Gus differently than everyone else. Phil's family reminded me of people I know. I also knew that the murder would end up being more complicated than it was but I was still surprised by some parts of it.

I like the premise of this book, with its critique of influencer culture. I had a hard time with some things (does makeup really hide your face enough from an algorithm? What's up with brain scans?) I just felt like maybe it wasn't for me.

This one was a little slow to grow on me, but by the end I was crying. Adelaide has just been broken up with by Mikey L-L, and she meets a cute boy named Jack at the dog park. From there, different scenarios spin out. If that had been the whole book, I might not have been able to keep up with it. In between these chapters that show different universes, there are linear chapters that show just one aspect of life. That helps anchor the book for me. I also think it has an excellent description of dealing with a sibling struggling with narcotics abuse.

I really really liked this one. I can't say enough about the use of colors and panels.