libscote's Reviews (6.4k)

Some great stories and some good stories. 

I like these kinds of stories that deal with the middle school age, where you're dealing with realizing what other people think for the first time. I initially read Z as coded as autistic, but by the end of the story, it seems like there is more going on. Solid middle grade choice.

Lifelings are people who can give up part of their lifetime to bring something else back to life. I doubt this will be my favorite MSBA of the year, but it does bring forth some good ideas to think about and topics to mull over. 

Another solid April Henry novel. This one looks at the proliferation of true crime podcasts and questions whether or not they are entertainment versus how they make the victim's families feel. 

Not my favorite Louise Penny. This one felt a bit like, where has this kid been all these other stories? And really this supergun is hidden? Oh well.

This is an excellent thriller combining the way evil acts haunt places down the years (or even just neglect) and the ways we can try to fight back. 

I didn't like this one as much as Kampung Boy, but it's still an interesting look at Malaysian life in the 1970s. I love learning about other countries and this one was great. 

Maya lives with her mother and grandmother. Her mother is distant, and her grandmother is showing signs of dementia. One day Maya's grandmother makes a traditional Korean dish and shows Maya the family secret--they can time travel back to their own memories! They only visit their memories, not change anything. And it's all motivated by food! Usually it's just them, but one time they encounter Jeff, someone not from their family. Things start to get a little messy then. And that's even before the big twist!

Warning--will make you crave Korean food.

This book talks about the life of Crazy Horse from one of his descendants. It's a story told from grandfather to grandson, while tracing important parts of Crazy Horse's life. For non-Native children, this book starts to illustrate the difference in perspectives about what happened to the Indigenous peoples of America--what we are taught in our history books versus what actually happened.