I think I would have appreciated this one more if I was more familiar with Robin as a character, or the way Batman is portrayed in the current DC universe. I felt dropped in the middle of a story I never really got. It's an interesting idea, though, to have a group of Robins, and I think for most fans they will be pleased to see how it turns out. One thing that really would have helped me would have been clearer connections between the names and the characters. There were only two I felt I could reliably name.

Super adorable family story.

This was an excellent YA historical fiction title. My heart broke for Hanneke and what she felt about her deceased boyfriend. It was also interesting to read about Amsterdam during WWII, a different place than where I normally read. I also think Hesse did a good job at explaining how many of us process tragedies: it takes something happening to someone close to us, or one person, for us to see the larger problem.

I graciously received an advanced reader's copy from the publisher for review.

This is definitely an interesting book, but I think most of it was overshadowed by the ending. It all felt a bit too neat to me. I guess I might have a misguided impression of life in the late 1980s Mexican-American El Paso Texas community. I also wasn't sure I really bought the ending. I listened to it on audio, which may or may not have changed the impression. I would love to read more about what the author was thinking about while writing, because I think that would help me.

An excellent Beauty & the Beast/fairy mashup.

Before reading this book, I was not aware that there was a time in Cuba when girls could not play drums. This is a quiet, beautiful story that I hope encourages many girls to take up drumming.