Medina tells a compelling story of a girl named Nora, who cannot wait for her senior year of high school to be over. Her father is minimally involved in her life, her brother is abusive, and her mother seems to want to ignore all the troubles. This story is told against the backdrop of New York City in 1977, the Summer of Sam. Fear comes across on many of the pages, as Nora struggles to find places she feels safe. I enjoyed this one.

Although I did not enjoy "Booked" as much as "The Crossover," I still think this is a worthy addition to libraries and classrooms. Nick has a crush on a girl, is dealing with bullies and his father is forcing him to read a dictionary. (That is actually one of my ideas of a nightmare.) I found him to be pretty relatable and have realistic reactions to different situations in the book. I especially liked how he and his best friend Coby reacted to being on different travel soccer teams--there was rivalry and smacktalk, sure, but I could also tell that they supported each other no matter what.

I would like all of Mac's shirts by the way. I am hoping that Alexander didn't just make them up and we can order them soon.

This is one that I'll be thinking about for a while. The writing of this story is beautiful. I love the general plot. I love the way Pennypacker chose to tell part of the story from Peter's point of view and part of the plot from Pax's. I love Vola so much, and she breaks my heart.

I need to sit with the ending however. It doesn't end the way I would like, which isn't really the problem. I had to read it three times, because I felt like I missed something. It was so sudden. I'm hoping it will rise in my esteem as time goes on.

Pretty cute. The incomplete sentences and incorrectly spelled words drove me a little nuts, but I'm sure that as a read aloud it's great!

I really liked this one. What a great start to a new series! Amani is a fantastic character, an Annie Oakley of sorts fighting to free herself from a future she doesn't want. She meets a mysterious stranger named Jin, and they go off on an adventure. Great.

I really liked this one. Raymie wants to win Little Miss Central Florida Tire because she believes it will bring her father back. He ran away with a dental hygienist. She is taking baton lessons with Ida Mae, because that's a skill that will help her win the contest. She meets two other girls there, Louisiana and Beverly, and their friendship teaches them all things that summer that Little Miss Central Florida Tire alone never could.

This has a mystical, dreamy quality to it that I enjoyed. It seems that most of my friends who had read this before me had not been a fan, so I went in with apprehension. I was drawn in to the story. It is one that I will want to ask my patrons if they enjoy, because I wonder if it is one that adults will enjoy more than children.

Really thought-provoking. If you've ever wanted to think about libraries as how they should be now, and some ideas for how to get there, pick up this book.

An excellent tale about the power of memories and how they make us who we are.