This is one of two books about September 11 I have read this year. This one takes place in present day (I would say), with the story of Deja, a girl who lives in a homeless shelter with her parents and two younger siblings. Her father has some sort of unnamed illness, which causes him to spend most of his time in bed. This leaves Deja to go to school and take care of her younger siblings while her mother works long hours. This shelter means she gets to go to a better school, where they start to learn about September 11 (which she has never heard of.) With the help of two friends, Deja starts to learn more about the world and her father.

Overall, I liked this book. There were a few parts where I felt confused, like the narrative jumped or put pieces together in a way I didn't entirely get. One thing I did like about this book is how it presents history as alive, and makes it real to kids today.

This is the other book about September 11 I have read this year. This one is also enjoyable. It tells the story of September 11, 2011, from four different kids that lived through it. At first, I thought all their stories would tie together because they would all be in the same place. The narrative doesn't weave like that. Instead, the four stories give you four different looks at the days leading up to and on September 11. I thought each of the four kids' stories were well thought out and realistic. I especially enjoyed Naheed's chapters, which illustrate her love of her faith and her acknowledgement of how uncomfortable it is to be labeled different.

This book is quite sad. There is death, abuse, loss, immigration as a refugee, and the horrors of war in the Congo. It is about love, and music, and what makes you feel alive. It's about making your own family. It's a little about Moebius Syndrome, where your facial muscles are paralyzed. I loved how we read the story from two different perspectives. I don't know if I really felt a strong connection with any of the characters in particular, but I enjoyed my stay in their world.

An excellent middle-grade work describing what happens to one survivor of Nagasaki's bombing. I felt deeply for Sachiko, and it made me want to learn more about the Japanese front of WWII. I might be biased in my reading, but does it feel like proportionally there is more middle-grade literature about the European side of things and the homefront than about the Japanese front? Hopefully this will inspire people to learn more about that horrific side of the war (although really, all sides of war are full of horror.)

So good. It's a clear overview of the internment camp experience of Japanese-Americans, as well as giving historic background of Japan and its relationship to other countries (which I found very helpful) and tying in other American movements. So well done.

I liked this one a lot. Blakemore does a good job of introducing a utopia to middle grade readers, which slowly shows how it isn't as great as it might initially appear (isn't that always the way?) I liked Mori a lot, and related to how she felt about the other characters in the book. I was suspicious of the twist partially through, but I think that younger readers will be more shocked by it.

I enjoyed this story. I thought both Ravi and Joe acted like real kids. I could totally see Ravi thinking that he was going to conquer this school just like he had conquered his. And although my heart broke to see him treating Joe the way he did, I appreciated seeing Ravi change and recognize his mistakes. I hope that Dillon gets the comeuppance he deserves.

I've heard good things about Yelcin's work in the past, so I was excited to read my first one. I thought it was just okay. I found the time period hard to place, and I wasn't a huge fan of the drawings. I think it did have a decent creepy factor, and I could see how part of the plot wouldn't be predictable to kids, but it didn't make me feel like I needed to go out and read his other books.

This is the story of James Madison Hemings, son of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. It's a quiet reflection on his life and his father. He acknowledges that his father did many great things, but he also owned enslaved people and did not free them upon his death (other than the children of Sally Hemings, but not Hemings herself). I think this is a fitting way to introduce complication into the Jefferson narrative for young and old.