I missed this when it came out but was glad it caught my eye! I loved [b:The Crossover|18263725|The Crossover|Kwame Alexander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390427593l/18263725._SX50_.jpg|25723388], of course, and was excited to pick up this prequel about the twins' dad. It's particularly moving in the context of it as a prequel and the way it resonates with the boys later in life.

:(

http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-137-the-mister/

I really enjoyed this feminist fantasy! It's warm and funny and great at recognizing different types of abilities.

I will be honest, I didn't know very much about Dietrich Bonhoeffer before reading this, and I'd been a little bit suspicious of venerating a Christian pastor as a hero of the German resistance? But his story was really inspiring and really explicitly resonant with right now (which Hendrix mentions is intentional, in his afterword). It was especially interesting to read about Bonhoeffer traveling to the US in the 20s and visiting a black church, where he learned about how the church can fight for social justice. This is a really moving, compelling story that feels incredibly fresh and contemporary. The art is so engaging and the format is great for including little sidebars or definitions. Hendrix states that his goal with this is not to be the end-all, be-all biography of Bonhoeffer (though his bibliography suggests other books for those who want more information) but rather to highlight recurring themes in his life and the resistance to Hitler.

Really an excellent use of the medium all around.

A great follow-up to [b:Real Friends|31145178|Real Friends (Real Friends, #1)|Shannon Hale|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503615816l/31145178._SX50_.jpg|51774817]. Like that one, I appreciate that this can be a bit messy at times--Shannon doesn't gloss over times when she herself caved to peer pressure and was mean to someone else. And LeUyen Pham's art is particularly good at showing Shannon's increasing anxiety, as well as illustrating the adorable, overwrought fantasy novel Shannon was writing. A great pick for tweens.

I'm so here for the post-true crime trend of books (like, this one and [b:Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession|35180951|Dead Girls Essays on Surviving an American Obsession|Alice Bolin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1515482267l/35180951._SY75_.jpg|56517990] makes a trend, right?) trying to unpack the appeal of true crime. (Which for me, is personally very limited but I'm sort of fascinated with why others like it??) This is kind of a collection of long essays and each of them were very interesting. I couldn't believe I was finding another new take on the Manson story after my summer deep dive into Mansons, but here it is!

I'm not the biggest mystery reader but I liked [b:One of Us Is Lying|32571395|One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)|Karen M. McManus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490084494l/32571395._SY75_.jpg|49825436] so I checked this one out. I didn't find it quite as compelling--it felt a bit more...contrived, but still, really fast-paced and enjoyable. Def will appeal to teens.

I'm a longtime fan of Lindy West and I love an essay collection, so it's no surprise that reading this had me like:



Some of these were adapted from works posted elsewhere, but like still, I'm always happy to read her investigation of the GOOP empire. I really appreciate West's blend of humor, empathy, and outrage.

This was a very sweet and engaging mystery. I loved all the characters and I loved that the narration loved them too. I loved all local Bostonian energy.

Spoiler

I do think the "talks to ghosts" aspect of it sort of failed to pay off in a way that I personally found satisfying?

But still, I couldn't put this down.

I hope this gets an Alex Award, I think it also has great crossover appeal for a lot of precocious teens. (eg teen Renata would have loved this shit)