Blog Tour: The Hurricanes of Weakerville by Chris Rylander

Publisher description:

All his life, Alex Weakerman has had one passion: baseball. Specifically, the Hurricanes of Weakerville, Iowa—the scrappy independent-league team owned by his Grandpa Ira.

Even as team and the town have fallen on tough times, there’s no place Alex would rather be than at the ballpark—a hot dog in one hand, a pencil and scorebook in the other, keeping track of each and every statistic. Alex has never been all that great at playing baseball, but that doesn’t matter. For someone as painfully awkward as Alex, being a fan—and a wiz with baseball stats—is all he needs.

When Grandpa Ira passes away, though, Alex is crushed. He’s lost his best friend, and he doesn’t see any way that the team will survive. But Ira, it seems, has one last trick up his sleeve: his will names Alex the new manager of the Hurricanes.

Alex is as excited as he is terrified at the chance to finally put some of his fantasy baseball genius to use. But as he sets to work trying to win over the players, he soon learns that leading them to victory is about more than just stats. Will he be able to save his team, his hometown, and his family legacy?

The Hurricanes of Weakerville by Chris Rylander is The Sandlot meets Field of Dreams meets A League of Their Own. As someone who is not a lover a baseball the sport, but loves a good baseball story, this book fills all the satisfying notes of a good baseball story: quirky characters, a David vs. Goliath trope, and a satisfying resolution. 

About the Author:

Chris Rylander is the author of the acclaimed and bestselling “Fourth Stall” saga, the “Codename Conspiracy” trilogy, and co-author of book three in the New York Times bestselling “House of Secrets” series. He lives in Chicago, where he eats a lot of raspberry jam and frequently tries to befriend the squirrels on his block.

Publishing June 28, 2022

The Hurricanes of Weakerville Blog Tour Stops

6/21 Nerdy Book Club @nerdybookclub

6/22 A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust @bethshaum

6/23 Teachers Who Read @teachers_read

6/27 LitCoachLou @litcoachlou

6/28 Bluestocking Thinking @bluesockgirl

6/29 Walden Tumblr @waldenpondpress

7/1   Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers @grgenius

A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan

"I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library." -- Jorge Luis Borges

Jamie Bunn was only trying to help the boy she had a crush on, but she ends up getting herself caught up in a cheating scandal at school. So her punishment is to do community service at her town's public library.

While spending her summer at the library, she comes face to face with members of the community she would not normally interact with: an elderly patron who tries to downplay his health issues, a man who has come on financial hard times, and even the girl who humiliated Jamie in front of her entire class.

But as the summer continues on, Jamie soon realizes that her summer of punishment is actually a blessing in disguise. Not only does she see firsthand what value the library holds for her community, but she also gets to have a front row seat to civic participation at work when her town's mayor is on a mission to close the library in order to save the town money.

A Kind of Paradise is the middle grade book answer to the The Public, the 2018 movie starring Emilio Estevez, about a renegade librarian who is on a mission to save his job while he gets himself caught up in a sit-in with homeless patrons who refuse to leave due to the extreme cold outside. Just as The Public is not a perfect movie, A Kind of Paradise has its flaws, but enumerating a long list in this book review would be missing the point of the book, which is to show kids and remind adults that libraries are important centerpieces of our community and they mean more to so many people than just borrowing books. The library is one of the few places that you can go in America today where you are not expected to spend any money, especially even more so now that many libraries are doing away with fines.

A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan
Published: April 30, 2019
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 303
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Audiobook copy provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

The Size of the Truth by Andrew Smith

Sam Abernathy is known as the boy who fell into a well and spent three days at the bottom when he was four years old. So he's already famous in his small Texas town. But pair that with being the age of a sixth grader who starts middle school in eighth grade and he's a regular sideshow.

While learning how to navigate the halls of middle school, Sam also learns how to avoid James Jenkins, the boy who is responsible for Sam falling in the well to begin with. He also must figure out how to disappoint his father who likes to take his son on survival expeditions that Sam absolutely hates, and wants his son to go to MIT when Sam would prefer to go to culinary school.

In true Andrew Smith fashion, he has managed to write a story that is both hilarious and poignant with a dash of absurdity, but this time for a middle grade audience. For those readers who wonder how a young adult author who has made a name for himself in his use of obscenities and pushing the envelope, one might wonder how that translates to a middle grade audience. Well, dear reader, don't you worry. Smith came up with a genius way around his inability to use swear words while also implying them, but you'll just have to read for yourself to find out how.

For loyal readers of Smith's YA novel Stand Off, you will be particularly elated to discover that his first middle grade novel is about the endearing and annoying young roommate of Ryan Dean West. If that's not a reason to read it, I don't know what is. But just in case you haven't read Stand Off (which if you're a middle grade reader, I hope you haven't), then just know that this book stands alone and leads readers nicely into both Winger and Stand Off when they are older. But also, I think Smith sets this story up nicely for writing another middle grade novel about another character in this book, James Jenkins (hint, hint Andrew if you're reading this).


The Size of the Truth by Andrew Smith
Published: March 26, 2019
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 272
Genre: Realistic Fiction/Magical Realism
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: ARC received at 2018 NCTE convention

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

ARC review: You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

Jillian is experiencing growing pains in the form of life lessons. Her new baby sister was born deaf and she is dealing with some racial tensions in her family as well as in a newly forming friendship. While this is a book written for kids, Gino is very open that it "is consciously written for white people as a catalyst to talk about modern racism and police violence in the United States," as they stated in the author's note at the end. The part of the book that especially spoke to me was the tension-filled Thanksgiving dinner where Jilly is saddened to learn that some of her family members are racist. That was such a palpable moment in the story. If I had one criticism of the book is that it's as subtle as a sledgehammer in addressing political issues, to the point where it feels a bit didactic in places. But the book has lovable characters and its greatest strength is that it models the necessity for white people to talk about race and in order to do that, we need to get uncomfortable and recognize that we're going to screw up. But doing and saying nothing speaks just as loudly as saying something offensive.  You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino Publication Date: September 25, 2018 Publisher: Scholastic Pages: 256 Genre: Realistic Fiction Audience: Middle Grade Disclosure: Advance reader copy provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Advance Review: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

When Will's brother Shawn is killed, Will knows that he must avenge his brother's death. So he grabs the gun out of Shawn's dresser drawer, gets on the elevator to leave his apartment building, and over the course of the next six floors and 60 seconds, Will is stunned by who gets on the elevator with him at each floor.

The fact that this novel takes place over a single minute AND is a novel in verse is both innovative and gusty. Major props to you, Mr. Reynolds. However, I'm sure there will no doubt be people who read this book and spend their time overanalyzing the time frame,  saying, "This couldn't possibly have happened over a single minute." I was certainly temped to do that very thing. And who knows? Maybe those overanalyzers are right. But here's why I chose not to overthink Reynolds's stylistic choice: If I did, I'd be missing the point. The point is that Will has only six floors convince himself that he's doing the right thing by following "The Rules" of his family and neighborhood. In a single minute, he is on his way to enacting vigilante justice for his brother and possibly ruining his own future. This complex moral crisis is not the time to nitpick on timelines. It's a literary convention. As readers, let's just appreciate how it helps move the story forward.

I was elated that a friend of mine who works for Simon & Schuster and knows what a huge Jason Reynolds fan I am sent me the bound manuscript of his newest YA novel. I can't go too long without getting my Jason Reynolds fix, you see. But here is the downside of getting to read such an early copy of the book: I HAVE NO ONE TO TALK TO ABOUT IT! And I need to talk to someone. What the heck happened at the end?! I guess I'll just have to wait until someone else reads it before a consensus can be reached (or perhaps a spirited disagreement. Who knows?)


Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Expected Publication: October 17, 2017
Publisher: Atheneum
Pages: 240
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel in Verse
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Bound manuscript provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

When Solomon Reed was in seventh grade he had a panic attack at school that was so severe that he never went back. And three years later, he still hasn't gone back to school. He also hasn't left the house. Battling agoraphobia and panic disorder, the only people Solomon ever interacts with are his parents and his grandmother.

Until Lisa Praytor.

Lisa has her heart set on a university with a prestigious psychology program, but in order to earn a scholarship, she needs to write an essay about her personal experience with mental illness. Since she has no personal experience, she decides to go looking for some. Lisa remembers Solomon from her middle school days and now has decided that she's going to fix him in time for her to turn in her scholarship essay.

What she doesn't anticipate is that both she and her boyfriend Clark will hit it off with Solomon and form a bond so special that it leaves Lisa questioning everything about her future, her friendships, and her relationship with Clark.

Highly Illogical Behavior is a novel that will stay with me for a long time. It's not one of those books that has a suspenseful, fast-paced plot. Instead, it's more of a quiet book. And yet, despite that quietness, the story arc is unique and page-turning and the characters are memorable. And it's not so much that the characters are lovable individually, but instead, you find yourself rooting for these three unusual friends because you love the bond that they've formed together, no matter how deceitful and dysfunctional the original intention was.

If you liked John Corey Whaley's book Noggin, chances are, you will enjoy Highly Illogical Behavior due to both novels' unique plots and memorable characters.

Lastly, I'd like to comment on the cover of this book. Not only is it visually appealing when you see it on a shelf, but as you read the book, there are so many layers to peel back, on both the front and the back. It's one of those covers that becomes more meaningful the more you read the book. I really hope that the marketing team at Penguin doesn't redesign this cover when it goes to paperback because it is perfect just how it is.


Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
Published: May 10, 2016
Publisher: Dial
Pages: 249
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Finished copy provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor

Perry Cook's only home in his eleven years of life has been at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in Surprise, Nebraska. Yes, prison. Thanks to the vision of a forward-thinking warden, Perry has been able to stay with his mom and has come to know the inmates like family. The warden sees Perry's presence, the presence of young innocence, as a beacon of hope to for the residents at Blue River.

But when Thomas VanLeer, the new district attorney in Surprise, Nebraska, hears that a child is living at Blue River, he forces Perry from the only home he's ever known and puts him into a foster home -- his home. Which also happens to be the home of Perry's best friend Zoe because VanLeer is also Zoe's stepfather.

Not only is VanLeer keeping Perry from his mother, he is also (somewhat questionably) holding up her parole hearing due to his desire to conduct an investigation into any wrongdoing by the warden and the prisoners in allowing Perry to live at the prison.

While Perry is incredibly upset and resentful toward VanLeer for keeping him from his mother, he still manages to conduct himself with grace, dignity, and savviness beyond his years.

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a wonderful, heartfelt middle grade novel full of memorable, lovable characters. The story is meant to make you stop and think what it really means to be part of a community and how we view people who are incarcerated. Because this book brings forth those questions of community, Perry's story would be one worth reading aloud to a classroom full of upper elementary students to get kids thinking about what makes communities thrive -- even ones you wouldn't expect, like a prison community.


All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
Published: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 400
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Audiobook download provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Sunny Side Up by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

From Goodreads:
Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer.  At first she thought Florida might be fun -- it is the home of Disney World, after all.  But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park.  It’s full of . . . old people.  Really old people.

Luckily, Sunny isn’t the only kid around.  She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they’re having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors.  But the question remains -- why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place?  The answer lies in a family secret that won’t be secret to Sunny much longer. . .


I had sworn up and down that I posted a review for this book, but then I went back on Goodreads to see when I read this book and realized it was in the throes of my last semester of grad school. Ah! So that's why I never got around to posting a review of this lovely graphic novel. 

I was born in the very late 70s (Two months before 1980, in fact) but despite the fact that this book takes place in 1975-1976, an incredible sense of familiarity and nostalgia from my own childhood came creeping into my experience of reading this book. Little details as simple as the screen door on Sunny's house in Pennsylvania to the way the Sears logo looked back then, Jenni and Matt Holm clearly did their research on even the smallest of details from this time period.

More importantly though, Jenni and Matt Holm tell a heartfelt and compassionate story about a young girl who comes to realize the torment her family is experiencing at the hand of her brother who is overcoming substance abuse. It is through Sunny's experience that many kids will see their own families and the ways a family member's struggles become an entire family's burden.


Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm
Published: August 25, 2015
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Pages: 224
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Graphic Novel
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Purchased Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Ms. Bixby's Last Day blog tour

I am honored to be part of the blog tour for this wonderful book by John David Anderson. This is the story about three young sixth graders skip school and go on a madcap hero's journey to visit their teacher in the hospital who is going through cancer treatment. It is a heartfelt, but not overly sentimental or treacly story about the impact great teachers can have on our lives.

Which of course, has led me to think about all the great teachers in my life. I wouldn't say that one particular teacher in my K-12 education stands out from all the others because there was such a sense of love and community at the school I attended (which is where I now currently teach) and as a result, I feel like all of my teachers helped shape who I am today. 

But the teachers who stand out the most to me, most likely due to recency and proximity, are my grad school professors. For my entire life I have always been a good student and motivated to do well in school. But truth be told, like so many kids, I took education for granted. I didn't understand just how important it was. Through middle school, high school, and my undergrad, I looked forward to the day when I didn't have to go to school anymore. 

But then I went to grad school and I started studying the things that I wanted to learn about, and suddenly a fire had been ignited inside me. I realized that education and learning mean so much more when we can choose our own destiny. And because of that, I think of how I can use my students' interests and passions to fuel their own learning desires. So I'd have to say that all my professors in the English department at Eastern Michigan University were my Ms. Bixby, but in particular, my adviser, Dr. Cathy Fleischer (pictured with me above) who not only helped guide me on my educational path, but in my career as well.

 
Watch this Walden TV Video inspired by Ms. Bixby's Last Day: 


Read an excerpt from the book.


Visit the other stops on the Ms. Bixby's Last Day blog tour:

6/2/2016	Nerdy Book Club
6/3/2016	Next Best Book
6/6/2016	Walden Media Tumblr
6/7/2016	Teach Mentor Texts
6/8/2016	This Kid Reviews Books
6/9/2016	Read, Write, Reflect
6/10/2016	Flashlight Reader
6/13/2016	Julie Falatko
6/14/2016	A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust
6/15/2016	About to Mock
6/16/2016	Kid Lit Frenzy
6/16/2016	The Hiding Spot
6/17/2016	Unleashing Readers
6/20/2016	Ms. Yingling Reads
	Novel Novice
6/21/2016	Maria's Melange
	Novel Novice
	All the Wonders
6/22/2016	Lit Coach Lou
	Novel Novice
6/23/2016	Novel Novice
6/24/2016	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
	Novel Novice
6/27/2016	Librarian's Quest
6/28/2016	Educate.Empower.Inspire...Teach
6/29/2016	Bluestocking Thinking
6/30/2016	Mindjacked
7/1/2016	All the Wonders

 

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Goodreads summary:
Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. But Riley isn't exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in über-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley's life.

On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it's really like to be a gender fluid teenager. But just as Riley's starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley's real identity, threatening exposure. And Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything.


I've been having a really hard time figuring out how to write this review because every time I try to talk about the main character, I don't know which gender binary pronoun to use. But I think that's the point -- to feel this sense of cognitive dissonance at having to move beyond established paradigms. And the author does an amazing job at keeping you wondering through the entire book as to the gender that society would assign to Riley Cavanaugh. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Symptoms of Being Human. Jeff Garvin does a wonderful job of helping the reader get behind Riley's plight as many young readers are likely to have never heard of the concept of gender fluidity. But because the author surely knows so many people haven't heard of this issue before, there were places in the story that felt more like it was trying to be an educational pamphlet than a young adult novel. I certainly don't fault Jeff Garvin for that, but at the same time, it made the story feel a bit like an after school special in places. That doesn't make the book any less compelling; it just made the narrative a little bit more noticeable at the seams. Even so, the writing in Symptoms of Being Human is both precise and poetic. Riley doesn't mince words, but still manages to write with a sense of wonder and appreciation at the power they hold. 

If you're looking to add to your collection of YA novels with compelling LGBTQ characters, I highly recommend Jeff Garvin's debut novel. 


Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
Published: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 352
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Audiobook download provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.   

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle

Budding film maker Quinn Roberts is still reeling from the recent loss of his sister. He's stopped going to school, checking his phone, or even washing his clothes. But one night his best friend forces him to put on some clean clothes and takes him to a college party at his sister's apartment. It is there that Quinn meets Amir, the hot, older college boy who stealthily slips Quinn his number at the end of the evening.

While Quinn continues to be tormented by his sister's sudden death and the role he played in it, he also agonizes over what his relationship with Amir means and whether love can help him get past his grief.

For fans of Better Nate Than Ever, Tim Federle's young adult debut is the perfect reading ladder for those middle grade readers who move on to high school and are still looking for books to satisfy their artful souls. Quinn Roberts reminded me of an older version of Nate Foster, but with a love for screenwriting instead of musical theater. Quinn is more pessimistic and brooding than Nate (but Quinn is also a teenager, so there's that), but both have an incredibly quick wit and fabulously snarky repartee.

Check out this great Publisher Weekly interview with Tim Federle about his YA debut.


The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle  
Publication Date: March 29, 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 192
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Bound manuscript given to me by S&S rep

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

ARC review: Booked by Kwame Alexander

Note: The following review is based on an unpublished advance reader copy.

Just like The Crossover does with basketball, soccer circumvents what Booked is really about: family relationships, this time the main character Nick is dealing with his parent's impending divorce and a strained relationship with his parents, particularly his father. 

While it doesn't have the same bounce and groove of The Crossover, Booked is a fantastic stand-alone follow-up to Alexander's Newbery-winning novel in verse. I especially loved the character of Mr. MacDonald, AKA "The Mac," the rapping librarian.

What I love most about Alexander's work is that he has made it cool for kids to be lovers of words and language. Booked only further strengthens that conviction. While I try to tell this to my students, Alexander's books are actually showing it to them.

Other things I loved about Booked:

• How the title has multiple, layered meanings throughout the story
• The subtle and not-so-subtle homages to the poetry of Langston Hughes
• While it is mentioned in passing and with lowercase letters, Alexander gives a shoutout to the Nerdy Book Club
• Nerds and Words is a great name for a book club. I kind of want to steal it.  :)

Booked by Kwame Alexander 

Published: April 5, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Pages: 320
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel in Verse
Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Disclosure: ARC received at ALAN workshop, November 2015

*Purchasing the book from the above Bookshop affiliate link supports independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale. 

Stand Off by Andrew Smith

In this sequel to Winger, fifteen-year-old Ryan Dean West is now a senior in high school and is still dealing with the aftermath of what happened at the end of the first book (no spoilers here!). Not talking about it however has resulted in some psychological torment that seems to be playing out most noticeably in his dreams and in his drawings, which once used to bring him solace. Now his rugby coach wants him to play a position that will no doubt dredge up a lot of painful memories despite the fact that he still doesn't know how to handle his own grief.

To make matters worse, Ryan Dean has been given a twelve-year-old freshman roommate, Sam Abernathy, who has his own psychological issues to deal with. No matter how hard Ryan Dean tries to be a jerk to Sam, he can't seem to shake the kid, and they turn out to be quite the comedic odd couple throughout the entire story.

I'm going to come out and make a bold proclamation right now: Ryan Dean West is my favorite character in all of YA literature. He is hilariously dysfunctional and even though he claims he only swears in his head, not out loud, this book, along with Winger, has a whole lot of swearing going on -- and you know what? I absolutely love that about it! Andrew Smith is the poet of expletives.

The addition of Sam Abernathy, Ryan Dean's equally dysfunctional twelve-year-old roommate, makes this a novel you will no doubt be laughing out loud while reading. And that is the genius of Andrew Smith. While you are busy laughing, there is also a great deal of heart and healing going on. As Smith recently said at a dinner I attended at NCTE, he felt like he needed to write a sequel to help readers move on from the trauma that occurred at the end of Winger. And with Stand Off, he achieved that in spades.

Since this is partially a food blog, I'm also going to give a shoutout to Andrew Smith for using Sam Abernathy's obsession with the Cooking Channel as comic relief in the story. When Ryan Dean can't deal with his own feelings, he always seems to be commenting on the strange dishes or new cooking techniques the Abernathy is watching in their shoebox of a dorm room and that always gave me a good chuckle.

If you are a lover of YA literature and haven't read Winger yet, stop what you're doing and go read it right now. And then when you're done with Winger, after you curse out Andrew Smith for ripping your heart out of your chest (based on some of his Facebook posts, apparently readers do send him angry emails cursing him out), then you'll immediately want to pick up Stand Off. And once you read Stand Off, all will be right with the world again.


Stand Off by Andrew Smith
Published: September 8, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 448
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Finished copy received from a Simon & Schuster rep

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

The Truth Commission by Susan Juby

For Normandy Pale, it's hard being the sister of famous graphic novelist Keira Pale. Especially since Keira uses their family life as fodder for her famous series, the Diana Chronicles. And their parents seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that Keira does not paint any of them in a flattering light.

So while Normandy and her friends establish themselves as the Truth Commission, a way to get classmates of their prestigious art school to embrace their own truths, even if it's not pretty or on their own terms, Normandy still has yet to speak her own truth to her sister: that she resents the way their family has been portrayed in her work.

The Truth Commission is one of those books that has a lot going on in its 300+ pages, and all of those things are hard to nail down in terms of what the author is trying to accomplish. It's a work of fiction, but it's written in first person from Normandy's point-of-view like a work of creative nonfiction that she's writing as a school project.

Normandy's voice is biting, hilarious and completely unique. Her use of footnotes is clever at first but eventually turns too gimmicky and begins to feel indulgent rather than moving the narrative forward. About midway through the book, I began to grow tired of Normandy's cleverness and her friends' desire to seek the truth for what seemed to be somewhat exploitative reasons (even though they would claim otherwise). While I felt the book started off strong and I often laughed out loud at Juby's writing, I started to turn on Normandy midway through. I came close to abandoning the book a couple times.

But I'm glad I stuck with it. Things eventually turned around and I got behind Normandy and her friends again -- especially when it came to helping Normandy embrace her truth and confront her sister. If that seems spoilerish, it's really not. You can't expect that Normandy isn't going to eventually confront her sister. HOW she does it and the way it unfolds is what is so scandalous and page-turning. So if you like smart, witty, and biting teen characters, The Truth Commission is just the book for you.


The Truth Commission by Susan Juby
Published: April 14, 2015
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 320
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Finished copy provided by publisher

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ARC review: Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

Goodreads Summary:

Bridge is an accident survivor who's wondering why she's still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody's games--or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: No fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade? 

This year everything is different for Sherm Russo as he gets to know Bridge Barsamian. What does it mean to fall for a girl--as a friend? 

On Valentine's Day, an unnamed high school girl struggles with a betrayal. How long can she hide in plain sight?

As with all Rebecca Stead novels, Goodbye Stranger warrants a second (or third, or fourth) reading to really pick up on missed details. I didn't entirely get this one. It bounced back and forth between points-of-view (and the Valentine's Day chapters are written in second person which I will pretty much always question that stylistic choice from any writer, no matter how good they are because it is just so awkward – much like this sentence) and it was difficult to completely connect with characters.

Even with the holes in my comprehension, these are the things I was able to pick up on:
1) This book straddles the line between middle grade and YA. To the point where I wouldn't be surprised if in a year or so we start seeing Goodbye Stranger on the list of frequently most challenged books.
2) It deals with topics that every middle schooler today is either dealing with or knows someone who is dealing with, and even though there will be parents out there who insist that what Stead has written is filth, I am also convinced those parents are missing out on a really important conversation with their kids.
3) This book is getting a lot of Newbery buzz. I'm not feelin' it. That's not to say it's not an important book. It just wasn't speaking Newbery to me.

What I feel like I missed:
1) While "embrace the confusion" was a good mantra for When You Reach Me because eventually everything came to one big "aha!" moment, I ended Goodbye Stranger still feeling confused, and in a way, sort of robbed of that moment of elucidation that I come to expect from a Stead novel.  
2) Maybe I'm just dense, but I don't entirely get how the title fits with the story. 
3) I could be wrong, but I'm not entirely sure how much kid-appeal this book will actually have even though it deals with some taboo, controversial topics. I hope to be proved wrong on that one. 

For an excellent, thorough review from someone who really enjoyed Goodbye Stranger, visit Betsy Bird at A Fuse 8 Production.  


Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
Expected Publication: August 4, 2015
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Pages: 304
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Disclosure: ARC acquired at ALA Midwinter Conference  

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.