Read It: The Track Series by Jason Reynolds

Maybe it's the way he is able to write the way most kids speak.  Maybe it's the fact that I can hear the character's voice so clearly while I'm reading.  Maybe he just writes real books written from the heart.  There hasn't been a Jason Reynolds book that I haven't liked! 

 

 Lu, Jason Reynolds' fourth book in the Track Series is on bookstore shelves everywhere today!  I picked up my copy and instantly regretted not re-reading Ghost, Patina, or Sunny before Lu's debut.  But you can only read so many books at one time, am I right?  Anyhow, this is bittersweet for me because Lu is the final book in the Track Series.  With each character, I have learned so much about them and grown so attached that you don't really want the books to end, but they should at some point.  In this case, I trust the author's judgement... 😊

Track 1: Ghost
Castle Cranshaw, AKA Ghost, is fast!  So fast that he won an impromptu race with the city track team's star sprinter just to see if he could win.  With a little encouragement from their coach, Ghost makes a plan to get his life on track and make his teammates proud.  But living life on the straight and narrow is easier said than done.  Ghost is nominated as one of PBS's best-loved novels in the Great American Read and was also a 2016 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature.   Tagline: Running For His Life, Or From It?

Track 2: Patina
Patina "Patty" Jones is the fastest girl on the city track team, the Defenders.  She also has a lot on her plate.  Everything from fitting into a new school where the girls are all "hair flippers" to taking care of her little sister; worrying about her diabetic mom and adjusting to her step-mom.  Running is her relief and she's never going to give that up.  Tagline: Patty Ain't No Junk.

Track 3: Sunny
The 1600m event is Sunny Lancaster's game and wins every time.  Sunny is used to winning, but to him, winning is boring.  So when Coach sets him up for a new event, the discuss throw, Sunny isn't sure what to do.  Being "that kid" who walks to the beat of his own drum, Sunny has to humble himself and think outside of the box to become a winner again.  Tagline: Can He Make The Move To Make New Moves?

Track 4: Lu
Tagline: Sometimes You Gotta Jump Anyway...

I can't wait to sit down and read Lu!  Read this series.  You will fall in love with each of these characters and really enjoy reading how 4 kids from different backgrounds come together to form an unbeatable team. 
 

Book Review: Speechless

What can I say? This book left me... Speechless.

 

13-year-old Jimmy remembers his relationship with his cousin when he is forced to speak at his wake.  This is not an easy task, as Jimmy felt he had nothing in common with his cousin Patrick.  In fact, Jimmy believed that Patrick hated him his whole life.  But as Jimmy recalls the time spent with his cousin, he slowly realizes that perhaps he did have more in common with Patrick than he thought and through this process, he learns more about himself and his family.

Speechless was a book that kept me engaged and it was so well written, that I probably could have read the book in one sitting!  Every chapter introduces a new memory, as Jimmy struggles to find the right one that doesn’t end with Patrick losing his temper or destroying something.  What I enjoyed the most about the book was the little bits of humor that the author sprinkles in to lighten up the theme of a teenager’s death.  The book begins with Jimmy talking about his uncomfortable dress pants and those pants end up haunting him throughout the book.  I also enjoyed how every memory that Jimmy thought about offered a small nugget as to who Patrick really was, especially since his poor behavior overshadowed his intentions most of the time.  This book was a tear-jerker, so make sure to have tissues at the ready!

Fans of Wonder by RJ Palacio, Fish in a Tree by Linda Mullaly Hunt or Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli will enjoy this book.   Thought provoking, honest, and heart breaking, Speechless by Adam Schmitt is a book middle graders shouldn’t miss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for allowing me to read this E-ARC.

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Book Review: Cogheart

I'm not really sure how or when I became fascinated with steam-punk novels, but I do know that author Cherie Priest is my favorite!  Her Clockwork Century series is not to be missed if you like that Victorian steam-punk, weird historical fiction, fantasy, sci-fi sort of thing.  It's been a while since I've read a steam-punk novel, so you could imagine how excited I was to learn about Peter Bunzl and his series the Cogheart Adventures!  

It's Victorian steam-punk for middle grades!  Cogheart by Peter Bunzl is an action-packed mystery that will keep you on your toes!  Young Lily has just learned that her father is missing after his airship mysteriously crashed.  When Madame Verdigris, Lily’s guardian, brings her home from boarding school, everything at home is different and she soon fears that Madame Verdigris is not to be trusted.  Sure enough, Lily finds herself being chased by two mirror-eyed men who mean to do harm if Lily doesn’t answer their questions.  But what do they want?  And why do they want Lily?

A deep, dark secret begins to unfold as Lily, her friend Robert, and her mechanical fox Malkin begin a quest to find Lily’s father and reveal the truth behind the mysterious Cogheart!

Imaginative and full of adventure, I thoroughly enjoyed Cogheart.  There are so many unexpected twists and turns; it will keep you guessing.  There is also a glossary of words for young readers to refer to in case they are unfamiliar with steam-punk terms.  This book will be great for 8-12 year olds and fans of The Series of Unfortunate Events. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press for this E-ARC.  I’m looking forward to this book series (Cogheart, Moonlocket, and Skycircus) to be released in the US!

I'll for sure be heading to my local bookstore for this one!  Pick up your own copy of Cogheart on 2/12/2019. 

From THUG Life to HUG Life: Swing is Here!

Today is the day!!  Swing has arrived!!

Now if we weren't in the middle of flooding and torrential rain here in AZ, I would probably already have the physical copy in my hot little hands right now...  But alas!  I must wait a little longer for the UPS man to show up.

Swing is a wonderfully written YA book-in-verse about best friends Walt and Noah.  Walt loves playing baseball, even though he's terrible at it, and he also loves jazz music.  Walt is a positive thinker, a do-er,  a talker.  He's the kind of kid that could make friends with a wall.  His positive attitude is inspirational, so much that he gets a phrase tattooed on his shoulder that expresses his life philosophy: HUG Life.  Not THUG Life, HUG Life!

"You must embrace life with a metaphorical hug, and sometimes a literal hug, to really squeeze the life juice, the goodness, out of living."

Noah is wrapped up in girl troubles.  He has a crush on Samantha, who he and Walt have known since they were kids.  Noah has always been too shy to ask her out and now that Sam is dating the star baseball player, Noah feels like he will never get the chance to tell Sam how he feels.  But Noah is a gifted artist and his art (along with some old love letters) may be his saving grace to finally capture Sam's heart.

"YOU DREW THIS FOR SAM?

No, not for her.

You know what I mean dude. WOW! This is not just a drawing. This is game-changing, paradigm-shifting-ish stuff, Noah!"

This book has everything I look for in an "unputdownable" YA book!  It is written in-verse, so you are able to read a few pages at a time (say, like in a school carpool line) without having to re-set the tone or mood of the book.  It is also written in the language of your typical teenager, which makes the characters very relatable.  The the nervousness of high school crushes keeps you laughing, instances of politics and social injustice keeps you thinking (and questioning), and an unreliable narrator keeps you guessing.  The book also has pictures.  Yes!  Pictures and poetry that help bring everything together.  If you've ever read a Kwame Alexander book, you really look forward to the blackout poetry and other unique nuances that help tell the story.  The way the friendship between Walt and Noah is written is genuine and that is what made me want to read the book straight through.

Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess really have a connection when writing books together.  They co-authored YA novel Solo, as well as a non-fiction book titled Animal Ark: Celebrating our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures.  When reading Swing, you often forget that the book was written by 2 different authors.  I really hope they collaborate on another book soon!

Read Swing and share it with others!  Embrace the HUG Life!

"A setback is a setup waiting for a comeback"

~ Walt Jones in the book Swing ~