Tag Archives: Parent-Child Relationships

YA – Love, Decoded

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Yen, Jennifer. Love, Decoded. Razorbill, 2022. 978-0-593-11755-2. $18.99. 303 pp. Grades 7-10.

Love, Decoded by Jennifer Yen paints a world of Superbia, a Manhattan prep school, family life in a five-story brownstone with an elevator, and the fashionable and edible haunts of wealthy young New Yorkers that mixes Kevin Kwan’s Crazy, Rich Asians PG with Jane Austen’s Emma. Gigi Wong is a matchmaker-in-training with her Great-Aunt Rose in the backroom of her Chinatown shop, Rose and Jade. A computer coding whiz, sixteen-year-old Gigi convinces Auntie Rose to let her digitize some of the biodata on her clients. In first-person narration, Gigi describes her close friendship with next-door neighbor, Chinese and white, Kyle Miller; he is her confidante and go-to person, but nothing more (cue predictability). As a volunteer at the Suzuki Youth Center, the beautiful and magnanimous Gigi takes under her wing mentee, Etta, a Filipino-American scholarship student. Gigi learns to appreciate Etta’s exuberance and guilelessness and introduces her to a make over, exclusive restaurant openings, and demonstrations of privilege. In turn, Etta, an anime and video game aficionado, teaches Gigi how to use the subway, to buy clothes on a budget, and to appreciate the sacrifices Gigi’s chauffeur Fernando makes to be at the Wongs’ beck and call. Etta’s difficulty fitting in at Superbia also provides Gigi with the idea for her entry in a Junior Coding Contest. Using her novice matchmaking skills, Gigi enhances her program Quizlr into one that matches compatible friends. When former friend, Joey Kwan, returns from Singapore looking new and improved, Gigi thinks she has found a match for Etta. As the deadline for the contest approaches, Gigi has her pals try out her app only to find out that it has gone viral producing glitches in the program and serious problems for Gigi and her teacher, Ms. Harris. All gets neatly resolved with Gigi gaining new insight into what she truly wants for her future. Most readers will be treated to this world where teens wear original designers, dine at the trendiest restaurants, have their own credit cards, achieve high grades and awards, converse honestly and comfortably with their parents, and find their true love. Who wouldn’t want to escape there?

THOUGHTS: There are so many reasons this story is irritating, yet readers feel compelled to read it to the end. It fits all the stereotypes: wealthy prep school students can buy anything; the main characters are always going to the latest, best restaurants or ordering in their favorite foods; the narrator takes care to describe in detail their designer outfits and make up. Gigi knows the right things to say to maintain her sweet girl demeanor. She is supposed to be beautiful, smart, and popular, but no other girlfriends enter the story but her mentee, Etta, and through her, Gigi’s ex-friend, Anna. Perhaps Love, Decoded is an example of why we read fiction: to escape into a different world unlike our own. For that reason, Love, Decoded may become a seller among older middle school and younger high school students.

Realistic Fiction          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia

YA – Punching Bag

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Ogle, Rex. Punching Bag. Norton Young Readers, 2021. 978-1-324-01623-6. $17.95. 217 p. Grades 9-12.

As with his debut memoir, Free Lunch, Latinx author Rex Ogle is honest and sensitive in his recounting of his high school years with his volatile mother, Luciana, and abusive stepfather, Sam. At the book’s opening, Rex’s mother reveals that she has lost an infant girl, Marisa, while seven-year-old Rex was visiting his paternal grandparents. In front of her sensitive son, she is distraught with grief and places the blame at his feet. Ogle carries that guilt with him as he navigates his teen-age years protecting his half-brother, Ford, from the chaos erupting from domestic violence in their tiny Texas apartment. At times, this guilt is assuaged with the remembrance of Marisa, giving him the encouragement and strength not extended by other adults. Though his alcoholic stepfather beats his mother regularly, Rex’s mother refuses to press charges or escape. In fact, in a brief stint when Sam leaves her, she picks on Rex, goading him to hit her. Rex acts as the parent here. He has the maturity to see their household is toxic and to recognize his mother’s mental health issues. From conversations with family members, he gets an insight into the root causes of his mother’s and stepfather’s behaviors. However, he feels responsible for the safety of his younger brother and the financial stability of the family. He receives some emotional support from his grandmother and his mother’s sister; he is able to confess to his stepfather’s brother the physical abuse suffered in their family. Nevertheless,with little adult support from teachers or neighbors, young Ogle is out there on his own with the lone comfort of Marisa’s ghostly voice convincing him her death was not his fault. When Luciana and Sam repeatedly wind up together with little improvement, Ogle has to value his own life and aim for his own dreams to keep him resilient and hopeful. This memoir is an excellent example of bibliotherapy. Ogle does not gloss over the brutality and the bewildering reality of domestic violence and the devastating effect of a parent’s untreated mental health issues on her children. Ogle acknowledges this in the book’s preface with a disclaimer emphasizing his purpose for writing his story is to show that it is possible to survive. Students suffering the same trauma will appreciate his frankness. Contains an informative Q & A with author.

THOUGHTS: The account of domestic abuse as well as physical and emotional child abuse is constant, but Ogle is a talented narrator and compels the reader to endure it. Rex Ogle himself stands out as an exceedingly mature, resilient, compassionate person, despite a lifetime to being put down, parentified, terrified, neglected. It prompts the thought, where was this behavior learned. He records little resentment of being the person in charge of his younger brother. He willingly shoulders adult responsibilities around the house with hidden resentment and–mostly-controlled anger. The book delivers an important message to any students in similar circumstances.

Memoir          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia
362.7 Child Abuse

Picture Books – The Road Home; Smoot; T. Veg; Windows

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Cotton, Katie.   The Road Home.  Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017. 9781419723742. Unpaged. $15.95. Gr. K-2.

In this poetic and comforting tale, animals prepare for winter.  Each pair of animals has a goal in mind. The mouse builds a nest underground, and the bird and her chick fly off to a warmer climate.   On their journey, the rabbit and her kit find themselves in an alarming situation. They are being pursued by a wolf and cub who feel hunger or that “burning thing that settles like a stone.”  The author describes the rabbits’ fear as they try to outrun their predator. The reader is reassured to see that the pair have escaped the hungry wolves and have found safety in their leafy home as night falls. As spring arrives, all the animals return to the meadow, having survived the harsh winter. The illustrator Sarah Jacoby has chosen watercolors in a soft and muted color palette, which helps set the mood of the story.  Her engaging drawings take us through the seasons, as the tale begins in late summer and ends in spring. Most of the illustrations are full bleed and are done over a two-page spread. In the drawing of the fall leaves being blown about, one can almost feel and hear the wind. The winter landscape looks bleak and cold, with a blanket of snow topped by thorny bushes. The message here is that whenever parent and child are together, that place is home, no matter how difficult the road was to get there.  THOUGHTS: This lyrical story works well in winter-themed storytimes and would make a wonderful bedtime story.  Children will enjoy looking at the sweet drawings of the animals. A worthy selection for elementary collections.

Picture Book            Denise Medwick, West Allegheny SD

 

Cuevas, Michelle and Sydney Smith. Smoot: A Rebellious Shadow. Dial Books. 2017. 978-0-525-42969-2. $17.99. Unpaged. Gr. K-2.

A shadow’s job is typically to obediently follow you around, but “if life is a book, then Smoot the Shadow has been reading the same yawn-colored page for the last seven and a half years.” One day, Smoot has the chance to live out his dreams and wishes when he comes unstuck from his boy. As Smoot continues his journey, other shadows find courage and try their own fantasies. Smoot worries that this could get out of hand, so the rebellious shadow takes matters into his own shadowy hand, all within the curious eye of his boy. Will they find a connection? Sydney Smith’s gentle wwatercolorswith inky shadows make for an interesting contrast, and Michelle Cuevas keeps her text lyrical and well paced. The shadow of Smoot may just encourage more dreaming and action for other children who are stuck in a rut.  THOUGHTS: Smoot would make for a fun twist for science lessons or the old groundhog stories that primary teachers use every year.

Picture Book     Dustin Brackbill, State College Area SD

 

Prasadam-Halls, Smriti. T. Veg. Abrams Books, 2017. 978-1-4197-2494-7.  $16.95. Unpaged. Gr. K-2.

Poor Reginald the T. Rex just doesn’t fit in with his jungle friends. He is great at roaring and stomping, but come dinner time, he opts for carrot cake over steak. He attempts to convince his family and friends to try grapes, greens, avocado pie and smoothies, but they insist that a T. Rex should just eat meat, meat, meat. Eventually, the poor little dino, tired of being teased and tormented, packs his bag and runs away, looking to hang out with like-minded herbivores instead. But that proves to be challenging for a variety of reasons, leaving Reg frustrated and alone. However, his friends and family are missing him, too, and when Reg saves the clan from disaster, they finally appreciate the benefits of eating their fruits and veggies. The story is related in rollicking rhyme, and the palate of the  bold illustrations bring to mind carrots, peas and eggplant. THOUGHTS: A cute book to underscore the freedom to be different, or to encourage healthy eating.   

Picture Book     Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor SD

 

Denos, Julia. Windows. Candlewick, 2017. 978-0-7636-9035-9. $15.99. Unpaged. PreK – 1.

Evening begins to fall and a young boy heads out into his neighborhood, taking his small dog for a walk. As the pair amble past homes and businesses, the boy notices the variety of activities taking place in the windows, eventually returning home to a familiar, welcoming warmth. The detailed illustrations will invite children to closely examine each page and each window to see what is happening.  THOUGHTS: Beautifully illustrated, this is a lovely book for one-on-one reading.  

Picture Book     Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor School District

YA Fiction – Flame in the Mist; Eliza & her Monsters; Inexplicable Logic…; Goodbye Days

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Ahdieh, Renée. Flame in the Mist. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2017. 978-0-3991-7153-5. 392 p. $17.99. Gr. 7+.

Hattori Mariko is a gifted samarai and skilled alchemist, but none of that matters since she was born a girl. Unlike her warrior brother Kenshin, Mariko has been raised to serve her family in marriage and has been betrothed to the son of the Emperor. On her journey to the Imperial Palace, her caravan is attacked by members of the Black Clan, and Mariko only barely escapes with her life. Determined to discover who sent the infamous Clan to kill her, Mariko dresses as a peasant boy and infiltrates the group. As she sinks deeper into their ranks, Mariko finds her intellect and skills appreciated for the first time in her life and also finds herself falling in love, and begins to question her family, her purpose and her country. THOUGHTS: A nice addition to any Young Adult collection. Teens will relate to Mariko’s conflicted choices and get lost in the excellent world-building and storytelling.

Fantasy     Vicki Schwoebel, Friends’ Central School

 

Zappia, Francesca. Eliza and Her Monsters. New York: Harper Collins, 2017. 978-0-06-229013-7. 400 p. $17.99. Gr. 7 and up.

Fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl who have been looking for a follow-up, look no further!  Eliza and Her Monsters, by Francesca Zappia, is a perfect pairing. Eliza has a huge secret; she is the author and creator of the webcomic Monstrous Sea.  Since she is only known as LadyConstellation online nobody knows her true identity.  While she is an internet superstar, her offline life is less than ideal. Eliza feels beleaguered and misunderstood by her classmates, and her parents, who are baffled by her ties to her “fake” internet friends, and her desire to spend all of her time on her phone or computer. Then hulking, football player-looking Wallace comes into her life.  Wallace, who inexplicably and shockingly is a huge fan of Monstrous Sea, writes his own stellar fanfic too; a more unlikely pair you won’t find.  The slow build up of their friendship is well done; there is some skeptical orbiting, followed by cautious interaction, and eventually, full-fledged trust.  However, when Eliza’s secret is exposed her entire world comes crashing spectacularly down around her. THOUGHTS: Even if you’re not into webcomics or fandom, Eliza is a relatable character; her love of her digital community, her desire to spend all of her time with her friends, and her mixed feelings for her parents and siblings are all things that teens will identify with.

Realistic Fiction     Lauren Friedman-Way, The Baldwin School

 

Saenz, Benjamin Alire. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. New York: Clarion Books, 2017. 978-0-544-58650-5. 464 p. $17.99. Gr. 9 and up.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life, Benjamin Alire Saenz’s follow-up book to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, is just as brilliant, beautiful, and heartwarming/wrenching. Sal never thought of himself as an angry kid.  And yet, here he is, getting into fight after fight for no real reason and hating himself because of it; Sal can’t help but wonder if he’s more like his biological father than he thought. As in Aristotle, parents and adults play a major role throughout the book.  Both Sal and his best friend, Samantha, are molded by their parents. Even though Sal has been raised by a steady, kind hearted, loving adoptive father, Vicente, a man who fully embraces the idea of turning the other cheek, he fears that, ultimately, his character will be shaped by the temperamental, unstable father he never knew. The matriarchs, Sal’s terminally ill grandmother, his deceased mother, and Samantha’s mother, also get a starring role here. This novel highlights in ways no other YA book in recent memory has just how powerful and pivotal adult-child relationships are and addresses head on the age old question of nature vs. nurture. Another powerhouse of a novel from Saenz. THOUGHTS: The platonic friendship between Sal and Samantha is a refreshing change from the best-friend-to-boyfriend/girlfriend trope in many contemporary YA books.

Realistic Fiction      Lauren Friedman-Way, The Baldwin School

 

Zentner, Jeff. Goodbye Days. Crown, 2017. 978-0-553-52406-2. 404 pp. $17.99. Gr. 9-12.

“Where are you guys? Text me back.” This seemingly unremarkable text from Carver Briggs to his three best friends may have precipitated the car crash that killed Blake, Eli, and Mars. Now the fourth member of their “Sauce Crew” must face both senior year at Nashville Arts Academy without his closest friends and a potential criminal charge of negligent homicide. Some of his classmates sympathize with Carver, and others (including Eli’s twin sister) blame him for the tragedy. Carver finds solace in the company of Eli’s former girlfriend, Jesmyn, even though part of him feels like he’s betraying Eli by growing closer with her. Meanwhile, Blake’s grandmother invites Carver to spend a “goodbye day” with her doing all the things that Blake loved best. As guilt, panic attacks, blame, and legal fees threaten the stability of Carver’s world he must find a way to make it through the goodbye days and go on living.   THOUGHTS: Zentner won the 2017 Morris Award for his debut, The Serpent King. In my opinion Goodbye Days is an even better book, with a stronger hook for booktalks and an emotionally resonant depiction of a hot-button issue. The richness of Nashville’s arts scene and unique locales (including the iconic Ryman Auditorium and Parnassus Books) imbues every page and provides a wonderful backdrop to the story.

Realistic Fiction     Amy V. Pickett, Ridley School District

 

Zentner, Jeff. Goodbye Days. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2017. 978-0-553-52406-2. 405 p. $17.99. Gr. 10 and up.

Goodbye Days begins with Carver (aka Blade) attending the funerals of his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Together, the four of them made up “Sauce Crew,” and without them Carver is facing a long, lonely summer and a potential trial. Though his older sister Georgia is a much needed distraction, she has her own life at the University of Tennessee. After Carver suffers from a panic attack, Georgia helps Carver begin his healing by taking him to see therapist Dr. Mendez. It seems the only people that truly knew Carver were his now deceased friends. Readers are slowly introduced to each friend through flashbacks memories Carver shares. Carver and Eli’s girlfriend Jesmyn sit together at one of the funerals and through their shared grief become friends. Over the course of the book, Carver is able to lean on Jesmyn and open up more about his friendships and his guilt. It is Blake’s grandmother (who raised Blake) who presents the idea of a Goodbye Day to Carver. At first he isn’t sure, but he eventually concedes. Together they share memories of Blake, learn things they didn’t know about him, and truly begin the process of healing. Word of Carver’s Goodbye Day spreads to the other families, and eventually he has very different Goodbye Days with each.  THOUGHTS: People who know me will tell you Goodbye Days is a book just for me. I find the heartbreaking books to be most compelling. Having lost a best friend in my mid-20’s (to a terminal illness), I found the voice of Carver’s grief to be very authentic. Readers will be torn between pulling for him in the pending legal mess and feeling frustrated or angry with the choice he made to text a friend who was driving. While Goodbye Days is part cautionary tale, it is more about consequences, grief, and moving on after loss.

Realistic Fiction       Maryalice Bond, South Middleton School District