Tag Archives: Pride

YA – Spin

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Caprara, Rebecca. Spin. Simon & Schuster, 2023. 978-1-665-90619-7. 393 p. $19.99. Grades 9-12.

“You must learn to question/ the stories you hear” (84). “The bards and poets/ often get it wrong, especially/ when they speak of/ girls and women” (4). Arachne is unattractive and destined to be nothing and be heard by no one, they say in town. But Arachne grows, learns to weave from her mother, loves her younger brother and friend Celandine fiercely, and questions the wisdom of the gods. Even as her mother shares stories of the gods (including Persephone, Leucothoe, and Aite) and leaves gifts at Athena’s altar, Arachne in her anger dares to question what the gods have done for them in their harsh, illiterate lives. As the years pass and Arachne grows from girl to young woman, she avoids others, distrusts the gods especially in their treatment of women, and learns to weave so skillfully she begins to feel pride in her own abilities as well as earn approval from others, including her father. But tragedy steals her family, and when beautiful Celandine is assaulted by a group of boys, the two flee to the city of Colophon. There, finding work as a weaver, Arachne again becomes known for her increasingly exquisite handiwork, but she will not give credit to the goddess Athena, who Arachne feels never offered her anything. Even as Arachne feels an attraction to Celandine, the two are pulled apart by anger and misunderstanding, and Arachne pours her emotions into her weaving. The resulting showdown between Arachne and Athena is powerfully described as Arachne stands boldly–in words and in weaving–for herself and all women misused, overlooked, and judged harshly. 

THOUGHTS: This masterful novel in verse will appeal to young readers, especially those interested in mythology or strong women.  

Fantasy (Mythology)

MG – Small Town Pride

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Stamper, Phil.  Small Town Pride. Harper, 2023. 978-0-063-11878-2. 260 p. $16.99. Grades 5-8.

Jake is adjusting to being his school’s first openly gay kid, but it’s not easy. His family and friends have been accepting but not everyone in the small Ohio town he lives in feels the same. The book starts with Jake coming home to an obscenely large pride flag hanging outside his house…his house across the street from the mayor’s house. People in town begin to be concerned that this could lead to a pride parade. Which causes Jake to think…why not? The main problem is that they would have to get approval from the town council and the mayor. Will Jake and his friends be able to convince people that a Pride celebration is an awesome idea? Why is Brett, the mayor’s son, spending so much time with Jake and his friends?

THOUGHTS: This was a wonderful story about standing up for yourself and what that can look like for an individual person. Highly recommended for any middle school collection.

Realistic Fiction          Mary McEndree, Lehigh Valley Regional Charter Academy

Elem. – Flying Scotsman and the Best Birthday Ever

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Morpurgo, Michael. Flying Scotsman and the Best Birthday Ever. Illustrated by Michael Foreman. Thames & Hudson, 2022. Unpaged. $17.95. 978-0-500-65294-7. Grades 2-5. 

A fictional girl shares memories of her father as driver of the Flying Scotsman, and her love of steam locomotives throughout her career and life. The Flying Scotsman, a passenger locomotive between London and Edinburgh, was built in 1923 and served proudly with crew for many years in the United Kingdom, later making visits to the United States, Canada, and Australia, giving it the honor of being the first steam locomotive to circumnavigate the globe. The girl in this story shares her pride in watching her father prepare the engine and driving the Flying Scotsman, waving and calling to his daughter. She wants to go with him, in fact, “to shovel the coal, to pull the whistle, to help him drive.” Her teacher tells her girls can’t, and her mother tells her not yet, but the little girl leaves a note and secretly follows her father to the train for her own secret ride. But the stowaway is found, and it is not until later that her father is granted tickets for his wife and daughter to ride in the luxury of First Class on Flying Scotsman. Her memories of that ride are vivid. Being dressed in their finest, having a magnificent breakfast and lunch in the dining car, seeing beautiful sights from the windows of their train car, and arriving in Edinburgh to cheers and a band, for the Flying Scotsman had set a world record for speed! The girl later has a career with the train, being honored to stand on the footplate, where her dad once had been. The book ends with facts about the steam locomotive and its travel years as well as its place now giving special passenger tours in the U.K. 

THOUGHTS: Share this with those with a love for trains and their history or anyone with wanderer’s lust for new sights. This book could easily spark a love for trains, history and travel.

Picture Book          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD

YA – Follow Your Arrow

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Verdi, Jessica. Follow Your Arrow. Scholastic Press, 2021. 978-1-338-64046-5. $18.99. 308 p. Grades 9 and up.

Life seems perfect for Cece Ross. She’s only a junior in high school, but she’s a successful social media influencer with several sponsorships. She and her girlfriend, Sylvie (also a social media influencer), have been together for two and a half years; sure, they bicker sometimes, but that’s normal when you’re in a relationship that long, right? Apparently Sylvie doesn’t agree; out of nowhere, after they finish a live stream unboxing video together, Sylvie breaks up with her. Not only is this devastating as Sylvie is her first love, Cece also wonders how this will affect their commitment to speak as the Grand Marshals of the upcoming Cincinnati Pride parade in just a couple months. She’s also not used to doing the whole social media thing without Sylvie, and Cece constantly worries about how she is being perceived through the app. Not long after the break-up, Cece meets Josh, a sweet and friendly violin player who avoids social media entirely. Cece has always known she’s bisexual, and Josh definitely has boyfriend potential, but he doesn’t realize who Cece is or how famous she is. Josh has expressed disdain for social media influencers though, so she decides it’s best to keep him out of the loop for now. But how long can she keep this secret from Josh as he becomes more than just a friend and social media gossip starts running rampant?

THOUGHTS: This is a mostly light-hearted and fun romance, but it also tackles some important topics we cover in schools: bullying, homophobia, digital citizenship, and pressures of living life online, and most importantly, biphobia. Cece deals with a lot of the latter in the final third of the book as her relationship with Josh becomes public. A Junior Library Guild selection, this book is great addition to YA collections to expand bisexual representation.

Realistic Fiction         Sarah Strouse, Nazareth Area SD

Elem. – The Rock from the Sky

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Klassen, Jon. The Rock from the Sky. Candlewick Press, 2021. 978-1-536-21562-5. Unpaged. $18.00. Grades PreK-3.

Told through five chapters (“The Rock,” “The Fall,”  “The Future,” “The Sunset,” and “No More Room”), Jon Klassan’s newest picture book, The Rock from the Sky uses humor to explore friendship, pride, jealousy, and the future. Turtle loves standing in his favorite spot. When Armadillo comes to see what Turtle is doing, he feels uneasy about Turtle’s favorite spot, so he decides to stand in a different spot. Since his spot is further away, Turtle and Armadillo cannot hear each other, so Turtle moves closer, and just in time. A giant rock falls from the sky right on Turtle’s spot. As Turtle explores the rock, he falls, but he is too full of pride to let Armadillo know that he fell or he needs help, so Armadillo takes a nap in the shade of the rock, while Turtle remains stuck on his back. Back on the rock, Armadillo dreams about the future, but Turtle isn’t so sure he likes Armadillo’s thoughts. At night, Armadillo and Snake watch the sunset under the rock. Turtle comes to see what they are up to, but he is too far away to be heard. As he moves closer to be heard, Turtle blocks the sunset for Armadillo and Snake. Finally, Turtle sees Armadillo and Snake napping under the rock, and with room for only two, Turtle feels left out. As he tries to make Armadillo and Snake feel bad, he gets closer to them so that he can be heard, and just in time because ANOTHER rock falls from the sky on the spot where Turtle had been!

THOUGHTS: Jon Klassan once again uses easy to follow dialogue, dry humor, and simple watercolor illustrations to bring to life a universal story of friendship, pride, jealousy, and dreams through the comedy of falling rocks from the sky. His pictures depict the story of Turtle and Armadillo and both stand alone and support the basic dialogue of these two friends. Readers need to not only read (or hear) the dialogue, but must also follow along with the illustrations to understand the story. I had to view the illustrations multiple times to understand some of the humor (classic Jon Klassen; a book for both kids and adults).  This is a must have where Klassan books are popular.

Picture Book            Erin Bechdel, Beaver Area SD