Review: Puddin'

Puddin' by Julie Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it!

Millie and Callie seemingly have nothing in common. Millie is short, fat, not popular, but has a small circle of friends including her best friend Amanda. She gets made fun of because of her weight, but is comfortable with herself and has an inner confidence and sweetness that is often mistaken for naivete. She simply ignores those who can't accept her, or kills them with kindness.

Callie is thin, pretty, has a popular boyfriend, and is next in line to be captain of the dance team. Though she seems to be part of the popular crowd, in reality she has no real friends because she doesn't let anyone get that close, and she knows what it's like to feel different. She adopts a "mean girl" persona in order to protect herself from getting hurt, and rejects people before they can reject her.

When one night of bad judgement causes their paths to become entertwined, Callie and Millie discover that they have more in common than they ever realized, and bring out qualities in each other they didn't know they had, leading to surprising developments.

This book is part sequel, part companion to Murphy's second novel, Dumplin'. It takes place where the previous book left off, but the focus is on different characters, though the rest of the Dumplin' cast is present as well. While this book does refer to events in the previous one, it can be read on it's own, but I would still recommend reading both because they are so good. In the author's own words, "If Dumplin' was about coming to terms with your own body, Puddin' is about demanding that the world do the same."

I loved this book at least as much as the first, possibly slightly more. I really enjoyed getting to know Millie much better, as well as Callie. I loved seeing how Millie's friendship helped Callie grow and learn she didn't have to play the mean girl and keep everyone at arm's length all the time, even if in real life the mean girls seldom change. The character development of the two main characters was wonderful, and I enjoyed being able to see different sides of them: Millie's ambition and determination, and Callie's softer side in caring about her family.

While there is some drama and romance in this story as well, it is first and foremost about friendship, and learning the difference between real friends and fake ones, and making the decision to be a better version of yourself, realizing you don't have to settle for someone else's stereotype of you.

I highly recommend this book! Though it looks a bit on the longer side, it really was a relatively quick and enjoyable read. Not too serious, but still very real and well-written; a perfect summer read.


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Review: Amal Unbound

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was very good, and a relatively quick and easy read, so might appeal to some of the more reluctant readers as well.

This is the story of Amal, a 12-year old Pakistani girl who is educated and dreams of going to college and becoming a teacher, until one day when the stress and fatigue from caring for her family while her mother struggles with postpartum depression causes her to mouth off to the wrong person. Jawad Sahib's family is powerful and wealthy, controlling everything in Amal's village and several others.

Jawad Sahib demands that Amal's father pay his debt in full immediately, which of course he can't, or surrender Amal to indentured servitude as punishment for her disrespect. Amal adapts to life at the Kahn compound, and is assigned to serve Jawad Sahib's mother, who treats her with kindness. While there, Amal learns dangerous secrets that could bring down Jawad Sahib and break the family's hold on her family and friends, but could also jeopardize her life.

Being a middle-grade novel, the story is a bit simplistic and the conflict resolved rather quickly and maybe a bit too easily. But that is exactly what makes it very accessible to younger readers and reluctant readers. According to the author's notes at the end, Amal's character is inspired by Malala Yousafzai and all the Pakistani girls who fight for education. She also notes that many girls are subjected to far worse circumstances for far longer than Amal.

I really liked Amal's character, seeing how she cared for her family and friends, but also wanted something more. I enjoyed seeing the relationship she developed with Nabila, who was at first her enemy but then became her friend, and Fatima, who became her first student. The relationship between Amal and Nasreen Baji was also interesting, Nasreen's unexpected kindness in contrast to her son's cruelty, and Amal's realization that Nasreen was just as trapped as the rest of them.

Some critique this book as being too idealist, though middle-grade books are rarely completely realistic, but I think it is important to plant a seed, the idea that even those that are poor, young, and oppressed can sometimes effect change if they work together are willing to take the risk. I would recommend this for ages 8-12.

Aisha Saeed is one of the founders of the We Need Diverse Books campaign, and this is her second book. Her first book was the YA novel Written In The Stars about a Pakistani-American girl being pushed into an arranged marriage, and she has plans for a picture book, Bilal Cooks Daal, expected to be published in 2019.

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Review: You're Welcome, Universe

You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had a little trouble getting into this story at first, but by the end I really liked it.

Julia is a deaf teenage graffiti artist who happens to be Indian-American and have two moms. Everything is great until someone paints a slur about her best friend on the wall of their school for the deaf, and when the administration drags their feet about painting over it, Julia takes matters into her own hands and covers it with her graffiti art. Unfortunately, her "friend" does not show the same protective loyalty and quickly gives Julia up when questioned about it, resulting in Julia's expulsion.

Julia then has to be mainstreamed into public school, where she has trouble adjusting and fitting in, and most of the other students and teachers make little effort, except for a girl that Julia calls "Yoga Pants" who she seemingly has nothing in common with. Eventually Julia and YP (the name sign Julia gives her) do become friends, but just when Julia think she has found a real friend, YP reveals she has been keeping a huge secret.

This is a story about friendship, trust, and forgiveness. Refreshingly, there is no real romance, just a crush that is another source of conflict between Julia and her former "best friend", and the focus is on developing friendships, learning how to tell real friends from the fake ones, knowing when it's time to let one friend go, and when to forgive another.

While I wish Julia's moms had a little bit more character development, I think the characters of Julia and YP were fairly well-developed. Julia is not always the most sympathetic character; she is dark and sulky, adopting a tough, gritty, "too cool for everyone else" persona that just rubs people the wrong way, but it is obvious this her way of protecting herself and rejecting everyone else before they can reject her. YP, on the other hand, is a very friendly and likeable character, and her openness and vulnerability is a perfect complement to Julia's dark edginess.

I can't judge the accuracy of representation of being deaf and deaf culture, so I will leave that to those who can. But the story is not really about Julia's being deaf, but about friendship, and expressing oneself through art. I would recommend this for anyone looking for realistic fiction that doesn't involve romance.

This book was the 2018 Schneider Family Award winner.

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Review: Little & Lion

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are looking for diversity, this book has it! The main character is a black Jewish girl from a blended, interracial family who is trying to figure out her sexuality while at the same time worrying about her stepbrother who has been dignosed with bipolar disorder. One of her love interests is a male friend who is biracial (black and Korean), another is a girl who identifies as pansexual, and her best friend is a lesbian.

Suzette is home from boarding school where her parents had sent her when her brother began developing symptoms of mental illness, in part so they could focus on him, and partly to shelter her. But she feels a sense of responsibility for Lionel, and her love for her brother causes her to make a very bad decision that puts his safety in jeopardy out of a misguided sense of loyalty. At the same time, she is trying to figure out her sexuality after having an affair with her female roommate at school that had a very messy ending, but also finding herself strongly attracted to a male friend.

Some have described this book as being too messy and having too many issues going on, and I have often felt that way about other books in the past. But I realized as I was reading it, life for many of us IS really that messy, and my family is a good example. We'd like life to be more simple and only have to deal with one complication or crisis at a time, but it isn't always that easy, which is something I have learned in the last year or two. Life is messy, difficult, and complicated.

I think the character development could have been a little bit deeper, but I did like the relationships within Suzette's family, how close she was to her stepfather and stepbrother. I found Rafaela, the girl Suzette and Lionel are both attracted to, to be less than honest or worthy of either of them. At times she was manipulative and seemed to enjoy being the center of attention and having siblings both interested in her, then she claimed an ex was stalking her, when it seemed she was really stringing him along because she like the attention and drama, and enjoyed having him and Lionel fighting over her. I was really suprised no one called her out on that crap and told her to get lost.

I cannot attest to the validity of the representation of bisexuality or bipolar disorder, so I will leave that to other reviewers.

This book won the 2018 Stonewall Award.

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Review: Starfish

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kiko Himura struggles with self-esteem, speaking up for herself, and feeling reponsible for her narcissistic mother's unhappiness. She is shy, withdrawn, and socially awkward, and finds it very difficult to be around other people, besides her best friend Emery. Her mother has little interest in her, and frequently belittles her Japanese heritage and features. When her mother insists on letting the uncle who sexually abused her as a child move in like nothing ever happened, Kiko finally finds the strength to leave and find a new life, with the help of her old childhood friend and crush, Jamie.

This book was a Morris finalist, and I can see why. Though it is sometimes painful to watch Kiko put up with her mother's abuse and selfishness, and her mother is a character everyone will love to hate, it is very satisfying to see Kiko slowly develop the strength to stand up to her mother and gradually realize that it is her mother who is the problem, not her. I love that while Kiko initially needed Jamie's support, she realized that she had to stop using him as a crutch and learn to be independant and find her own inner strength on her own, without him.

This could be very helpful for teens dealing with similarly unhealthy relationships with nacissistic people.


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Review: Lucky Broken Girl

Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful, sometimes bittersweet, story of perseverance, friendship, hope, and forgiveness. Definitely worthy of the Pura Bel Pre Medal!

Ruthie's family recently emigrated from Cuba to the U.S. to escape Castro. At first it was difficult, as they didn't speak the language and had to leave everything behind. Finally Ruthie's English is good enough that she is about to be promoted out of the remedial class and her Papi is making enough money to buy her the go-go boots she longs for and himself the car he has always dreamed of. But just as things are looking up, the family is involved in a terrible car accident that leaves Ruthie seriously injured and bedridden for almost a year.

This semi-autobiographical story follows Ruthie's long and difficult recovery, spending 8 months bedridden and in a body cast, and taking another 4 months after that to be able to walk normally again. We see her pain, anger, frustration, hopelessness and as she struggles with her lack of freedom, independence, and dignity; and her fear when she is finally free of her cast but has to learn to trust her leg and walk again.

I love how several cultures are woven into the fabric of this story. Ruthie and her family are secular Jews, but grew up in Cuba, and so brought much of the Cuban culture and language with them, and her neighbors include other immigrants from India, Belgium, and Mexico. As Ruthie learns about them and their cultures, she draws on parts of various faiths for strength and comfort. Ruthie's parents are portrayed as loving, but flawed parents. Her father is quick-tempered, slightly controlling, and perhaps a little insecure, but he does love his family. Her mother loves Ruthie, but has a hard time dealing with the burden of caring for an invalid, and sometimes seems a little selfish and lets her frustration show too much, making Ruthie feel guilty. Her little brother Izzie is extremely sweet and generous, however.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a more thoughtful, character-driven story, and those who enjoy stories of resilience and seeing others face and overcome hardships. Fans of The War That Saved My Life would also like this one.

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Review: The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't even know where to begin with reviewing this book.....it is powerful, well-written, well-researched, and will really make you question your own biases and views on education, hate crimes, and juvenile criminal justice. It is at times horrific and bleak, but in some ways hopeful, and reveals people showing amazing capacities for empathy and forgiveness. It is also terrifying.

This is the true story of a horrible crime that happened in Oakland in 2013, when one teenager lit the skirt of another teenager on fire as they slept while both were riding a transit bus home, resulting in horrific burns. Because the victim was perceived as a male (though self-identifies as agender) wearing a skirt, it was immediately assumed and reported to be a hate crime. But was it really? Did the 16-year old boy who committed the crime really deserve to be tried as an adult? Was he a hardened, homophobic criminal with no conscience and beyond saving? Or just an impulsive teenager, susceptible to peer pressure with poor judgment who did a very, very stupid, dangerous thing without conceiving of how disastrous the results would be?

I say it is terrifying because I am the parent of a very impulsive teenage boy, who has already gotten into trouble several times because of the lack of impulse control, inability to foresee consequences, and desire to show off for his friends. I live in constant fear that his immaturity and impulsivity will some day lead to him doing something similarly stupid, dangerous, and harmful that will end up with someone else hurt and him in jail before he (hopefully) matures and grows out of this behavior.

A must-read for all teens and parents of teens, but brings up issues all of society should think about.

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