Review: Felix Yz

Felix Yz by Lisa Bunker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what to make of this book; it had an interesting premise that was cluttered by too many distracting, unrelated details.

I was intrigued by the main story of 13-year old Felix being fused with Zyx, a being from the 4th dimension, ever since a horrible lab accident when he was 3 that also killed his father. I liked seeing Felix's relationships with his family and with Zyx, and empathized with dealing with a bully, first crush, and his increasing anxiety over the impending Procedure to attempt to separate him and Zyx. However, I felt like there was just too much extraneous stuff going on that took away from the story.

Not only does Felix have an alien inside his head and have a crush on another boy, but his mom is bisexual, his grandparent is gender-fluid (or perhaps non-binary?), and is befriended by a transgender boy. I have no issue with LGTBQ themes when they are done well and feel like a natural part of the characters and story, but there was just too much going on here. Rather than focusing on Felix's same-sex crush and continuing uncertainty of the relationship, it seems the author felt compelled to include as many LGTBQ representations as possible. I personally found it distracting, annoying, and smacked of tokenism to me. Then there was the whole side bit about playing chess that really added nothing to the story other than to introduce a new love interest and romantic conflict for Felix's mother, and the completely irrelevant "family secret" which were just more distractions.

I really wish the author had just focused on the the main story and developed the relationships between Felix and Zyx and between Felix and Hector further, rather than wasting time going off on all these tangents. It was just way too much crammed into a short middle-grade novel. I'd give the main story a 3.5, but all the distractions drag the book down to a 2.5 for me, and if I had a kid looking for a sci-fi book with LGTBQ characters I would try to find a better one before suggesting this one.

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Review: Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Informative and very engaging!

An interesting and surprisingly humorous read, Sara Saedi's memoir tells of her family's immigration to the United States to escape the instability and Islamic fundamentalism of Iran and the difficulties growing up undocumented as they navigated the long and difficult path to legal residency and citizenship.

Her memoir begins with a brief history of modern Iran in order to give context to her family's choice to emigrate, and is full of entertaining and touching stories of her extended family and their histories, Iranian-American culture, and the trials and tribulations of navigating the difficult and drama-filled teen years with the added stress and pressures of being undocumented. We learn about arranged marriages, family scandals, surprisingly different religious beliefs, and see Sara endure typical teen problems like acne, unrequited crushes, body image, and first loves, all the while supported by a close and loving family.

At first I was afraid this was going to be a dark and depressing story, but Sara's self-deprecating humor and wit made the story both entertaining and relatable, while still getting her point across. I appreciated the information on the history of Iran, as well as her advice to other undocumented immigrants and discussion of current immigration issues. Her description of her family's beliefs, values, and parenting style clearly illustrates how wrong stereotypes and assumptions about people based on one element (in this case country of origin) can be. I felt it might have been just a little bit long, as I felt my interest starting to waiver about 2/3 of the way through, but overall I found it well-written and more engaging that other memoirs I've read.

I would recommend this for ages 15 & up, primarily due to descriptions of drug and alcohol use by teens and mentions of sex (non-graphic). This would be equally as appealing to adults, particularly those who grew up around the same time as the author.

[I received this book as a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.]     

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Review: Invisible Emmie

Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great "middle school angst" graphic novel from a debut author! This one is a little bit different from the others.

First of all, the main character does not somehow stand out as being different from everyone else, nor is she teased, picked on or bullied. Instead, she is ignored. Emmie is very quiet, shy, and introverted. She does not talk to other people or speak up in class, and is perfectly ordinary in almost every way, other than having artistic talent. So no one really notices her, and she feels invisible. Katie, on the other hand, is pretty, popular, and outgoing. These two seem to have nothing in common, until one day something happens that causes their lives to intersect, ultimately helping Emmie to find her voice and become visible.

Not only are the two characters' personalities different, the author presents them in two different illustration styles. The passages about Emmie are more like an illustrated chapter book, written in regular prose paragraphs accompanied by doodles to illustrate, while the parts about Katie are told in traditional panels, comic book-style. The colors for Emmie's pages are soft and muted, while Katie's story is told with bright, vibrant colors, further reflecting the differences in their personalities. (Not being a graphic novel person, I preferred reading the "Emmie" sections, no surprise.)

I really enjoyed this book, and thought it was interesting how the author used a different format and color palette for each characters' perspective while telling the story. I don't want to say too much in a review, but in the end it will even make more sense that Katie's perspective is shown in a more cartoon-y fashion. This is a great story for all those kids who have a hard time finding their voice and often feel insignificant, and I readily identified with Emmie's character. While I wasn't quite as shy and quiet as she was in school, I too often felt ignored and invisible, and to be completely honest, I often still do even as an adult.

Fans of Raina Telgemeier and Victoria Jamieson will love this book as well, and I would also suggest it to fans of the middle grade Dear Dumb Diary, Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Terri Libenson is the cartoonist for the syndicated comic "The Pajama Diaries". Her second middle-grade graphic novel, Positively Izzy is due out in May, 2018.



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Review: Like Vanessa

Like Vanessa by Tami Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! I think this is a must-order for any public or middle-school library! Besides being a much-needed book with diverse characters and cultural authenticity, it is a wonderfully rich and multi-faceted story with a positive message about beauty and strength that will have readers reexamining their definitions of beauty and hopefully inspiring them to recognize their own natural beauty. It is due to be released on March 13, 2018; be sure to look for it!

Set in the Newark projects in 1983, 13-year old Vanessa Martin, long-time Miss America pageant fan, is thrilled and inspired to see Vanessa Williams crowned as the first black Miss America (along with Miss New Jersey Suzette Charles, who was also black, as 1st runner-up). Vanessa dreams of one day being on the Miss America stage herself, though she wishes she fit the conventional standards of what is considered beautiful: long, wavy hair; light complexion, slender but curvy body. She sees her hair as too tightly coiled, her skin too dark, and her body too big and shapeless. But, an incredible voice, a school pageant, and a teacher who sees something special in her may come together to give her just the opportunity she needs to pursue her dream, IF she can find the confidence and courage.

While the central theme of this story may be facing fears and reexamining beauty, it includes several other issues that are all inter-related and part of the lives of Vanessa and her family, skillfully woven into the story and adding to it, rather than detracting from it as often happens when authors take on too much. We see the challenges of poverty, threats of gang violence, touching family relationships as well as difficult ones, how families are destroyed by drugs, and the lack of tolerance for those who were different. We also see typical middle school challenges of fitting in, being comfortable in your own skin, changing friendships, and learning how to recognize true friends.

This story has excellent character development, and I immediately fell in love with the characters of Vanessa, Pop Pop, and TJ. While Vanessa's father was a bit of an enigma and a somewhat unsympathetic character at first, I always had the feeling that his withdrawal from the family was the result of something painful and traumatic that had happened, that they were all keeping from Vanessa. I really loved the character of Vanessa's teacher, Mrs. Walton who turned out to be quite different from the well-intentioned but ill-prepared typical white teacher who wanted to "make a difference" but would quickly be overwhelmed and disappear before the end of the semester like so many others as Vanessa first assumed. Some have criticized this character as a "white savior", but I disagree and feel they completely mised the point. She was the child of immigrants and grew up in poverty herself and has a multiracial family. I thought the point of her character was to show that everyone can be guilty of stereotyping people and making mistaken assumptions based on appearances, and it's something we should all be careful of.

This story deals with some serious issues, but in an age-appropriate way that is not too graphic, nor bleak or disturbing. The overall tone is inspiring, challenging, and hopeful, and the story moves along at the perfect pace; never dragging, but never rushed, either. The author includes some historical notes at the end about the Miss America pageant and Vanessa Williams, as well as about her own background growing up in Newark and competing in pageants herself, inspired like the character in the story by Vanessa Williams' success. I always like it when an author includes historical context and background information. I recommend this book for ages 10 through 15, and I think many readers would find the themes relatable; fans of Rita Williams-Garcia's Gaither Sisters Series are sure to enjoy this book as well. I highly recommend it, and would not be surprised to see it as a Coretta Scott King finalist next year, if it can get the attention of the right people.

An impressive debut; I'm eager to see Ms. Charles' upcoming picture book and next middle-grade/YA novel due out in the next year or two.

[I received this as a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Due out in March 2018]

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Review: Tucket's Travels: Francis Tucket's Adventures In The West, 1847-1849

Tucket's Travels: Francis Tucket's Adventures In The West, 1847-1849 by Gary Paulsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is actually a whole 5-book series bound in one volume and tells the complete story of Francis Tucket's adventures in the old west, starting with being kidnapped by Pawnee after straying too far from his family's wagon train. Over the next two years Francis meets a number of different people, some good and some very bad, as he suffers through many dangers and hardships as he works to find his way West and hopefully reunite with his family.

I bought this for my nephew, as he is a generally a reluctant reader, but does enjoy the adventure and survival stories found in many of Paulsen's books. I have to say, from the summaries I thought it sounded like a great story for a kid, but I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed it. I was a bit concerned about how Native Americans would be portrayed, since these books were written before there was much concern for cultural awareness or sensitivity, but I was pleasantly surprised there, too.

While I can't judge how accurate or authentic the portrayals were, I was pleased to see Paulsen did not fall back on stereotypes and the typical tropes. Different tribes were identified by name and were shown to have their own cultures and languages, and they were not portrayed as savages, but merely as people trying to survive and protect what was theirs, with some individuals being kind and friendly while others were hostile. Paulsen also provides notes at the end to give more historical context and correct misperceptions perpetuated by the TV and film industries.

The pace moved along pretty quickly and while it has a happy ending for Francis, there are many hardships and sad circumstances portrayed, as well as some significant violence, including various deaths. An attempted rape is alluded to, but the language used is vague and ambigous, so would go over the head of many young readers. The violence is realistic to the time period, but is not described graphically. Hunting animals for food is also described, as one would expect considering the story and time period.

I would highly recommend this to young readers who are interested in adventure and survival stories, and it is probably one of the few middle-grade Westerns still around; actually the only one I can think of, which makes it unique.

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