Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kiko, who is half Japanese, is getting ready to graduate. She is waiting to hear about acceptance into her dream school, an art school in New York. Kiko's has anxiety and doesn't like looking different. She has never been told that she was beautiful by her narcissistic mother, who always brags about what a blond haired, blue eyed beauty that she was in high school. Her mother doesn't think of anyone but herself. This has greatly affected Kiko and her two brothers.

Her mom tells her that Max, her uncle, is moving back in with them. This greatly upsets Kiko because even though her mother didn't believe her, she was sexually abused by Max. Kiko's only friend who moved away when they were 11, comes back to town. He gives her the opportunity to start a journey to help discover herself and her worth.

This book gave me all the feels! I loved it!


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The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's not often that a simple graphic novel touches you to the point where you want to buy multiple copies and pass them out to everyone you know! This beautiful book is about a Prince who likes to wear dresses and the Dressmaker who makes him feel beautiful. All I can say is that the King is my hero. Read this book!


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And She Was

And She Was by Jessica Verdi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a great read! It was thought provoking and engaging.

Dara is an 18 year old tennis player who is ready to start doing tournaments. She asks her mom for her birth certificate, but she says she can't find it. Dara does her own searching and finds a lock box under her mom's bed with the birth certificate, some pictures, and some bottles of pills. When she confronts her mom, Dara cannot believe what her mom is telling her.

Dara's mom, Mellie, used to be her dad. Dara's birth mom died when Dara was 6 months old. Dara is shocked, not that her mom was transgender, but that she lied to her for 17 years. Dara and her best friend Sam journey to find her birth mother's (Celeleste) parents. On their trip Dara has to work through her thoughts and feelings. Through a series of emails, Mellie tells Dara her story from the beginning. She shares her struggles, tribulations and her love for Dara and Celeste. Dara meets her grandparents, and at first, thinks she has found everything she needs, but soon realizes that Mellie did what she felt was best for Dara.

This book does an amazing job answering questions about being transgender or having a transgender parent for readers who have never experienced it. Verdi does a amazing job of discussing Marcus' struggle with being who he felt he was on the inside but not on the outside, and realizing how important it was to transition to Mellie. She also shows different reactions and levels of acceptance and bias. This book should be in every library!


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DNF- without the Guilt!

So, at TLA, I meet an author. The author was very personable, relatable, and very excited about their debut novel. So excited, that I could not wait to read it. I was not impressed with the cover, but once I talked to the author, it made sense. I finally got a copy of the book, and put all my other TBR books on hold. I WAS SO EXCITED! Then I started reading...I tried. I really tried! The book was not great. The writing was not good. The characters were one dimensional. It was breaking my heart. I talked to a friend of mine, whom I knew was also excited to read this book, and we commiserated over how bad the book was.  She made me realize that it is ok to stop reading a book. Most of my reading is done so that I can put great books in my students hands, and I realized that this book is not one that I would give them. Not when there are so many other books out there that fit the same niche or genre, but are written better.
I thought back to when I was teaching sixth grade, and worked hard to build a reading culture in my classroom. Self-choice is such an important part of becoming a lifelong reader, and I always taught my kids that if they read some of a book and realized it was not for them, it was ok to switch books. So know, it is ok to abandon a book, it is what good readers do.

Bang by Barry Lyga


Sebastian has lived (if you call it living) with the guilt of having accidently killing his baby sister when he was 4. He is just biding his time until it is the right time to rectify his past by killing himself. Then he meets Aneesa, his new neighbor, who has to deal with racism due to the fact that she is Muslim. They bond over the youtube show they create about making pizza. Sebastian realizes that he has to forgive himself, and that life should be lived. Plan on crying a little bit!


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

I really loved this book. It is more than just a memoir. It has some history, life advice and advice about getting along with family. There is interspersed FAQ, which are real questions kids would have especially in this day and age. Things like, "I'm undocumented, what do I do now."


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Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna Priemaza
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an amazing book about friendship!

Kat is attending a new school. She has a lot of anxiety issues, and is not very social. Meg has ADHD and has a hard time keeping friends. They end up working together on a year long science project. They find out they both love watching Lumber Legs, a YouTuber who records himself playing Kate's favorite video game.

I loved this book! The girls friendship is the type of friendship we all want. They have their little tiffs, but they are there for each other when they really need each other!

I think readers who enjoy young adult realistic fiction will really like this book.


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