Full Cicada Moon

Hilton, Marilyn.  Full Cicada Moon. 2015.  Dial Books for Young Readers.  New York, NY.





The year is 1969, and the Apollo Mission is about to land on the moon.  The world is full of wonder about the new territory about to be explored, and the scientific accomplishments of the NASA Scientists.

12 year old Mimi Oliver dreams of becoming an astronaut on the moon.  Growing up in California, surrounded by family and close friends, anything seems possible.

Mimi's Dad has been given his dream job - as a professor at Hillsborough College in Vermont.  And Mimi and her mother journey across the county to join her father in their new home and her new school - just after New Year's Day.

For Mimi, life is full of the usual complications of moving to a new school in a new place;  finding new friends, a place to fit in, getting to new to her classes and proving to the teachers that she really does belong in the classes that she's been placed into.

But there's one unexpected twist. As a half Japanese, half black young woman who wants to be a NASA Scientist in a mostly white very traditional small town in Vermont, she keeps finding unexpected obstacles and hostility where she least expects.

Mimi's journey to win acceptance and follow her dreams will give you the courage to follow your very own big dreams.

When Dimple Met Rishi

Menon, Sandhya.  When Dimple Met Rishi.  2017.  Simon Pulse, New York, NY

Dimple Shah is an average, ordinary American teenager who loves to code.  Her biggest dream for the summer after she graduates from high school is to get away to a coding camp and program a winning App.  An app so wonderful, so spectacular, that she will get a chance to meet her heroine, Jenny Lindt, a world famous coder.  There's only one problem with this perfect scenario.  Did I mention that she is of Indian descent? Her parents want her to find and marry her I.I.H.  (Ideal Indian Husband)

Rishi Patel is an average, ordinary American teenager who is very connected to his roots and his past.  While his passion is drawing and writing comic books.  Instead of pursuing his passion, he has set his sights on going to MIT to become a computer programmer.  He is a hopeless romantic who loves the unconventional story of how his parents met through an arranged marriage.




The parents of Rishi and Dimple are old friends who grew up in India together.  Between them, they believe that Dimple and Rishi would make an ideal couple, and take the steps to arrange a marriage between them.  While Rishi is well aware of the plans for the two to meet during the summer coding camp, Dimple's parents decide that it is best to keep her in the dark.




Dimple begins their acquaintance with each other by throwing her iced coffee all over this strange kid who knows everything about her and calls her "future wife".  Things take a turn for the worse when the two are assigned to be partners during the six weeks of camp.




But, as Dimple and Rishi begin to work together, they find that underneath their prickly exteriors lie a quiet depth that neither one suspected about the other.




Will they follow through on their parent's wishes and pursue a relationship?  Or are they destined to remain friends?  Find out as you journey with Dimple and Rishi through San Francisco!


Find this book in a library near  you: https://www.worldcat.org/title/when-dimple-met-rishi/oclc/1085230806&referer=brief_results

Youth Media Awards

The time is coming when the BIG awards for youth literature published in 2017 are going to be announced.  As always, there's a lot of speculation about who is going to win the prizes.  Which prizes, you ask?  The Printz Award - for Young Adult Fiction.  The Newberry Award for Children's Fiction, and the Caldecott for Children's Picture Books.

I've read books that I think are big contenders this year.  I know I'm wrong about which book will win, but I'm going to list my personal favorites:

1) You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
Author: Sherman Alexie

The true story of Alexie's life growing up on the Rez.  This bold, stark tale of life with alcoholic parents in the extreme poverty of life on an Indian Reservation is a look at the different ways we love - and express our love for the people in our lives.

2) The Hate U Give
Author: Angie Thomas

In a story ripped from the headlines, a young teen is shot by police during a traffic stop.  The following he said/she said story brings a community to the edge of violence, and the jury verdict pushes the city over the edge.  Insightful commentary brings the story out of the headlines and into your hands, turning what you thought you knew about these stories upside down.

3) That Inevitable Victorian Thing
Author: E.K. Johnston

In this Alternative History, the Victorian Empire has flourished, and rules the entire globe.  Set in modern day Canada, Margaret Anne, the next in line for the British Throne, has her coming out disguised as a relatively unknown noble person named Margaret Sandwich.   Margaret has the summer of a lifetime, free from the strictures of the court until she discovers love - an unconventional love that could turn the empire upside down.


I'd love to see You Don't Have to Say You Love Me win it all, but I wouldn't be surprised if The Hate U Give is the winner.

What about you?  Do you have any predictions for this year?

The Cruel Prince

Black, Holly.  The Cruel Prince.  2018.  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Jude is an ordinary girl growing up in suburbia with her parents and sisters when her world is unexpectedly turned upside down.

A mysterious stranger appears at her parents door one day.  He confronts her mother, and slaughters both of her parents before she has a chance to scream.  He explains that he is from the Faerie Kingdom, and is one of the folk.  Their mother had been his wife, and their oldest sister was his child.  He then takes all three of the children back to Faerie to raise as his own. It turns out that her new father is the General to the High King.

Jude is a mortal who finds herself swept into the strange world of Faerie, with all of the political intrigue and anger that accompany her when The Folk are forced to treat Jude and her sister as equals.



The intrigue deepens when the High King of Faerie is to step down and appoint one of his children as the next High King.  As Jude attempts to remain alive when it seems all about her are trying to kill her, she finds herself swept into the intrigue of the high court.  It turns out that not all is as it seems, and that not everything is as clear cut and straight forward as she thought.  There are plots within plots within plots.



Can Jude survive the transition?  Will she continue to have a place in court?  Who is the mysterious suitor that will be asking for her sister's hand in marriage?  What part does her little brother Oak have to play in this drama?



Plots within plots within plots will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last twisty, turny end of the book.


Find this book in a library near you: https://www.worldcat.org/title/cruel-prince/oclc/1039680704&referer=brief_results

Runebinder

Kahler, Alex R.  Runebinder.  2017.  Harlequin Teen, Ontario, Canada.

The world as we know it ended with the Resurrection.  Not the Resurrection we tend to associate with the Bible, but definitely a tale of End Times brought about by magic.

Tenn is a Freedom Fighter.  A young Hunter, he works to overthrow the evil Necromancers and Howls who overtook the world and raised their evil dark mistress over the world.  Tenn is able to tap into some magical powers - he is attuned to water and earth - but his power does not come close to that of the evil ones ruling the planet.




So then why do the evil Necromancers chase  him across the world?  Why are they determined to destroy him and all that he loves?  Why are the ancient prophets desperately searching for him?  Why does the Dark Lady haunt his dreams?




He begins to suspect that he may be more than just an ordinary Hunter and user of magic when he unleashes a powerful surge of magic that turns ordinary rain water into ice daggers that kill those who hunt him.  And when the mysterious Incubus Tomas begins to court him with promises of power and glory, Tenn begins to question just how far the powerful will go to get him to come to their side.


Author's Web Site: http://www.arkahler.com/


Find this book in a library near you: https://www.worldcat.org/title/runebinder/oclc/1066139189&referer=brief_results

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

Alexie, Sherman.  You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. 2017.   Little, Brown and Company. 

In this compelling autobiography, Sherman Alexie takes a very honest look at his life growing up.  If you are wondering what the Native American experience was in the late 20th century, Sherman does a fantastic job of capturing life on the Rez.  While exploring his upbringing, he explores what it means to have been raised by an alcoholic parent in an uncertain world.

Sherman Alexie is an award winning poet who has captured the hearts and minds of people everywhere with his honest words and views of the world that speaks to everyone - regardless of age or race.

His gift for words weaves a tale that draws the reader into his relationship with his mother as he attempts to come to grips with their relationship.  Where sometimes memoirs can be bitter or angry, this story is instead a bittersweet look back at what was and why it was that way.



Author's Website:  http://fallsapart.com/


Find this book in a library near you: https://www.worldcat.org/title/you-dont-have-to-say-you-love-me-a-memoir/oclc/1000583534&referer=brief_results

That Inevitable Victorian Thing

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because of the beautiful cover. The inviting artwork drew me to the book. The incredible words contained within the book kept me reading late into the night and through my lunch break until I had finished. There were unexpected plot twists and turns, and a glorious world set in an alternate modern world where Queen Victoria continued to rule the British Empire, and the British Empire spans the globe.

Margaret is the Princess, set to be the next Queen of the British Empire. When it is time for her to have her "Debut", her parents attempt to give her the most normal of experiences ever. She travels to Canada, where she has her Debut with her God Sister. Masquerading as Elizabeth Sandwich, she is able to live the life of a relatively normal, obscure socialite. Margaret befriends a young girl named Helena, and the two girls become fast friends. Disguised as Margaret Sandwich, the young princess has the summer of a lifetime with good friends, laughter, high teas, and dances.



Everything is not as joyful as it may seem, though. Underneath the diversions of dances and balls runs a secondary story line of extortion, piracy, and secrets that extend all the way down to the DNA. Will Margaret be able to triumph over the unexpected hurdles that suddenly appear in the middle of her idyllic summer?

View all my reviews

(This review is my Good Reads Review and is linked to my Good Reads account.) 


Find this book in a library near you: https://www.worldcat.org/title/that-inevitable-victorian-thing/oclc/1027831968&referer=brief_results