JOSEPHINE AGAINST THE SEA by Shakirah Bourne (a member of #the21ders!) for #IMWAYR

 

Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne (July 6, 2021, Scholastic, for ages 8 to 12)

A lively, funny, and delightful read, compelling from the first page to the last. The voice is so fantastic and believable you'll feel you're listening to ten-year-old Josephine talk to you about her widowed Daddy (the fisherman), and the new woman he's brought home. Josephine doesn't trust Mariss at all and suspects she's not even human! Especially when Josephine sees the jeweled comb Daddy found in his fishing net. Daddy suddenly has better luck fishing, and money starts pouring in to pay all the bills. Then Mariss moves in with them, and the framed portrait of Josephine's dead mama disappears from the dresser...

Chock-full of the kinds of details that make a book authentic and bring the Barbados setting to life.  Bursting with the flavor of modern life in Barbados: cricket matches (Josephine longs to play on the school team, if she can convince the coach to let a girl on), spicy food, and reggae music. But there are also wishes on silk cotton trees, and ancient tales of powerful spirits. 

A kind librarian lends Josephine her only copy of The Treasure Chest of African and Caribbean Folkore. There Josephine finds the perfect description of Mariss: a Mami Wata, or Sea Mumma, a creature from the sea who insinuates themselves into someone's life and takes over, bringing riches, but also bringing destruction. Josephine realizes she must do something to stop Mariss and save her Daddy.

The writing is brilliant. You won't be able to stop turning the pages. Thank you to the author and the publisher for an ARC of this gem of a book.


Find out more about Shakirah Bourne on her website.

#IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. Visit their blogs to see all the participants. You can also follow the hashtag on Twitter!

Happy Spring! It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 I think this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

These are all the covers from #the21ders MG spring debuts, put together by one of our own, the talented Sam Subity!  I've read quite a few of these already, and highly recommend them all.

Here's a complete list of the books and their authors (I've included a link in the title to each publisher's website, a link in the author's name to their website, and then their Twitter handle):

April 1, 2021: BONE TREE by Jenna Lehne   Twitter: @jenna_lehne 

April 6, 2021: THE GILDED GIRL by Alyssa Colman  Twitter: @alyssabcolman 

April 6, 2021: GIRL WARRIORS by Rachel Sarah    Twitter: @rachel_sarah  

April 13, 2021: CECE RIOS AND THE DESERT OF SOULS by Kaela Rivera   Twitter: @Kaela_Rivera_

April 13, 2021: THE LAST WINDWITCH by Jennifer Adam   Twitter: @JenFSAdam

April 15, 2021: THE ACCIDENTAL DIARY OF B.U.G. by Jen Carney   Twitter: @jennycarney

April 27, 2021: SEA OF KINGS by Melissa Hope   Twitter: @hopefullhappens

May 4, 2021: GLITTER GETS EVERYWHERE by Yvette Clark   Twitter: @yvettewrites

May 4, 2021: THE LAST SHADOW WARRIOR by Sam Subity   Twitter: @sjsubity

May 4, 2021: WE GOT GAME:35 FEMALE ATHLETES WHO CHANGED THE WORLD by Aileen Weintraub   Twitter: @AileenWeintraub

May 4, 2021: THE LAST FALLEN STAR by Graci Kim   Twitter: @gracikim

May 11, 2021: UNSETTLED by Reem Faruqi  Twitter: @ReemFaruqi

May 18, 2021: AN OCCASIONALLY HAPPY FAMILY by Cliff Burke   Instagram: @cliffburkeauthor

May 18, 2021: THANKS A LOT, UNIVERSE by Chad Lucas  Twitter: @ChadGALucas

June 1, 2021: REA AND THE BLOOD OF THE NECTAR by Payal Doshi  Twitter: @payaldwrites

June 1, 2021: EVERYWHERE BLUE by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz  Twitter: @JoanneRFritz 

June 8, 2021: ALMOST FLYING by Jake Maia Arlow  Twitter: @jakewhosagirl

Come find us on Twitter (or Instagram), our websites, or at the21ders.com!  

Please look for our books on Goodreads and in bookstores everywhere, or request them at your local library. We will love you forever!  

#IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. Visit their blogs to see all the participants. You can also follow the hashtag on Twitter!

TROUBLE WITH A TINY t by Merriam Sarcia Saunders (one of #the21ders!) for #IMWAYR (It's Monday! What Are You Reading?)

Trouble with a Tiny t by Merriam Sarcia Saunders (March 2021, Capstone, for ages 8 to 12)

Westin Hopper can't sit still. His ADHD brain constantly gets him in trouble. He's always thinking about something else instead of paying attention in school and at home. As if that's not enough, his parents are divorced and argue a lot, he's constantly bullied at school, and his best friend, Josh, no longer wants to be around him. 

Drawing is the only thing West cares about. 

West finds a magic pouch that belonged to his missing uncle, and discovers it can bring his thoughts to life. His toy T-Rex comes to life and it's tiny at first, but then it starts growing. West also brings to life a squad of headless Army men, and then a Thor, who marshalls the Army men to keep the T-Rex at bay. 

If it wasn't for his new friend Lenora, West wouldn't be able to handle it all. Lenora helps West realize that his drawing talent may be the answer to dealing with the mess he's created. And West helps Lenora deal with her feelings about her mother.

How West and Lenora help each other through this bizarre situation makes for a great read. This is fast-paced and fun, with plenty of humor and warmth and honesty about neurodiverse kids and bullying. West is such a likable character, I was totally invested in his conflict. In fact, I was so involved, I actually had trouble putting this down to make dinner yesterday! 

Merriam's Author website

Merriam is a specialist in learning and behavioral disorders. Here's her professional website.

Buy Merriam's book from Bookshop

Merriam is one of #the21ders!

HOPE SPRINGS by Jaime Berry for #IMWAYR (It's Monday! What Are You Reading?)

Hope Springs by Jaime Berry (August 2021, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, for ages 8 to 12)

Eleven-year-old Jubilee Johnson is used to moving all the time. Her mother is a country singer who's always on tour, so Jubilee lives with her grandmother. Nan tends to drop everything and move whenever the slightest thing bothers her. 

But Jubilee's heart's desire is to settle in one place for longer than a few months, a place where she could have friends and join activities, a place to call home. So Jubilee plans the next move, convincing Nan they should try Hope Springs, Texas, the hometown of Jubilee's TV crafting hero, Arletta Paisley.  Once they arrive, Jubilee makes a few friends right away, and even finds a part-time job at the Fabric Barn. But her new friends aren't happy with Arletta Paisley, who is bringing a SmartMart superstore to Hope Springs. They think it'll put all the small businesses out of business. Will Jubilee find a way to save the town and convince Nan to stay?

What a delightful read! Jubilee is a wonderful, extremely likable character, whose first person narration draws you in immediately. Then the colorful writing (Nan's almost-swears are priceless!), lively dialogue, and timely issues cast a spell over you. You won't be able to stop reading!

Bonus: The included craft "recipes"elevate the book to another level. From Caring Critter Cards to Lemon-Scented Jelly Jar Room Deodorizer to Healthy Dog Treats, and more, the crafts are clever and fun. Makes this book a wonderful interactive read. 

Kids will love this!

Jaime Berry's website

Buy HOPE SPRINGS from Bookshop

Jaime is one of #the21ders! 

#IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. Visit their blogs to see all the participants. You can also follow the hashtag on Twitter!

FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA by Crystal Maldonado for #IMWAYR (It's Monday! What are you reading?)

(My attempt at a #bookstagram on Instagram! Find me there, @joannerossfritz)

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado (February 2021, Holiday House, for ages 12 and up)

What a warm and delightful read! 

An empowering novel for fat girls everywhere and brown girls everywhere, but also for all of us, because we're all human. And we all need to learn to cut ourselves some slack. 

Charlie (short for Charlotte) Vega, is a high school student, and a Latina in a mostly-white Connecticut town. She's smart and funny, loves fashion, and loves to write. 

She's also fat. 

Her best friend, Amelia, is thin and popular and could date anyone she wants. But Charlie has never dated anyone. The opening line drew me right in: "I imagine being kissed about a hundred times a day." 

Can Charlie learn not to compare herself to Amelia? Can she learn to get along with her mom, who used to be fat and then lost a lot of weight, and is always lecturing Charlie? 

Will Charlie ever have a boyfriend?

After a disastrous high school dance that Charlie was sort-of but not really invited to by handsome Cal (who really wanted Charlie to bring Amelia along!), Charlie is depressed about ever finding love. And then Brian, a nice guy in her Art class, starts talking to her. Could there be something there? 

First-person, present-tense narration gives this novel immediacy and warmth and liveliness. The diverse cast is refreshing. The voice is perfect -- Charlie's desires and worries come across as highly authentic. Reading this book is a lot like being back in high school. 

I got so caught up in Charlie's world I didn't want it to end. The last chapter brought tears to my eyes. (And the last line is gorgeous!) You will love this novel!

(Of course, I may not be totally impartial. Crystal is not only one of my fellow 21ders, but also a fellow Holiday House debut author, along with Kate Albus, author of A PLACE TO HANG THE MOON!)

Visit Crystal Maldonado's website

Order from Bookshop here!

#IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. Visit their blogs to see all the participants. You can also follow the hashtag on Twitter!

AN OCCASIONALLY HAPPY FAMILY by Cliff Burke, for #IMWAYR (It's Monday! What are you reading?)

 

An Occasionally Happy Family by Cliff Burke (May 18, 2021, HMH, for ages 8 to 12)

This is one of the funniest books I've read from The21ders, my debut group of MG and YA authors. But there's also a touching undercurrent of sadness running through it. 

Heartfelt doesn't begin to describe it.

Thirteen-year-old Theo's mom died two years ago, and he and his dad and his fifteen-year-old sister, Laura, still haven't really talked about it. Then Dad informs the siblings they're going on a road trip to go camping in the hottest park in Texas during the hottest part of the summer, with a promised surprise at the end. Neither Theo nor Laura want to go on this trip and would prefer to spend all their time in air conditioning and on their phones. 

What follows is hilarious, as one disaster after another befalls the family, from a broken cooler that turns their lunch to mush, to a vlogging teen hiker who tries to include Laura in his vlogs, to a bear in their campsite, to a naked elderly couple in the Hot Springs. But what you'll love most about this book is the spot-on dialog between the siblings and their father. Judicious use of dialog tags, and a finely-tuned ear for the way kids really speak makes this dialog sound like a real family squabbling and teasing each other. Plenty of snark. And I never lost track of who was speaking.

When Dad's "surprise" turns out to be a new girlfriend, Theo and Laura react as any grieving kids would. Long before the end, you'll fall in love with this family, and your heart will ache for them to finally talk about their feelings.

A winner in my book!

You can pre-order AN OCCASIONALLY HAPPY FAMILY from Bookshop!

Other pre-order info and more on Cliff Burke's website

#IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. Visit their blogs to see all the participants.

THE LAST SHADOW WARRIOR for #IMWAYR (It's Monday! What are you reading?)

First a quick health update (feel free to skip to the post below the photo if you prefer): Good news! The retina specialist says I don't need surgery on my blurry right eye. He also showed me what the swelling looks like in a picture of my retina (it looks like a wave!), and claimed it's a direct result of the laser treatment I had way back at the end of October, to correct my rising Glaucoma pressure.

This is just as I suspected, although my regular eye doc, who gave me the laser treatment, claimed that had nothing to do with the swelling! 

More good news: those steroid drops I've been using three times a day since mid-December are really helping! (So my eye doc got that part right!) There's still a fist-size portion of blurriness in my vision but I can manage to read despite this (although my eyes tire easily, so I can't read for long, which drove me nuts when I received the ARC below in the mail). I have to keep using the drops for three more weeks and then taper off for a month.

Now, as we wait for the announcements of the ALA Youth Media Awards, it's onto today's post! Another exciting debut novel from #the21ders!

The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity (Scholastic, April 6, 2021, for ages 8 to 12)

What a thrilling page-turner! You'll be staying up late to finish this one. This book has it all -- three friends banding together to face the enemy, Viking folklore and history, one exciting adventure after another, and lots and lots of humor and heart. The chapter endings will blow you away!

Abby is still grieving for her dead mother, a descendant of Viking warriors, who died fighting a Grendel. In the gripping first chapter, a shadowy creature attacks Abby in the home she shares with her father in North Carolina. Was it a Grendel? She and Dad pack quickly and head for Minnesota, for a school, Vale Hall, where Dad can teach and Abby can be safe. But Dad is badly hurt in a car accident, caused by a demonic motorcycle rider,  just as they arrive at Vale Hall. With Dad unconscious in the hospital, Abby must navigate her new school, find a cure for her father, and at the same time convince the school's headmaster and the Viking Council that Grendels really do exist!

Luckily, she makes friends immediately with Gwynn, a secret Valkyrie, and Grimsby, an endearing (and funny!) boy who's assigned to be Abby's guide to Vale Hall. Together, they fight a sea monster in the school pool, a Dark Valkyrie who plays Bingo for their souls, and much much more. I learned a lot too. Knattleikr is an ancient Viking ball game, similar to lacrosse. Svefnthorn (or Sleep Thorn) can be found in centuries of Norse literature.

The strong friendship between Abby, Gwynn, and Grimsby, the fast-pace, the thrilling adventures, and above all, the unexpected flashes of humor (Hmm, Vale Hall = Valhalla?) make this a winner in my book. Kids will love this and it makes a great read-aloud. Thanks to the publisher for letting me read an ARC. 

You can pre-order this exciting book from Bookshop, right here!

#IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts. Visit their blogs to see all the participants.