When my kids were young they were friends with three sisters who lived with their grandmother.  Their mother had lost custody because of substance abuse. Placement with a relative is usually superior to other types.  But it isn't without its own complexities.  That's the message for readers Andrea Beatriz Arango delivers in Something Like Home.

     As we meet Laura she's moving in with an aunt she's never met--a strict aunt she feels has expectations she can never meet.  She's convinced that it's her fault.  After all, she's the one who called 911 when she found her parents unconscious. She's determined to make her stay with her aunt as temporary as possible.  In her mind it's all a misunderstanding.  When she can somehow fix it her family will be together again.

    Unfortunately her parents aren't being compliant.  In fact at one point they run away from the rehab they have to complete to have any chance of regaining custody.  So Laura is thwarted at every turn.

     But there is a ray of sunshine. Surprisingly Laura's aunt allows her to adopt a neglected dog.  She's training him to be a therapy dog with the help of a special new friend.

     Children will really be captivated by this tone perfect, highly engaging book--especially the all too many in similar situations for whom it might kindle hope or at least offer assurance that they're not the only ones.

Jules Hathaway

     Well it's getting close to one of my favorite nights of the year.  Fall leaf colors--crimsons, golds, oranges--are peaking.  Darkness is falling earlier while daylight delays longer.  There's a nip in the air.  Spectral decorations have started to appear.  And the countdown is on.

     You may be planning to wrangle costumed youngsters through your neighborhood or a decked out mall, chaperone a children's party, attend a more adult affair, or do a number of things, hopefully ones that won't draw the attention of the police.  It isn't about what you do, how you dress, or whom you're with.  Catching the true spirit of Halloween involves the perception that for one night the veil between the material and spirit worlds vanishes.

     If you're planning on staying in and curling up with a spooky book you may find your options limited.  On one hand you have the dreadfully formulaic.  On the other hand you have the terribly unsubtle blood and gore fests.  Luckily there are a few notable exceptions.  One of them is HorrorScope Volume 3, edited by H. Everend.  It's an anthology of short stories and poems organized around the signs of the zodiac.  Each writer creates a vivid and tangible world that will draw you in and hold you in its spell.  It's the literary equivalent of a box of exquisite wrapped candies, each different and divine.

     It's hot off the press so it may not have hit a library or bookstore near you.  If not demand that they acquire it... 

     ...you wouldn't want to miss out.

Jules Hathaway  

     Two teens in heartbreaking, scary situations come together to pursue a mutual challenge in Elaine Vickers' Half Moon Summer.  

     Drew was born in Half Moon Bay.  He's the son of a talented carpenter who expects to start working in his father's shop next summer when he turns 13.  This summer there's something off with his father who is exhibiting inexplicable clumsiness.  The something turns out to be Lou Gehrig's disease.

     Mia and her mother and brother have just arrived to stay at her grandmother's house.  Housing insecure all her life, they were drawing close to living in their first house, one her father was building.  Then her other grandmother becomes gravely ill, her father has to go help her, and Half Moon Bay is the only option for the rest of the family.  Now they are in danger of losing not only the house, but the chance of being together as a family.

     Basically novice runners, they sign on for the Half Moon Bay Half Marathon.  There's not a lot of time.  Training will be grueling.  But it's a challenge they're determined to overcome.

     The plot is highly engaging.  The characters are nuanced, complex, and believable.  The setting is captivating.  This fine book is perfect for perceptive juvenile and YA readers--especially for those facing potentially life altering challenges of their own and their friends.  

     Keeping family secrets can be very dangerous.  That's why Sally J. Pla's The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn is both resilience narrative and cautionary tale. 

     Between staying by court negotiated turns with her constantly battling parents, Maudie who is autistic,  experiences vastly different lifestyles.  During the school year she stays with her mother who is a professional blogger with a channel.  Along with makeup and household tips she over shares on the challenges of having a child on the spectrum.  She's married to an abusive man.  Mommy Dearest cares more about standing by her man than protecting her only child.  (Yes, my biases are showing.)  So she sends Maudie to her dad's for the summer with instructions to not tell him what's going on.

     Maudie's dad, a free spirit carpenter, is much more accepting.  He loves her as she is.  He knows many ways to show his love and help her with the challenges she faces.  He's her three month reprieve from the Mom and Ron shitshow.

     The summer starts out challenging.  Right after Maudie arrives she and her dad have to flee a wildfire that destroys his uninsured home and studio.  The only reason Mom and Ron don't swoop in to grab her is they don't want to miss out on their summer long luxury cruise.

     Fortunately her dad has a friend who has a small trailer they can stay in.  He gets a job and starts taking steps to regain a stable life. 

     One day at the beach Maudie sees a poster for a surfing contest with large cash prizes.  If she can learn to surf and win the beginners category maybe they can get their own place.  Maybe she won't have to leave the parent who actually protects her.

     Kids will find this story truly engaging.  And kids in families with dangerous secrets may learn that they're not alone, and may find reason for hope.

     In 1959 Cuba was a hot mess.  Fidel Castre had overthrown the government.  There were intrigues and repercussions.  Many parents felt that the only way to keep their children safe was to send them away at least temporarily...

      ...to a very different country posing daunting challenges.  Alexis Castellanos mother was one of the children who made this journey.  Isla to Island, although fiction,  is based on her experiences.

     This graphic novel does so WITHOUT ONE WORD IN ENGLISH!  Pictures eloquently convey Marisol's experiences--struggles with English and school, peer cruelty, getting her first period which she hasn't been prepared for far from home and family.

     This highly engaging book will beautifully introduce young readers to a defining period in Cuban-American history with repercussions that carry through till today.

    And it's one of those extremely rare books that lets children on various reading levels be on an equal footing.

     Dan Clay's Becoming A Queen would be pegged as a romance.  And it is a superb romance.  When Mark is dumped by his long time boyfriend he spirals into a period of despair.  So when Ezra who he's attracted to shows that the feeling is mutual there are times his insecurities almost sabotage a relationship that has the potential to be solid and sort of awesome. 

     But it's also about identity.  People expect Mark to peg himself as CIS or trans.  But he's still trying to figure it out.  Can he be a boy who likes to wear dresses?  And his dad seems to refuse to think of the issue.

     And there's a third theme that makes this book more appropriate for college freshmen than for high school freshmen.  Big brother Eric is the family's golden boy, their high achiever.  He's also the only one who can really help Mark when he's at his lowest.  Nobody does enough when he is having trouble with alcohol.  Even after he's arrested he convinces his parents it was just a bad day.  And they send him back to college...

     ...where he dies of alcohol poisoning.

     Becoming A Queen acknowledges the rawness and complexity of emotions of a teen who has lost not only his brother, but his closest friend living  in a home with parents who are grieving the loss of a son in a society that expects healing to be convenient, linear, and fast.

    So in addition to MATURE high school and college students I recommend this book to parents, teachers...anyone who works with teens because we're losing too many to substance abuse... 

     ...And will continue to do so as long as we're unwilling to really address the issue

Jules Hathaway.  

     The teen years can be full of painfully overwhelming moral decisions.  Brandon Hoang's Gloria Buenrostro is NOT My Girlfriend explores one such dilemma.  

     Gary Vo and his best friend are way low on their school's social hierarchy.  They're yearning to get in with the elite.  They know they're pretty despicable.  But they can overlook a little nastiness to snag their dream social life.  Unexpectedly they get the chance.  All they have to do is steal a bracelet from Gloria, who is considered the hottest girl in the school.

     NOT SO SIMPLE.  Gary has gotten to know Gloria a lot better.  Her reputation is quite misleading.  In fact she's a smart, kind, thoughtful, funny girl.  He wants to keep her in his life. And he knows what the bracelet means to her.

     Now he has a decision to make.  Does he let his long term best friend down and perhaps lose him?  Or does he hurt someone he's come to really care about?

    The plot is rich and believable.  The characters are complex and nuanced, except the elites who are truly despicable.  Teen readers will find this book truly engaging and thought and emotion provoking.

Jules Hathaway

     Some of the most beautiful gems of juvenile literature are those books by authors of color  so engaging and evocative that they can let young readers walk in the shoes of children who have to deal with very challenging experiences. Jane Kuo's Land Of Broken Promises is one of these.

     Anna and her parents are refugees from Taiwan.  Her parents own a restaurant where she works after school.  Her parents put big time pressure on her to succeed academically so she can work as a professional rather than working with her hands like them.  She has two choices: doctor or lawyer.

     Then a letter threatens to tear their world apart.  It's paperwork that they haven't filled in on time.  Suddenly they are in the precarious position of undocumented aliens.

     The narrative, told in verse, is tone perfect.  The details are well chosen.  The character of Anna springs to life on the page.  And the suspense is very real.

     Young readers will get real insight into one of the most contentious issues in America today and the effect it has on children like them.

Jules Hathaway

     Finally with Columbus Day transformed to Indigenous People's Day we're acknowledging the wise, responsible, and resourceful stewards of this place before we went and stole it.  Some of us are gaining access to their fascinating stories.  Jessica Outram's Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold is a good introduction for younger readers.  Although fiction it's based on it was based on her Metis great-aunt Bernice's life.

     Bernice and her family live in a lighthouse.  It's a rugged isolated life.  Visits from groups of relatives are special occasions to celebrate with singing, storytelling, and feasting.

     A mysterious stranger visits the lighthouse.  He leaves behind what looks like a treasure map.  It looks like the treasure is on a nearby island.

     Bernice's grandmother needs expensive medical care when she swallows a sewing needle.  Bernice, a big Treasure Island fan, decides to help with the bills by finding the treasure.  She sneaks off in a boat accompanied by the family huskies...

    ...only to be stranded on the island when the sea steals the boat.

   This highly engaging book can sow the seeds for further reading and rich discussions.   

Jules Hathaway  

     Some students in elite private schools have secrets they'll do anything to keep secret.  Some students collect other's secrets as potential blackmail material.  The A listers have plenty of dirt on their classmates.  When they do a big reveal there's hell to pay.

     That's the chilling premise behind Aleema Omotoni's YA novel, Everyone's Thinking.

     Iyanu finds safety and anonymity behind the camera.  One Friday she develops the pictures she took of a school event.  She returns to school Monday to find out that the pictures have been converted to polaroids and sent out to certain students with malicious messages on the backs.

     Her cousin, Kitan, is in the inner circle.  She's bothered by the cruelty, self centeredness, and racism of her set, but terrified of a fall from grace.

     The school is an uproar with students turning on each other.  Iyanu is desperately trying to find the culprit to prove that she didn't send the pictures.  Kitan is trying to believe her set is blameless...

     ...until she can't.

     Iyanu and Kitan are two of the only students of color in a majority white, majority clueless school.  Omotoni gives a vivid picture of the microaggressions and other humiliations they all too frequently have to endure.

     This highly engaging novel subtly enlightens while it entertains.  The complex plot and vividly drawn character will captivate teen (and adult) readers.

     Can you guess who didn't before the end?  I sure couldn't.

Jules Hathaway

      Does it seem like adult warnings about internet dangers directed to teens fall on deaf ears?  Maybe if they don't engage them it's time to ask what will.  How about Dashka Slater's Accountable?

     An Albany, California teen started a private Instagram account with racist memes.  He considered it merely edgy humor.  

    His victims didn't.  They told school officials who were totally unprepared.  Things blew up.  Pretty soon you had seriously traumatized victims, the accused (the boy and his followers) facing school expulsions and criminal charges, lawsuits being filed on both sides, and a community being torn apart.  

     This real life narrative is as suspenseful as fiction.  You can tell Slater did her homework.  The characters and situations are portrayed as complicated and complex.  There are no good guys and bad guys, no DARE preaching, and none of the talking down to that teens understandably have no patience with.  Readers are treated respectively as intelligent and aware human beings.

    So provide this fine book to the teens in your life and do some active listening.  No adultsplaining PLEASE.

    This is also a must read for school administrations and boards.  Too many are still in the dangerous mindset of it couldn't happen here.  Too many are misled by higher ups.  In my school board days I went to a lawyer-led workshop where the whole focus was protecting your school from legal liability.  Any mention of actual kids was treated as completely irrelevant.

Jules Hathaway

     Can a teen regain her trust of the father who let her down badly and broke her heart?  That's the question Sally Engelfried's Learning To Fall addresses beautifully for juvenile readers.

     Daphne lives with her actress mother.  When Mom gets a lucky break--a movie role in Europe--she sends her to live with the Dad she hasn't seen in years.

     Daphne sees Dad is really trying to be a parent.  But what if he slips up again?  And what if he loses his grip on sobriety and starts drinking again?

     Can their mutual love of skateboarding help them to reconnect?

     Young readers will find this novel highly engaging--especially those who have been let down by their own parents.

Jules Hathaway

I didn't post for 2. weeks because I was in the hospital.  I had a stroke.  Writing is still tiring so for a while my reviews will be shorter.

P. O'Connell Pearson's We Are Your Children Too blew me away.  To avoid integration in 1955 Prince Edward County, Virginia shut down the public schools and started a whites only academy.  Thousands of Black children had their lives diminished, their futures foreclosed.

The poignant and powerful descriptions of the children's suffering will really grab teens' hearts.  The selfishness and cruelty of those who shut down the schools, treating kids as collateral damage, and the ineptness and sometimes complicity of some in government will enrage them.  

I couldn't think of a more perfect book to introduce teen readers to the concept of systemic racism and the way racist acts hurt people for generations.

Jules Hathaway