ESCAPE

Written by: K.R. Alexander

First line: ESCAPE YOUR TROUBLES!

Why you should read this book: Cody is obsessed with a mysterious new theme park where anything is possible and adults aren't allowed, and desperate to win the lottery to become one of 30 "normal" children who are invited to its exclusive inaugural week, along with 100 celebrity kids: actors, musicians, and influencers that everybody knows. In Charlie Bucket style, he gets his ticket at the last second, then sneaks out to ESCAPE after being grounded for being obsessed with ESCAPE, and immediately makes friends with 2 famous pop stars, Jayson and Inga, as well as finds a new enemy in another famous kid, Meg-A. But social climbing is the least of his trouble as it become abundantly clear that ESCAPE is not a fun fantasy adventure, and that its creator has not been the least bit honest about his intentions, or the kids' chances for survival.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's lowbrow and derivative with little character development or realism, but it would be inaccurate to say it includes plot holes big enough to drive a Jeep through, because the entire story is a plot hole; I guess it could be fun for kids who like danger but it's impossible to suspend disbelief because none of this sounds remotely plausible.

Tomatoes in My Lunchbox

Written by: Costantia Manoli

First line: I don't recognize my name at roll call the first time.

Why you should read this book: A young immigrant recalls the sensations associated with being a newcoming to a strange culture, one where her own name is a stumbling block for others, and her choice of lunchtime treat sets her apart from her classmates. Her attempts at assimilation are unsatisfactory, but of course, the little girl begins to make friends and finds ways to fit in without compromising herself or pretending to be someone she's not. Apparently based on the author's own childhood experience.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You just anglicize names you can't be bothered to learn how to pronounce because it's "easier."

The Kingdom of Almonds

Written by: Ariel Kaplan

First line: Toba Peres was born a half-Mazik in the city of Rimon, under the reign of the Emir, before he sailed away in exile.

Why you should read this book: In the final book of this trilogy set partially in Spain in the 15th century but mostly in the Mazik realm–a mirror world of magic and mystical creature based on Jewish mythology, which reflects and impacts our world–protagonists become increasingly desperate as the power hungry Tarses moves closer to his goal of world domination. Toba Bet and Naftaly visit Aravoth, the realm of the eternal, to rescue the Ziz, a giant bird they need to help raise the ancient city of Luz from the sea, while Elena, Naftaly, and the old woman scheme to free Barsilay from prison, and everyone must decide who to trust as the war closes in. A deliciously satisfying and fast-paced conclusion to an epic fantasy tale.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: Even with the Dramatis Personae, list of geographical locations, and detailed map, this story is so sprawling and populated it can be difficult to keep the people and places straight.

Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel

Written by: Hope Larson. 

First line: It was a dark and stormy night.

Why you should read this book: The Newbury-winning A Wrinkle in Time is one of the great classic science fiction stories for children, so impactful and heartfelt, fantastical in nature and yet eminently believable, but I notice it doesn't often get checked out from my library, so when I saw this adaptation, I thought perhaps it would direct kids back toward the novel. I'm ordinarily skeptical of graphic adaptations, but this one is executed with obvious love and respect and remains faithful to the source material but also shines with its own light and life as a complete, standalone work. The blue, black, and white illustrations (somehow so perfect for a story about fighting darkness) depict intense emotions and strange phenomena with simple but perfect lines.

Why you shouldn't read this book: All graphic adaptations have the effect of speeding the story up immensely (might not be a downside for some readers). 

The Birchbark House

Written by: Louise Erdrich

First line: The only person left alive on the island was a baby girl. 

Why you should read this book: Often described as a counterpoint to the manifest destiny narrative of Little House on the Prairie, this is the first book in a series sharing the life of Omakakiins, an Anishinaabe girl living on the Island of the Golden Breasted Woodpecker in Minnesota in 1847. Readers experience a full calendar year of her life, doing chores, playing with other children, learning from her elders, exploring the natural world, surviving sickness and deprivation, celebrating success, and opening herself to a spiritual understanding of her world. Omakakiins is an engaging and surprising heroine whose worldview and journey is delightful and eye-opening, while the story touches on the danger presented to the community as the white culture imposes upon their land. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I guess if you're one of those MAGA lunatics obsessed with removing historical signage from National Parks, you're not going to respond well to this story. 

The Salt Princess

Written by: Anoosha Syed

First line: Under a sky studded with diamond, surrounded by hills as green as emeralds, lived four princesses in the Kingdom of Zammarud.

Why you should read this book: Princess Amal, the youngest of four sisters, is funny and free and loves pranks and says exactly what she thinks, which, everyone predicts, will get her in trouble one day. And one day it does, when her father is so deeply and publicly embarrassed by her plain spokenness that he banishes her. Fortunately, in her banishment she meets and falls in love with a handsome prince who encourages her to think up a new prank, one to make her father see how much she loves him.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's presented as being a traditional Pakistani story, but it's also a traditional European story most fairy tale aficionados have read before and this version does not seem to bring anything different for the tradition. 

All Is Nat Lost

Written by: Maria Scrivan First line: Hi, I'm Natalie! My class is learning about American independence so, Midway Middle School is taking a trip to Philadelphia Why you should read this book: Nat really wants to join her class for an overnight trip to Philadelphia, but her parents worry so much about whether she's responsible that she's afraid they won't let her go especially after she loses her bike. When they finally agree, Nat is overjoyed, and everything seems to be going well until she loses her phone and she and her friend lose the rest of the group! Now it's Nat and Flo in the big city, frantically trying to complete the scavenger hunt and find their way back to the rest of their class.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I imagine there is a species of parent that would lose their minds over a story about two pre-adolescent girls who get lost in a big city and not only does nothing bad happen to them, things work out pretty well.

Garlic and the Vampire

Written by: Bree Paulsen

First line: I tried to wake you so it's your fault if you're late today. 

Why you should read this book: Garlic, an anthropomorphic vegetable given life by Witch Agnes along with numerous other fruit and vegetable folks, is clumsy and anxious but dedicated to her work: providing garlic to the people of the village. One day, chaos and terror arrives in the form of a vampire inhabiting an ancient castle in the woods, and the other vegetables decide that Garlic, who naturally repels vampires, must go into the woods to investigate. Can Garlic overcome her fear and anxiety and defeat an enemy whose name strikes fear into her heart in this cozy tale of unearned terror? 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's a little bit silly, even for a children's vampire story.

American Animism: Stories

Written by: Jamey Gallagher

First line: She returned to work at the cryptid museum a week after the attack.

Why you should read this book: This one's a wild ride, and although there are certain themes that seem to recur through the unconnected stories, every one direct the reader to a different place with a different conclusion. Strange creatures, doomed relationships, tourist attractions, ghosts, and drug-fueled escape, both casual and chronic populate these fast-past short stories. Often, I have trouble with short fiction because I have to work to get into the story and then suddenly it's over, but these stories allowed me slip immediately into each world and then seemed to conclude at the perfect moment.

Why you shouldn't read this book: There is a fair amount of violence toward women, not gratuitously so, but not exactly pleasant either.

Kosher Soul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew

Written by: Michael W. Twitty

First line: When I first started talking about this developing this book, a fellow African American food writer asked what it was about, saying, "So you're not writing about Black [food], you're writing about Jewish [food]." 

Why you should read this book: Twitty goes on to explain that he is writing about Black Jewish food, because there are Black Jewish people and this is the second in a three-book trilogy (the first being The Cooking Gene) about the "intersections between food and identity." It takes the form of a series of essays and "mayseh" (stories) about the numerous threads that create Blackness and Judaism, and the food traditions that arise where these identities come together. Making the point that, while often overlooked as anomalies, Black Jews exist and the Black Jewish tradition in America is strong and stretches back centuries and encompasses a vast smorgasbord of flavor and ingredients; this book, of course, includes numerous delectable looking recipes.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You might need to have a previous interest in cooking or foodways or culinary history or at least intersectional identities to get into this one.