Year in Review, 2022

Not much to say about it this year. Reading "serious" things felt like a real chore and took forever. Mostly I stuck with graphic novels (some of which were "serious" and felt like a chore and took forever) and kids' novels. There's also a 500-page book I spend months getting halfway though and never finished. In addition, I reviewed some books I didn't like, because I was reviewing them for the school district and you just have to take what they send you. I guess there's also 2 new categories: middle grade nonfiction (bleh) and essay collection.

Picture books:                     17

Middle grade/YA novels:   15

Middle grade nonfiction:    1

Graphic novels:                  29

Memoir:                             3 

Novels:                              1

Poetry:                               1

Essay collections:             1   

Total:                                 74 

Kids Fight Climate Change

Written by: Martin Dorey and Tim Wesson

First line: Calling all future superheroes.

Why you should read this book: Despite the cartoony illustrations and accessible language, this book is not messing around in its mission to convince kids to become true environmental activists in the battle against climate change. It carefully lays out the case for the detrimental impact that human activity has had on the planet and why kids should make behavioral changes to protect their own legacy (and encourage adults around them to do the same). The bulk of the book lays out dozens of "two minute missions" suggesting multiple ways the kids can act now to fight climate change.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you are opposed to being lectured by a child about climate change and environmental activism, you should not give this book to children.

The Sandman: The Dream Hunters

Written by: Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

First line: I know not whether you came to me or I to you. 

Why you should read this book: This book is pretty much exactly the same as the first Dream Hunters book, except that it's done in the style of a traditional graphic novel, with comic panels and word bubbles, and there's less text than in the first one. It's still the story of the surprising love between a monk and a fox spirit, both of whom appeal to the Dream King and make the ultimate sacrifice for each other. Also, in this this volume, Gaiman admits that he wrote the story himself and didn't adapt it from an ancient Japanese text, which had apparently been confusing scholars for a while. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I could say that it doesn't make sense out of the context of all the other Sandman books, but actually, it works fine as a stand-alone story.

The Sandman: The Dream Hunters

Written by: Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano

First line: A monk lived in solitude beside a temple on the side of a mountain.

Why you should read this book: This unusual, yet beautifully illustrated volume, which purports to be a translation of an ancient Japanese fairy tale, tells of the unlikely relationship between an ascetic monk and a beautiful fox spirit. The two neighbors fall in love with each other, and when the fox learns of a supernatural threat to the monk's life, she appeals to the Dream King for help and offers her own up in order to save him. The monk then appeals to the Dream King for help and offers up his own life to save her right back. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not actually an ancient Japanese fairy tale.

One Candle

Written by: Eve Bunting and K. Wendy Popp

First line: This Hanukkah is like every other one.

Why you should read this book: A little girl tells about her family's Hanukkah celebration, including the story of why her aunt has brought one potato that doesn't get made into latkes. The older relatives explain how, during World War II, they survived the winter at Buchenwald, pilfering a single potato, a little margarine, and a piece of string, in order to made a candle to celebrate Hanukkah. With the inclusion of the extra potato in their celebration, they can remember their family history and honor their ancestors. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're very hungry.

FGTeeV: The Switcheroo Rescue!

Written by: FGTeeV and Miguel Diaz Rivas

Why you should read this book: This lightweight and primarily nonsensical graphic novel is basically a long advertisement for a real life family's gaming-based YouTube channels. What starts out as a Freaky-Friday type body-swap story morphs into a battle between giant gaming suits as the antagonist from a previous volume—an evil VR AI—seeks to escape the confines of the machine and take on an existence in the real world. The family, along with an annoying neighbor child, must work together to defeat the big boss before it completely ruins a game tournament and presumably goes on to take over every console on the planet. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Besides being an advertisement for a family's YouTube channels, it's clearly written by committee, there's not a single original idea in the entire thing, and a lot of the plot depends on pointless stereotypes.

Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good

Written by: Louie Stowell

Why you should read this book: This book is basically Diary of a Wimpy Kid if Greg Heffley came by his sense of entitlement and superiority honestly, by virtue of being an actual god. Here we have Loki, Norse god of mischief, sentenced to one month on Earth in the powerless body of a little boy, told that he must earn his return back to Asgard through the doing of good deeds, or else face the eternal torment of snake poison dripping on his face. Having very few redeeming qualities, he spends the first thirty days of his imprisonment being horrible to everyone around him, including the other gods—Thor, Heimdall, and Hyrrokkin—who, for some reason, must experience the punishment of posing as his normal human family, and then, on the thirty-first day, he does one decent thing for one person who wouldn't have needed his help in the first place if his presence on Earth hadn't put her in mortal danger, and gets a temporary reprieve from Odin, on the condition that he stay on Earth and continue trying not to be horrible.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you didn't love Diary of a Wimpy Kid you probably won't get much out of this book.

 

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Written by: Bessel Van der Kolk, M.D.

First line: One does not have to be a combat soldier, or visit a refugee camp in Syria or the Congo to encounter trauma.

Why you should read this book: Written for a lay audience, this is the summation of thirty years of research, experimentation, theory, and work on the subject of trauma: what it is, what it does, and what we, as vulnerable humans can do to counteract its pernicious effects. Van der Kolk describes his introduction to working with traumatized Viet Nam veterans and how his experience led him to dig more deeply into the neurology of trauma and its potential treatments, as well as the important discussion of childhood trauma, and how it impacts untreated adults. Almost half of the book, however, details the various types of treatment that the author and his colleagues have found most effective, with impressive data demonstrating how appropriate treatment can turn around the life of an individual who has always suffered from the pain of the past, returning to them the possibility of a fulfilling life. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You yourself have never experienced anything unpleasant in life, and neither has anyone you've ever met.

Trees Volume 1

Written by: Warren Ellis and Jason Howard

First line: We can see them from up high.

Why you should read this book: It's been ten years since the strange, silent alien entities known as "trees" rooted themselves around the globe, never acknowledging the human populace of Earth, but impacting every aspect of life for those who live in their shadows. This volume focuses on a number of characters: a young Chinese art student, far from home and falling in love with a trans woman he just met; a group of researchers stationed at a remote outpost in frigid northern Norway; politicians in Somalia and New York; a professor and the girlfriend of a gangster-fascist in Italy. For ten years, the trees have stood silently, but now, something is changing, and the trees, it seems are about to speak.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Well, I wish I had acquired the subsequent seven volumes before I started.

Megan's Island

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: There was one week of school left on the day peculiar things began to happen.

Why you should read this book: Megan is excited to spend the summer swimming and roller skating with her best friend, but instead she and her brother find themselves whisked off to their grandfather's cabin at the lake before school even ends, forbidden to share their whereabouts with anyone. While they try to settle in to this unsettling turn of events, Megan and her brother meet another kid staying on the lake, and, because this is a Willo Davis Roberts book, they soon begin to notice that the adults who are supposed to be protecting them are too self-involved to do so, and that other, less loving adults seem to hanging around with bad intention. Why is Megan's mom so anxious, and why have they moved so often, and why can't Megan just tell her friend why they left town so suddenly?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are suing for grandparents' rights to children who don't even know you exist.

Anglerfish: The Seadevil of the Deep

Written by: Elaine M. Alexander and Fionna Fogg

First line: Far, far below the ocean's surface where no trace of sunlight can reach, Anglerfish makes her home.

Why you should read this book: An informative, nonfiction picture book that makes the life cycle of the strange, deep sea creature called the anglerfish feel like high drama. Living in the blackest depths of the ocean, this creature has developed intriguing strategies for feeding and reproduction that make their ordinary lives read like science fiction, all engagingly illustrated here. Also includes a detailed appendix with further factual details about the ocean, hunting and mating, related species, and even a glossary. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You find this creepy nightmare demon fish terrifying.

Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness

Written by: Maria Gianferrari and Pete Oswald

First line: Can you be like a dog?

Why you should read this book: Living mindfully, completely engaged in the moment, can be difficult for human beings, but it comes easily and naturally to our favorite companion animals. This book advises readers about how to "be like a dog": to remain present in the body, to breathe and eat and play, to feel ones feelings and release them, to interact with the world with an open heart and an open mind. There's even a section that prompts children to use all five senses as a dog would, along with extra facts about dogs, and a final page to return the reader to the human experience with instructions for mindful breathing.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a cat.

Chew

Written by: John Layman and Rob Guillory

First line: Prologue: slow-simmered shredded chicken, vegetable, and three-bean soup.

Why you should read this book: Tony Chu is a detective who receives psychic impressions from almost anything he eats (except beets), which means that he can't enjoy any food whatsoever (because he doesn't like beets) and also that he can solve murder cases by cannibalizing the victim's corpse. When his stakeout is interrupted by a federal agent (with the FDA), he stumbles onto a serial killer case, loses his partner and his job, and ends up working for the Food and Drug Administration. With a new boss who hates him, a new partner who's ever weirder than he is, and a fresh infatuation with a restaurant critic whose work allows him to enjoy food for the first time in his life, he is plunged into the cut-throat world of black market meat—specifically a Yakuza chicken smuggling operation—and mysteries he has to eat to believe. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: This book is equal parts hilarious and gruesome, so if that doesn't sit right with you, probably best to skip this one.

The Cookie Maker of Mavin Road

Written by: Sue Lawson and Liz Anelli

First line: Benedict Stanley and his cat, Audrey Mae, live at 23 Mavin Road.

Why you should read this book: Although it is never explicitly stated that Benedict Stanley, who lives with his cat at 23 Mavin Road, is a widower, and very lonely, it's obvious that he is a lonely widower, and while he is constantly reaching out to speak to his neighbors, nobody ever answers until a little boy named Rory admires Benedict Stanley's cat and shares his hope that the tooth fairy will visit tonight. Inspired, Benedict Stanley uses his wife's cookbook to bake Rory some missing-tooth inspired cookies, and then begins baking thematically appropriate cookies and delivering them anonymously to neighbors to celebrate the milestones of their lives, big and small. When Benedict Stanley falls ill and the magical cookie deliveries stop, only Rory can guess why, and he leads all the neighbors to Benedict Stanley's house, where they give back to the cookie maker, who gets well and is never lonely again.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You would never eat a plate of baked goods of unknown origin that mysteriously appeared on your doorstep. 

Babysitting Is a Dangerous Job

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: I knew the minute I saw the Foster kids that I wasn't going to like being their babysitter.

Why you should read this book: Darcy can see from the get-go that Jeremy, Melissa, and Shawna are out of control and will be nothing but trouble despite being very small, but their parents are so rich and offering such a great rate—not to mention access to the swimming pool—that she can't say no. And these kids are as difficult as she suspects, and more, but they're nothing compared to the clumsy kidnappers who take the whole lot, including Darcy, hoping for a fat ransom. Locked in a farmhouse and guarded by three desperate men and two angry dogs, Darcy must use everything she's learned about babysitting, her young charges, and life in order to outsmart their captors and save their lives.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Like many of Roberts's books, the abuse of children is treated so casually.

Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home

Written by: Nora Krug

First line: Hansaplast is a brand of bandage developed in 1922.

Why you should read this book: Meticulous and emotional, this graphic memoir seeks to solidify evanescent memory, combining the author's own recollections with painstakingly acquired material artifacts and oral histories, as she comes to terms with her German family's experiences in the Third Reich. As a child, Krug learned in school of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust, a carefully constructed narrative of national culpability relegated to the past, but after coming to America as a young woman, she begins to wonder about the particulars of guilt: what were her own grandparents doing during the rise and power of National Socialism? Through trips to Germany, deep dives into bureaucratic records and resources, thrift shop finds, photographs, letters, and interviews, she begins to create a picture of her own ancestry and the roles of ordinary Germans in a time of great tragedy. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Cowardice.

Penny and Her Song

Written by: Kevin Henkes

First line: Penny came home from school with a song.

Why you should read this book: Penny, a school-aged mouse girl, wants to share her song with her family, but her mother is afraid that singing will wake the babies, and doesn't allow singing at the dinner table, and the song must stay unsung. However, Penny is patient and persistent and eventually finds a time when it is appropriate to sing her song, to the great enjoyment of her entire family. Penny's song spreads joy and delight and shows the importance of self-expression, especially at the right time, in the right place, for the right audience.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't see why you should have to wait your turn and you don't care about the babies.

Wise Child

Written by: Monica Furlong

First line: Juniper was different from us.

Why you should read this book: Wise Child's mother abandoned her long ago, her father is always away at sea, and her grandmother dies when she is nine, so by the customs of her medieval Scottish village, the community gathers to determine who will care for her, and the best candidate for the job is Juniper, the unmarried woman who lives outside of town, never attends mass, is quite obviously a witch. With some apprehension, Wise Child begins a new life, learning Latin and the healing arts and cleaning up after herself and a whole host of skills she could not imagine in her old life, until she finds that she loves her new foster mother and might even want to follow in her footsteps. But there are dangers in her new life—her biological mother, who is a very different kind of witch, wants her back, and the village priest doesn't want any kind of witches alive anywhere—and Wise Child must learn to solve problems and make fast, grown-up decisions while she is still a little girl.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are one of those completely humorless Christians who believe that anyone who doesn't attend your particular church must be in league with the devil,

Cuentos: The Bilingual Latinx+ Illustrated Mythology Anthology

Edited by: Andres D. Bravo

First line: I grew up in a house decorated with Aztec warrior and gods. 

Why you should read this book: This ambitious volume showcases the work of a number of Latinx artists from around the world, featuring full color illustrations in a variety of styles, most of which are paired with short stories, written in both Spanish and English. These run the gamut from old religious myths like Xipe Tótec to newer urban legends like chupacabra, and every kind of legend in between, some told like fairy tales, others like personal narratives or encyclopedia entries. A creepy little book that will appeal to fans of mythology, horror, Spanish cultures, and deviant art. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You never once listened to any warning given to you by an adult who had your best interests in mind and was leaving you home alone for some reason.

The Wild Robot Returns

Written by: Peter Brown

First line: Our story begins in a city, with buildings and streets and bridges and parks. 

Why you should read this book: Roz, the wild robot, who learned from the animals and adopted an orphan goose and then was reclaimed by her creators in The Wild Robot finds herself physically refurbished (but with her memories intact) and confined to a dilapidated farm where she fixes machines and cares for cows, who are surprised to meet a robot who speaks Animal. Roz can't let any humans know that she is different from other robots, but she finds companionship with the farmer's motherless children, Jad and Jaya. Despite the children's love for her, she wants nothing more than to go home to her island and her old family, and when her son, Brightbill, finally finds her, she must learn more lessons about humans and herself.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not quite as magical as the first one, but it's still a satisfying sequel.

Healer and Witch

Written by: Nancy Werlin

First line: On a warm April morning, a week after the terrible day on which Grand-mère Sylvie died, Sylvie walked away from her home.

Why you should read this book: Sylvie grandmother warned her to be cautious with her new healing powers, but Sylvie was only trying to help, and her failure was so terrible that she's decided her only option is to run away from home and try to find a more powerful healer to teach her how to fix her mistakes. But the year is 1531 and life is dangerous enough for a girl on her own (or even accompanied by an annoying little boy who refuses to go home), let alone one who might be accused of witchcraft if the wrong people catch wind of what she can really do. What I loved most about this book is that it was never predictable, and always went in a surprising direction with every step.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You literally believe in the devil.

The One and Only Bob

Written by: Katherine Applegate

First line: Look, nobody's ever accused me of being a good dog

Why you should read this book: Sequel to the heartbreaking and uplifting The One and Only Ivan, this book shows us the world from the eyes of Bob, the scrappy stray mutt who now has a comfy home with a little girl and gets to regularly visit his friends Ivan the gorilla and Ruby the elephant at the animal sanctuary down the street. Everything seems copacetic until Bob, Ruby, and Ivan find themselves swept up in a natural disaster that threatens to bring tragedy to all creatures, human and otherwise, in the animal sanctuary and the town. With more grace than anyone could imagine, Bob proves himself equal to the task and perhaps a better dog than he'd like to admit.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Trigger warning for really bad weather.

Thirst

Written by: Varsha Bajaj

First line: Sanjay and I sit on the top of the hill and stare out at the huge, never-ending Arabian Sea.

Why you should read this book: In the poorest parts of Mumbai, where Minni lives with her parents and older brother, so much depends on access to the communal water source, which is limited to certain hours and requires long waits in line to collect this precious resource. Even worse, although the poor people in Minni's neighborhood use less water than anyone else, criminals are stealing their water, and, worse still, Minni's brother witnesses the theft and has to leave town to protect his own life. Then her mother gets sick and has to leave as well, and now Minni has to balance all her mother's work, including fetching water, with the life she wants to have, going to school and taking extra-curricular computer classes.

Why you shouldn't read this book: This is a harsh reality.

Babymouse Queen of the World

Written by: Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

First line: Are you getting up, Babymouse?

Why you should read this book: Babymouse dreams of glamour, excitement, and adventure, but instead she has to go to school with a broken locker and daydream about living a more interesting existence in more interesting worlds, and and contemplating how great her life would be if she could just be friends with the most popular girl in her class, Felicia Furrypaws. Babymouse does everything she can think of to earn a coveted invitation to Felicia's slumber party, and finally achieves her coveted goal, by compromising herself. In the end, Babymouse realizes the true meaning of friendship, which does not involve debasing herself to go places where she isn't really welcome.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Babymouse's compromise involves aiding and abetting plagiarism.

The Absolutely True Story...

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: My mom thoughts the Rupes were a nice, normal middle-class family.

Why you should read this book: It's got all of Roberts's trademark themes: normal "good" kids, messed up "bad" kids who lack adult supervision or guidance, adults who are so ridiculously oblivious/caught up in their own psychological problems that they don't even notice the horrible things that are going on right in front of their eyes, and really horrible things going on right in front of adults' eyes. Normal, "good" siblings Lewis and Alison are invited to go on a fantasy road trip with the Rupes, to serve as companions/babysitters for the Rupes "bad" kids while the parents basically ignore the children, and the rules of the road, and of common decency, and the fact that they're being stalked across the country by actually bad men, and everything else. Includes some nice descriptions of Yellowstone National Park.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It is a little bit silly.

Bandette volume 1: Presto!

Written by: Tobin and Coover

First line: Presto!

Why you should read this book: It's a fun graphic novel about a teenage vigilante master thief who steals for both aesthetic and social justice purposes and has a gang of street urchins who worship her and will lay their lives on the line every time she gets into a jam. Although it's an English story, the authors go to great lengths to make it feel French, from characterization and landscape but especially in the way they use language. Bandette must decide whether to trust and team up with her greatest rival, an elderly master thief called Monsieur, to defeat a much more evil guy called Absinthe. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's marketed for ages 15 and up, but it feels quite a bit younger in many ways.

Deadendia: The Broken Halo

Written by: Hamish Steele

First line: Dude, it's home time.

Why you should read this book: Once again I have managed to acquire the second book in a series when I thought I was getting the first book, but in this case, at least, I had seen the Netflix adaptation and was familiar with the characters and able to basically follow the plot, even though I don't think the first season of the Netflix show gets through the entire first novel, and I probably have a lot of spoilers for season two now. What's going on here is young adults who care about each other not talking because it's easier than confronting their past choices, and also there are hella demons spoiling for a fight and manipulative angels and also one character cannot seem to keep her soul inside her body, which is occasionally useful but mostly kind of annoying. Fun and unique fantasy fiction that's much more serious and meaningful than the cartoony style of the artwork conveys.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not the first one in the series; that book is called Deadendia: The Watcher's Test.

Beast Boy Loves Raven

Written by: Kami Garcia and Gabrial Picolo

First line: Note to self, Four months ago I lost my foster mom and my memory on the same horrible night. 

Why you should read this book: Nothing much is riding on this lightweight meet cute story about two teens with superpowers whose paths cross while they are both looking for help from the same mysterious benefactor, but if you want to see Beast Boy and Raven fall in love, I guess this is it. Playing tourists in Tennessee, Beast Boy manages to romantically pursue the reticent Raven without being obnoxious or disrespectful or creepy or making any one of the million missteps that teenage boys in heat tend to make about emotionally distant goth girls, until they are both kidnapped by evil scientists, which can only facilitate their trauma bonding. With the help of their superpowers, Raven's sister, and Beast Boy's friend, they are able to escape from a facility that is not in way equipped to contain people like them.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Basically zero suspense in regard to where this romantic attraction is heading.

In the Beautiful Country

Written by: Jane Kuo

First line: I am leaving the only home I've ever known.

Why you should read this book: Anna's parents want to leave Taiwan and immigrate to America so she can have a better life, but once she arrives, Anna questions how the "Beautiful Country" can ever provide her with a better life than she had at home when her parents must work constantly at their failing restaurant, she doesn't speak the language or understand the customs, and some racists seem determined to hurt the family until they give up and return to Taiwan. But Anna has no choice but to keep moving forward, until eventually she makes some friends and her parents figure out the magic formula for success in a new home. Written in the form of a long prose poem, this is a fast, emotional, and personal story that brings the modern immigrant experience to life.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think being polite to bullies will make them stop.

Becoming

Written by: Michelle Obama

First line: When I was a kid, my aspirations were simple.

Why you should read this book: These are the memoirs of First Lady, Michelle Obama, wife of the forty-fourth president of the United States of America, who considers herself an ordinary person on an extraordinary journey, despite the fact that vast majority of human beings simply wouldn't be capable of undertaking most of the things she has accomplished so far in life. From her beginnings as a driven child on the South Side of Chicago to the day she and her husband left the White House, she describes, with candor and humor and seriousness, her life experience and her full range of emotions, how she fell in love with her husband, how she evolved as a mother, how she dealt with the hatred and ugliness she encountered in the public sphere, and how she kept herself and her family together throughout. Echoing her husband's message of hope, augmented with her own sense of realism, this is an enjoyable and mostly uplifting autobiography of a very interesting life.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are interested in the life of Michelle Obama.

When Women Were Dragons

Written by: Kelly Barnhill

First line: Greetings, Mother— I do not have much time.

Why you should read this book: Over the course of a few hours in 1955, when Alex was still a little girl, hundreds of thousands of women suddenly, and, apparently, of their own volition, turned into large, beautiful, fearsome dragons (often devouring their male oppressors in the process) and flew away, leaving behind children, family, and the smouldering remains of their homes. Alex's mother isn't among the dragons, but her aunt is, and "dragon" becomes an especially dirty word, even as Alex's younger orphan cousin (who Alex is told in no uncertain terms has always been her sister) seems fascinated with a subject that no one ever, ever discusses. This novel by an award-winning fantasy author harnesses the power of women who are larger on the inside than the are on the outside, who have swallowed their rage for too long, and who are still realizing how much power they possess. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You might not find much to enjoy if you're some kind of misogynist.

Between Shades of Gray: The Graphic Novel

Written by: Ruta Sepetys (adapted by Andrew Donkin and Dave Kopka)

First line: They took me in my nightgown.

Why you should read this book: This brutal and heart-rending story tells of the treatment of Lithuanian people by Russian invaders before and during World War II. I just grabbed it off the shelf without realizing it was a graphic novelization of a traditional novel, and such books often have to leave out a lot of details, but this work was terrifying enough to make me cry dozens of times in the brief span it took me to consume. Lina, her mother, and her younger brother are packed into livestock cars and shipped to Siberia, where they spend years being abused and nearly worked to death.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It is very, very hard to read: the bad things that happen are so awful, and the good things are so small and infrequent and don't seem to compensate for what Lina and her family and friends go through.

Manuelito

Written by: Elisa Amado and Abraham Urias

First line: This story just happened to me earlier this year.

Why you should read this book: A realistic (but apparently fictional) account of a child traveling to America to seek refuge from violence in his home country. Manuelito's parents are afraid he will be kidnapped and forcibly inducted into a violent gang in Guatemala, they send him, along with his best friend, to his aunt in America, accompanied by an unscrupulous coyote, or human trafficker. The journey is difficult, the coyote is useless, Manuelito's experience at the American border is inhumane, and this is a story that needs to be understood by any fools railing against immigrants.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're one of those assholes who decided to buy a gun and patrol the Mexican border.

The Wild Party

Written by: Joseph Moncure March (drawings by Art Spiegelman)

First line: Queenie was a blonde, and her age stood still,/And she danced twice a day in Vaudeville.

Why you should read this book: As far as I am concerned, this is the best poem anyone's ever written about anything; it just happens to be about love, lust, jealousy, booze, the jazz age, theater people, and the human condition, and also it rhymes. Like, imagine if The Great Gatsby and the musical Chicago got drunk and had a one-night-stand and their baby was more beautiful than either of them had ever aspired to be and also depicted people as they actually are and actually behave, that's The Wild Party. It's a relentless, fast-paced journey into the psyche of the artistic temperament and the passions that keep it ebbing and flowing like the moon's pull on the ocean. occasionally sweeping the not-so-innocent bystander out to sea.

Why you shouldn't read this book: With frank discussions of sex and sexuality and even a few words about race, this nearly 100-year-old book was once considered too controversial to see print.

Ghost

Written by: Jason Reynolds

First line: Check this out.

Why you should read this book: It's been three years since Castle Crenshaw's father "lost it," and since then, Castle, who wishes people would call him Ghost, has been sliding into his own anger and giving his impulse control free rein, until the day he randomly decides to prove that he's faster than the fastest kid on an extra-curricular track team. Suddenly, he's a member of the team and being asked to uphold a higher standard of behavior than his mother, who works full time and goes to nursing school, can enforce. As running takes on greater and greater importance in his life, Ghost finds that he wants to hold himself to a higher standard as well; he just doesn't know if he can.

Why you shouldn't read this book: What his father does is PTSD-inducing; might not be appropriate for younger or more sensitive readers.

New Kid

Written by: Jerry Craft

First line: This is how I feel every single day of my life, like I'm falling without a parachute.

Why you should read this book: What Jordan wants to is to go to a school that offers an enhanced art education, or at least to stay in the local school where he knows everyone; what Jordan is getting, at his mother's insistence, and despite his own and his father's misgivings, is to go to a private prep school where he's one of three Black kids in his grade. As the year unfolds, he begins to make friends with all different kinds of other kids while navigating microaggressions from students and teachers alike, trying to maintain his credibility in his own neighborhood, and learning how to handle bullies and weirdos and his own insecurity. A fast-paced year later, Jordan really is a new kid, one who can stand up for himself and others and still be kind, even when that kindness hasn't necessarily been earned.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You already have a closet full of salmon-colored polo shirts and shorts. 

My Wicked Stepmother

Written by: Norman Leach and Jane Browne

First line: My name is Tom.

Why you should read this book: A little boy, who was satisfied living alone with his father, recounts how much he despised his new stepmother, who has clearly enchanted his father to believe she's young and beautiful when she's clearly an old and ugly witch. Although the stepmother is unfailingly sweet and loving even though the other people in Tom's life aren't as kind, he rejected her repeatedly until makes her cry, at which point he finally feels bad about his behavior. When Tom hugs and kisses his stepmother, he decides he must be a wizard with the power to transform an evil stepmother into a fairy godmother with a single kiss. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I don't think kids actually flip their opinions about stepparents simply because they realize that they're being hurtful; most kids are more likely to double down on the meanness at the first sign of tears.

Buy My Wicked Stepmother Now

White Bird

Written by: RJ Palacio

First line: Julian, no more video games.

Why you should read this book: This is a graphic novelization of one of the sections of Palacio's Augie and Me: Three Wonder Stories, which stands alone as a one-off story (with a few additions), and is currently being made into a feature film. Julian's grandmother Sarah recounts the story of how she spent the latter days of World War II as a hidden child, confined to a barn and cared for by the family of an unpopular boy who had been universally bullied when they were in school together. Sarah recounts the terror and the tender moments, ending with an admonition to always stand up to injustice and remember to be kind.

Why you shouldn't read this book: There are plenty of nonfiction hidden child narratives that aren't actually publicity materials for upcoming films. 

Buy White Bird Now

Friends Forever

Written by: Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham

First line: And this year...I was an eighth grader.

Why you should read this book: In a stunning conclusion to the powerhouse trilogy about childhood friendships and growing up as a girl, Shannon must navigate not only the convoluted world of friendship, but also boys, relationships, personal appearance, and what she eventually learns is an anxiety disorder. Often insecure and frequently feeling left out, even when she's in the midst of her companions, she sometimes missteps and pushes herself further from the center in her attempts to belong and reassure herself of her own goodness and self-worth. However, through breakups, depression, confusion, and disappointment, Shannon learns to love and accept herself, to see navigate her most complicated friendships, and even to see her parents in a whole new light.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It stands alone, but it also makes more sense if you've read the first two books.

Buy Friends Forever Now

Flamer

Written by: Mike Curato

First line: Put that out before you burn the whole camp down!

Why you should read this book: Aiden is just trying to enjoy his summer at scout camp, far from his father's violence, his mother's depression, and his little twin siblings, but as the summer progresses, it's hard for him to hide two very important details from himself any longer: first, many of the guys in his patrol are ragingly homophobic, and second, Aiden is flamingly gay. Even though he's not quite ready to come out to himself, the other guys seem to know his secret no matter how hard he tries to act straight, and even that is increasingly difficult as he develops an intense relationship with the handsome and cool Elias, who seems to like him despite the other kids jokes. Set in the '90s, this book touches on the official anti-queer position of the Boy Scouts at the time, along with self-harm, the symbolism of Catholicism, and, of course, all the pleasure of summer camp including archery, basket weaving, and bears. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're ragingly homophobic.

Buy Flamer Here

Miss Quinces

Written by: Kat Fajardo

First line: "And they never saw him again."

Why you should read this book: Fifteen-year-old Suyapa wants to spend the summer drawing comics and camping with her friends, or at least, keeping up with them on WhatsApp, but unfortunately, she has to spend a month in Honduras with her mother's side of the family, far from civilization with no internet at all. And what's worse, her mother has decided that Suyapa is going to have a princess-pink quinceañera, even though Sue has indicated numerous times that she hates big poofy dresses, has zero interest in high heeled shoes, can't dance, and despises the color pink. But the ritual and celebration she's been refusing for so long turns out to have important cultural implications for her family, and as Suyapa comes to a better understanding of who she is in the context of the people who love her, the idea of a quinceañera takes on new meaning—especially if everyone can make a few little changes here and there in order to help her feel more comfortable with her big day. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're still traumatized by all the times they forced you into dress clothes that didn't suit you at all, and no one ever once appreciated your own personal style.

Buy Miss Quinces Here!

Negroland: A Memoir

Written by: Margo Jefferson

First line: I was taught to avoid showing off.

Why you should read this book: In a prose memoir that reads like poetry, Jefferson recounts her own story, steeped in the influence of race, class, and gender, set in the context of her family and community and everything that came before her. Born in Chicago among the Black elite, she is taught from her earliest memories that she must be impeccable in word, deed, and appearance, to uphold the image projected by the privileged, perfected society that molded her: a group intentionally set apart from, and quietly superior to, other Black people along with all of white America. As she grows up through the civil rights movement and finds her own path and her own personality, the weight of inequality and expectations causes her to question and examine the principles of her own upbringing, her own individual identity, and her right to perfect imperfection.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your parents didn't raise you at all.

Buy Negroland: A Memoir here!

Scout Is Not a Band Kid

Written by: Jade Armstrong

First line: No longer am I that girl from before

Why you should read this book: Scout wants nothing more in life than to cosplay at AlmonteFest where her favorite author, Pristine Wong, will be doing meet and greets, but her father refuses to drive that far, and all seems hopeless until she realizes that her middle school band will be playing the festival. All she has to do to get that ride is spend the rest of the school year pretending to play the trombone, but Merrin, the band's first trombonist is onto her, and Scout ends up spending the entire year actually learning to play trombone under Merrin's intense and critical tutelage. In the process, Scout learns more about friendship and music than she ever cared to learn, and becomes a better version of herself with a different future than she could have imagine on her own.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you don't start woodshedding, you're going to get kicked out of the band.

Buy Scout Is Not a Band Kid here!

Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items

Written by: J.W. Ocker

First line: I hate to be the one to tell you this, but many seemingly innocuous objects will make your life suck.

Why you should read this book: It's a lightweight and easily consumable catalog of famously cursed items, from the fabulous Hope Diamond to freaky Annabelle doll, along with an assortment of interesting items from around the world. The writing is tongue-in-cheek but the stories are faithfully reported in all their unprovable details, backed up by an extensive bibliography, so you know the author didn't just make this all up. With cartoonish illustrations and healthy skepticism, this book is less creepy and more informative, even if some of the stories are easily tweaked for campfire retellings.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Well, the book itself is also cursed, by the author, but the curse only applies if you steal it.

Buy Cursed Objects here!

Pumpkinheads

Written by: Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

First line: Happy Hallooweeeeen!

Why you should read this book: If you enjoy unlikely romantic comedies for young adult audiences, this is a stellar example of the genre. Deja and Josiah are high school seniors who have worked together at DeKnock's World Famous Pumpkin Patch and Autumn Jamboree for three seasons, but they're seniors now, and tonight is the last night of the last season they'll ever spend together before college tears them apart. Josiah has been pining for the girl at the fudge stand that entire time, and Deja's determined that he'll finally talk to that girl before the night is through, but when it comes down to the wire, Josiah learns the difference between love and infatuation, and has to decide which one offers the greatest reward. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you don't like romantic comedies...you don't like romantic comedies.

Buy Pumpkinheads here!

Nubia Real One

Written by: LL McKinney and Robyn Smith

First line: Nubia, you tellin' me you actually wanna work all summer?

Why you should read this book: Throughout her childhood, every time Nubia accidentally revealed her powers of super strength and super speed, her moms packed up house and moved her to another city to keep her safe, but now that she's in high school and has some real friends and a crush who could possibly like her back, she's not so sure why she has to hide her abilities. When she foils a convenience store robbery to protect her crush (by throwing an ATM at the thieves) she sets into motion a series of events that stir up all the unspoken racism, sexism, and classism of her community, and when she learns who she really is and where her power comes from, she has to decide for herself whether to remain hidden or to show the world what she's really capable of. A timely and relevant reimagining of an underdeveloped DC character (the original Nubia was the first Black female hero in the pantheon) with great potential for the genre. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some of the details (racial violence, sexual harassment, school shootings) may be triggering for sensitive readers.

Buy Nubia Real One here!

A Wish in the Dark

Written by: Christina Soontornvat

First line: A monster of a mango tree grew in the courtyard of Namwon Prison.

Why you should read this book: This is exactly the kind of story that modern readers of children's fantasy love: it's got magic mixed with realism, determined and admirable but flawed characters whose faults can be redeemed, a powerful message of social justice and equality, along with a compelling story set in a detailed and wonderful world. Pong is an orphan, born in Namwon Prison to a mother who died before he knew her, and it seems terribly unfair that the law requires him to stay in prison until he turns thirteen, and to be always branded with a mark that indicates he's been incarcerated. But the world outside Namwon Prison isn't any more fair, with the divide between rich and poor starkly delineated by their access to light, and when Pong finally finds his way out of prison, he must decide whether to protect himself from those who want to see him back in prison or use his talents to help others overcome impossible odds.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're still trying to prove your worth to your parents, or you just found out you're adopted.

Buy A Wish in the Dark here!

Zao Dao Cuisine Chinosie Tales of Food and Life

Translated by: Brandon Kander and Diana Schutz

First line: What? Is something the matter?

Why you should read this book: We are introduced to the numinous and mildly unsettling aesthetic of Chinese wunderkind Zao Dao through six standalone comics that blend the grotesque and the desirable in a world where the line between spirits and humans is thin, malleable, and surprising, and the lines of the brushwork vary in size but are also surprising. As a work translated from Chinese to French to English, there are likely a lot of cultural details that will go over many English readers heads, even with the notes on each story, but with a little thoughtfulness and perhaps a bit more research, many of the ideas become clear. Humanity is revealed in its relationship to other beings, and readers may learn something about their own humanity in their reaction.

Why you shouldn't read this book: There is a lot of consumption of creepy-crawly stuff that may not sit well if you have a nervous stomach.

Buy Zao Dao Cuisine Chinoise here!

Jonesy

Written by: Sam Humphries and Caitlin Rose Boyle

First line: Hey! Over here! It's me, Jonesy! Welcome to the worst day ever. 

Why you should read this book: Angry teen Jonesy has a secret power: she can make anyone fall in love with anything, unless that thing is her, which makes her even angrier. Plus, every time she uses her power on people, it backfires in ways that one should expect if one goes around willy-nilly telling people one dislikes to fall in love with random things. But not everyone sucks as much as Jonesy wants to think they do, and her shenanigans may very well help her find love in the long run. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're just a perfect kid with no flaws. 

Get Jonesy Volume 1 now!

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

Written by: Jessica Kim

First line: I should have known better than to think anyone would listen to me at the Korean beauty salon.

Why you should read this book: Yumi Chung's Korean immigrant parents will never understand her love of stand-up comedy, and they don't care that she isn't interested in earning an academic scholarship to a school where all the kids make fun of how she looks and how she smells; her mother sends her to cram school over her entire summer break, expecting her to improve her skills and score high enough to get free tuition. But shy, compliant Yumi has a secret now, because she accidentally started attending comedy camp with her favorite YouTube star when she was supposed to be studying in the library, and now everyone thinks she's a Japanese girl called Kay Nakamura who is pretty good at telling jokes, and she has to lie to absolutely everyone all summer. Will Yumi find a way to come clean before her cover's blown, will she launch her comedy career or bomb onstage, and will her parents ever understand her?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You missed out on the biggest opportunity of your childhood because you broke both legs.

Get Stand Up Yumi Chung here!

Camp Spirit

Written by: Axelle Lenoir

First line: The legend of Bear Lake tells the story of the Spirit of the Forest.

Why you should read this book: It's 1994 and disaffected young adult Elodie is still reeling from the death of Kurt Cobain, and to make matters worse, her mother is forcing her to work as a counselor at an overnight camp the summer before she starts college, and she already hates all the other counselors, especially "Little Miss Perfect: Catherine," but off she goes to have the worst summer ever. Her campers are all crazy redheads, she can't poop in a public toilet, and there's definitely something very strange going on at Bear Lake, including all the camp songs being mildly satanic, the very strange camp chief being very strange, and also there might be an actual monster in the woods. But it turns out that Little Miss Perfect Catherine isn't any of the things Elodie thinks she is, and the camp chief is not dangerous to humans, and whatever is lurking in the woods can be handled, one way or another. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: This is like Lumberjanes for big kids, but it's probably too sexy for little ones.

Get Camp Spirit here

Fearless: The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Defender of Free Speech

Written by: Gattaldo

 

First line: In a house by the sea, on the island of Malta, lived a little girl names Daphne, together with her mom, dad, and three sisters.

Why you should read this book: A brief biography of writer, civil rights protestor, and free speech advocate Daphne Caruana Galizia, written by an old friend of Galizia’s after her murder in 2017 (Galizia’s murder is not part of the story, but is mentioned in a brief appendix at the end). The book tells of Galizia’s childhood, then transitions to her life as an activist, using the power of the pen to call out problems in her home country of Malta, even as she makes enemies and suffers for her beliefs. This is primarily a story about self-confidence and the power of one individual’s voice to work for positive change in the face of big problems and powerful enemies. 

 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's intentionally vague about the issues that Galizia wrote and protested about as well as the retaliation she experienced, which perhaps makes it less interesting as a story about the struggle for human rights but more appropriate for first, second, and third graders who are ready for general concepts, but not the specifics details of corruption and intimidation that go hand in hand with the work of a defender of free speech.

Get Fearless The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia Defender of Free Speech now

When We Say Black Lives Matter

Written by: Maxine Beneba Clarke

First line: Little one, when we say Black Lives Matter, we're saying Black people are wonderful-strong.

Why you should read this book: This is a lyrical, read-aloud story in which Black parents explain to a Black child what they mean when they say, “Black Lives Matter.” Some of the language and imagery discusses the violence, pain, and fear that has accompanied the struggle for equality and hindered the progress of the civil rights movement. More of the book focuses on the positive: strength, joy, solidarity, courage drawn from the past, and the narrator’s hope for a radiant future for their child. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's for very young people and seems best suited as a bedtime story or perhaps a jumping off point for a slightly older kids.

Get When We Say Black Lives Matter here

The Book of Delights

Written by: Ross Gay

First line: One day last July, feeling delighted and compelled to both wonder about and share that delight, I decided that it might feel nice, even useful, to write a daily essay about something delightful.

Why you should read this book: In the tradition of daily affirmations and daily gratitudes, an award-winning poet seeks to catalog those fleeting moments of delight, which bring sometimes unspeakable joy to a moment, but, unrecorded, often vanish with the passage of time. But these delights (high fives from strangers, Botan rice candy, the reactions you observe in others when you board an airplane carrying a tomato seedling) are immortalized in a book that transcends its stated motive and also examines the intersection of these delights with experiences of racism, death, or similarly undelightful concepts. These mini-essays, 102 of them, allow the reader to dip into the book for just the right sized helping of delight to combat difficult times.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't believe in happiness.

Buy The Book of Delights now

Plutona

Written by: Jeff Lemire, Emi Lenox, Jordie Bellaire

First line: ...another busy night in Metro City as the Bang Bang Gang tried to crash the mayor's Annual Harvest Gala.

Why you should read this book: Five children become entangled with each other and bound by a secret when they stumble upon the body of a fallen superhero in the woods. They have different ideas about how to handle this situations, and different motivations for their reasoning, and different stressors at home that guide their worldviews. A parallel story interweaves the life of the fallen superhero and how she came to be lying where these kids find her. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I guess I didn't quite "get" the ending, which seemed to suggest that one child's behavior was worse than the others and deserving of terrible punishment, but then I saw that this is volume one of five, so perhaps there's more that I'm missing.

Buy Plutona Now

Wombat

Written by: Christopher Cheng and Liz Duthie

First line: Far underground, where dirt and tree roots mesh, tunnels lead to a burrow.

Why you should read this book: A really charming and accessible biology text for young readers, with great information about wombat physiology and behavior, featuring wonderful illustrations and knit together with a narrative about a day in the life of one particular mother wombat. Wombat digs, eats, sleeps, challenges other wombats for territorial rights, escapes predators, and protects the baby in her marsupial pouch. Comforting, exciting, and informative, a story that straddles the adult's desire for order and the child's for adventure. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't want to know about wombats or you might be offended by a brief description of a wombat's poop (it's square).

Buy Wombat Now!

Gris Grimly's Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus

Written by: Mary Shelley and Gris Grimly

First line: You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.

Why you should read this book: Unquestionably one of the finest (if not the best) graphic novel adaptations of a classic work of literature I've ever had the pleasure of devouring, and not only because Grimly does an excellent job of preserving the original text while judiciously cutting bits that don't serve his work and won't be missed. With Victor and Elizabeth drawn as OG gothic punks (although this does highlight the fact that Victor is also, at heart, the OG emo kid), the monster looming more physically monstrous than in any other iteration (making his depiction somehow even more sympathetically pathetic), and the whole thing being set in a world that appears simultaneously pastoral and post-apocalyptic, naturalistic and steampunk-infused, this book seems to cut to the heart meat of the tale while also reviving its antique heartbeat for a modern audience. As always, this is a story about the price of being an irresponsible white guy with more money than common sense who isn't accountable to anyone and kind of gets away with murder until he horrifyingly doesn't.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I have to admit that I grabbed it off the shelf without really looking at what I was getting, because I just saw the G G of the author's name and my brain assumed it was a book from a completely different author whose title also contains the initials G G and which also has a powerful steampunk aesthetic (God bless the Foglios, my absolutely favorite webcomic creators of all time, but they simply haven't got the control/love of darkness needed for this undertaking).

Get Gris Grimly's Frankenstein now

Nisrin's Hijab

Written by: Priya Huq

First line: Alright, big hand for Nicole!

Why you should read this book: Following a sudden, gruesome, and apparently racially motivated act of violence, Bangladeshi-American teen Nisrin chooses to wear a headscarf, although her family is secular and their reactions to her decision range from confusion to anger. In school, her hijab elicits aggression from teachers and students, made even more complicated by the fact that she knows very little about Islam (the narrative makes it seem like her choice is motivated by PTSD rather than religious sentiment, which is then further complicated by her family's experience of violence prior to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971). By holding firm to ideas that she always feels but can't always express, Nisrim is able to find a new path forward while also repairing the relationships that suffered after her original ordeal. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I wonder how a reader who wore a hijab for religious reasons would feel about this story, in which the hijab symbolizes many things, but not a submission to God.

Buy Piece by Piece the Story of Nisrin's Hijab here

Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman

Written by: Kristen R. Lee

First line: The pizza drivers don't deliver here after seven.

Why you should read this book: Savannah Howard just wanted to attend the historically Black university ten miles away from the Memphis housing project where she grew up, but after years of sacrificing her social life for grades she finds herself the recipient of a full scholarship at an ivy league school, and her mother won't hear of her going anywhere else. From the moment she sets foot on the Wooddale campus, Savannah finds herself the target of multiple microaggressions, followed almost immediately by multiple incidents of overt racism, all of which is swept under the rug by an administration intent on protecting a white legacy student with his name on a brand new building. How much is Savannah willing to rock the boat in the pursuit of justice, what metric can she use to discern friend from foe, and will she ever feel comfortable on a campus where her voice and her truth seem so unwanted?

Why you shouldn't read this book: The racism starts out unpleasantly and escalates in alarming and increasingly terrifying ways.

Buy Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman here

The Last Halloween 1: Children

Written by: Abby Howard

First line: Did he die?

Why you should read this book: This is another graphic novel that I originally read in webcomic form, and if you like weird-weird-weird and creepy comics, this is the story for you. The boundary between the worlds of humans and monsters has been breached, and 10-year-old Mona finds herself fighting for her life in the company of the undead just to survive the night and potentially put an end to the terror, but mostly just to not die. It's wacky, and contains graphic depictions of many humans, monsters, and undead creatures dying or being horribly maimed, and it's pretty much a very well illustrated and organized nightmare. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're not into dead, dying, and maimed humans, monsters, and undead.

Buy The Last Halloween 1: Children from Amazon here

Being a Human: Adventure in Forty Thousand Years of Consciousness

Written by: Charles Foster

First line: I first ate a live mammal on a Scottish hill. 

Why you should read this book: A legal scholar and veterinary surgeon who teaches at Oxford and has a home and a family and all sorts of modern-day comforts intentionally shucks them all off in pursuit of an upper paleolithic consciousness, which he attempts to achieve by living in such a way as to summon the mindset of the earliest "behaviorally modern" humans. While many readers will find his methods insane, and his conclusions questionable (Foster uses the modern nonfiction literary technique of imagining in great detail things that he can't possibly know at all and then presenting his daydreams as fact, and sometimes of telling you later on that he made up part of the story because it would have been interesting if it had happened that way), this book does have the power to draw you in to its provocative thesis about our species' place in the order of the universe and our orientation to the natural world and all the things that are wrong with the civilization we've created in the last fifteen thousand years. It's not at all the book I thought it was going to be, but it's a pretty gripping book about a guy who feels out of sync with the world trying to synchronize himself with the planet and waking up certain parts of his mind while inadvertently removing himself even further from the world he started from.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You would consider a man voluntarily starving himself into hallucinations for eight days while lying outside in the snow and watching his young adolescent son eat road kill even though his friend's house is just a short walk away some form of child abuse.

Buy Being a Human from Amazon

Sheila Ray the Brave

Written by: Kevin Henkes

First line: Sheila Rae wasn't afraid of anything. 

Why you should read this book: Sheila Rae demonstrates her uncommon bravery in the face of common childhood terrors such as thunder and lightning and scary dogs, and even imagines scarier things when confronted with common objects. However, her commitment to proving her utter lack of fear leads to hubris and hamartia as she sets out to prove herself and ends up discovering the true meaning of fear. Fortunately, her little sister Louise has the solution, and the path out of fear. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's a cute book but apparently if you are a humorless puritan with zero imagination, you might find Sheila Rae's imagination unpalatable (always read the one-star Amazon reviews to locate the dregs of humanity). 

Buy Sheila Rae the Brave from Amazon.

All My Friends

Written by: Hope Larson

First line: Turn it down, Kesi.

Why you should read this book: Once again, I have inadvertently read the third book in a trilogy without even knowing that the first two books existed, so I might be missing some stuff here. Young teens Bina, Lara, and Kesi have started a band called Fancy Pink and worked hard enough to get their first gig. Even though it doesn't go anywhere near as well as planned, it still leads to more opportunities, including one of their songs being licensed to appear in a hot new TV show! But their ticket to the top is complicated by boys, haters, their parents' take on the music industry, and their own lack of funds. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your parents never let you do anything either.

Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin

Written by: Megan Rosenbloom

First line: The brass, wood, and glass cases gave the main exhibition hall of the Mütter Museum a warm and cozy feeling—which was odd, considering it was a room full of corpses.

Why you should read this book: This seems to be the definitive work on the controversial subject of anthropodermic bibliopegy: the art, science, and history of binding books in human leather. Rosenbloom, a medical librarian, finds herself in the strange position of collecting small samples of such books for her colleague to test for authenticity, as it is only very recently in human history that chemical tests could distinguish the origin of a tanned sample of mammalian skin. In her journeys, she delves deeply into the past, particularly into the evolution of medicine and medical ethics, and connects her findings to the present and future of medicine. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: A lot of people automatically assume that this is going to be about Nazi atrocities, but Rosenbloom's research never uncovers a single example of a human-bound book from the Third Reich.

Train to Nowhere

Written by: Eve Bunting

First line: "This is our train, Marianne," Miss Rudolph says, and Nora clutches at my hand.

Why you should read this book: By turns heartbreaking and heartwarming, this is a fictionalized account of the orphan trains of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, which shipped east coast children  west to be adopted. Marianne, older, female, and not pretty, knows that she's the least desirable orphan in her group of fourteen kids who need homes, but keeps holding out hope that her biological mother will return for her as promised. As she travels down the line, Marianne has to learn to adjust her expectations and accept what the universe has to offer. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: This is the kind of story that kids will find very interesting but adults may find it sort of depressing, even if it does have an uplifting ending.

So You Want to Be a Rock Star

Written by: Audrey Vernick and Kirstie Edmunds

First line: You want to be a rock star?

Why you should read this book: A fun but silly read aloud story that discusses children's make believe as if it is the actual thing. You don't need an instrument if you can play air guitar and sneer effectively! While yelling into their fists (because they don't have a microphone) and wearing "awesome-crazy clothes," the kids in this book imagine themselves living the dream while performing for an audience of enthusiastic family members and fantasizing about the perks of success. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You probably don't actually want your kids acting like rock stars, or, at the very least, you want them to practice the guitar first.

Nano: The Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small

Written by: Dr. Jess Wade and Melissa Castrillón

First line: Look around your home. 

Why you should read this book: In kid-friendly language and illustrations, this book offers an introduction to the concept of nanotechnology, beginning with a very basic explanation of atoms, molecules, and materials science. From there, it demonstrates how modern scientists can artificially manipulate naturally occurring molecules, such as graphite, to create materials with completely different properties, such as graphene. It goes on to suggest potential uses for future nanotechnology, and concludes that the child reading this book could unlock the secrets of nanotechnology in the future.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's for very young readers. Kids over the age of eight with any interest in science will likely want more information than this book can provide.

Bruno the Beekeeper: A Honey Primer

Written by: Aneta Frantiska Holasova

First line: In his heart and soul, Bruno is a beekeeper.

Why you should read this book: A comprehensive tour through a year in the life of a beekeeper, this beautiful and informative book offers child-friendly guides to all the knowledge of the apiarist. Bruno, a bear, and his grandmother, a human, clean up in the autumn after the honey harvest, feed the bees in the winter, care for them in the spring, and harvest honey again in the summer. This book also offer wonderful charts illustrating the life cycle of the different bees in the colony, their anatomy, and the flowers they like, along with the tools of the beekeepers and everything else kids might want to know about bees and beekeeping, including Grandma's recipe for honey-sweetened gingerbread cookies. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You hate bees. And honey. And cottagecore. And Grandma. And cookies.

Watercress

Written by: Andrea Wang and Jason Chin

First line: We are in the old Pontiac, the red paint faded by the years of glinting Ohio sun, pelting rain, and biting snow.

Why you should read this book: A little girl, the American daughter of Chinese immigrants, resents being made to harvest wild watercress out of a ditch with her family—it's hard enough being poor without worrying that someone you know might see you picking weeds in the mud by the side of the road! Although her parents are overjoyed to experience this taste of home, the narrator refuses to touch the delicacy, until her mother, sensing the trouble, shares her own troubling history. With a new understanding of what this food means to her family, the child finds that the watercress is delicious and that she sees her parents in a new light, understanding what they went for before she was born in order for her to grow up as an American kid who had the ability to refuse any food. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your parents controlled you with food. 

The Black Snowman

Written by: Phil Mendez and Carole Byard

First line: Somewhere in a lonely grass hut in western Africa, an aged storyteller prepares for the arrival of the village children. 

Why you should read this book: Jacob, a young boy disdainful of his family's economic status and ethnic, cultural heritage, announces that "Everything black is bad" before grudgingly agreeing to help his little brother Peewee build a snowman—a black snowman—with the dirty snow in their neighborhood. When Peewee scrounges a magical kente cloth, brought from Africa centuries earlier, to dress the snowman, their creation comes to life and does its best to teach Jacob to take some pride in the richness of his ancestry. Although not immediately convinced, Jacob gets a second chance to understand who he is and what he can do right now, as catastrophe looms and the snowman's wisdom and history help Jacob save the day. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't let your kids touch anything you perceive as being dirty.

In the Valleys of the Noble Beyond: In Search of the Sasquatch

Written by:  John Zada

First line: A froth of dark, roiling clouds churns above the swaying canopy. 

Why you should read this book: Canadian journalist John Zada travels to British Columbia to work on a travelogue for tourists interested in exploring the Great Bear Rainforest, but finds himself more interested in the First Nation peoples who have lived in the area for fourteen thousand years, and then most interested in the stories he hears over and over again—about the locals' real life encounters with Sasquatch. Enamored with the mystique of meeting Bigfoot as he imagined in his youth, Zada treks to the most remote areas and makes friends with every possible source in pursuit of his story, but as evidence piles up for both sides (believable narratives from those who have seen this storied cryptid firsthand versus believable conclusions based on the scientific method) he begins to question what the story actually is, anyway. What does it mean to believe in Sasquatch, to search for Sasquatch, to encounter Sasquatch, and what can we take away from the persistence of legends, on a global scale, of wild men, man apes, and other mysterious beings hiding in the vanishing corners that civilization can't reach?

Why you shouldn't read this book: Look, obviously if a respected journalist found incontrovertible evidence of the existence of Sasquatch, you would have heard about it already. 

Salt Magic

Written by: Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock

First line: Lots of stories end with a kiss.

Why you should read this book: When Vonceil's big brother Elber comes back from World War I a little worse for wear, she's distressed that his first priority is to marry his hometown sweetheart and suddenly start acting like an adult, until  a mysterious and glamorous lady arrives at the family farm to stake her own claim on Elber's heart, at which point Vonceil's priorities change quickly. Vonceil would happily leave home with this interesting interloper, but Elber rejects Greda, who turns out to be a powerful salt witch, with a strange kingdom, strange powers, and a strange connection to Vonceil's family. As soon as the witch turns Vonceil's family's spring to saltwater, Vonceil knows that she is the only person who can save the farm, the town, and her own family.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're just looking for love in all the wrong places and you know it.

 

Junebug

Written by: Alice Mead

First line: I've got the sail hauled in tight.

Why you should read this book: Reeve McClain, Jr.—Junebug to his friends, family, and neighbors—dreams of sailing ships, but right now he's mostly concerned with the likelihood that he's going to be forced to join a gang, as happens to all the ten-year-old boys who live in his housing project. Junebug has a wish, and a plan to launch that wish into the universe, but he's got to contend with his negligent aunt and trouble with people in his neighborhood and taking care of his little sister, along with the possibility that his mother might take a better job that would force him to move and change schools and introduce a lot of uncertainty in his life. Fast-paced, high-interest, and charming.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are overly concerned with dumping in America's waterways. 

To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel

Written by: Siena Cherson Siegel and Mark Siegel

First line: Big, empty spaces always made me dance.

Why you should read this book: An always honest, sometimes sad, but mostly joyful recollection of a girl who loved dancing, devoted her childhood to ballet with a surprising intensity, and eventually, like most child dancers, was forced to apply herself to another profession in adulthood. Siena's family moves to New York so she can study at a prestigious school, perform regularly, and even enjoy occasionally crossing paths with the great Mikhail Baryshnikov, and while she is physically limited from pursuing a career in dance as an adult, she eventually realizes that dancing at any level makes her happy. A great resource to help very young girls understand the degree of hard work, physical pain, and potential injury that goes hand in hand with dancing at a professional level, along with the delight. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: While it's very honest about the potential for injury when dancing on pointe, it slightly glosses over the psychological damage—body image issues and eating disorders—that seems endemic to ballet in books for older readers.

Chromatopia: An Illustrated History of Color

Written by: David Coles and Adrian Lander

First line: Since the beginning of human existence, colour has played an integral role in the way we describe the world around us. 

Why you should read this book: A remarkable interdisciplinary endeavor, Coles blends history, archaeology, chemistry, botany, mineralogy, etymology, entomology, materials science, folklore, psychology, and art to create a dazzling and comprehensive guide to the human journey to reproduce the hues perceived in nature as pigments for use in artistic processes. The bulk of the text, arranged more or less chronologically, spans from prehistoric human's early processing of ochres, bone, chalk, and smoke to the ultra-modern techniques for creating glow-in-the-dark pigments and the blackest black.  Lushly illustrated with gorgeous, color-rich photographs, and including several complete recipes for those interested in replicating some of the most ancient manufacturing processes, this book draws the reader back through time and directs them to consider how precious and rare reproducible color has been for most of human history and how much knowledge goes into its production today.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You can't see straight because your printer currently refuses to print black text due to being low on cyan toner, and this fills you with rage. Might also be a bad choice if you're color blind.