Year in Review: 2023, the Year I Forgot to Read

Every year I vow to review 100 books, but this was the year I failed most abysmally. Part of it was my health: I was sick in bed for almost the entire month of February, and then again for almost an entire month between November and December. But there's no excuse for the summer, when I pretty much just fell into my phone. I'm even 3 weeks late writing this post, but I'm going to back date it so it looks like I wrote it on New Year's Eve. 

Anyway, here's my sad little list.

Dragon's Reading Year in Review

Picture books:                16

Middle grade/YA:          2

Nonfiction:                    3

Graphic novels:             13

Memoir:                        1

Novels:                          4

Poetry:                          1

Short story collection:  1

Total books reviewed: 41

I'm going to do better this year! 

 

Invisible

Written by: Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriella Epstein

First line: I came as soon as I heard. 

Why you should read this book: When the principal insists that Jorge "George" Rivera agree to community service hours "with students like you" so the school can win an award, he assumes that means working with the other gifted kids, not cleaning the cafeteria with the Spanish-speaking students who already think he's a gringo. Despite the principal's blithe categorization, the five members of this breakfast club seem to have nothing in common, until they bond over the common cause of helping a mother and daughter living in a car across the street from the school. Each child has their own secrets, fears, strengths, and weaknesses, but they all find that they're willing to risk punishment in order to do what they know is right. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You only talk to people who share you exact ethnic background and financial circumstances.

Squished

Written by: Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter

First line: Welcome to beautiful Hickory Valley, Maryland...home to my family, the Lees.

Why you should read this book: Avery Annie Lee already has a rough time being the second-oldest child (and oldest girl) of seven siblings, but when her parents inform her that they're moving her toddler brother into the room she already shares with her sister (who plays multiple instruments badly and practices constantly in their room) because her older brother is "having a hard time," it really throws a wrench into the gears of her carefully-thought out plan to finally have her own space. Her next plan, to earn enough money to transform the basement, seems doomed, and all the while, she still has to deal with the trials of taking care of five younger siblings and all the tribulations of moving from elementary school to middle school. As Avery considers the emotions of the people around her carefully, she starts to feel less squished, and to see more possibilities in the world. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're morally opposed to large families. 

The Waters

Written by: Bonnie Jo Campbell

First line: Once upon a time M'sauga Island was a place where desperate mothers abandoned baby girls and where young women went seeking to prevent babies altogether.

Why you should read this book: For Bonnie Jo Campbell's forthcoming (WW Norton, January 2024) novel, I have to abandon my typical 4-sentence format. If you're not familiar with my creative relationship with Bonnie Jo Campbell, you can learn a great deal about it here on my visual art website. If you do know about the 4 volumes of comics based on her work I've published, you probably won't be surprised to learn that I drew the map that will appear as the frontispiece of this new novel, and that I read an early draft (the version she sent to the publisher) last year and that I just finished reading the ARC. I'm deeply inspired and I've just been telling people for well over a year to keep an eye out for this book, because I think it's going to knock people's socks off. 

Obviously, this is a biased account and not a true book review. Because I freaking love this book. 

Like most of Campbell's work, it's set in rural southwestern Michigan, is deeply tied to the land, and features a quirky and colorful cast moving through circumstances that perfectly balance comedy and tragedy. It covers new ground by opening the world up to a fairy tale sensibility and the possibly of true magic.

Hermine "Herself" Zook, age unknown, has always lived on M'sauga Island, and has long been the resident witch of the town of Whiteheart, guided by the spirit of her mother, Baba Rose, who haunts her right arm and also the eternal flame of her stove. In addition to providing natural remedies to those who need healing, she also adopts unwanted babies, and, if approached properly, provides herbal abortions. And thus the tale unfolds. Now raising her granddaughter Dorothy "Donkey" Zook in her footsteps, Hermine finds herself increasingly at odds with a hypocritical world that want to use and control her strength even as the poison of modernity seeps into the swamp from every direction. 

I have a million things to say about this book, which I'm saving for the comic I want to write about it. However, if you like rural noir, fairy tales, strong female characters, strange children, the state of Michigan, nuanced debates about ethics and religion, or detailed descriptions of the natural world, you will probably like this book. 

Pre-order it from your local bookstore or public library and be the first to know. 

The Dragon Prince: Bloodmoon Huntress

Written by: Nicole Andelfinger and Felia Hanakata

First line: You shall both be missed, Lain.

Why you should read this book: This is the second graphic novel in a series of prequels to the popular cartoon The Dragon Prince, depicting the young Moonshadow elf, Rayla, at a pivotal moment in her childhood. Filled with anger that her parents have chosen their sacred duty to Xadia as Dragonguards over family life in Silvergrove and left her in the care of foster parents, Ethari and Runaan, Rayla is more furious when she learns that Runaan is an assassin whose job is to kill those who threaten the elves. A chance meeting with a lost Skywing elf leads to a confrontation with an ancient evil, and Rayla learns what it means to sacrifice for your family and embraces her future career path. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you're a fan of the series, it's a fun, if lightweight backstory, but if you haven't seen the show, it probably makes very little sense. 

Satan in Goray

Written by: Isaac Bashevis Singer

First line: In the year 1648, the wicked Ukranian hetman, Bogdan Chmelnicki, and his followers besieged the city of Zamosc but could not take it because it was strongly fortified; the rebelling haidamak peasants moved on to spread havoc in Tomaszow, Bilgoraj, Krasnik, Turbin, Frampol--and in Goray, too, the town the lay in the midst of the hills at the end of the world.

Why you should read this book: When news comes that the messiah has arrived in the form of a man called Sabbatai Zevi, a strange religious mania overtakes the beleaguered shtetl of Goray, where Jews have long adhered to the biblical traditions of their ancestors. Turning away from their rabbi and the old ways, the people embrace mysticism and prophets and follow kabbalists who declare that the rules of decency and morality are suspended, creating a strange, lawless world in advance of the paradise to which they believe they will soon be delivered. But Zevi is no messiah, and their prophets are less holy than they had been led to believe, and the people of Goray will not be delivered to paradise.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you haven't got a decent grounding in European Jewish tradition or history, a lot of this probably won't make much sense. 

The Goody

Written by: Lauren Child

First Line: Chirton Krauss was a good child, the very goodest.

Why you should read this book: For a kid's book, this story gets pretty deep, depicting the ways that adults lazily typecast their own children, locking them into roles that cut the child down and prevent them from growing as individuals. Chirton is the "goody" who always does what he's supposed to do, regardless of how he feels about it, and his sister Myrtle does whatever she feels like doing, regardless of what she's supposed to do, and accepts that she's the bad child. When Chirton finally gets fed up with the inequality of the situation, both kids get to experience life from the other point of view and they, and their parents, come to accept that nobody fits neatly into a behavioral box, and nobody should have to, and that it's best for children to be seen as children and not be reduced to binaries. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you were always the good kid who always suffered while your siblings slacked off and you never addressed this with your family of origin, this book might be a bit heartbreaking/

The Complete Fairy Tales of George MacDonald

Written by: George MacDonanld 

First line: Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children. 

Why you should read this book: There is something deeply appealing about these tales, whose foundations are rooted deeply in the ancient, mythopoeic tradition, but whose leaves and branches are nourished with the most modern ideas any Victorian gentleman could possibly lay his hands on. From a princess who is cursed to lose her gravity to shadow spirits lamenting the rise of gaslights and the decline of the real fires that allow them to dance among the humans, the fairy creatures of these stories are well aware that their world is in flux and the balance is tipping away from the past. Delightful and imaginative, but still adhering to the laws of the genre, this is a timeless work on par with the best fairy stories of any era. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You would never go anywhere with or for a magical creature and have zero sympathy for teenagers in love.

The Prophet

Written by: Kahlil Gibran

First line: Almustafa, the chosen and beloved, who was a dawn unto his own day, had waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for his ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth. 

Why you should read this book: A beloved and enduring longform poem written one hundred years ago, The Prophet is a series of mind-expanding dialogs between the prophet and the people of Orphalese, who ask him to speak to them of various aspects of the human condition. The prophet answers with advice--some metaphorical, some concrete--on living fully, openly, joyfully, and honestly. Each short chapter offers musings on topics such as love, work, freedom, pleasure, and so on, turning the everyday experience of all humans into a spiritual quest wherein every individual can hope to achieve enlightenment in this world. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: The dust jacket of the edition I have in my hand suggests that if this book doesn't uplift, educate, and inspire you, that you are likely "dead to life and truth."

Daddy Poems

Edited by: John Micklos, Jr. 

First line: It was still dark when I woke up/and stumbled out of bed,/sleepily searching for my slippers/on my way to the bathroom.

Why you should read this book: A beautifully illustrated and carefully curated collection of poetry for young readers about fathers, featuring a diverse sampling of poets. The book takes into account the complicated feelings of children whose parents are divorced, and includes a poem about a child's confusing feelings for his stepfather. These poems are full of emotion and love and joy and pain.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Probably not a great choice for people with absent or abusive fathers. 

The Goddess of Ugly

Written by: Deborah Nourse Lattimore

First line: Once, not very long ago there were twin sisters, Kiri and Mareweia.

Why you should read this book: Two little Maori girls look forward to their coming of age, when they will receive their chin tattoos, but first they must perfect their haka dance. However, one of the sisters cannot take her practice seriously, and their grandmother warns them that making ugly faces will leave them vulnerable to the Punga, the Goddess of Ugly, who once trapped Mudfish and Lizard in a lodgepole, to teach them a lesson about being ugly on purpose. Still not taking the warning seriously, the girls, naturally, have a terrifying run-in with Punga, where they quickly learn their lesson and get the best of the situation.

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

When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals.

Written by: Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy

First line: Somewhere in India, a blind river dolphin seeks her companion.

Why you should read this book: Biology has long held the idea of animal emotions in contempt, labeling "anthropomorphism" a sin against science and the idea that animals have only instinct and evolution to guide them, but the authors of this book remind readers that it's difficult for anyone who has ever had a relationship with any animal to discount what their eyes and ears perceive. Since such subjects cannot be truly observed in laboratory conditions, any evidence to the contrary is labeled "anecdotal," and yet, if it's possible to compile an entire book of such anecdotes, shouldn't we consider that a literature review? Citing dozens of field scientists, the authors explore hope, love, grief, and the entire range of emotional experience as witnessed in the behavior of animals in the wild, in captivity, and in domestication, creating strong evidence that other creatures share a similar range of emotional experiences with humans. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I thought the section on shame and blushing was underwhelming compared to the rest of the book.

The Girl Who Married a Skull and Other African Stories: A Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales Book

Edited by: C. Spike Trotman, Kate Ashwin, Kel McDonald, and Taneka Stotts

First line: Once there lived a young woman.

Why you should read this book: Like the other five books in this series, it compiles a diverse collection of stories from all over the continent, some modernized, others seemingly ancient, illustrated by a variety of artists who put their hearts into the subject matter. Monsters, talking animals, culture heroes, and clever children populate the pages, teaching caution and perseverance, offering lessons and merriment, and showing young readers a road map for navigating the world. Joyful, uplifting, and entertaining.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're, like, a talking skull or something. 

V for Vendetta

Written by: Alan Moore and David Lloyd

First line: Good evening, London. It's 9 o'clock and this is the voice of Fate broadcasting on 275 and 285 in the medium wave. 

Why you should read this book, in a dismal post-World War III future, England has fallen under the sway of brutal fascism, with an Orwellian cameras in every crevice and party propaganda broadcast from every corner. A shadowy anarchist known only as V wages a rather effective one-man war against the symbols of the government and the men and women who run it, while teaching a young woman named Evey his philosophy of self-rule and death to tyrants. With every resource of the country devoted to his death, V carries out an elaborate plan to hand power back to the people before his enemies catch up with him.

Why you shouldn't read this book: While I'm obviously very opposed to fascism and in support of anything that opposes fascism, reading this book 35 years after its original publication and maybe 25 years after the first time I read it, it feels kind of overblown, like an child's fantasy about Batman saving the world.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Written by: Frederick Douglas

First line: I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot County Maryland.

Why you should read this book: In language that is eloquent and evocative, yet straightforward and blunt, Douglas details the horrors of slavery through the eyes of his own childhood. Never stinting in his description of the brutality, cruelty, and hypocrisy, Douglass explains, clearly, that there can be no moral foundation to the unconscionable idea that human beings can possess other humans beings, and that the practice degrades everyone involved. I first read this book when I was little girl, when it seemed pretty obvious to most people that slavery was wrong and horrible and indefensible, but these days some people apparently need to have this concept spelled out for them, in which case, this book is a good resource.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Bad things happen.

Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruins of Ymr

Written by: John Crowley

First line: There has come to be a great mountain at the end of the world.

Why you should read this book: When a grief-stricken man rescues a sick crow, he is surprised to learn that the crow can communicate, and that the crow has led a mytho-poetic and seemingly immortal life, traveling with various spiritual humans back and forth into the spirit world. From prehistoric times to modern day, Dar Oakley has observed humans, learned from them, helped them when he felt it was in his own best interest or he seemed compelled to do so, and frequently been confused by their symbolic language and strange obsession with defeating death. Dar Oakley has changed the fate of all crows, but not as much as humans have changed their own fates, and, in their quest for material goods and fortune, closed off their own access to the immaterial world that once brought them hope. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think birds aren't real.

Carmilla

Written by: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

First line: In Styria, we, though by no means magnificent people, inhabit a castle, or schloss.

Why you should read this book: This is a vampire novel—a gothic vampire novel—a gothic LESBIAN vampire novel—a gothic lesbian vampire novel, which predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by a quarter century, which is likely enough information to sway the type of readers who would enjoy this book. The narrator, an innocent but isolated girl who craves the friendship of other girls, is enchanted by the random beautiful stranger who appears on her land while she's mourning the death of another girl she had hoped to visit. While constantly praising her new friend's looks and engaging in constant shows of physical affection, the protagonist begins to suffer a mysterious illness exactly like the strange malady that killed her old friend.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Can't handle the thought of girls engaging in trembling embraces and soft kisses.

The Sandman: Overture

Written by: Neil Gaiman and JH Williams III

First line: It was a small planet.

Why you should read this book: It's the prequel to the other Sandman books, published nearly 2 decades after the end of the series, which tells the story of the dangerous but important mission that took Morpheus away from his domain and led to his weakness and capture at the beginning of volume 1. Dream, at a convention of Dreams, comes to understand that the universe is in great peril, and it's entirely his fault for not doing his job correctly in the past. He comes to understand that there's nothing he can do to fix his mistake, which is then rectified pretty much by a literal deus ex machina and the literary equivalent of clapping for Tinkerbell.

Why you shouldn't read this book;  While following many of the successful conventions from the preceding books, including spectacular world-building and a brooding protagonist who basically tries to be a decent being despite also being a self-involved jerk, and containing appearances from many beloved secondary characters, as well as introducing Dream's mother and father (!), this story doesn't ever seem to have anything at stake.

Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories: A Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales Book

Edited by: C. Spike Trotman, Kate Aswin, Kel McDonald

First line: There once lived a humble tinker by the name of Jinbei. 

Why you should read this book: A wonderfully balanced collection of stories from all over Asia, featuring magic, tricksters, transformations, talking animals, foolish gods, and happy endings. Other than the tale of Fa Mulan, most of these stories will be unfamiliar to Western readers, and some may require further research to fully comprehend if you aren't conversant with world mythology, but even without deeper knowledge, they should still appeal to the sensibilities of any lover of fairy tales. Delightful and thoughtfully compiled, this is a great addition to any collection of graphic novels for children.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I don't know how cautionary a story is if bad behavior turns out well for the protagonist.

The Boy with Flowers in His Hair

Written by: Jarvis 

Why you should read this book: With simple, meaningful language and simple, colorful illustrations, the author conveys a vast allegory of meaning about what it is to be different, what it is to be accepting, and what it is to be a loving friend. A little boy is best friends with David, a child who is visibly unlike other children, but still happy and kind and well-liked. When his difference become more acute and less acceptable, his friend finds a way to make him happy, not by making him more like other kids, but by helping him feel more like himself.

When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's "Lost Generation" and the Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka Decision

Written by: Yolanda Gladden, Dr. Tamara Pizzoli, and Keisha Morris

Why you should read this book: This autobiographical picture book follows the experience of Yolanda Gladden, a Black girl born in segregated Topeka the year that Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional. When Yolanda is finally old enough to go to school, racist local lawmakers decide to fight integration by closing down all public schools. For five years, the Black community rallies to create their own grassroots school system where children like Yolanda are educated and learn to love learning for five years until another Supreme Court decision forces the community to reopen the public schools and remain integrated.

Mommy's Hometown

Written by: Hope Lim and Jaime Kim

Why you should read this book: A little Korean-American boy loves listening to his mother's stories of her idyllic childhood playing in the river with the other village children in her hometown. He dreams of visiting the place where Mommy grew up, but when he finally gets to Korea, he's disappointed to find that modernity has turned the pastoral haven into a bustling metropolis that bears no resemblance to Mommy's bucolic bedtime stories. But the river is still there, just as Mommy remembers it, and once the boy connects to the experience of playing in the water, he's able to see the beauty and magic of the new city.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't adapt well to change.

Extra Ezra Makes an Extra-Special Friend

Written by: Kara LaReau and Vincent X Kirsch

Why you should read this book: Ezra is a flamboyant elementary student who lets his light shine extra bright, injecting pizzazz and panache into everything he does, and his many friends appreciate his way of being "extra." When he meets a new kid, Jane, with rainbow barrettes and a glittery soccer ball, he's determined to make her his extra-special friend, but Jane is "blue" and has no interest in being cheered up. Ezra has to think hard about how to change his usual approach and offer Jane what she really needs, finally making a friend through the power of empathy.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You hate rainbows and glitter.

Anna Hibiscus

Written by: Atinuke and Lauren Tobia

Why you should read this book: At the heart of this warm, charming chapter book about a little girl growing up in a big family compound in Nigeria is the idea of community, in the African sense of the word, where no sensible person would ever want to be alone even for a moment. Anna Hibiscus can't imagine a world without aunties and uncles and cousins and parents and grandparents and siblings all around her, and when her nuclear family attempts to take their own vacation, disaster ensues! Anna Hibiscus, like a young Ramona Quimby, learns important lessons about life, culture, and caring for others, driven by her own exuberance and her family's loving guidance. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You absolutely despise other people. Just hate them. Misanthropy squared. Can't stand having them in the vicinity.  

Marco Polo Brave Explorer

Written by: Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin

Why you should read this book: This short easy chapter book tells of the adventure of Marco Polo, a mouse-shaped Christmas ornament who is repurposed as a children's toy that can be checked out of the public library, except that no kid ever checks him out because he's so small every adult is sure that he will be lost. Finally, a little boy named Seth overcomes his father's objection to Marco Polo because he has a secret: Seth is afraid to attend his first sleepover, and also afraid that his friend will make fun of him if he brings his primary love object, an old gray bunny, for comfort. Marco Polo, being small enough to hide in Seth's sleeping bag unnoticed, does indeed go on a tremendous adventure, and Seth learns that your real friends don't make fun of you, and are probably afraid of the same things you're afraid of. 

Why you shouldn't check out this book: You wouldn't let your child play with a plushie that every other kid in town had played with.

Yoshi and the Ocean: A Sea Turtle's Incredible Journey Home

Written by: Lindsay Moore

Why you should read this book: There's something quietly stunning about this nonfiction picture book, which recounts the story of an injured sea turtle who is rescued by Japanese fishermen and taken to an aquarium in South Africa for rehabilitation. Her injury healed, Yoshi spends twenty years on exhibit at the aquarium before marine biologists recognize that she should be released back into the ocean. By gluing a tracking tag to her shell, scientists are able to track her journey from Capetown back to the Australian beach where she was born, and the author recreates this underwater journey in beautiful detail.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are wholly unconcerned with the plight of sea turtles, you monster. 

Ada and the Galaxies

Written by: Alan Lightman, Olga Pastuchiv, & Susanna Chapman

Why you should read this book: Living in a big city, Ada can barely see any stars at all, and looks forward to visiting her grandparents in Maine, where the night sky is easily visible. All day Ada enjoys the coastal life and learns about nature, but the entire time she's just thinking about when she can see the stars, and when the sun finally sets, the fog rolls in and Ada still can't see the stars. Instead, she continues learning astronomy from her grandfather and his books, and finally, just before bed, realizes that the fog has lifted and she can see the stars after all. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: The premise seems a bit far-fetched but I guess it takes all kinds.

Nigel and the Moon

Written by: Antwan Eady & Gracey Zhang

Why you should read this book: This intensely sweet and relatable picture book shows little Nigel, who wants to be an astronaut, a superhero, and a dancer when he grows up, speaking his truth every night to the moon, while finding himself utterly incapable of sharing these secrets with his class in the daytime. It's career week at school, which makes his shyness about the subject (and fear of ridicule) even more intense, and the fact that all his classmates' parents seem to have more important jobs than his doesn't help. When his postal-worker mother and truck-driver father show up to present to the class and are accepted by the other students, Nigel finds the courage to finally speak up about his own dreams without fear. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You already know who you are, and who you're supposed to be, and you've never had any self-doubt.

I'm a Neutrino: Tiny Particles in a Big Universe

Written by: Dr. Eve M Vavagiakis & Ilze Lemesis

Why you should read this book: In heroic couplets, this book discusses the general qualities and behaviors of tiny particles known as neutrinos, while also explaining that we don't know very much about them and encouraging children to pursue careers in physics to solve some of the mysteries presented. The text itself is extremely basic, suitable for very young readers, and the illustrations are likewise dynamic and appealing. Three pages of notes at the end actually explain all the concepts and illustrations much better than the book itself manages.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's cute but insubstantial; I'm not sure kids in the intended age group could possibly get anything out of it, and once you're old enough to grasp subatomic particle physics, this book might be a bit young for you.

Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution

Written by: De Nichols, Diana Dagadita, Molly Mendoza, Oliver Twist, Saddo, and Diego Becas

Why you should read this book: Inviting young readers to explore the world of activism through the lens of visual art, this detailed but accessible book explores the historical and functional roles of the graphic medium as an element of social movements. With striking illustrations from the past and present, it showcases the power of art as it pertains to creating the change you wish to see in the world and teaches readers how to understand and use powerful symbols. In addition to teaching the history of various movements, it also discusses art techniques that kids can use to start their own protests and spread their own messages and encourages them to speak out for what they believe. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: This book is not for fascists.

Out of This World: Star-Studded Haiku

Written by: Sally M. Walker and Matthew Trueman

Why you should read this book: Exactly what it says it is: a short collection of short poems and splashy paintings that describe our knowledge of the celestial world. Stars, planets, the Big Bang, the robots on Mars, and other cosmic concepts get the 5-7-5 treatment. Includes 6 additional pages of historical, factual, and scientific details about the subject matter, along with a glossary, reading list, and links to relevant websites.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I think, to enjoy this book, you have to be really into space and really into haiku.

The World of Emily Windsnap 1: Emily's Big Discovery

Written by: Liz Kessler and Joanie Stone

Why you should read this book: This is an easy reader retelling of the first part of the first novel in the popular Emily Windsnap series, in which a little girl who is not allowed to swim, despite living on a boat and regularly being made to hang out on the beach, discovers that she is a mermaid. The first time she tries to swim, she's frightened by the strange sensations in her body, but intrigued enough to try again. Once she enters the ocean, grows a tail, and realizes she can breathe underwater, Emily meets another young mermaid, learns some mermaid slang, and makes a friend for life.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I'm sorry, but are we supposed to believe that Emily Windsnap went 11 years without taking a bath?

Find out about Animal Babies

Written by: Martin Jenkins and Jane McGuinness

Why you should read this book: This short, sweet nonfiction picture book explains that all animals have babies, but that their babies are all different. Using thirteen different kinds of animals as examples, the text highlights some basic dichotomies, such as animals whose babies look just like them, like lizards, and animals whose babies don't, like butterflies. A satisfying look at animal babies for young readers.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're some kind of monster who does not wish to find out about animal babies. 

Love in the Library

Written by: Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura

Why you should read this book: Tama, like most of the Japanese-Americans interned in the Minidoka Incarceration Camp during World War II, is not happy with the circumstances of her life surrounded by desert dust, barbed wire, and guard towers. Every day she goes to work in the camp library, even though she knows nothing about being a librarian, and every day, George, a Japanese-American man her age comes to the library to read, check out books, and smile. Tama has nothing to smile about until George comforts her in a low moment and she realizes that the thing he has been smiling about the entire time is her, Tama; the story ends with them getting married and giving birth to the author’s uncle while still in the camp.

Why you shouldn't read this book: This book mentions truths about American history that some people would rather not deal with.

The Woman in the Woods and Other North American Stories: A Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales Book

Edited by: Kel McDonald, Kate Ashwin, and Alina Pete

First line: Excuse me...Do you tell stories.

Why you should read this book: While it's a bit shorter than the other volumes in this series, there's still much to love in this book of Native American mythology, which features stories from the distant and not-so-distant past. One tale showcases the concept of "two-spirit," and discusses the acceptance of transgendered people in many indigenous cultures, while others show humans befriending monsters or tricksters getting tricked. Eight different nations are represented in this book.

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

Aristotle's Poetics

Written by: Aristotle

First line: In studying the "art of poetry" our task will be to treat of: (1) the intrinsic nature of poetry, (2) its various kinds, (3) the essential "function and potentiality of each, (4) the kind of plot-construction requisite to a good poem, (5) the number and nature of a poem's constituent parts, and anything else that falls within the scope of the inquiry.

Why you should read this book: It's pretty much the first manual explaining how to write well, and while not every line of thought is still relevant today, quite a bit of this little lecture, written well over two thousand years ago, remains relevant. What Aristotle meant by "poetry" translates more accurately to "storytelling" as we think of it in the twenty-first century, but his discussions of basic concepts such as "beginning, middle, and end" provide information that is essential to students of literature. A great many excellent pieces of advice for constructing plot, writing believable characters, and using language effectively make this book a valuable resource for writers of all levels.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Even the best translations can feel a bit dense: unless you have a special interest in Greek literature or writing stories, you may not get much out of it.

The Nixie of the Mill-Pond and other European Stories: A Cautionary Fables & Fairy Tales Book

Edited by: Kel McDonald and Kate Ashwin

First line: Come on, at least try to look presentable.

Why you should read this book: While many of the stories in this book will likely be familiar to western readers, they are presented in novel ways, sometimes with surprising twists. Things do not always end well, for example, with the people of Hamelin refuse to pay their debt, although Jack still manages to get away with robbery. It a fun exploration of familiar themes, accessible for modern readers. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some pieces of it might be a bit intense for young readers, such as the part where a cheating wife gets her nose bitten off.

Sukey and the Mermain

Written by: Robert D. San Souci and Brian Pinknet

First line: A girl names Sukey lived with her ma and step-pa in a cabin with a sagging porch and a roof so rickety it let in sunshine or rain, depending on the weather. 

Why you should read this book: A top notch writer and a top notch illustrator team up to create this sensational fairy tale about a little girl who escapes her troubles through a dalliance with a mermaid called Mama Jo. Sukey moves back and forth between her world on the surface and Mama Jo's ocean but chooses the world of men in the end. Inspired by and constructed from various pieces of African-American folklore likely handed down through the oral tradition all the way from Africa, this book introduced the idea of a Black mermaid to the public over thirty years ago.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are already het up about the validity of a Black mermaid.

The Night Marchers & Other Oceana Stories: A Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales Book

Edited by: Kel McDonald, Kate Ashwin, and Sloane Long

First line: Family. Always respect them. No matter what.

Why you should read this book: It's a delightful collection of "cautionary fables and fairy tales" appropriate for young readers, collected from the continent of Oceania (mostly Hawaii and the Phillipines). As the series subtitle suggests, these stories offer examples from mythology of what people should and shouldn't do, explaining superstition, ranging far into the past and even into the future to show the consequences of poor actions. There are gods and monsters, princesses and talking animals, everything you would expect from fairy tales, but stories you probably haven't heard before unless you hail from these cultures. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Two of the comics are inexplicably not in English and not translated.

The Wicked + The Divine: The Faust Act

Written by: Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

First line: And once again, we return to this.

Why you should read this book: Here's a world that almost exactly like ours, except that every ninety years, a pantheon of god come back, taking young people for their avatars, becoming music sensations who are both worshiped and despised, possessing the power to drive their audiences to ecstasy, and other powers as well, and then dying two years later. Above-average teen and superfan Laura has an interesting encounter with Lucifer ("You can call me Luci.") after an Amaterasu concert and finds herself immersed in the surprising and dangerous world of these powerful, short-lived gods. As Lucifer becomes reckless and erratic, Laura becomes desperate to save her from the world of men, but Lucifer may have different plans for herself...and her protégé. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You get the sense that the actual story doesn't really start until the next book.

Tales from the Crypt

Written by: Bernie Wrightson et. al. 

First line: That's it...sign and your children will have the money they so desperately need.

Why you should read this book: These are new and thoroughly modern tales in the spirit of the old Tales from the Crypt comics (along with two old reprints). People still die horribly, but the subtext of these comics acknowledges things like class inequality, and one story hinges on viral social media with a plot that understands the existence of racism and sizeism. Jolly good fun for people who like to see awful things happening, mostly to awful people. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not the original stuff.

Tales from the Crypt: Volume 3 (issues 11-15)

Written by: I think writers were sort of embarrassed to have their names associated with these books.

First line: Heh heh! So you're back for more, eh?

Why you should read this book: This is a trade paperback quality reprint of the classic old Tales from the Crypt horror comics from the 1950s, comprising issues 11 through 15, including all the old ads and the fan mail. It's campy, gory stuff, most of which ends badly, especially for bad people who deserve it. Murder, monsters, cannibalism, corpses, sometimes realistic stories of accidental (but deserved) death, sometime fantastical stories of supernatural terror, this brand is often cheesy, but never ever pulls its punches: people are goes to die, horribly.

Why you shouldn't read this book: No stomach for it.