Piper

Written by: Jay Asher, Jessica Freeburg, and Jeff Stokely

First line: People in my village think I cannot understand what they say because I cannot hear.

Why you should read this book: The Pied Piper legend, which seems to have some root in historical fact, has been given the modern treatment as much as (or more than) any other fairy tale, and although it's a simple story, it's weird enough that there is plenty of room for speculation, romance, and embellishment of the basic narrative. In this version, Maggie, an deaf orphan girl raised by the kindly Agathe, develops a friendship with the mysterious musician who vows that he can rid Hameln of the plague of vicious rats that make life nearly unbearable even for the village's elite. But Maggie, being unable to hear the piper's music, is the only person in Hameln that he can't control, and when Maggie discovers that she has the power to control him, she must choose between a village that has never respected her and a man she can never trust. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't pay your debts

The Missing

Written by: Tim Gautreaux

First line: Sam Simoneaux leaned against the ship's rail, holding on in the snarling wind as his lieutenant struggled toward him through the spray, grabbing latches, guy wires, valve handles.

Why you should read this book: Sam, sometimes knows as "Lucky," missed the fighting in World War One by a day but still has perhaps a bit more experience of loss than others in his generation. Smart, sensitive, and perceptive, he's happy in his comfortable post-war career as a security guard in a high end department store, until the day that a little girl is kidnapped on his watch. Suddenly, Sam's entire world is upended and no matter how many times he tries to walk away, he still feels a relentless compulsion to find this lost child at any cost. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You get motion sickness just thinking about boats.

Shooting Kabul

Written by: NH Senzai

First line: It's a perfect night to run away, thought Fadi, casting a brooding look at the bright sheen of the moon through the cracked backseat window.

Why you should read this book: Fadi and his family have to escape Afghanistan before the Taliban comes for his father, but everything happens so quickly, and even though Fadi was holding his sister's hand, in the space of a moment she's lost, the family has no choice but to continue to America without her. Wracked with guilt, Fadi tries to hide his own shame while doing his best to keep his head down and avoid trouble in his new school, but then the attack on the World Trade Center changes his relationship to his classmates and forces him to stand up for himself and others. Fadi places all his hope in winning a photography contest, which he is sure will be the solution to all his problems, and allow him to make up for the mistakes of his past.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It made me cry like fifteen times.

Year in Review

Overall, 66 is the smallest number of books I have in any year since I started blogging books 14 years ago. Blame it on 2020. In fact I read a decent number of novels but hardly reviewed any picture books. And I didn't read much of anything else except kids' novels. I mean, the library was close for a lot of it. 

I actually read way more books than this, but I only review ones I haven't reviewed before, and I ended up rereading a bunch of things in my own collection, along with reading a bunch of books I've been carrying around for years and never read (like the VALIS trilogy, which I bought when I was 15 because someone told me it was a book that smart people read. Me of 1990 couldn't make heads or tails of the first chapter and gave up, but 2020 me, with 30 years of accumulated knowledge and wisdom, got it just fine) and it only took a pandemic to get me there.  

Dragon's Library Year in Review, 2020

Picture books:            3 

Middle grade/YA:     25 

Nonfiction:                 2 

Graphic Novels:        16 

Memoir:                     4 

Novels:                      14 

Plays:                         1 

Poetry:                       1 

Total:                         66

Grand Theft Horse

Written by: Corban Wilkin 

First line: I can't believe I'm about to do this. 

Why you should read this book: I adored this deep but endearing nonfiction graphic novel about the author's cousin, the first person to be charged with "Grand Theft Horse" in a hundred fifty years. Gail Ruffu, who has devoted her life to the love of horses, defies a group of powerful and unscrupulous lawyers to save a racehorse called Urgent Envoy, but she sacrifices everything else in the process. Just a tremendously enjoyable story about a remarkable person demonstrating tenacious devotion in pursuit of doing the right thing. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You would kill to commit insurance fraud.

Ciel

Written by: Sophie Labelle 

First line: You might not believe me if I tell you, but I have a special power. 

Why you should read this book: Ciel, a non-binary trans teen, is comfortable with who they are, but starting high school is stressful enough for gender conforming kids, and now that Ciel's boyfriend, Eiríkur has moved to Iceland, and their best friend, Stephie, decides that she doesn't want to be out as a trans kid in high school, Ciel isn't always sure where to turn. Stephie has an entirely new set of fun, cis friends, Ciel has a new crush that develops in Eiríkur's absence (it doesn't help that Eiríkur is a terrible penpal), and when they accidentally make a viral video about the difficulties of being non-binary, they find themselves targeted by bigots and online bullying. Ciel has to decide how to ask for the treatment they want, and how to present themselves to a world that isn't always careful with a young teen's delicate sense of self. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: While the story it tells is a good and important one, the voice (or possible the translation—I think this book was originally written in French?) feels amateur and the writing is overloaded with unnecessary and distracting exposition that doesn't advance the story or the characterization.

Children of Blood and Bone

Written by: Tomi Adeyemi 

First line: I try not to think of her. 

Why you should read this book: It's been over a decade since magic was eradicated from Orisha, over a decade since the powerful maji like Zélie's mother were brutally, publicly murdered, and young maji like Zélie, whose powers had not yet manifest, were branded "maggots" by the royal government and persecuted with unpayable taxes, indentured servitude, and death. A seemingly chance meeting binds Zélie and the princess Amari together as they embark on an dangerous and seemingly impossible mission to collect three powerful artifacts and return magic to Orisha with the help of Zélie's brother, Tzain. Meanwhile, Amari's brother, Prince Inan is hot on their trail, intent on winning his father's love by killing Zélie, and anyone who comes between and his goal, even his own sister. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: This is a young adult novel; as an older adult, I found myself shaking my head and screaming helplessly at the characters' obvious bad decisions.

The Altered History of Willow Sparks

Written by: Tara O'Connor 

First line: Samuel? What are you...? 

Why you should read this book: When Willow Sparks stumbles upon a secret library housed within the public library, she is astonished to learn that everyone in town has a novel of their life shelved in alphabetical order, and that she can change the particulars of her life by writing revisions into the book. Suddenly, her skin is clear, her wardrobe is cool, she doesn't suck at dodgeball, the hot guy wants to walk her home, and the mean girls aren't quite so mean. But, of course, there are side effects to such potent magic, including the fact that Willow's best friend Georgia can't follow where Willow's headed, and in pursuing popularity, she could lose Georgia for Good. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: There's not a ton at stake and it's not exactly a brand new conceit for a fantasy story.

The Undertaking of Lily Chen

Written by: Danica Novgorodoff 

First line: Get the hell out of here— 

Why you should read this book: Deshi's older brother Wei suffers an accidental death while the two young men are fighting, so their parents blame Deshi for the loss of their golden child and direct him to obtain a woman's corpse before Wei's funeral in order to conduct a ghost marriage and ensure their boy has pleasant companionship in the afterlife. Unfortunately, while Deshi's parent's beliefs have their foundations in ancient traditions, they live in a modern world, and obtaining the appropriate body proves nearly impossible. Enter Lily Chen, young, beautiful, headstrong, curious, talkative and very much alive, but that situation could change quickly, and Deshi is under a lot of familial pressure to succeed in his mission. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Almost everything that happens before the last few pages is kind of bleak.

You Brought Me the Ocean

Written by: Alex Sanchez and Deron Bennett

First line: For as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of another world.

Why you should read this book: I guess we're at the point where it's cliché and meaningless to say this is "a different kind of superhero origin story," because all the superhero origin stories being written these days are a different kind, but this touching book about a boy named Jake Hyde coming to terms with who he is and where he came from and where he's going doesn't really read like a superhero story, despite being firmly entrenched in the DC Universe (Superman makes a brief cameo, faster than a speeding bullet, on page fifteen). Jake doesn't even learn he has powers until well into the story, by which time we know that his real dilemmas are about acknowledging his own sexuality and lying to his best friend, Maria Mendez about his plans for after high school. This coming-of-age story explores the trouble with, and the rewards of complete honesty, even when the truth is hard to swallow or might hurt someone else. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Fear of drowning.