Description: In 1940, eighteen-year old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past forever. Ten years later, now a radio producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, on a different battleground, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat. A bill of reckoning is due, and she finally begins to realize that there is no action without consequence.

Review: There are a plethora of fiction titles that are written about World War II and after a while all the books seem formulaic. I wanted to learn more of the inner workings of those who worked for spy agencies during the war so when I read the description of Kate Atkinson's latest Transciption I had high hopes considering I enjoyed her other title, Life after Life.
  Transcription is thriller-esque historical fiction that plunges the reader into the complex world of espisonage and the aftermath of World War II. The narrative jumps between two different timelines during the war and the current in which Juliet works for the BBC developing a children show in the 1980s. When she is given a death threat, we retrace her steps in the past and their consequences.
 At the tender age of 18 Juliet Armstrong is all alone in the world when she’s recruited by MI5. Her job is transcribing meetings of British citizens sympathetic to the Nazi cause. Soon, she’s pulled even deeper into the world of espionage, creating multiple identities and forging relationships that impact her life.
  It was fascinating watching Juliet make her way through the complex web of spying. She is very young and naive at the beginning but she soon realizes that she isn't playing a game but with people's actual lives. There are actual transcriptions in the book in which we over hear the British Fascists who think they’re passing secrets to the Third Reich but are actually giving them to an English spy; their crimes are both deadly serious, unfathomable yet funny at a dark level. There is intrigue in the book and even surprises that I didn't see coming and some I still yet to comprehend of the actions taken, but I think that is realistic given the extreme situation of war. With all of this in mind, readers who think this is a fast paced thriller will be disappointed. The plot moves at a leisurely pace, but it much more atmospheric and character driven that your standard thriller. I appreciate that the novel doesn't just end when the war concludes, but it shows its impact on those involved in it from fellow spies to war veterans who are dealing with PSTD. As one character states the line between nationalism and fascism is very thin, which unfortunately sounds very timely given our current political climate. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language, allusions to sexual situations, Anti-Semitic comments, and war violence in the book. Recommended to mature teens interested in World War II and adults only.

If you like this book try: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, Trapeze by Simon Mawer

Description: New York City in the 1860s was a mess: crowded, disgusting, filled with garbage. You see, way back in 1860, there were no subways, just cobblestone streets. That is, until Alfred Ely Beach had the idea for a fan-powered train that would travel underground. On February 26, 1870, after fifty-eight days of drilling and painting and plastering, Beach unveiled his masterpiece—and throngs of visitors took turns swooshing down the track.

Review: The Secret Subway is an absorbing nonfiction picture book about the first creation of a subway in New York City. It is a story that I had never heard about. In the 1860s, Alfred Ely Beach found a solution to New York City's crowded streets and invented the first underground train which went back and forth in a 294 foot tunnel. He oversaw the building of a short tunnel, a single car, the machinery to make it move, and a luxurious underground waiting room, complete with a fountain.
  The creation of the subway was incredible and I loved the full page spread which shows spread shows the car traveling to the right of the page, then back to the left, its momentum causing the wide-eyed, elaborately dressed passengers to sway. Of course inevitable corruption derailed the project and the story was long forgotten until now. While the topic of trains may not thrill younger readers, the illustrations for this picture book by Chris Sickels are incredible. The images are made out of stylized clay figures and furnishings that are exquisite in details. The lightning and color choices makes the illustrations pop off the page as if the reader was watching a movie instead of reading a book.   

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 1 and up.

If you like this book try: Sky High by Monica Kulling, Subway story by Sarcone-Roach, Julia.


Description: This picture book biography tells the true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, who bicycled across Ghana--nearly 400 miles--with only one leg. With that achievement he forever changed how his country treats people with disabilities, and he shows us all that one person is enough to change the world.

Review: Emmanuel's Dream is an inspirational picture book biography of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, was born in rural Ghana in 1977 with only one functional leg and who grew up to become a national hero and disabilities activist. Readers learn of Emmanuel's challenges and achievements, both large and small. His mother had to carry him in order to attend school and once he became to heavy, he had to hop to and from school. In order to make friends, Emmanuel had to save money in order to buy a soccer ball and made a condition that others could play with the ball so long as he could play too while using crutches. He also learned how to ride a bike, which brought him national attention. As a young man, he embarked on an astounding 400-mile bicycle ride through Ghana, raising awareness and spreading his message that "being disabled does not mean being unable."
  The text is simple, well paced, and clearly written. Qualls's mixed-media art are quite nice and matches its upbeat tone. Soft blues and greens, bright oranges, and hot pinks are set against light-pastel painted backgrounds, effectively conveying mood and emotion. This story is sure to inspire many young readers and remind us that disabilities does not equate with restrictions.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades K-3.

If you like this book try: A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz and My Story, My Dance by Lesa Cline-Ransome

Description: How I Resist is the response, and a way to start the conversation. To show readers that they are not helpless, and that anyone can be the change. A collection of essays, songs, illustrations, and interviews about activism and hope, How I Resist features an all-star group of contributors, including, John Paul Brammer, Libba Bray, Lauren Duca, Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his husband Justin Mikita, Alex Gino, Hebh Jamal, Malinda Lo, Dylan Marron, Hamilton star Javier Muñoz, Rosie O'Donnell, Junauda Petrus, Jodi Picoult, Jason Reynolds, Karuna Riazi, Maya Rupert, Dana Schwartz, Dan Sinker, Ali Stroker, Jonny Sun (aka @jonnysun), Sabaa Tahir, Daniel Watts, Jennifer Weiner, Jacqueline Woodson, and more, all edited and compiled by New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.
 In How I Resist, readers will find hope and support through voices that are at turns personal, funny, irreverent, and instructive. Not just for a young adult audience, this incredibly impactful collection will appeal to readers of all ages who are feeling adrift and looking for guidance.

Review: Our current political climate has left many of us disillusioned and hopeless. How I Resist is a timely anthology that encourages teens to take charge and be agents of change. The book features 30 diverse voices from a wide range of ethnicities, religion, sexual orientations, professional achievements, and even a few familiar celebrities. Each contributor shares their own definition of resistance, their own experiences encountering, and countering, various forms of injustice, and encourage readers to speak out and act against the same. Along with the diverse voices, the compendium also features essays, poems, music, interviews, comics, and other formats to address the topic of resistance. While some entries offer a step by step guide on how teens can enact change even if they are not old enough to vote, others like Jacqueline Woodson's interview suggest that change can start by having an open and honest conversation at home. The strongest entry in this anthology is by Maya Rupert who muses the problematic representation of Wonder Woman as a symbol of feminist power and diverse representation in all forms of media.
 If read as an entire book, the anthology does become repetitive but it would work better if used in selection and excerpts for class discussion. It is clear that this work is driven by passion, honesty, and the yearn to do something instead of being a passive bystander.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong language in the book and mature themes discussed. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: Hope Nation edited by Rose Brock, Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 Voices of Defiance, Strength, and Courage by In This Together Media

Description: Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.
Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.
  When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain.

Review: I enjoyed reading Sheets by Brenna Thurmmler, but I could not help but feel like something was missing from the somber graphic novel. Sheets is centered on grief and dealing with death. Struggling to cope after the death of her mother, teen Marjorie is forced to become the adult. She has to look after her father, who is struggling with depression, and her little brother; attend high school; and run the family laundromat business, where they all live and work. At school, she is invisible to most and visible to bullies who make fun of her job. In addition an adult man threatens and tries to sabotage the laundromat in order to intimidate Majorie to relinquish the business for his own use. And as if this isn't enough, young Wendell, a ghost who is unhappy being dead and surrounded by other spirits, haunts Marjorie and her business and makes things worse.
  My problem with Sheets is that the narrative is imbalanced. Majorie's part of the story is solid and well fleshed out. I wanted to learn more about the Land of Ghosts and about Wendell which just skims the surface on the themes of grief and death. The characters are distinct, and the villain, Mr. Saubertuck, is self-absorbed and very easy to hate. The ghosts, who must wear sheets to be visible, are every bit as sympathetic as the humans and easily noted as a metaphor to how Majorie feels on a daily basis. The artwork is charming and makes a clear distinction between the graphic novel's two worlds, Marjorie's warm, colored world and Wendell's stark, monochrome Land of Ghosts adds life (and death) and dimension to the story. Panels also vary in size, which enriches the narrative. While I didn't love Sheets like I wanted to, I would recommend reading it and I look forward to reading more from Thrummler as she has a lot of potential as a graphic novelist.

Rating: 3 stars

Words of Caution: There is some minor language. Recommended for Grades 7 and up.

If you like this book try: Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday full of food, family, and friends. I will be taking a blogging break this week to unwind and enjoy the holiday. I will return to normal scheduling the following week.

Description: Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

Review: The Girl in the Tower is the second book in the enchanting historical fantasy Winternight Trilogy. While you could pick up and read The Girl in the Tower without reading Arden's delightful debut novel, The Bear and the Nightingale, I would not recommend it as you might feel lost about the cast of characters and unclear on the great world building.
  The Girl in the Tower skillfully avoids the dreaded middle book syndrome. Arden expands her  world with new characters and a new setting in Moscow. Some readers have complained that the pacing was slow in this book, but I did not find it slow at all. I was completely captivated with the story and its multiple moving parts.
  Now that her fellow villagers believe she’s a witch and her protector is gone, Vasya is no longer safe in her village. She is struck with wanderlust and fully dismisses the only "accepted" roles of a woman: to be either a wife or a nun. With the help of the enigmatic frost-demon Morozko, who feels a fatally human attraction to Vasya, the young woman learns to wield a knife and make herself at home in the frozen forest. Disguised as a young man, she loads up her pack and rides her beloved magical steed, Solovey, into the winter wilderness, south toward Moscow. After rescuing several girls stolen from burned-out villages, she makes her way to Moscow, where she finds her sister Olga, now a royal matron who is very familiar with court politics, and her brother Sasha, a monk with a swashbuckling side.
   Vasya as a boy is welcomed with open arms, however, danger of her secret identity is lingering very close. Arden demonstrates society's double standards for gender very well throughout this story and the feminist themes are articulated very well without being heavy handed in the book. Despite Vasya's fervent desire to be more than just a girl is overturned in the novel, her frustrations with society's very rigid notions are highly relatable and real even in the 21st century.
  There are plenty of surprises in the book and lots of foreshadowing of what is to come in the third and final book. While this book wraps up neatly without a cliffhanger, I still have questions and I definitely want to see more of Morozko.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Words of Caution: There are some disturbing images and strong violence is mentioned in the book but not depicted. Recommended for older teens and adults.

If you like this book try: Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden (Winternight Trilogy #3), The Girl With Ghost Eyes by M. H. Boroson, Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Description: A picture book biography of José Guadalupe (Lupe) Posada (1852–1913). In a country that was not known for freedom of speech, he first drew political cartoons, much to the amusement of the local population but not the politicians. He continued to draw cartoons throughout much of his life, but he is best known today for his calavera drawings. They have become synonymous with Mexico’s Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival. Juxtaposing his own art with that of Lupe’s, author Duncan Tonatiuh brings to light the remarkable life and work of a man whose art is beloved by many but whose name has remained in obscurity.

Review: I learned a lot while reading Duncan Tonatiuh's fun and informative picture-book biography on Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913). I never heard of Posada before, but I am familiar of his portrayal of calaveras, the droll skeletons prominent in Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations. Posada was a very talented artist who began drawing as a child and later learned lithography, engraving, etching, and finally printmaking. All of these art forms are clearly explained and illustrated in cartoonlike panels of drawings. Posada’s images of calaveras amused the public by poking fun at politicians, but we are asked to think deeper about the art and see if there were other meanings behind the illustrations. I really liked the inclusion of Posada's real work and that of the author himself in digital collages which were vibrant and eye catching.

Curriculum Connection: World Language, Art, Social/Global Studies

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 3 and up.

If you like this book try: Diego Rivera: His World and Ours by Duncan Tonatiuh




Description: When they piled into cars and drove through Durham, North Carolina, the members of the Duke University Medical School basketball team only knew that they were going somewhere to play basketball. They didn't know whom they would play against. But when they came face to face with their opponents, they quickly realized this secret game was going to make history.
  Discover the true story of how in 1944, Coach John McLendon orchestrated a secret game between the best players from a white college and his team from the North Carolina College of Negroes. At a time of widespread segregation and rampant racism, this illegal gathering changed the sport of basketball forever.

Review: Game Changer is a nonfiction picture book that depicts the ground breaking basketball game between a white and African American teams played in defiance of segregation in the Jim Crow South. Coach John McLendon of the North Carolina College of Negroes believed basketball could change people’s prejudices and invited players from the Duke University Medical School, an all-white team, to play a “secret game” in his college’s gym. The game opened the white players eyes to the new style of playing basketball by the McLendon’s players. Since the players on both teams enjoyed playing together, they played a “shirts and skins” game, with whites and African Americans on both teams.
  Game Changer is a lively and inspiring story. The illustrations are incredibly eye catching and look almost like real life photos. My only complaint about this book is that it is super short. I would have liked more pages, perhaps giving us background information on some of the players involved. At the back of the book there is more detail on Coach McLendon as well as a time line of integration in sports.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 2 and up.

If you like this book try: Jim Thorpe's Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac,

Description: Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.
   But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.
  It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.

Review: Tanner's family moved from California to Provo, Utah, where they are one of the few non-Mormon families in town. Tanner's mother left the Mormon church in college after the church refused to acknowledge and accept her lesbian sister and Tanner's father is a nonpracticing Jew. Although Tanner's family is extremely supportive of his bisexuality, they all agree Tanner should keep his sexual identity under wraps in his ultra-conservative town. With only one semester until graduation, Tanner is prepared to coast his senior year with no drama. When his best friend Autumn dares him to sign up for a seminar where students must write a book in four months, Tanner's carefree plans come to a halt when Sebastian Brothers walks into his life.
  Sebastian is mentoring the school's legendary novel writing seminar, after having his own class novel bought for publication. Tanner is wrapped up in Sebastian, but Sebastian is the son of the Mormon bishop. Sebastian slowly opens up to Tanner and through Sebastian we get to learn about the Mormon church. Lauren does a great job in not painting members of the Mormon church as one dimensional villains but as complex people with their own individual strengths and flaws. It is very tricky to discuss the conflict between sexuality and religion, but Lauren takes a balance approach. While I can not comment on how accurate the Mormon depiction is represented in the book, I do have a little clearer understanding of the religion. 
    As Sebastian begins to return Tanner's flirtation, questions arise about how far he's willing to push his faith and how satisfied Tanner can be in the shadows. The romance between Sebastian and Tanner is incredibly sweet though I wished it was not insta-love. Regardless, all of the characters are highly relatable and the plot is thoroughly engaging. There are bittersweet moments along with the happy sighs of contentment. While sexual identity and faith are important themes in Autoboyography, the book is also about family, friendship, acceptance, and being true to yourself.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong language, homophobic slurs, and a fade to black sex scene. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Description: Kamala Khan has vanished! But where has she gone, and why? Jersey City still has a need for heroes, and in the wake of Ms. Marvel's disappearance, dozens have begun stepping up to the plate. The city's newest super hero Red Dagger and even ordinary citizens attempt to carry on the brave fight in Kamala's honor. Somehow, Ms. Marvel is nowhere...but also everywhere at once! Absent but not forgotten, Ms. Marvel has forged a heroic legacy to be proud of. But when an old enemy re-emerges, will anyone be powerful enough to truly carry the Ms. Marvel legacy - except Kamala herself?

Review: Volume 9 is another enjoyable addition to the Ms. Marvel graphic novel series. In this volume Kamala is pouting and self declared unnecessary since the media has caught Red Dagger mania. Now Kamala can not be found. While Kamala is sulking, her friends have taken turns to become Ms. Marvel without the superhero abilities. The spotlight is on the secondary characters for the first half of this graphic novel and I enjoyed watching them act as a team. There is a nice discussion of what makes a hero and how we should help ourselves.
  The story moves at a quick pace. The Inventor, the old villain from the second volume returns and I didn't care much for him or his scheme to harm senior citizens. I did, however, love the comments the Wakandian student abroad makes about visiting the U.S. Bruno has returned, which stirs up old feelings for Kamala. Now that she is placed in a love triangle with the Red Dagger, we will have to see how this pans out. I hope this part of the story is not dragged out. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong violence and minor language. Suitable for middle grade readers and up.

If you like this book try: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 10 by G. Willow Wilson, The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North, Thor: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron, The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

Description: Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target. Marcus knows what classmates and teachers see when they look at him: a monster. But appearances are deceiving. At home, Marcus is a devoted brother. And he finds ways to earn cash to contribute to his family’s rainy day fund. His mom works long hours and his dad walked out ten years ago—someone has to pick up the slack.
   After a fight at school leaves him facing suspension, Marcus and his family decide to hit the reset button and regroup for a week in Puerto Rico. Marcus is more interested in finding his father, though, who is somewhere on the island. Through a series of misadventures that take Marcus all over Puerto Rico in search of the elusive Mr. Vega, Marcus meets a colorful cast of characters who show him the many faces of fatherhood. And he even learns a bit of Spanish along the way.

Review: Pablo Cartaya delivers another compelling read about the meaning of family, identity, and culture, set in pre–Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico in Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish. Marcus is an intimidating middle schooler due to his sheer size: six feet tall and 180 pounds, but he is gentle and devoted to his mom and younger brother, Charlie, who has Down syndrome. He is aware of his mother's struggles in working long hours and being absent from home due to financial constraints. One of the ways he “helps out” is earning extra cash by charging schoolmates protection money to keep them safe from the real bullies. When one of those bullies insults Charlie, Marcus uses his immense strength to put the bully in his place. The fallout from Marcus’s violent act leads to his suspension from school and a family crisis. Marcus’s mother decides the family needs a week in Puerto Rico, where Marcus was born and where his absentee father’s relatives still live, to figure things out.
 Spending time with his extended family and traveling across the Puerto Rican countryside (pre-Hurricane Maria as noted in the author’s note) opens Marcus' eyes to his heritage. He learns about his Puerto Rican culture despite the re-occuring refrain that he doesn't speak Spanish. Eventually he learns that speaking a language does not prevent you from understanding family and familial love. As his cultural bonds tighten, Marcus gains a new understanding of his mother’s struggles and his own important roles as both son and older brother.

Rating: 4 stars


Words of Caution: There are scenes of bullying and a derogatory word is mentioned for a special needs student. Recommended for Grades 5 and up.


If you like this book try: The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez and Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

Description: It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.
  Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother. 
   But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

Review: I have been eagerly anticipating Tahereh Mafi's latest contemporary novel centering on Islamophobia called A Very Large Expanse of Sea. A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a deeply personal read for me as a Muslim American and it mostly succeeds.
  Shirin has never settled at any school. She has been constantly moving due to her father's job being relocated. Being an Iranian Muslim who wears hijab and taking the brunt of repeated cruelty because of her hijab, has further alienated Shirin and made her extremely jaded and cynical. She has learned to protect herself from xenophobic threats and insults by being distant and guarded. She only plans to get through high school as quickly and fade into the background until she meets Ocean James, who sees more than just her headscarf and is charmingly persistent about learning who she is, from her love of music to her burgeoning skills on the break dancing team her brother starts. While Shirin is drawn to Ocean’s honesty, she is terrified of a possible future: Would a "tentative relationship" even succeed? What happens to him when he is confronted by the hate she receives? Would he stand by her at her utmost vulnerable state?
   I really liked Shirin’s sharp, crisp, and honest voice as she narrates her story. Constantly dealing with racist and Islamophobic threats has made her abrasive and standoffish. Mafi clearly demonstrates the common comments Muslims teens deal with daily. Mafi holds nothing back when she openly addresses many common misconceptions about Islam and what it means to be a woman of color in the face of racism. I admired how Shirin takes a stand on practicing her faith and makes the reader understand that it is her choice to wear the hijab. I would have loved if she discussed why she  wears the hijab as everyone has a different reason. I also enjoyed the warm and supportive relationship Shirin has with her older brother.
  My biggest issue with A Very Large Expanse of Sea is that there is a lot of telling and less of showing. For example, there is a small but important scene in which Shirin meets another Muslim girl who does not wear hijab at her school, who mentions that she is also dealing with Islamophobic comments. This would have been a wonderful opportunity to show this moment in the narrative and focus on a friendship between these two characters. I also was disappointed that we are told about Ocean instead of fleshing out his character. I did not have a good grasp on him as a character, which lead me to not really feel invested in his and Shirin's relationship.  
 A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a compelling and compulsive read. It is one of the strongest Muslim #ownvoices contemporary books that are out right now. While not every Muslim reader who picks up this book will agree with Shirin's decisions and/or actions, it will serve a mirror for many of them. While readers may be disappointed in the romance, it will certainly enlighten them. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong language in the book. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

If you like this book try: The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah, Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Description: Unchained from fate, the Norse gods Loki and Hel are ready to unleash Ragnarok, a.k.a. the Apocalypse, upon the earth. They’ve made allies on the darker side of many pantheons, and there’s a globe-spanning battle brewing that ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan will be hard-pressed to survive, much less win.
   Granuaile MacTiernan must join immortals Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in a fight against the Yama Kings in Taiwan, but she discovers that the stakes are much higher than she thought. Meanwhile, Archdruid Owen Kennedy must put out both literal and metaphorical fires from Bavaria to Peru to keep the world safe for his apprentices and the future of Druidry. And Atticus recruits the aid of a tyromancer, an Indian witch, and a trickster god in hopes that they’ll give him just enough leverage to both save Gaia and see another sunrise. There is a hound named Oberon who deserves a snack, after all.

Review: Scourged is a very fitting series finale to the Iron Druid Chronicles. For eight books in this series we have watched Atticus dodge danger, widen his network of friends and enemies, and survived for centuries. The last few books, however, made me very frustrated with Atticus because his tunnel vision and stubbornness had essentially lead to the Apocalypse. It's not until he is standing at the very edge of the cliff does he realize all of his biggest mistakes. This character arc is a testament to Hearne's writing and makes Atticus a flawed hero who despite his mistakes still makes you want to root for him.
  Scourged is essentially Atticus's wake-up call. He has to correct his mistakes and form unlikely alliances all to preserve the world as we know it. His relationship with Granuaile was slowly fracturing in the last few books as she continued to disapprove Atticus's actions, but now it might be irreparably broken. I loved that Granualie has graduated from a secondary character to now a main character and especially in this book calls Atticus out on his mistakes.
  In Scourged we see a lot of favorite characters from the past books make a presence. The battle scenes were cinematic and well written. It felt as if I was witnessing it right before my eyes. There were difficult casualties to endure, but it had to be done with this epic war. Hearne does a nice job in balancing the lighter moments with humor without losing the serious and darker notes as we get closer to the big conflict. The ending was fitting though the door has been left open for new adventures. As I learned from Hearne's newsletter an Iron Druid Chronicles series is in the works and I'm definitely going to read it.
   
Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language and violence in the book. Recommended for Adults and mature teens only.

If you like this book try: Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, The Age of Misrule by Mark Chadbourn