Review: The Shirley and Jamila graphic mystery series is utterly delightful. This is the second book in the series and I think you would have no problem if you started with this book. The author does a great job in summing up the first book so you can dive right into this new adventure. 

  The fall brings the start of a new school year. Jamila Waheed is attending a new school, but luckily her best friend, Shirley Bones, is right by her side. After solving their first case together over the summer, the school year has brought a new shift in their routine such as doing homework, attending lessons, sport practices, and possibly even new friends. While Jamila befriends, Seena who shares similar cultural and family dynanics and also loves playing basketball, Shirley is still working as detective. 

   The latest case has the Shirley and Jamila pitted against a formidable opponent: the notorious school bully Chuck Milton. Chuck trades in secrets and wields them against fellow students he extorts, including their recent client. 

  This Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery series not only has a strong cast of characters and an intricately detailed plot, but it also addresses important questions. Can you justify breaking and entering to help solve a case? How about faking a friendship? I really appreciate how there is no clear cut answer and seeing the characters come to their own conclusions. The series continues to have a focus on friendship and  not the usual drama that surrounds middle grade reads. Jamila's struggle about building her friendship circle and finally finding someone who she can be her authentic self will resonate with a lot of readers. Overall this is a really fun series that I hope continues because I adore these characters. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There are scenes of bullying and also breaking and entering a house. Recommended for Grades 4 and up.

If you like this book try: Enola Holmes Graphic Novels by Serena Blasco, Inkberg Enigma by Jonathan King, Goldie Vance by Hope Larson (for Grade 5 and up readers)

Review: Claribel Ortega's graphic novel Frizzy was recently awarded the Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award. The graphic novel follows Marlene who is constantly dragged to the salon by her mother in order to tame her curls and look presentable. She is repeatedly told that straight hair is "beautiful", but this beauty standard is taking a toll on Marlene. If straight hair is so great, then why does she have curly hair? Why can't she rock her curls like her favorite character or her favorite aunt? 

  With the help of her aunt Ruby, who has curly hair like Marlene, she learns that her hair can be beautiful, too. She learns to embrace her beauty and participate in self-care and self-love. Frizzy touches upon the impact that hurtful beauty standards can have on us, but in this case the profound impact on children and how they can be perpetuated across generations. I loved the candid and important conversation that Marlene and her aunt have on the connection between white beauty standards and anti-Blackness is neatly woven into the story. This is a lovely story about being confident in your individuality, culture, and self-love. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 4 and up.

If you like this book try: Inheritance by Elizabeth Acevedo

Review: Freestyle is an energetic and cheerful story about breaking dancing, meeting expectations, and yo-yo masters. The story is focused on our main protagonist Cory who is skilled at b-boying with his dance crew and less talented at school. While his crew, but more specifically his crew leader, aspires to win a dance competition, Cory has to work with his tutor to improve his grades if he wants to attend a good high school in Brooklyn. With his time commitments going in different directions, Cory has to figure out how to meet everyone's expectations. 

 I really like this graphic novel from its vibrant colors, the action filled panels, and its refreshingly big group of friends who share a similar interest in dancing but not drama. The story moves quickly as the characters begin to wrestle with what other people want for them versus what they actually want. Sometimes these notions collide and other times it dovetails quite beautifully. Unlike other graphic novels that take place in middle school, there is a romantic or a budding romantic story line, but I appreciated that the author focused on friendships instead, both new ones and existing ones. Cory and Sunna's rocky friendship made sense to me and I enjoyed watching them working out their issues as well as learn yo-yo tricks. The cast of characters are diverse without being a big deal, which is also nice to see. Overall a fun story about friendship, growth, and having the space to express big feelings without being heavy handed.  

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 4 and up.

If you like this book try: Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Eagle Rock series by Hope Larson

Review: Sarah Winifred Searle's semi-autobiographical graphic novel follows Winifred who is not looking forward to starting a new school year after her two closest friends move to a different school. Alone, introverted, Winifred is a talented artist who is filled with self doubt and self loathing. She loves and finds joy in her drawing and photography classes, but her low self esteem and insecurity about her weight bring her down. Though she is lactose intolerant, she eats foods that she knows will make her unwell. Luckily, she does make friends with fellow classmates April and Oscar who take note of her talent and share a sense of comradeship with their own issues and insecurities. April also has an eating disorder and identifies as nonbinary though it is not accepted by their emotionally absent parents. Oscar is identified as being pansexual and is struggling with a learning disability. The trio's friendship deepens as they open up to each other and collaborate on a zine together. 

  Despite all the heavy topics that this graphic novel covers from mental health to navigating gender and sexuality identities, I really like how introspective, poignant and quiet it is without losing its candor. The graphic novel within the graphic novel format is not only meta but it also allows Winifred to express herself through storytelling and gain self confidence. With the help of her friends and the zine she is able to reach out to her mom and ask for help. The book ends on a hopeful note with Winifred beginning to discover herself worth and being happy.    

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is mention of self harm, characters with an eating disorder, emotionally absent parents, and some language. Recommended for Grades 9 and up. 

If you like this book try: The Dark Matter of Mona Starr by Laura Lee Gulledge and Slip by Marika McCoola

Review: Himawari House is a slice of life graphic novel that I absolutely adored. The premise of the graphic novel is very simple: The Himawari House is a shared house in Tokyo and we follow the lives of its residents as they live abroad. The graphic novel itself, however, is anything but simple. This is a character driven graphic novel and each section devotes its page time to one of the female characters.

 As Nao arrives at Himawari House, she quickly befriends her female roommates Tina, who is Chinese Singaporean, and homesick Hyejung, who is Korean and her two male Japanese roommates, Shinichi and Masaki, who are brothers. Like Nao, Tina and Hyejung are also trying to learn Japanese and on a larger scale, come to Japan to make sense of their lives. 

   Tina is very energetic yet she struggles to study and pass her Japanese classes, mainly because she spends most of her time trying to pay for the school's tuition by working. Hyejung came to Japan to find herself as she made the first active decision in her life. She was tired of pleasing her parents, broke up with an uncaring lover, and needed to start over. Hyejung struggles with balancing her own desires and the desires of her parents who she has been estranged from for a year.

  As we spend time with these friends, we learn about the Japanese life and culture-combini, izakaya, obaachans, cherry blossoms, and matsuri. I found learning about Japanese culture to be utterly fascinating. What really touched my heart, however, is Becker's focus on language and identity. Interestingly, the speech bubbles are written with Japanese characters and subtitled English underneath. Not all words, however, are translated, which heightens the disconnect the characters have while learning the Japanese language.  There are countless intersecting modes of communication even within Nao's social circle: Tina's Singlish, Hyejung's thickly accented English are not created to make fun of the characters, but call to attention on accents and their paths to Japanese acquisition. Nao often wonders if she can label herself Japanese even when she can't speak the language fluently or has correct Japanese grammar (I also struggle with the same question as my Urdu is not fluent and my grammar is atrocious). I also loved the contrast of Masaki's fluent written but poorly spoken English against those of the girls. Masaki is constantly mistaken for being rude or arrogant because he does not interact with his other roommates, but his aloofness is due to his self consciousness of speaking English.  

  I fell in love with these enduring characters instantly and it was very hard to say goodbye as I finished the book. I only wished that we got an epilogue. I also wanted to know more about the brothers too. If you love stories of character growth, self discovery, and friendship then I highly recommend picking up this graphic novel. 

Review: Other Boys is an often heartbreaking graphic memoir in which the author explores familial loss, social isolation, and sexual identity. Damian lost his mother at a very young age due to domestic violence. He and his brother are raised by their loving grandparents. When we meet Damian, he is about to start seventh grade at a new school. Since he was bullied at his last school for being too "effeminate", he takes a vow of silence in hopes that it would make him invisible but it backfires and he is once again a target of bullying.

 Damian is very candid about working through death and loss. He seeks solace from loneliness from doodling, writing, reading, and playing video games. Damian also efficiently shows how he was harmed by toxic masculinity not only from the bullying from school but also from adults preventing him from activities that were deemed "unmanly" such as playing with dolls. It takes Damian time to figure out his sexual identity, but it is not a moment of victory until he sees a therapist who positively affirms it that he begins to open up.  While Damian faces hardship constantly in this graphic memoir, he does end it on a hopeful note. I really liked that he decided to use block colors as backgrounds for this graphic novel to show the characters' emotions, which allowed the characters to drive the story. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There are scenes of bullying and homophobic slurs are used. Recommended for Grades 6 and up.

If you like this book try: Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka, Flamer by Mike Curato

I was actually surprised how many adults books that I have read in 2021. I read a lot more romantic comedies as they were my comfort reads when I am stressed. I did manage to read some great fantasy too as well as a memoir that I really enjoyed.  

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson: If you are looking for a literary fantasy book, then this book is for you. It has fantastic, complex, and morally gray characters. I still think about this book even though I finished it several months ago.

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs: Another solid fantasy in the Alpha and Omega series. Though I had a hard time with the previous book, I easily slipped into this book and could not put it down.

Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo: A beautiful retelling of The Great Gatsby narrated by Jo Baker. I loved that the fantastical elements not only elevated the book, but the critical look at race, class, gender, and sexuality allowed me to rediscover the classic.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark: A fun steampunk, alternative history mystery set in Cairo, Egypt. 

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev: One of the best Jane Austen inspiration books that I have read in a long time.

Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar: The most beautiful book that I have read this year and the one that I have recommended the most to people.

My Broken Language by Quiria Alegria Hudes: A joyful celebration of identity and culture by the creator of In the Heights.

The House in the Cerluean Sea by TJ Klune: Reading this book is like getting a warm, big hug. Absolutely delightful.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade: I really don't care for celebrity and ordinary people romance, but this book was thoroughly enjoyable. It reminded me of a grown up version of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry: My first book by Emily Henry, but will certainly not be my last. A great pick if you love the friends to lovers trope.

Act Your Age, Evie Brown by Talia Hibbert: A great romance with flawed but self aware characters.

The Ex-Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon: A smart romance that features podcasting and discusses sexism in the office.

I read quite a few good children/middle grade reads this year, but these books stood out to me this year.

           

Young Adult books dominate my reading pile. As usual I had a hard time keeping up with all the new releases for 2021. Due to the beginning of the pandemic and not having access to the library for a few months I am still catching up with books that came out in 2020. 

I read several fantastic graphic novels this year and a few that I couldn't squeeze in at the last minute. 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

A Marvellous Light by Freyka Markse

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia Manansala

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Children/Middle Grade Titles

Graphic Novels

Wake by Rebecca Hall

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Review: The Magic Fish is an exquisite example of how storytelling, art, and language come beautifully together. There are three distinct story lines running through this graphic novel and each are told in different color palettes. The present is depicted in a red palette in which Tiến and his mother learn to communicate through fairy tales when they are not able to have difficult conversations since Tiến does not speak fluent Vietnamese and his mother is not fluent in English. The brown palette is the older past in which Tiến's mother reflects on her own journey from leaving war-torn Vietnam and becoming a U.S. citizen. The blue palette are the fairy tale stories that we tell to help make sense of our situation and express our own desires. For Tiến it is to urgently share his secret of his sexual identity to his mother, but his mother is suddenly called to Vietnam to say farewell to her dying mother. 

   As a daughter of immigrant parents who is not fluent in her parents' native tongue, I really responded to the concept of this graphic novel. I did not find the different plot lines hard to follow and I loved how the fairy tales mirrored the obstacles and joys that take place in Tiến's and his mother's lives. Some of the fairy tales may seem familiar such as Cinderella and The Little Mermaid, but there is a Vietnamese twist to them. I also thought the approach to using fairy tales to tell an immigrant story of identity and culture to be refreshing. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous.  

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for Grades 7 and up.

If you like this book try: The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang