Description: Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift on a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar.
 Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn't until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger.

Review: After loving Wolk's gorgeous debut novel, The Wolf Hollow, I could not wait to read more from her. Beyond the Bright Sea is a solid follow up novel though I didn't love it as much as The Wolf Hollow and that might be due to reading a few books before this one that all had the same plot: a young child discovering and understanding the definition of family and the struggle to find his/her identity. 
  As long as she can remember, Crow has lived her whole life on the sleepy island of Cuttyhunk, part of the Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts. When she was only a few days old, a lonely fisherman named Osh found her moored on the rocks after being set adrift in a shabby rowboat. The only possible place Crow could have safely come from is the neighboring island of Penikese, which was a leper colony. Due to this fact, Crow's world has only been limited to Osh and her friendly neighbor Miss Maggie. Many of the townspeople avoid Crow like the plague, assuming that she carries the disease despite exhibiting no physical symptoms.
  Though Osh is her adoptive father and Miss Maggie fills a mother-figure roll, Crow does not feel whole. She is determined to discover where she comes from. The mystery surrounding Crow's parentage, her link to Penikese and her hopeful search for her her birth family drives the story forward. Wolk's writing is simple yet powerful, expertly depicting Crow's, Osh's, and even Miss Maggie's wide range of emotions from the highs of hope and belonging to the lows of anxiety and fear. Beyond the Bright Sea is uplifting tale that reminds us that sometimes your family is the one you make, not the one you are born into.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There are some disturbing images in the book. Recommended for Grades 4 and up.

If you like this book try: Pablo and Birdy by Alison McGhee, The Eyes of the Amaryllis by Natalie Babbit

Description: Five girls. Three generations. One great American love story. You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse. Ranee, worried that her children are losing their Indian culture; Sonia, wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair; Tara, seeking the limelight to hide her true self; Shanti, desperately trying to make peace in the family; Anna, fighting to preserve her Bengali identity--award-winning author Mitali Perkins weaves together a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.

Review: You Bring the Distant Near is a multi-generational read that centers around the complexities of navigating multiple cultures, the immigrant experience, and understanding the different generations. While it doesn't offer anything new to the common motif in immigrant stories, it does a nice job in highlighting the importance of finding ones home despite where you are in the world.
   The story opens in 1970s New York, where the Das family has immigrated from England in hopes of planting roots and finding acceptance. Sisters Tara and Sonia are two teen girls who crave personal freedom and they often go against their mother Ranee's strict and traditional Indian values. Older sister Tara is known for her looks and her charisma is contagious. She longs to be an actress. Younger sister Sonia is introverted, incredibly intelligent, and a budding feminist Sonia. The tumultuous relationship between Sunny and Ranee is at the heart of the novel, representing the clash and resistance of and ultimate blending of cultures. In the United States, Ranee struggles in vain to hold on to her "Indianness," not only for herself, but also for her children. I really enjoyed this first half of the book as I connected with Sunny and Ranee the most. I could easily understand their conflicts between personal desire and their responsibilities to their culture. I think this is the strongest aspect of the book. I also appreciated the complexities of race and culture when it came to interracial marriage and gender roles.
  The second half of the book jumps through time where both Tara and Sunny have established lives with marriage and children. We now follow the narratives of their daughters, Anna and Chantal respectively. It is only through her connection to her granddaughters, Chantal and Anna that Ranee finds redemption and transformation. For me the second half of the book falters a bit as Perkins tries to touch upon different issues hurriedly such as racial imposter syndrome (where a person from multiple cultures don't see themselves in any culture), Islamophobia, and American patriotism.
  Though I enjoyed the multi-generational aspect to the story, which is not common in YA litertature, I think the book might have been stronger if there were two companion novels. Chantal and Anna are mirror images of their mothers and I would have liked to see them grow as individuals. I would also have loved for the nuisance and complex themes be explored in more details. Overall, You Bring the Distant Near is an enjoyable read that many readers can see themselves and shines a light on an experience that is actually more familiar than we think.


Rating: 4 stars

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

If you like this book try: The Joyluck Club by Amy Tan

Description: Three years ago an event destroyed the small city of Poughkeepsie, forever changing reality within its borders. Uncanny manifestations and lethal dangers now await anyone who enters the Spill Zone. The Spill claimed Addison's parents and scarred her little sister, Lexa, who hasn't spoken since. Addison provides for her sister by photographing the Zone's twisted attractions on illicit midnight rides. Art collectors pay top dollar for these bizarre images, but getting close enough for the perfect shot can mean death--or worse. When an eccentric collector makes a million-dollar offer, Addison breaks her own hard-learned rules of survival and ventures farther than she has ever dared. Within the Spill Zone, Hell awaits--and it seems to be calling Addison's name.

Review: Spill Zone is cloaked in mystery surrounding an event that has caused residents of Poughkeepsie to hang suspended in the air like floating zombies where demonic wolves and sentient twisters appear out of nowhere. From what we can gather from the little clues in the book is that it wasn't aliens, it wasn't a nuclear attack, and the military isn't talking. In fact the lack of a backstory is what kept me filling through the pages of this bizarre graphic novel. Ultimately, it's the characters that drive this story. 
  Addison and her mute sister, Lexa, are on their own after their parents were caught in the Spill Zone. Addison photographs this quarantined area-the Spill Zone-and its bizarre happenings. She sells the images to support herself and her sister, Lexa. Her talent of weaving in and out of the Spill Zone undetected leads Addison to a deadly mission inside the Spill Zone with a reward of a million dollars should she succeed. Meanwhile, the North Korean government, which had its own Spill incident, wants to meet with Addison for their own ominous purposes. The story becomes even more twisted when Lexa begins to talk without any explanation and her creepy rag doll, Vespertine, who whispers devious thoughts in Lexa's mind.
  There are lots of different things developing this graphic novel. It starts off slowly but picks up the pace as more mysteries are layered on top of one another. The world that Westerfeld and Puvilland have created is imaginative and nightmarish with drawings composed of hectic lines and loud, vivid colors. Addison is an intriguing character who is forced to act like an adult though she is only in her teens. She is sympathetic but her personality can be abrasive. Her decisions are morally questionable, which makes her complex and appealing.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language and violence throughout the book. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: Broken Vow (Spill Zone #2) by Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland coming in July 10, 2018, The Silver Six by A.J. Lieberman

Description: Fifteen-year-old Matt Wainwright is in turmoil. He can’t tell his lifelong best friend, Tabby, how he really feels about her; his promising basketball skills are being overshadowed by his attitude on the court, and the only place he feels normal is in English class, where he can express his inner thoughts in quirky poems and essays. Matt is desperately hoping that Tabby will reciprocate his feelings; but then Tabby starts dating Liam Branson, senior basketball star and all-around great guy. Losing Tabby to Branson is bad enough; but, as Matt soon discovers, he’s close to losing everything that matters most to him.

Review: Awkward high school freshman Matt Wainwright has two goals in life. He wants to elevate his basketball skills from JV to Varsity and get the girl: his longtime next-door neighbor and unattainable best friend Tabby. Unfortunately, life doesn't follow Matt's plans. He systematically chokes and is error prone whenever Tabby is around, which prevents him from disclosing his true feelings for Tabby. After a school tragedy leaves Matt reeling as he risks losing everything important to him.
  I got many flashes to John Green's novels while reading The Short History of a Girl Next Door, but it didn't have the same emotional punch or moments of epiphanies. Where the author does succeed is the authentic voice and the inner monologues. Matt's voice is that of an authentic freshmen teenager filled with insecurity, awkwardness, and self deprecating humor. His infatuation with Tabby feels real and we spend a lot of time with Matt pining Tabby. The second half has a tragic twist that brings out  Matt's grief-induced selfishness, self-pity, and occasional outright cruelty. Matt's warm relationship with his grandfather unveils some surprises and sets Matt on the road to deal with his grief and loss in a positive manner.
  The book's short chapters, brisk pacing, and the in-depth descriptions of basketball will make this book appealing to reluctant readers. I had hoped we would spend more time Matt on his road to recovery, but it ends in an uplifting note.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language throughout the novel and some crude sexual humor. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: The Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner, The History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera, Looking for Alaska by John Green

Description: For ten years, figure skating was Tillie Walden's life. She woke before dawn for morning lessons, went straight to group practice after school, and spent weekends competing at ice rinks across the state. It was a central piece of her identity, her safe haven from the stress of school, bullies, and family. But over time, as she switched schools, got into art, and fell in love with her first girlfriend, she began to question how the close-minded world of figure skating fit in with the rest of her life, and whether all the work was worth it given the reality: that she, and her friends on the figure skating team, were nowhere close to Olympic hopefuls. It all led to one question: What was the point? The more Tillie thought about it, the more Tillie realized she'd outgrown her passion--and she finally needed to find her own voice.

Review: Spinning is a quiet, contemplative graphic memoir about competitive ice skating, growing up, and coming out. Walden offers a candid examination of her experiences in figure skating from her passion for the sport and the embarrassments to experiences that marked pivotal moments in her adolescence, and how she eventually came out to family and friends as a young teen.
  Like the subtle text of the graphic novel, the art does not have any bells and whistles. It is very simple and mostly chromatic with a small color collection: indigo, white, and occasional splashes of yellow. The cold tone is reflective of the cold ice skating ring that Walden attended each morning before the sunrises as well as the teenage angst of a young woman trying to find her own place. Instead of focusing on the seedier side of figure skating, Walden focuses her own relationship with the sport and how she fell in and out of love with it. Various relationships are discussed though mostly are held at an arm's length particularly that of her strained relationship with her mother and her first romantic relationship which is both sweet and heartbreaking. Written when she is only 21 years old, Walden has lots of talent and I hope to read more from her.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some minor language. There are scenes of bullying and of unwanted sexual advances and attempted assault in the graphic novel. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Blankets by Craig Thompson