Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O'Shaughnessy

 

Over the weekend, I finished reading Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O'Shaughnessy. This realistic fiction novel is about Mo Gallagher, an eleven-year-old girl who is put into foster care after her grandmother, Nan, passes away and her uncle, Bill, decides to return to the army. When she discovers a handmade cookbook with recipes from someone else's family, she decides to take it with her to read the stories behind the recipes and try making some of them as a hobby. After she is placed with pre-adoptive foster parents, June and Tate Townsend, and has to return the handmade cookbook, she meets one of the doormen, Joe Bianco, who inspires her to ask everyone she meets for their family recipes so that she can not only make them, but collect the stories behind them to share on a website. She even hopes that a long-lost relative will find her and give her a family recipe by seeing the website. When things begin to fall apart again, Mo wonders if she'll ever have family recipe of her own.

Although I'm not a foodie, this book was wonderful to read. I thought it was great that Mo took up cooking as a hobby even though Nan never cooked with her before she passed away. Although I liked June and Tate and thought they were good for Mo at first, I was so disappointed in them by the end of the book. I absolutely loved Joe and his wife, Carlota, though. They really stepped up as the story went on and played a major role in Mo's life. One of my favorite scenes was when Mo stayed with them for a weekend because June and Tate had to go to a wedding in Arizona and Joe invited his brothers over so they could all make lasagna. It was such a heart-warming scene. I also thought Mo's friends, Crystal Wang and Travis Ortiz, were really great especially when they helped Mo plan a pop-up restaurant for New Year's Eve. Even though it was looking rocky for a while, I adored the ending of Lasagna Means I Love You. It was perfect. Additionally, I enjoyed that the story was told through letters that Mo wrote to Nan in a notebook that Uncle Bill gave her from Nan and appreciated that the book showed the challenges of being in the foster care system. If you like food and stories about found family, you should definitely read this book.

Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler

 

Yesterday, I finished reading Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler. This sporty romance is about Amber McCloud, a cheerleader who dreams of being captain for her senior year, and Jack Walsh, the new quarterback for the Atherton Alligator football team who is actually a girl. After their previous quarterback, Robbie, died in a car accident, the football players are angry with Robbie being replaced by Jack and make life hell for her at her new school, even though she's a better QB than Robbie ever was. Meanwhile, Amber is trying to maintain a sense of unity on the cheerleading squad, which is challenging when her best friend, Cara, wants her to help them take Jack down. As Amber gets to know Jack, though, she begins to fall for her and has to make a decision between her heart and her dream.

I enjoyed this book from the very start. Not only did I love Amber and Jack because of their passion for their sports and each other, I also loved the setting of a high school in Florida because it showed how living in a conservative community causes conflict for queer teenagers. I really felt for both Amber and Jack because I wanted them to be able to be themselves and not have to hide their feelings for each other because their classmates would exclude them. I also really liked Amber's friend, Miguel, whom she was pretending to date so that their friends wouldn't become suspicious of their queerness, because he was the only player on the football team who wasn't being hostile towards Jack. I thought it was adorable when Amber and Jack went on a double date with Miguel and his boyfriend, Malcolm, to a bowling alley. It made me so mad that the football team put Robbie on a pedestal because he was a despicable human being, blackmailing Miguel when he was still alive. I also had a lot of issues with Cara because of her homophobia and internalized misogyny. At times, I wondered how Amber could still be friends with her, but the reveal of Cara's secret added some depth to her, making me understand her actions, even if I couldn't excuse them. The end of this book was absolutely spectacular because it brought me back to the excitement of football games I went to when I was in high school. Due to swearing and suggestive language, I'd recommend Home Field Advantage to teens who enjoy love stories, cheerleading, and/or football.

How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby

 

Over the weekend, I read How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby. This realistic fiction novel is about Pluto Timoney, an almost-13-year-old girl who loves astronomy and summer. After she is diagnosed with depression and anxiety a month before summer break, Pluto struggles to just get out of bed most days, which leads to conflict when her mom wants to look after her at their family's pizzeria. Then, when Pluto's dad proposes to her mom that she come live with him in the city so he can pay for her to get help there, Pluto decides to come up with a list of things that the old, "normal" Pluto would do so that she can stay with her mom. Although Pluto receives help from a new tutor, a new therapist, and a cute new friend, Fallon, who makes her own list of things to do over the summer, she still struggles to accomplish anything on her list, leading her to wonder if she'll ever be her old self again.

Although I did enjoy this book, it was an intense, challenging read, demonstrating the experience of having depression for a young person. I really liked how Pluto and her mom had bonded over a love of astronomy, so the conflict between them was devastating. It was hard to know what Pluto's mom could do to help make things better for Pluto because I could tell she was trying her best and was scared to leave Pluto on her own after she had locked herself in her bedroom at the beginning of the book. I also loved Pluto's new friendship with Fallon and how they agreed to help each other with their lists over the summer, even if the outcome was surprising. On the other hand, something else that made me sad was how Pluto found it hard to be around her best friend, Meredith, because Meredith knew what she was like before having depression. That's why I was glad that Pluto met Fallon, though. While How to Become a Planet is dark at times, the ending did give me hope for Pluto. Anyone who is going through tough stuff should read this book because it shows you're not alone.

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler

 

Yesterday, I finished reading His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler. This story collection reimagines thirteen tales originally written by Edgar Allan Poe, including "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Tell-Tale Heart", and "The Raven".  Although Poe's works are over a hundred and fifty years, they have themes that are similar to those found in today's young adult literature. Thirteen popular YA authors put their own spin on Poe's works, telling stories that are mysterious, thrilling, and horrifying.

I read a collection of Poe's works when I was in eighth grade and this story collection by current YA authors based on some of his short stories and poems did not disappoint. I thought it was absolutely fantastic because I love creepy and mysterious stories. Some of my favorites were "She Rode a Horse of Fire" by Kendare Blake, "It's Carnival!" by Tiffany D. Jackson, "The Glittering Death" by Caleb Roehrig, "A Drop of Stolen Ink" by Emily Lloyd-Jones, "The Oval Filter" by Lamar Giles, "Red" by Hillary Monahan, "Lygia" by Dahlia Adler, and "The Fall of the Bank of Usher" by Fran Wilde. I really enjoyed how many of these stories incorporated diverse main characters whether they were girls, people of color, or LGBTQ+. All of the stories were unique whether they took place in the past, the present, or the future. Overall, His Hideous Heart is an amazing choice for teens who enjoys mystery, suspense, horror, or Edgar Allan Poe.

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

 

On Saturday, I finished reading A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll. This realistic fiction novel is about Addie, an 11-year-old Scottish girl who is autistic and can see and hear things others cannot. After her teacher, Ms. Murphy, explains to her class about the witch trials that happened centuries ago in their small town of Juniper, Addie realizes that the women were burned just because they were different like herself and decides that she can’t let them be forgotten. Although the odds are stacked against her, she persistently proposes a memorial for the women who were falsely accused of witchcraft at Juniper's semimonthly committee meetings. Meanwhile, Addie's best friend, Jenna, has a new friend, Emily. At first, Addie doesn't want to lose Jenna as a friend, but as she struggles due to the bullying from Emily and Ms. Murphy, she decides to befriend the new girl, Audrey, who's from London. With the support of Audrey, her family, and the school librarian Mr. Allison, Addie fights for what's right.

I truly enjoyed this relatively short novel, which only took me a couple of days to read. I've long been interested in the history of witch trials, so I thought the plot of a girl coming up with the idea to build a memorial for falsely-accused witches was absolutely fascinating. It was even more interesting that this story took place in Scotland instead of the United States because I had only previously been exposed to stories about witch trials from the American perspective. Although I've read at least one book about a character who is autistic (Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin is the first to come to mind), Addie's story definitely provided a fresh point of view because it shows how challenging it can be for people who are autistic to mask, or pass as a neurotypical person. I also liked Audrey, Mr. Allison, and Addie's twin older sisters, Keedie and Nina. Despite the fact that Keedie and Nina are twins, they couldn't be more different. While Keedie is autistic like Addie and goes to university in Edinburgh, Nina is a social media influencer who talks about clothes and makeup. It was nice to follow how Addie's relationship grew with both of them over the course of the story. Even though the book adds a little three-dimensionality to Ms. Murphy and Emily, I absolutely couldn't stand how cruel they were to Addie. I didn't want Addie to have to remain in the same class for an entire school year. Thankfully, the end of A Kind of Spark was wonderful and I was really glad that Addie stuck to her goal and values. Her persistence was admirable. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt different from others.

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh

Over the weekend, I finished reading The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh. This novel that blends historical fiction and realistic fiction is about Matthew, a thirteen-year-old boy who loves playing Zelda and desperately misses his dad during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic because he took a job in Paris and can't come home. When Matthew gets in trouble for nearly hitting his great-grandmother Nadiya, or GG, with a bow and arrow, his mom makes him help GG go through her belongings. After he comes across an old black-and-white photo of two girls, he discovers a shocking secret about GG's past as he learns about her life during the Holodomor famine, which devastated Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s. Piecing together GG's story, he finds out about GG's two cousins, Helen and Mila Lomachenko, who each played a role in the mystery of how GG came to live in America. While Helen lives in Depression-era Brooklyn, New York, after her parents immigrated to America, Mila, a Young Pioneer in Kyiv, Ukraine, is doted upon by her papa and strongly supports Papa Stalin. Although the three girls never met before the famine, Mila and Helen try to help Nadiya, who is starving to death, after she reaches out to them.

This novel was absolutely breathtaking and gripped me from the very start. I deeply loved all four of the main characters, Matthew, Nadiya, Mila, and Helen, and felt a connection with each of them in different ways. I admired Matthew's persistence in finding out his great-grandmother's secret past. Regarding Nadiya, I needed to know how exactly she survived after she lost everything and made her way to Kyiv to find her cousin Mila's family. As for Mila, I could understand her life of privilege, even if she was was motherless, and could relate to her experience of finding out harsh truths about the world. Finally, Helen's family was most like my own, having both parents and a younger brother, and I feared for her family when her pop had a heart attack and her mom had to work two jobs. Despite the challenges, I knew that Nadiya's best chance at survival would be to make it to Helen and her family. This story is definitely devastating and it made me cry a few times because of the tragedy in GG's past, but I was completely blown away by the plot twist. Although a bit sad, the end is satisfying and I truly enjoyed it. All in all, anyone who enjoys stories of family, survival, and sacrifice should read The Lost Year.

Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd

Yesterday evening, I finished reading Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd. This magical realism novel is about Olive Miracle Martin, an eleven-year-old homeschooled girl who has brittle bone disease and uses a wheelchair to move around. After she convinces her parents through a sermon to let her go to Macklemore Middle School, she takes the opportunity to make friends (including a BFF) and try out for the school play about Emily Dickinson. When she learns of a legend about a magical hummingbird that grants wishes in her hometown of Wildwood, Tennessee, she decides it's the solution to her desire to have normal bones and teams up with her new BFF, Grace Alice Cho, to solve the mystery of the hummingbird. Soon, her new stepbrother, Hatch Malone, joins their search for the hummingbird because he has a deep wish of his own. As the May Day Festival and the blue moon approach, Olive must prove herself worthy of the true wish that lies in her heart.

Olive's story was just an absolute joy to read. I loved her confidence and upbeat attitude so much. Although she faces real challenges in this book, she never lets her disability get her down, not even when an accident happens toward the end of the book. I totally understood why she wouldn't want to be seen as fragile because I could see her inner strength throughout the whole story. I also really enjoyed the element of magic in this book, which took me completely by surprise. I was nervous that the hummingbird would turn out to just be a legend, but strange things kept happening in the book like feathers raining down from the sky. It really set an enchanting mood to the story, like it was a modern-day fairy tale. I never knew a town in small town in Tennessee could be so wondrous. I also thought Grace and Hatch were awesome. I'm really happy that Olive found such a great BFF in Grace and that Olive and Hatch could finally connect as stepsiblings. Not to mention, it was really cute that Olive developed a crush on Ransom McCallister, a Black boy in her class. He was very sweet and I was certain he liked her back. The end of the book was amazing and everything I hoped it could be. Hummingbird is perfect for anyone who enjoys fairy tales or realistic fiction with a magical touch.