Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting

 

Yesterday, I finished reading Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting by Kindra Neely. This graphic memoir is about Kindra Neely, a survivor of the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon on October 1, 2015. Although she had been close to gun violence before when she lived in Texas as a child and a house down the street was targeted in a drive-by shooting, she never expected it to happen to her. After the mass shooting, Kindra struggled with panic attacks, PTSD, and depression. Whenever she would take steps towards healing, a new mass shooting would bring back her feelings of fear, pointlessness, and hopelessness. Even when she participated in the March for Our Lives, she felt no one was listening. Eventually, she found a path toward hope through art, helping others, and sharing her story.

This graphic memoir was so raw, but I enjoyed learning what life is really like for the survivors of mass shootings. I liked how the text was sparse, so it made the book relatively quick to read. I also thought the illustrations were absolutely gorgeous. After the mass shooting at Umqua Community College, Kindra created a mural of dragonflies representing each of the victims and these dragonflies were some of the most beautiful pictures in the whole book. I also loved the use of color throughout and how she represented her feelings in any given moment. Additionally, I found Kindra's thoughts about how the country was reacting interesting because she showed how being a survivor is very different than being an outsider. Although Kindra's story is dark because she attempted suicide at one point, I was amazed by her resilience and how she found healing through art. Not to mention, I think she is brave for sharing her story. Anyone who is interested in learning about a real-life survivor of a mass shooting should read Numb to This.

Butter by Erin Jade Lange

 

Last night, I finished reading Butter by Erin Jade Lange. This realistic fiction novel is about Butter, a high school boy who is lonely and morbidly obese. During lunch one day at school, he tries to save his crush, Anna, from a bully, Jeremy, but ends up making a fool of himself instead. Then, after he goes onto a blog by an anonymous student and learns that he's been voted most likely to have a heart attack, he decides to eat himself to death live on the Internet. When he receives what seems to be encouragement instead of pity and insults, it gives him an in with some of the popular kids at school and they invite him to hang out with them outside of school. As his suicide deadline of New Year's Eve approaches, he begins to have doubts, even as he wonders if he can live with the consequences if he doesn't go through with his plans.

This book was riveting and I didn't want to stop reading until I was finished. Although I felt bad for Butter because Jeremy was cruel to him and I know what it's like to be lonely, I did come to understand that his situation by the middle of the book was at least partially his fault. I definitely wanted him to get help, though. Despite the fact that I did identify with Butter's loneliness, I hated how he was lying to Anna about who he was online and I knew it wouldn't go over well when she found out the truth. It was also frustrating when he pushed away people who really did care about him, like Professor Dunn and Tucker, a friend from FitFab camp. While this book is about the consequences of bullying, it also shows how your outlook on life and how you feel about yourself on the inside is even more important than what you look like on the outside. Exploring cyberbullying, obesity, and teen suicide, Butter is an excellent choice for eighth graders who are interested in mature topics.

Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee

 

Last night, I finished reading Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee. This realistic fiction novel is about Maizy Chen, an eleven-year-old Chinese American girl from Los Angeles who goes to Last Chance, Minnesota, with her mom to visit the grandparents she hasn't seen since she was eight when her grandfather, Opa, becomes sick. Although they only plan to stay for a couple of weeks to help out with the family restaurant, the Golden Palace, until Opa gets better, Maizy begins to make some discoveries about her family as the weeks go by and she listens to Opa tell the story of his grandfather, Lucky, who immigrated from China to America when he was just sixteen. Meanwhile, she wonders why her mom and her grandmother, Oma, argue so much and wants to know more about the people who are in the photographs on the office's wall in the Golden Palace. When someone steals the sculpture, Bud the Bear, located outside of the restaurant and leaves a racist note, Maizy sets out to figure out who it was with her new friend, Logan.

I thought this book was absolutely fantastic. Like Maizy, I fell in love with Last Chance and really enjoyed the stories that Opa told her about Lucky. I definitely looked forward to them as much as she did. It was also enlightening learning about the struggles that Chinese immigrants faced over the years. When Bud the Bear was stolen, it was frustrating realizing how much racism Chinese Americans still experience today and I was so angry that a hate crime happened at the Golden Palace because it really seemed like a wonderful place with great food. I certainly liked the mystery elements of the story, though. I thought it was cool how Maizy was into research and investigation, solving the mystery of the robbery and tracking down the paper sons that visited the Golden Place. While the ending is a little sad, it's mostly hopeful and satisfying. I can definitely imagine Maizy and her mom visiting Last Chance more often in the future. Additionally, there is back matter: an author's note, a recipe, and resources. With a wealth of themes, including family, identity, immigration, race, and prejudice, Maizy Chen's Last Chance is an important novel and adds to the growing collection of middle grade novels featuring Asian American characters. I recommend it to anyone who likes food and a little bit of mystery.

City of Dragons: The Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis & Vivian Truong

 

The last book I read during winter break was City of Dragons: The Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis and Vivian Truong. This fantasy graphic novel is about Grace, a girl who starts going to the Hong Kong International School after she moves to Hong Kong with her mom and new stepdad. During the first week of school, she goes on a field trip with her classmates. When Grace and her new friend, Ramesh, decide to explore the city on their own, they come across a mysterious old woman who gifts Grace with a dragon egg. To Grace's surprise, the egg hatches overnight and she discovers that the stories that she heard when she was younger might actually be real. Needing to hide the dragon, Grace brings it to school where she ends up revealing it to Ramesh and two more of her classmates, James and Jing. Together, the four of them have to protect the dragon from sinister forces that will abuse his powers.

This graphic novel was an absolute delight to read and I finished it in one day because I enjoyed it so much. I love how it incorporated Chinese mythology and thought it was interesting that dragons are more known for their power and fearlessness, rather than danger and violence. It was sweet that Grace decided to name the dragon after her dad, Nate, who died three years before the main events of the story. I also liked how Ramesh, James, and Jing decided to help Grace even thought they had just met her that week. They definitely made a great team because they each had their own strengths. I especially appreciated how funny Ramesh was because he helped keep the mood light when the story became more suspenseful. His technology skills came in handy, too. With a diverse group of main characters, this graphic novel illustrates how we are all mixed regardless of how we look on the outside, as Grace's dad shares at the beginning. The Awakening Storm does end with a cliffhanger, so I'm eager to read the second book in the series. Anyone who loves fantasy or dragons should read this wonderful adventure.

Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein

 

The second book I read over winter break was Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein. This realistic fiction novel is about Will Levine, a seventh grade boy who is bullied for his chin that looks different and prefers staying in his bedroom with the wild turtles that he has collected from the Back 40, a nature preserve behind his school. Because his dad died in surgery to fix a hernia when was was four, Will is terrified of hospitals and having surgery for his chin in December. For his bar mitzvah, he has to complete a community service project by facing his fear and going to the hospital to visit RJ, a sixteen-year-old boy who has incurable mitochondrial disease. Will and RJ don't get along at first, but they soon bond over turtles and playing drums. When RJ shares his bucket list with Will, Will decides to complete the tasks for RJ before it's too late. Although he protests each task initially and has issues with his friends, Shirah and Max, he gets increasingly more comfortable coming out of his shell and trying new things.

While I anticipated that the story would be a journey for the main character, Will, what I wasn't expecting was how emotional it was. I absolutely adored it and couldn't wait to find out what experiences Will would have to have for RJ. From the beginning of the book, I felt for Will because I know how difficult it can be to step out of your comfort zone, but I was really happy for him when he completed each task and enjoyed how much growth he showed by the end. I also thought it was neat how much he loved turtles, even though his sixth grade science teacher, Ms. Kuper, finds out about his wild turtles and he has to return them to the pond in the Back 40. Of course, It didn't surprise me when Will decided to keep the most rare one. My favorite character, though, was RJ, which is why I was so heartbroken while reading this book. I thought it was so deeply unfair that he had an incurable disease because he was charismatic and full of life. I so badly wanted things to be different, especially when his health began declining more quickly. I couldn't help but cry a couple times while reading. I also liked Rabbi Harris, who always had good advice for Will and encouraged him. I thought it was funny that he had a junk food stash in his car. Although this book is sad at times, it's about being brave and taking chances. All in all, Turtle Boy is an outstanding choice for those who enjoy friendship stories.

The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga

The first book I read over winter break was The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga. This realistic fiction novel is about Cora Hamed and Quinn McCauley, estranged best friends who are coping with the devastating aftermath of a school shooting. Cora has been mourning the loss of her sister, Mabel, for the past ten months when she receives a package with a note on her doorstep for her twelfth birthday from Quinn. Cora wants nothing to do with Quinn because she thinks Mabel wouldn't want them to be friends anymore, but at her grandmother Grams's insistence, she decides to open the box and investigate its contents. Meanwhile, Quinn feels guilty about her brother Parker's actions and blames herself for not trying to stop him. After researching time travel and coming up with a plan to fix everything, she waits for Cora to open the box of articles she delivered. When Cora finally agrees to help Quinn for Mabel, they work together to open a wormhole at the giant oak tree that Parker helped Quinn climb down when they younger and go back in time to save their siblings. As time travel proves more challenging than expected, they have to determine if their friendship is worth saving.

Although it has an undercurrent of grief and loss because of the school shooting that happened prior to the events of the story, I enjoyed this novel. As I was reading, I had a great deal of empathy for both Cora and Quinn because they were coping with their loss in different ways. Cora deeply misses her sister, while Quinn wonders if she could have stopped her brother. It didn't surprise me that they would both want to believe in the impossible and find a way to go back in time to prevent the tragedy from happening in the first place. From the beginning, I was rooting for Cora and Quinn to rekindle their friendship. While I never really thought they would successfully time travel because the novel is realistic fiction, I firmly believed that trying would help them realize how much they mean to each other. I also loved learning what inspired the title of the novel because it gave insight into what Cora's mom was like before she left Cora, Mabel, and their dad years before the book takes place. All in all, The Shape of Thunder is an important story of healing and the power of friendship and accurately portrays the grieving process that families directly impacted by school shootings go through. I recommend this book to anyone who has lost a loved one or wants to understand why bad things happen.

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

 

Before winter break, I finished reading A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat. This Thai-inspired fantasy takes place in Chattana, a city where all the light comes from one man, the Governor, who appeared after the Great Fire to rebuild the city. The story is about Pong, a boy who escapes Namwon Prison by hiding in a trash basket and ending up in Tanaburi, a small town south of Chattana. After he meets an old monk, Father Cham, while stealing food from a temple, he spends the next few years hiding among the monks. When Nok, the prison warden's perfect daughter, chases him into the river during her family's visit to the temple, he grabs the rope of a barge heading north to Chattana instead of south to the sea. Although her parents want her to stay and go to the school near the temple, Nok decides go back to the city and hunt Pong to bring honor back to her family. As Pong learns that the outside world is just as unfair as the prison and tries to come up with a plan to escape the city for good, Nok discovers secrets about her own life that make her question everything she has always believed. With a march being planned in the city to protest against the Governor, Pong and Nok must decide if they should stand up for what's right and bring light to the injustice in Chattana.

This book was so enchanting and beautiful. When I learned that it was inspired by Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, I was deeply intrigued by the book's premise because Les Miserables is one of my favorite musicals. I also loved how the author used inspiration from Thailand because the world-building was fantastic and made Chattana feel like a real place. The description of a city with colored light orbs was gorgeous, but I thought it was interesting how that beauty hid the injustice of poverty and privilege. Additionally, I liked the main characters, Pong and Nok. When Pong is discouraged after meeting the Governor in person at the beginning of the story, I understood why he wanted to leave the city and never come back, but at his core, he is someone who will always fight for what right, so I was very satisfied with his journey. On the other hand, I admired Nok's determination no matter what her goal is and her growth was just as rewarding. From the start, I thought that they would be great friends if they weren't enemies and hoped that they would both be brave enough do the right thing. With that in mind, I enjoyed the climax of the story when everything finally came together. A perfect combination of fantasy and realistic issues, anyone should read this book.