Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

 

Last night, I finished reading Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson. This historical fiction novel is about Homer, a twelve-year-old boy who escapes from Southerland Plantation with his younger sister, Ada. With the help of Suleman, Homer and Ada discover Freewater, a secret community of formerly enslaved people and their freeborn children in the swamp, where they find freedom. Although Homer and Ada befriend some of the other children, Sanzi, Juna, Billy, and Ferdinand, over the next few weeks, Homer can't forget his mother who was left behind when she went back to the plantation for Homer's friend, Anna. As loggers approach the boundaries of Freewater, Homer helps with building a new sky bridge that they can use for escape if necessary. Then, after Sanzi accidentally lights the cornfields on fire with a flaming arrow following a wedding, Homer decides it's time to go back to the plantation to rescue his mother and Anna.

This book was absolutely amazing and definitely a worthy winner of the 2023 Newbery Medal. I really enjoyed how adventurous it was and there was suspense throughout that made me want to keep reading and learn if Homer would be successful in freeing his mom. Although I often found Sanzi frustrating because she seemed ungrateful as a freeborn child, she grows as a character after she makes the mistake of starting the fire in the cornfields and helps Homer on his journey back to the plantation. The relationship between Homer and his sister, Ada, was sweet and it made made me happy that they looked out for each other. Ada's imagination was especially a joy to read. I also loved the friendship (future romance?) between Juna and Billy. The climax of this book when Homer and the other children carry out their plan of rescuing Homer and Ada's mom and stealing tools during a wedding at the plantation was exhilarating. Additionally, the book includes an author's note at the end explaining the history of hidden communities founded by Black and Indigenous peoples.  Everyone should read Freewater whether they like historical fiction, adventure, or stories of family and friendship.

Michael Vey: The Parasite by Richard Paul Evans

 

Last week, I read Michael Vey: The Parasite by Richard Paul Evans. This science fiction novel is the eighth installment in the thrilling Michael Vey series. Taking place some years after the events of The Final Spark, Michael Vey's life has gone back to normal and he is a college student at Boise State University. A couple of days after his birthday, he plans on holding a reunion of his Electroclan friends, but then they start disappearing one by one. First, Jack isn't able to make it when he and his team go missing in Peru. Then, Michael's girlfriend, Taylor Ridley, learns that Abi disappeared before she left Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Michael and his friends know something is definitely up when Taylor's twin, Tara, doesn't return after having to go back home to pick up the reunion T-shirts. She never even made it out of the parking lot. Once again, they are being hunted. After forming a plan with Michael's dad, the CEO of Veytric Corporation, half of the Electroclan head to Texas to find out what happened to Abi and the other half go to Peru to rescue Jack and Tara. On their rescue mission, Michael and his friends learn that they have enemies who were just waiting for the fall of the Elgen to carry out their plans.

I definitely enjoyed returning to the world of Michael and his friends. Although this book doesn't have as much action as some of the others in the series, I was drawn in by the mystery of what was happening to Michael's friends and I could sense that they were in real danger. While I thought the original seven books tied up things nicely, it was revealed in this book that the Elgen was just the tip of the iceberg and there were three other Elgen Elite Guard units—the Chasqui, the Domguard, and the Lung Li. Out of these units, the Chasqui play the main antagonistic role in The Parasite. Without saying too much, the Chasqui's plan for the world terrified me. It's absolutely unimaginable if the Electroclan don't find a way to stop them, especially because of how the Chasqui's leader, Sovereign Amash, wants to use Taylor for her ability to see the future, a power that she's only beginning to understand. The cliffhanger at the end of the book threw me for a loop and I'm anxious for what it means for the next book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves action, adventure, and superheroes.

Winter Break Reading

 

The first book I read over winter break was All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat. This nonfiction book is about twelve members of Wild Boars soccer team and their coach who got trapped by rising floodwaters in the Tham Luang cave system in northern Thailand when they went exploring after practice on June 23, 2018 and it started raining. They had no food to eat and could only drink the water that dripped down from the walls. When news of the missing team spread, thousands of rescuers came from all around the world to locate the team and come up with a plan to bring all thirteen out of the cave before the heavy rains of the monsoon season.

This book was thrilling from start to finish. Even though I knew that the rescue mission was a success, I wasn't aware of all the details, making the account quite suspenseful. There were several times that the mission could have failed, but somehow everyone involved was able to work together against the odds to rescue the twelve players and their coach. It was amazing reading about how they made the impossible possible, and I especially found it fascinating how they were able to divert the water to slow down the flow of water in the cave. Anyone who loves action and adventure should read this true story.

After I finished All Thirteen, I read Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yu. This graphic novel is about Katie, a girl who is trying to earn enough money to spend a week at summer camp with her best friend, Bethany. During the last week of school before the summer, Katie first tries carrying an elderly man's groceries to his apartment. When that doesn't work out, she gets a job watering a neighbor's plants while she is away for a few days with her young children. Unfortunately, that also doesn't go well. After school ends for the summer, she then goes around her apartment building looking for cleaning jobs, but it turns out that job isn't right for her either. Just when Katie is sure going to camp is a lost cause, her neighbor, Madeline, asks her to catsit her 217 cats. At first, Katie thinks this job will be easy, but it turns out the cats aren't exactly normal. She sticks with the job, though, because it's good money and the cats always makes sure that the apartment is spotless just before Madeline returns. As the summer goes on, Madeline always seems to be out when the Mousetress commits crimes, leading Katie to wonder if Madeline is really the city's most famous super villain.

As a cat person, Katie the Catsitter was one of the Rebecca Caudill-nominated books I was looking most forward to reading this year and it truly was a joy to read. At the beginning, I felt bad that Katie couldn't go to camp with Bethany, but then she started catsitting for Madeline and those scenes were the highlight of the book for me. I thought it was so cool that the cats had special skills and couldn't help but laugh when the cats would start misbehaving as soon as Madeline left. Even though the job was challenging for Katie at first, she began building relationships with Madeline's cats by learning their names, playing with them, and buying them new toys. What I thought was most interesting about the story is that when Katie starts to suspect Madeline is the Mousetress, she also questions if the super villain is really evil because her crimes are against those who harm animals. Finally, the end of the book was so suspenseful when Madeline didn't return home at exactly midnight and Katie and the cats had to come up with a plan to save her. I would recommend this book to all cat lovers and anyone who enjoys comics about superheroes.

Additionally, I read Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson for the second time and my review of that book can be found here.

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

 

Yesterday, I finished reading Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes. This sports fiction novel is about Donte, a twelve-year-old biracial boy who is one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep. The teachers all wish he was more like his lighter-skinned brother, Trey, and he is bullied by the captain of the fencing team, "King" Alan. After Donte is suspended from school and arrested for something he didn't do when he is framed by Alan, he seeks out a former Olympic fencer, Arden Jones, at the Boston Boys and Girls Club to learn how to fence to beat Alan at his own game. Initially, Mr. Jones wants nothing to do with Donte, but when Donte comes back the next few days to help out, Mr. Jones agrees to begin training Donte. As the months go by and the tryouts for Middlefield Prep's fencing team approach, Donte makes new friends, grows closer to his brother, and learns about the systemic racism in fencing in his fight for justice.

I thought this novel was compelling from the very start. In addition to being scared for Donte when he was arrested and had to spend time in a jail cell before his parents came to rescue him, I was furious at Alan for saying that Donte threw a pencil at a girl in their class when it was Alan himself. In the same position as Donte, I would have wanted revenge, too, and I thought his goal to beat Alan at fencing was a good idea. As the story went on, I really enjoyed Donte's relationship with his brother, Trey. Even though Donte wanted fencing to be his own thing at first, I liked how they spent more time together when Trey joined Donte's training sessions with Mr. Jones. I was also fascinated by Mr. Jones's story when he finally opened up to Donte about why he quit fencing. It helped me understand the history of racism in fencing and why the issue still persists now. There were definitely times when I wondered if Donte would ever be good enough to win against Alan, so I was extremely happy with the satisfying ending. Black Brother, Black Brother is an outstanding choice for sports fans and will also appeal to those interested in reading stories about the fight for justice.

The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy

 

Last week, I read The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy. This realistic fiction novel is about Rahul Kapoor, an Indian American boy starting seventh grade in Indiana. After his grandfather, Bhai, gives him advice to find something that he's good at and become the best at it, Rahul attempts to join his school's football team, even though it means being around his bully, Brent Mason. After he gets injured during the tryout, Rahul then decides to audition for a local bank's television commercial. When that also doesn't go according to plan, Rahul wonders if he'll ever be the best at anything. Left with no other options, Rahul joins the Mathletes, despite his initial reluctance at the beginning of the school. Meanwhile, his mom and her friends, the Auntie Squad, are planning an event for the community called the International Bazaar. Rahul isn't very excited about the event, but his best friend, Chelsea, agrees to put together a performance. Although Rahul encounters homophobia and racism and increasingly suffers from anxiety as the school year goes on, he discovers himself.

This book was such a joy to read because it had both funny and emotional moments. I especially enjoyed how it captured the experience of middle school, the elation of the highs and the devastation of the lows. Rahul was dealing with a lot during his seventh grade year, and there were times in the story that I wished he could just catch a break. Seventh grade wasn't easy for me either, so Rahul's story was especially relatable. It made me so mad when Brent wouldn't just leave Rahul alone. On the other hand, it seemed like it would be such a blast to be friends with Chelsea. Although Rahul and Chelsea have an argument at the Sadie Hawkins dance after he opens up to her about his struggle to figure out if he has a crush on his classmate, Justin Emery, they make up in time for the International Bazaar. I was also drawn in by the suspense of Rahul's mission to become the best at something. I was ecstatic when he joined the Mathletes because I thought it was something he could really succeed at and I had to know if Rahul and his teammates would qualify to the state competition. I thought it was so cool how Pancholy was able to make math exciting through this story because I did a couple of math competitions when I was in high school. All in all, The Best at It was an excellent read and I recommend it to all middle school students.

Chirp by Kate Messner

Yesterday I finished reading Chirp by Kate Messner. This realistic fiction novel with a bit of mystery is about Mia, a girl who moves back to Vermont from Boston with her parents the summer after seventh grade. While she's excited to see her grandmother, Gram, and help out with the cricket farm, she's also recovering from a broken arm she got falling off the balance beam at gymnastics and trying to forgot a secret that she left behind. When Gram mentions that her cricket farm is being sabotaged, Mia's mom believes it's because her thinking is impaired from the stroke she had months ago, but Mia wonders if there's more to it. Although she's initially reluctant to go to two day camps, Launch Camp and Warrior Camp, she befriends Clover and Anna. Soon, Mia confides in the other two girls about the issues at Gram's cricket farm and they decide to investigate to find out who is responsible for the sabotage before it's too late to save the farm with the project they're working on at Launch Camp. As the summer flies by, Mia continues holding on to her secret and has to find the courage to confront what happened to her.

I was initially excited to start reading this book because Mia was a gymnast like I was in school, so I was a little surprised when this book wasn't about her returning to gymnastics after an injury. It turned out that she had a really good reason for not wanting to go back, but I was still a little disappointed by the end. With that said, I loved the mystery of the cricket farm being sabotaged and desperately wanted the criminal to be found so that Gram didn't have to sell it. It was sweet how Clover and Anna wanted to help Mia with her project and their friendship was one of my favorite parts of the book. I also really enjoyed how one of the themes was the empowerment of girls and women and thought the story handled the topic of sexual harassment well. It reminded me a little of Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee, which I read last year. Because the book is relatively short, it was quite fast-paced, which I liked. With timely themes and topics, Chirp is a superb choice for girls, especially ones who might be coping with sexual harassment because it shows that they're not alone.

 

This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science Is Tackling Unconscious Bias by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

 

Last week over Thanksgiving Break, I read This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science Is Tackling Unconscious Bias by Tanya Lloyd Kyi. This informational book explains how to recognize stereotypes, why they can be harmful, and how to combat them. The first chapter covers the history of identifying stereotypes and some of the studies that have been done about how we categorize people. In the second chapter, the author explores how people still act with bias even when they know that all humans are equal, with a focus on racism and sexism. The third chapter describes how stereotypes affect our behavior when we apply them to our own lives. In the fourth chapter, people who have made a difference in changing society's views are the focus. The fifth chapter shares methods that scientists, activists, and organizations have used to recognize assumptions in our own minds and address discrimination. Finally, the book concludes with techniques that we can use as individuals to fight prejudice.

I thought this book was very interesting because I never really thought about the science behind stereotypes before. As I was reading, I really enjoyed how the author took a storytelling approach to sharing all the history and research on the topic. This book is definitely very timely because discrimination is something that many people face, not only in the United States, but around the world. I also appreciated that the author was hopeful that society can change by taking small steps. The back matter of the book includes suggestions for further reading, a list of sources for each chapter, and an index. This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes can be used to inspire discussions about addressing stereotypes and bias, and I would recommend it to both kids and adults alike.