The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This nonfiction work was written by a poet, and it works beautifully. The reader is given all the details of an amazing 17th century artist and scientist alongside the stages of a butterflies metamorphosis, obviously showing a connection between the two. The art is beautiful, and made more interesting by being original illustrations by the subject and her contemporaries. In addition, I was impressed by the amount of background information of the era, including the the existence of slavery in Suriname and ongoing threat of witch trials in Europe, things that could have easily been glossed over, but impacted Maria Merian and her life, and so were given context in the story.

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Watch Us Rise

Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a dynamic mix of a novel, filled with poetry, blog posts, and comments which keep the reader moving through the story. I feel like this mixture is geared perfectly to teens, and will draw them in. The characters are mostly well drawn, with flaws as well as strengths. While I have no experience with a school so focused on social justice and free expression, I do recognize the dynamic of a place so focused on it's outward appearance that it is blind to it's internal flaws. The addition of so many names in poetry, feminism and social justice, along with the extensive bibliography at the end are a giant plus. I have only two critiques. A few of the time jumps seems too disjointed. So much seems to be happening at the school, and then suddenly it's a month later. And the character of Nadine frustrated me as well. Every other character, including the teachers and parents seemed well drawn and to contribute a perspective to the story, but Nadine seemed to have no point of view. The book feels very important and will find a place on most library shelves and hopefully into the hands of many who need a push to make their own stand.

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Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having not read the previous titles, I didn't have a problem catching on with this one. The fantasy world is well described and the logic is maintained through the story. I enjoyed the authors twist on each well known story. She skillfully keeps the important parts and the easily explains the changes. Apart from the results of the quest to save Granny, the story was fresh and interesting through to the end.


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Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written, this novel shines a new light on the Japanese internment during WWII. Manami is an interesting narrator, considering her silence through most of the book. I liked this device, although her family's ability to know just what she was thinking without talking about it was a bit too convenient. I was also interested to learn about the differences between the internees, those from the city and those from the country. Each device demonstrating the families loss, from the dog to the garden worked well. However I do feel for some young readers, more explanation about the internment system might be needed. In addition, a few sections of the story feel a bit thin, like the relationship between the teacher and Manami's brother. Still, the writing and imagery is beautiful and the feeling of the character comes across well.


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The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While I admit to only a fuzzy recollection of Hamlet, I found this a novel and interesting take on the original. Hanalee is a good lead character. In fact I felt her reasons for dithering, misleading and confounding behavior were more reasonable than Hamlet's. Even so, she comes across as a tough and capable young women. The plot and peripheral characters are well done, showing a broad range of feelings toward the discrimination of the KKK, from fear, to tolerance, to support. Hanalee and Joe's friendship brings another fascinating aspect to the story, but their meetings did become a bit repetitive. The author kept the truth of the mystery from the reader through to the end, which was worth the read.


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The Heir by Kiera Cass
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have very little reaction to this book. The main character was not a very nice person, but that seemed to offer potential for self reflection and personal growth. There are some inklings that this might occur, but it never really comes across. However all the characters surrounding her felt like cardboard cutouts strategically placed to show HER how she OUGHT to behave. At one point Eadlyn is scolded for treating her suitors like they are disposable, and then the author does the exact same thing. In the end, the book falls prey to the insistence of publishers to drag everything out into trilogies. No real progress is made beyond introducing us all to the circumstances, and then the author inserts twist A into cliffhanger B and wait for the sequel.


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You Know Me Well by David Levithan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A refreshingly multidimensional novel about the lives of two teenagers during San Francisco's Pride Celebration. While a great deal of the drama comes from their romantic relationships, the beginnings and endings of friendships are just as important to the narrative. The narrators alternated by chapter, from Kate to Mark. This was largely effective, although I had to flip back a few times to remind myself who was currently talking. Still, the book read smoothly, without a jarring disconnect between the two voices, a problem I have had with multiple narrators as well as multiple authors in the past. I appreciated that the book showed teens in various stages of coming out as well as a variety of consequences to coming out, some positive and some negative. An excellent and well rounded story.


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