Bookmarks

Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson

, ,
Sisters in Arms
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Sisters in Arms is the previously untold story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, originated from the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and the first Black women allowed to serve. This is a much-needed novel, perfect for fans of not just World War II fiction but all historical fiction. It would make the perfect selection for book clubs this fall!

Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson, (List Price: 16.99, William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780062964588, August 2021)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson Read More »

Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night by Morgan Parker

, , ,
OtherPeople's Comfort Keeps Me Up at Night
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I loved Morgan Parker’s collections There are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce and Magical Negro so I was excited to go back and read her debut collection in its new re-released form. It comes with a lovely foreword by Danez Smith, whose observations enhanced my reading experience. From her other two collections, I knew I loved the way Parker combines poetry and music; I loved seeing in this collection how she brings the visual arts into her world, too.

Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night by Morgan Parker, (List Price: 16.95, Tin House Books, 9781951142568, July, 2021)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night by Morgan Parker Read More »

Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night by Morgan Parker

, , ,
OtherPeople's Comfort Keeps Me Up at Night
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I loved Morgan Parker’s collections THERE ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAN BEYONCE and MAGICAL NEGRO so I was excited to go back and read her debut collection in its new re-released form. It comes with a lovely foreword by Danez Smith, whose observations enhanced my reading experience. From her other two collections, I knew I loved the way Parker combines poetry and music; I loved seeing in this collection how she brings the visual arts into her world, too.

Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night by Morgan Parker, (List Price: 16.95, Tin House Books, 9781951142568, July 2021)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night by Morgan Parker Read More »

Listen by Gabi Snyder

, , ,
Listen
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

The message of LISTEN is one for all ages – when all you hear is noise, stop, close your eyes, and listen to everything waiting to be heard. Gabi Snyder’s lesson starts on a busy city street but goes beyond just noisy times to remind us the importance of listening for feelings like our friends’ emotions and how we are feeling inside. Stephanie Graegin’s illustrations are a gentle, perfect accompaniment to the text. This would make the perfect book for a storytime or lesson centered on mindfulness.

Listen by Gabi Snyder, (List Price: 17.99, Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 9781534461895, July 2021)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Listen by Gabi Snyder Read More »

Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna

, , , , ,
Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

This is it! My favorite middle-grade book of 2021. Full of adventure, humor, and friendship, Kiki’s story had me hooked from start to finish. I laughed, cried, and audibly gasped as the story unfolded through the lens of her vivid imagination. I particularly liked the handling and validation of Kiki’s struggles with anxiety. Great for fans of Aru Shah, Inkheart, or anything by Rick Riordan- Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom is not to be missed!

Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna, (List Price: 17.99, Viking Books for Young Readers, 9780593206973, July 2021)

Reviewed by Mary Louise Callaghan, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna Read More »

The Tiger Mom’s Tale by Lyn Liao Butler

, , ,
The Tiger Mon's Tale
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Part mystery, part family drama, with a dash of romance, The Tiger Mom’s Tale is a story of two times. Lexa is grieving the death of her biological father, whom she only met once as a teen in Taiwan. Told through flashbacks of that ill-fated meeting, we revisit with Lexa the days spent meeting her father, biological sister, stepmother, and extended family, and the impact it had not only on her life but those closest to her. An impactful story about the power of family and connections.

The Tiger Mom’s Tale by Lyn Liao Butler, (List Price: 17, Berkley, 9780593198728, July 2021)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Tiger Mom’s Tale by Lyn Liao Butler Read More »

King of Ragtime by Stephen Costanza

, , ,
King of Ragtime
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Gloriously illustrated, this glimpse into the South during Reconstruction made me hear my childhood piano lessons and the syncopations of Scott Joplin’s ragtime melodies. There is so much detail in the multimedia illustrations which include single measures of actual sheet music clippings. It makes me want to pull out my album of The Sting (I know it’s anachronistic, but I love it!).

King of Ragtime by Stephen Costanza, (List Price: 17.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781534410367, August 2021)

Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

King of Ragtime by Stephen Costanza Read More »

If the World Were 100 People by Jackie McCann

,
If the World Were 100 People
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Really large numbers are difficult for us (including adults!) to understand, so I loved the way this book broke down statistics about the world as if it only had 100 people. The global village concept is really neat. Not only is this easier to visualize the differences and inequalities in our world, but it also makes the world seem a little less large, and a little bit more like a village.

If the World Were 100 People by Jackie McCann, (List Price: 17.99, Crown Books for Young Readers, 9780593310700, July 2021)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

If the World Were 100 People by Jackie McCann Read More »

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon

, ,
We Can't Keep Meeting Like This
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

This was my first time reading Rachel Lynn Solomon’s YA, and now I want to go back and read everything she’s written. I loved the representation in this book: not only are the characters racially diverse, but there is also great LGBTQ representation, plus the main character has OCD and a side character has depression. It is great to see so many different kinds of characters in one book. The set-up is perfect for a sweet romance: Quinn Berkowitz is the daughter of wedding-planner parents, and she’s expected to join the family business officially after college. But Quinn feels jaded about romance and wants to pursue her own dreams. A great book about finding yourself!


We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon (List Price: $19.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534440272, 6/1/2021)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon Read More »

What Will You Be? by Yamile Saied Méndez, Kate Alizadeh (Illus.)

,
What Will You Be?
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

What Will You Be? is the story of a young girl who asks her abuela what she will be when she grows up. Told through vibrant illustrations that capture her grandmother’s love for painting, the little girl dreams of all the things she might be. I love when she dreams of different careers, like a builder or a healer, she also recognizes all the good that she could bring to world. A must-read for career storytimes!

What Will You Be? by Yamile Saied Méndez, Kate Alizadeh (Illus.) (List Price: $17.99, HarperCollins, 9780062839954, 5/4/2021)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

What Will You Be? by Yamile Saied Méndez, Kate Alizadeh (Illus.) Read More »

Like a Dandelion by Huy Voun Lee, Huy Voun Lee (Illus.)

,
Like a Dandelion
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Like a Dandelion is a beautiful story of a young girl immigrating to a new country. Based on the author’s personal immigration story, the journey is told in likeness to the life of a dandelion, with the first seeds being planted in unfamiliar soil to the autumn winds that bring new seeds to the neighbor. The bright illustrations bring the story to life! A beautiful book to share with children who have immigrated to a new place and their new friends so they might better understand their new friend’s journey.

Like a Dandelion by Huy Voun Lee, Huy Voun Lee (Illus.) (List Price: $17.99, Balzer + Bray, 9780062993731, 5/18/2021)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Like a Dandelion by Huy Voun Lee, Huy Voun Lee (Illus.) Read More »

Small Knight and the Anxiety Monster by Manka Kasha

, , ,
Small Knight and the Anxiety Monster
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Small Knight’s parents want her to be a princess, but that is the opposite of what she wants, which is to be a knight who goes on adventures. Small Knight worries about telling her parents the truth, and finds that the worry she keeps inside has grown into a dark monster who follows her everywhere. During a quest to find the truth about the monster, Small Knight realizes she has to look inside herself to fight the monster, and although it may never fully go away, she is in control of her destiny and dreams. SMALL KNIGHT AND THE ANXIETY MONSTER is an honest and important book for children.

Small Knight and the Anxiety Monster by Manka Kasha (List Price: $18.99, Feiwel & Friends, 9781250618795, 6/1/2021)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Small Knight and the Anxiety Monster by Manka Kasha Read More »

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel

,
The Secret to Superhuman Strength
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Fans of Fun Home and Are You My Mother will not be disappointed by The Secret to Superhuman Strength! While Alison Bechdel’s previous two books mix her own memories with her parents’ stories, her newest book is all her own, told through her relationship to exercise and the outdoors. It would not be a Bechdel book without bringing in philosophers; in this case, Bechdel touches on Jack Kerouac, the transcendentalists, Buddhist thinkers, and more. I was particularly drawn to the vibrancy of the coloring in this book. I tried to only read one section of this book at a time to make it last longer, but I couldn’t resist consuming it in two sittings!

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel (List Price: $24, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 9780544387652, 5/4/2021)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel Read More »

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

, , , ,
Crying in H Mart
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

With Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner has established herself as not just a musical talent but as an astounding writer to be reckoned with. In her beautifully realized and heartbreakingly open memoir, she recounts her mother’s battle with cancer and her death while looking keenly at her Korean heritage, the way food plays a role in her identity, and the loss of cultural connection that can come with the death of an immigrant parent. All of this adds up to a wonderfully rich ode of a memoir, a tribute to Zauner’s mother, a celebration of Korean food, and one of the best books of 2021.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (List Price: $26.95, Knopf, 9780525657743, 4/20/2021)

Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner Read More »

Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé

, , , , , ,
Creatures of Passage
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

A fantastic new novel from an incredible writer. I loved every moment of Creatures of Passage and was hooked from the first page. Full of myth and mysticism, this is a complex web of stories that intersect in a way that slowly and gracefully unfolds. Complicated family relationships, systemic poverty and privilege, the transformative destruction of abuse, all of these themes and more create a beautiful and tragic look at the Anacostia neighborhood of DC.

Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé (List Price: $25, Akashic Books, 9781617758768, 3/16/2021)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé Read More »

Scroll to Top