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Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre por Juana Martinez-Neal

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Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre por Juana Martinez-Neal
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Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre trata sobre una niña a la que no le gusta lo largo que es su nombre, y su padre que le cuenta la historia de quién viene. Una gran historia del legado que cada niño lleva consigo y la historia que solo ellos pueden contar sobre sus propias vidas. ¡Altamente recomendado!

Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre por Juana Martinez-Neal, (List Price: $8.99, Candlewick, 9781536220438, septiembre 2023)

Reseña escrita por Jessica Nock, Main Street Books en Davidson, North Carolina

Family Lore \ Sabiduría familiar por Elizabeth Acevedo

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Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
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La primera novela para adultos de Acevedo es un homenaje al intermedio, ocupando los espacios entre los sueños y la realidad, la vida y la muerte, y la República Dominicana y los Estados Unidos. Contadas desde las perspectivas de las mujeres Marte, cuatro hermanas y sus dos hijas, toda la familia contempla las historias y las mujeres que las formaron, mientras se preparan para que su hermana mayor les diga que alguien está a punto de morir. Escrito en la tradición de Sandra Cisneros y otras autoras latinas, Acevedo teje una historia que te abraza con la fuerza de las limas de Yadi, negándose a soltarla mucho después de voltear la última página.

Sabiduría familiar por Elizabeth Acevedo, ($18.99, Ecco, 9780063207318, November 2023)

Reseña escrita por, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews en Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Empanadas for Everyone by Jackie Azúa Kramer

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Empanadas for Everyone by Jackie Azúa Kramer
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This could just as easily be called "Empanadas from Everyone" — doesn’t every culture have some form of dumpling or meat (or meatless) pastry? Hubs once had a coworker describe what I would call potstickers as "Chinese ravioli", and frankly, they’re not wrong! I love how the community came together to share the secrets of their cultures’ empanadas, samosas, patties, pierogies, & jiaozi. Food shared builds love and community.

Empanadas for Everyone by Jackie Azúa Kramer, (List Price: $18.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781665914581, August 2023)

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

My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse

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My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse
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Iris Prince, a second-generation Mexican American, has spent her life being the model minority, but when a law is passed requiring everyone to wear ‘The Band’ – a piece of wearable tech – she quickly becomes a second-class citizen: she can’t get one as her parents weren’t born in the US. My Name is Iris is a frighteningly real work of dystopian fiction that explores issues of identity, immigration and belonging, as well as showing how quickly fear can escalate and life can unravel.

My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse, (List Price: $28, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, 9781982177850, September 2023)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
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Acevedo’s first adult novel is a homage to the in-between, occupying the spaces between dreams and reality, life and death, and the Dominican Republic and the United States. Told from the perspectives of the Marte women, four sisters, and their two daughters, the whole family contemplates the stories and women who shaped them, as they prepare for their eldest sister to tell them someone is about to die. Written in the tradition of Sandra Cisneros and other Latina authors, Acevedo weaves a story that embraces you with the strength of Yadi’s limes, refusing to let go long after the last page is turned.

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, (List Price: $30, Ecco, 9780063207264, September 2023)

Reviewed by Sydney Mason, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

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Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
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Alma and How She Got Her Name is about a little girl who doesn’t like how long her name is, and her father who tells her the story of who she comes from. A great story of the legacy that each child carries with them and the story that only they can tell about their own lives. Highly recommend!

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal, (List Price: $8.99, Candlewick, 9781536220438, September 2023)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp by Anthony Del Col

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When Moon Became the Moon by Rob Hodgson
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This book shows the very ugly truth that is a reality for many people. This woman survived unimaginable conditions and lived to tell the tale. I have nothing but the utmost respect for her being able to share her truth, and feel this book really opened my eyes to the treatment of the Uyghur people of China.

I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp by Anthony Del Col, (List Price: $19.99, Lev Gleason, 9781988247960, September 2023)

Reviewed by Lana Repic, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore

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Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore
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It’s impossible to say enough about this book! This is definitely being added to my top reads of 2020. There’s magic, art heists, ghosts in the house, space pirates, talking dogs, and so, so much more! It’s part Clue, part Sliding Doors, part Knives Out (before Knives Out existed though), and pure genius on Cashore’s part! It has a Choose Your Own Adventure feel to it, with lots of quirk and heart and just overall fabulousness!.

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore, (List Price: 18.99, Little, Kathy Dawson Books, 9780803741492, September 2017)

Reviewed by Kate Towery, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

When Moon Became the Moon by Rob Hodgson

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When Moon Became the Moon by Rob Hodgson
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The moon, as a "work in progress". Love this. A sweet and simple way to teach any young astronomer about the lunar body’s history, relationship to the sun, the earth, and us too. (All ages)

When Moon Became the Moon by Rob Hodgson, (List Price: 18.99, Rise x Penguin Workshop, 9780593523629, August 2023)

Reviewed by Jilleen Moore, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer

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While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer
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While We Were Dreaming sits well on the shelf ‘midst Trainspotting, Stand By Me (er, The Body) and Requiem for a Dream, those disturbing yet nostalgic tales of the rise and fall of childhood chums slumming down life’s yellower brick roads, but what makes this kaleidoscopic coming-of-age collection really stand (by me) out is the punch-in-the-gut pivotal point of turning 13 in East Berlin, 1989. The pre/post Wall stories run out of chronological order, so the cast of characters are at times 8-year-old Pioneer Scout cutups, any-agers getting out of prison for the Nth time, preteens caught on the wrong team’s side of a football riot or stealing their first (of many) case of beer, yet constantly bailing each other out of any messed up situation their messed up situations situate them in. The emotion varietals are all over the map, multifaceted and always well-played.

While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer, (List Price: 20, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 9781804270288, September 2023)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Alanna by Tamora Pierce

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Alanna by Tamora Pierce
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I have loved Alanna since I was a middle schooler. Before I wrote this review, I literally had been pulling out my old dusty copies for my 14 year old goddaughter to read and I’m so thrilled to see that Tamora Pierce is being reprinted once again! Alanna’s story is timeless and portrays healthy relationships as well as bravery and excitement. I cannot wait to welcome a new wave of readers into Tamora Pierce’s world and hope the reprint of the Lioness Quartet is just the beginning!

Alanna by Tamora Pierce, (List Price: $12.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781665937412, September 2023)

Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on The Square in McDonough, Georgia

This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara

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This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara
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This collection feels so alive. It’s not just the memorable characters set spinning toward questionable ventures, it’s the sense of play and fun that pervades each story, each line. In never taking any moment too seriously, Vara accomplishes the serious work of truth-telling that actually feels true.

This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara, (List Price: $26.95, W. W. Norton & Company, 9780393541731, September 2023)

Reviewed by Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

Phoebe’s Diary by Phoebe Wahl

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Phoebe's Diary by Phoebe Wahl
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Incredibly earnest, honest account (in graphic novel form!) of a teenage theatre kid navigating the move to public high school from an unschooling/homeschool education in a smallish city in the Pacific NorthWest. I love Phoebe Wahl’s art and children’s books (she illustrates and writes), and I adored her peek into the boy-obsessed, music-loving, art-driven world she creates from her own teenage diaries. I laughed out loud, cringed, cried, and cheered. If you loved Judy Blume’s Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, you’ll love Phoebe’s Diary.

Phoebe’s Diary by Phoebe Wahl, (List Price: 19.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316363563, September 2023)

Reviewed by Adah Fitzgerald, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

There’s Always Room for One More by Robyn McGrath

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Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
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This picture book is so sweet. It would make the perfect book for a child whose family is going through same changes (in this case, making room for a grandfather coming to live with them). I love the message that it is ok to feel a sense of loss for the parts of life that will be different, but that making space for those we love sometimes requires us to give up things we loved in the past and replace them with things we can learn to like even more. Both the story and the pictures are filled with heart!

There’s Always Room for One More by Robyn McGrath, (List Price: $18.99, Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 9781665925372, August 2023)

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

All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr

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Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
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All the Fighting Parts is a much needed book. The verse format makes it a quick read, but it spares no punches, delving deep into the heart of one sexual assault survivor’s journey through grief, guilt, resistance, and reclamation. Healing is a journey through, not a journey’s end; and while the powers of her local church are stacked against her, her loved ones (whom she withdraws from in the aftermath) learn how to support her through every step. It’s poignant and oh-so relevant. Amina’s story is unlike anything I’ve read before, and I hope with all my might that All the Fighting Parts falls into the hands of those who need it most.

All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr, (List Price: $19.99, Amulet Books, 9781419762611, September 2023)

Reviewed by Isabel Agajanian, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, Florida

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