8th grader Bea survives a shooting at her school, carrying the aftermath with her. Therapeutic horseback riding and her community help her grow toward healing as she raises her voice for change in this powerful verse novel.
Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner, (List Price: $17.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781665956079, April 2025)
Reviewed by Rae Ann Parker, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee
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Korey Fields is dead and Enchanted Jones wakes up next to him covered in blood. Open and shut case? Nah, fam. Korey is an international star, and when he takes 17-year-old Enchanted under his wing, it seems like all of her dreams are coming true. Against her parents’ better judgment, Enchanted joins Korey’s tour entourage and obeys his every demand in the hopes of not only being a star in her own right, but also capturing his heart. Things quickly turn bad and Enchanted finds herself drugged, assaulted, insulted, and abused in countless ways. She’s trapped with no way out and as her desperation grows, she will do anything to get away from him. This book is a powerful look at victim blaming, parent blaming, and how people will overlook so many horrible things to keep their paycheck or their vision of a successful artist intact. Fiction, but taken from some very prominent headlines (no need to mention anyone by name here, we all know the reference) I can only hope that this will open people’s eyes to the injustice that victims face every day, and why so many abusers go unpunished.
Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson, (List Price: $11.99, Katherine Tegen Books, 9780062840363, July 2021)
Reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in , Virginia
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In the end, and in the beginning, all we really have are our stories. In Ghost Boys, Jerome’s story, Sarah’s story, Grandma’s and Kim’s and Emmett’s stories are all one: The story that only the living can make the world better. This story, their story will haunt the reader long long long past the final page. Sure to be a winner this award season, Ghost Boys is an absolute must-read.
Ghost Boys by Jewel Parker Rhodes, (List Price: 7.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316262262, September 2019)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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Come Home Safe is unlike any book I’ve ever read. Reading this book with my son opened up dialogue about an issue that is difficult to talk about but extremely important for everyone living in todays social climate. Buckmire does an excellent job writing about the importance of knowing the law and your rights and how beneficial that knowledge will be when interacting with law enforcement. I would recommend this book to parents and educators looking to have conversations about social justice. Excellent book!
Come Home Safe by Brian G. Buckmire, (List Price: $17.99, Blink, 9780310142188, February 2023)
Reviewed by Keeshia Jacklitch, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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