All Eyes on Ozzy! by K-Fai Steele
Based on the cover, I did not have high hopes for All Eyes on Ozzy! by K-Fai Steele. My, “Hey you kid! Get off my lawn!” old lady brain did not think Steele’s illustrations were instilling too much confidence in my liking the book. And while it was not wrong in the fact that this is not my favorite book; I did end up thinking it was a solid book that kids can relate to and enjoy. And in the end, that is pretty important. […]
Sofi and the Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley
Sofi has been training all her life to replace her father as Musik, but when beautiful, untrained Lara wins the role instead, she suspects there may be illegal magic involved. A long while ago I read about the Polgár sisters, a trio of Hungarian chess prodigies who were very carefully reared by their father to eat, sleep, and breath chess. I found myself simultaneously fascinated and horrified at this single-minded cultivation of genius, because it sounded like a terrible thing to do to children, robbing […]
Paul and His Ukulele by Robert Broder
The story to Paul and His Ukulele was, eh. I was thinking, “Okay, but now what?” Robert Broder made a quaint story of a fox named Paul, and the journey his takes to grow up. He meets many people along the way, enjoys dense woods, deserts, and more. Even when he sets up a shop and meets Clementine I was, okay, nice, but not my kind of ukulele tune. When I realized the author is the same as Crow and Snow, I realized that they […]
Fan Club by Erin Mayer
This is a book that I enjoyed in stretches but mostly left me frustrated. I think I have a thing for millennial women writing social/patriarchal mystery/thrillers set in New York City. Tara Isabelle Burton. Andrea Baartz. I tend to like these books more than others do. It’s not my favorite genre but it’s one I apparently enjoy. This book can be slotted into it. It works as a deconstruction and examination of the cultish nature of fandom. The nameless protagonist* gets drawn into this clique […]
Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma by Joanna Ho
Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Teresa Martínez is a lovely story about how music is the sound of the world, and how it can build a bridge, not a wall. This story follows and is based on the journey of Yo-Yo Ma to promote peace in a divided time. Lyrical text gives life to how Ma wanted to spread a bit of hope during a time in this country that was less than hopeful. With […]
Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis by Susan Hood and Greg Dawson
Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis is a romanticized look at how two Jewish girls lived when millions did not. Told in alternating voices, the Narrator, and “Anna” herself or, Zhanna Arshanskaya we learn how Zhanna and her sister Frina, were hiding in plain sight. They performed for the Nazi command, allies of the Nazi and eventually, for themselves. But no matter how much they feared being found out, betrayed by supposed friends, or their hatred of the Nazis, they always felt […]
