Another Kind by Cait May and Trevor Bream

 

In my continuing mission to find more quality books for my students, I came across Another Kind by Cait May and Trevor Bream. This middle grades graphic novel was extremely well-reviewed and the cover art looked intriguing, so I decided to give it a try.

The plot of the novel follows a group of cryptid kids who have grown up in a secret government facility. There is Omar, a yeti, Sylvie, a will-o'-the-wisp, Jaali, a Nandi bear, Clarise, a selkie, Newt, an alien, and Maggie, a half-human, half sea-god creature. They spend their days learning, training, and having fun together. Their safe, sheltered existence is shattered, however, when one of the agents meant to protect them turns double-agent and betrays them to The Collector, a man who likes to imprison not-quite-human creatures for his own amusement. They manage to evade his initial attempts at capture, but are then left on their own in a world that is dangerous and difficult to navigate. Together, they must utilize all their strengths and unique talents to reach a place where they can be safe.

Another Kind is a simple story using some well-worn tropes, but it is absolutely delightful. The young characters are all very likable, and they each have their own backstories guaranteed to tug at readers' heartstrings. The way they work together and support each other delivers a beautiful message about found family and love. It's wholesome without being preachy or overbearing and I was rooting for the characters to succeed all the way throughout. This book is perfect for a middle grades audience, but I think readers of any age will be able to enjoy it.

The illustrations were also tremendous here. I really liked the art style and color choices. Of special note were the parts in which Sylvie uses her will-o'-the-wisp powers to their fullest extent, which were often spread across two pages and were very creepy. There is a great sense of movement to the graphics, both in the action sequences and in the quiet moments. Maggie's tentacle hair, for example, seemed to wriggle around the page. It was as pleasant to look at as it was to read.

The good reviews here were very well-earned. Another Kind is a fun, action-packed, and emotional book. It's a wonderful choice for younger readers and is certainly one of the best middle grades graphic novels that I have read. It's a new favorite for me and I'm very pleased to have come across it.

Challenge Tally

Clear the Shelves 2021: 27/50 (keep)

Total Books Read in 2021: 52

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

 

In my continued quest to read more middle grade novels, I decided to pick up City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. This is the first book in a pretty famous dystopian series for young readers. A movie version was released in 2008, and a graphic novel version in 2012. A lot of my students over the past few years have mentioned reading it and liking it, so it's got some staying power. Despite all that though, I went into my reading not expecting too much. I was mildly curious about it, but figured that I would be satisfied with just reading the first book to see what it was all about. Of course I was wrong. This book is shockingly good, and now I've been roped into reading an entire quartet.

The plot follows two young friends named Lina and Doon. They live in Ember, a self-contained city carefully constructed by a group known as the Builders hundreds of years ago. The city was initially supplied with everything its citizens would need to survive, but as Lina and Doon reach their adolescence, things are starting to run out. Clothing and shoes are worn to bits and falling apart, many types of food are completely depleted, and, most alarmingly, their electricity is starting to flicker and fade. The light from lightbulbs is the only light in the entire city, so losing electricity has grave implications. Everyone is on edge and unrest is beginning to rise.

Lina and Doon are just as worried as everyone else and are very interested in finding a way to save their city. When Lina runs across a mysterious document hidden away in some old family heirlooms, she thinks she might have finally found a way to help everyone. With Doon's assistance, she begins to piece together a possible solution involving a way to leave Ember and lead everyone to safety. There are other forces at work behind the scenes, however, that will do anything to stop her.

I really ended up enjoying this novel. The characters were lovable, the writing was fluid and easy to read, and the story was compelling. DuPrau does an excellent job of creating a very ominous tone throughout. The youth of the characters blended perfectly with the darkness of the plot; it was one of those situations where a young character's inexperience made everything they noticed feel exponentially more scary. When Lina and Doon notice that there are less lightbulbs available, or talk about rationing common items like paper, it gives you this delicious sense of dread. It makes the story feel more weighty. It reminded me a bit of The Giver, another middle grades dystopian novel with young characters discovering the flaws beneath the surface of their world. I was totally engaged the whole time I was reading and was very invested in seeing how Lina and Doon would end up. 

The overall themes of the text remain somewhat unclear at the end of the story. Lina and Doon are still working to unravel the mystery of why Ember was built at the conclusion, so the reasons for the dystopian setting aren't fully known. There are some hints pointing towards environmental concerns maybe, but I expect more details will be revealed in the following books. As it stands, the first book contains messages about friendship, teamwork, and responsibility. I am very interested to see what other messages are conveyed as additional details about the world are revealed.

The story concludes on a cliffhanger, so of course I had to go online and order the other three books right away. I actually had to go on eBay and find used versions to do it, because they have redesigned the covers since I picked up my copy of book one, and I wanted all my books to match. On a side note, the new covers are vastly inferior to the old ones, so I was happy to do this. Once they arrive, I plan to get started on book two right away. Hopefully they are in good condition.

It's always such a nice treat to be surprised by a novel. I was figuring that City of Ember would be mildly enjoyable, and instead I found it to be truly entertaining. I actually am looking forward to continuing the rest of the series in the coming weeks.

Challenge Tally

Clear the Shelves 2021: 26/50 (keep)

Total Books Read in 2021: 51

Bad Sister by Cherise Mericle Harper

 

I have a student this year that is really into graphic novels. She asks me almost every day if I have anything new to read. When the answer is yes, she devours whatever it is in record time and rereads it a time or two for good measure. She's been through all the graphic novels in my classroom library and the school library. She is a reader, through and through. Accordingly, I've been buying up new books for her to enjoy a few at a time since the school year began. One of those was Bad Sister, a graphic novel/memoir by Cherise Mericle Harper.

The plot of the novel is pretty simple. It is centered around the relationship between young siblings Cherise and Daniel as they are growing up together. Cherise struggles with feelings of jealousy and sibling rivalry and is often mean to Daniel. They bicker and fight frequently, and Cherise continually feels guilty about it. She knows that she's being a bad sister to him, but she has a lot of trouble controlling her impulses. When she goes too far one day and accidentally injures him, she goes through a crisis of conscience and must figure out how to build a healthier relationship with her brother.

This was a very basic story, but it was enjoyable to read and amazingly realistic. Anyone who grew up with a sibling will probably see themselves in the silly fights and semi-dangerous antics Cherise and Daniel get up to. The storyline itself isn't too exciting, but the sheer relatability makes this a sweet read that is perfect for a middle grades audience.

The art style in this actually wasn't my favorite. It definitely got the job done and looked fine, but it didn't stand out as anything especially great or beautiful to me. I usually don't have any issues with that aspect of graphic novels, so the fact that it stood out as something I wasn't wild about felt a little weird to me. That's a very minor criticism though, as I did enjoy the novel overall. 

After I finished reading this, I passed it onto my student. She read it twice in the same day, so I'd say that it's a great choice for middle grade readers that enjoy realistic fiction. It makes you think quite a bit as well. I was definitely reflecting as I was reading on how I wasn't the best big sister growing up either. I wouldn't say that this is worth picking up as an adult, but it was a very heartfelt story that is perfect for its intended audience.  

On a side note, with this novel, I am officially finished with my Goodreads Reading Challenge of 50 books for 2021!

Challenge Tally

Clear the Shelves 2021: 25/50 (donate)

Total Books Read in 2021: 50

Butterfly Yellow by Thanhhà Lại

For my next read, I picked up Thanhhà Lại's Butterfly Yellow. I really enjoyed her middle grades novel, Inside Out and Back Again, so I was interested to read more from her. At first, I assumed this novel would be middle grades as well, but I figured out it's actually young adult after reading for a bit and seeing the seriousness of the subject matter. In any case, I was hoping to find another moving and emotional story to fall in love with. For the most part, I did. 

The story is set in Texas around the end of the Vietnam War and it follows two characters. The first, Hằng, is an eighteen year old Vietnamese refugee that has recently arrived in the country. She was separated from her baby brother six years ago during an attempt to escape from Vietnam at an airport. Her brother was taken on board a plane, but she was not. Ever since then, she has worked tirelessly to earn enough money to reunite with him. After years of toil and unimaginable hardships, she finally makes it to the only address she has for him, a town in Texas.

The other character is LeeRoy, a young cowboy with dreams of being a rodeo star. He meets up with Hằng while on a road trip to meet one of his rodeo idols, and unwittingly becomes her driver and guide. He has an uncanny ability to understand her accent and smooth over her prickly demeanor. Even though he is anxious to continue on pursuing his dreams, he feels honor-bound to help her. 

Before long, the pair does manage to reunite with Hằng's brother Linh, but it doesn't go at all the way she'd hoped. Linh doesn't remember her, and he has a new life and family in the United States now. He has no desire to discard everything he knows to go live with a sister he feels no connection to. Hằng is devastated, LeeRoy is grudgingly sympathetic, and they both must figure out the best way to move forward with their lives and find a path to happiness.  

This was a pretty emotional read, and when I reflect back on my experience with it, what I remember the most was how sad it was. Hằng went through so many horrific things on her quest to find her brother that my heart broke for her. Throughout the story, it is clear that she is suppressing some very difficult memories. Lại does a good job of slowly building up to the reveal of these details, and when Hằng is finally able to think through her experiences, it's just gutting. Linh's reluctance to engage with her on top of all that was just tough to read. It was all realistic though, and nicely handled. As I expected, Lại's writing was beautiful and felt very authentic. This was a very sad story, but also very good.

What stopped it from being great for me was LeeRoy. I was just not into him as a character at all. I thought he was a bit too self-centered and too slow to warm up to Hằng. Cowboys and rodeo life also don't really do it for me, so this was not the kind of character I was ever going to fall in love with. While he does eventually become more caring and chivalrous as the story goes on, it came too late for me to form a connection to him. I didn't hate him or anything, but he wasn't my favorite, which is a shame since he becomes a romantic interest for Hằng and I couldn't bring myself to really root for them. I also disliked Lại's description of his constant erections in the presence of some girls, which felt awkward and weird every time they came up (both literally and figuratively). 

Overall though, this was a moving read and another excellent piece of writing from Thanhhà Lại. I think that Inside Out and Back Again is still my favorite out of her books, but this was really good as well. It was moving, authentic, and helped me to learn more about the hardships faced by Vietnamese refugees during the war. Both young adults and adults will be able to take something away from it. It is definitely worth the time.        

Challenge Tally

Clear the Shelves 2021: 24/50 (donate)

Total Books Read in 2021: 49

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

 

I'm trying to read more middle grades fiction lately so that I can make good reading recommendations for my students. I happened to have Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli sitting on my shelf, so I decided to give it a go. This book is a middle school classic, but somehow I'd never ended up picking it up before. I'd heard a lot of positive things about it, so I started reading hoping that it would be a heartfelt story that lived up to its reputation.

The story is told from the perspective of Leo, a high school student living in a small town in Arizona named Mica. He lives a pretty average teenage existence, but things change for him when a new student named Stargirl arrives as his school. Stargirl is unlike anyone else Leo has ever met. She dresses in an odd assortment of old fashioned clothes, carries her pet rat around everywhere with her, and is frequently strumming on a ukulele during her free time. Aside from all that, she's strangely kind. She's constantly giving gifts and offering encouragement to people she doesn't know and is always on the lookout for ways to help others. She appears not to care at all about fitting in, a concept that Leo has a hard time understanding. He is both fascinated by and afraid of Stargirl. She eventually takes an interest in him too, and thanks to her whimsy and persistence, they start dating.

The rest of the student body is similarly fascinated by her. At first, they treat her with adoration, but eventually turn against her after her individuality begins rubbing them the wrong way. A school-wide shunning ensues, and Leo doesn't know how to handle it. He loves his girlfriend, but also doesn't know how to function in school without fitting in with the mainstream crowd. The shunning extends to him as well, and he can't handle the rejection. He becomes upset with Stargirl and encourages her to act more like everyone else to gain acceptance back into the pack. She does give it a try for his sake, and the chain of events this sets into motion changes both their relationship and Leo's life forever. 

I thought this book was a pretty good read, but not a perfect one. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about it. Most notably, the character of Stargirl was lovely. True, she was an early example of the manic pixie dream girl trope, but I couldn't help but like her ukulele and her unfailing kindness to others. She was such a beautiful dream of a character that I really couldn't understand a lot of Leo's decisions and feelings towards the end of the story, but I'll get to my feelings on him in a moment. 

The overall themes in the story were great as well. Spinelli delivers an important message about the importance of individuality and the sacrifices people make in order to fit in with everyone else. It can be dangerous to be different, especially as a teenager, and Stargirl certainly faces social consequences for her nonconformity. Her ability to not care about what others think is a great strength for her. Leo doesn't have this ability. and his life is worse off for it. This message is delivered in a pretty somber way throughout the text, which I appreciated. This isn't a book where everyone comes together to realize the error of their ways and has a happy ending. It's more complicated than that, and the story hits harder because of it. That's not to say that the book is depressing, because it's not, but it isn't completely lighthearted and positive either.

One aspect of the story that I didn't love was Leo's character. I know part of this is by design--his insecurities are a key part of the plot and of his growth, but those insecurities make him pretty unbearable at times. He is so concerned with fitting in that he becomes very hurtful to Stargirl, a person that he is supposedly head over heels in love with. I found myself truly disliking him at several points throughout the book. While I understand that he is young and concerned about navigating the social scene, I did not get how he could bear to be so cruel to a character that does nothing but be nice to people and love him dearly. Spinelli wants readers to see Leo as a kid that makes mistakes due to peer pressure, but is basically good at heart. I struggled to see him as anything but a dangerous combination of weak and impressionable, and I didn't love that his character growth had to come from making a series of mistakes that were very damaging to Stargirl.

Some of the plot elements were pretty unrealistic too. The idea of an entire school full of kids giving one student the silent treatment, when that student's only crime was being nice to people, is definitely an exaggeration of how bullying works. I teach in a middle school and I've seen a lot of mean behavior over the years. I don't care how odd the target of bullying is - it's never the entire school that participates in it. Most wouldn't pay attention or care, especially students across different grade levels. The idea that every single student in Leo's entire high school would be invested in shunning Stargirl is really unlikely and feels like the creation of an adult imagining what bullying looks like.

Another element of the story I thought was weak was the ending. I mentioned before that I liked that it wasn't a typical middle grades happy ending, but I also felt like it chopped off a bit abruptly. I wish there was a little more to the story. There is a sequel to this book, so maybe I would find more of the closure I'm looking for there, but I don't think I'm going to seek it out. I've got way too many books to finish reading to keep up with a series that isn't a special favorite.  

Ultimately, however, I thought Stargirl was a good book with very worthy themes. I can understand why so many readers love it, especially readers that actually picked it up for the first time when they were young. An adult reader coming to it for the first time will certainly notice some flaws, but it's still a great book for the audience it's made for. This is definitely a story I can stick in my classroom library and feel comfortable recommending to my eighth graders.

Challenge Tally

Clear the Shelves 2021: 23/50 (donate)

Total Books Read in 2021: 48

November Wrap Up

 

November has reached its end and so has my month of reading War and Peace. As I expected, I didn't get much else done, but I'd say reading a book that is 1,215 pages long is a pretty big accomplishment. I also reflected on my reading of Les Misérables and finished my Classics Club and my Back to the Classics Challenges. All in all, it was a successful month for me. Here's what I worked on:

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Back to the Classics Wrap Up

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Classics Club Wrap Up

I really enjoyed both Les Misérables and War and Peace, but they were long, dense reads. For December, I don't want to tie myself down to too many specific books. Instead, I'm going to let my mood dictate what I pick up. I'm hoping to read at least four books and reread From the Earth to the Moon in preparation for my first read of 2022, which will be its sequel.

I'm looking forward to having a more relaxed time in December. In addition to doing a bunch of mood reading, I'm going to take time to plan out my reading goals for 2022, which is always fun for me. I'll certainly be happy to be reading books under 1,000 pages! What about everyone else out there? Are you working on reading goals for 2022 yet? 

Classics Club Wrap Up

 

Just about five years ago, I decided to join the Classics Club Challenge. The official rules called for participants to create a list of 50 classic novels to read over the course of five years. Being an overachiever, I decided to create a list of 100. I divided my list into several sections, in order to read somewhat diversely over the years. I had several different genres and time periods represented on it. My start date was January 1, 2017. My end date was December 31, 2021.  After years of dedication and commitment, I finally finished about one month early, on November 28, 2021.

Reading these 100 novels was a massive undertaking and probably one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. All of my reading for the past five years was centered around trying to finish it. I read at least one book from it pretty much every month and based a lot of my other reading goals and challenges around making progress on it. I found some books that I truly loved throughout my journey and some that I truly hated. I learned a lot about which kinds of classics I like to read and which kind don't work out for me. Somehow, I read War and Peace twice. Everything I read helped me to grow. I am now undoubtedly a better reader than I was before I started. This experience was so valuable to me that it's actually hard to explain here.

Reflecting back over everything I read and everything I experienced, I came up with three main takeaways:

1. Translations matter.

When reading a book originally written in a different language, it is extremely important to research which translation you are going to read. They are not all equal! Big chain bookstores like Barnes and Noble will generally use the translation that's in the public domain for their editions, which will not necessarily be the best one. A quick Google search will help you determine which version is the most highly recommended. Having a good translation can be the difference between struggling through a classic and actually enjoying it.

2. Spread out reading classics over time.

I knew that works from long ago would contain a lot of racism, sexism, and other disturbing ideas. What I didn't expect was how weary I would soon grow of it all. I do think there is a lot of value in exploring these books, but there is truly a lot you have to overlook. Reading so many of them in quick succession really brought this issue to the forefront. For me at least, it's better to spread out reading classics to avoid being constantly bombarded with the worst ideas of humanity over and over again. On the other hand, when you find a classic that does a good job of treating woman and people of color fairly, you know you have found something special. 

3. Pick classics based on enjoyment.

When I was creating my Classics Club list, my main goal was to create a list full of notable works from many genres. I put a lot of books on there that I felt like I "should" read, even though I knew I probably wouldn't like them much. I ended up paying dearly for that idea with picks like Ulysses and Gravity's Rainbow taking up huge amounts of my time and adding no real value to my reading life beyond building my stamina. Books I was excited about and thought I would like, I generally did. If I were to make another list, I would pick more books based on my favorite genres, time periods, and authors. It's good to explore a bit and try new things, but it's even more important to know yourself as a reader and treat yourself kindly. 

Now that I've finished everything, I looked back over my list and tried to figure out what my best and worst reads were. I definitely can't narrow it down to one of each. My favorites included Wives and Daughters, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Around the World in 80 Days, A Room with a View, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Bell Jar, Heidi, Black Beauty, The Custom of the Country, The Bluest Eye, Native Son, Germinal, and Les Misérables. My least favorites included Ulysses, Gravity's Rainbow, Midnight's Children, On the Road, Love in the Time of Cholera, and Daniel Deronda. I'm lucky to have found so many new favorites throughout this process. I'm also pretty lucky that out of the 100 books I read, there were less than ten that I truly didn't like at all.   

Now that this huge undertaking is officially over, I guess the next thing I have to decide is what to do moving forward. It feels weird to not have this challenge running in the background. This provided structure to all my TBRs over the past five years. Honestly, I'm tempted to make another list and do it all again, but I don't think that's my best move. After all, one of my takeaways was that you should spread out reading classics over time. I think I'm going to take a year off from it, and use that time to really research other classics I would like to read and put together a thoughtful list based on my interests. I'll still read classics in 2022 of course. I'll still do Back to the Classics if it's offered. I'm just going to take my time before jumping back into this awesome challenge for another round.

So I guess that's all, for now at least. This has been a true labor of love and I'm so happy to have finished it. Even so, I'm a little bit sad that it's over.