(2) YA In this absorbing novel, a Nigerian Canadian girl navigating tumultuous circumstances learns to trust friends and family. Suspected of fraud, her parents have become fugitives; Summer first lives on her own and then at the homes of friends, looking forward to the legal "true freedom" that will come with her approaching eighteenth birthday. Her outward aloofness and attitude that she can handle being abandoned and betrayed belie her longing for a stable home. When a social worker discovers her situation, Summer is sent to live with a cousin, Olu, whom she barely knows. Olu is only two years older than Summer; a popular singer in Japan, she now resides in Toronto. The relationship between the cousins is fraught with tension as Summer continues to rebuff Olu's attempts to support her, and she learns that Olu has consequential problems of her own and plans to return to Japan. A traumatic incident with a family member precipitates a period of reflection that leads Summer to make a life-changing decision and to realize what matters most. Onomé's skill at conveying the complexity of teenage emotions is notable. Her sympathetic portrayal of Summer as a teen who, because of past experiences, is guarded in her relationships with adults and sometimes with peers is both authentic and believable in a resonant coming-of-age story.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Fiona aspires to be a fairy godperson, helping others to solve their own problems the way her social worker, Ms. Davis, helps her. When her mother, who struggles with addiction, checks into rehab, Fiona goes to stay with ­Great-aunt Alta, Great-uncle Tim, and Alta's daughter Becky in the small town of Cold Hope (an allusion to this book's inspiration, Stella Gibbons's Cold Comfort Farm, with occasional black-and white illustrations helping set the scene). Becky and Tim run the family bakery, which has always served the same boring menu. Alta isn't happy when Becky, with Fiona's encouragement, starts baking new recipes, but the rest of Cold Hope appreciates the new flavors. Following the fairy-godperson lessons Ms. Davis sends her by email--and aided by the offbeat residents of Cold Hope--Fiona looks for ways to assist her relatives in ­working through old grudges and to discover what makes them happy. Fiona's tendency to look at the world through the framework of fairy tales makes an effective structure for the story and creates a setting where even grouchy and eccentric Great-aunt Alta feels entirely ­plausible. Jones believably depicts Fiona as the child of an addict, with a blend of knowledge and naiveté that keeps her from seeming precocious or sentimental. The book's lower-stakes conflicts--a baking competition, Great-uncle Tim's hidden art--are treated with as much gravity as the bigger issues, making for an emotionally satisfying read.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Alice Ratterree. Emotional free verse describes Jane Addams's individualism, determination, and compassion. Slade relates Jane's personal sadness and joys, and how an empathetic spirit allowed her to open Hull House for needy immigrants, work tirelessly to end WWI, and win a Nobel Peace Prize, all despite harsh criticism. Ratterree's natural-palette watercolors capture the biography's energy and emotion. "More about Dangerous Jane" is appended. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) YA Forgotten Youth series. This dense volume chronicles the plight of children in foster care. The book cites numerous reasons for children entering the system--including parents who cannot or will not care for their offspring--and details children's resultant fear, anger, and confusion. Varied first-person accounts are presented along with statistics about successful and failed adoptions and helpful organizations' contact information. Reading list, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Kathryn Brown. Stone bypasses her subject's many accolades to show her in a strictly human light. At age six, Addams realized that her privilege was not universal. The adult Addams started a settlement house in 1889 to help Chicago's vast immigrant population; Hull House would become a template for the modern community center. Addams's matter-of-fact noblesse oblige is captured in handsome watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations. Bib.

Reviewer: Nell Beram | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(4) YA Echo and Noah both see the same social worker at their high school. At first, they distrust one another, but their undeniable attraction--fueled by their mutual troubled pasts--soon brings them together. Despite the novel's unnecessary, dragging length, its exploration of Echo's and Noah's individual and joint journeys is engrossing.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl