(2) YA Seventeen-year-old Jo is quick to list qualities she's learned are "the trouble with girls like me." She's "wild," "difficult," "a slut." A social outcast after a classmate leaked nude photos, she's mostly ignored by her parents and failing school. When her ex-best friend, Maddie, one of the popular girls, asks for help, Jo can't imagine why -- but before Maddie can explain, she disappears. Everyone thinks she ran away, but Jo believes it's not that simple. She teams up with Hudson, a friend (or maybe more) who has his own reasons to investigate Maddie's disappearance; together, they uncover a schoolwide scandal with dangerous implications. The mystery has all the elements of a good thriller: characters you can't necessarily trust; nail-biting suspense; and a twisty, surprising conclusion. But there's another layer: what happened to Jo at age fifteen, when she and Maddie stopped being friends. Jo's experience, once revealed, is clearly sexual assault, contextualizing her bitterness, rage, and self-blame. It takes time, and some help, for Jo to recognize it, too, and reclaim her body and her voice. Adamo writes with compassion for "girls like me" (an author's note acknowledges firsthand experience) who deserve to be listened to, believed, and loved -- and nothing less.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Alex Boersma. Levy and Boersma's gentle and accessible introduction to climate change centers on carbon and its ubiquitous presence in Earth's living and nonliving systems. Brief definitions of key chemistry terms and concepts precede the title page, and statements in the first few pages lay out the crisis we face with global warming: "After hundreds of years and billions of people burning fuels, there's too much carbon in the air!" The remainder of the book is hopeful, showing how kelp forests, mangroves, and even dirt can "soak up" the excess carbon. Boersma's illustrations represent carbon as delicate white dots swirling in the air over sunny city scenes and landscapes or crowded into the clouds of darker emissions from power plants. The book ends with a call to action: "For the Earth to keep helping us, we must help the Earth." The meaningful solutions presented include alternative energies, public transportation, and scientific innovation. Additional information about global warming and things readers can do to help are included in the back matter.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) 4-6 Lucianovic documents the life of her protagonist during COVID-19 when "every day / everything / is the same boring same." Archie's father works from his bedroom, his mother from the kitchen, and his older brother is still allowed to play outside with friends (some unmasked). Archie wonders, "I don't know / how you can be lonely / when you're stuck / in your house / with a family / who has no / choice but to be / with you / but I know / that's the way it is." COVID has created a near-dystopian world, and the boring ordinariness of Archie's life belies the dangers of a time-warped existence where "a week feels much longer / than it did before. / A day takes / forever to end. / And time feels like it's made of worksheets." Archie simply wants connection -- with parents, brother, classmates. The hummingbirds outside his window represent that, with their happy, friendly, "cozy" whirring-wing sounds reminding him of family moments he misses. Lucianovic portrays Archie's interior world in straightforward first-person verse that effectively captures the voice of an elementary school boy living through extraordinary times.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) YA West Virginia, the Mountain State, is also historically known for both coal mining and Appalachian poverty. Watkins explores the nexus between them in this overlooked chapter in the history of the labor movement. By the early twentieth century, West Virginia had emerged as a cheap source of coal, in large part because capitalism allowed wealthy mine owners to exploit workers. Coal mining was dangerous, the hours were long, the conditions deplorable, and the pay minimal -- often paid in scrip, currency accepted only at the company store. The tension between mine owners and labor unions came to a head in 1920 during the Matewan Massacre and in 1921 during the Battle of Blair Mountain. Watkins introduces the major players and aptly delineates the causes and effects of these bloody and violent events. He reflects on how this history has been erased from books on West Virginia, a history that could have served as a source of pride in resistance. He concludes with a discussion of the current state of coal mining, still a mainstay of the area's economy despite mounting national pressure to move away from fossil fuels. Numerous black-and-white photographs ably support the text, while sources, notes, and an index are appended.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) YA Sharkita is always waiting for the other shoe to drop, although her life finally feels like it is on the right track. Her mom is now employed and sober, and Kita has been reunited with her two younger siblings, Lamar and Lilli. Letting her guard down slowly, she tries to be a regular middle schooler hanging out with friends and even trying out for the twirl squad. Unfortunately, the stability of her family begins to unravel, and a series of events lands the siblings in foster care once again. After an assault leads to her hospitalization, Kita finds she needs to summon her courage to start over, and hopefully this time will be different. A heart-wrenching tale of family disruption, this story is one of adaptation and resilience. However, the trauma of separation that the protagonist is forced to endure fills her with anxiety. Despite the efforts of such helpful adults as the new assistant principal, she constantly attempts to put on her bravest face to protect the fragile snippets of peace at home. Winston's (The Braid Girls, rev. 7/23) story will resonate with some while offering others a window into a life of abuse and upheaval.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) YA In 2019, the night before she plans to flee Mexico for the U.S. seeking safety and her father, Sitlali discovers a conch in ocean waves. Five centuries earlier, in 1521, Calizto, who is under threat from Spanish invaders in the Aztec Empire, finds the same sacred conch, associated with the goddess of the moon. Magically connected, at first through thoughts and then with physical senses increasing with the moon's waxing, the two teens separated by time form a friendship that blossoms into a smoldering, centuries-defying romance. The fantastical elements of the conch and Sitlali's ability to see spirits enhance the deeply human experiences of love and perseverance through strife but do not alleviate the historical and present-day horrors wrought on the teens by colonialism and its effects, via conquistadors and ICE. The novel's in-depth battle scenes, war strategizing, and world-building will appeal to fans of fantasy and action (though other readers may find them too numerous). Modern-day teens will recognize the trials in Sitlali's life as she tries to battle systemic injustice and to forge a relationship with the father who abandoned her years earlier. Acts of violation and brutality are excruciatingly captured, but so are scenes of tenderness and transcendence. By turns heartfelt and heart-pounding, this story will grip readers to the final pages. Front matter includes a glossary of Nahuatl terms and information on gods and legendary and historical figures.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) K-3 Living through a global pandemic has brought epidemiological thinking to the forefront of pop-science. Those who would like to learn about diseases (mostly) defeated by scientific discovery will be fascinated by this volume, which investigates the history of six deadly diseases that caused human suffering for centuries. Despite the serious subject matter, the book's tone, enhanced by the spot illustrations, is light, allowing readers to delve into the most harrowing descriptions of pain and suffering with enough distance to be more fascinated than horrified. Each chapter focuses on one disease and is preceded by a world map showing the plague's long reach. Sidebars throughout the main text provide anecdotes about the illness and the individuals who in one way or another contributed to our understanding of it. Each chapter ends with a section spotlighting some of the more famous victims of the disease. Endnotes include an extensive list of sources organized by chapter as well as a detailed index and "further reading for future medical historians," making this book well-suited for student research. Fans of Albee's Poison will feel right at home with this darkly comedic piece of nonfiction.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Levi Pinfold. Beginning deceptively blandly, this tale soon slips into the uneasiness of horror and brain-teasing mystification. Best friends Hex and Tommo head to the woods to play on the rope swing over the creek. En route, little Sascha insists on joining them; through the boys' rough play, she ends up with a broken arm. Afterward, Hex's confused emotional response alienates Tommo and enrages Maria, Sascha's older sister, who beats Hex up. So far, so ordinary...but in the forest is Missus, a "short, jolly" woman and her huge dog, Leafy. Wouldn't you like to get revenge on the one who hurt you? Missus asks both Hex and Maria, separately. "We will simply persuade the world to forget them...your world will heal, reshape itself around the hole." Before he can decide, Hex himself disappears, preempted by Maria's choice. Thus we begin again in a new reality: off to the woods with his buddy Jayce is Tommo, who neither quite recalls nor quite forgets having had a best friend named Hex. "He could remember remembering, but couldn't remember exactly what he'd remembered about this other, missing kid." In this new world things are disconcertingly different from or disconcertingly resonant with Tommo's memories. Harrold's (The Song from Somewhere Else, rev. 5/17) creepy tale takes off with this altered world, uncanny in its innocuous but distressing changes ("Mum used to keep cactuses, but now there's not a single cactus in the house," Maria cries); that unsettling sense of the uncanny swells to out-and-out terror as Tommo makes his own visit to Missus. Pinfold's chiaroscuro-esque, surreal illustrations raise the stakes on the crone from Disney's Snow White: this isn't for the timid.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) 4-6 Bex dreams of becoming a writer, and usually the words flow from her pencil. But not this summer; now she has more erasures than words. Her younger brother, Davey, gives Bex some advice: "Writers must tell the truth thoroughly, constantly, and recklessly. Do that and the words will come." It's advice Bex appears to follow as she describes how she and Davey find a mysterious statue near their home in the North Carolina salt marsh. For years, it had been covered by a river (a body of water Davey will not enter but dubs the River Sticks), but it is now increasingly visible as the water recedes during a serious drought. Bex decides on the perfect summer plan: the two of them will discover the statue's provenance. Their exclusivity makes sense, as Davey appears to be selectively mute around everyone but Bex and she's had a falling-out with her best friend. However, a sudden revelation midway through the novel shatters that presumed truth-telling. McDunn (Honestly Elliott, rev. 3/22) has written a story that the character of Davey would want to read: "This book starts happy, gets sad, and then at the end, it's happy and sad mixed up together. That's what makes it special, that it has both."

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) PS At breakfast, May can't eat a bite--her stomach is too full of fluttering butterflies. She seeks solace from the natural world in her back garden, whispering her fears to the goldfish in the fishpond and wishing she could spend her days like a bee among the flowers. May's mama reassures her that even her favorite creatures feel worried about trying new things: "A tiny bird has to learn to fly...Even a butterfly has to learn to spread its wings." But May is still anxious as she gets closer to what's worrying her: the first day of school. When she arrives, though, she finds an empty seat at the coloring table and a new friend along with it. Depictions of May's bustling classroom in mixed-media illustrations that include pencil and pencil crayon will beckon to readers and viewers. Occasional spreads featuring expressive vignettes against white space enliven the presentation. Morris's encouraging language ("May's classroom...was warm and bright") and calm illustrations will soothe soon-to-be students and apprehensive caregivers alike. Just right to dispel those pesky butterflies everybody faces sometimes--"and when they are gone, there is finally room for breakfast."

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) 4-6 Translated by Lourdes Heuer. Courageous and resilient ten-year-old Sofia is taken to live with her grandmother in Bahia, by the sea. Over the ensuing weeks and months, she struggles to make sense of why her mother chose her creepy and potentially abusive boyfriend over her. Sofia does have a special connection with the sea, however, and is eager to spend time experiencing its sights, sounds, and smells, as she sees herself as a mermaid. In truth, Sofia uses her imagination to make sense of confusing relationships with people around her and to cope with loss. This sensitive and compelling story creates a mystical world in which a young girl who feels alone eventually finds peace by paying attention to her feelings and discovering a way to communicate them. Several topics related to trauma are explored, including domestic abuse, loss, and anxiety (reflected in the protagonist thinking she has crabs of different colors in her stomach that convey different feelings). Palacio Obón uses a vivid and fast-paced narrative to make Sofia's experiences realistic and relatable to readers, while highlighting important cultural connections to the powerful role of the sea in many Latin cultures.

Reviewer: Nicholas A. Brown | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Elly MacKay. "No wind, / No rain, / No stormy sky." Three children kick a bright red ball across the sloping island landscape. As they search for their ball amidst the bushes, though, they look up to see darkening clouds and the sound of "whispering leaves / in newborn / winds." A sudden storm strikes--"ZAP! CLAP! BOOM!"--sending the children running as lightning strikes in the distance. The downpour begins while they gleefully leap through the showers on the way to find shelter. Nearly as soon as it began, the storm moves away and the island shines anew, "washed by water pressure." MacKay's intricate layered-paper illustrations (with lightning and rain added digitally) capture the way the storm touches every part of the island: vegetation bowing from the wind and heavy rain, ocean waters churning, and the children's hair whipping through the electrified air. Salas's onomatopoeic verse conveys both the ferocity of a thunderstorm and the wonder it can inspire; it begs to be read aloud, if only for that satisfying "Zap! Clap! Boom!" refrain. Back matter provides the science behind the components of a thunderstorm and shares the author's childhood delight in afternoon storms.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) K-3 It's a warm day, and a diverse group of children in a city neighborhood heads to the playground, where "asphalt sizzles in wait, / ropes lie in the corner as bait." One child calls out "Jump in!" and kids line up to show their jumping style. Beginning with the Delancey twins (a.k.a. "the Double Dutch divas") and basketball aficionado Leroy Jones, each child brings their own flair as they answer the call. As the day continues, other members of the community jump in, including elder Ms. Mabel ("the queen of hopscotch since [she] was one"). Then "my turn at last!" The narrator finally "can put these schoolbooks down and play." She hits the ­playground with her skateboard and shows how she jumps in. When the streetlights come on, it is time for everyone to jump out and go home. Brimming with energy, the colorful textured digital paintings enhance the ­rhyming text. Strickland ­captures the sheer joy found in community play.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jenni Desmond. Today in the wild expanses of Yellowstone National Park, wolves roam freely. This was not the case for most of the twentieth century, as wolves there were hunted out of existence by 1926. In 1995, through the efforts of scientists (opposed by some ranchers and hunters), fourteen wolves were reintroduced, and they survived to produce today's flourishing population. Barr splits her informative tale into two parts: first, the conservation story of how the wolves were brought from Canada, including details about wolf life cycles throughout the seasons. As the wolf population increased, the packs gradually spread out through the park and established hunting grounds in their territories. Desmond's graceful watercolors of the animals in summer and winter landscapes give a sense of the breadth and diversity of nature in the protected spaces of the American West. In the second half, Barr illustrates the effects of the wolves return on the entire ecosystem (a graphic in the endpapers compactly diagrams this concept of trophic cascade). Barr includes not just the main food chains but the full range of ecological impacts: insects, grasses, trees, even the water levels and paths of rivers change in response. The final pages include profiles of the fourteen original wolves and examples of other human interventions to reintroduce species affected by human activity.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) PS Illustrated by Sarah Massini. A lonely little witch who lives in a cozy cave wants to magic herself a friend, but she's missing a key ingredient for her spell: "some furriness from a one-eyed teddy bear." She imagines a "huge and hairy...extremely scary" creature; nevertheless, she's determined to do whatever it takes and bravely heads out on her broom. Her crystal ball guides her to young Lily and her (not terrifying) well-loved bear, Ted, who work their own friendship magic on the witchling: "That's what a friend would do! / You thought of me, you thought of Ted, / you didn’t think of...YOU!\" Fraser's warm rhyming text and ­Massini's fanciful mixed-media illustrations cast an inviting spell.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) K-3 Sometimes the concept of home is complicated. The author presents her own story of emigrating from Kuwait as a child and making a new life in a new country. Marwan's Kuwait is a beautiful place "where one hundred butterflies are always in the sky," her ancestors (represented as a school of fish and two bulls with horns) watch over her, and "my aunties hold me close." However, because her father lacks Kuwaiti citizenship, the entire family is considered stateless, and "people say we don't belong here." They end up migrating from one desert to another--from Kuwait to New Mexico--and despite the sadness of missing family, customs, and a native language, Marwan finds new connections and forges a sense of belonging. New Mexico may not have one hundred butterflies, but it has "new people [who] show me I belong." Culturally symbolic watercolor and ink illustrations are detailed and playful and combine realism with fantasy, creating a delightful landscape of home that is rooted in the specificity of place and Marwan's surreal imagination. A lengthy author's note provides crucial context on the problem of statelessness in Kuwait. A nuanced representation of belonging and citizenship that will ring true for many whose sense of home has never been absolute.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) 4-6 With his ADHD, Elliott feels most at home in the kitchen--the one place where he isn't "­extra-disorganized" and forgetful; the place he feels focused, confident, and decisive. But which kitchen? After his parents' divorce, Elliott and his mother move into "a cozy jumble" of a house with plants everywhere. At his dad and stepmom Kate's house, there are a lot of rules and everything matches. How do you find your true self when your life seems so divided? When super-smart and popular Maribel Martinez agrees to be Elliott's partner for a middle-school group project in Ms. Choi's Advisory period (involving baking gluten-free pies), Elliott knows "this is either the best thing that's ever happened to me or the worst thing that's ever happened to me." But, as it turns out, Maribel is looking for her true self, too, which she has realized is not part of the popular group. They make an odd duo; but through the pie project Elliott comes to realize how lucky he is to have a whole big pie of a community that includes Mom, Dad, Kate, new baby Jonah, Maribel, and other friends, too. This is a slice-of-pie, er, life novel with all the right ingredients for a satisfying read.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) K-3 How can a budding skateboard pro navigate being in a new place and leaving his posse behind? Ivan, a brown-skinned, big-afro-wearing skateboarder, has "moves so big, his friends call him EPIC." But without an audience, what good are amazing moves? He tries playing football, soccer, and basketball to fit in, but these are not his jam; Epic fails miserably at each of them. His dad advises him to be as tenacious about finding new buddies as he is about acquiring new moves--and eventually he does make friends. ­Morrison (CSK Illustrator Award winner for R-E-S-P-E-C-T, rev. 7/20) immerses readers in a vibrant urban neighborhood through a diverse group of inhabitants, busy street scenes, and expansive graffiti on some walls; he appeals to skateboarding fans by mentioning such "gnarly tricks" as the "backside flip kick push flaky" and the "50-50 grind." The illustrations dynamic perspectives--­including a view from above the street on which Epic skates and another from underneath his board--along with frequent swoosh lines, emphasize the character's perpetual motion. Elliott and Denmon's A Place Inside of Me (rev. 11/20), a Caldecott Honor book about another dedicated skateboarder, would make an excellent companion read. A lively story that encourages kids to use their strengths and talents to find community.

Reviewer: Michelle H. Martin | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) 4-6 Seventh grader Lotus Bloom marches to the beat of her own drum. She rocks a unique vintage style and a huge afro, and she is a gifted violinist who has been invited to attend a new performing arts school. Not everyone is happy about it, though. Not her best friend, appropriately named Rebel, who resents the new school for taking resources--and Lotus--away from the neighborhood middle school. Certainly not her classmate/nemesis Adolpho, whom she bumps from his position as concertmaster. Not even her mom, who feels Lotus should be thinking about a future outside of music, unlike her musician father who recently relocated to Paris. Worst of all, Lotus finds herself being discriminated against due to her hair, which threatens all of her hard work and her normally peaceful outlook. This captivating novel raises issues of racial discrimination, educational equity, and classism in an approachable way, inviting readers to consider multiple perspectives through the lively cast of diverse, multifaceted characters. Through the drama at school and in her family, as well as ups and downs in her friendships (with Rebel and new frenemy Mercedes), Lotus finds her voice as she learns to release herself from trying to manage the emotions and expectations of others.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) 4-6 Grimes returns to the Harlem Renaissance (One Last Word, rev. 3/17) to showcase the works of some female poets whose literary prowess has long been underestimated and overlooked--Mae V. Cowdery, Anne Spencer, Effie Lee Newsome, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and a dozen others. As in the first volume, each poem from the past is matched with a new, original poem by Grimes, skillfully employing the Golden Shovel form, which allows her to bring the relevance of the past into the reality of the present. For example, Esther Pope's "Flag Salute," about the lynching and burning of a teenage boy for an alleged aggression against a white woman, is itself infused with lines of the Pledge of Allegiance. Grimes responds with a poignant poem about the unfulfilled promise of equality for African Americans, accompanied by a dramatic mixed-media illustration of a mother lamenting the loss of a son. Illustrations by nineteen contemporary female artists, including Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Nina Crews, Pat Cummings, and Ekua Holmes, elucidate the connections and amplify evocative messages. The eloquent and stirring voices of Grimes and her counterparts of the past resonate with passion, purpose, and resilience. Back matter includes biographies of the poets and artists as well as a bibliography.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021