(4) YA Illustrated by Kelsi Jo Silva. Soup works in a kitchen under a horrible boss in this world inhabited by fantasy creatures. When she learns that the boss has also been stealing ideas from the other food vendors in the market in town, she challenges him to a cook-off for the restaurant. Though some of the illustrations are a bit lackluster, they are sprinkled with inventive details (a cute “dishwasher elemental” sidekick; creative interpretations of fae). A low stakes cozy fantasy read with welcome queer representation (e.g., Soup’s best friend, Clarion, is nonbinary and Soup imagines falling in love with “some beautiful boy or...a breathtaking girl”).

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(2) YA The remarkable life of Black activist, attorney, and Episcopal priest Pauli Murray (1910–1985) is presented in an engaging, extensively documented nonfiction account in verse. Drawing heavily on Murray's autobiography, poems, and other writings, the book spans her entire life and identifies her influences as she became determined, from a young age in Jim Crow North Carolina, to learn and help others appreciate the true history of her people. She endured great hardships in order to graduate from Hunter College, but her efforts to get ahead were thwarted by the Great Depression. She began a lifelong passion for writing to newspapers and public figures about social issues, which she called "confrontation by typewriter," and was very successful at making those messages heard by people in power, including President Roosevelt. Later, at Howard University Law School, Murray was a strong proponent of overturning Plessy v. Ferguson because "separate could never be equal." In the later chapters, the authors acknowledge the limitations of language employed at the time, speculating that today "transgender / is possibly / what Pauli would call herself... Pauli's pronouns may have been / they/them/their." This is a compelling biography of an "unsung force"--an inspiring and transformative figure who broke barriers pivotal to both the civil rights and women's movements. Appended with photographs, authors' notes, a timeline, source notes, and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(3) YA Max is a quiet fourteen-year-old Brit who enjoys birds, video games, and geocaching. But his anorexia threatens to take all his attention and might be destroying his family. An endearingly intimate voice draws readers into Max's internal battle, including his notably complex feelings about masculinity and puberty. This tender story is hopeful but painfully honest about the difficult work Max's recovery will require.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Lily helps to evacuate her granny from a nursing home during Hurricane Sandy and, in the chaos, loses Granny's old Montblanc pen. Lily's search for the pen in post-storm New York alternates with flashbacks to Granny's activities in the French Resistance during WWII. Carelli provides an interesting juxtaposition of different types of danger and valor across the decades.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(2) 4-6 An unreliable narrator turns this road-trip adventure story into something more complex--exploring loss, responsibility, and the power of fortuitous meetings. The narrative moves back and forth between Martin and younger brother Charlie's current trip and an earlier family vacation--punctuated by excerpts from Martin's poetry journal--as readers gradually learn the reason for the journey. Martin and Charlie are effective foils for each other, and their brotherly banter is entertaining.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(4) 4-6 In 1972 Houston, Paulie and his sister have conflicted feelings about their father, who was involved in a race-related crime before he died. When their mother loses her way in grief, they move in with their aunt and find this both helps and complicates their turmoil. Told in verse, Toalson's debut is often poignant, even if the family's many long-kept secrets resolve too quickly.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin