(2) K-3 Illustrated by Christopher Weyant. Boobies are birds that live along the coasts of the Eastern Pacific. In this book, the red-footed boobies live on one rock in the sea; the blue-footed boobies live on a rock across the way. The groups vie for dominance and taunt each other (shouting "BEST!" and blowing raspberries), frustrating the hermit crab that lives on the rock between them. A Shakespearean drama unfolds when a blue-footed booby and a red-footed booby meet and fall in love. Ink and watercolor cartoon illustrations with heavy lines contrast with gently shaded colors, creating a sense of character and whimsy while also depicting realistic flourishes such as accurate booby courtship behaviors. Plentiful white space focuses the eye and presents opportunities for oversize text in expressive type to bring the words and art together. The text is a mix of straightforward and comical, with asides to make adults smile, as when readers learn that the hermit crab can perform the lovers' wedding ceremony "thanks to a certificate he got on the internet." As is the case in many families nursing an ancient grudge, the emergence of a baby makes everyone reconsider their antagonistic positions. "And finally, all the boobies actually agreed!" Back matter provides facts about boobies. Humorous lessons on life and animal behavior make this a memorable offering.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) 4-6 This welcome historical novel traces a Sephardic Jewish family whose members travel from one country to another with first-person narrators from four generations and spanning centuries. In 1492, Benvenida and her family leave Toledo, Spain, for what is then Constantinople to escape the Spanish Inquisition. In 1923, Reina sneaks out at night and sings for a group of boys against her father's wishes and is sent from Turkey to Cuba for an arranged marriage. In 1961, Alegra teaches literacy as a brigadista but then flees Cuba for Miami with Operation Pedro Pan. And in 2003, Paloma and her family travel back to Toledo and learn what they can about their long-ago family history. The family saga provides glimpses of several moments in world history and gives readers opportunities to spot connections among the generations, sometimes knowing details about the past that the characters can only guess at. (An overly earnest tone in narration and dialogue sometimes detracts from the characters' believability.) A Ladino song and the oud that it is played on add echoes from one section to another. The author's note provides context and personal connections; back matter also includes source notes with accessible explanations.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(1) YA A funny and fast-paced feminist adventure masterfully told through the comics medium. This alternate-Victorian-era fantasy opens after Jane's parents' death. Since women can't own property, the family estate and fortune will pass to Jane's odious male cousin -- who gives her a week to pack her bags and leave. Unless she can secure a dowry via marriage, she will be penniless as well as homeless. Jane, along with everyone in her seaside village, buys into the dominant and oppressive standards of beauty; she's realistic about the fact that her appearance leaves her with few marriage prospects. While she may be considered plain, Jane is exceedingly clever: she proposes marriage to Peter, a gorgeous fisherman forced into the trade by his toxic father. "We both have problems, and this would solve them." But those plans are thwarted after Peter is kidnapped by a man-eating mermaid, and Jane embarks on an epic undersea journey to rescue him. Along the way, she meets folkloric creatures (selkies, crones, a water demon, etc.) and gains knowledge and the confidence to challenge societal norms. Brosgol's (Be Prepared, rev. 5/18; Anya's Ghost, rev. 7/11) magical story is full of quirky and indelible characters; smart surprises and plot twists; and laugh-out-loud dialogue. Stellar world-building and cinematic cartooning effectively pace the narrative, building suspense and emphasizing moments of horror. Textured colorwork adds further depth to plot and setting, and an author's note invites readers to interrogate the worlds (both real and fictional) with which they come into contact.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) YA Khadija is a brown-skinned sixteen-year-old girl living in the (fictional) realm of Ghadaea. Although her Ghadaean identity grants her a position in society's highest racial caste, her identity as a girl means she will never obtain the freedom she desires. When her father informs her that he has found a suitable husband for her, Khadija commandeers a hot-air balloon and floats away from her restrictive life. Her flight leads her to Jacob, a hri, or white member of Ghadaea's lowest social caste, who longs to escape his abusive glassmaking apprenticeship. Despite their gender, racial, and class differences, the two form an unlikely bond, as they both wish for freedom from oppression and have experienced the loss of family and friends. Khadija and Jacob's friendship is tested, however, when they find themselves caught between two revolutionary groups: the Wzeem, who believe that peaceful protest will result in equality for all; and the Hreef, who want the hri to rule at all costs. Told from ­Khadija's and Jacob's alternating points of view, Marufu's novel uses South Asian–inspired fantasy ­elements to tackle discussions of racism, misogyny, classism, and activism. An exciting and action-packed adventure perfect for fans of Blackman's Naughts and Crosses (rev. 7/05).

Reviewer: S. R. Toliver | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) 4-6 In an affecting story set in Santa Monica, California, in the 1970s, a young biracial girl at the center of a calamitous family dynamic learns to navigate momentous change and find her own place in the world. Life is not as it should be for eleven-year-old Stevie. Her parents have moved, which means she has to adjust to a new school. She does not make friends easily and is targeted by bullies over her natural hairstyle. Her best friend since third grade abandons their friendship when she joins a clique of mean girls. At home, her parents are constantly fighting because her stay-at-home mother wants to pursue a career over the strenuous objections of her chauvinistic father's ideas of women's roles in society. And then an older cousin, Naomi, who is involved with the Black Panther Party and is described as "full of fight," arrives to live with the family. Parsons's keenly empathetic portrayal of Stevie and her tribulations is complemented by an equally compelling attention to detail in establishing the era. Particular attention to the social agenda of the Black Panther Party adds validity to the setting. Themes of empowerment, friendship, bullying, interracial marriage (Stevie's father is white; her mother is Black), trust, divorce, and social justice are interwoven in perfect balance to create a satisfying ending in this honest coming-of-age story.

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

(2) 4-6 Because of a (fictional) traditional rhyme that claims--or threatens--six motherless sisters' destinies according to birth order, their violent, often-drunk Dadder trades the beautiful eldest, Grace, as wife in exchange for a horse. When Grace escapes to avoid her fate and disappears with the seasonal fair, Willa, the second sister, sets off to fetch her back. Pursued by Dadder and his nasty fiancé, Willa and the horse traverse marsh and mire to retrieve Grace and, somehow, persuade Dadder to undo her betrothal. But Willa can't find Grace with the fair: could it be she has become prey to the fabled Marsh King? Strange (The Ghost of Midnight Lake, rev. 3/22) draws on the horror of folktales of Britain's Romney Marsh in this quasi-medieval gothic fantasy. Girls are at the mercy of their fathers; reading is suspect; clever, articulate elders are punished with the ducking stool or murdered as witches. The story has a strong "and then" quality, as Willa rides off now here, now there; there's a certain ebullience (vigorously enhanced by the irrepressible youngest sisters), a handful of mysteries, and plenty of mire-y, marsh-lit atmosphere to keep readers immersed.

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

(2) K-3 Adapted by Ibram X. Kendi. Illustrated by Loveis Wise. Kendi's (Stamped, rev. 5/20) adaptation of a short story by Hurston softens (or leaves out) the original's violence, adds elements that are explained in a historical endnote, and retains the narrative frame of a "Mighty River" telling a brook a story about people in love. The tale begins with Bentley, who escapes enslavement and marries Swift Deer, a Cherokee woman. They have a daughter they name ­Magnolia Flower, who grows up during the Civil War and falls in love with a brown-skinned man named John. Bentley doesn't approve of John and locks him up to keep the lovers apart. Magnolia Flower frees him and they run away. The story ends with their return to the banks of the river forty years later. Both the lyrical text and the flowing digital illustrations let the theme of love running through Hurston's stories shine. Wise's (The People Remember, rev. 11/21; Ablaze with Color, rev. 3/22) brightly colored images capture the beauty of the forest and the love between ­Magnolia Flower and John. In his appended author's note, Kendi explains his intention behind adapting a short story for adults as a picture-book text: "The earlier we expose our children to our literary treasures--to our literary legends like Hurston--the ­better."

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(1) YA When a revolution is ignited in Syria in 2011 to oust Assad's regime ("no Syrian family has evaded the dictatorship's cruelty"), the government responds by detaining, torturing, and bombing civilians and using chemical attacks. A year into the siege of the city of Homs, eighteen-year-old Salama, who has completed one year of pharmacy school, is a volunteer at a hospital where she tends to wounded patients and even performs surgeries due to a shortage of doctors. Her mother has been killed in a bombing, and her father and brother are detained and presumed dead; Salama now cares for her pregnant sister-in-law, Layla. A specter named Khawf (fear in Arabic) visits and shows Salama devastating images of her future if she and Layla don't leave Syria, but she is conflicted out of a sense of duty to her patients. Amid the desperate situation, a chaste, halal romance develops between Salama and Kenan, a YouTube war documentarian, culminating in marriage. Salama is at a more mature phase of life than many YA protagonists, as the war forces her to a level of personal and professional growth beyond her years. The novel is full of striking details about living under siege, with a focus on the heroic deeds of medical professionals, but it also probes bigger-picture issues around PTSD, survivor's guilt, national loyalty, and how morality stretches for the sake of survival. An unflinching representation of the early days of the Syrian revolution that incorporates sophisticated and unexpected narrative techniques and surprising revelations.

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

(2) K-3 Translated by David Colmer. Mr. Coats feels the cold. He stays indoors, huddled next to the fire in all seasons. He's lonely. He thinks of a solution, then ventures out to buy three thick coats and puts them all on at once. He's still cold. He buys twelve more coats. Still cold. He puts on coats and more coats until he is so bulky he cannot get through his doorway and ends up living outside in his yurt-shaped coat-house, sleeves functioning as stovepipes. Not until a kind neighbor match-makes him with another coat-house dweller in a nearby town does Mr. Coats realize two life lessons: there's somebody for everybody, and love keeps you warm from the inside out. Good conversation helps, too. "Mrs. Coats and Mr. Coats had a lot to talk about: electric blankets, hot water bottles, earmuffs, cups of hot chocolate, sun lamps, fur-lined boots..." This wry, absurdist tall tale provides a wonderful canvas for wild fabric patterns as Posthuma layers checks upon stripes upon tartans in a wild collage of color. Originally published in the Netherlands in 2006, the story travels well across the ocean to a new generation of readers.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(1) YA Translated by Kristen Gehrman. In this smoothly translated historical-fiction romp set in 1808, lively, propulsive storytelling whirls us through the countryside of what is now Belgium, France, and ­Germany with Constance, one of Napoleon's more unusual soldiers. "Stance" has always been acerbic, rebellious, and capable. When her father marries her off to a middle-aged businessman, she sees only one way out: she puts on men's clothes and joins the army. Stance's defection from the marriage contract wreaks havoc on the family, especially on her hapless brother Pier, who, in the company of a corrupt customs officer, is sent to retrieve her. Van Rijckeghem evokes Napoleonic wartime chaos and the story's fractious characters with colorful lucidity, comedy, and drama. Stance and Pier alternate as narrators; the tale swings between the former's rash irreverence and boldness and the latter's timidity and physical ineptitude. Throughout the story--with its hilarity and drastic eventfulness, its duels and battles, unexpected lovers, and lesson in how a girl can use a bellows to facilitate peeing while standing--Stance and Pier mature and become more resolutely themselves. Though the book ends as Stance sets off in quest of the woman she loves, the real heart here is the affection that grows between two very different siblings.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Ariel Goldberg lives with her parents and older sister Leah, eighteen, in 1960s Connecticut, her family having left Brooklyn for more space and "better schools." Now they own Gertie's Bakery, named for the girls' grandmother, where after school Ari helps bake the challah and other items (among the rest of the bakery offerings) that recall their Jewish roots. Then "good girl" Leah shares some news: she has fallen in love with Raj, who is from India and a Hindu. The girls' parents' insistence on marriage inside the faith leads to painful estrangement, with Ari left dumbfounded by their reaction. At school she is struggling, too, both with her classwork and with antisemitic bullying. A supportive teacher, a loyal friend, and a newfound love of poetry help her cope; and she hatches a plan to find her sister in NYC, where Leah now lives with Raj. The text's second-person perspective brings readers directly into dialogue with Ari as she contemplates heavy issues of family, religion, racism, generational trauma, financial insecurity, and more. Pop-culture references and historical details (MLK's murder; Loving v. Virginia) that underscore the book's themes are naturally incorporated. After much tsuris (Ma's word), the story ends on a hopeful note, with the future of this family--including its next generation--bringing understanding and unity. An author's note is appended.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) YA Brimner (Twelve Days in May, rev. 1/17) presents another compelling story of civil rights history. Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of African and Native ancestry, loved each other and wanted to get married. But that was against the law in Virginia in the 1960s. Brimner weaves together their personal stories--their courtship, marriage, and family life; their arrest in Virginia, subsequent move to Washington, DC, and move back in defiance of parole--with the larger legacy of prejudice and bigotry in the Jim Crow South. He provides a brief primer on the constitutional challenges their case presented, as it wound its way, slowly but surely, through the federal court system, culminating with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Lovings in 1967. The book is enhanced by black-and-white photographs throughout; candid shots of Richard and Mildred are particularly effective, characterizing the couple's relationship as an especially tender and affectionate one. A final chapter explains how this case set the stage for the marriage equality activism at the turn of the twenty-first century that enabled LGBTQ people to marry whom they wish. Recent books about this case include a picture book, The Case for Loving (rev. 5/15) by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls, and a "documentary novel" in verse, Loving vs. Virginia (rev. 1/17) by Patricia Hruby Powell and Shadra Strickland, so this nonfiction account is a welcome addition. A bibliography, source notes, and index are appended.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) YA This return to the dystopian world of We Set the Dark on Fire (rev. 7/19)--whose protagonist was Dani, one of two wives to rising politico Mateo--focuses on ­Carmen. Dani's co-wife and secret romantic partner, Carmen was revealed in the first installment to be a member of the resistance group La Voz. Now she has left Mateo's home for the group's compound. La Voz demands absolute ­devotion and any sacrifice necessary for its fight against an unjust government (as in the first installment, this society includes references to our own, particularly a walled border). Carmen is torn between the group and her desire to protect Dani, who's still at Mateo's side and whose complete loyalty to La Voz hasn't yet been proven. Her resulting decisions set off a fast-paced journey, complete with daring escapes, assassinations, and a few steamy (though not graphic) encounters, allowing its heroines to display impressive survival and fighting skills as well as deep emotions. Fans who've grown attached to Carmen and Dani will appreciate this duology-concluder's more extensive look into their lives and the inventive world in which they live.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(1) 4-6 From the outside it appears that Bea lives a charmed life. She has loving (albeit divorced) parents; an involved extended family; a kindly, funny teacher; a loyal best friend; a dog and a cat; and a wise therapist. Even situations involving life changes, such as her gay father's upcoming wedding and the prospect of a new stepsister, seem to be curiously unfraught. But with Stead's fiction (When You Reach Me, rev. 7/09; Goodbye Stranger, rev. 7/15), appearances are always deceiving. It turns out that Bea's upbeat spin on life is papering over some major anxieties and some serious problems with anger management. Bea is keeping two secrets. She lets us in on one of them, a piece of well-meaning interference in the wedding plans that turns out to be a disaster. The other secret, hidden in plain sight but only revealed at the climax, involves deliberately causing harm to another person. The strength of this novel lies in Stead's authentic, respectful, low-key approach to the emotional life of a ten-year-old as recalled from the perspective of her slightly older self (Bea is twelve when she tells the story: "a story about me, but a different one, a person who doesn’t exist anymore"). Difficulties with spelling, the pleasures of gummy bears, the pain of eczema, the ability to sense adult tension--we are fully present with Bea, in the rich, crisply rendered details and in her distinctive voice.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) YA Folk of the Air series. Mortal Jude (The Cruel Prince), raised in the realm of Faerie and skilled at manipulation, resourcefully keeps her one-time nemesis Cardan's numerous rivals in check. The growing trust between Jude and Cardan blossoms into an unlikely romance and ultimately a clandestine marriage--but one final betrayal threatens to undo all of Jude's plans. The plot twists, turns, and dovetails perfectly with the assured character development; Black is a master storyteller.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) 4-6 In Jakarta, Indonesia, Nia's food-vendor widower father is mired in poverty and alcoholism while the young teenager cares for her little brother. When Nia survives a minibus accident, superstitious locals believe that she has miraculous powers, which aspiring-writer Nia uses to raise money for her schooling. Readers will cheer Nia's real powers--her storytelling talent and her resiliency--in this vividly set story. Glos.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(1) 1-3 Medina's Bogotá-dwelling protagonist Juana and her beloved dog Lucas return in this sequel to Juana & Lucas. Juana is growing up, and change is looming: Mami is spending time with a new "friend," Luis. Accessible chapters with interspersed art and plenty of white space guide readers through Juana's experiences and emotions. Through it all, Juana can always count on her family's steady love to help solve even the biggest problemas.

Reviewer: Lettycia Terrones | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) YA Seventeen-year-old Dani is the new Primera (one wife of two who manages the husband's household and aids in his career) to a wealthy aspiring politician. But the identification papers that place Dani's origin on the advantageous side of the border wall are a forgery. Mejia's inventive dystopian world is full of clear references to our own. Frequent twists, questions of whom to trust, and a clandestine queer romance make for a page-turner.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(4) K-3 Illustrated by EG Keller. Vice President Pence's daughter's (real-life) pet bunny relates falling in love with another boy bunny, to the consternation of overbearing, obnoxious, in-charge (read: president) Stink Bug: "Boy Bunnies Marry Girl Bunnies...This Is the Way It Has Always Been. You. Are. Different. And Different Is Bad." As satire, this is lots of fun (and effective: "Stink bugs are temporary. Love is Forever"); as a picture book, it's a little scattered. Adorable progressive-leaning critters populate the illustrations.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Reds, Blues, and Yellows (stick-limbed orbs with faces) lived "in color harmony" until discord led to a walled-off, divided-by-color city. When a Blue and a Yellow fall in love, marry, and create a new color (green), there's outrage ("Colors shouldn't mix!") before there's acceptance. This clever book's point about the folly of prejudice is reinforced by the visual loveliness when secondary-color offspring appear.

Reviewer: Nell Beram