On My Bookshelf: More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn

The basic plot from Amazon: Growing up under his punk rocker dad’s spotlight, eighteen-year-old Luke Greenly knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn’t in front of a crowd, it’s on the page. Hiding his gift and secretly hoarding songs in his bedroom at night, he prefers the anonymous comfort of the locally popular podcast he co-hosts with his outgoing and meddling, far-too-jealousy-inspiringly-happy-with-his-long-term-boyfriend twin brother, Cullen. But that’s not Luke’s only secret. He also has a major un-requited crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell.

Vada’s got a five year plan: secure a job at the Loud Lizard to learn from local legend (and her mom’s boyfriend) Phil Josephs (check), take over Phil’s music blog (double check), get accepted into Berkeley’s prestigious music journalism program (check, check, check), manage Ann Arbor’s summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is most definitely NOT on the list. So what if his self-deprecating charm and out of this world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about some mystery girl on their podcast and she really, really wishes it was her?

In More Than Maybe, Erin Hahn’s swooniest book yet, Luke and Vada must decide how deep their feelings run and what it would mean to give love a try.

Why I liked it: In More Than Maybe narration alternates between Luke and Vada. Luke hosts a podcast talk show with his twin brother,Cullen who happens to be dating his best friend Zach. Students who identify as LGBTQ+ will appreciate seeing a solid relationship. Both young men are out and accepted by those around them. 

Luke is a talented songwriter, vocalist, and pianist, but does not want his talents to take him into the spotlight of stardom. His father was part of a famous group, but Luke has no interest in that life. Vada works at a local music venue and writes music reviews on her blog. 

Both Vada and Luke have liked one another for some time, but have been too shy and nervous to initiate any kind of relationship. Fans of When Dimple Met Rishi will enjoy the banter of equal minds. Readers will cheer when they finally do get together.

Classroom application: Music fans will enjoy all of the song references and the setting of the music scene. There is some mature language, but would be appropriate for upper middle school and up. While it is a romance novel, the romance in it is very PG. Possible topics of discussion would be alcoholism, divorce, the dangers of social media, and the power of copyright.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of More Than Maybe for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: The Book Collectors: A Band of Syrian Rebels and the Stories That Carried Them Through a War by Delphine Minoui

The basic plot from Amazon: Day in, day out, bombs fall on Daraya, a town outside Damascus, the very spot where the Syrian Civil War began. In the midst of chaos and bloodshed, a group searching for survivors stumbles on a cache of books. They collect the books, then look for more. In a week they have six thousand volumes. In a month, fifteen thousand. A sanctuary is born: a library where the people of Daraya can explore beyond the blockade.

Long a site of peaceful resistance to the Assad regimes, Daraya was under siege for four years. No one entered or left, and international aid was blocked.

In 2015, French-Iranian journalist Delphine Minoui saw a post on Facebook about this secret library and tracked down one of its founders, twenty-three-year-old Ahmad, an aspiring photojournalist himself. Over WhatsApp and Facebook, Minoui learned about the young men who gathered in the library, exchanged ideas, learned English, and imagined how to shape the future, even as bombs fell above. They devoured a marvelous range of books―from American self-help like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to international bestsellers like The Alchemist, from Arabic poetry by Mahmoud Darwish to Shakespearean plays to stories of war in other times and places, such as the siege of Sarajevo. They also shared photos and stories of their lives before and during the war, planned how to build a democracy, and began to sustain a community in shell-shocked soil.

As these everyday heroes struggle to hold their ground, they become as much an inspiration as the books they read. And in the course of telling their stories, Delphine Minoui makes this far-off, complicated war immediate. In the vein of classic tales of the triumph of the human spirit―like All the Beautiful Forevers, A Long Way Gone, and Reading Lolita in Tehran―The Book Collectors will inspire readers and encourage them to imagine the wider world.

Why I liked it: The Book Collectors is a quick read and transports the reader into a world very different from the one I comfortably live in. Despite the author’s desire to tell the stories of the young men in Syria, the text still felt centered around her and her feelings and concerns. The text also felt detached and distant from the rebels’ struggles, perhaps an effect of the author’s background as a journalist. 

I liked the list of frequently read titles and the rules of the library, one of them being that the name of the owner was inside each book. These rules show the integrity of the group and their respect for others’ property as well as their desire for order in the midst of chaos.

Classroom application: The Book Collectors, with its focus on the conflict in Syria, would be a great read for high school world history or government class. For a middle school fiction read on the same topic, check out Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Senzai. 

The text deals with the themes of the power of knowledge, the ability of learning to liberate, and right to an education. The Book Collectors could connect with the fiction classic Fahrenheit 451 or the newer nonfiction autobiography, I Am Malala. 

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Book Collectors for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: American Street by Ibi Zoboi

The basic plot from Amazon: In this stunning debut novel, Pushcart-nominated author Ibi Zoboi draws on her own experience as a young Haitian immigrant, infusing this lyrical exploration of America with magical realism and vodou culture.

On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie—a good life.

But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola’s mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit’s west side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own.

Just as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will she pay the price for the American dream?

Why I liked it: In American Street. 

the narrator Fabiola is coming from Haiti with her mother, but her mother is detained. She joins her three cousins and aunt in Detroit alone. 

Fabiola's eldest cousin Chantal is in college and the most level-headed of the three girls. Donna is the “pretty girl” and dating Dray. Pri is Donna’s twin sister. She is a lesbian and fiercely loyal to her sisters. Fabiola starts school where her cousins have a reputation as the three B’s. 

It's not long before Fabiola is approached by a detective outside of school who suspects Donna’s boyfriend Dray is connected to a bad batch of drugs. Her efforts to help her mother spiral out of control when she finds out her cousins, not Dray were responsible for dealing the bad batch of drugs. Her Aunt Jo, who acts as a money lender in their neighborhood has recently had a stroke. The girls get into dealing drugs to get themselves out of finical trouble with Q. In the meantime, the narrator falls for Kasim, Dray’s best friend, and is devastated when he is killed by police at a party that she tipped the police off about. 

The narrative is interspersed with characters’ backstories. For example, it is revealed that the three B’s father was actually killed by Dray as a young boy when he was training under Q. His volatile relationship with Donna is largely due to his self-hatred over it. I liked the different voices of these backstories as well as the infusion of Haitian voodoo and magical realism.

Classroom application: American Street is appropriate for high school and up. The novel focuses on the American Dream and how elusive its attainment can be. It would make a great contrast to classic novels like The Great Gatsby, The Jungle, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and more contemporary books like The Last Shot by Darcy Frey.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of American Street for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Far From The Tree by Robin Benway

The basic plot from Amazon: Being the middle child has its ups and downs.

But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—

Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.

And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.

Why I liked it: In Far From The Tree the narration alternates between three siblings separated from birth. The oldest Joaquin is biracial and has spent his life in the foster care system. He is currently close to being adopted despite his age, but is afraid of getting too close to others. Grace, the middle child, has recently given up her own daughter for adoption. That experience sparked her interest in finding her birth siblings and possibly also her birth mother. The youngest, Maya, feels like an outsider in her own family because she was adopted and her sister was a natural birth. Her parents are in the midst of separating and her mother’s drinking problem escalates to a stay in rehab. 

Maya and Grace meet first and then seek out Joaquin together. The three begin bonding and quickly begin to rely on their relationships with each other. They decide to look for their mother together and learning her story helps each of them to better accept themselves and appreciate their adopted families.

Classroom application: The novel has mature themes including teen pregnancy and alcohol and drug use, and would be appropriate for high school and up. 

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Far From The Tree for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Finale by Stephanie Garber

The basic plot from Amazon: A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end.

Why I liked it:  The focus of Finale, the final installment in the Caraval trilogy, alternates between sisters Scarlet and Tella. Caraval, book 1, focused on Scarlet, and Legendary, book 2, focused on Tella.

The Fates released during Caraval are gaining strength. Scarlet and Tella’s mother, also freed from the Deck of Destiny finally awakens, but then sacrifices herself in an attempt to kill Fallen Star Gaveriel. The girls’ mother Paloma, was once known as Paradise of Lost and she and Gaveriel were lovers. Gaveriel is Scarlet’s true father and he kidnaps her and tries to convince her to take control of her powers. Meanwhile Tella struggles with wanting to fall in love with Legend (Dante) and knowing that it will destroy him. Love is the weakness for Gavriel and the Fates as well. 

Throughout the book neither Scarlett nor Tella can be sure who they should trust. The ending of the book and the series was fitting, but definitely left me hoping that this third book wouldn’t actually be the end. Scarlet took her place as the ruler Valenda and Tella is hoping that Legend will kidnap them so that their adventures can continue.

Classroom application: Finale, like Legendary, is high school appropriate and up.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Finale for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Legendary by Stephanie Garber

The basic plot from Amazon: A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more―and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about―maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval...the games have only just begun.

Why I liked it: Legendary is a fantasy book, but there's no witches or werewolves or vampire (not my taste in fantasy), just a wonderful world of magic. While Caraval, the first book in the series focused on Scarlett, this second book is focused on her younger sister Tella. Where Scarlet was practical and cautious as she played in Caraval, Tella is bold and a risk taker. She acts on instincts and deals with the consequences later. 

The first game of Caraval was played by Scarlet and it was just a game, but this second round of Caraval is played by Tella and is more personal because she is hoping to win back her mother. The Deck of Destiny, something she’d discovered in her mother’s room as a child and the mythical Fates are real life figures trapped within the cards all with their own unique powers. Her mother is trapped within one of these cards.

Classroom application: I'd label this one as high school appropriate and up because the romance scenes can get a little steamy. Students who enjoy the detailed worlds of fantasy series like the Red Queen series and the Lunar Chronicles will like this series as well.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Legendary for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Cheldenko

The basic plot from Amazon: The Newbery Honor Book and New York Times Bestseller that is historical fiction with a hint of mystery about living at Alcatraz not as a prisoner, but as a kid meeting some of the most famous criminals in our history. Al Capone Does My Shirts has become an instant classic for all kids to read!

Today I moved to Alcatraz, a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I'm not the only kid who lives here. There are twenty-three other kids who live on the island because their dads work as guards or cooks or doctors or electricians for the prison, like my dad does. And then there are a ton of murderers, rapists, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars, kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two, though I doubt it. The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don't want. I never knew prisons could be picky, but I guess they can. You get to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you're me. I came here because my mother said I had to.

Why I liked it: I read Gennifer Cheldenko’s middle grades historical fiction novel Chasing Secrets several years ago when it was featured on our Reading Olympics list and loved her attention to details and her choice of relatively unknown events in history. While Al Capone and Alcatraz Island are certainly well known, Al Capone Does My Shirts focuses not on the prisoners, but on the families that lived and worked there.

Moose’s father has taken on two jobs, one as an electrician on the island and one as a prison guard, to help support his family and hopefully pay the tuition for Natalie, his daughter with special needs, to attend an exclusive school. Moose must learn to navigate new friendships on the island and the attention at the school he attends off the island while taking on responsibility for minding Natalie. Moose has good values and good intentions, but hijinks ensue when he gives into petty desires and more serious problems occur when he is given too much responsibility by his parents.

Classroom application: This book is appropriate for middle school and up and has a wide appeal with humor and gangsters, but also insight to life as the sibling of someone who is differently abled. While Natalie's differences are not given a label in the book, by today's standards she would likely be diagnosed as autistic. It was interesting to see who differently abled people were treated nearly 100 years ago. The history of society's view of differently abled individuals could be a possible research topic for students. Students might also be interested in investigating some of the gangsters in the book (and the rest of the series).

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Al Capone Does My Shirts for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: The Insomniacs by Marit Weisenberg

The basic plot from Amazon: Ingrid can’t sleep. 
She can’t remember, either.

A competitive diver, seventeen-year-old Ingrid is haunted by what she saw at the pool at a routine meet, before falling off the high dive and waking up concussed. The only thing she remembers about the moment before her dive is locking eyes with Van―her neighbor, former best friend, and forever crush―kissing his girlfriend on the sidelines. But that can’t be all.

Then one sleepless night, she sees Van out her window…looking right back at her. They begin not sleeping together by night, still ignoring each other at school by day.

Ingrid tells herself this is just temporary, but soon, she and Van are up every night piecing her memory back together. As Van works through his own reasons for not being able to sleep, they’re both pulled into a mystery that threatens to turn their quiet neighborhood into a darker place than they realized.

Why I liked it: I appreciated the diverse cast of characters in The Insomniacs, which were a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds, some more defined than others. The characters' families also ranged in their composition, with few of them considered "traditional." The character that intrigued me most was Caroline. She had it all: the looks, the smarts, the boyfriend, success in a sport, and yet she didn't seem satisfied. Like Ingrid, I questioned Caroline's motives. Was she threatened by Ingrid's diving skills or Ingrid's relationship with Caroline's boyfriend Van? Was she just looking out for Ingrid? Was she trying to develop a friendship with her?

I also appreciated the novels' depictions of the perils of recreational drug and alcohol abuse. The characters involved in substance abuse were everyday kids who took things too far. Any scenes depicting drug or alcohol use felt gross and not at all glamorized. I also loved that Ingrid was a junior (in eleventh grade) and just then having her first kiss despite being a very attractive girl. It made for interesting juxtaposition with the inappropriate relationship between Caroline and her coach.

Classroom application: I would recommend this one for high school and up due to drug and alcohol use as well as mild sexual content. The Insomniacs has a wide appeal; students who enjoy realistic fiction or mystery/thrillers will be engrossed in this book. Sports fans and student athletes will relate to the amount of time spent dedicated to a sport. Student athletes who have had a concussion or other serious injury will especially connect with the threat to participation in their life focus.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Insomniacs for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: The Summer We Found the Baby by Amy Hest

The basic plot from Amazon: On the morning of the dedication of the new children’s library in Belle Beach, Long Island, eleven-year-old Julie Sweet and her six-year-old sister, Martha, find a baby in a basket on the library steps. At the same time, twelve-year-old Bruno Ben-Eli is on his way to the train station to catch the 9:15 train into New York City. He is on an important errand for his brother, who is a soldier overseas in World War II. But when Bruno spies Julie, the same Julie who hasn’t spoken to him for sixteen days, heading away from the library with a baby in her arms, he has to follow her. Holy everything, he thinks. Julie Sweet is a kidnapper.

Of course, the truth is much more complicated than the children know in this heartwarming and beautifully textured family story by award-winning author Amy Hest. Told in three distinct voices, each with a different take on events, the novel captures the moments and emotions of a life-changing summer — a summer in which a baby gives a family hope and brings a community together.

Why I liked it: The Summer We Found the Baby is a sweet historical fiction read narrated by two sisters, Julie and Martha, and their summer neighbor, Bruno. Julie and Martha find a baby outside of the library off the beach town they are staying in for the summer as their father interviews soldiers at a nearby base. Through a series of loosely connected vignettes, the identity of the baby and how and why it appeared at the library are slowly revealed.

I loved the three different voices of the narrators, the unique plot organization, and the surprise appearance of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. All three narrators were somewhat unreliable because of their age, but their ages are also what filled their stories with such a range of emotions and insights, especially the scenes focused on the tragedies of war.

The novel begins with the main event, the discovery of the baby on the day of the library's grand opening, but then works backward to piece together the events that lead to this one and then works forward again. Each chapter includes a segment from each of the three narrators. The segments, or vignettes, were all connected to the same event, but not just a retelling of an event from different characters' perspectives. I never read anything structured quite like it. I did think Tess's pregnancy/baby sub plot was a little cliche, but the telling of it through the children's eyes made it tender.

Classroom application: I would recommend this one for fifth grade and up. Students who love historical fiction, particularly titles focused on WWII, will enjoy this title focused on the home front.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Summer We Found the Baby for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

The basic plot from Amazon: In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.

Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.

Why I liked it: I usually love fractured fairy tales, and I mostly liked A Tale Dark & Grimm (it's the first in a series). The plot is full of fun, humor, and unexpected twists, but the interrupting narrator got on my nerves (younger readers might find it entertaining). Likewise, younger readers will likely delight in the children who are wiser than their foolish parents. While I've decided young adult fractured fairy tales are more my style, I would still read the next two books in this series.

Classroom application: This novel is appropriate for 5th grade and up. After reading, have students generate a list of essential elements in a fairy tale. Students could then evaluate whether or not this book fits the genre. The official recommendation for the book is grades 5 and 6, ages 10 - 12. Students could debate whether this book is too violent for this recommended grade/age range.

This would also make for a great pairing with some of the original versions of the Grimm brothers' fairy tales. Students could try to identify the fairy tales incorporated in A Tale Dark & Grimm in addition to the obvious inclusion of Hansel and Gretel (I tried to find a list, but I couldn't). Similar to debating the violence and age appropriateness of A Tale Dark & Grimm, students could debate what ages the originals are appropriate for and/or discuss how the originals evolved into the tales we know today.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of A Tale Dark & Grimm for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.