families

Love is a War Song

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by Danica Nava
First sentence: “Three nearly naked men drenched in oil gyrated around me, their things barely covered in short tan-hide loincloths that dangled between their thighs.”
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Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and a couple of on-page sex scenes. It’s in the Contemporary Romance section of the bookstore.

Avery has spent her whole life in LA – first as a child actor, and now trying to break into the music business. Sure, she just wants to write her own songs, but her mom (who is also her manager) keeps telling her that she has to pay her dues. So, she listens when the record label gives her a “Native-inspired” song (since her mother says they’re Muscogee) and films a video for it. Plus there’s a Rolling Stone cover. But when they come out, there is a huge backlash: what they thought was “taking back stereotypes” ended up just being deeply racist. So, to get away from death threats, her mother sends Avery to her estranged grandmother’s house in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to hide. And maybe to learn a bit about this heritage she has claimed but knows nothing about.

Once there – on her grandmother’s working ranch – she meets Lucas, a Muscogee ranch hand who has a chip on his shoulder, especially when it comes to her and her music. Except, he’s hot. And while she is often annoyed at him, she also kind of likes being around him. And she comes to respect him. And maybe there’s more to Broken Arrow than she thinks.

I’m not sure I liked this one as much as I liked The Truth According to Ember, but I did like it. I like that Nava looked at how being a Native person in Hollywood/the music industry isn’t an easy thing. I liked the juxtaposition of city girl/country boy. Nava is good at writing banter, and I liked how she wove in Native culture and mannerisms throughout the book. Additionally, both Avery and Lucas grew as people, which was satisfying to see.

In short: I really liked this one.

Sandwich

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by Catherine Newman
First sentence: “Picture this: a shorelined peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean.”
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Content: There is a lot of swearing, including many f-bombs. It’s in the adult fiction section of the bookstore.

I usually don’t take my boss’s recommendations when it comes to books; she and I just have too different of reading preferences. She likes deeply literary things (and mysteries) and I prefer character- and plot-driven genre fiction. So, when she told me I really needed to read this one, I kind of brushed it off.

And then I kept seeing it everywhere, from people whose tastes are more similar to mine, and whose opinions I respect. And so I picked up for myself for Christmas.

I hate to say it, but my boss was right: I needed to read this one. It’s the story of one week in summer, a family vacation – mom, dad, two adult children, one partner, grandparents – all coming together. It’s about nothing, really, just snippets of their vacation. But it’s also about everything. It’s about growing older as a woman, watching your kids get older and become adults themselves, about redefining what it means to be a woman, a person who was once needed and now no longer is, really. It made me laugh – Newman’s observations about menopause, abou the barely contained anger and frustration, about the conflicting emotions (rage, gratitude, regret, joy) you constantly feel as a woman, are spot on – and it made me sob.

It’s a slight thing, this novel, but it packs a punch. And I am glad I finally got around to it.

It’s Only Drowning

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by David Litt
First sentence: “Matthew Kappler is my brother-in-law, and we’re very different, and one of the biggest differences between us is that if I lived like him I would die.”
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Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: June 24, 2025
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It will be in the Sports section of the bookstore.

David Litt is a former Obama speech writer, author, and all-around politics wonk. He and his wife, who is a congressional aide, split their time in DC and are the sort of liberals you probably think they are. Which means, he doesn’t really get along with his wife’s brother, Matt, an non-voter, Joe Rogan-loving, anti-vaxxer. But, when COVID-19 hit, and he was stuck in pandemic lockdown, he realized he needed to find something new to do. So, he picked Matt’s favorite sport: surfing. At the ripe age of 35, David decided to pick up the sport, and then made a goal to be good enough to surf the North Shore of Hawaii in a little over a year.

This book is that journey.

And what a journey. I learned a lot about surfing – especially Jersey shore surfing – enough to have a lot of respect for anyone who not only tries it, but does it successfully. I love how Litt writes about the sport, making it accessible enough to those of us who have never even attempted it. I loved the way he writes about the ocean, both it’s power and it’s beauty. I loved learning about the culture surrounding surfing, and appreciated that Litt was honest enough to admit that he felt he was on the outside. I also liked that Litt didn’t downplay his ambitions with surfing and developing a relationship with his brother-in-law. It’s heartfelt and honest, and I love it for that.

An excellent memoir.

Audiobook: Let it Glow

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by Marissa Meyer and Joanne Levy
Read by Gabi Epstein & Rebecca Soler
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is the relative safety issue of the girls switching places that some parents might have a problem with. Also, one of the grandparents in the story has a fall and ends up in the hospital. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Aviva Davis wants to have the perfect Hanukkah, something which her not-very-observant Jewish family doesn’t seem to do. She wants everything perfect from the menorah to the latkes. And while she wants to participate in the pageant her grandmother’s retirement center is putting on, she’s not sure she’s quite qualified to be the Jewish representation. Holly Martin is just at the retirement home because her mom is trying to convince Holly’s grandpa that he needs more help than they are able to give him at home. Holly has no intention of being a part of the pageant, but then she stumbles on Aviva, who is a carbon copy of Holly. They’re both adopted, they both have the same birthday, they both look alike… is it possible they are twins?

From there, the plot spins out in a very Parent Trap-like direction: Aviva and Holly trade homes to experience what the other holiday is like (Holly celebrates Christmas), while trying to figure out if their parents knew about being twins and just didn’t tell them. It’s a lot about blood family versus adopted family,

This was a very sweet holiday story, made better by the narrators, who were just amazing. I liked how they brought both Holly’s and Aviva’s personalities to life, how they made all the improbabilities of the whole situation make perfect sense. It was charming and adorable, and I enjoyed every minute of the audiobook.

The Wildcat Behind Glass

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by Alki Zei
Translated by Karen Emmerich
First sentence: “Winter Sundays are the most boring days of all.”
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Content: It’s a little long and talks bluntly about fascism. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

It’s 1936 in Greece and all Melia wants is to run and play, listen to their grandfather tell stories about his “ancients”, and hang out with her sister, Myrto. But, it’s 1936, and the adults are all concerned about the rise of fascism and the overthrowing of the king. It really doesn’t help when their older cousin Nikos ends up in hiding because he’s wanted by the government. Or, when, in the fall, they go to a public school for the first time (they were homeschooled before), and Myrto gets sucked into their school’s phalanx, which is kind of like the Hitler Youth Program. Melia doesn’t quite know how to process everything.

And, honestly, after finishing this book, neither do we. It was initially written in 1968, and you can feel that when reading it. It’s a lot of everyday stuff happening, and not a lot of conflict and resolution. In fact, the book just kind of ends, and peters off without any real resolution. (Well, spoiler: Nikos gets away, but that’s about it.) Also, a bone to pick with the marketing: the back reads as if the titular wildcat- a taxidermied cat in Melia’s house – was magical and took them on adventures. It’s not. I wanted it to be. But there is no magic adventures here. I think the author wanted to tell Nikos’s story, but someone told her that it would be better if you made a young girl the protagonist and so she did that. Nikos was a much more interesting (and less whiny!) character. Oh well.

At least it wasn’t terribly long.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

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by T.J. Klune
First sentence: “Stepping off the ferry and onto the island for the first time in decades, Arthur Parnassus thought he’d burst into flames then and there.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: The House in the Cerulean Sea
Release date: September 10, 2024
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is talk of abuse and a couple of moments of actual abuse. There is talk of trauma and CPTSD. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

I have to admit: I didn’t think this book was necessary. The House in the Cerulean Sea is an absolute delight of a book that ended quite satisfactorily. However, I am also not sad to spend more time on Marsyas Island with Arthur, Linus, and the children, and this book makes the case that it needs to exist.

This picks up soon after Cerulean Sea – the government is holding hearings to determine the future of the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. Arthur, having lived in an orphanage when he was young and is currently the headmaster of one, decides to face things and goes to testify. Which, of course, goes horribly wrong. So, another inspector is sent out to see what Arthur, Linus, and the children are up to and if the home is up to DICOMY standards.

Nothing – and everything – goes right.

Much like the first book, this is less about the plot and more about the characters. I adore the children – from Sal stepping into his own as a young man and a leader, to Talia and Phee, to Lucy and Chauncy, and David, the newest one – a yeti who has been on the run since his parents were brutally murdered. I adore Arthur and Linus and their relationship, and the way they wholly support and love each other. I can tell that Klune is angry at all the laws that are being passed targeting LGBT youth – especially the trans bills – and that they’re being done in the name of “protecting the children” and he harnesses that anger to good effect here. There are some absolute laugh-out-loud moments and some pages that are so beautifully written and so moving that I could hardly see the page for my tears.

So, no, while this book was not “needed”, it is wanted and welcome, and I’ll happily read anything else Klune decides to write about this family.

Audiobook: Finding Hope

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by Nicola Baker
Read by Kristin Atherton
Listen at Libro.fm (I think it’s only in e-book and audio)
Content: There are some intense moments. It would be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore if it were a print book.

Ava is stuck at Whistledown Farm for two whole weeks while her parents make an important trip to America. She’s a city girl, and during the only visits she’s ever made to the sheep farm she’s mostly kept to the house. She’s not sure she wants to spend two whole weeks with her aunt, uncle, and cousin (especially since her cousin is less than thrlled to see her!), but she’s determined to help. Then, on the first night, she finds a lost lamb and brings it in. They all set Ava to carig for it, and that’s the first step on her journey to learning to love the farm and the work it takes to run it.

There’s some dramatic moments: Ava forgets to close the chicken barn door one night and a fox kills off half of the flock, and there’s some sheep rustling nonsense, but mostly, it’s Ava learning how to live and work on a farm.

I liked this one well enough. The cousin, Tom, was an annoying 10-year-old boy that I wanted to smack a few times, but it wasn’t terrible. The thing that made this one work for me was the narrator. Atherton was fantastic. I’m not sure the book (it’s a celebrity author, I guess) would have been great otherwise, but Atherton made the characters shine.

It’s a short, fun read, especially for those kids who love animals.

Lunar New Year Love Story

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by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is romance, talk of teenage pregnancy, and a kind of spooky ghost. It’s in the Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Valentina Tran’s favorite holiday was always Valentine’s Day. She loved making personalized cards for her classmates and her father, and one of her best friends is a projection of Saint Valentine – Cupid. Then, her freshman year of high school, things fall apart: her classmates don’t appreciate the valentines; one even goes so far as to tear it up and throw it away. And the worst news: her mother isn’t dead, like her father always told her, but had just left them when Val was a baby.

Then she meets Les and his cousin Jae, who are lion dancers. They convince her to join up, and she starts a relationship with Les, but it’s not everything she wants it to be. She’s torn: her father’s been nursing a broken heart her whole life and doesn’t believe in love; her best friend doesn’t want to commit to any relationship; Les is unwilling to call her his girlfriend. Is there anyone who actually believes in love?

I loved this graphic novel. It deals with cultural identity – kids trying to stay connected to their heritage and the disconnect that is often between generations. It deals with grief and loss, not just because of abandonment and heartbreak, but also from death. And it deals with the hope of love. I adored its humor and tenderness, and Pham’s illustrations are just delightful.

It’s practically perfect and a delight to read.

Finally Seen

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by Kelly Yang
First sentence: “I listen to the quiet hum of the plane and the not-so-quiet flutter of my heart in my chest.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is bullying and microaggressions both by other children and adults. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore. I read this book for the Cybils, and this reflects my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Lina Gao has lived with her grandmother in China for the past five years while her parents and younger sister start a new life in America. She has missed her family but loved her time with her grandmother. But now, her parents have sent for her. She is racked with guilt for leaving her grandmother to go live in a retirement home, but excited to start a new life in America. Unfortunately, it’s not all happiness and roses. She can’t speak English well, so starting a new school is difficult for her. Her parents and sister have a bond that she isn’t part of. And then there’s her parents’ financial situation: back rent from the pandemic is due and her father’s boss at the organic farm is pretty sketchy.

Through the ups and downs of Lina’s life, she gains some friends, helps her parents figure out their finances, and figures out how to navigate her school. And in the end, she feels like maybe she can make a place for herself in her new life.

I liked this one. Reading the author’s note, it seems that some of this reflects Yang’s experience, which makes it that much more interesting. It’s a good immigrant story and a good reminder that everyone wants the best life they can have. Several white adults (mostly men) came off pretty bad in this – they were bullies and racist towards Lina and her family. (One of them – the father of a friend of Lina’s did start to learn and change…) This is a good reminder of how adults tend to use and abuse their power. I like the portrayal of the immigrant story, and I think it’s definitely an important book to have on shelves.

Hands

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by Tony Maldonado
First sentence: “You promise?”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is violence, domestic and fist-fights. It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore, but I’d give it to a 5th grader. I read this book for the Cybils, and this is a reflection of my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Two years ago, Trevor’s stepdad was arrested and sent to jail for beating Trevor’s mom. On his way, he said that he would come back for her, and Trevor’s been on edge ever since. Now at 12, his stepdad is about to get out of jail, and Trevor is determined to become the sort of person who could protect and defend his mom and sisters. Which means he needs to be stronger, better at fighting.

But, in his quest, he discovers that maybe there is more to, well, everything than he thought. There are other ways of using your hands. There are other ways of confronting the bad things in his life, his neighborhood. And that “promise” means a lot of things.

I really liked this one. Maldonado captures not only what it’s like to be 12, and have to grow up before you’re quite ready, he captures the spirit of a neighborhood and a family. It felt real, and yet it was hopeful at the same time. There was violence and danger, and yet there are Other Ways that may be better. I liked the inner conflict that Trevor had: he wants to be a Man, and protect his family, and yet he really is just a kid and he wants that, too. And a bonus: Maldonado didn’t use extra words: The short book packs a powerful uch.

Quite a remarkable small book.