Good Reads & Views

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
YA Fiction

What it’s about: Amy Gumm lives in Kansas with her deadbeat mother and their pet rat, Star. Her mom goes through waves of depression, in and out like her hand in her bag of Bugles. She is usually found on the couch, but the night of the storm she found her way out to a tornado party. While she is away, Amy gets swept up in the tornado, and lands in Oz. But this isn’t Oz like she remembers. Nothing is cheery. Nothing is bright. She wanders, accompanied by Star, meeting up with a munchkin, Indigo, who has swirling, twirling tattoos, and Ollie, a wingless-winged monkey. She quickly learns you can’t trust anyone in this version of Oz and winds up training with the wicked to kill Dorothy. Will she succeed?

Is it for you? If you have an emotional attachment to the angelic, doe eyed, rosy cheeked, Judy Garland version of Dorothy Gale, might I suggest a different title? But if you like gruesome, and sometimes macabre retellings of classic stories, give this one a go.

Look for: Book 2 in this series: The Wicked Will Rise.

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Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green
YA Nonfiction

What is it: This is a story of recovery. Katie Green grew up in a typical family with typical friends. However, the people in her life always seemed to make a big deal about how much she did or did not eat. Her friends would stress and worry about their bodies, pinching at their extra skin, and complaining about boys. Saying things like, “I wish I could be anorexic… to be able to just not eat, if I wanted to” or “I’d do anything to be skinny like Katie” (68). Katie was naturally thin but being surrounded by toxic self-talk and being scrutinized about her body at every turn led her down the road to an eating disorder. At first, she skipped meals, became obsessed with counting her calories, and counting her ribs. Eventually she stopped eating altogether and landed herself in a hospital bed. The remainder of the graphic novel depicts her various routes of treatment and her struggles with recovery and relapse.

Why it’s significant: According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, hospitalizations for eating disorders in children under the age of 12 has increased by 119% between 1999 and 2006. It’s so important for young people to be made aware of these diseases and their lifelong implications. The way Katie Green illustrates the fog of her eating disorder, always looming over her every decision and every mouthful, is a powerful image. Its accuracy is spot-on. The feelings she depicts are spot-on. And I think anyone who has ever felt unsure about their body should pick up this title.

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Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama
YA Fiction

What it’s about: Coco dreams of using magic, and by drawing a picture out of a mysterious forbidden book, she accidentally unleashes a spell that hurts her mother. She is taken under the wing of Qifrey, the leader of the Witch Hat Atelier, who hopes to protect her from a masked witch with unknown intentions.

Why you should read it: This is one of the most lusciously illustrated manga series I have ever seen, and Shirahama has created a gorgeous fantasy kingdom with an unusual magic system. Coco and the three other apprentices, each of whom has their own strengths, must use their talents to solve problems, save each other, and (sometimes) work together.

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Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash
YA Nonfiction

What is it: A graphic novel memoir about Maggie Thrash and her coming of age while at an all-girl summer camp. During this one poignant summer, she comes to terms with her sexuality, confesses feelings for another female, shoots her distinguished expert at the rifle range, and performs in drag as Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys.

Who it’s for: The references to boy band rivalries are amusing if you grew up in the late ‘90s, early 2000s. The summer camp activities and topics of conversation are spot on and will bring back memories for former campers. Thrash also just tells a beautiful story. It’s sad, and you’re left with a great sense of longing… but doesn’t every first love story end that way? 

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The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz
YA Fiction

What it’s about: The coming of age of Salvador Silva. Adopted at a young age by Vicente, a homosexual artist living in Texas, Salvador struggles with his identity. Just before his senior year of high school, he receives a letter from his deceased mother and starts becoming more aggressive at school. He wonders about his biological father, and if these feelings of anger are coming from a man he has never met. Intertwined with these feelings of self-discovery are his relationships with best friend Sam, a misunderstood classmate Fito, and his beloved grandmother, Mima.

Why you might like it: Saenz, having published poetry before publishing novels, writes in a way that makes reading enjoyable. His characters are complex but also universal. Everyone in this world can relate to feelings of anger and doubt, uncertainty and hopelessness, but also closure and pure joy. He conveys such emotions effortlessly.

Further reading: If you liked this, you will absolutely love Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, also by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

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The Wait: Love, Fear, and Happiness on the Heart Transplant List by Jennifer Bonner
YA Nonfiction

What it’s about: Jennifer Bonner was born with severe heart defects and eventually needed a heart transplant to survive. In her diary at the time, she wrote about her passion for art, her hopes for love and for the future, and her quest to live each day fully. Author Susan Cushman fills in the gaps about Jennifer’s life in and out of the hospital and the advances taking place in heart surgery at the time.

Why you should read it: I went to college with Jennifer Bonner and knew a few of the people she writes about, but her story is larger than that. Jennifer’s voice leaps off the page here as she shares intimate thoughts of a life that may have been hampered by her health but that didn’t dampen her remarkable zest for life. She is funny, profound, passionate, and deserves to be heard.

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Goliath by Tom Gauld
Nonfiction

What it is: A retelling of the classic David and Goliath story, with a twist. In this graphic novel, Goliath keeps a low profile as the Philistines bookkeeper, doing mainly paper pushing for the king, and has no interest in fighting. He gets forced into provoking the enemy camp across the valley simply because of his size. After 40 days, he meets David.

Why you might like it: Most people know how Goliath is portrayed in the bible, but if you’re looking for a new perspective that will make you feel and care for the Giant, this is for you.

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With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo
YA Fiction

What it’s about: Emoni Santiago is a senior in high school and a wonderful mother to her young daughter, which means she has a lot of responsibilities. Emoni works hard to provide for her daughter, but how can she teach her daughter to follow her passion if she won’t follow her own dreams of becoming a chef and finding love?

Why you should read it: This is a delicious read in terms of language and the included recipes! Emoni has a gift in the kitchen, and her friends and teachers find ways to encourage her to follow her dreams and do what she hadn’t imagined for herself. The story was much more hopeful than I thought it would be, and I liked how the main characters changed over the course of the story and learned to find space for pursuing their dreams. The audiobook is read by the author, and I especially enjoyed the conversations between Emoni and her "Buela."

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Earth Girl by Janet Edwards
YA Fiction

What it’s about: In a universe where most humans can portal between planets, Jarra is stuck on Earth. She longs to show the “exos” that a “nean” (short for Neanderthal) like her is just as good as they are. So she enrolls to study history, the subject she loves, through Asgard University, knowing her first year studies will be on Earth, so she can pretend to be an “exo.”

Why you should read it: Jarra is a strong female character who wins the admiration of her classmates because of her knowledge of Earth pre-history (before portals) and of archeological digs into the ruins of abandoned cities like New York. It was cool to get a glimpse into this future culture through her eyes, and to see how her own world view must change as she gets to know her classmates.

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Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
YA Nonfiction

What it’s about: Eric “Biddy” Bittle begins his college hockey career at Samwell University. Problem is, he’s a former figure skater who has never had to deal with being checked before, and it’s causing him major anxiety. Thankfully, his attractive team captain, Jack Zimmerman (son of hockey great Bob Zimmerman) is helping him cope. And Eric bakes pies as a form of therapy. A LOT of pies.

Why you should read it: This is a breezy look at the world of college hockey. Eric keeps a vlog where he talks about his teammates, and although there is a bit of drama, it didn’t take the turns I expected and stayed fresh and funny throughout.

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