Humanity

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman is a unique tale of a bank robbery gone amok, and so much more. It is an advanced reader’s copy that I recently received in the mail. I chose this book from the box first because I remember enjoying A Man Called Ove (another title by this author).

We learn a bit about the bank robber’s background to understand what drove him/her to resort to robbery. When the robbery gets botched, he/she inadvertently ends up running into an apartment’s open house event, which turns the robbery into a hostage situation.

Officers Jack and his dad Jim are on the case. Jack is working hard to prove himself, but it seems that every witness is intent on giving him the run around.

We discover more about the officers, while each person/couple viewing the apartment has their own tale to share too (some more riveting than others). I was most interested in Zara, an extremely wealthy banker who attends these open houses to see what the other half live like. In actuality, she is haunted by a man who jumped to his death from a local bridge years ago. Unfortunately, we never get to read the note that she carries around in her purse. The same man on the bridge has impacted police officer Jack and hostage Estelle. Life connects us in unknown ways.

The characters’ interactions are both comical and poignant. Oddly, I had a sense of the movies “Clue” and “The Breakfast Club,” in that strangers are brought together with a farcical element. Yet, among the comedy and idiocy is a serious note: a message of second chances, humanity and grace.

Haunted Happenings

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie is another Intermediate Nutmeg nominee fitting the spooky category. Tessa’s family (mom, dad and little brother Jonah) moved from Florida to Chicago for her dad’s new job. Everything is different, especially their creepy, old house.

Strange things start happening the very first night there. Tessa hears strange noises, has random drawings appear in her sketch book, and her brother’s creepy doll seems to watch her (among other ghostly events). Luckily, she manages to connect to a group of new friends who are willing to help her figure out the ghost’s message. Andrew, along with twins Nina and Richie, join forces with Tessa to get to the bottom of the haunted house. In doing so, they cause a riff with their friend Cassidy who seems angry to have Tess in the picture.

Similar to a Scooby Doo episode, the gang goes out to solve the ghostly mystery which takes them on a search into the library, local cemetery (chase scene minus the music! lol) and secret places in Tessa’s home. Eventually Tessa is able to figure out the cause of her ghost’s anguish.

This book is a creepy mystery for grades 3-5 showcasing the undeniable strength provided by friends.

Books and Cookies

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green is an Intermediate Nutmeg nominee written in lyric narrative form. This is a beautiful story in both its message and its writing.

Macy is deaf, relying on sign language to communicate with family and friends. This alone can be challenging. She is dealing with her mom’s upcoming marriage to a man with younger, twin girls which will entail moving from her beloved home and losing their family duo. It’s been just Macy and her mom her whole life. Added to this is a major argument with her best friend over an upcoming family tree project.

Macy is enlisted to help an elderly neighbor pack her bookshelves for her upcoming move to an assisted living facility. In the process of helping her neighbor, the rainbow goddess Lily, Macy learns quite a bit. The pair share snips of their lives through notes to each other. Books, cookies and people’s stories have the answers and uplifting messages needed to get through many of life’s struggles.

She eventually overcomes her frustration with the new family dynamic, heals her friendship and realizes her worth.

Intelligence

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes is the epitome of a suspense novel. It may not be ideal reading for conspiracy theorists at this time, as it involves a biological warfare scheme that Scott Murdoch (code name Pilgrim among other aliases) must unravel.

Scott’s career in a secret investigative agency is revealed through various flashbacks, but the plot deals with events occurring after his early retirement. First is the horrific murder of an unidentifiable body in NYC and second (mainly) is the threat from a solitary terrorist dubbed the Saracen whose mission is to unleash certain death to U.S. citizens.

Scott’s intelligence and support from those he trusts (computer whiz Battleboi and officer Ben Bradley to name a couple) help him along through this page turner. Scott’s foremost mission it to find the elusive Saracen and figure out his plan (thereby saving millions).

Along the way, we discover the Saracen’s background and the events leading him to his sinister plot of destruction. Everything comes together in a masterful way.

This book kept me reading past my bedtime on more than one night.

Fashion Principles

Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone is an advanced reader copy I obtained through this year’s virtual SLJ Day of Dialog. It was a pleasant surprise to find this book and three other titles in my mail this past week.

Set in Connecticut, this story will appeal to middle school girls everywhere! As a former middle and high school teacher, I could definitely connect to the issues at stake in this book (and am happy to say that I was not one of the fashion police!). Fisher Middle School’s principal has an obsession with maintaining a strict dress code, using a special monitor dubbed “Fingertip” who specifically keeps an eye out for shorts’ lengths, visible shoulders and cleavage.

Events get heated when the entire eighth grade camping trip is canceled when Olivia is caught breaking the dress code. Molly witnesses the exchange and decides that enough is enough. She starts a podcast in order to share Olivia’s side of the story. Her podcast starts the #dresscoded movement. Other middle and high school girls want to share their stories too. Molly and her friends add to the movement by putting up posters, signing a petition and going to the school board. When nothing seems to make a difference, they set up their own camp-in at the school. With persistence and strong arguments for equality, they are finally heard.

Short chapters are a combination of podcast interviews, letters, lists and storytelling. The dress code issue is surrounded by other important middle school topics: crushes, changing friendships, family struggles, vaping/addiction, and bullying. Molly learns who her real friends are, and figures out how to navigate stressful family events. There is great depth in this story, making it a must read for teen girls and a conversation starter for everyone.

Keeping the Peace

The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks is a fast-flying read about Kaidu, a young teenager who is beginning training to be a fierce Dao. The group of boys are trained to fight in order to keep their people in control of the city. Kaidu feels anything but fierce after his first day of training. The only positive is that his father lives in the city too.

Kaidu doesn’t conform to expectations, and he begins venturing into the city on his own. He meets a skral girl called Rat whose parents were killed by the current ruler’s regime. They become friends as she teaches him how to run across the building tops in exchange for food.

Rat overhears a plan to kill the ruler and his son, and she is almost killed in her effort to alert someone at the palace. Luckily Kaidu’s lessons serve him well in helping to reveal the plan in time. And to save his friend. It seems that peace will stay in the city… for now.

This is a graphic novel with a message of compromise and being open to others; it will appeal to readers who enjoy a quick read with action. It is also a 2021 Intermediate Nutmeg nominee.

Drawn Together

New Kid by Jerry Craft is a well-deserved 2021 Intermediate AND Middle School Nutmeg nominee.

Jordan Banks is transferring to the elite Riverdale Academy Day School to start seventh grade, when all he would really like is to pursue his dream of attending art school. This graphic novel portrays the first year at RAD, while his personal commentary on various events are drawn/noted along the way. Humor is a constant throughout the book with many relatable, laugh out loud moments, and a straightforward approach to serious topics.

First are the discriminatory remarks made by fellow student Andy to each character of a different cultural descent. There are microaggressions from faculty as well; for example, the teacher who calls every black student by the wrong name, and the book fair arranged by stereotyped categories. There is also the stigma attached to students who use financial aid to attend. So many important conversations can stem from the behaviors and events in this book.

The characters are written well, and I think students will connect to them. Jordan is a nice person who takes time to get to know everyone, even oddball Alexandra who always wears a sock puppet on her hand. Jordan has a way of finding classmates who are most genuine. In doing so, he ends up having a decent year, making true friends and learning to speak up for himself and his friends.

I read this story in a day, and enjoyed every moment of it.

Riding North

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins kept popping up in my recommended books list, and I finally decided to dig in! I’m happy that I did as this is a book I won’t soon forget.

Lydia owns a book store and becomes close friends with her customer Javier, before discovering that he is head of a fierce cartel responsible for multiple murders in their area. After Lydia’s reporter husband writes a feature article about Javier, everything goes horrifically wrong.

Lydia and her son Luca are the only survivors when their entire family is gunned down during a party. Now they are desperately trying to outrun the cartel and certain death. We join them throughout their journey as they jump La Bestia, riding trains to take them from their starting point in Acapulco to their destination: the U.S. They meet two sisters during their travels, Soledad and Rebeca, who are also escaping terrible violence. They join forces through the many obstacles before them.

Their journey is full of indescribable sadness, danger and horror, but there is also friendship and unexpected kindness. Every decision is potentially life or death and every person’s strength and determination keeps them moving toward a new start. This is an amazing read for both plot and its writing!

A Different Path

This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel is an eye-opening (realistic fiction) look into the world of a transgender child. Claude is the fifth boy in his family, and he realizes before kindergarten that he is much more comfortable in girls’ clothing.

His parents, Doctor Rosie and writer Penn, come to embrace his inclination. Once they agree to let him wear girl accessories, they run into static at the school and with “friends.” After Rosie has an ER patient, killed for being transgender, she decides the family needs a fresh start somewhere more open.

They move and allow Claude the chance to be Poppy. In doing so, they decide it’s not necessary to let everyone know that Poppy is originally Claude. All is well until the secret comes out. Poppy withdraws and his mother decides to bring him to Thailand with her while she works in clinic there. This is an eye-opening experience for both of them; the change of lifestyle provides some clarity as to their next steps.

Throughout the book, we also get to know the rest of the family’s struggles and eccentricities. There are nuances to the story that I appreciated, such as Penn’s ongoing storytelling to mimic reality. Parenting as a team is an important component as well.

Prior to reading this book, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around a child of such a young age going through these feelings and incidents. I left the story feeling more open-minded and so sympathetic to Claude/Poppy’s character and to the parents. Choosing a complicated path littered with disdain/ignorance as the only way to feel authentic and happy is an incredible journey for anyone, let alone a child. This story attacks this choice in a thought-provoking way.

Pick One

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher hooked me from the start with all of its many problematic possibilities. The narrator, Thursday, excitedly awaits her husband’s arrival. This is her only night of the week with him, so she strives to make it special. He spends the other nights of the week with two other women. The first is his ex-wife Regina, a highly successful lawyer, and the other his third pregnant, wife Hannah.

Thursday is fine with this arrangement, or so she thought. She starts becoming obsessed with knowing and meeting both other women. During her investigation, she starts to fear her husband and worries that he may be harming his newest wife. Thursday may not be seeing everything clearly though.

While the beginning of the story hooked me, events started to jump all over. It felt chaotic. This may have been the desired effect, but it didn’t work for me. Overall, a decent read, but with the potential to be so much more.