Bad Neighbors

Coyoteland by Vanessa Hua is a random pickup from the public Library’s new releases shelf.

It tells the story of multiple families living in a wealthy California suburb named El Nido.

Jin’s family includes his wife and two daughters, Jane and Lily. They’re new to the area. Jin is hoping to flip the house with borrowed money from his childhood friend. There are multiple issues: the house has structural flaws, he’s jobless and a nearby housing development may drive down the cost of the home. He decides to start a petition against the development using fake names.

This creates a problem for his neighbors, Blair and Sam. Sam is in charge of the development and they have a lot of their own money riding on its success. Blair works for a startup company called Orb, which creates security cameras. Their children are Quinn, Jordan and Liam. Their nanny is an immigrant named Ana and her daughter Sofia. Ana ran from her abusive boyfriend and is fearful that he’ll find her new residence.

The Washington family includes mother Minerva, a single mother and doctor, and her children Tasha and Marcus.

The book takes place just following the initial Covid shutdown. People are still masking, but trying to get back to normal.

The book exposes lies between family, friends and neighbors along with systemic racism in a predominantly white, affluent neighborhood. Jane and Tasha team up to try to expose it, and things go crazy.

Another major conflict is over competitive swim teams in town. A neighborhood mom, Nic, tried to stop Jordan from competing due to her age. This brings more drama into the story. AND, there’s a rogue coyote running rampant in the neighborhood.

This story has a lot of storyline and characters to follow which made it a little confusing at first. But overall, it kept my attention with its series of crazy events.

Never Forget

The 9:09 Project by Mark H. Parsons is another teen Nutmeg nominee.

Jamison has been struggling since his mom’s death from cancer. She was the only one who really understood his way of thinking as a synesthetic among being a confidante.

He uses photography as a way to commemorate her. Each night, he takes a photo at her time of death, 9:09.

Jamison decides to use his 9:09 photos and others he’s taken of classmates to build a website which begins getting attention.

Through this is a budding relationship with a seemingly surly classmate. He also navigates having his little sister at high school with him for the first time, overcoming his childhood crush with the hottest girl in school, a new friendship and supporting his dad.

Photography is a key element to the story. Each chapter begins with a quote from Dorothea Lange and there is a plentiful amount of photo editing details.

The author’s note explains how personal this story is as he was caring for his mother while writing this book, highlighting the need to celebrate our loved ones through our own talents and memories.

The Real Snake

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins is a prequel to The Hunger Games.

Coriolanus Snow is a senior student residing in the Capitol. He aspires to attend university, success and wealth. However, his family consisting of his grandmother and cousin Tigris, are in financial trouble. They are in danger of losing their penthouse apartment and they are starving. His best meals are at school.

There seems to be hope with the upcoming Hunger Games because for the first time the students will be mentors to the tributes. The winner will receive full tuition at the University. However, Coriolanus is horrified when he is the last mentor assigned to the lowly District Twelve’s girl tribute.

But, he soon realizes that his mentee, Lucy Gray, is captivating. She has an amazing presence and sings beautifully. They begin to develop a relationship as they strategize how to win the games.

During the buildup to the games, Coriolanus has to worry about the game creator, Dean Highbottom, who seems to have a personal vendetta against him. There is also the twisted Dr. Gaul. Her experiments on animals and possibly people seems to have no boundaries.

Sejanus is a classmate and former District Two resident. Coriolanus envies Sejanus’s family money, and also can’t stand his rebellious tendencies. But he knows it’s best to keep up appearances as a friend.

Snow’s cheating during the games gets him assigned as a Peacekeeper. He chooses District Twelve in hopes of reuniting with Lucy Gray. And Sejanus ends up joining him.

Lucy and Snow reunite and seem destined to be together. However, Snow begins to realize his true nature. He cares more for acclaim and privilege than building a new life in the unknown.

There is so much more intricate detail to the story. The characters are well written and I was captivated.

Getting Started

Why do this? Who really wants to read my opinion about books I’ve read? These thoughts are a running record in my mind.

Actually, I wish I started a long time ago. I read nonstop, and I’ve been at it since I was a young girl. This will be a way of keeping track of my reading, but also a way to practice my writing. Anyone who happens to find my posts entertaining along the way is a bonus.

The first book I want to review was finished two weeks ago (yes, I procrastinated a bit). Time is always a factor, and the annoying doubts that I previously mentioned. Anyway, the first book I want to review is John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down. As a former high school English teacher, I am a definite John Green fan. I’ve used his videos, and of course, his books with my classes. In my current role as an elementary librarian, my audience isn’t age appropriate for Green’s books. But, several reviews in library social media groups sparked my interest to push Green’s new book to the top of my reading list.

I admit, I spent the first twenty pages or so thinking the main character was male. I had it in my mind that the book was Green’s memoir, so just assumed a male character. Once I figured out Aza’s gender, I sailed through the book, at times connecting with some of Aza’s obsessive traits, while at other times feeling annoyed by them. Green’s writing is strong as ever, but the characters didn’t have the normal spark for me as they do in his other novels. While the subplots of romance/mystery were entertaining, they just didn’t keep me captivated. I think it felt unrealistic to me.

Maybe someone like Aza needs a break from her sense of reality.