Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: The Epic Story of Every Living Thing by Deb Caletti

Image: Penguin Random House

The Epic Story of Every Living Thing by Deb Caletti. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~13 hours. Read by Brittany Pressley. Books on Tape/ Listening Library, September, 2022. 9780593611654. (Review of e-audiobook downloaded from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features The Epic Story of Every Living Thing by Deb Caletti. Seventeen-year-old Harper Proulx is an anxiety-ridden perfectionist. She is the only child of a single mom who is a college professor and has high expectations of Harper academically and socially. Living through the pandamic quarantined with her mom has only worsened her anxiety. She finds validation with the likes by her many followers on Instagram, where she carefully curates her life. When a follower comments that she looks just like a friend, Harper has to agree, because they both have striking green eyes and auburn hair. The two meet and Harper learns that they share the same sperm donor and that Dario has discovered more half-siblings. Dozens more, in fact. They connect with two more half-siblings, Simone and Wyatt. They do some sleuthing and track their donor dad to Hawai'i, where he runs a surf school and Wyatt's parents own a condo. Though terrified to defy her mother, Harper does so and flies to Hawai'i to discover herself.

Journal entries from the 1800s begin each chapter and readers may wonder about the relevance, but they are beautifully tied together in what is an epic journey of self-discovery on two levels. I also appreciated how the author depicted Harper's anxious obsession with presenting a perfect hash tagged life. Her lack of being present led to her losing her boyfriend, Ezra, whom she treated as little more than a cameraman. The narrator also did a wonderful job of bringing that to life with her almost staccato delivery. Harper starts out a bit self-centered and unlikable, but her growth is believable. A recommended coming-of-age story!

(My one quibble has to do with the prevailing traits shared by most of the offspring - green eyes and auburn hair. These are recessive genes and I found it a bit of a stretch. Teens may pick up on it. I know I knew about recessive and dominant genes from about seventh grade on.)

2022 Audiobooks

 January (4)

1. The Taking of Jake Livingstone by Ryan Douglass (1/1)

2. Gilded by Marissa Meyer (1/9)*

3. You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus (1/16)

4. Lore by Alexandra Bracken (1/28)

February (6)

5. The Toll by Neal Shusterman (2/4)*

6. Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (2/4)*

7. Gone to the Woods: surviving a lost childhood by Gary Paulsen (2/7)

8. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (2/15)*

9. Pony by R. J. Palacio (2/20)*

10. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2/23)*

March (4)

11. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley (3/5)

12. Far Away by Lisa Graff (3/6)

13. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E.Schwab (3/13)*

14. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (3/22)

April (5)

15. Sunny G's Series of Rash Decisions by Navdeep Singh Dhillon (4/7)

16. Scary Story for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker (4/13)*

17. Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi (4/18)

18. Roxy by Neal Shusterman and Jarod Shusterman (4/19)

19. Does My Body Offend You? by Mayra Cuevas (4/26)

May (7)

20. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higher (5/3)

21.  I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys (5/7)*

22. Every Line of You by Naomi Gibson (5/11)

23. French Braid by Anne Tyler (5/15)

24. Riley's Ghost by John David Anderson (5/22)

25. Cold by Mariko Tamaki (5/25)

26. Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater (5/31)*

June (7)

27. The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin by Kip Wilson (6/4)

28. Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater (6/11)

29. Cinder and Glass by Melissa de la Cruz (6/19)

30. The Disappearance of Aiden S. (as told to his brother) by David Levithan (6/22)

31. Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino (6/23)

32. Family of Liars by E. Lockhart (6/26)

33. Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas (6/30)

July (6)

34. Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi (7/2)

35. The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls by James Bird (7/6)

36. All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir (7/11)*

37. The Fort by Gordon Korman (7/14)

38. The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer Nielsen (7/20)

39. Okoye to the People: a Black Panther Novel by Ibi Zoboi (7/24)

August (5)

40. Rivals by Katherine McGee (8/3)

41. Playing with Myself by Randy Rainbow (8/7)*

42. Flip the Script by Lyla Lee (8/13)

43. Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales (8/16)

44. The Loophole by Naz Kutub (8/20)*

September (4)

45. Beasts of Ruin by Ayana Gray (9/1)

46. Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira (9/13)

47. Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero (9/21)

48. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson (9/26)

October

49. Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper (10/2)

50. Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King (10/3)

51. The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat (10/9)*

52. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (10/17)

53. Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson (10/28)

November (4)

54. Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds (11/5)

55. Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros (11/10)

56. A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger (11/20)

57. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (11/29)   

December

58. Debating Darcy by Sayantani Dasgupta (12/18)

59. The Epic Story of Every Living Thing by Deb Caletti (12/27)*

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~11 hours. Read by Aysha Kala. Harper Teen/ HarperCollins Publishers, March, 2017. 9780062474612. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.

Happy Tuesday! I am a huge fan of the Heartstopper graphic novel series by Alice Oseman, as are many seventh and eighth graders, probably propelled by the popular Netflix series. Did you know that Ms. Oseman also writes novels? In fact, Charlie was a minor character in her debut novel, Solitaire, which was published in 2014, when she was only twenty years old! But Teen Tuesday isn't featuring Solitaire. I couldn't find it on audio, though I do intend to read it some day. 

Teen Tuesday features Radio Silence. This book was published in 2016 and is her second novel following the publication of two novellas. Radio Silence is narrated by Frances Janvier, who introduces her self with this: “I was study machine Frances Janvier. I was going to Cambridge . . . Uni, job, money, happiness. That’s what you do. That’s the formula." She's top girl at her school and despises the top boy. She also has a loose group of "friends" she really doesn't relate to or feel close to. What she does love with all her heart is a podcast called "Universe City." It's dark and brooding and Frances frequently publishes her fan art to Tumblr under the pseudonym, Toulouse. She's shocked and delighted to received a message through the app from the creator, who loves her art and wants permission to use it even though he can't pay her.

Turns out that the creator is none other than her across the street neighbor, Aled and twin to her former best friend, Carys. Aled is brilliant and headed to university and Carys struggeld in school and ran away two years earlier. Frances feels it is her fault. Frances and Aled strike up a fast friendship and work on the podcast together through the summer. After a social media influencer gives the podcast a shoutout, Universe City goes viral and the fandom are rabid to discover the identities of Aled and Frances.

This nuanced, layered novel explores themes of friendship, identity, familial relationships, societal expectations and being true to yourself. Frances' wry narration reveals her to be bright, honest, self-deprecating, driven and doubtful. I was immediately smitten. She also has a brilliant mother. I went into this vaguely thinking it would be a romance along the lines of Heartstopper. It's not, but it's utterly engaging. Mature teen readers questioning the status quo and looking for a challenging read  will enjoy Radio Silence.

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros

 

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros. Unabridged book on Playaway, ~5 hours. Read by Timothy Andrés Pabon and Gary Tiedemann. Findaway World/ Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, March, 2022. 9781669609469. (Review of audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Middle Grade Monday features Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros. Marco and Isaac are best friends who are entering middle school. Marco is short and does well in school. Isaac is tall, excels at basketball, but struggles in school. The two also have some issues at home. Isaac's mom left his dad due to his alcoholism and Marco's father is rarely visits. Isaac hopes that if he gets good grades, his parents' marriage will heal and Marco hopes that if he makes the basketball team, his father will visit more. Isaac coaches Marco in b-ball and Marco tutors Isaac. That'll work, right?

Falling Short is Mr. Cisneros' sophomore novel. It is very different than his award-winning debut, Efrain Divided. The friendship between the two boys stands front and center, where they unconditionally support each other despite being pulled in different directions socially. I loved this. Family issues were realistically portrayed and the adults were mostly trying to do the right thing. This dynamic, the dual POV and short chapters make this a quick and satisfying read. The two narrators portrayed the warmth of the boys' friendship and seamlessly shifted between English and Spanish.

Falling Short is a first-purchase! 

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Image for HC/ Levine Querido 

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~11 hours. Read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Kindle Hueston. Recorded Books, November, 2021. 9781705045039. (Review of e-audio borrowed from public library.)

As Indigenous Peoples Month winds down, Teen Tuesday features A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger. This immersive dual-narrative shifts point of view between sixteen-year-old Nina here on Earth and fifteen-year-old Olli who resides in the Reflecting World. The two worlds were once joined thousands of years ago. Nina's family is linked to it through her grandmother, who is a healer. Nina is intent on figuring out a story that her great, great grandmother Rosita told her and also intent on saving her grandmother from a man who may be poisoning her land. Olli is a cotton mouth snake person who reluctantly leaves his mother's home to make his own way in the world. Eventually, he settles down close to two coyote sisters and a frog named Ami and the four become friends. When Ami falls ill, it is up to Olli and the sisters to save him. That's when the two stories converge.

The narrators' performances were  well-paced and beautifully inflected. As always, I appreciate hearing the proper pronunciation of unfamiliar names and words.  

This genre-blender won the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, a Newbery Honor and was longlisted for the National Book Award. It also appeared on many Best Books of the Year lists including the Chicago Public Library and the New York Public Library. Readers looking for a layered, nuanced adventure will enjoy A Snake Falls to Earth.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds

Image: Penguin Random House

Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds. ~10 hours. Read by Emily Lawrence. Listening Library/ Books on Tape, October, 2022. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Happy Tuesday! Did you get up to watch the lunar eclipse? It started here around 4AM and I happened to awaken at 4:15 and peeked at it through my bathroom's skylights. I up and dressed and out with the dogs an hour later and saw the last of the moon go dark. It was quite a show, with a beautifully clear sky that also featured a sparkling Orion following the setting moon.

Teen Tuesday features Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds. Shira Barbanel is a bright, driven high school junior who is unlucky in love. She's looking forward to spending her winter holidays in Nantucket at her grandparents' sprawling estate with her extended family. As luck would have it, her uncle's intern and current crush, Isaac will be there as well. She's hoping to move her crush into something more. 

As luck would have it, she shares a flight with her nemesis, Tyler Nelson and ends up sharing a cab to her grandparents' as they are also neighbors. The power is out and the rest of the family are stranded on the mainland, so Shira and Tyler make do and Shira lights a fire and the first candle of Hanukkah. While she detests Tyler for being a player only interested in hooking up, she recognizes that she needs to up her flirting game if she wants to capture Isaac's attention and asks Tyler to teach her to flirt. Tyler wants a meeting with her media mogul uncle in exchange. And so the enemy-to-lover trope plays out on snowy Nantucket where the rich residents host a slew of holiday parties, giving Tyler and Shira plenty of time to get together to practice. There's plenty of angst and humor in this fluffy concoction.

Eight Nights of Flirting is a stand-alone companion to Ms Reynolds' 2021 debut, The Summer of Lost Letters. Emily Lawrence imbued Hannah's narration with angst and self-deprecating humor. Happy reading!

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

Image: Penguin Random House

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours, 55 minutes. Read by Bailey Carr and multiple narrators. Listening Library, March, 2021. 9780593342398. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from the public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson. Pippa Fitz-Amobi has sworn off detective work, but hosts a viral podcast with Ravi's help, where she discusses the cold case she just solved. But when the brother of a friend of hers goes missing and the police won't investigate because he has a history of running away, Pip can't say no. Pip has definitely made some enemies and some people are quite reluctant to be interviewed by her, especially since she's podcasting her investigation in real time. 

This sequel pretty much hits the ground running. It takes up shortly after events in the first book, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Fans of the first will not be disappointed. While this installment can be read without reading the first, it is better to have the background info and avoid spoilers for book one.

The main narrator continues to keep a brisk pace and sound reasonably young. The addition of multiple narrators also keeps the story moving. 

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Image: OrangeSky Audio

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat. ~7 hours, 21 minutes. Read by Sura Siu. OrangeSky Audio, 2022. (Review of e-audio borrowed from Hoopla.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. The weather was just gorgeous here in northern NJ. I spent a lot of time outdoors taking care of my leaves and walking Boo. And, Happy Halloween!

Middle Grade Monday features The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat. Twelve-year-old Sodsai, "Sai" Mudawan has been able to hide her lowly birth and secured a job with Paiyoon the mapmaker. She lives in the Fens with her conman father. She knows that once she turns thirteen, her ruse will be discovered when she fails to receive a lineal, a bracelet with links that represent noble lineage. When the queen dispatches a ship to find and explore the Sunderlands, Paiyoon is to join the expedition as Royal Mapmaker. He invites Sai to come along as his apprentice because she has a talent for copying and Paiyoon's hands are no longer as steady as they once were. Once on board, Sai meets Rian, a dashing figure and rising star in the queen's navy. She also spies a deck hand who might recognize her from the Fens and blow her cover. It seems everyone has secrets on board and some of them might be dangerous.

This Thai-inspired fantasy is getting a fair amount of well-deserved Newbery buzz. It's quick pace and suspense will keep readers turning pages. The characters are complex and the world on board the ship is vividly drawn. The Last Mapmaker hits that sweet spot where lovely writing meets rousing adventure. 

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: The Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Image: Penguin Random House

The Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Unabridged e-audio book, ~11 hours. Read by Bailey Carr, Mairsa Calin, Michael Crouch, Gopal Divan, Robert Fast, Kevin R. Free, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Carol Monda, Patricia Santomasso, Sheri Sardar, Amanda Thickpenny, and others. Books on Tape/ Listening Library, February, 2020. (Review of e-audio downloaded from public library.)

Happy Tuesday! My students should know that I love hearing recommendations from them. The school year started with me receiving a lot of requests for "good girl's guide to murder" books or books by Holly Jackson. I am sorry to confess that I hadn't heard of the series or the author, who made her debut with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder in 2020. I put a hold on the audiobook and just finished it. What a nail biter!

Pippa Fitz-Amobi plans to revisit a cold case in her town of Fairview for her senior capstone project. Five years earlier, the small town was rocked by the disappearance of high school senior Andie Bell and the apparent suicide of her boyfriend, Sal, who admitted via text that he killed her. Case closed even though her body was never found. Pippa is unconvinced because Sal was always nice to her, so she starts interviewing. It isn't long before she begins putting pieces of the puzzle together and also receives notes warning her to stop.

Suspense is high throughout, as she sifts through the large number of suspects and examines motives. There are some cool red herrings and a few plot contrivances that keep the reader guessing until the end. It's not surprising that this is a best seller and checked out of most libraries in my library cooperative. Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday: The Fort by Gordon Korman

Image: Scholastic Inc. 

The Fort by Gordon Korman. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~6 hours. Read by Christopher Carley, Michael Crouch, Nick Walther, Ramon De Ocampo, Tom Picasso, and Mark Sanderlin.

Recorded Books, June, 2022. (Review of e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Happy Monday TMS! I hope you had a blast this weekend and got outdoors in the gorgeous weather! I also hope you got a glimpse of the Hunter's Moon which rose on Saturday night.

Middle Grade Monday features The Fort by Gordon Korman. What kid doesn't dream of having a fort-a place to hang, to escape or just dream? When four best buds plus one new-comer literally stumble upon a fully-stocked underground bunker, they can't believe their luck and swear each other to secrecy as they explore their new digs and eat canned food. Suspension of belief is definitely required for this story told from multiple points of view. Each boy has an issue, whether it's fighting parents, absent parents or crippling anxiety.

The Fort is Mr. Korman's 100th book, and, while not his best, certainly starts with a terrific premise and features engaging characters. 

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper

Image: Simon & Schuster

Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper. Unabridged audiobook, ~7 hours. Read by Sisi Aisha Johnson. Simon & Schuster Audio, November, 2021. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from the public library.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a cozy weekend. It has been chilly here in northern NJ and this weekend's much needed rain made staying indoors easy. We got the remnants of Hurricane Ian. Not a ton of rain, but very high winds. My neighbor had a huge tree fall. Thankfully it fell away from his house. 

Middle Grade Monday features Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper. This sequel to Out of My Mind has Melody contemplating her summer. Her classmates are all heading to a variety of camps and Melody wonders if there's one that would accept her. With the help of the librarian and her public library, Melody finds a camp that caters to kids with special needs. Fans of the first book will not be disappointed. Melody is just as spunky and funny. Readers will cheer as she finds her courage, makes friends and maybe even finds her first crush?

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours. Read by Monica Gomez-Hira. HarperTeen/ HarperAudio, March, 2021. 9780063061415. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira. The only thing standing between Carmen Aguilar and her high school diploma is an internship. She didn't complete it during senior year due to the harassment she suffered from her project supervisor. The only internship she could find on such short notice was as a party princess. The last thing she wants to do is dress up as Belle and sing "Beauty and the Beast" for a bunch of five-year-olds, but that's what she needs to do. Her situation goes from bad to worse when she learns that her "Beast" partner is none other than Mauro, an ex who also had something to do with her estrangement from her cousin and the cancelling of her own quinceañera three years earlier.

Carmen is a wisecracking firecracker who doesn't suffer fools gladly. Yet, there is still chemistry between her and Mauro. The family dynamics are dramatic and sometimes hilarious. There is definitely a soap opera feel to all the angst. There's also foul language, underage drinking and other risky behavior in the story. Mature eighth grade readers who enjoy romance and know or want to learn about quinceañeras will be entertained. 

The lively narration kept things interesting.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Beasts of Ruin by Ayana Gray

Image: Penguin Random House

Beasts of Ruin by Ayana Gray. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~15 hours. Read byKeylor Leigh Benjamin Charles and Yinka Ladeinde. Books on Tape/ Listening Library, July 2022. 9780593414774. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Beasts of Ruin by Ayana Gray. This sequel to Beasts of Prey begins immediately with Koffi awakening a prisoner of Fedu, god of death and Ekon reeling from the secrets he learned and hiding from his former warrior brothers. Koffi must find a way out, but first she needs to learn about her powers as a duraja. Ekon must learn to trust his instincts even if it means going against his training. 

Readers of Beasts of Prey will re-immerse themselves into the lush and magical world building and the cliffhanger ending will leave them panting for the next installment. Suspense, betrayal, twists and turns abound. This summary was kept deliberately vague to avoid spoiling the first installment.

I read Beasts of Prey as an arc with my eyes and was utterly entranced. I chose to read Beasts of Ruin with my ears and was disappointed. While I found the two female narrators to be fine, the voice actor for Ekon kept making his voice break, which sounded stilted and artificial.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzalez

Image: Macmillan Publishers

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzalez. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~8 hours. Read by Mark Sanderling. Macmillan Audio/ Macmillan Young Listeners, March, 2020. 9781250265371. (Review of e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Happy Tuesday! It's the first day back for my students! Too bad it's rainy! Teen Tuesday features Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzalez. Ollie is the narrator of this fluffy with a side of sad lgbtq romance. He's out and proud and visiting his aunt in North Carolina for the summer. She has cancer and he has been babysitting so that his mom can spend time with her sister at a lake. He has a summer fling with Will, who has suddenly ghosted him. As he's angsting over that, he learns that his parents decided to relocate to North Carolina for the school year - his senior year - in order to take care of his aunt and her family. Ollie is devastated, of course, but soldiers on, 1. because he's a good guy and 2. because he adores his aunt and her kids. 

Little does he know that Will is a basketball star at the school he will be attending and that Will is firmly in the closet. Oh the drama! Luckily, Ollie is befriended by a trio of besties who have his back, Juliette, Niamh and Lara. He also joins a band.

This was a fluffy, fun read that also had moments of tenderness and depth. I absolutely adored the narrator and his performance. 

Tardy Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Flip the Script by Lyla Lee

  

Image: HarperCollins 

Flip the Script by Lyla Lee. Unabridged audiobook, ~8 hours. Read by Greta Jung. Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins, May, 2022. 9780063250260. (Review of e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Sorry about this late posting. I sat down to write this post so many times yesterday and got sidetracked by anxiety and other responsibilities. 

Teen Tuesday features Flip the Script by Lyla Lee. Sixteen-year-old Hana moved from the U.S. to Seoul so that she could pursue a career in acting, specifically K-drama. She landed a starring role opposite a swoony K-pop star turned actor, Bryan Yoon. Though the two have a lot of on-screen chemistry, the ratings weren't sufficiently high enough for the producers, who concoct a fake-dating scenario to boost them. Oh, and they also re-wrote the script to introduce a love triangle and hired a frenemy of Hana's to play the role.

This was mindless fun. I learned a fair amount about K-drama. I think I would've enjoyed it more had I read with my eyes. I found the narration stilted, particularly the male voices. There were these weird pauses before each male spoke, almost as if the narrator were trying to call the voice up. This is strange to me because the same narrator did the author's debut, I'll Be the One, and I enjoyed her performance then.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Rivals by Katharine McGee

Image: Penguin Random House

Rivals by Katharine McGee. American Royals #3. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~12 hours, 37 minutes. Read by Brittany Presley. Listening Library/ Books on Tape, May, 2022. 9780593584408. (Review of e-audiobook downloaded from the public library.)

Happy 'I'm melting' Tuesday! The heat continues in NJ, and while not as bad as other places in the U.S., it isn't conducive to the yard work I have on my to-do list! We had a little excitement in the neighborhood yesterday. My neighbor finally broke ground on her addition, and thanks to the previous owner's un-permitted and shoddy work and faulty marking by the gas company, the backhoe hit the gas line. Talk about starting a project with a bang! Here's hoping the rest of the work goes smoothly.

Teen Tuesday features Rivals by Katharine McGee. This is book three of the American Royals series, so as usual, I will be a bit vague in my summary. Even though the main characters in this series are older teens, the alternate history aspect and storytelling from multiple points of view are just plain fun. 

Beatrice is settling into her new role and about to host a week-long event called The League of Kings. Samantha seems to be settling down nicely with Marshall and Jefferson is starting college. There's plenty of court intrigue, high fashion and backstabbing to keep listening, and a "wait, what?" ending that will leave fans of the series panting for the next installment.

Ms. Pressley continues to keep the delivery breezy and fun. She employs a variety of voices and accents. While you can jump into this series at book three, why miss all the soap-opera-ish fun? Here's a link to my review of American Royalty. Happy reading.

Middle Grade Monday: Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas

Image: Macmillan

Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas. Unabridged audiobook, ~6 hours. Read by Anthony Rey Perez. Dreamscape Media, September, 2021. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Happy Monday! Happy August 1! Wow! Where did July go? Middle Grade Monday features Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas. Twelve-year-old Cumba narrates this relatable and emotionally resonant story. He lives with his extended family in the mountains of Cuba. He loves his family, the mountains and his country, but the year is 1961. Fidel Castro ousted the dictator Batista, but, as his grandfather said, the country traded one dictator for a new one. Priests have been expelled from the country, soldiers roam the streets encouraging neighbor to spy on neighbor and Cumba is almost of age to join the Young Rebels, where he will be forced to travel to Russia for training. His parents decide to obtain forged documents and send Cumba to Miami to stay with a relative. Cumba doesn't want to leave his family, is terrified of being discovered and knows very little English. Once settled in Miami, Cumba learns to navigate the streets of the city, makes friends, and starts school, all the while missing his family terribly.

Anthony Rey Perez's softly understated performance matched the tone of this quietly touching story perfectly. Readers who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy Cumba's story, which is based in part on the author's father's experience as a young boy.

Middle Grade Monday: The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Image: Scholastic Inc.

The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours. Read by Charlie McWade. Ascendance Series #4. Scholastic Audio/ Scholastic Inc., October, 2020. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Middle Grade Monday features The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer A. Nielsen. The Ascendance Trilogy turned into a series with this new addition to Sage/ Jaron's adventures. Ms. Nielsen thought Jaron's story was over in 2014 when the third and final book of the trilogy released, but some five years later, Ms. Nielsen says she heard Jaron saying, "I'm bored," and so Ms. Nielsen went to work. 

While this book can stand alone, if you enjoy a willful, snarky main character who is as infuriating as he is entertaining, you won't want to miss the first three books. With later books in a series, I try not to say too much in summary in order not to spoil. I will say that I wasn't as enamored by Jaron this time around, but his young fans will love this installment. I found a fair amount of repetition and a good deal of reliance on coincidence that stretched credulity a bit. 

The narrator continues to do a good job bringing Jaron to life. 

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

Image: Penguin Random House

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~531 minutes. Read by Kimberly Farr. Listening Library, May, 2022. 9780593608852. (Review of downloadable e-audiobook borrowed from the public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Family of Liars by E. Lockhart. This story is a prequel to Ms. Lockhart's We Were Liars. This book is wildly popular among TMS eighth graders and was published in 2014. It contains one of the best plot twists in YA lit. While Family of Liars is a pre-quel, there are spoilers to We Were Liars, so while the book can be read as a stand alone, I'd read We Were Liars first.

Carrie Lennox Taft Sinclair is asked "What's the worst thing you've ever done?" by her son during one of his late night visits to their vacation compound. Yes, compound. The Sinclairs are very wealthy and own an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Carrie reluctantly returns to the summer of 1987 to tell her son the story. It was a year after her youngest sister drowned. She's still grieving, but the family never shows any emotion and so, Carrie is grieving alone. She's also becoming addicted to pain killers after having jaw surgery at her father's insistence. That summer she not only discovers a family secret, but also falls for Pfeff, the flighty friend of her cousin's boyfriend.

This story surprised in the best possible ways. I was pleasantly surprised by the narrator's performance, because I didn't love her narration of French Braid. Fans of the first book will WANT this book and love it. 

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

Image: Penguin Random House

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours, 26 minutes. Read by Deepti Gupta, Kamran R. Khan and Kausar Mohammed. Listening Library, March, 2022. 9780593502228. (Review of finished e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir. Ms. Tahir made a huge splash with her debut trilogy starter, An Ember in the Ashes. Here she turns from fantasy to contemporary realistic fiction and the results are gut-wrenching and utterly compelling.

Salahudin and Noor are eighteen-year-old seniors living in a small town in the Mojave Desert in California. They are the only Muslims in town and used to be best friends. Noor is an orphan who lost her parents in an earthquake in Pakistan when she was six. Her uncle, who owns a liquor store and was her only living relative, brought her to the U.S., but has banned her from speaking Punjabi or practicing Islam. Though Noor wishes to attend college and eventually study medicine, her uncle's plans for her to work at his liquor store full-time.

Sal's parents own the financially failing Cloud Rest Motel and his mother, Misbah has ignored her health problems due to lack of insurance. His father struggles with alcoholism. Sal learns of the severity of the financial problems when Misbah dies. His father is useless and Sal vows to save the motel, but makes a poor choice in order to do so.

The POV (point-of-view) shifts between Noor and Sal in the present with snippets of the past narrated by Misbah. The result is a feeling of immediacy and utter dread as the story unfolds. Issues of class, race, Islamaphobia, abuse, found family and the criminal justice system collide in a compelling, yet painful narrative. I read this one with my ears and had to stop often due to the intensity of emotions I felt.

Mature teen fans of the author's Ember in the Ashes Trilogy will most definitely want to read All My Rage, as will fans of contemporary realistic fiction. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time. 

I'm so glad I read this with my ears. The three narrators were pitch perfect.