Middle Grade Monday: Turtle in Paradise: the Graphic Novel by Jennifer L. Holm

Image: Penguin Random House

Turtle in Paradise: the Graphic Novel by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau. 256 p. RH Graphic/ Random House Children's Books, June, 2021. 9780593126318. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Middle Grade Monday features Turtle in Paradise: the Graphic Novel by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau. I had no idea this adaptation was even in the works, let alone out. Thanks to the children's librarian at my local library for displaying it! Sometimes, I can't keep up!

This graphic novel is adapted from Ms. Holm's 2010 Newbery Honor-winning novel of the same name. More on that in this Thursday's #tbt. It's June of 1935 and the country is in the middle of The Great Depression. Eleven-year-old Turtle has to travel to Key West, Florida to stay with an aunt and cousins she has never met because her mother got a job as a live-in housekeeper to a woman who "can't abide children." It seems Turtle arrived before her mother's letter and Aunt Minerva is none too pleased. Neither are her boy cousins, especially Beans, who has to give up his room for Turtle. Beans heads "The Diaper Gang" and no girls are allowed. They allow Turtle to tag along though and Turtle slowly comes out of her shell.

The art captures the Depression-Era Key West beautifully from the architecture through the clothing. The palette is decidedly beachy as well. Turtle in Paradise: the Graphic Novel should appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier and Victoria Jamison, as well as fans of historical fiction and anyone who wants to fall in love with a girl with grit.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Image: Penguin Random House

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus. Unabridged e-audiobook. ~ 9 hours. Read by Sarah Skaer, Kate Reinders, David Garelik and Julia Whelan. Listening Library, November, 2020. 9781984842152. (Review of downloadable e-audio borrowed from the public library.)

Teen Tuesday features The Cousins by Karen M. McManus. Milly, Aubrey and Jonah are the Story cousins and hardly know each other. Their parents are not close and they have never met their grandmother, though Milly is named for her. Twenty-five years earlier, their parents were disinherited abruptly, receiving notes saying, "You know what you did." They didn't, but they went on with their lives always wondering.

Now Mildred Story has had an apparent change of heart. Each cousin receives a type-written note, signed by their grandmother, inviting them to spend the summer working at her resort on an island she basically owns. None of the cousins want to go, but their parents make clear that they are going.

Once they finally meet the famed Mildred Story, the cousins get the distinct impression that she has no interest in a reconciliation. So why are they there? 

My students who love the mystery/ thriller genre love Karen M. McManus' books, One of Us is Lying and Two Can Keep a Secret are rarely on the shelf. (One of Us is Next came out last spring while we were in quarantine.) The Cousins is paced differently. The menace isn't quite as immediate, but mystery and secrets abound. The cousins have their secrets, as do their parents, but their grandmother might have the biggest one yet. 

The POV switches between the cousins. There are also flashbacks to the summer before their parents were disinherited, which shows they were rather spoiled super-rich kids. We learn through their rather damaged children that none matured much. All the narrators bring the unique personalities alive making this an entertaining mystery to read with my ears. I'm eager to share this with my students and learn what they think!

Middle Grade Monday and Arc Review: The Last Mirror on the Left by Lamar Giles

Image: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

The Last Mirror on the Left by Lamar Giles. Illustrated by Dapo Adeola. 168 p. A Legendary Alston Boys Adventure #2. Versify/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 20, 2020. 9780358129419. (Review of e-arc courtesy of publicist.)

Middle Grade Monday wishes a happy book birthday to author, Lamar Giles and The Last Mirror on the Left. The second installment of A Legendary Alston Boys Adventure releases tomorrow and fans of the first adventure, The Last Last Day of Summer, will not want to miss it!

Cousins Otto and Sheed are back in school a short while after their epic adventure fixing the time freeze. Unfortunately, no one in Fry remembers what happened. Or so they thought. Mrs. Nedraw, owner of the Rorrim Mirror Emporium knows that the boys used one of her precious mirrors without her permission to fix the mess and now, she's threatening them with the law unless the boys help her. The mirrors are actually prison cells and the boys accidentally cracked the mirror they "borrowed," allowing a most notorious criminal to escape. He, in turn, freed a gang, then escaped through the last mirror on the left into an alternate universe town of Fry, where people and places are a bit...off.

The action is non-stop and totally mind-bending! While the humor is high, the boys contemplate criminal justice as they confront the ways in which the truth can be bent to serve those in power. The boys' devotion to each other is also tested as Sheed becomes annoyed by Otto's weirdness. (No spoilers here!) The spot art by Dapo Adeola adds to the humor and enjoyment.

Don't miss these two books! I hope to see more of Otto and Sheed, their antics, their brotherhood and their joy, in the future.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: The Patron Saint of Nothing by Randy Ribay

Image: Penguin Random House

The Patron Saint of Nothing by Randy Ribay. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~ 8 hours. Read by Ramón de Ocampo. Listening Library, 2019. (Review of e-audiobook downloaded from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. Jay Reguero is a bit at sea. He is a high school senior in Michigan and has been accepted to University of Michigan, but none of his preferred schools. He's not sure what he wants to study. Then he receives news that his cousin, Jun, died in the Philippines. HIs Filipino father is his usual terse self when Jay asked what happened. His white mother explains later that Jun was using drugs and was murdered because President Duterte's answer to the drug problem in the Philippines is to kill users and dealers without remorse. This wasn't the Jun that Jay came to admire when the family visited some years earlier. They felt like brothers and communicated via letters for years until Jay abruptly stopped writing. Now Jay wants to extend his spring break to travel to Manila to find out the truth. 

Part mystery, part coming-of-age story and totally intriguing, mature teen readers will explore what it means to belong to a culture, and learn about the brutal policies of a President with zero tolerance for drug use and citizens who speak out against his policies. Patron Saints of Nothing was a National Book Award Finalist. 

Teen Tuesday: Anthem by Deborah Wiles

Image: Scholastic

Anthem by Deborah Wiles. Sixties Trilogy #3. 480 p. Scholastic Inc., October, 2019. 9780545106092. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Teen Tuesday features Anthem by Deborah Wiles. Anthem is book three of The Sixties Trilogy. It takes place in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War. Fourteen-year-old Molly's beloved older brother ran away after an explosive fight with their father. Word is, he's in San Francisco; but he has not contacted anyone. Now, his draft notice has arrived and her mother and aunt have concocted a plan to send her and her seventeen-year-old cousin on a cross-country road trip to find him. Molly, who likes order in her life has already mapped out the route. Norman, who summer plans with his yet-to-be-formed band are derailed, has a few stops he wants to make along the way. And what a road trip they have! As with the previous titles in the trilogy, this novel is documentary style. Though the page count weighs in at over 450 pages, many of them are filled with well-captioned photos and newspaper headlines that give readers historical context. Chapters are song names, which include a discography for each, so queue up some of the titles on Spotify and take a groovy road trip!

The point of view shifts between Molly and Norman effectively. The people that they meet along the way are brimming with life as they serve to help Norman gain confidence and upend everything Molly believes in. There are moments of hilarity sprinkled liberally as the reader watches both cousins grow and become socially aware. I did love each book in this trilogy, but this might be my favorite.

Highly recommended!

Review: Animal Planet Adventures

Animal Planet Adventures is a new chapter book series that incorporates non-fiction into a novel that revolves around a pair of children and animals. Two titles kick the series off. I received these courtesy of the publisher and read them aloud to a fifth grade class.

Dolphin Rescue by Catherine Nichols. Illustrated by Bryan Langdo. 112 p. Liberty Street/ Time Inc. Books, February, 2017. 9781618931696.

Siblings Mattie and Atticus live with their fisherman father near the ocean. Their cousin Zach and his dog, Norville are visiting for the summer. Maddie volunteers at the local aquarium and she and her brother are upset about the recent rashes of garbage dumping around their small, close-knit community. One day, the two spy a pod of dolphins that seemed to be in distress. They were circling a young dolphin who was in trouble. It had become entangled in some netting that had been dumped along with other trash. After they free the dolphin, Maddie and Atticus are determined to find the culprit.

Farm Friends Escape! by Gail Herman. Illustrated by Bryan Langdo. 112 p. Liberty Street/ Time Inc. Books, February, 2017. 9781618931680.

Eleven-year-old cousins, Luke and Sarah look forward to spending a good part of each summer at their grandparents' farm in Maine. They get along pretty well despite the fact that Sarah veers toward seriousness and Luke's a joker. This year, they arrive to find that they are responsible for running the petting zoo this year. It's a big responsibility that Luke doesn't take as seriously as Sarah. The two notice a boy lurking about but they are unable to find out who he is and why he's always watching. When the animals escape, the children put their heads together to find them and the boy becomes the prime suspect.

Both books feature relatable, likable boys and girls who love animals and care for the environment. The books are attractively designed, feature a nice font size and generous white space. Drawn illustrations depict the story and full-color photographs are inserted sporadically to provide information related to sea life in Dolphin Rescue and farm animals in Farm Friends Escape. The mysteries in each are engaging and mildly suspenseful with fun twists as the solutions are revealed. My only dilemma as the person reading these aloud was when to interrupt the story to share the information. 

My students listened eagerly and gave each thumbs up. They are interested in reading more in the series. The next two installments are due out in September. These are Puppy Riddle Rescue and Zoo Camp Puzzle. Recommended for readers between grades 2/3 - 5.