September 2021 – Miss Print

September 2021 Reading Recap

Posted on September 30, 2021October 5, 2021 by missprint

Planned to Read:

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer
The Last Legacy by Adrienne Young
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslian Charles
It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi

Read:

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer (audio)
The Last Legacy by Adrienne Young
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai (audio)
You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (reread, audio)
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi (audio)
Cazadra by Romina Garber (audio)
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
I Really Dig Pizza! by Candy James
We Will Find Your Hat! by Candy James
Simone Breaks All the Rules by Debbie Rigaud (reread)
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

Recap Video:

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You can also see what I read in August.

Sunkissed: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Posted on September 29, 2021September 11, 2021 by missprint

Avery’s expectations for her summer vacation are low. Her college professor parents always make summer vacations an event but now, the summer before her senior year, Avery’s parents are more determined than ever to have a summer full of family bonding. Unfortunately that means a summer at a hokey family camp. Without WiFi.

While Avery mourns her now inaccessible playlists, she relishes the chance to completely unplug and avoid her best friend–the one who betrayed her right before they left. Watching her younger, extroverted sister struggle without access to all of her social media accounts is an added bonus.

The summer starts to look up when Avery meets Brooks–the aloof frontman for the camp’s band. Who tells Avery that all of the camp’s guests are hopeless snobs before he realizes she is, in fact, one of those guests.

Despite a disastrous first meeting, circumstances keep bringing Avery and Brooks together while giving Avery a chance to step out of her comfort zone. After years of curating the perfect playlist for every occasion, this summer could be Avery’s chance to write her own song–and sing it center stage in Sunkissed (2021) by Kasie West.

Find it on Bookshop.

If the plot of West’s latest standalone contemporary sounds a lot like the film Dirty Dancing, that’s because it is. Sunkissed offers an aged down, somewhat sanitized version of the film where the main characters connect while preparing for a battle of the bands contest instead of a dancing showcase. The family camp here feels a bit less plausible and is, notably, not a destination for Jewish families as was the case in the film.

Avery’s first person narration is breezy and immediately draws readers into her story. She is also an extremely introverted and conflict averse character, making it painfully clear to readers early on that her problems could largely be resolved with some honest conversations–all of which Avery avoids for most of the book.

West brings her ususal skill to writing swoony banter and characters with chemistry even if, at times, the story seems to be shoehorned into the Dirty Dancing style plot. Where this story really shines is in watching Avery and Brooks connect as they ultimately push each other to strive for their goals–things neither was willing to fight for until their fateful meeting.

Sunkissed is a summery romance filled with characters who love music and are learning to dream big.

Possible Pairings: Lucky Caller by Emma Mills, Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park, Love Songs and Lies by Jessica Pennington, Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker, Dirty Dancing

*An advance eARC of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Steelstriker: A Review

Posted on September 27, 2021August 2, 2021 by missprint

*Steelstriker is the conclusion to Lu’s Skyhunter duology. Start at the beginning with Skyhunter to avoid spoilers.*

Six months after the fall of Mara, the Karensa Federation works mercilessly to absorb the formerly free nation into its sprawling empire. Mara’s artifacts are carted to Federation museums and sculpture gardens, their heritage erased. Prisoners await execution or transformation into Ghosts–the hideous monsters the Federation uses so effectively against both its enemies and its subjects.

Talin Kanami watches helplessly. Once an elite Striker, Talin and her friends tried to stop the Federation’s invasion but they were too late. Now Talin stands at the Premier’s side as a Skyhunter–a human turned war machine with lethal strength and steel wings. Talin is the Premier’s unspoken threat against all who would defy him. She is also his hostage; her good behavior ensuring her captive mother’s continued survival until Talin’s transformation is complete and the Premier controls her completely.

Red escaped the Federation once, his desperate flight bringing him to Mara and to Talin. Her hope made him believe things could change. But now watching another invasion, his wings damaged in battle, the first Skyhunter knows he will need more than rage and regret to help his new friends–especially Talin in Steelstriker (2021) by Marie Lu.

Find it on Bookshop.

Steelstriker is the conclusion to Lu’s Skyhunter duology. Start at the beginning with Skyhunter to avoid spoilers.

Chapters alternate between Talin and Red’s first person narrations as the protagonists try to find their way back to each other and continue fighting the Federation. The strong link they shared in book one is weaker now as Talin struggles to contain her emotions before the Premier can use them against her. Isolated and worried about each other, this leads to repetition in the story as both Talin and Red wonder what has become of the other.

Seeds of rebellion and resistance spark action in this story which expands the sophisticated and nuanced world building from book one. Questions of who is fit to run a nation and how power is bestowed add further depth to the book’s political landscape while references to Talin’s tortuous transformation (which occurred between books) remind readers how very dangerous and cruel the Federation can be. As the Premier tries to harness (presumably nuclear) technology from the Early Ones, it becomes clear that sometimes mistakes are doomed to repeat.

Lu once again delves into the brutality of war and invasion as Talin–whose vocal chords were damaged in the invasion of her birthplace, Basea–and Red–who was recruited by the Federation as a child soldier–both reflect on what has brought them to this point. Steelstriker fast-paced and brutal but ultimately a satisfying conclusion to a strong dystopian duology.

Possible Pairings: The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow, Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray, Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien, War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi, The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson, Scythe by Neal Shusterman, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

*A more condensed version of this review appeared as a review in an issue of School Library Journal*

Week in Review: September 25

Posted on September 25, 2021September 24, 2021 by missprint

Blog Posts of The Week:

Tweet of the Week:

Library exit: *covered in work permits*
Library exit: *covered in yellow tape*
Library exit: *behind a yellow caution fence barrier*
Library exit: *behind a stanchion*
Patron: "Is that exit open?"
Me: "Yes, you just have to get past the leopard."

— Emma (@miss_print) September 22, 2021

Instagram Post of the Week:

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How My Week Went:

I don’t even know anymore guys. What is going on with this month?

We Will Find Your Hat!: An Early Reader Review

Posted on September 24, 2021September 15, 2021 by missprint

Get ready for Hat Day, the hattiest day of the year.

Reddie is very excited to have some hat-tastic fun with her friend, Archie. But Archie has a problem. He can’t find his favorite hat!

Archie’s home is filled with a lot of things that could be hats (or drums, or pizza) but where is his favorite hat? in We Will Find Your Hat! (2021) by Candy James.

Find it on Bookshop.

We Will Find Your Hat! is the second book in a new early reader series by the wife-and-husband team of Candy (illustrator) and James (author). The characters are inspired by their daughter’s real life plush toys which saw her through many adventures.

This series straddles the line between early reader and graphic novel. The story includes full-page and double page spreads as well as smaller (comic book style) panels to showcase different scenes and add motion to the illustrations. The page design and a background palette featuring shades of green add interest to the book and give We Will Find Your Hat! a unique feel.

The text in the story is all dialog presented in speech bubbles (white for Archie and orange for Reddie) making the style reminiscent to Willem’s Elephant and Piggie series–this is also an element that stays consistent across books. Fans of the hat-related humor in Jon Klassen’s Hat picture books will find the same energy and wackiness here.

Archie’s unearthing of numerous hat adjacent objects adds humor to the story and is sure to encourage conversation about what items young readers might want to repurpose themselves.

We Will Find Your Hat! is another fun installment that proves two heads (and many hats) are better than one.

*An advance e-copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Once Upon a Broken Heart: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Posted on September 22, 2021March 10, 2023 by missprint

Evangeline Fox was raised to believe in wishes and fairy tales and things that seem impossible. So, when the boy she loves proposes to her step-sister instead, Evangeline is certain that a curse can be the only explanation.

There’s always a way to break a curse, but that doesn’t help when no one else believes that there is a curse.

Desperate to stop the wedding and running out of time, Evangeline turns to the Fates. Given her heartache, she’s certain that Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, will be sympathetic to her cause. After all, the Fates aren’t evil. The real danger is that the Fates have never known the difference between evil and good, making their help as dangerous as their ire. But Evangeline knows exactly what she wants and she is certain Jacks won’t be able to twist her straightforward wish.

Bargaining with a Fate is simple: Always promise less than you can give, for Fates always take more. Do not make bargains with more than one Fate. And, above all, never fall in love with a Fate. Easy enough until Jacks asks for three kisses in exchange for stopping the wedding. Evangeline knows she’s made a mistake almost as soon as the agreement is struck, but it will be weeks before she fully understands the ramifications of her reckless deal.

It’s always dangerous to attract the attention of a Fate. As Evangeline learns more about Jacks, she realizes that their bargain has higher stakes than three stolen kisses.

Evangeline has always known that every story has the potential for infinite endings. But when she finds herself in the Magnificent North surrounded by tantalizing truths about her past and secrets surrounding her present with Jacks, Evangeline will have to find a way to survive long enough to reach the end of her story if she wants to see which ending will be hers in Once Upon a Broken Heart (2021) by Stephanie Garber.

Find it on Bookshop.

Once Upon a Broken Heart is the start of a new series set in the same world as Garber’s Caraval trilogy. Once Upon a Broken Heart can be read on its own but does include minor spoilers for the Caraval trilogy. Evangeline’s story is written in close third person and begins in Valenda (the setting for much of the Caraval series) before moving to the Magnificent North. Evangeline and Jacks are white but there’s diversity among other characters.

Garber once again delivers a lush fantasy filled with magical details and glittering settings as Evangeline discovers the Magnificent North and explores it through a lens of wonder. This fantasy adventure seamlessly includes elements of mystery and suspense as Evangeline reluctantly works with Jacks to learn more about the circumstances that have brought her north. Even with his self-proclaimed (and, in the Caraval series, demonstrated) status as an anti-hero–if not a villain–Jacks is surprisingly compelling here despite past misdeeds.

Evangeline’s story starts with a bad decision and continues in that vein as our rose-gold-haired heroine’s naivete is put to the test again and again as she collides with Jacks and his mysterious plans for her and the Magnificent North–a territory every bit as magical as Valenda with even more mystery as its history and even its fairytales are carefully guarded and never make their way south intact. Despite a series of bad choices, Evangeline remains an endearing protagonist that readers can’t help but root for as she struggles to find her way free of past mistakes.

Once Upon a Broken Heart is a sparkling story filled with adventure, broken hearts, and magic as one girl learns she’s capable of more than she could have imagined. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles, The Selection by Kiera Cass, Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen, A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi, Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody, Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, Havenfall by Sara Holland, Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Kaleidoscope: A Review

Posted on September 20, 2021October 28, 2022 by missprint

“Maybe this is what it’s like to be inside the mind of God. The past and the future mean nothing, and the time is always now.”

It starts with a ship going to see. Or exploring a wondrous garden. It begins when a boy named James leaves a message for his father with a doll that will be discovered years later, encased in ice.

Always there is searching. There is missing, hoping. There is saying goodbye.

It ends with an invisible key. A spirit machine born out of a dream made reality. With answers found inside inside an apple.

Every spin of the kaleidoscope fragments one story while bringing another into focus. The beginning is always different. The end keeps changing. But always, slowly, there is peace in Kaleidoscope (2021) by Brian Selznick.

Find it on Bookshop.

Selznick’s latest illustrated novel reads as a series of interconnected short stories–mediations on the same themes of loss and separation examined through different lenses. In his author’s note Selznick explains the inspiration he drew directly from the early days of the pandemic when Selznick and his husband were separated for three months–a fracture that inspired more abstraction in his art and eventually led to this story.

Each chapter (or self-contained story depending on your interpretation of the text) begins with a kaleidoscopic image followed by the unabstracted image pulled directly from the story. A namesless narrator tells each story and although the characters change, always there is a nameless character trying to make their way back to James. In some stories like “The Ice” or “The Spirit Machine” the grief is overt while other standout stories (“The Apple” or “In the Dark”) offer more optimism.

Common images and themes throughout each story slowly unfold to bring a larger narrative of connection and loss into focus. While the story lacks any significant female characters, the nameless narrators do serve as a cipher of sorts allowing readers to insert themselves fully into each story.

Kaleidoscope is very much a product of the pandemic. Readers will see that in Selznick’s carefully rendered artwork, the disjointed narratives, the stories that almost but don’t quite but maybe do intersect. Kaleidoscope is a meditative and ultimately hopeful book, ideal for readers seeking a puzzle-like diversion. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales by Chris Van Allsburg et al

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*