Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel Review

Egyptian American Huda thought she knew exactly who she was: the hijabi girl.

But now that her family has moved to Dearborn, Michigan, Huda is facing a big identity crisis because in a town filled with Muslims it turns out everyone is the hijabi girl.

Not sure where this leaves her, Huda embarks on a journey of self-discovery. She isn’t athletic enough to be a hijabi athlete. She doesn’t want to get up early to perfect her makeup like the hijabi fashionistas. She isn’t competitive enough to be a hijabi gamer. And she definitely doesn’t know everything about being Muslim (or hijabi) so that’s out too.

Even being the smart one–previously a given for Huda in her large family–gets a lot harder with a teacher who is unfairly hostile to Muslim students.

As she navigates a new town and a new school Huda will make new friends, stand up to bullying and microaggressions, and maybe even have a new crush (or maybe not) all while figuring out who she wants to be in Huda F Are You? (2021) by Huda Fahmy.

Find it on Bookshop.

Fahmy’s fictionalized memoir tackles universal growing pains through a Muslim lens in this full-color graphic novel. Large panels and stylized cartoon illustrations lend a webcomic feel to this quick read. Muslim characters are shown with a variety of skintones (and hijab styles) and all characters have a variety of body types.

Huda’s experiences with her matriarchal family and her efforts to find her niche in school offer a nuanced and well-rounded portrayal of Huda’s search for herself.

Sharp humor and astute observations from the protagonist make Huda F Are You? a funny, immersive read. Fans can watch for the sequel Huda F Cares? in 2023.

Possible Pairings: Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi, Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova, Does My Body Offend You? by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt, All-American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney, Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin, Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

Darius the Great is Not Okay: A Review

Darius Kellner is more comfortable talking about Star Trek than he is about his status as a Fractional Persian. He doesn’t speak Farsi very well and a lot of Persian Social Cues still mystify him (Persian Casual anyone?).

Not that connecting with his father’s side of the family is any easier. Darius isn’t cut out for their Teutonic stoicism and he is no Übermensch like his father Stephen Kellner. The only things they seem to have in common are a love of Star Trek and clinical depression. Not exactly the makings of strong familial ties.

Darius doesn’t know what to expect on his first trip to Iran with his family. He’s excited to meets his grandparents and the rest of his family in person for the first time ever. But he doesn’t know what they’ll make of his limited Farsi or his medication.

He never expects to make a new friend, let alone a potentially lifelong one like Sohrab. As Darius starts spending more time with Sohrab he learns what it’s like to have a friend and, maybe, what it’s like to be himself and embrace his namesake—Darioush the First aka Darius the Great in Darius the Great is Not Okay (2018) by Adib Khorram.

Find it on Bookshop.

Darius the Great is Not Okay is Khorram’s marvelous debut. It was a BookExpo 2018 YA Editor’s Buzz Selection and if it doesn’t get a nod from this year’s Morris Award I will be extremely surprised.

Darius’s first person narration immediately draws readers into his world as he explains his passions (tea and Star Trek, in that order) and his frustrations as he struggles to fit in with his own family. Khorram’s writing, especially as Darius begins to discover his family and his heritage in Iran, is vivid and evocative. This book is also filled with delicious descriptions of food, so be sure to read with snacks nearby.

I love the way Khorram uses dialog and voice throughout the book as Darius struggles to connect with relatives who don’t speak English and how to express himself in any language. Darius the Great is Not Okay is a gentle, contemplative read perfect for readers looking to satisfy their wanderlust without leaving home.

Possible Pairings: In a Perfect World by Trish Doller, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sarah Farizan, We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds, Ophelia After All by Raquel Marie, 500 Words or Less by Juleah del Rosario, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonneblick, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration at BookExpo 2018*

All’s Faire in Middle School: A Graphic Novel Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Imogene (Impy) is eleven years old and eager to start training as a squire at the Renaissance Faire where she works with her family. To set herself on this path to knighthood, Impy will need a quest to prove her bravery and she knows exactly what to do. What could be braver than facing public school after being homeschooled all of her life?

Impy thinks she has middle school figured out but it turns out it’s not easy to be a knight-in-training while also trying to make friends and fit in. Impy isn’t sure she’s found the right friends. She’s embarrassed by her thrift store clothes for the first time ever. Even her family’s small apartment and their unconventional lifestyle–things Impy has always loved–start to make her self-conscious.

Impy knows all about how to be a noble knight. She always thought being one herself would be simple until she starts to wonder if she might be more like the villainous dragon in All’s Faire in Middle School (2017) by Victoria Jamieson.

Find it on Bookshop.

Jamieson follows up her enormously successful Roller Girl with this standalone graphic novel about Impy and her unusual family.

All’s Faire in Middle School is a perfect blend of contemporary middle school challenges (Making new friends! Dealing with mean teachers!) and renaissance faire fun. Each chapter starts with a page designed like an illuminated manuscript complete with a drop cap and stained class style illustration. Impy’s story is related as an actual quest in all of its epic glory while the full color panels for Impy’s day-to-day show that being a heroic knight can sometimes be as simple as rescuing a brother’s lost toy.

Adventure, humor, and a winning attitude come together and help prove that kindness is the truest form of bravery for knights and middle school students!

Possible Pairings: Gabby Gets It Together by Michele Assarasakorn and Nathan Fairbairn, Making Friends by Kristen Gudsnuk; Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham; Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke; The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow; All Summer Long by Hope Larson, Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell; Past Perfect by Leila Sales; The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner; Smile by Raina Telgemeier; Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illustrated Michelle Mee Nutter; Audrey’s Magic Nine by Michelle Wright, illustrated by Courtney Huddleston and Tracy Bailey

Summer in the Invisible City: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“In some ways, it doesn’t matter what happened next, or in the year and a half since then. That night was perfect and I’ll always have it. I’ll hold on to the memory tight as I want, because it’s mine.”

Sadie Bell knows exactly what she wants to happen during the summer before her senior year of high school. She is going to befriend the popular girls at her school after bonding during their summer photography class. She is going to see her father for the first time in years and it will be better this time because they’ll have art in common and she can finally impress him with her photos. She is definitely going to get over Noah after pining over him and stewing over all of the mistakes she made with him eighteen months ago.

Almost as soon as it starts, Sadie’s summer isn’t what she expects. Her photography class is great. But making new friends comes with new challenges. Her father remains as distant as ever. Noah seems to be popping up everywhere both in Sadie’s memories and in real life. Then there’s Sam–the boy Sadie never expected to meet–who only wants to be friends even as Sadie thinks she might want more.

Life seems simple when it’s seen through a photograph and the details are clear. Real life, it turns out, is much less focused. To understand all of the things she’s had along, Sadie may have to give her entire life a second look in Summer in the Invisible City (2016) by Juliana Romano.

This standalone contemporary novel is set over the course of one summer in New York City (mostly Manhattan). Readers familiar with the city will recognize familiar settings and smart nods to the city (high school friends from Xavier, movies in Union Square with candy smuggled in from Duane Reade) while realizing that Sadie lives in a privileged (largely white) version of New York.

Narrated by Sadie both in the present and in flashbacks of time spent with Noah or her father, Summer in the Invisible City asks a lot of questions about relationships and how much someone should have to give up to maintain them. Sadie is desperate for approval from the people she thinks matter whether it’s popular girls, older guys, or her father. Sadie is so eager to show that she belongs with them that she spends most of the novel alienating the friends and family who have always been supporting her including her single mother and her best friend, Willa. Readers will soon realize that Sadie is sometimes self-destructive but her growth and development during the novel is all the sweeter because of that.

This nuanced story is further complicated by the poorly executed plot surrounding Sadie’s efforts to connect with her father. By the end of the story Sadie’s fraught relationship with her father is explained and reaches an unsatisfying but realistic resolution. What doesn’t make sense at any point in the story, is how things get to that point. Sadie has a loving and supportive mother. She is already eight or nine when she first meets her father and has seen him scant times since. Where does the idolatry come from? Sadie’s mother, unlike a lot of fictional parents, doesn’t sugarcoat his shortcomings anymore than she encourages a false sense of closeness and connection. That all comes from Sadie for reasons that are never clearly articulated in the text. (On a separate note, given the father’s absence for most of Sadie’s life, it’s also unclear why or how he and Sadie share a last name.)

Summer in the Invisible City is partly a summery romance and partly a story about a young artist finding her eye and voice with what she chooses to capture and present in her artwork. Reading about Sadie’s process and vision as she searches out new photography material is inspiring and compelling enough to erase questions debating whether or not print photography is on the verge of obsolescence. Recommended for readers who are fans of novels set in New York City, artists or aspiring artists, and fans of contemporary romances with a healthy dose of introspection.

Possible Pairings: Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff, City Love by Susane Colasanti,  How to Love by Katie Cotugno, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, Just One Day by Gayle Forman, Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu, Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Chime: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“I know you believe you’re giving me a chance–or, rather, it’s the Chime Child giving me the chance. She’s desperate, of course, not to hang an innocent girl again, but please believe me: Nothing in my story will absolve me of guilt. It will only prove what I’ve already told you, which is that I’m wicked.”

Briony knows in her heart that every bad thing that has happened to her family is decidedly her fault. She looks sweet and innocent, the way her identical twin sister Rose looks when she isn’t screaming. But Briony knows that she is a blight on her family and probably on Swampsea as a whole–her stepmother made sure she knew.

Now Briony’s stepmother is dead and Briony is waiting to be hanged for her misdeeds. There are several places her story could start but it seems fitting, in its own way, to start with Eldric’s arrival because doesn’t every story truly begin when a good looking young man appears? Didn’t Briony’s fragile grasp on her life begin to crumble the moment she first saw his sunshine smile and his lion hair? in Chime (2011) by Franny Billingsley.

Chime was a finalist for the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Chime is a circuitous and layered novel written in Briony’s complicated first person narration. Long, winding sentences filled with tangents and asides lend this book the feel of a stream of consciousness and creates a strong textuality to the book.

Briony is a complex character. The loops and whorls of her consciousness are dense and exhausting to read. Just keeping up with Briony’s narration is a feat let alone penetrating it enough to get at what she is sharing and, often more importantly, what she is not sharing as she relates her story.

Chime takes place in an alternate historical England. Magic and magical creatures still flourish but industrialization is beginning to take hold in the form of electric lights and other technical wonders like metal paperclips. The contrasts between the fantastical and the technological are further emphasized in the dichotomy between Briony and Eldric as they try to make sense of each other.

Because of the peculiarities of the narrative and Briony’s initially cutting personality, Chime isn’t a book for everyone. Although it is a fantasy first and foremost, it is also a thoughtful romance and a bit of a mystery as readers unravel what brought Briony to the point of requesting she be hanged posthaste. Readers who can engage with the text and adjust to the writing style will enjoy the world building, the stories within stories, and the twists to be found.

Briony’s story is all about self-care and self love. Along the way, thanks to the vagaries of life and the calculated moves of certain characters, Briony loses sight of who she used to be and who she can become. Chime is about Briony’s journey to rediscover that lost girl of her youth and also to redeem herself–not in the eyes of others but simply for herself.

Best suited to readers who appreciate acerbic wit, rich fantasies, and multifaceted tales.

Possible Pairings: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, Wildthorn by Jane Eagland, I, Coriander by Sally Gardner, The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge, Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, The Hunter’s Moon by O. R. Melling, The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding

The Sky is Everywhere: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“You can tell your story any way you damn well please. It’s your solo.”

Lennie Walker plays second clarinet, reads avidly, and always acted as a sounding board and companion for her dynamic older sister, Bailey. Lennie had always known that Bailey was the star of their family. She never minded.

When Bailey dies suddenly, Lennie feels like the world has tilted off its axis. Her grandmother and Uncle Big are both hurting too. But none of them seem to know how to talk to each other anymore let alone articulate the full scope of their grief.

Toby, Bailey’s boyfriend, offers Lennie an unlikely source of comfort. Toby is just as wrecked as her and might be the only person who can fully understand the enormity of Bailey’s absence. Lennie knows her sister wouldn’t approve of the physical turn their relationship has taken. But Lennie also doesn’t know how to stop.

Joe, a new boy in town, seems determined to befriend Lennie and lift her out of her sorrow, Lennie finds herself swept along with his exuberant enthusiasm for life. Joe makes Lennie happy and reminds her of the girl she used to be before Bailey died–and maybe even shows her an improved version she can be now. After. But Lennie doesn’t know how she can ever let Joe make her feel so happy and so alive when Bailey is gone.

Lennie knows that Toby and Joe can’t exist in the same world, that they can’t both be part of her life forever. But she also doesn’t know how to choose in The Sky is Everywhere (2010) by Jandy Nelson.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Sky is Everywhere is frenetic, serendipitous, and sometimes painful–things readers will recognize in Nelson’s subsequent Printz/Stonewall Award winning I’ll Give You the Sun.

This story has the same sense of wonder, the same vibrancy found in I’ll Give You the Sun. Even Lennie’s narrative voice is familiar compared to that of Noah and Jude. Unfortunately, The Sky is Everywhere lacks the tight plotting and pacing. While utterly sympathetic, Lennie’s story often feels meandering and contrived.

This novel is peppered with memorable characters, especially in Lennie’s grandmother and local Lothario Uncle Big. Moments of share grief are contrasted sharply against these quirky and strong personalities.

Lennie’s hurt and grief are palpable as she tries to reconcile the fact that she is still alive and growing up with the reality that Bailey never will. Nelson expertly communicates the suffocating nature of that sadness in Lennie’s first person narration. Each chapter also begins with a poem Lennie has written and left somewhere around town.

Although Lennie spends the novel torn between two boys, The Sky is Everywhere is largely introspective and firmly focused on Lennie. In some ways both Toby and Joe often feel under-developed by comparison as they help Lennie’s development. Romantic elements aside, this book is very much about a character learning to find her voice and articulate her wants and feelings.

The Sky is Everywhere remains a solid debut and a thoughtful meditation on grief, loss, and moving on. Nelson includes a compelling romance with a bit of a love triangle and, of course, an empowering character who only grows stronger and more confident as the novel progresses. Recommended for fans of Nelson’s and readers looking for a story in this vein. (Just don’t expect it to measure up if you read I’ll Give You the Sun first.)

Possible Pairings: Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali, Harley in the Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman, Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum, The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen, This Raging Light by Estelle Laure, The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder, The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz, The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy, The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood, You Are the Everything by Karen Rivers, A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell, Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes, Odd One Out by Nic Stone, Cloudwish by Fiona Wood, The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, American Street by Ibi Zoboi

The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles: A Picture Book Review

“The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles lived alone on a high spot with only one tree for shade. He always kept his eyes on the waves, watchful for a glint of glass.”

The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles has a very important job. It’s his responsibility to open any bottles found in the seawater and make sure they are delivered.  He wishes that he would receive a letter himself. But he knows that’s impossible when he doesn’t have a name.

When the Uncorker of Ocean Bottles receives a bottle with an invitation to a party with no recipient, he isn’t sure what to do. He asks everyone in town but no one recognizes the invitation.

He hopes he can deliver the invitation in time, but along the way discovers that sometimes parties–and friends–don’t need invitations to be wonderful in The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles (2016) by Michelle Cuevas, illustrated by Erin E. Stead.

What could be a melancholy and lonely story is elevated to a more whimsical and satisfying plane with Cuevas’ text. While this story begins with a solitary deliverer of bottles, it ends with a small community coming together for a party. The serendipity and charm with which this story builds to that outcome is incredibly pleasing to follow.

This story is ideal for older picture book readers who like their stories to have a bit of mystery. Readers never do learn who, exactly, sent the bottle. And the nature of the Uncorker’s job can be a bit dizzying. Perfect for readers who are fans of both The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg and Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz.

The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles is a strange, otherworldly picture book. Stead’s inimitable art style works well here to bring the Uncorker and his corner of the world to life. Desaturated colors and a light touch in each drawing further underscore that this story is something special.

*An advance copy of this title was acquired from the publisher for review consideration at BEA*

I’ll Give You the Sun: A Review

At thirteen, twins Noah and Jude are close. Their family is whole. Everything seems perfect. From a distance. Close up it’s easy to see that Jude is making bad choices that are pushing her toward a serious fall while Noah is struggling just to keep himself together under the pressure of fitting in with the painfully normal world. Art has always been enough to get Noah through. When he falls hard for the beautiful boy next door, he isn’t sure anything–not even painting–will be enough to make things right again.

At sixteen the twins are barely speaking and nothing is perfect anymore. Noah hides his hurt behind a facade of normalcy that seems to fool everyone but Jude. Jude, meanwhile, is not-so-quietly falling apart trapped on a path she never expected and is not sure she wants.

Both Noah and Jude are haunted by old ghosts and past mistakes. With the help of a curmudgeonly artist and a spectacularly messed-up boy, Jude thinks she can put the pieces of her family back together. Except she only has half of the pieces. It will take both Jude and Noah, together, to make things right in I’ll Give You the Sun (2014) by Jandy Nelson.

Find it on Bookshop.

I’ll Give You the Sun is Nelson’s second novel. It is the winner of the 2015 Printz Award and the 2015 Stonewall Award.

Nelson delivers one hell of a story in her sophomore novel. I’ll Give You the Sun presents two stories simultaneously in alternating sections (no chapter breaks). Noah begins the novel with his story “The Invisible Museum” when the twins are 13 and on the cusp of some major changes for themselves and their family. Jude handles the latter of of the novel’s plot in “The History of Luck” when the twins are 16 and deeply troubled.

I’ll Give You the Sun has mystery, romance and elements of magic realism. The prose is imbued with an ode to the power of art and creation as well as some deeply powerful ideas about feminism.

The novel moves along with clever intersections between Jude and Noah’s stories. Both Noah and Jude have voices that are breezy and approachable in a way that draws readers immediately into their stories and their lives. Although the two characters often sound very similar in their narrations, there is a fair argument that the similarities are intentional since they are twins. It’s more difficult to explain Noah’s often literary and lyrical voice when he is only thirteen for much of the narrative–something that is balanced out with behavior (from both twins at that age) that is often painfully thoughtless or selfish.

This book isn’t always easy to read. The end of Noah’s story leaves both twins damaged and reeling from a variety of catastrophes. In Jude’s section, they are both hurting and struggling to survive without much hope for anything more until Jude decides to take a chance. I’ll Give You the Sun is at its strongest when these two characters realize they have to take action if they want to thrive.

Nelson’s writing is spectacular making I’ll Give You the Sun a vibrant story about family, recovery, art and love. Not to be missed.

Possible Pairings: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman, The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough, Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum, Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo, A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley, The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake, The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds, Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu, Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley, Alice, I Think by Susan Juby, Undercover by Beth Kephart, The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy, The Weight of Feathers by Anne-Marie McLemore, The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler, The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan, Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb, Damaged by Amy Reed, A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell, Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein, Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

*A copy this book was acquired from the publisher for review consideration at BEA 2014*