FINISHED:
Nesbet, Anne. (2016). Cloud and Wallfish. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

STARTED:
Gemeinhart, Dan. (2017). Scar Island. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. (2016). Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet [Book One]. New York: Marvel Worldwide.

[.]

STARTED:
Nesbet, Anne. (2016). Cloud and Wallfish. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Mull, Brandon. (2017). Dragonwatch:  a Fablehaven Adventure. Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain.

[.]

STARTED:
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. (2016). Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet [Book One]. New York: Marvel Worldwide.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Shevah, Emma. (2016). Dara Palmer's Major Drama. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky.

Appreciated this one even more the second time!
[Dara Palmer, a 5^th-grader who lives in London after having been adopted by her Caucasian parents from a Cambodian orphanage when she was a toddler, more than anything in her entire life wants the lead role of Maria in her school’s production of The Sound of Music.  When the part goes to someone else, she begins to wonder if it’s because she doesn’t look like what Maria “should” look like… when really it’s because she just can’t act.  Dara’s narration brims with hyperbolic-tween personality, showcasing her flair for being dramatic – with lots of asides such as “huuuggghhhtttt”, “whuuhhuuuhhhhh”, and the like – and occasionally zoning out while having a “mind movie” (which usually involve her celebrity crush, Bradley Porter).  Fun spot art and doodles adorn every page adding an amusing flippancy, but while humorous, Shevah’s novel is also surprisingly insightful as Dara becomes increasingly aware of her “otherness”, noticing that no one in movies, on TV, or featured in magazines resembles her (“I looked like a giant chocolate bunny in a room full of snowmen.”), while, at the same time, learning the importance/value of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes when taking part in a drama exercise to better understand her sister Georgia, adopted from Russia, with whom she has an adversarial relationship.  A thoughtful look at adoption from the adults’ side, with Dara’s parents reassuring their love for her while also encouraging her to explore her Cambodian heritage through its food and language, and from the perspective of a child who is finally old enough to begin asking questions.  Hilarious, touching, and important.]

STARTED:
Mull, Brandon. (2017). Dragonwatch:  a Fablehaven Adventure. Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Marciano, John Bemelmans. (2016). Mischief Season [Witches of Benevento, Book 1]. New York: Viking/Penguin Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Shevah, Emma. (2016). Dara Palmer's Major Drama. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky.

[Re-reading to review for ACL.]

*

FINISHED: 
Whitehead, Colson. (2016). The Underground Railroad. New York: Doubleday/Penguin Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Marciano, John Bemelmans. (2016). Mischief Season [Witches of Benevento, Book 1]. New York: Viking/Penguin Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Ogburn, Jacqueline K. (2017). The Unicorn in the Barn. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[Reviewing for ACL - it doesn't actually come out until July.  Review soon...]

STARTED:  
Whitehead, Colson. (2016). The Underground Railroad. New York: Doubleday/Penguin Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Gottesfeld, Jeff. (2016). The Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank's Window. New York: Knopf. 

[.]

STARTED:
Ogburn, Jacqueline K. (2017). The Unicorn in the Barn. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Mittlefehldt, Rafi. (2016). It Looks Like This. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[I read for ACL, to weigh in on whether or not it should be included on our annual "Best Books of the Year" list.  And, my vote will be "No".  I was REALLY getting in to it - despite the very choppy sentence structure throughout - and then the last half of  the book turned out to be a major disappointment for me.

(SPOILER-ISH)
For one thing, I was expecting/REALLY hoping that the death-by-car-crash was going to turn out to be the rotten classmate who kept leering at Mike.  Sure, let Mike believe for a day or two that it was Sean - give us some despair - but then have him discover that it was, instead, the bully who had been fighting his own internalized homophobia, and let Mike end up with Sean, even if it won't be easy because of their conservative families.  This, because...

I believe that we just don't need gay tragedies right now.  This felt to me like the kind of book that would've been written in the 70s or 80s when the gay pride movement had an enormous uphill battle ahead of it.  Then, a tragic end to a gay love story would've at least been a reflection of the times - a bit of a cynical parable on the state of the country and the treatment/popular thought about homosexuality at that time.  BUT, we've come a LONG way since then, and, even now, have to push even harder to get over the last hurdle (stupid, white, conservative men...).  What we need are gay romances with happy endings - a la Tim Federle's THE GREAT AMERICAN WHATEVER or Becky Albertalli's fantastic SIMON vs. the HOME SAPIENS AGENDA.  Gay conversion therapy and suicide??  That kind of cynicism right now is just damaging.  Gay kids need to finally be able to revel in the fact that they, too, deserve true love.]

STARTED:
Gottesfeld, Jeff. (2016). The Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank's Window. New York: Knopf.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Medina, Juana. (2016). Juana & Lucas. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

STARTED:
Mittlefehldt, Rafi. (2016). It Looks Like This. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Reading for ACL to see if I deem it to be "distinguished".  When, while trying to entice someone to read it, they said it had to do with a boy in the Midwest who was dealing with coming out to his not-so-understanding family, I jumped up and said, "Sounds familiar.  I'll take it!"]

*