Book Review: Where the Watermelons Grow

I can't stop the song loop in my head while reading this book. You know the one, the children's diddly, "Down By the Bay."

In spite of the earworm associated with the title, this book, "Where the Watermelons Grow," written by debut author Cindy Baldwin, is a solid middle grade read. Della is someone kids can associate with, because of her worries, her faults, and her actions. She wants to fix her mama, who has schizophrenia. She tries everything in her 11-year-old kid powers to help, which make no impact whatsoever.

This story tugs at the heartstrings, and makes you feel the heat of summer in the south. And reminds you of the powerlessness of youth, in spite of how hard you try. In the end, Della learns what she can do, and how to cope with a family that doesn't look as perfect as those around her. The author does a beautiful job tying up loose ends and giving a satisfactory ending.

Book Review: Stolen: A Letter to My Captor

"Stolen: A Letter to my Captor" by Lucy Christopher is a young adult novel written in the elusive and difficult-to-pull-off second person. It does involve some suspension of belief that a kidnapped teenager would remember this much detail about her experience. But the details are everything for driving the narrative and understanding Stockholm Syndrome.  I am an adult with a mostly rational mind, yet felt sympathy, compassion, even hope for a better ending for the man who kidnapped this child and held her captive in a remote desert in Australia. Also, it takes place mostly in Australia, and I learned a lot about the desert there, which added to my wanderlust.

This one is definitely worth a read.

Book Review: You're Welcome, Universe

Books with greetings to the universe are getting attention from the folks at the American Library Association. "You're Welcome, Universe," by Whitney Gardner is the 2018 Schneider Family Book Award winner in the teen category. The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

In "You're Welcome, Universe," Julia is attending a new high school after being kicked out of her previous school for the deaf.  She is dealing with a fall out with her best friend, Jordyn, who is now dating Donovan, the boy Julia likes. Worse yet, she has to work with both of them at McDonald's, and see Donovan whisper in Jordyn's ear, now able to hear after getting a cochlear implant.

Julia is Deaf, and proud of it. She is also a graphic artist who loves the thrill of bombing a space. Her story brings color to the world of graffiti art and exposes realities of being Deaf among the hearing.

Book Review: Wishtree

Author Katherine Applegate gives voice to things that otherwise wouldn't. Her Newbery award winning "The One and Only Ivan" was a first person story from the perspective of a doomed silverback gorilla. In "Wishtree," she takes on an even more surprising point of view, that of a tree.

Red is a centuries old Red Oak that is more chatty than most trees. When two children living in the houses under its boughs are in trouble, he takes a risk and tells them a story to bring them together. It is against the rules, but that is the least of Red's worries. The owner of the houses is determined to cut down the old oak tree to keep its from further invading the plumbing and flooding the yards.

I liked the tree as a character, and the ensemble cast were terrific, from the skunks who name themselves after pleasant smells, the opossums who name themselves after things that scare them, to the crows that name themselves frequently after sounds they like. A very serious story is encapsulated within the romping substories that live within a centuries old tree.

Book Review: Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess

"Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess" by Shari Green captures the magic and frustration of childhood in a beautiful, multilayered story.  Macy has a fight with her best friend, a difficult project at school, and the threat of a for sale sign in front of her house. She is also deaf, but that isn't one of her problems, it's just a part of who she is.

I've often heard it said that when you take away one of the five senses, the others become more vibrant. Nearly every sense is engaged. Iris, the lady next door, wears orange and bakes cookies that contain messages. She and Macy communicate with notes in the shape of things they love. The language unfolds in verse, which gives it rhythm. 

The story isn't surprising, but it is a delightful journey. Macy and Iris develop a friendship that both of them need. Macy packs Iris's books and learns her stories, and finds a way to tell her own. The parallel of them, young and old, each facing a move they don't want, is like a warm embrace.

Book Review: Hello, Universe

"Hello Universe," by Erin Entrada Kelly won the 2018 John Newbery Medal for its outstanding contribution to children's literature.

It's the story of four diverse middle school students, each with a plan, and how their stories converge in the woods.

"There are no coincidences," is repeated, giving the reader the idea that their paths crossed for another reason.

The story is infused with a mystical feel that is not entirely due to Kaori's psychic
beliefs or the folktales that come alive in Virgil's imagination.

Told in shifting points of view, it can be difficult to find your groove at first, but the journey is worth it.

Book Review: Long Way Down

"Long Way Down" by Jason Reynolds is written in verse and takes place almost entirely in an elevator. Yet, as a reader, I kept turning the pages, hungry to find out what happens next.This is no ordinary elevator ride. Thoughtful, provocative, and touching, this is a book that sticks with you long after you close it.

Jason Reynolds must be getting a lot of fan mail 

demanding to know what Will did when he got off that elevator.