Uni High Reads

A book review blog of the Uni High Library

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

“Running. That’s all that Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But never for a track team. Nope, his game has always been ball. But when Ghost impulsively challenges an elite sprinter to a race — and wins — the Olympic medalist track coach sees he has something: crazy natural talent. Thing is, Ghost has something else: a lot of anger, and a past that he is trying to outrun. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed and meld with the team, or will his past finally catch up to him?” – Goodreads

Ghost is a quick read that is perfectly paced, featuring dynamic, real-life conflict that feels fully developed but not over-wrought or childish. Ghost makes bad decisions, but he isn’t a bad kid, an important and complicated nuance. The focus on track and competition will have strong appeal for athletes who enjoy the thrill of winning, losing, and self-imposed expectations. Reynolds sets up this series so well with a good balance of internal and external conflict, teasing you with the interesting lives of these sequel novels that are all equally as compelling and addictive.

Last but not least, this amazing book has been showered with the following distinctions:

Odyssey Award Nominee (2017), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Nominee (2018), Great Lakes Great Books Award for 6-8 (2018), NAIBA Book of the Year for Middle Readers (2017), NCTE Charlotte Huck Award (2017), Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award Nominee (2019)

Call # Fiction R333g

Review by Vicki

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson; illustrated by Adrian Alphona

“Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City — until she’s suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm! When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them, as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to bear? Kamala has no idea, either. But she’s comin’ for you, Jersey!” – Goodreads

This is so. much. fun. Kamala is a hilarious and relatable hero, and there are so many moments where her sense of humor or awkward social situation really stand out as exceptionally true to life, and this reader just kept thinking, “IT ME!” In this introduction to what is now a ten-volume series, Wilson does an incredible job introducing a compelling cast of supporting characters that includes Kamala’s Muslim, immigrant parents who are so fully realized and nuanced. The adventure and suspense is well done, and the artwork is stunning, which is no surprise given that it’s done by the veteran artist from the Runaways series. Addictive, funny, and full of heart, this is a series that is not to be missed!

Call # GN W6933m1

Review by Vicki

Friday, February 15, 2019

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

“Pride and Prejudice gets remixed in this smart, funny, gorgeous retelling of the classic, starring all characters of color, from Ibi Zoboi, National Book Award finalist and author of American Street.
Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.
When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.
But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.” – Goodreads

Zoboi gives so much energy and contemporary insight into a story we’ve heard rehashed so many times. Zuri was an incredibly compelling and brilliant narrator whose authenticity and ability to call people on their nonsense makes her one of the best heroines I’ve read in ages. The modernization of this tale within the context of gentrification and complicated race/class factors made this a super robust and important book, while the romance was so dreamy and well done.

Call # Fiction Z71pr

Review by Vicki

Friday, February 8, 2019

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

When Starr Carter witnesses the fatal shooting of Khalil, her childhood best friend, her life is turned upside down. The shooting becomes a national headline, but Starr’s best friends at her private, mostly-white high school do not know of her involvement in the incident. Starr struggles to keep her school life in Williamson separate from her family life in Garden Heights, the poor and dangerous black neighborhood where Starr grew up and lives. People are holding demonstrations in support of Khalil and tensions arise in Starr’s life. Starr is hesitant to become further involved with the shooting so as not to put her life at risk, but her words and actions could change the views of the community.

The Hate U Give is quite a heart-wrenching and fast-paced book. It faces the reality of living as an African-American poverty in crime-ridden, low-income neighborhoods while providing an intriguing, humorous plot. Additionally, the setting was well-portrayed and helps move the storyline along, keeping the reader on edge. The book is told from Starr’s point of view and is highly authentic and effective. Furthermore, the characters are well developed and contribute to the plot successfully. Books like these are especially necessary to spreading awareness of today’s racial issues in America, so I highly recommend reading it.

Call # Fiction T3614ha

Student review by Cadi

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Fence Vol. 1 by C.S. Pacat; illustrated by Johanna the Mad

“Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is an outsider to the competitive fencing world. Filled with raw talent but lacking proper training, he signs up for a competition that puts him head-to-head with fencing prodigy Seiji Katayama…and on the road to the elite all-boys school Kings Row. A chance at a real team and a place to belong awaits him—if he can make the cut!” – Goodreads

For fans of Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu, this is a suspenseful first installment to the comic series about fencing by best-selling M/M romance author, C.S. Pacat. Beautifully rendered images are characterized by an emotionally affecting mixture of sharp lines contrasted with round, abstract ones. Pacat’s story features maximum drama with family secrets, personality-packed main characters, and an ensemble that is worth getting to know. The only problem here is how short it is; stay tuned as we await the next installments to the library!

Call # GN P113f

Review by Vicki

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

“For Penny Lee, high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.
Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.
When Sam and Penny cross paths, it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.” – Goodreads

The teenagers in this book felt SO real, despite the somewhat-contrived plot. Their exchanges feature such beautifully written dialogue and so many parts are laugh-out-loud funny. Penny Lee is a normal teenage girl with relatable concerns and an incredibly compelling inner-monologue. This writer balances moments of darkness and light exceptionally well, which compelled me to finish it in a single day. A stunning teenage romance that tackles real issues with great authenticity and respect. This is one of the best YA books published in 2018!

Call # Fiction C4522em

Review by Vicki

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Bonnie and Clyde by Karen Blumenthal

“Bonnie and Clyde may be the most notorious–and celebrated–outlaw couple America has ever known. This is the true story of how they got that way.
Bonnie and Clyde: we’ve been on a first name basis with them for almost a hundred years. Immortalized in movies, songs, and pop culture references, they are remembered mostly for their storied romance and tragic deaths. But what was life really like for Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker in the early 1930s? How did two dirt-poor teens from west Texas morph from vicious outlaws to legendary couple? And why?” – Goodreads

Highly recommended for true crime fans, award-winning young adult non-fiction writer Karen Blumenthal delves deeply into the lives and deaths of these notorious criminals. In this endeavor, she also explores the circumstances of poverty and Southern culture during the Great Depression. With descriptions of page-turning exploits and a surprisingly humanizing portrait of two figures we’ve come to know as evil, Blumenthal’s detailed research paints a complex portrait of two marginalized people as well as the devastating and terrible consequences of their violent behavior. Each chapter that contains the death of one of Bonnie and Clyde’s victims ends with a brief biography of that person’s life; this is a compelling and informative conceit that really emphasizes the grave and tragic impact of their acts of violence. This book also does an interesting job exploring the surprising nature of law enforcement during one of America’s most challenging time periods as well as the public fascination with crime and celebrity culture. Overall, the thoughtful structure of the book as well as the outstanding and gripping primary source photos make this a must-read pick.

Call # 364.15 B627bo

Review by Vicki

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi

“At thirteen, bright-eyed, straight-A student Sara Saedi uncovered a terrible family secret: she was breaking the law simply by living in the United States. Only two years old when her parents fled Iran, she didn’t learn of her undocumented status until her older sister wanted to apply for an after-school job, but couldn’t because she didn’t have a Social Security number.
Fear of deportation kept Sara up at night, but it didn’t keep her from being a teenager. She desperately wanted a green card, along with clear skin, her own car, and a boyfriend.
Americanized follows Sara’s progress toward getting her green card, but that’s only a portion of her experiences as an Iranian-‘American’ teenager. From discovering that her parents secretly divorced to facilitate her mother’s green card application to learning how to tame her unibrow, Sara pivots from the terrifying prospect that she might be kicked out of the country at any time to the almost-as-terrifying possibility that she might be the only one of her friends without a date to the prom.” – Goodreads

I initially struggled with the tone of this book – it seemed a little too glib/flippant/cutsey. Soon, however, I really identified with many of Sara’s teenage struggles/angst. This wasn’t initially as much about immigration as it had seemed, and I guess I expected more of it to be explicitly about that. She describes a humanizing portrait of being a normal, everyday person who wants to live in America and who describes all of the incredibly relatable concerns of being a teenage kid.

Toward the end, she gets more detailed about American rules and regulations that had frustrated her family’s chances at citizenship (or at least not illegal status – a nuance you’ll learn about in this book!). This is a good memoir for people of all ages to read, especially those who want to know more about US immigration policies.

A few parts made me laugh out loud, and I really grew to appreciate her voice and authenticity.

Call # 305.89155 Sa163sa

Review by Vicki

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez

Julia’s older and much more responsible sister, Olga, is hit and killed tragically by a semi-truck. In Olga’s absence, Julia is left to deal with this loss beside her two immigrant parents—her mother, who strongly preferred Olga’s good behavior over Julia’s, and her father, whose emotional unavailability and working-class life seem too different from her own. Not long after Olga’s death, Julia suddenly discovers evidence that Olga wasn’t as perfect as she seemed, so she is determined to find out who her sister really was. Along the way, Julia navigates a new relationship with her first ever boyfriend, Connor, as well as the tumultuous connection to her best friend from childhood, Lorena.

Julia is a brilliant and savvy narrator, whose love of reading and writing combined with her mature and sassy observations make her one of the best narrators readers will encounter this year. Sánchez weaves in references to literature and poetry that feel natural and not at all forced, and she really brings the city of Chicago to life. While this book is a tad overlong, it does such a terrific job exploring authentic mental health concerns, the challenge of being a child of immigrants, and the beauty and difficulty of growing up as a teenager in Chicago. This book was a 2017 National Book Award finalist.

Call # Fiction Sa553ia

Review by Vicki

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

“Paris, at the dawn of the modern age:
Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!
Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances―one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.” – Goodreads

The story is sweet without being too saccharine and features stunning colors as well as poignant relationship-building between the characters. I personally appreciated Frances’s ambition and story arc. I would highly recommend this pick to anyone interested in the process behind creating a graphic novel. Writer and illustrator Jen Wang adds interesting insight at the end of the story with a brief segment titled “My Process.” She describes her tools used as well as the creative process that went into making The Prince and the Dressmaker, and it was really fun to see what lies behind the curtain.

Call # GN W1844p

Review by Vicki

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