Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel by Kimberly Willis Holt

From Goodreads,

"Twelve-year-old Stevie's world changes drastically when her parents are tragically killed and she is forced to live with her estranged grandfather at his run-down motel. After failed attempts to connect with her grandfather, Stevie befriends the colorful motel tenants and neighbors. Together, they decide to bring some color and life to the motel by planting a flower garden, against Stevie's grandfather's wishes. It will take Stevie's departure before her grandfather realizes just how needed she is by everyone."

Goodreads - Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel

I keep a pretty close eye on what books students are checking out.  There are always classics that make their way through my classes.  There are also new releases that make their way through.  Throughout the school year, I have seen multiple of my students reading Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel.  Many have said it was really good so I figured it was time to read it and give it my own review. 

Stevie is just a regular girl who loves her parents, her farm, and planting flowers.  But one day Stevie's parents are killed in an accident that leaves her on her way to live with her grandfather in Texas.  She has never met her grandfather and doesn't know what to expect.  Stevie soon meets a wide range of characters and decides that she is just the thing that is needed at the motel. 

I absolutely loved the cast of quirky characters that lived at the motel.  I felt like it was such a diverse crew that really rounded out the book.  Horace and Ida are wheelchair-bound and have a longing desire to go to Florida for the honeymoon they never went on.  Arlo and Roy are just a father and son trying to make it after Roy's mother left him years ago.  Violet is a single woman who takes things from the hotel's lost and found and claims them as her own.  Mercedes speaks very little English but is a hardworking maid.  Winston is Stevie's grandfather and he is a very stingy and cold person who has to learn how to love again.  I enjoyed how diverse the residents and employees of the motel were.  I think that everyone can find a character that is similar to someone they know.  I also liked that each of these characters had their own small development within the story. 

On the flip side of this, Stevie was my least favorite.  I don't know any twelve-year-old that would be so calm with everything that had happened.  She had a minimal reaction to her parents being killed.  She didn't have a real reaction about having to go live with her grandfather who she had never met before.  She was handed a wad of cash from selling her parent's things and sent on her way.  She blew through her money to make a garden and spent the rest of the time just moving through the days.  I felt like she also didn't have real character development.  She was the same at the end of the book as she was at the beginning.

I was also really frustrated with Stevie's parents.  They kept a TON of secrets from her concerning her family.  Throughout the book, I kept expecting something to come up that explained why they had kept everything so secretive.  But that never happened.  We never find out why they were the way they were.  That was irritating and I feel that there was a missed opportunity for Stevie to better understand and learn about her parents.

I can see why my students have enjoyed this book.  It has a good hook at the beginning, but it really flatlines as the story progresses.  I give this 2 stars.  This is definitely a book for middle school students. 

Kent State by Deborah Wiles

From Goodreads,

"From two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles, a masterpiece exploration of one of the darkest moments in our history, when American troops killed four American students protesting the Vietnam War.

May 4, 1970.
Kent State University.

As protestors roil the campus, National Guardsmen are called in. In the chaos of what happens next, shots are fired and four students are killed. To this day, there is still argument of what happened and why.

Told in multiple voices from a number of vantage points -- protestor, Guardsman, townie, student -- Deborah Wiles's Kent State gives a moving, terrifying, galvanizing picture of what happened that weekend in Ohio . . . an event that, even 50 years later, still resonates deeply."

Goodreads - Kent State

I have mentioned before that I tend to find myself drawn to certain topics in books.  I find myself drawn to cancer/illness books, mental illness books, love stories, and unfortunately school shooting books.  I think my pull to them is because I'm lowkey trying to educate myself on what to do and what not to do in the event of a school shooting since I'm a teacher.  That being said, I saw this book at our book fair and was intrigued by the cover design.  (I also judge books by their cover.  Don't judge me.)  I immediately knew this was a school shooting book just based on the bullet holes and the gun on the cover.  It is actually quite fitting that I'm posting this review today because it has been 50 years since these events took place, and this book starts with the events on Friday, May 1, 1970.

Kent State is the confusion tale of the events that unfolded from May 1, 1970, to May 4, 1970.  The story is written in a prose format that rotates through multiple voices and viewpoints.  Wiles writes to tell the story the best as possible of what happened on that fateful Monday in May.

I usually start with a positive about the book, but I have to start with a negative.  This book is relatively short and written in prose.  It shouldn't have taken long for me to read, but it took a couple of days because I was literally avoiding the book.  The writing style is absolutely terrible.  I'm perfectly fine with having prose.  I'm perfectly fine with having multiple narrators.  But this... this book had 5 or 6 narrators who were unnamed and unlabeled.  The only way I knew that someone different was speaking was because the font changed.  This book was an absolute hot mess.  I wish the narrators would have been given names, even if they were fictional names so that a connection could be made.  I feel like they were just spitting out the minor details they each knew and it was all slammed together to make a book.  I would have really loved an in-depth story about Kent State and not just hearsay from a variety of people who were involved. 

I had never heard of Kent State until I picked up this book.  I definitely had to do some research to get a background on what happened.  I would have loved to have seen this book with multiple characters all sharing their viewpoint and what they felt and saw.  I think taking an approach similar to Alan Gratz's Allies or even Ellen Hopkins' People Kill People.  Both books have multiple perspectives but still fit in a solid story format that allows more details and feelings to be attached to each character.  I would definitely consider reading a book on Kent State.  I think this book was a good introductory of the event, but not enough details were given. 

Overall, I was kind of disappointed in this book.  I was really excited to read a book about an event that I knew relatively nothing about, but it was a scattered mess of nameless narrators.  I sadly have to give this book 1 star.  I wish that it had been a story instead of just characters having a conversation with each other.  I think people who have good background knowledge of Kent State will enjoy this book, but a young adult would definitely need some kind of background information to really grasp the whole story. 

Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

From Goodreads,

"A girl with Tourette syndrome starts a new school and tries to hide her quirks in this debut middle-grade novel in verse.

Astronomy-loving Calliope June has Tourette syndrome, so she sometimes makes faces or noises that she doesn't mean to make. When she and her mother move yet again, she tries to hide her TS. But it isn't long before the kids at her new school realize she's different. Only Calli's neighbor, who is also the popular student body president, sees her as she truly is—an interesting person and a good friend. But is he brave enough to take their friendship public?

As Calli navigates school, she must also face her mother's new relationship and the fact that she might be moving, again, just as she starts to make friends and finally accept her differences."

Goodreads - Forget Me Not

Awards and Nominations:

• AML Award Nominee for Middle Grade Novel (2017)

This is sadly the final poetry book for the month of April.  But no worries, this is an exciting review and an excellent way to wrap up poetry month.  I have seen many of my students reading this book and I always ask if they liked it once they finish it.  Students have all said the same thing, "It was really good.  I liked it."  I finally decided to grab a copy and read it.  I now know why so many students were scrambling to get their hands on this book. 

Forget Me Not is told primarily by Calli who is a seventh-grader with Tourette's Syndrome.  Calli's mom makes them move every time she breaks up with a boyfriend.  When the move Calli always hopes it is the final move.  She finds it hard starting at a new school because it is hard to make friends with very present tics that are present with Tourette's.  After moving for the 10th time, Calli meets her neighbor Jinsong.  He quickly realizes that he likes her, but doesn't want to be seen with the "freak girl" at school.  They both must find their place in the world and decide if it is worth standing up and standing out to be friends with each other. 

I loved this book and tore through it in about an hour and a half.  This book alternates between being told by Calli and Jinsong.  All of Calli's story is told in prose, while Jinsong is told in regular paragraph style.  I love that the two styles really represented both of the characters.  Calli's was prose which really represents her life living with Tourette's and her tics.  Jinsong is very collected and poised with the writing style easily matching him.  I loved the character development with both Calli and Jinsong.  The entire book really centered around just accepting and owning who you are.  Calli finally learns that it is easier to just be honest about her Tourette's and to stop worrying about what everyone will think.  Jinsong was probably my favorite transformation.  He went from being one person around his friends and someone different around Calli.  Jinsong eventually realizes that he would rather be true to himself and with Calli than to hang out with friends who don't support him.  I think it is so good for kids to read books with characters that learn this lesson.  Kids need to know that they should just be themselves instead of being someone their not just to fit in.  

I loved the characters Calli and Jinsong, especially their friendship.  But I was very annoyed with Calli's mother.  So annoyed.  She was honestly abusive to Calli.  At the beginning of the book, we learn that Calli has long golden hair, but her mom cuts it because she keeps pulling it out.  Calli is completely heartbroken over losing her hair, but her mom continues to cut it.  I understand that she is trying to prevent her from pulling her hair, but there are better ways that cutting her hair down to an inch.  She also wasn't working to help her find a medication that helped with her tics.  She just said it wasn't working and that they couldn't afford it.  It was clear that her mom was just struggling to get by and that Calli was just along for the ride.  I just hated how much her mom didn't care about Calli or her condition.  It was honestly heartbreaking.  

I really enjoyed this book.  It was a beautiful piece with prose and paragraph style writing.  It was a good coming of age story of finding yourself.  I give this 5 stars and recommend it to everyone.  It has no inappropriate themes or language.  It is a perfect middle-grade book.  

Vanilla by Billy Merrell

From Goodreads,

A bold, groundbreaking novel about coming out, coming into your own, and coming apart.

Hunter and Van become boyfriends before they're even teenagers, and stay a couple even when adolescence intervenes. But in high school, conflict arises -- mostly because Hunter is much more comfortable with the sex part of sexual identity. As the two boys start to realize that loving someone doesn't guarantee they will always be with you, they find out more about their own identities -- with Hunter striking out on his own while Van begins to understand his own asexuality.

In poems that are romantic and poems that are heartbreaking, Vanilla explores all the flavors of the spectrum -- and how romance and love aren't always the same thing.

Goodreads - Vanilla

We are halfway through poetry month, and this is another review of a book written in verse.  This book is a very unique book because it is told in varying verse styles from three different characters.  Vanilla is about two boys who have been dating since high school.  Hunter wants to take things to the next level, while Vanilla doesn't.  The third character Clown/Angel is an outsider who is friends with both and has varying feelings for both.  This book is the story of their struggle to find themselves.

I am a VERY open person and I will read just about any book.  There are very few that I will turn down reading.  About 20 pages into this book my boyfriend asked how the book was and I honestly said, "Awful."  I am not phobic in any way, but this book was just a struggle for me.  My biggest complaint, that honestly kept me from really "getting into" this book was that the story had three characters narrating.  Now, I am totally fine with multiple characters narrating a story, but I do want there to be clear labels at each chapter or change of narrators telling me who is now telling the story.  The only thing that indicated someone different was speaking was that the font was different.  I found it SOOOO hard to connect with absolutely any characters and I could not keep them straight for the life of me.

This is a really short review because this book did absolutely nothing for me.  It was dull and boring and I had to power through it as best as I could.  It does contain quite a bit of mature content and I wouldn't recommend it to just any young adult.  There are sexual references throughout the book and there are multiple gay characters, a gender-fluid character, and an asexual character.  I have to give this book 1 star.  There was just too much chaos happening in the department of keeping characters straight and it honestly took away from the book.

Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess

From Goodreads,

"From award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander, with Mary Rand Hess, comes Solo, a YA novel written in poetic verse. Solo tells the story of seventeen-year-old Blade Morrison, who knows the life of a rock star isn't really about the glitz and glamour. All the new cars and money in the world can't make up for the scathing tabloid covers or the fact that his father is struggling with just about every addiction under the sun--including a desperate desire to make a comeback and regain his former fame. Haunted by memories of his mother--who died when Blade was nine--and the ruin his father's washed-up legacy and life have brought to the family, Blade is left to figure out life on his own. But, he's not all alone: He's got the friendship of a jazz-musician mentor, Robert; the secret love of a girlfriend, Chapel; and his music. All may not be well in the Morrison home, but things are looking up for Blade, until he discovers a deeply protected family secret--one that further threatens his relationship with his family and has him questioning his own identity. Thrown into a tailspin, Blade decides the only way he will understand his past and begin his future is to find out the truth behind the music and himself. He soon sets out on a journey that will change everything he thought to be true. His quest lands him in Ghana, stuck in a village just shy of where answers to the secret can be found. There, Blade discovers a friendship he couldn't have imagined, a people founded in family and community, and a reconciliation he never expected.

With his signature intricacy, intimacy, and poetic style, Kwame Alexander explores what it means to finally come home."

Goodreads - Solo

Welcome back for another poetry book review.  Kwame Alexander is definitely on my top ten favorite author's list.  His first book I read was Crossover shortly followed by Booked and Rebound.  All of those books are sports packed books that pack a poetry punch.  I was really excited to see he had a new book out, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

Solo is about a teenage boy named Blade who has a rockstar father who is always in the spotlight.  Blade is very connected to music and decides to play a song for his commencement speech at graduation.  The only problem is that his famous father crashes graduation and causes a scene.  Things spiral with Blade and he soon finds that his girlfriend is cheating and that he is adopted.  Blade decides to set out on a quest to Ghana to save himself and find his birth mother.

This book was quite a letdown.  The other books I've read by Alexander were full of passion and moving poetry.  Solo felt like a forced story more than a work of art.  I really felt like this should have been a regular novel instead of a book of verse.  It felt like the sentences had just been broken and arranged to look like a poem.  Books that utilize verse need to be written so that there is a sense of rhythm and flow to it.  This book had no rhythm or flow which is bothersome considering the book had a big central theme of music. 

One of the high points in this book was that there were various points in the book that had music and band information.  I really wish that I had listened to the song as I was reading the book.  I feel that it would have really given me a little more of a connection to the book itself.  It was really interesting to learn little tidbits about songs that actually exist.

Overall, Alexander and Hess really dropped the ball on this book.  It would have been a better fit for it to be a full-fledged novel instead of being in verse.  This book isn't like Alexander's previous Crossover, Booked, and Rebound books.  If you like music and self-centered teenagers then this is definitely a book for you.  I give it 2 stars.  

Somewhere Among by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu

From Goodreads,

"A beautiful and haunting debut novel in verse about an American-Japanese girl struggling with the loneliness of being caught between two worlds when the tragedy of 9/11 strikes an ocean away.

Eleven-year-old Ema has always been of two worlds—her father’s Japanese heritage and her mother’s life in America. She’s spent summers in California for as long as she can remember, but this year she and her mother are staying with her grandparents in Japan as they await the arrival of Ema’s baby sibling. Her mother’s pregnancy has been tricky, putting everyone on edge, but Ema’s heart is singing—finally, there will be someone else who will understand what it’s like to belong and not belong at the same time.

But Ema’s good spirits are muffled by her grandmother who is cold, tightfisted, and quick to reprimand her for the slightest infraction. Then, when their stay is extended and Ema must go to a new school, her worries of not belonging grow. And when the tragedy of 9/11 strikes, Ema, her parents, and the world watch as the twin towers fall…

As Ema watches her mother grieve for her country across the ocean—threatening the safety of her pregnancy—and her beloved grandfather falls ill, she feels more helpless and hopeless than ever. And yet, surrounded by tragedy, Ema sees for the first time the tender side of her grandmother, and the reason for the penny-pinching and sternness make sense—her grandmother has been preparing so they could all survive the worst.

Dipping and soaring, Somewhere Among is the story of one girl’s search for identity, inner peace, and how she discovers that hope can indeed rise from the ashes of disaster."

Goodreads - Somewhere Among

Awards and Nominations:

• Writers' League of Texas Manuscript Competition for Middle Grade (2013)

April is finally back!  That means it is finally poetry month!  This is one of my favorite months because poetry books are typically moving and full of emotion.  This book is packed with emotional moments and moving poetry.

Somewhere Among is a moving story told by a young girl named Ema.  She is stuck between being Japanese and American.  She spends most of the year in Japan and goes to America in the summer.  Ema must find herself and who she is, especially since she feels split between two countries.  

This book has a big focus on Ema being "split" between being American and Japanese.  Throughout the book, she is torn between the traditions and customs of each country.  I think that people who are multicultural will find this book relatable.  This book was really a journey of Ema finding who she was.  Her grandmother in Japan was so set on her following Japanese rules and traditions, while Ema found herself enjoying the simple American ways.  Ema truly had to find a balance in her life and her cultures.  I think many people have to find a balance similar to this in life.  It could be a cultural balance or it could be a balance between your family and a significant other's family.  I know that my boyfriend and I are both from the US but from different states.  There are things that he does that blow my mind and things that I do that he disapproves of.  This is a cultural difference that we experience and have to balance when we spend time with each other's family.  Everything in life is about balance and this book was an example of that between two very different cultures. 

While the balance was an important aspect in this book, I didn't feel a real connection with any of the characters.  Ema's parents were very flat characters who weren't in the book much.  Ema was telling the story and was busy trying to balance everything with her cultures, school, and staying out of trouble with her grandmother.  Ema's grandparents were very involved in my opinion, but they didn't really have a voice.  They were very flat characters.  This was very disappointing because I feel like it took away from the book.  If the characters had had more depth and dimension they would have been more relatable and would have added a special touch to the book.  

Overall, this book was just okay.  I loved the balance of life aspect but found the characters dull and flat.  I recommend this to people who are needing a glimpse into the life of a child who is "split" between two places.  This also has quite a bit of Japanese culture and language in it.  I give this 2 stars.  

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

From Goodreads,

"Prepare to be spellbound by Jim Kay’s dazzling full-colour illustrations in this stunning new edition of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Breathtaking scenes, dark themes and unforgettable characters – including Dobby and Gilderoy Lockhart – await inside this fully illustrated edition. With paint, pencil and pixels, award-winning illustrator Jim Kay conjures the wizarding world as we have never seen it before. Fizzing with magic and brimming with humour, this inspired reimagining will captivate fans and new readers alike, as Harry and his friends, now in their second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, seek out a legendary chamber and the deadly secret that lies at its heart …"

Goodreads - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Awards and Nominations:

• Nestle Smarties Book Prize for 9-11 years (1998)
• British Book Award (1999)
• Prijs van de Jonge Jury (2002)
• Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards for Older Readers (2006)
• Colorado Blue Spruce Young Book Award (2008)
• Golden Archer Award for Middle/Junior High (2008)
• Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature (2008)

Almost a year later, I am traveling back to Hogwarts.  My mom and I were shopping just before Christmas, and I pointed out the book and mentioned I needed to get it.  She told me to put it in our cart and to "come on."  I reluctantly put it in the cart and I am now excitedly getting to review it.  This is another illustrated edition, just like my review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  I am just extremely upset that I am just now reading this series in my mid-twenties.

Harry Potter found out a year ago that he was a wizard with a very interesting past.  He is looking forward to returning to Hogwarts to get away from the terrible Dursley's he is living with.  After an awful evening with dinner guests, Ron and his brother's help get Harry out of the Dursley's house.  Harry and all of the Weasley kids soon return to Hogwarts only to find that someone has opened the Chamber of Secrets.  All of the students remain on edge until they all hear Harry speaking parseltongue.  They soon become skeptical that he is the heir of Slytherin and that he is the one who has opened the Chamber.  Harry, Hermoine, and Ron must work together to figure out what is happening to save all of Hogwarts and its students.

I was beyond excited that Dobby has finally entered the books.  He was easily one of my favorite characters from the movie.  He means well but tends to completely screw things up.  And then he punishes himself for screwing up.  I don't think I have ever connected with a character like I do with Dobby.  I too often find myself meaning well, messing things up, and then anxiously hating myself for messing up.

I was also really intrigued by Ron and Hermoine and their relationship.  This was the first time that I started to see Ron really defend and protect Hermoine as well as knowing her extremely well.  I'm excited to see how their relationship unfolds throughout the book, as I know how it will happen in the movies.  I am curious to see if it is similar or if there are more subtle hints hidden along the way.

I still love the illustrated books of this series.  The illustrations are absolutely stunning.  Sometimes I hate that I have watched the movies before I read the books.  While I was reading I was constantly comparing the book to what I remembered of the movie.  I specifically don't remember Colin in the movies, but he had a clear and defined role in the book.  I also don't remember Harry and Ron going into the forest to talk to a large spider that Hagrid had kept hidden away as a pet.  I still absolutely enjoyed this book and the illustrations.

I am slowly becoming a Potterhead and am happily sorted into Hufflepuff.  I am excited to knock out the next book in the series.  I will happily give this book 5 stars.  The illustrated versions are large in size but have an amazing collection of illustrations and designs.  I recommend this as a bedtime storybook to read to a first-time reader/listener of the series.