Review: The Last Equation of Isaac Severy

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I love mysteries and math, but I still didn't love this book. Hazel's uncle Isaac dies early in the book, and she is left clues by him to find his last math equation, which others are after. Everyone in this book is a genius and (therefore?) dysfunctional, so it's more of a character study than a mystery. It started strong and then dwindled--I wanted to stop listening to it.

The audiobook production and narration is as strong as it could be. By the 7th disk, I felt like Flanagan's voice was trying to keep things interesting, but there just wasn't much to go on, which led to flat voices.

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Review: The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I

The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things when I was a beginning teacher and I remember pushing it on teens like crazy. That was 15 freaking years ago and I didn't think I'd remember anything about that book, but reading this sequel brought some of it. Mackler is just darn good about teen voice and capturing those moments.

"Three dots. Three dots. Three dots."

Oh, the impatience of texting. (Not much social media in this novel--still blogging and texting). Virginia is still having boy problems and dealing with her self-esteem and weight issues. Food is mentioned like crazy in this novel, as well as exercise, since Virginia has been raised by her fat-shaming parents. Strange how this book fits right in with #metoo and the dilemma of hating the crime while still loving the criminal.

This is one sequel I was happy to read.

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Review: Only Killers and Thieves

Only Killers and Thieves by Paul Howarth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel about the Australian outback and the racism and disgusting things that happened there is so raw that it was very difficult to read. Much like an American western, the bush was a wild place in 1885, where white men took what they wanted anytime they wanted. It definitely wasn't a nice place to live if you were a woman or a person of color.

Fifteen-year-old Tommy and his older brother Billy have a bleak, but happy, existence on their family ranch. They struggle, thanks to the lack of rain and money, and a horrible landlord, John Sullivan. After a disaster, the two brothers quickly must become men, but Tommy doesn't swallow the crap that Mr. Sullivan gives them as much as his older brother does. There is a lot of violence, especially toward women and the Kurrong, and I had to step away from the book a few times. The British colonists were evil in Australia--I had no idea that it was so much like how white Americans treated the Native Americans. Ugh. I'm glad I read this, and it's beautifully written in the way that westerns can be, but, it was so difficult.

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Review: The Great Alone

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is quite the love story about Alaska, and, for that reason, I loved it. It's the 1970s, and Lenny's family moves to Alaska, totally unprepared, of course, in their VW bus. Lots of drama, and I hated the ending. Too sappy for me.

The audiobook is a perfect listen. The only error I heard was in the author's note at the end.

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Review: The Crossing

The Crossing by Jason Mott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first third of the book was 5 stars and then the main character kept telling, and telling, and telling her story. Slow going for the middle third, with a lot of repetition. But the teen twin characters are memorable and the dystopian world seems like it could happen in about 2025.

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Review: The Hush

The Hush by John Hart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I do love the way this man writes fiction, and I didn't even realize that this was book 2 in the series because it had been years and hundreds of books in between.

The South and magical realism is a plus, but I had some twinges with the African mysticism/slave narrative/current black/white relations this book pushes to the forefront of its plot. I really wish it were just a swamp people magic tale so my eyebrows didn't go up. But the parts about the slaves and African-Americans made me sigh.

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Review: A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America

A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America by T. Christian Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Narrative nonfiction is my favorite, and this didn't disappoint. At the beginning I wondered where the book was going--it was all about a young woman who retracts her accusation of rape. But, whoa, the rest of the book was riveting. All police officers and anyone who knows someone who has been assaulted should read this.

I didn't hear any mispronounced words and the narration was serious and spot-on. I wanted to keep listening. There was one track 8 on a later disk that had some audible breath intakes that, for some reason, weren't edited out like the rest of them. But the average listener probably wouldn't notice them. Highly recommended.

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Review: Run Wild

Run Wild by David Covell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautiful watercolor illustrations--the ocean waves were breathtaking.

Love how the book encourages kids to "run wild" and uses poetry and the illustrations to show them what kids are supposed to do--get dirty, talk to worms, dive in the ocean, etc. For some reason though, I felt that the book ended short. I was loving the vibe and the rhythm, but then it cut off instead of coming to a satisfactory close--that's the feeling that made me give it 4 stars instead of 5. But I bet this gets some conversation around the Caldecott table.

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Review: Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse

Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gorgeous illustrations by Corinna Luyken, who illustrated .

One of the best lines? "All the houses looked like they might fall down, and even though it wasn't trash day, it looked like it was." Thank you, author, for describing what the majority of kids' neighborhoods look like.

I am an ESTJ though, so I would still be muttering, "You don't have a freaking horse" at the end of this book.



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Review: Orphan Monster Spy

Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my kind of young adult historical fiction. The main character is a 15-year-old half-Jewish gymnast who was raised by her famous actress mother. The acting part comes in handy when she's forced to cover as a monster (a Nazi child) at a horrible boarding school for girls. Lots of action, smarts, and despicable actions by the Germans. Exciting read that I raced through!

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Review: Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sweet collection of quick tales of brazen women who impacted the world. Some I had heard of, like Josephine Baker, Temple Grandin, Nellie Bly, and Mae Jemison, but most of them I hadn't. This was originally published in French, but the translation is great. Love how women of all social classes, ethnicity, and time periods are represented and I sure hope she has a volume two in the works.

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