Recent Reads, September 2024
mucho mystery, an unexpected sequel, and a fair amount of angst
Hi friends! I thought I’d start today’s newsletter with a little hint (which will become relevant below) for using Libby. If you don’t already do this trick, I highly recommend it! If you know of an upcoming title you want to get your greedy little hands on fast (maybe it’s just me who’s like that, but I’m guessing not), and you can time it to search for it before your library actually owns the title, you can tag it as “Notify Me” in the app. Then as soon as your library buys the license, you will in fact get a notification. If you wait too long, the holds can get out of control quick (especially because libraries seem to purchase one copy only at first sometimes), but if you do it right away, you can luck out and be able to place your hold and get right at the front of the line (maybe even first!). Score!
And now onto the books.
Here are the books I’ve read lately, with mini-reviews. (If you’re new here, I have a footnote for you!)1
📚. Middle Grade
The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie :: Fans of escape rooms will long to join trio of friends, the Deltas, on this elaborate and complicated adventure as they work their way through a variety of creative locked rooms. Loved the dynamics between the three friends (and to be honest, all the ways that the number 3 figured into the mysterious challenges). Main character Sarah is dealing with some tough things and it was great to see how her friends were there for her. (Thanks to Libro.fm for an Educator ALC- Advanced Listener Copy).
4 ⭐s
Waste of Space (Moon Base Alpha #3) by Stuart Gibbs :: Another fun mystery on the moon with Dash and company. This book featured some satisfying comeuppance for some of the least liked characters. Some of the science-y elements got a little more far-fetched, which I think some readers will really enjoy. Overall it’s a great wrap-up to this well-done series.
4 ⭐sThe Sherlock Society (#1 in a new series) by James Ponti :: It will surprise no one who knows me that I loved this! I rarely buy new books I haven’t read but I preordered this one (the special edition from B&N) and then also snagged hold spot #1 (see above note!) and listened to it. I was immediately sucked into the world of these characters and the mysteries they come across. I couldn’t love more the inclusion of a sassy grandpa with a car named Roberta, and I like how Alex and Zoe’s parents get to play parts in the story as well. As always, Mr. Ponti weaves friendship themes into the fun, along with a sense of found family as the team gels and works together, with each member of the society contributing. I can’t wait to go back to Miami with the Sherlocks and friends for more mystery and adventure. My students can’t wait for our library copy to arrive.
5⭐s
The Frindle Files (Frindle #2) by Andrew Clements :: I couldn’t believe the news that 28 years later we were getting a sequel to the modern classic, Frindle! And a A fantastic follow-up it is! I led a class book club for Frindle a few years ago with one of my kids and had so much fun with it. My own students are still loving Frindle (even though it’s almost 30 years old) and this story set in present day will be so fun for them to read. I love how modern day technology and internet etiquette and safety have been used to construct a clever, engaging plot with great character development even thought it’s a shorter book. And kudos to the shorter length which harkens back to the middle grade books of the 90s, and which today’s kids need more of, in my opinion. (Thanks to Libro.fm for an Educator ALC- Advanced Listener Copy).
5⭐s
A note about this book: The Frindle Files was published posthumously, as sadly, Andrew Clements passed away in 2019 after submitting the first draft for this endearing sequel. I love this quote from Michelle Nagler senior VP and publisher at Random House: “We deliberately took our time with this editorial process, because it isn’t just Andrew’s last work. It is also the long-awaited sequel to his most beloved and enduring classic. The themes of The Frindle Files are such a fitting tribute to Andrew’s whole body of work—he stresses the importance of language and literacy, while raising big and timely questions about how technology and ethics must coexist in today’s society. And of course, it’s all done through a kid-focused lens: in the classroom, with a truly special teacher at the front.”2
📚. Young Adult
Six More Months of June by Daisy Garrison :: This book was chosen for my MG/YA book club, and I think the general consensus for it was somewhere along the lines of "it's complicated." I really liked the characters and their individual and collective arcs and the end-of-senior year vibes. I quite loved the friendship-to-possible-love between the two main characters, and the side character Hollis was a refreshing take on the mean girl archetype (no spoilers, but maybe deep down, she isn't really that mean?). The writing is good/compulsively readable, and I laughed out loud and marked quite a few passages that I loved. But the content is... a lot. I don't like a lot of the choices the characters make (which are presented very bluntly and unapologetically). It's also a very issue-heavy book and I felt like there was an unnecessary passing mention/allusion to a character having been on the verge of a suicide attempt in the past. It's not one I passed on to my own teens though there was a lot I did like about it. Though the content isn't graphic on the page, I still recommend checking content warnings.
3.75⭐s
Sunrise Nights by Brittany Cavallaro and Jeff Zentner :: I really loved this book. The writing, which is a mix of poetry and not-officially-poetry-but-still-poetic dialogue, is excellent. The characters are completely endearing and also raw and realistic. The premise is romantic and angsty and nostalgic (I now need to watch the Before... movies, which I somehow always wanted to see but never did?). It's also funny (hello, Rayven, fantastic side character) and bantery, and all the "issues" are handled delicately and feel very real. There is some miscommunication that is critical to the plot, but I think I'm realizing I can overlook that more in YA than in adult romance because I expect that more from people whose brains are still developing than in fully-grown adults. It feels fitting here if a bit frustrating for the reader. But despite that, I loved listening to this so much (great narration!) and kept wanting to get back to it.
5⭐sRuthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment #2) by Rebecca Ross :: A lovely followup to Divine Rivals with a stunner of an ending, I think I liked this book two slightly more than the first. There was a moment when I thought it might just be a rehashing of the first book thanks to some memory loss, but then it course-corrected and became very much its own story. Characters we loved were developed more fully and we met some new faces along the way (Tobias!). A beautiful love story that defies odds through resilience, perseverance, and sacrifice.
4.75⭐s
I hope you find something here that you or a young person in your life might like to read. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Happy Friday and happy reading,
Nicole
I always use affiliate links with Bookshop.org when I link to books. If you purchase through my links you support me a tiny bit, and more importantly, you support indie bookstores. Thanks!
Caveat: I go by publishing market standards for these mini-reviews: middle grade refers to books with a general audience of 8-12 years old, and a typical young adult audience is 13-18 years old. I sometimes mention other more-specific age demographics/recommendations in my mini-reviews, but this is all ultimately up to each reader and their parents. I find that many readers continue reading and enjoying middle grade books in their favorite genres well into high school and beyond.
I share my own opinions (not affiliated with anyone/any institution but me), but keep in mind, I’m 43 years old, i.e. not the target audience, so I do try to also look at books from a young reader’s perspective when I can, and I always like to mention when a book has been liked my own kids or students. I will mention if a book was an ARC (advanced reader copy) that I received for free with the intent to review. I also keep my reviews on my StoryGraph profile.
From a writing standpoint, I have the utmost respect for authors and their book babies. My mini-reviews are just one opinion, and represent my own tastes and preferences, and I use star ratings to reflect that.
I rate books with a 5-star system (with decimals!), that can be described as follows:
5 ⭐s: I absolutely loved it and it hit some of my favorite tropes/story elements. I loved the experience of reading it, too, and I heartily recommend it!
4.5 ⭐s: I loved it but it may have had one element or trope that’s not my personal fave. I strongly recommend it!
4 ⭐s: I really liked it (though it probably had more than one element that I don’t always love)… I can see this would be a good fit for _________ and will recommend it.
3-3.5 ⭐s: I liked it. I can see it would be a good fit for ____________ even though it wasn’t just right for me.
2 ⭐s: It was okay, but definitely not for me. I still finished it (though maybe reluctantly).
1 ⭐: I regret finishing it because it was really not for me and/or it had specific things I really didn’t like. I may have DNF’d it.