Reviewed by Lyn Miller Lachman Review Source: Pirate Tree Book Author: The Hate U Give is inspired by THUG LIFE, Tupac Shakur’s famous acronym that stood for “The Hate U Give Little Infants F***ks Everybody.” (Sorry, but this is a family-friendly blog.) It is both a statement that Black lives matter and the story of a […]
The Door at the Crossroads
Reviewed by Lyn Miller Lachman Review Source: Pirate Tree Book Author: The novel from Zetta Elliott’s own imprint, Rosetta Press, begins on September 11, 2001, when 16-year-old Genna Colon witnesses the destruction of the Twin Towers from across the river in Brooklyn while her Jamaican-born boyfriend, Judah, remains in Brooklyn in 1863. Except that Judah is […]
Wolf Mark
Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: American Indians in Children’s Literature Book Author: Joe Bruchac is not yet known for his YA werewolf/vampire/espionage novels, but this talented writer can sure pull off the genre(s). Middle readers who have the ability to suspend disbelief will relate to the teen protagonist, an Abenaki wolf-boy with multiple challenges. Such […]
The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye
Reviewed by Trevor R. Getz Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: Manu Herbstein’s The Boy who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye is a masterwork of historical fiction, with the emphasis on historical. The story is set in the events leading up to the creation of the British Gold Coast Colony and Protectorate in 1874, and its main […]
Pig Park
Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Review Source: DeColores Book Author: Martínez’s Pig Park is a contemporary novel that depicts with affection and a light touch a bustling, though little-known, neighborhood in Chicago and an unholy alliance between business interests and politicians. Ever since the American Lard Company closed in 15-year-old Masi Burciaga’s Pig Park neighborhood of Chicago, […]
Panther Baby: A Life Of Rebellion & Reinvetion
Reviewed by Edith Campbell Review Source: Cotton Quilts Book Author: Honestly, I didn’t want to read Panther Baby: A Life Of Rebellion & Reinvetion when Doret first suggested it. But since I trust her judgment of books, I read the book and I’m so glad I did! I’ve wanted to put Panther Baby into the hands […]