River Readers

Aru is back for another quest and this time another Pandava joins her and Mini. Brynne is a bit hostile at first but that could be because she was just battling Aru's doppleganger for a stolen bow and arrow in the midst of a zombie hoard. Of course the Pandavas are blamed for the theft and the creation of the Heartless zombies. They are tasked with finding the soul song of the person who stole the bow and arrow, learning their name and returning the stolen goods. And they only have 8 days to do it.

Trent accidently killed his classmate and now has a feeling of rage that doesn't go away. He is angry and afraid all the time. He is estranged from his friends, mad at his dad and lost and alone. He does make friends with Fallon who has her own story to tell. 

December thinks she is a bird. She knows one day her wings will sprout from the scar on her back and she will fly away. Until then she has to practice by eating seeds and jumping from trees. Her new foster mom Eleanor is different from the others. She doesn't make December eat other food and she lets her help with the birds at the bird sanctuary. December's mom left when she was little, but left December a book on birds and the story of December becoming a bird. As December settles in with Eleanor and makes friends at school, she has to face some truths about herself and her past. 

As a time traveler from the future you hope your time machine doesn't break down (it will), but if it does you definitely need this handy guide on how to make things a bit more comfortable for you. This guide teaches you everything from inventing language to growing food to making computers. It was fascinating to learn how long it took humanity to invent things we take for granted. It was also interesting to learn the technology ladders required for certain things. Thankfully, this is written with a great deal of humor, especially the footnotes. You can't skip the footnotes!

There are winged horses in the mirrors of Briar Hill that only Emmaline can see. Briar Hill used to be the home of a princess, but is now a hospital for kids sick with TB during WWII. Emmaline spends her days quietly drawing with her friend Anna and trying to convince the other children that the horses are real. Then one day she goes into one of the off limit gardens and finds a wounded winged horse. It appears the Horse Lord has sent her to this world to recover but she is being hunted by the black horse. Emmaline must build a rainbow shield to protect Foxfire in the garden.

Rinn meets a real dragon in the woods while gathering supplies for her village. The dragon, Aedhan, was supposed to be the protector of the village but fell asleep for 80 years. Uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel arrive to find what has caused the sleeping spell. The village is also preparing for the tea dragon festival. This is a story of friendship and community and it is lovely.

Willow is angry and sad a lot but tries to hide it. After a rough day at school, she blows up at her big sister. She runs away to the woods and finds Pilu who has also run away. Pilu is mad at her mother. Willow is also mad that she made a promise to her mother she can't seem to keep. Together they figure out that the angry monsters following them are of their own making. It is a story of acceptance and forgiveness and family. Simply lovely.

Candice finds a letter in her grandmother's things. The letter leads to a treasure hunt through the history of Lambert, South Carolina and what happened to the Washington family in the 1950s. Candice is helped along the way by her new friend Brandon as they discover the dark history of racism in their town. 

Ben Coffin has had a hard life. His parents died when he was young and he spent several years in foster care. He was finally adopted by Tess whose partner died. Tess promises they are going to leave New Jersey and move to Florida one day, so Ben is careful about becoming attached to people. Then he meets Flip, an abandoned dog. Flip steals Ben's heart and the two become instant friends. Ben starts training Flip to be a therapy dog with the help of his friend Halley who he met at the library. Ben is bullied at school and spends a lot of time in the library reading scifi books.

Who doesn't love cocktails by the pitcher? I didn't try any of the recipes but there are a couple I might this summer. There are also a couple of alcohols that I need to look up because I didn't know what they were!

After the terre indigene wiped out half the humans, the town of Bennett was a ghost town. However, it was also a transportation hub so the Others decide to repopulate it with a mix of Others and humans. The Sanguinati and the Wolfgard hold the dominant positions in town and another Harvester is introduced to run the saloon. Bennett is a bit of a wild west kind of town with set boundaries by the Elders. Any humans who want to live in the town have to have a purpose and be interviewed by the Others in charge.

This is the second book in the Mortal Engines books and features the further adventures of Hester and Tom. This time they find themselves on the city of Anchorage and under the power of the mayoress Freya. They are accompanied by an author who claims to have traveled to America and convinces Freya to head that way. There are also scavengers who kidnap Tom after Hester leaves in a huff due to Tom's attentions directed towards Freya. Lots happened but none of it was that interesting or memorable. I do believe I will not continue this series.

This is the story of six young people who are in a special classroom. Every Friday they go to the ARTT (A Room to Talk) and talk without supervision from a teacher. They discuss what is going on in their lives including parental incarceration, immigration, racism and so much more. It is a delightful book and the audio version was wonderful. It was a full cast recording with different actors for each of the kids and the teacher. There is also an interview after the story with jacqueline Woodson and her son.

Jimmy likes his friend Sara and is saddened when she follows her dreams of moving from Oakland to New York. He writes her a letter expressing her feelings and asks her to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building a la Sleepless in Seattle. Turns out Sara never got the letter, isn't interested in Jimmy and has a boyfriend. 

This was pretty much a dud for me. I didn't find the story nor the characters appealing and couldn't even remember their names when I went to write this review. The art did nothing to elevate the lackluster story.

Dennis loves video games but struggles with his parents' expectations of him. They want him to go to medical school and specialize in proctology. When his dad dies angels appear to him and try to guide him on that path. 

This was a bit of a miss for me. I liked Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese but this one was weird and didn't work.