River Readers

Lu is the final book in Jason Reynolds' Track series. It follows Lu the final "newbie" on the Defenders Track Team. Lu is albino and has to deal with things like sunscreen and vision correction. He also deals with other kids teasing him for his lack of pigment. Lu's dad has a shady past that he has overcome, but it comes to light that part of that past intersects with Coach's past in a tragic way. Lu is trying to do hurdles for the team and struggling. He is also going to be a big brother for the first time.

Izzy is the daughter of divorced parents and spends alternating weeks with each parent. Both parents are in new relationships, but they do not get along with each other. Her mom is white and her dad is black so Izzy is a blend of the two of them. The story is told as Izzy alternates her weeks between mom and dad, prepares for a piano recital and hangs out with her friends. 

I wasn't sure I would like any Fredrik Backman book more than I liked Britt-Marie, but I was wrong. I adored this one. The audiobook is probably one of my favorites I have listened to. It is the story of Elsa and her grandmother and the legacy the grandmother left behind. Grandmother was cranky and a bit crazy, but she told the best fairy tales and helped people her entire life. When she dies she leaves it up to almost eight year old Elsa to deliver her letters saying sorry. Along the way, Elsa gets to know her grandmother and all the other people who live in her house.

This is a fitting end to this series and I can't wait to see where Ascender goes in the future. All the groups meet up at the planet Mata for one final showdown. It does not go as anyone anticipated. Andy and Tim-21 are finally reunited in a touching moment that doesn't last long. Digger has his moment of glory and heroism. The machines make a surprising move. We will see what the future holds.

Leah is Simon's best friend from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and is just as awesome in her own book as she was in Simon's. Leah is a dealing with a lot. It is senior year and it is filled with college applications and visits, graduation and prom. Leah is also dealing with the fact that she is bisexual and hasn't come out to her friends yet despite the fact that her best friend Simon came out. Her awesome mom knows of course, but no one else. So she is going to prom with Garrett, who likes her even though she doesn't "like" him, and is conflicted about her feelings for Abby.

Five kids are sentenced to a day of community service on their last day of summer vacation before high school. They are spending the day helping out at a local nursing home. Jason "the nobody", Lilith "the drama queen", Rex "the rebel", Wes "the flirt", Ally "the athlete", and Rex "the rebel" are all more than their labels as we find out throughout the day. 

Maddie is a middle school girl who loves mustaches. She always carries a couple in her pocket for just the right moment. Middle school is a typical mix of homework, teachers, mean girls and bullies. Mean girl Cassie rules the girls and decides who is in and who is out. Maddie wants to be one of the in girls but doesn't like the way Cassie treats everyone. When Maddie gets the part of Juliet in the school play things go south with Cassie. Maddie is also dealing with the fact that her arm doesn't seem to be working properly. Turns out she has a brain tumor and has to have surgery. 

Coyote and her dad Rodeo live in a converted school bus traveling around the US. They have been on the road for five years ever since Coyote's mom and two sisters were killed in an auto accident. Coyote loves life on the road and has no plans to return home until she learns the neighborhood park is being destroyed. Coyote must get back before it happens so she can retrieve a memory box buried in the park. Now she just has to convince Rodeo to do something he has no desire to do.

The Earth Security Force agents are still on the hunt for the rogue alien. They must find it before it finds the aliens in charge of the port. Is this assassin here to cause harm or to save humanity? We may never know. This issue delves deeper into the politics of the port and what it has done for humanity. It seemed strange that their was a role reversal for the two agents, but maybe it made sense in light of the one's grief.

Aliens have made contact with humanity. They are not here to take over; they just want to open an intergalactic gas station. So the Port of Earth is set up outside San Francisco and humanity receives water technology. Things aren't all great though. The new water technology puts a lot of people out of work and the aliens don't seem to like to stay in the port. They wreck havoc on earth causing property damage and costing lives. Two Earth Security Force agents are charged with tracking down a rogue alien and getting it back to port.

Things have picked up since the events of The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart. Adventurine is still making chocolate wonders and Silke is trying to promote the shop. She catches the eye of the Crown Princess Katrin, who would like her to become a spy in the palace. The royal elves of Elfenwald are coming for a visit after hiding underground for a hundred years and everyone is on edge. Silke agrees but with a hidden agenda. Her parents disappeared as they were fleeing through Elfenwald and she wants to know what happened to them. Of course things do not go according to plan.

Merci lives in the Suarez compound, a group of three houses her family occupies. She lives with her parents and brother and next door to her grandparents and aunt and cousins. They are a poor but extremely close family. Merci has been assigned to be a Sunshine Buddy to new student Michael at school. She doesn't like the assignment and doesn't make a lot of effort. Mean girl Edna likes Michael and makes things difficult for Merci. Her grandpa Lolo is also having memory issues and causing problems at home. 

Mia is a recent immigrant from China. She and her parents came to America for a better life, but haven't really found it. They are working as hotel managers for Mr. Yao. It seemed like a good deal at the time. They live in the hotel for free and get a cut of all the people staying there. Unfortunately, Mr. Yao is not the most honest of bosses and Mia's family doesn't make much. What they do find is a community of people who stay in the hotel. The "weeklies" become like family and they discover they can let Chinese immigrants who need a hand stay for a night for free. 

Charlotte and Ben are both outsider kids without a lot of friends or social outlets. Charlotte's father has just had a heart attack and is in the hospital. Ben's parents have told him they are getting divorced and dad is moving out. Both are lonely and ostracized at school. They meet and connect online through a scrabble game.

This was a really interesting collection of African American women biographies. They are each one page with an illustration. I was not a huge fan of the illustrations since they were all basically the same woman with different clothes. I wanted a bit more variety in the illustrations. The biographical information was good though.