Greetings! This is certainly not everything I’ve read in the past six-ish weeks since my last roundup, so if I’m particularly industrious there may be a Part Deux…but anyway, here are a few highlights from my late July/early August reading:
If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll know how much of a fan I am of Jaclyn Moriarty’s YA books—I find her both hysterical and delightful, whether she’s writing realistic fiction or fantasy/magical realism (or the occasional adult book). Well, I hadn’t realized that she’s also dived into middle grade, with a series called Kingdoms and Empires. I found this out by accident because one of the books, The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst, was in my library’s ebook app. When I finished reading, I realized that A) the book was part of a series! Yay! And B) I had managed to read the third book out of five! Ooops!
Well, anyhoo, I of course went back and read the other ones (in order this time) and just tore through them. The land of Kingdoms and Empires is in many ways much like our world—if technology had frozen sometime in the period when telephones and automobiles were new and people still used horses and carriages, too. Oh, and there’s quirky magic, and plucky heroines, and outlandish adventures, and situations that made me laugh out loud—but also characters that feel very real, that you wish you could jump into the book and meet. This was one of those series that I kind of wanted to start reading again as soon as I finished. Hot tip: start with the actual first book, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone.
Speaking of characters who feel very real—another book I really enjoyed recently was Cemetery Boys, by fellow Mills alum Aiden Thomas. Yes, I know, I’m late to the party reading this one—my towering TBR pile and I are suitably embarrassed. In any case, I’ve been meaning to read this one for a long time, and it did not disappoint.
Yadriel, a trans teenage boy, is the narrator, and he is determined to become a brujo and defend the cemetery against rogue ghosts like his dad and older brother—the problem is, because he’s trans, they think that he won’t be able to access the type of magic traditionally gifted to men when he comes of age. His family is throwing a wrench into Yadriel’s following his calling, so Yadriel takes matters into his own hands—and events soon spiral out of control, of course, with mysterious disappearances, a handsome ghost boy, and everything coming to a head on Dia de los Muertos.
The fantasy elements—the world of the brujx that Yadriel inhabits—is terrific and fun, but what really stood out for me was the character development. The characters were so fully realized, so relatable and familiar, so funny and lovable, that I just wanted to hug them. I thought the family themes were especially meaningful, that you can have blood family and chosen family, both precious, and even though your own family has the ability to betray you in the worst way possible, they can also surprise you with the depth of their love and support. Yes, it’s important for books to show trans kids that they can persevere through difficult situations, but it’s also important to show those situations where a trans kid has a loving, supportive family—not without its struggles, but willing to listen, change, and grow.
It’s not often that an author gets an opportunity to re-release a book the way THEY wanted it written all along, but Cheryl Rainfield has done just that with her/their book Visions, which I reviewed a number of years ago in its first incarnation as Parallel Visions. The author always wanted this story to be full-length with queer characters, and the new version has accomplished that: Kate is still the main character, and her asthma still triggers psychic visions, but now there’s a subplot of her crushing on (and getting to know) the beautiful Desi, her nonbinary classmate and, as the story progresses, her ally too.
Kate is empowered to take matters into her own hands to try to save the people she loves, even if it puts her in danger—but she also learns to trust and stand up for herself. Readers will find not only a detailed portrayal of a queer teen coming into her own, but also a wealth of resources at the end for those dealing with abuse, domestic violence, asthma, and much more. The author’s unabashed support and love for their/her readers shines through in this book.
