Real

Real by Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard, 2021

Recommended for grades 6-8; realistic fiction

Brief Review:

Because thirteen-year-old Charity Wood doesn’t talk and has limited motor skills, everyone assumes that she is mentally challenged. But when her parents discover the abusive conditions at Charity’s special needs school and enroll her in public school, she quickly learns new ways to communicate. With the help of the special needs coordinator and an aide, Charity suddenly starts to type. Many of the people who have doubted her, including family members, the principal, the basketball coach, and numerous fellow students all learn that she is intelligent and articulate. But a few students and parents don’t welcome Charity to the public school. Someone keeps posting hurtful comments on an anonymous gossip app, and eventually, people start questioning whether Charity is really typing for herself. Charity must defend herself not only against stereotypes but also against specific accusations of plagiarism. Inspired by the real-life experiences of one of the book’s two authors, this story explains the importance of respecting everyone, including people with disabilities, and not underestimating someone’s intelligence or potential based upon their limitations. Unfortunately, despite the book’s important message and (eventually) uplifting tone, the plot and characters simply aren’t interesting enough to appeal to a wide audience. 

Long Review:

Thirteen-year-old Charity Wood doesn’t talk. No one knows that she loves sour gummies and pepperoni pizza or that she hates oatmeal and the pink dresses her mother makes her wear. No one except her parents truly believes that she is intelligent and knows how to read and do junior-high-level math. And even her family has no idea that she suffers from neglect and abuse at Borden Academy, the school that is supposed to accommodate and support her special needs. But then one day her mother goes into Borden to try to meet with a teacher and observes the unsatisfactory conditions that have always been covered up on Parents Day. She immediately pulls Charity out of Borden Academy and starts the process of getting her admitted to public school. 

The principal, Mr. Jergen, is skeptical of Charity’s ability to function and participate in the public school curriculum given her limited motor skills and the fact that she’s nonverbal. But the special needs coordinator, who introduces herself as Celia, quickly realizes that Charity is much more intelligent than any doctor or educator has realized in the past. In fact, under the guidance of Celia and an aide named Ana, Charity quickly learns how to type. She suddenly is able to communicate with her family, her new friends, and her teachers. She excels in academics, makes friends, and even joins the basketball team.

But not everyone welcomes Charity to public school. The majority of the popular-girl clique takes a dislike to her, with the possible exception of Grace, who was Charity’s friend when they were little. And someone keeps saying hurtful things on an anonymous gossip app. Later, when Ana has to take time off unexpectedly for a family emergency, Charity is given a substitute aide who types her own words with Charity’s keyboard, raising questions about whether Charity was really communicating on her own in the first place. After Charity submits a research paper about the negative environment at Borden Academy, she is even accused of plagiarism. 

Inspired by the real-life experiences of one of the book’s two authors, this story explains the importance of respecting everyone, including people with disabilities, and not underestimating someone’s intelligence or potential based upon their limitations. The message is important and the eventual outcome of Charity’s story is positive, but the book unfortunately lacks the appeal factors to reach a wide audience, especially not within the 8-11 age range for which retailers recommend it. The story isn’t exciting or humorous, few of the characters are well-developed or likable, and much of the plot revolves around the adult-oriented topic of best practices in special needs education.

Amari and the Night Brothers

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston, 2021

Recommended for grades 4-8; fantasy, adventure

Brief Review:

Twelve-year-old Amari Peters doesn’t believe that her brother Quinton’s sudden disappearance was due to any illegal activities, nor does she believe that he’s dead. She’s determined to find him somehow, but she has no idea where to start. But then she is informed that Quinton has nominated her for a top-secret training program at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari joins the program in the hopes that it will give her the opportunity to find him. Almost as soon as she arrives at the Bureau, Amari discovers that she is a magician. Unfortunately, due to certain famous evil magicians, magical powers are illegal and hated at the Bureau. (Use of magical items is fine, but not magicians themselves) Although she is allowed to stay, Amari is now faced with extra challenges. With the help of two new friends, Amari must prove herself as a potential Junior Agent, learn how to use her newly discovered powers, and search for information about her brother, all while surrounded by people who distrust and dislike her. Despite relying on a few too many common tropes and packing a few too many plot twists into just a couple chapters near the end, this book is an exciting fantasy adventure that will be very popular among fans of the genre. Amari’s backstory as a poor black girl from the projects will likely draw some new readers to the high fantasy genre.

Long Review:

It’s the last day of school and twelve-year-old Amari Peters is in trouble again. In fact, it sounds like she’s probably going to lose her scholarship to Jefferson Academy, the fancy private school that is supposed to help her rise above her humble background as a poor black kid from the projects. But Amari has even bigger problems on her mind. Her older brother Quinton has been missing for six months after starting a top-secret job right out of high school. The police think that this job was just a cover story for some kind of dangerous, illegal activities that explain his sudden disappearance, but Amari knows that’s not true. Quinton was a genius who really did have a top-secret job, something like a spy, and that job is the reason he went missing. And he definitely isn’t dead. Amari is determined to find her brother, but she has no idea where to start.

And then Quinton shows up to take her on a midnight adventure in a flying boat. It turns out to be a pre-recorded “Waking Dream”, but Quinton has also nominated Amari to attend a training program at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari sneaks away to go to an interview and accepts the position in the program. (Amari’s mother and other non-Supernatural families are told that it’s a summer camp for developing leadership skills. Since Quinton went to this “camp” as a teenager himself, Amari’s mother has complete trust in the program.) But Amari isn’t really interested in the training and career opportunities that she’s being promised. She just wants to find Quinton.

Within the first day, though, Amari finds out that she is unusual and special even within the Supernatural world. For one thing, it turns out that Quinton and his partner Maria Van Helsing were famous supernatural agents who called themselves VanQuish and who captured Moreau, one of the infamous Night Brothers. But besides that, Amari is awarded a Moonstone Badge, a highly unusual honor that recognizes her intrinsic potential. And she has a supernatural ability that she never would have guessed: Amari is a magician. Unfortunately, magicians are illegal and distrusted in the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. (Magical items are allowed and widely used, but for a person to have their own magical powers is considered dangerous and evil) 

After much discussion, the training agents and leadership at the Bureau agree to allow Amari to stay, train under them, and try out for a position as a Junior Agent. But Amari is just as much of an outcast in her new educational environment as she was as the poor black kid at Jefferson Academy. With the help of the two fellow trainees who do become her friends, Amari must prove herself as a potential supernatural agent, learn how to use her newly discovered powers, and search for information about her brother’s mysterious disappearance. 

This action-filled fantasy story will be popular for all of the same appeal factors that have made Harry Potter and similar books so successful. It incorporates a variety of common middle-grade fantasy tropes such as the “Chosen One” protagonist who discovers their significance very suddenly, the fact that the fantasy element is a family secret, the fantastical-boarding-school setting, a small group of friends who must work together on a side quest in the midst of their studies, and bullying that mirrors the main character’s prior experiences. In fact, the only significant complaint I have about this book is that, due to that combination of tropes, it sometimes feels a little bit too much like a Harry Potter rip-off. But that is somewhat mitigated by two significant differences: Amari’s backstory (including her racial identity) and the fact that Amari’s magician status is a bad thing.

My other quibble is that there are a few too many plot twists squeezed into just the last few chapters. There are some big surprises regarding who is or isn’t a bad guy, but they lose some of their effect when the same character was at the center of a different plot twist just a couple pages earlier. I also felt that some of the messages about the importance of self-confidence seemed to come out of nowhere, since Amari never seemed especially lacking in self-confidence. But these slight flaws don’t detract significantly from the overall reading experience, and any middle-grade reader who already has an appreciation for the genre will thoroughly enjoy this new book. It is presumably the first of a series, and Universal Pictures has already acquired the rights and is evidently in the process of adapting the book into a movie starring Marsai Martin.

Red, White, and Whole

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca, 2021

Recommended for grades 4-8; novel in verse

Brief Review:

It’s 1983 and Reha is a thirteen-year-old Indian American girl living in a predominantly white midwestern town. Initially, she struggles with the hardships of living a mutli-cultural lifestyle, but these problems all become insignificant when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia. When the chemotherapy and extended hospital stay fail to cure the disease, Reha hopes that she will be able to save her mother’s life with a bone marrow transplant. The novel-in-verse format works well for this emotional, introspective book that focuses just as much on its themes of self-identity and family as on its plot points. The title has a clever double meaning; it refers to the fact that literal blood is made up of both red and white cells, but it also refers to Reha’s two cultural backgrounds. In Indian culture, red is a lucky color, and in American culture, white is the color of purity and heroism. At one point, while speculating on the nature of heroism, Reha decides that red instead of white should be the color of virtue. White is a “pale, all-reflecting non-hue”, she says, but red is “the color of the life within us.” Still, both concepts are a part of Reha’s perspective and heritage. The book concludes with a heartwarming letter from Reha’s mother encouraging her to embrace both cultures and expressing pride in Reha’s courage.

Long Review:

It’s 1983 and Reha is a thirteen-year-old Indian American girl living in a predominantly white midwestern town. She feels like she’s living two lives. In one life, she’s Indian with her parents, she eats Indian food, and she has a best friend named Sunita, or Sunny for short. In the other life, she goes to school, listens to American pop music, and has other friends named Rachel and Pete. In both those lives, Reha aspires to be a doctor even though she’s not sure how she’ll ever learn to handle the sight of blood. Her mother Amma is a hospital lab technician whose job is to run Complete Blood Count tests. She separates red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma in order to count the individual cells. Together, these different types of blood cells and the plasma make whole blood, hence the title of the book.

The title also refers to the contrast between Indian culture and American culture. In Indian culture, as Amma explains to Reha, brides wear red because it’s a lucky color; white is a color of mourning, rather than a color symbolizing purity. Later in the book, while speculating on the nature of heroism, Reha decides that red instead of white should be the color of virtue. White is a “pale, all-reflecting non-hue”, but red is “the color of the life within us.”

Reha’s life as an Indian American isn’t always easy. She has a hard time talking her parents into letting her go to the school dance, and her parents initially want her to wear a dress sewn by her mother instead of going to the mall and picking out something she wants. But these hardships suddenly don’t seem so bad when Amma gets sick. Ironically, her disease is exactly the kind of thing she’s spent years looking for in other people’s blood. She has too many white blood cells, and some of them are abnormal. It’s leukemia, and in order to treat it, they need to give her chemotherapy and keep her in the hospital.

In fact, Amma’s blood doesn’t respond as well to the chemotherapy as the doctors had hoped. They need to look into the possibility of doing a bone marrow transplant. Amma’s only sibling, Prema Auntie, isn’t a match. Normally, children aren’t considered eligible for giving bone marrow, but since Reha is almost fourteen, she is able to persuade her parents and the doctor to test her blood to see if she’s a match. But unfortunately, she isn’t, either. Although Reha’s mother goes into remission for a little while, (spoiler alert!) she doesn’t survive. The book ends with a touching message that Amma left for Reha which offers some resolution to the double life that has been a theme throughout the book.

The novel-in-verse format is perfect for this emotional, introspective book that spends just as much space articulating its themes as disclosing its plot points. This isn’t just a book about a girl going through a tough time because her mother is sick; it’s about self-identity and family values and courage and heroism. And it describes the experience of belonging to two different cultures. This point is frequently reiterated with references to ‘80s American pop culture (mostly music) and Indian folklore interspersed throughout the book. To put it more simply, this book is about blood in both the literal and the metaphoric sense of the word.

The In-Between

The In-Between by Rebecca K. S. Ansari, 2021

Recommended for grades 5-8; ghost story, mystery

Brief Review:

Thirteen-year-old Cooper Stewart is initially baffled by his younger sister Jess’s fascination with a century-old mystery involving an unidentified victim in a train crash. But when she points out that the dead child was wearing a crest matching the jacket of the mysterious girl who recently moved into the house across the alley, Cooper decides it’s time to start asking some questions. Aside from introducing herself as Elena, the girl is unwilling to give any answers. One day, Cooper tries to follow her into her house only to discover that the entire house is an illusion. Together with Jess and a new friend named Gus, Cooper has to figure out who Elena is, why most people can’t see her or her house, and whether she’s connected to any of the historical disasters that Jess finds online when she tries to look for information about the crest. The kids gradually come to the realization that Elena is a ghost who repeatedly comes back to life just to die again in a different disaster every time, and that they must be in danger themselves. Meanwhile, Cooper and Jess are gradually coming to terms with their parents’ divorce several years ago and the fact that Dad has a new family now. These two storylines blend near the end of the book, when Cooper picks up on the underlying motifs regarding feeling “unseen” and the importance of human connection. An exciting, spooky mystery for readers who love plot twists and emotional depth.

Long Review:

I’ve been pretty excited about this book ever since I heard that there was a new Rebecca Ansari book out there. I thoroughly enjoyed her previous book, The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly from 2019, for its unique premise, its blend of the realistic and the fantastical, and its immersive setting. I’ve gotten accustomed enough to reading children’s literature from a professional perspective that I’ve become a little jaded, and it’s unusual now for me to encounter a book that really fascinates and grips me, but that one did. (Looking back at my initial review for it, I see that I gave it a mild critique for its somewhat corny ending, but honestly, over the past year and a half, I’d completely forgotten that and only remembered it as a book that I thoroughly enjoyed.) I’m pleased to announce that Ansari’s new book is just as enjoyable with a similarly atmospheric and spooky vibe. It’s a little different in that the fantastical elements aren’t undeniably supernatural until almost halfway through the book, and I personally feel like it’s geared just slightly younger. But as far as appeal factors go, it’s pretty similar. 

Thirteen-year-old Cooper Stewart is furious at his father for walking out of his life and starting a new family. He’s also under a lot of stress due to his mother’s busy, two-job schedule and his ten-year-old sister Jess’s diabetes. But Jess has apparently taken comfort in trying to solve a century-old mystery she read about online. After a train crash in 1928, one of the victims was a young boy who was never identified. The only clue was a crest on his clothing which happens to match the jacket of the mysterious girl who recently moved into the house across the alley from Cooper and Jess.

Although Cooper doesn’t understand Jess’s fascination with the long-past railway disaster, he’s been just as curious as his sister about the new girl. She seems to spend all of her time just sitting on a swing and watching Cooper’s house, but she’s never spoken to him and she doesn’t even go to his school. He knows her family is rich, because her house had been abandoned and dilapidated until the girl’s family moved in and completely renovated the house within just a few days while the Stewart family was out of town. Cooper and Jess assume that the girl goes to a fancy private school and that the crest on her jacket can be used to identify the school, but their internet research doesn’t turn up any leads. So Cooper agrees to ask the girl directly. She introduces herself as Elena, but is unwilling to give Cooper any more information.

Meanwhile, Cooper has bonded with a new kid at school named Gus. Gus tells Cooper that he has moved in with his grandmother, the dour old lady who the neighborhood kids call a witch, while his parents figure out what to do about their failing relationship. Cooper sympathizes with Gus and finds himself opening up to his new friend more than he has been able to do with his old friends. After Gus happens to walk into a conversation between Cooper and Elena, Cooper and Jess end up letting Gus in on their mystery.

The plot thickens when Cooper goes over to Elena’s house and it looks completely different than what he’s always seen through the windows. It turns out that Elena’s beautifully remodeled house is just an illusion; it’s still the old abandoned ruin that had been there before. The only thing there other than debris and a spooky raven is a letter, presumably written by Elena, which Cooper takes with him to read in full later. When Cooper comes home bruised and bloody from touching broken glass, he and Jess realize that his mother has never been able to see Elena or her house. Only Cooper, Jess, and Gus have seen the illusion house and the mysterious neighbor girl. 

Jess is certain that Elena is a ghost, and although Cooper is initially skeptical, the letter from her house raises questions that he can’t answer in any other way. The letter describes waking up in 1911 New York and going to work at the Triangle Waist Company, aware of imminent disaster. “I hate dying by fire,” the letter says. With a little additional research, Jess and Cooper confirm that the Triangle Waist Company building was the site of a disastrous fire that killed 146 people that day. Although they’re still unsure exactly what Elena’s role is, they know that they’re in serious danger. And since Gus is the only other person who can see Elena, he must be in danger, too. 

Through their continued investigation into Elena’s illusionary house and her relationship with tragic disaster, as well as Cooper’s heart-to-heart conversations with Gus, and the eventual brush with death that they had been anticipating all along, the siblings bond and come to terms with the seemingly-unrelated conflicted feelings they have about their father and his new life. By the end of the book, this thrilling supernatural mystery has turned into a feel-good story about the importance of human connection, both in the sense of family relationships and of friendships. There are also interesting themes and motifs regarding feeling “unseen” or “invisible”, the power of the written word, and holding on to good memories.