Till the Last Beat of My Heart by Louangie Bou-Montes

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Just in time for spooky season and Latinx Heritage Month we have a YA fantasy debut. I received an arc from HarperCollins for Till the Last Beat of My Heart, a queer contemporary fantasy whose release is perfectly timed with the start of spooky season and Latinx Heritage Month. 

Jaxson Santiago-Noble is very familiar with death. As the son of a mortician, he's seen his fair share of bodies pass through his family's morgue. But nothing prepares him for when the body of his former best friend, Christian is brought in after an accident. Unaware Jaxson accidentally revives him and discovers he comes from a long line of necromancers. Suddenly it's as if Jaxson is one of the stars in his favorite horror movies. Bringing back the dead comes with a catch and it's a race against time as Christian is fading again and Jaxson is trying to control his newfound powers with the help of his Titi Clio. 

With Christian back Jaxson reconnects with him and has to face some of his social anxiety as Christian pulls him into his world of Spirit Days and Homecoming celebrations. We get this story of two boys who have always had feelings for each other but are now realizing they should explore that more because life if short and not promised. Though wacky things are happening throughout the story they're happening alongside regular days at school. 

The relationship between Jaxson, his mother, and his Titi Clio really shines here. So often in these types of stories the teens stand alone and their house is nothing more than a place they sleep at night. We might brief conversations with the parents in passing. The involvement here from the adults in his life feels very realistic. When it's not his mother or aunt looking out for him it's close family friend's within the neighborhood. While the power over life and death is generational, this book takes a slightly different approach by not tying it to any cultural specific legends or religion. Additionally Jaxson lost his father when he was younger and is learning more about who his father was outside of the authoritarian he remembers.

Louangie Bou-Montes delivers some slight horror, humor, and a queer romance you can root for. 

The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon

Welcome Back, Booklovers! The Secret Library is the second Kekla Magoon book I had on my TBR for this year after loving Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem which was cowritten with Cynthia Leitich Smith. I recieved an arc to review from Candlewick Press.

The Secret Library follows Dally, a biracial 11 year old girl who lives with her white single mother. Dally's grandfather has recently passed and her mother's main focus is grooming her to one day take over the family business. Dally decides to open a letter from her grandfather that she was instructed not to open until age 21 and discovers the instructions to a library hidden in an old Black neighborhood. The library has volumes upon volumes of books specific to individuals and their family histories which including everything from miscellaneous events to well kept family secrets. Through these books Dally is able to time travel back to the time period they're dated and follow her family history. At first the secrets are short and just glimpses of her parent's past. But then she finds herself on a pirate ship at sea with one of her ancestors.

Had I read the comps which included Kindred I would've had a better idea of what this book would read like.  It was less fantastical adventure and more reconciling with the past while meeting ancestors that help her reconcile with her biracial heritage. Despite being a middle grade book with an 11 year old character I feel like this book was written for the adult reader. There were multiple of plotlines the author tried to fit in here and some got more page time then others. As an adult with the context and understanding of what Magoon was trying to do it was still a lot for me. And I wonder how children who are being introduced to some of this history for the first time through this book will reflect on this book. Because Dally comes in with a knowledge and understanding some people don't until they've reached adulthood.

Dally is an avatar through which we taken through events in the book rather than a character with her own agency. We don't spend enough time with her in the present day to understand her outside of her status as a biracial girl who longs for adventure. Her issues with her mother are never quite resolved and the ending was unexpected and unsatisfying. I'm struggling with what message to take away from it. There's also a bit of romanticizing the idea of being an activist that I'm seeing in a lot of books lately targeted towards children of color but without portrayal of any real danger. That's not to say children shouldn't be taught to stand up for what they believe in but Dally very easily escapes difficult situations and is eager to march and fight. And it's important that we be transparent and let children know there is a level of risk and sacrifice associated with be an activist which is why not everyone is willing to take on that role.

Overall I left this book feeling exhausted and confused about the intended audience. 

The Spite House by Johnny Compton

Welcome Back, Booklovers! The Spite House made the list of my most anticipated releases of 2023. Macmillan Audio offered me the audiobook for review and I was ready to dive in. And from the moment I started reading this book captured my attention.

The Spite House follows a family who is on the run. Vague details are given at first but the father, Eric Ross is traveling with his two girls and his wife isn't in the picture. He decides to take a job in a small town where an old woman with major influence is offering a large sum of money to people willing to live in the house and document mysterious activity. Despite the vagueness of the offer, Eric realizes that this money will allow him to settle down with his girls. He and his eldest daughter Dess have been doing dangerous odd jobs to make ends me and movie from city to city to remain undetected so this will give them  the chance at some stability.

There's not too much I can say about this book without spoiling it but this was a refreshing spin on the classic haunted house story. It did follow many different povs which normally is a deal breaker for me but I felt that each served it's intended purpose even if I wasn't really into that chapter.  Johnny Compton does a great job setting up the backstories for various characters. I enjoyed reading about the Ross family and their bond. At first they seem like a normal family but as the story unfolds you realize why the family was drawn to the Masson House in the first place. But the history of the town also plays a role in this book and I like how that was revealed slowly over time. 

If you like atmospheric writing then you'll enjoy this. Especially if you get the audiobook. The writing manages to keep the the spookiness and tension going throughout which keeps readers wondering what's next. While I did end up reading some of the middle physically so I wouldn't miss things, the narration was very well done.

Flood City by Daniel Jose Older

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I recently read my first Daniel Jose Older book and now I'm on to my second. Flood City's premise sounded interesting to me last year but I don't usually read sci-fi because I struggle with understanding the genre. But I figured since I gel with his writing style and since this is MG it would be a litter easier for me to process.

Flood City is the last city left on Earth after floods covered the planet. It's protected by the totalitarian Starguard who keep everyone fed though the food tastes like wet towels.  Meanwhile the Chemical Barons, who once ruled earth and are looking to reclaim city without it's pesky inhabitants getting in the way.

Interesting that he wrote this back in 2011 when dystopian books were all the rage and he wanted to write an adventure story with monsters and fighting. And while white stories dominated the shelves and these stories barely if at all have brown people in them Flood City is full of brown people of various shades. The barons are a group of white people who escaped to space because they knew the flood was coming.

We see Flood City through the eyes of different characters. Max was born in Flood City and can navigate it better than anyone else.  Max has music skills but is bored of the sameness of the music allowed by the Star Guard. Yala joins the Star Guard even though she doesn't agree with them and is in space trying to survive their hostile training environment made only worse by being one of the few human recruits. Ato is a baron in training who ends up in Flood City after a mission doesn't go as planned and finds himself questioning everything he's been taught.

The audiobook was narrated by his wife Brittany N Williams and her narration was so good. I've been struggling with audiobooks lately but her voice brought this story to life. This is a fast-paced and fun story that mixes sci-fi along with fantasy elements. There's cool technology and strange creatures like the iguana-gulls that can tear you apart with their beaks and cut through metal with their claws. And I don't know if this was intentional but in my mind I was picturing a dystopian style New Orleans. 

My favorite part was the daily announcement through the Flood City Gazette. It's a Star Guard published newspaper that adds some comic relief while annoying the citizens.

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I love mermaids! So when I saw the beautiful cover when it originally was revealed I knew I had to read this book.

Simidele is a Mami Wata who serves under the goddess Yemoja. Her job is to bring the souls of the deceased back to the great creator. She's only been one for a short time but already she's lost most of her human memories. She likes to visit land often to remember pieces of her old life even as she struggles to block out the trauma. One day she comes across a boy who was thrown overboard a ship. Unable to let him drown, she rescues him and nurses him bringing him back from the brink of death. She is informed by Yemoja that she has doomed them with her actions. To protect her Mami Wata family from death at the hands of the great creator, Olodumare she must embark on a journey with the boy she rescued. 

Sometimes you pick up a book that far exceeds your expectations. Before reading I didn't realize that Skin of the Sea is historical fantasy set in West Africa. And while the slave trade effects the main characters it is not the center of the story. There are no white characters taking over the narrative. Instead we see the beauty of West African from brown skin to braids and curls. We taste the flavorful cuisine and smell the spices. Beneath the hot sun and salty sea air we follow Simi and Kola on a thrilling journey to stop the power hungry Esu.

Little pieces of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid are woven throughout. Simi cannot be with Kola or else she will turn to seafoam and when she's too long out of the water her feet pain her.

I love a book with a works cited page so I can do my own further reading. I could tell Natasha Bowen did a lot of research while writing this story. Now that being said, Yoruba isn't just mythology but a group of people, language, and religion. And things can get dicey with authors who were not raised within that culture using it as inspiration for their fantasy stories. While she uses real Yoruba names for her character names versus psuedo-African sounding names, she gets things wrong when it comes to the language. And while someone like me who is unfamiliar with the language did not notice it's important to respect the opinions of people who are Yoruba. I'm linking a review from a Yoruba reviewer who discusses the inclusion of language and portrayal of the orisas. 

I found the story evenly paced with lyrical writing and never a dull moment. I'm looking forward to book 2! 

Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I'm taking advantage of the holiday weekend by reading some books I've been wanting to get to. I purchased Twins because it's a graphic novel starring Black twin girls. Looking at the art and reading a preview I thought it would be great for a young readers who still want an easy to read story with great imagery.

Twins Francine and Maureen are starting middle school and it's already different this year with them having separate lunch periods and some separate classes. Francine wants to embrace being seen as a separate person and is going by a nickname and dressing different. Meanwhile Maureen is struggling to find new friends and fit in. And then the opportunity to run for student council comes along and it's sister vs sister to see who will be 6th grade president. 

I really liked the representation of family in this story. The twin's father has an son from a previous relationship and despite Curtis being a college graduate they're still close to him. I felt the depiction of blended families was very positive and not always something showcased in books.

I highly recommend this book for young Black kids especially reluctant readers. Not only for the easy to read format but also because it deals with things kids entering middle school are going through. The illustrations are beautiful and I love how Shannon Wright depicts different hairstyles and skin tones. Also seeing the twins wear their bonnets to bed. Adorable and so true to life! And the little details like wide tooth combs and headbands and headwraps. I loved the attention to details throughout and found myself really paying attention to the decor in bedroom scenes, or people walking by in the mall scenes.

While I got my copy in paperback to pass along I also heard it views beautifully on Kindle too so don't let that stop you from downloading to your child's tablet.