November Wrap-Up!
Alright y'all I finally slowed down on my reading. As usual, the number of books I read per month tends to drop in the last two months of the year because of final exams and general end-of-the-year stress. This month I read 10 books. 5 of them were for school and 5 were just for funsies. All but one were full-length novels, so that also factors into why I didn't read as much this month. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on the books I read this month. ~Em
This is one of the books I read for my Multicultural Literature class for our Inclusive unit. George is about a young girl who was assigned male at birth. Melissa tries to tell her friends and family that she does not identify as a boy, but they are having a hard time understanding. Melissa wants to play Charlotte in her school's production of Charlotte's Web, but because everyone at school thinks that she is a boy, the teacher will not give her the role. The book is a great story of self-discovery and being comfortable with who you are. It is difficult to find books with positive representation of people who are transgender so I was happy to have the chance to read this one. Rating: 4/5
Jimmy is Lakota but he gets made fun of because he looks white. When school gets out for the summer, Jimmy and his grandpa go on a road trip to visit different locations that were important in Crazy Horse's life, to help Jimmy learn more about his culture and be proud of who he is. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style of this book. It had a lot of directional exposition that I felt was unnecessary. However, the story is a really good one for learning about culture and accepting yourself. No Rating: Read for MLCYA
This is another book I read for MLCYA, but for my Asian/Pacific Islander unit. Darius gets bullied for being overweight and Persian American. When his family finds out that his mom's father has a brain tumor that he isn't going to recover from, they decide to go visit him and the rest of their family in Iran. This is Darius and his younger sister's first time to visit Iran, and while there, Darius makes a friend and learns more about his culture and about being comfortable with both his American identity and his Persian identity. I loved this book! It is a great coming-of-age story and shares beautiful descriptions of Iran that are not typically shown in media. Darius also suffers from depression and anxiety and the main theme of the book is learning that it is okay not to be okay sometimes. Rating: 5/5
Ged has a great amount of power. One day he releases a dark entity that wreaks havoc. Ged has to right his wrong and try to get rid of this dark entity. This story isn't super memorable to me, however, it has one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. The narrator did an amazing job at telling the story in a captivating way. I will definitely be continuing on with the series. Rating: 3/5
Salt to the Sea is the tale of how four different peoples' lives intersect during World War II, when they all end up on the ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff. My favorite thing about Ruta Sepetys' books is how she is able to tell lesser known stories from highly known historical events. I read her book Between Shades of Gray earlier this year and it also tells a story from World War II but about Lithuanian people and their experience during the war. The author is also able to write very compelling characters who are easy to connect to. My one major complaint and the reason I didn't love this book is the ending is pretty unbelievable. I also found the ending of the other book of hers I read to be unbelievable. I think the author wants to make sure the characters have a happy ending, but it is hard to suspend my disbelief in these situations. Rating: 3/5
This is the second book in the Arkwell Academy series. It follows Dusty, who is a Nightmare, as she goes through school and has to deal with rising tensions among the various magickind. This was a good book, but not great. I enjoyed being back with these characters and seeing what they got up to next. I really like the dynamics between the main character and her love interest, Eli. These books are very tropey but overall still enjoyable. Rating: 3/5
Moss goes to a school where there are not many funds awarded because test rates have been low. He and the other kids at this school are constantly racially profiled. After a student was assaulted by the security officer at their school, Moss and his friends band together to try to make a change. More and more things keep going wrong as the police force continues to act out aggressively toward the students and even the community as a whole. Moss also deals with severe anxiety and has to try to cope with his panic attacks while trying to make a stand and stop the violence in his city. Y'all this book was HARD to read. The things that these kids went through were awful. I cannot say that this book was enjoyable to read at all, but it was powerful and so poignant for the state our country is in right now. Rating: 4/5
Amal dreams of being a teacher, but she is the eldest daughter in her family and when her mother gets postpartum depression after her new baby is born, Amal has to stay home and care for her siblings. One day while at the market, Amal "disrespects" the corrupt landlord's son after he hits her with his car and she is forced into indentured servitude to pay back her debt. Amal will stop at nothing to return to her family though and pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. This was a very interesting story about how the wealthy can have a great deal of power over people. Unfortunately, indentured servitude still occurs to this day and this look at is was unique. No Rating: Read for MLCYA
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