(2) YA Spencer Harris begins sophomore year at a new school in Ohio, hoping for a fresh start after having had to transfer because of "the Incident" at his previous school: Spencer is trans, and he was outed and threatened during his freshman year. He succeeds at finding his circle on the soccer team and in the Queer Straight Alliance, but even there he's tentative about revealing his queer and, especially, his transgender identity. To Spencer, fitting in seems dependent on remaining in the closet, but a love interest and other circumstances force him to consider whether he wants to live with a secret. The story briefly touches on secondary topics such as racial identity (Spencer is described as Black, his family as interracial) and disabilities (Spencer's brother is autistic) but keeps the focus on the trans experience. Debut author Fitzsimons's conversational writing style invites empathy for the cast of clearly drawn characters and their journeys of self-discovery. In addition to providing a basic understanding of some of the daily challenges faced by trans youth and their families, the story models how a community can come together to take care of one of its own. A heartwarming tale of determination and one teen's path to authentic living.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Andrea Bell. Eager to become an investigative reporter, tenacious twelve-year-old Ruthie begins an examination into polluted water at Particular Lake in her hometown of Twin Oaks. Her inquiry starts bumpily: her research is ­well-intentioned but incomprehensive, and she manages to ruffle a few feathers with her vigorous pursuit of the truth. With the mentorship of her older brother's girlfriend, who interns at the New York Times, and additional assistance from her science teacher, who teaches Ruthie's class about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, Ruthie quickly learns that her sleuthing must be watertight to stand up to the ­corporate corruption she uncovers. Given its dedication (to "the people of Flint") and its biracial protagonist, readers might have expected this graphic novel to include deeper discussions of racial inequities in water advocacy, but the narrative does present a detailed, dedicated focus on the proper way to conduct an investigation to hold wrongdoers accountable. Bell's rounded, colorful art style feels modern and accessible to digitally savvy readers; it reminds them that Ruthie is still a kid and still learning, especially when she makes her more embarrassing mistakes. A refreshing addition to the contemporary graphic novel landscape for middle-graders and middle-schoolers.

Reviewer: Niki Marion | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(1) YA Recent high school graduate Daunis Firekeeper (known for much of the book by her white mother's family name, Fontaine) decides to stay in Sault St. Marie, Michigan, and attend Lake State with her best friend, Lily. She is then ­devastated when Lily is killed by her meth-addicted boyfriend. Soon after, two undercover agents approach Daunis about taking her late uncle's place as a confidential informant investigating meth that included "hallucinogenic additives...Psilocybe caerulipes from near Tahquamenon Falls." Daunis has strong scientific knowledge and a close connection to the Native community, despite being unenrolled (her father, a member of the Sugar Island Ojibwe tribe, is not on her birth certificate). Readers are introduced to the Anishinaabemowin language and, as Daunis calls on traditional knowledge to assist her in the investigation alongside her scientific knowledge, to the customs of the Sugar Island Ojibwe. This is a gripping page-turner, multifaceted, authentic, and suspenseful, that will keep readers wondering who is responsible for the meth that is taking over Daunis's community--and who exactly she can trust.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Linus Curci. In an emotionally honest first-person text, an older brother reflects on how his younger sibling's gender transition has affected him. The unnamed narrator addresses his sibling, who, for the pair's first few years together, he knew as his brother: "We were brothers and best friends." When the younger child informs her family that she's a girl, the brother needs to process what's changed--and what hasn't. The kids' parents take the news in stride, asking about a new name ("My name is Daisy, like the flower") and making sure to find an affirming community of similar families. The narrator, however, struggles with an understandable sense of loss and confusion. "I was afraid to call you by a new name and afraid to not have a brother anymore. I was afraid it meant losing you. But...I tried it." Curci's painterly illustrations, recalling Ken Wilson-Max's style (Astro Girl, rev. 11/19) with a more muted palette and less-heavy black line, skillfully convey relationships in this mixed-race family. In a particularly effective spread, the right-hand page shows Mom, Dad, and Daisy gathered around a kitchen island, the parents listening attentively to their daughter. On the verso, the narrator sits apart from the rest of his family, listening but not engaged in the conversation--a great depiction of how children can feel left out and resentful of the attention a transitioning sibling often receives. Karlsson's text is purposeful but authentic to a child's voice, and the story (inspired by her own family's experience, we learn in an author's note) should support and guide kids in similar circumstances. With time and parental guidance, the older brother realizes "that you were still the same person, and we could play all the same games." And that's what matters most.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) YA Lee builds an original story around the little-known fact that eight of the Titanic passengers were Chinese men. This engaging historical novel adds a fictional young woman in stowaway Valora Luck, a biracial seventeen-year-old maid and former acrobat of English and Chinese heritage, as she reunites with her sailor twin brother and dreams of life in America. Despite having a first-class ticket, Valora is turned away because of her heritage. But once she sneaks aboard, the resourceful teen uses her wits to move around the ship in disguise, pretending to be sometimes her deceased employer, sometimes a young sailor. Lee creates vivid backstories for her characters and explores daily life on the luxury liner for upper- and lower-deck passengers, including scenes of racism and sexism. There are also memorable scenes of warmth, joy, romance, and daring, particularly when the twins perform for a Ringling Bros. Circus co-owner. As with most Titanic stories, the suspenseful final chapters focus on escape and survival, and the ending is heart-wrenching--and unexpected. Lee's novel should, as she says in an author's note, "provoke a discussion about which of these characters society considers 'worthy' and which it does not." Recommended for history buffs and fans of the 1997 Titanic film; pair with The Six, a new documentary about the Chinese Titanic survivors.

Reviewer: Michelle Lee | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(3) PS Illustrated by Alea Marley. Young Téo loves to dance. At home, he dances the cumbia and the bhangra with Papí and Amma. In ballet class (where he wears a tutu "because it's pretty"), "he couldn't wait to perform onstage, under the lights in a fancy costume, before a real audience!" When it's time to choose a costume, he's drawn to a skirted leotard that "reminded him of...peonies" but feels pressure to pick the silver shirt and black pants. Macias's gentle story features a winning gender-nonconforming, biracial protagonist and his supportive adults (parents, teacher); Marley's lively illustrations acknowledge Téo's nervousness about being judged and celebrate his joy and bravery when he's true to himself.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Nicole Wong. A pear tree that survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City has become a symbol of hope in adversity. Magee's respectful, lyrical text follows the tree's story through the seasons from its discovery as "something green among the ashes," to its regrowth off-site, to its replanting at Ground Zero ten years later. Wong's softly textured illustrations incorporate a wordless fictional story, told via inset panels, featuring a mixed-race girl and her family (including an FDNY firefighting relative); their lives parallel the tree's resilience. Both text and art present events soberly but with a young audience in mind; the girl's reassuring story helps temper more scary aspects. "More About the Survivor Tree's Journey," an author's note, and selected bibliography are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) YA Set in a township in contemporary South Africa, this story revolves around a society still grappling with the effects of a post-apartheid reality. Amandla has never met her father, who is Black. On her fifteenth birthday, her mentally unstable white mother comes home from a trip insisting that if Amandla wears a homemade dress in his favorite color, he will return. The teen is used to her mother's often strange and secretive behavior, but this time she decides to look for answers to her many questions, especially surrounding her father. After finding a large amount of money and an unknown address hidden in her mother's purse, she and her friends become unlikely sleuths, unraveling a mystery that is at the core of Amandla's identity. As the mystery concerning her family tree is gradually revealed, so too is the history of a country that all too recently would have considered her very existence to be illegal. The excitement of the mystery; the memorable cast of characters, particularly the female characters; and the many twists and turns of the plot keep the pages turning until the very end.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) YA Illustrated by Mat Hunkin. At age twelve, Sofia is beyond excited when the first McDonald's restaurant opens in New Zealand, and she records her delight in her diary. Over the next six months, she uses the diary to record family mishaps, her love of go-go boots, and her growing awareness of politics and human rights abuses. It is 1976, and the New Zealand government is cracking down on "overstayers," immigrants who came for work at the encouragement of the government but stayed after their visas expired. Sofia's dad is Samoan and her mom Pākehā (a New Zealander of European descent), but it is not until her older brother joins the Polynesian Panthers that Sofia learns about rights abuses targeting Indigenous families. Early in the novel, Sofia writes a school assignment, a speech about herself, and she is selected to represent the school in a district-wide contest; the novel closes as Sofia gives her competition speech and, through it, spells out her own growth as an activist. New Zealand history and the Dawn Raids will be unfamiliar to most American readers, so the diary format works well--Sofia writes about what she learns as she learns it, providing readers with the necessary historical information. Smith, of Pacific Islander, Scottish, and Irish heritage, authentically describes the culture of a mixed-race New Zealander, filling the book with details of language, customs, and food. Hunkin's lively line drawings throughout help set the novel in the 1970s (would contemporary readers be able to picture the much-coveted go-go boots without art?).

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(1) YA Williams-Garcia, whose YA titles include the 1995 classic Like Sisters on the Homefront and Jumped (rev. 3/09), offers an unusual angle on the subject of slavery with this sobering depiction of life on a nearly bankrupt sugar plantation in Louisiana just prior to the Civil War. Here the lives of the white Guilbert family members and their enslaved "holdings" are intimately interwoven in a series of threads that span generations and reveal the social and political boundaries within which the intriguing cast of characters exist and survive. The eighty-year-old Guilbert matriarch, Madame Sylvie, insists on sitting for a portrait the family can't afford in her efforts to retain a connection to the past. Her son and nemesis Lucien, the manager of the plantation, desperately schemes to avoid foreclosure. His son, essentially engaged to the daughter of a wealthy planter, is in love with a fellow West Point cadet. A family friend spends the summer because her mother hopes the Guilberts will cure her of her unconventional and unladylike ways. Among the enslaved young people on the plantation who are subjected to cruelty as an everyday way of life are Madame Sylvie's personal servant Thisbe and Lucien's "quadroon" daughter Rosalie, who is ostracized by her grandmother but viewed by her father as the family's ticket to solvency. In this sweeping, richly researched, and powerfully delivered tale of privilege and exploitation--often a difficult read--Williams-Garcia's storytelling is magnificent; her voice honest and authentic. Appended with an author's note and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(2) PS Illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong. Two adults and two kids pack up their things and set out on a camping ­adventure. The children are fascinated by the sights Mother Nature has to offer, stopping to explore in wonder everything that they see and using all their senses to do so. Their enjoyment of nature, big ­spiders included, is palpable. ­Zimmerman's text is a set of conditional statements ("If I were a tree...") that imagines what a tree feels, tastes, smells, hears, and sees--even what a tree might be, know, and love. The text's consistent rhymes ("I'd feel nests on my bark, bats hiding till dark") flow smoothly and capture the many details that the children observe--from worms to "minerals in mud" to "the sneeze of a mole." The book's final rhymes incorporate lyrical metaphors that could apply easily to the socio-emotional side of human lives: "I'd know branches can bend, and cold spells will end, / That spring will renew, and life carries through." Tsong's ­illustrations center a happy ­multiracial family. The pictures, created via ­printmaking techniques and digitally assembled, are highly textured, some even appearing to incorporate oversized fingerprints. Lush, lively greens pop off the page. An appended spread provides tips about using "your five senses" to "get to know" trees.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) YA Winner of the 2020 Stonewall Book Award, this British verse novel by a poet and drag performer offers a welcome exploration of the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. In first-person narration, Michael chronicles his journey through childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Michael is born to a Jamaican father and Greek-Cypriot mother; though his father is distant, he has support from his mother and uncle, as he figures out where he stands in terms of both ethnic identity and sexuality. His penchant for Barbies manifests itself by age six, and crushes on boys follow, but it's a few years before he comes out to his best friend. And it's not until university that he experiences his first sexual relationships and also develops his drag persona. ("When it's time to go onstage, / know that you're not ready but / this is not about being ready, / it's not even about being fierce / or fearless, it's about being free.") The verse can be pedestrian, largely serving to advance the plot, but the development of the Black Flamingo, as a symbol of Michael's queer identity ("I often feel / like a bad egg that was not meant to be...somehow / living and thriving"), is aptly woven throughout this memorable YA debut.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(3) 4-6 In this fourth series entry, the multiracial Vanderbeeker family discover that their friend Orlando has been evicted from his apartment and determine to help him find him a home. (Their motto: "We always get involved. Always.") At the same time, the family must cope with their grief when beloved Harlem-brownstone neighbor Mr. Jeet dies, as well as lend support to former foe Mr. Biederman as he prepares to run the New York City Marathon. As in previous books, subplots (some more contrived than others) involving all five Vanderbeeker children--from a misunderstanding revolving around the homecoming dance to making a new school friend--are woven into the main story. A wholesome, touching ensemble novel, for fans of Jeanne Birdsall's the Penderwicks and Emma Donoghue's the Lotterys.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(2) YA Irascible Jane McKeene and posh Katherine Deveraux, zombie-dispatching graduates of Miss Preston's School of Combat for Negro Girls, are back in this suspenseful, satisfying sequel to Dread Nation (rev. 5/18). After surviving the fall of false utopia Summerland to the undead, Jane and Katherine flee to the neighboring settlement of Nicodemus, where they hope to find temporary safety. But no sooner are they within its gates than Jane is imprisoned for past crimes, and Katherine must find a way to break her out before the horde breaks in. Multiple betrayals, back (and front) stabbings, and an arduous trek to California test Jane and Katherine's bond, along with an abrupt separation and the tragic death of one of their closest allies. Ireland threads her thrilling plot with incisive commentary about race, gender, and power that will appeal to today's activist teen readers. Her alternate Old West (a mirror of current societal woes) is full of warring ethnic and cultural factions, each more suspicious of the other, until the undead are the least of their worries. Katherine laments, "How can we make the world a better place if we are always at odds with one another for every single kind of reason under the sun?" The answer may lie in future adventures, as the novel's ending leaves room for possible exploits to come. An author's note contains further reading about the role of Black Americans in the Old West.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) YA Eighth graders Bina and Darcy head back to school in this spirited graphic novel, the sequel to All Summer Long (rev. 7/18). Darcy is convinced that their band Fast Fashion needs a drummer. Protagonist Bina doesn't agree, but when they discover that classmate Enzo is a musical prodigy with intimidating drumming skills, changes are put in motion beyond Bina's control and at a pace for which she is unprepared. With Enzo, the band changes its name to the Candids and there is pressure to make its songs "louder. Edgier. Shoutier." Darcy and Enzo start dating, and Bina struggles to understand and express her feelings, resulting in an argument at a thrift store and Bina being dumped--via text message--from the band she co-founded. As if that's not enough, Bina is not sure how to feel about her best friend Austin's displays of romantic interest and how that fits within her own identity development. ("What's the difference between liking someone and liking them?") While plot and layout are straightforward, an emphasis on conversation allows for characters' relationships and emotions to take center stage. Light purple washes contrast with thick, bold lines, creating an appropriate balance in a narrative containing moments of both emotive strength and fragility. Other symbolic visual elements, such as arrows and sound effects, add backstory and humor.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(2) YA It's 1957, and Sarah Dewhurst's father has hired a dragon to work on their farm despite his prejudices against them. That's not really big news; in this alternate universe, humankind has maintained an uneasy peace with dragons for centuries. But, as Sarah learns, dragons are more complex than she'd imagined--and the situation is more perilous: a cult of Believers, who worship the magical creatures, has sent a teenage assassin to the United States in an attempt to start a prophesied war (though he's been told his mission is to stop one), a war that will directly affect Sarah and everyone she loves. Nothing is quite as it seems in this imaginative novel. Timelines fluctuate, characters change species, and genres tangle together. However, the plot is solid enough to ensure that, with a healthy suspension of disbelief, readers will follow the story with ease as the stakes get ever higher. Ness's (The Knife of Never Letting Go, rev. 11/08; Release, rev. 9/17) engrossing historical-­fantasy adventure is at once accessible and complex, tackling both human issues--racism (Sarah is biracial; her love interest is Japanese American), war, religion--and grand fantasy action with skill.

Reviewer: Sarah Berman | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

(1) YA In 1880, fourteen-year-old Hanna and her father settle in the (fictional) town of LaForge, in Dakota Territory. Papa is white; Hanna's late mother immigrated from China and had both Chinese and Korean ancestry. LaForge is modeled on De Smet, South Dakota, where four of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books took place. Park's novel is clearly in conversation with that series, from Hanna's friendlier interactions with, and more thoughtful views about, members of the Ihanktonwan tribe to racist attitudes among LaForge's townspeople, who object to Hanna's presence in the school and blame her after a local man assaults her. But this novel stands on its own, with a vividly drawn protagonist in self-reliant Hanna, who has plenty of complex relationships: with her stubborn father, with her much-missed mother, with her classmate Bess, with a well-meaning but conflict-averse teacher. An author's note explains the "fancy mental gymnastics" Park, who is Korean American and loved Wilder's series growing up, needed to do as a child in order to imagine herself as Laura's best friend, and describes the author's ongoing conflict with the books' problematic elements.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) 4-6 This follow-up to This Is Just a Test stars Lauren Le Yuan Horowitz, sister of the previous book's protagonist. In 1984 suburban Virginia, Lauren is starting sixth grade secure in the "Royal We" of herself and her best friend, Tara. Auditioning for the school musical, Lauren--a talented singer who nails her "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" rendition--is disappointed to be cast in the ensemble while Tara snags the lead. The show is about a 1950s "All-American Town," and according to the drama teacher, Chinese and Jewish Lauren doesn't fit the part. Casual racism and microaggressions abound through Lauren's day-to-day interactions with friends, community members, and even '80s pop culture (i.e., squirming her way through Sixteen Candles). Her growing love for country music (with an extended vignette about mistaking Patsy Cline for Jewish) helps boost her confidence, as do new friendships with her ensemble-mates. A side story about Lauren's paralegal mom contemplating law school--and our protagonist's bratty reaction--leads to support and understanding. Lauren's two peppy grandmothers, in continual competition for matriarchal domination, are back, providing generational wisdom and snappy comic relief. A button-making business, a Sun In hair mishap, a Hula-Hooping janitor--all add levity and scene-setting detail to this entertaining and thoughtful coming-of-age story.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Richie Pope. Mary Seacole was raised by a Jamaican Creole mother who taught her herbal medicine and a Scottish soldier father whose stories inspired her to see the world. After using her skills during a cholera outbreak, Seacole is determined to volunteer as a nurse in the Crimean War, but first in London and then again on the battlefield she is turned away--by Florence Nightingale herself--because of her skin color. But Mary Seacole is not easily stopped, and she becomes a familiar sight welcoming people to her guest house/hospital and bringing her supplies to the battlefield, where she becomes known as Mother Seacole and eventually gains fame when a British journalist tells her story. Rubin sprinkles Seacole's own words throughout the book, bringing in some of her larger-than-life personality. The text is longer than a typical picture-book biography, making this a good choice for readers who may be ready for but intimidated by chapter-book biographies. Pope's illustrations have the difficult job of showing the devastating circumstances Seacole often finds herself in as a battlefield nurse, and his soft, cartoony watercolors deftly walk that line. Back matter includes source notes and a brief bibliography.

Reviewer: Lauren Kim | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. When G'ma asks Scoob to go on "a little adventure" during spring break, he doesn't hesitate to say yes (especially since he's been grounded for fighting at school). Once inside her "sweet ride"--the new RV she bought after selling her house--Scoob isn't so sure he made the right choice. First, there are the people on the road who look at them funny because he is Black and she is white. Then there's G'ma's treasure box, which contains old maps, postcards, newspaper clippings, and a copy of Travelers' Green Book: For Vacation Without Aggravation, 1963. Next, Scoob catches his grandmother changing license plates and refusing to answer Dad's calls. Finally, there's G'ma talking in her sleep about "fixing it." But what is "it"? Scoob isn't so sure he knows who his grandmother is anymore. Young readers will enjoy the mystery and suspense created by G'ma's unusual behavior and the family secrets that are revealed. Occasional maps and illustrations appear throughout, highlighting important moments in each chapter. This middle-grade debut by Stone (Dear Martin, rev. 11/17; Jackpot, rev. 11/19) is an entertaining and unexpected intergenerational caper.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020