(2) YA Luna, Heavenly Water, menses, period, monthly moon--menstruation by any name is a fact of life for the BIPOC main characters in these short stories that focus on cultural celebrations, social stigma, gender identity, and the myriad physical and emotional changes taking place during puberty. Christina Soontornvat's "Rules of the Lake" is a humorous and touching tale of a Thai American girl who is surprised by her first period during a school field trip. "Turning Point" by Leah Henderson is about a Black soccer player and her ballet instructor mother who find common ground in celebrating her first period. Mason J.'s "The Gender Creamsicle," written in verse, offers a much-needed perspective on the experience of a gender-nonconforming protagonist: "I am a gender Creamsicle: orange and white. / Not a Popsicle or ice cream. I am in between." The stories have broad appeal and are unified by a common thread of growing up. Issues related to race and gender, immigration status, and language diversity are set alongside culturally rich narratives about a singular and pivotal life event, giving young people an opportunity to feel seen, and less alone.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) YA Yolanda Alvarez, just turned sixteen, is coming into her own as a bright student and a budding bruja. Having learned Afro-Dominican ancestral spiritual practices from her grandmother, she follows the guidance of her tarot cards and her Bruja Diosas as she navigates life in the Bronx. In the midst of everyday teenage worries (including not wanting to be "treated like the pretty smart-and-basically-deaf girl"), Yolanda finds herself grappling with uneasy feelings about a mysterious and wealthy new white student as a vision makes her aware that he is dangerous. A gripping plot drives this deftly written novel that straddles the known and unknown worlds; Avila skillfully depicts the reality of growing up as a Black Latinx teen in the midst of racial violence and social upheaval. While ­outsiders in the story may see Yolanda's family, neighborhood, and school in a ­negative light, Avila carefully demonstrates the tremendous strength in Yolanda's community and the deep roots of her spiritual life, which keep her grounded as she steps into her full power.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) 4-6 Ebony (Eb) and De'Kari (Flow), both seventh graders, are suspended from school after a fight in the cafeteria that neither thinks is their fault. On the surface, this looks like a case of two unruly adolescents acting out. Flow is hurt and angry that Eb ruined the shoes his deployed father gave him; Eb says, "It was all just an accident! / Nobody was trying to mess up / his Stupid Ugly Shoes." Over the course of their two-week suspensions, both narrators have the opportunity to reflect and to rethink their actions. Are they really "bad kids," or are they just kids dealing with bad situations? This engaging verse novel reveals the complexities of their home lives, which, despite the kids' enmity, have similarities and are intertwined in surprising ways. Their alternating narratives employ authentic language and tone that give readers the opportunity to empathize with them as their stories unfold. Baptist (The Swag Is in the Socks, rev. 11/21) explores the effects of parental absence, inequitable school discipline, and social issues such as gang violence. This story will resonate with readers struggling to express their emotional lives in ways that society deems appropriate.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) YA Principal Kenneth Moore is dead, shot in his office during a basketball game. The influential Black founder of the all-male Urban Promise Prep School and a pillar of the community, he sought to give the boys at his school a shot at college--at the cost of a draconian code of conduct. Three students of color--a talented basketball player, a bright college hopeful, and a budding culinary star and entrepreneur--are instant suspects in the crime, each with a motive for their principal's demise. Thrown together by their in-common circumstances, these three young men must become quick allies as they race to investigate the case and attempt to clear themselves of any wrongdoing. Will justice be served or will they fall victim to a flawed system? A riveting murder mystery wrapped in social commentary, the novel offers a fresh, contemporary take on an old-fashioned whodunit. It also shines a light on the plight of Black and Latino youth, who are often the targets of an inequitable and unequal justice system. Told from multiple perspectives with interspersed ephemera and extended flashbacks, the story builds to an exhilarating crescendo.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) YA Twelve-year-old Lawrence is in a losing season of his young life. Due to his father's incarceration, Lawrence, his mom, and his little sister relocate from their home in Charlotte to rural North Carolina to live with his strict, no-nonsense grandmother. Then he's expelled from his predominantly white school for fighting. Feeling bullied and betrayed, Lawrence starts volunteering at the Carver Recreation Center in order to keep busy and get out of the house. There he meets Deuce, a possible nemesis, and Twyla, a crush who gets him interested in learning chess. When the opportunity to return to Charlotte as part of a chess team comes up, it could be just the thing to turn around his current losing streak. Giles (Take Back the Block, rev. 7/21) gives readers another memorable character in Lawrence, a relatable middle schooler who feels misunderstood and alone but finds support in his community. Chess becomes a metaphor for life as he learns to navigate his current challenges. A sensitive yet joyful narrative about redemption, the story also nods to issues such as inequitable disciplinary practices in schools; the negative impact of incarceration on families; racism; and classism. The importance of caring adults and of working through conflict are highlighted in this well-written story about a boy who deserves a win.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(1) K-3 As Harrison writes in her author's note, "In childhood, big is good. Big is impressive, aspirational. But somewhere along the way, the world begins to tell us something different: That big is bad. That being big is undesirable." Words matter, as a beautiful little Black girl learns. The girl, a dancer who wears a leotard and tutu throughout the book, "grew and learned and laughed...and grew and grew and grew. And it was good...until it wasn't." When she accidentally gets stuck in the baby swing on the school playground, her classmates and even her teacher hurl hurtful words and laughter, which begin to affect the youngster's self-esteem and self-perception. The text is spare but pointed; Harrison's emotionally powerful, pink-hued illustrations focus on her protagonist's inner experience. The girl looks like a giant in school and at dance class, "exposed, judged, yet invisible." The openness of the illustrations gives way to more cramped and overwhelming compositions as the girl, now in blue-gray, feels increasingly hemmed in by others' judgments--a visible statement about the impact of fatphobia and the adultification of Black children. This girl's story ends triumphantly; she takes her teacher's and classmates' hateful words and hands them back, saying, "These are yours. They hurt me." This book offers readers an opportunity to remember that we all deserve love and respect--no matter what size we are.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) YA Former best friends Celine and Bradley are now enemies and academic rivals. When they both jump at the opportunity to participate in a wilderness competition with a scholarship attached and end up on the same team, they are forced to work together to achieve their individual goals. They also work through what tore them apart in the first place while realizing that there could be more to their feelings. In her debut YA novel, British romance writer ­Hibbert offers an entertaining, laugh-out-loud tale featuring memorable Black characters. The alternating first-person narration of the England and Scotland–set story allows for introspection and reveals the nuances of the multifaceted protagonists. Popular jock Bradley is bisexual and lives with obsessive-compulsive disorder, which the author includes without centering or treating as problematic. Celine, struggling with ­abandonment issues related to her father, can be abrupt and emotionally closed off but is also a compelling and amusing character. Along with a constellation of well-drawn secondary players, Bradley and Celine's skillfully written romantic banter make this an engrossing rom-com.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) YA Like so many young Black men, Andre Jackson feels invisible. Falsely accused and convicted of a crime, Andre emerges from juvenile detention intending to return to some sense of normalcy. However, he comes home to his rapidly gentrifying Portland, Oregon, neighborhood just as the world is plunged into a global pandemic. His friend Eric, who Andre hoped would help clear his name, is missing, which raises questions around why Eric's seemingly perfect, diverse family appears unconcerned about his vanishing without a trace. Are Andre's arrest and Eric's disappearance connected? As Andre begins to unravel the secrets around Eric and to make sense of his own post-release reality, he dares to pursue freedom in a world closed in by the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, and violence that is brewing much closer than he realizes. Johnson's (This Is My America, rev. 9/20) mystery-thriller is a gut-wrenching first-person look at the life of a young man who feels his disposability as a Black teen within the justice system while witnessing with the world the extrajudicial murder of George Floyd. The isolation of the pandemic and the intensity of the Black Lives Matter protests provide the backdrop to a riveting story line that is also a social commentary on power, privilege, marginalization, and the carceral system and its impact on Black men. Back matter includes an author's note and resources on topics including youth incarceration and transracial adoption.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) YA Seventeen-year-old Harriet Douglass and her father live on modern-day Westwood Plantation, a Louisiana sugar plantation where enslaved Africans once lived, which is now one of the few plantation museums run by Black people. Since her mother's death from cancer, Harriet runs tours with her historian father that keep the legacy of those who were captive on the land alive. But when new owners take over the plantation next door, Harriet is appalled to find out that they plan to turn it into a wedding venue. Even worse, her high school decides to host the prom there as well. Harriet campaigns via social media against the erasure and commodifying of the enslaved. Though burdened with grief over her mother's death and righteous anger for the people whose memories she keeps alive through the museum, Harriet is a full, well-rounded character and an often amusing narrator. Themes of community, grief, mental health, activism, allyship, and racism are explored in the pursuit of reconciling and healing a difficult history.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(3) K-3 "I hope that you know you are loved...always. // ...I hope that you never lose sight of the wonder that is you...even though the world won't always let you see it." Equal parts motivational talk, mantra, and prayer, this love letter to Black children across the African diaspora is enhanced by the contributions of nineteen illustrators from around the world. Though the artistic styles are varied, the upbeat text's theme of joyful hope shines through every page. Through Adeola's inspiring words and the illustrations' different perspectives, children are encouraged to see their greatness and revel in the diversity of Blackness. This is a vibrant invitation to celebrate uniqueness in a world of limitations.

Reviewer: Monique Harris

(2) 4-6 The list of New York Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm's accomplishments during a time when race and gender were overt factors in exclusion from politics makes her an iconic figure in American history. Chisholm's political rise was groundbreaking on the local, state, and national stages. After this extensively researched biography opens with a map of Brooklyn and a foreword by Stacey Abrams, Bolden traces the arc of Chisholm's life and the many challenges she faced on her way to becoming the first Black woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, helping found the Congressional Black Caucus, and in 1972 becoming the first Black person to run for a major party's presidential nomination. The daughter of immigrant parents, Chisholm spent her early years living in Barbados with her grandmother, eventually returning to the U.S. to continue her education. Her journey into history was not without twists, turns, and disappointments, and Bolden's plainspoken narrative paints a picture of a woman who was as hardworking as she was determined. Short, accessible chapters give readers a sense of the times as well as the woman. A photo insert appears partway through; back matter includes an author's note, sources, and an index. See also recent picture books She Was the First! (rev. 11/20) by Russell-Brown, Shirley Chisholm Dared (rev. 3/21) by Williams, and Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb! by Chambers.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(1) YA Big changes are happening in Caprice's life. After an exciting, eventful summer spent at a wealthy private boarding school's leadership program, Caprice is offered a full scholarship to attend the following fall as an eighth grader. She knows this is an amazing opportunity and a chance for a fresh start, though she is unsure about leaving her friends and family in Newark behind. Unfortunately, there is unspoken trauma in Caprice's past. While living at her grandmother's home when she was much younger, Caprice was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her uncle, and she and her mother were eventually put out of the house and estranged from the family. While she has never spoken of the abuse, memories and feelings are now coming to the surface--especially as her grandmother is ill and the possibility of a reunion is imminent. Booth (Tyrell, rev. 1/07; Kinda like Brothers, rev. 11/14) expertly maneuvers through the sensitive subject matter honestly without being explicit. She also shows Caprice dealing with the usual growing pains of adolescence (including criticism from her friends about her appearance and seeming non-interest in boys). At once heartbreaking and triumphant, this book provides education, encouragement, and acknowledgment that healing is possible even when terrible things happen to us.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) K-3 "Son, life is full of holes. / You may want to close them up to keep / out the storm / But make sure to leave room for that / rainbow to find you. / Broken is beautiful." A loving father's morning prayer for his son exemplifies this powerful story about a young Black boy's need for connection and hope. When the boy was seven years old, as the gentle third-person narration tells us, his mother became ill and "had to go away for a while." The subsequent emotional void sends him to seek comfort and belonging with troublemaking friends. His pain is momentarily alleviated by music; when he hears piano music from the apartment next door or a movie soundtrack in the theater, he "could relax. He could shine, and he could dream." After participating in a break-in at the rec center, the boy finds a piano. As he plays it, he recalls his father's words, and, in an emotional moment, "the rainbow...found him." The muted shades of Collier's (All Because You Matter, rev. 7/20) accomplished watercolor and collage illustrations brighten as the story progresses; a final spread features a beautiful array of shades and a collage of faces, instruments, and patterns. The transformative power of music is a clear theme, but equally important is the connection between the boy's inability to express feelings of abandonment and disconnection and his destructive behavior. This visual and textual journey of self-discovery offers a poignant message about the potential of the arts to foster children's development. An appended note discusses the story's inspirations.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(3) PS Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. Racial unrest has a way of unearthing a lot of questions in all of us, particularly in our children. This picture book takes the bold step of beginning to address specific, difficult questions about racism. In lyrical text, children ask family members why a particular act of protest occurs: "Why are those people shouting?" "Our people are shouting because we need to be heard. We need to be heard." The illustrations, done in digital collage and paint, are colorful and engaging while still managing to express a somber, thoughtful mood. This is a good starting point in the process of understanding.

Reviewer: Monique Harris

(2) YA Estranged from her mother and twin sister, sixteen-year-old Minah learns about her mom's death through a Facebook invitation to a family reunion and memorial. Minah, now living with her father in Brooklyn, returns to her hometown of (fictional) Obsidian, Michigan, to attend the event. As she attempts to understand the immense loss of a parent, the visit becomes an opportunity for Minah to grieve and to connect back to a traumatic past to which she'd previously promised herself never to return. Her grandmother's announcement that she plans to sell the family home begins a new reckoning of what home and family really mean. Minah's first-person narration lends poignancy to this coming-of-age story, which, as she uncovers more about the past--including through the reading of her mother's diaries--also becomes more clearly a chronicle of the grief of a family affected by the diseases of addiction and mental illness and the veil of secrecy that shrouds them.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(1) K-3 Illustrated by April Harrison. This engaging and beautiful alphabet book features and celebrates not only Harlem's history, including the Harlem Renaissance, but also contemporary figures and iconic places that bridge ­Harlem's past and present. From the Apollo Theater, Harlem Children's Zone, and The Brownies' Book to food, sports, and the arts, there is something here to spark any of a wide range of interests. Equal parts love letter and travelogue, this book is a virtual trip through the sights and sounds of one of New York City's most iconic neighborhoods. Harrison's (What Is Given from the Heart, rev. 1/19) vibrant paint and collage illustrations are equally adept at representing the ­historical and the contemporary. Every inviting spread is alive in color, detail, and respect for the subject matter. This book is a starting point to learn more about one of the most important artistic, cultural, and intellectual incubators of Black culture in the United States. What a splendid way to learn the alphabet!

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) YA Nigerian sisters Cheta and Zam could not be more different. Fiery, outspoken Cheta takes the brunt of their mother's severe physical and mental abuse, while quiet, withdrawn Zam attempts to keep her head down to avoid them both. The sisters' life paths diverge when Zam is welcomed into their wealthy aunt and uncle's mansion in Abuja and Cheta is left behind at their parents' rural home. Eventually, Cheta leaves and finds herself trying to survive in desperate circumstances as a result, while Zam deals with the aftermath of a frightening incident in the family. In her riveting debut novel, Onoseta draws readers into a story of a contemporary family grappling with myriad issues in a variety of ways. The compelling tale, with alternating narration by the two sisters, boasts a complex, multifaceted cast. The rich cultural, linguistic, and social customs of Nigerian life are on full display, transporting readers into diverse lives and homes. While the difficult themes of abuse, familial dysfunction, classism, and colorism, among others, are front and center, the sisters' stories take readers on a rewarding journey from brokenness toward wholeness and healing.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Tiffany Rose. Gregarious Abdul loves to tell stories to his classmates--as long as he does not have to write them down. Letters are confusing, and figuring out how to spell words is frustrating. Not to mention that the books he reads at school do not feature people who look like him or the people in his neighborhood: "Some stories are for books, Abdul decided, but not his." Then an author named Mr. Muhammad comes to visit his class. By encouraging the boy to focus on his ideas instead of on mechanics, Mr. ­Muhammad helps Abdul to unleash the writer inside of him. Abdul, who is Black and Muslim, is a relatable character not typically represented in similar narratives, and Mr. Muhammad, who is also Black, Muslim, and neurodivergent, offers encouragement as the caring adult who has learned to manage his own writing challenges. This is a story within a story, not just about the tales Abdul wants to write but also about his journey as a learner; exploring the topic of learning disabilities can be challenging, especially the social-emotional fallout for children who are struggling, but Thompkins-Bigelow accomplishes the task. Rose's lively and colorful illustrations are eye-pleasing and showcase diversity. This is an engaging story that not only offers empowerment but also models understanding and acceptance of learning differences.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Freeman. Elijah Cummings's parents, who worked as sharecroppers in South Carolina, moved north to Baltimore to raise their children. "Although the Cummingses struggled to feed their family," the seven siblings were taught to value education, hard work, faith, and service. At eleven years old, the future congressman embarked upon his lifelong quest for justice when he helped to desegregate a city swimming pool. Each spread features a quotation from Cummings ("The librarians and books...helped me define myself as a human being"); the key point is expanded in a paragraph or two of text. Accompanied by strikingly vivid illustrations, this biography of the iconic social justice activist and political leader is sure to inspire readers of all ages. Statements by Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Black Caucus are included. A timeline and bibliography are appended.

Reviewer: Monique Harris

(2) 4-6 Seventh grader Lotus Bloom marches to the beat of her own drum. She rocks a unique vintage style and a huge afro, and she is a gifted violinist who has been invited to attend a new performing arts school. Not everyone is happy about it, though. Not her best friend, appropriately named Rebel, who resents the new school for taking resources--and Lotus--away from the neighborhood middle school. Certainly not her classmate/nemesis Adolpho, whom she bumps from his position as concertmaster. Not even her mom, who feels Lotus should be thinking about a future outside of music, unlike her musician father who recently relocated to Paris. Worst of all, Lotus finds herself being discriminated against due to her hair, which threatens all of her hard work and her normally peaceful outlook. This captivating novel raises issues of racial discrimination, educational equity, and classism in an approachable way, inviting readers to consider multiple perspectives through the lively cast of diverse, multifaceted characters. Through the drama at school and in her family, as well as ups and downs in her friendships (with Rebel and new frenemy Mercedes), Lotus finds her voice as she learns to release herself from trying to manage the emotions and expectations of others.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023