(2) YA Engle (Enchanted Air, rev. 7/15; Soaring Earth, rev. 3/19) once again revisits her Cuban heritage and demonstrates an abiding appreciation of nature in this historical verse novel set during the "Período especial," the euphemistically named "special period in times of peace." In 1991, Cuba is hosting the Pan American Games and putting on a prosperous face for the rest of the world, but the Cuban people are starving, due to U.S. trade embargoes and the abrupt halt in aid and food imports from Communist allies after the Soviet Union's collapse. Two teenagers who have resisted joining the "voluntary" summer labor programs are brought together by a scruffy stray dog as they scavenge for seaweed, shorebird eggs, and any fruit, fish, or fowl they can find, hunt, or steal to ease their relentless hunger. At its heart, this is a tender love story, lyrically presented in alternating poetic voices (including broader observations in third-person poems from the dog's perspective), but it is also a coming-of-age narrative for the impressionable protagonists, exploring duty to country and family, the consequences of living with hunger and fear, and the costs of individual freedom and ambition. A deeply felt and engrossing look at a time when the grandparents lived "on a menu of memories" while the new generation survived "on nothing / but wishes."

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) YA Senior Liz Lighty has successfully stayed out of the spotlight and off of Campbell County High School's new social networking app, Campbell Confidential. Being poor and Black in affluent Campbell has made her feel like an outsider. But when she is denied a seat in Pennington College's orchestra and a music scholarship at the institution, she decides to run for prom queen for the scholarship money that comes with winning. With the help of her best friend, she plans to become prom queen material. What Liz doesn't expect is to fall in love with another contender for the crown and to reconnect with her former best guy friend. Teen readers will relate to Liz's journey of self-discovery and acceptance. Despite themes of poverty, racism, and homophobia, the book remains lighthearted. Liz's snarky first-person narration adds to the humor, and references to popular culture help create an authentic teen voice. Screenshots from a cellphone introduce each week of competition and underscore the power of social media in the lives of teens today.

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

(2) 4-6 This heartbreaking and resonant story of twelve-year-old best friends Asha (who is wealthy and Indian) and Yesofu (who is poor and Black) takes place during the Indian expulsion period in 1972 Uganda, which was part of President Idi Amin's Africanization policy. Athaide probes questions of nationalism, poverty, and privilege in original and compelling ways, and explores Asha's recognition that some differences cannot be easily bridged. Reading list, timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) YA Relationships between Pirates Cove Projects kids (So Done) in the talented and gifted program and those who aren't have become strained. Best friends "Simp" and Rollie still hang out during neighborhood basketball; unfortunately, the league unofficially requires working for the local drug dealer, and escaping that life is easier said than done. Fans of Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas will enjoy this rough and relatable novel told in alternating third-person narratives.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) YA Desai's gorgeous novel pulls readers in to the world of young Lila and Hari, struggling siblings growing up in the isolated Western Indian village of Thul; both the characters and the place are on the cusp of change. In lucid prose, Desai engages the senses, describing the sigh of the ocean as the tide turns; the children's drunken father snoring in a corner; the village women wading into the sea to meet the fishing fleet and then spilling baskets full of shining, slithering fish onto the sand.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(1) YA Grimes reconstructs her life story from a patchwork of recollections; old photos; and a few artifacts salvaged despite her impoverished family's frequent moves and time in foster care. Mental illness, alcoholism, domestic violence, and sexual abuse made Grime's early life hazardous and traumatic; writing offered solace and confidence. Striking free-verse poems powerfully convey how her passion helped her survive and embrace her own resilience. A must-read for aspiring writers.

Reviewer: Michelle H. Martin | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(2) YA Gurley uses the star-crossed-lovers theme to good effect in his YA debut set in a (fictional) blue-collar California oil town. The romance between alternating narrators Vanessa (an aspiring astronomer) and Zach (an artist) is tentative and chaste but emotionally intimate as they unpack their respective family baggage. This love story is also a timely, moving statement about income inequity and a reminder that everyone struggles.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) K-3 Young dancer Lena is worried about whether she'll be able to meet her recital's requirement of white ballet slippers: "At home, money was tight..." Happily, the night before the recital, Lena finds an ingenious solution. An understated text focuses on Lena's joy in dance and the anxiety of her predicament. Unfussy ink, watercolor, and acrylic illustrations use a variety of perspectives to further communicate Lena's emotions.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(3) 4-6 In Jakarta, Indonesia, Nia's food-vendor widower father is mired in poverty and alcoholism while the young teenager cares for her little brother. When Nia survives a minibus accident, superstitious locals believe that she has miraculous powers, which aspiring-writer Nia uses to raise money for her schooling. Readers will cheer Nia's real powers--her storytelling talent and her resiliency--in this vividly set story. Glos.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(2) K-3 Illustrated by April Harrison. In this story of giving, James Otis marvels that Mama is contributing to the church's "love box" for a family in need when they have so little themselves. But hearing "what is given from the heart reaches the heart" helps James Otis start thinking differently about what he does have. Detailed, highly textured, strikingly patterned collage illustrations invite readers to linger over the pages and add depth to the characters.

Reviewer: Michelle H. Martin | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(2) YA At first, this seems to be the story of Frankie, a girl in an orphanage in 1940s Chicago. But that's one thread in a more expansive tale, that of the ghostly narrator Pearl. Pearl's world-weary wisdom and moral outrage come through clearly as she interacts with other ghosts--victims of America's misogyny, racism, and economic inequities. Ruby's message: America is a precarious and threatening place, dealing as much in cruelty and injustice as it does in fulfilled dreams of security.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(3) YA Eighteen-year-old Harlowe Compton's southern Appalachian community is defined by mining, poverty, and, too often, despair. His brother's murder (Harlowe suspects the powerful Prater family is to blame) sends Harlowe into the darkest secrets of his family and his community. This well-written debut offers a stark and powerful depiction of modern-day rural devastation, especially opioid addiction.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(1) YA Sixteen-year-old Bri attends a public arts high school and dreams of being a rapper like her late father. After winning a rap battle in her neighborhood, doors start to open--but at a price Bri isn't sure she's willing to pay. Thomas's sharp, even piercing, characterization includes a remarkably well-rounded cast. A richly woven love letter to hip-hop, with Bri's lyrics and her thought process behind them included throughout.

Reviewer: Christina L. Dobbs | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 To escape their abusive father, eleven-year-old narrator Viji and her intellectually disabled sister Rukku run away to Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, India, where they befriend two homeless boys. Written in short chapters directly addressed to Rukku in which traumatic events are balanced with personal reflection, this bittersweet story is about breaking the cycle of abuse, reaching for your dreams, and finding home in the most unlikely places.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(1) K-3 When six-year-old Marvel, seven siblings, and their newly widowed mother are forced to move into an abandoned tar-paper shack in the woods, it "doesn't seem like much of a home." As the seasons pass, however, Marvel and her family discover the simple treasures their new life offers. Based on Wheeler's grandmother's childhood during the Great Depression, this tender tribute avoids sentimentality in favor of honest, child-centered observations. Wheeler's precise figure-drawing style captures the situation's difficulties.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) K-3 Translated by Kari Dickson. Illustrated by Akin Duzakin. A frail-looking child huddles with her mother in a bombed-out building. While the mother sleeps, a giant bird appears and prompts memories from before the devastation. In the child's unsentimental voice, some of the simplest details are the most heart-rending. Duzakin mitigates the sadness with compositions in which the child is enclosed by a circle of protection (mother's arms; bird's wing) or accompanied by a cheerful-looking cat. An honest, moving book for these times of dislocation and uncertainty.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(3) YA In Andrews's satirical dystopian world, one's physical size is directly related to one's wealth or poverty. "Bigriches" are gigantic; "littlepoors" are so tiny they can be killed by "middlerich" footfalls. The one place everyone is the same is Dreamworld, where littlepoor protagonist Warner has powerful talents for shaping dreams. Andrews uses a mixture of colloquial slang, words run together, and phonetic spelling in this allegory about economic inequities.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker

(3) YA Rome, a (supernaturally) gifted mechanic in Cottonwood Hollow, Kansas, trades her car to her vile landlord for rent when her mom loses her job. A diary sends Rome and similarly gifted friends Lux and Mercy in search of treasure, but the pioneering ancestress who buried it may have blessed their friendship as the better asset. Threads of romance, poverty, and the supernatural combine for a satisfying Midwestern ghost story.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Corinna Luyken. Chloe doubts Adrian's imaginative claims that he owns a horse, considering he receives free lunch at school and has worn-out shoes. Expressive sketch-style illustrations rendered in ink, colored pencils, and watercolor feature mainly yellow and earth tones on abundant white space. The art pairs nicely with the thoughtful narrative to capture Chloe's transformation from mean-spirited skeptic to friend. Hidden equine figures provide additional interest.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(2) YA Growing up in a low-income housing project, thirteen-year-old friends and dancers Mila and Tai have always trusted each other. After living with her aunt for a summer, Mila seems to care only about auditioning for a new gifted arts program. But Tai's not the only one who's been hurt, and eventually Mila reveals her secret. Readers will root for both young women as they tell their stories in memorable alternating voices.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018