I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Written by Erika L. Sanchez

Read by Kyla Garcia

Knopf Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: October 17, 2017

ISBN: 1524700487

A riveting and rambunctious read that tugs all the right heartstrings unabashedly and without hesitance. Erika L. Sanchez has tapped into a rich reservoir of relatable and poignant characters. Characters that are flawed, vulnerable, and muster the courage to grow and change into better people by book’s end. This is Young Adult fare that will have mass appeal and manage to get you flipping fervently page by page and rooting for our young female protagonist.

We follow teenage Julia as she navigates the rigors and pitfalls of growing up in a strict Mexican-American household that upholds familial responsibility supreme. But Julia has an independent streak that runs directly counter to that value and the friction between her and her mother is fraying her thin. To compound her frustrations, Julia suffers the slings and arrows of overcoming daily stereotypes. She yearns for more. The book is incredibly layered as it explores themes of self-identity, LGBTQ discrimination, loss and grief, and teen mental illness. All very sensitive issues that are dealt with an appropriate amount of levity and gravity somehow.

Julia carries this YA novel single-handedly. Her voice is authentic and you’re immediately yanked into her trials and tribulations from the first chapter. Julia is a firebrand but also has a sensitivity to her. A febrile fragility. A complex character study that confounds and compels. And the performance of Kyla Garcia percolates with flair. From the farcical to the solemn, every tone and idiosyncrasy is captured with gusto. It’s a myriad of fleshed out and memorable secondary characters to help prop up our protagonist. From the ever-kvetching mother to the sassy and sometimes absurd circle of friends. Every voice is singular and unique in its delivery. Top marks.

It’s so much beyond just a coming-of-age tale. It’s a modern day bildungsroman in the vein of Jane Eyre. Just angrier and more relevant to today’s diverse audiences. There’s a smidge of Catcher in the Rye in there too. A voice of cynicism that is just a disguised cry for help. So there’s sincerity in that sardonic tone. The struggles and challenges of growing up are timeless. And the writer here manages to carry on this rich literary tradition while also melding other aspects of popular genres such as mystery, social critique, and race politics. It’s an ambitious and culturally-timely piece. And a successful one that merits a look-thru.

A wholehearted recommend. Read and be ravished by the book’s insights and cultural shrewdness. 

Tommy Bui, Inglewood Public Library

Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index

Written by Julie Israel

Narrated by Abigail Revasch

Published by Penguin Random Audio Publishing Group

Publication Date: 2017

ISBN: 1524775223

This was a thoroughly enjoyable and poignant tale of a young girl navigating the trials and tribulations of adolescence. It also strives to go beyond the mere tropes of high school dramedy by trying to tackle a variety of emotionally-laden subjects. Subjects such as grief, loss, and soul-sapping depression. It offers up some pretty weighty and sensitive societal issues to the audience but manages to do so with an appropriate degree of tact and social responsibility.

The quick pitch: Juniper Lemon is pitched into a world of sorrow and bereavement when she survives a car crash that tragically takes her older sister’s life. Her parents are hobbled with grief and she herself is racked with unspeakable guilt over the whole ordeal. She eventually uncovers a mysterious letter written by her sister before the accident. A letter undelivered to a secret recipient. Racked with remorse, she undergoes a by-any-means mission to convey the letter to this unknown party. As this act becomes the last meaningful link she has to her dearly departed sister.

The narrative paces along at a manageable momentum and endeavors to keep the audiences’ attention rapt throughout. The protagonist is vulnerable and endearing but manages to muster enough spunkiness to overcome seemingly the whole weight of the world on her shoulders. This is a character that many should be able to identify with quickly and feel knee-jerk compassion for. She’s being dragged through the emotional wringer. But she comes out the other side stronger and a fully-realized character for it.  

The side characters also all contribute meaningfully to the story. Juniper undertakes an epic internal journey that takes her through an array of emotional peaks and valleys. And along the way she recruits an eclectic motley of sidekicks to help her find the way. And each and every one just as richly-textured and complex as the main protagonist. It’s a riveting cortege of characters and friendship quickly becomes another enduring theme by book’s end. 

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index can be likened to Mean Girls meets Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. The shifting from teen-rom-com to intense character profile of pain and melancholy is seamless and no easy course to slalom. But the author manages it well here. The performance of the reader is superb. She does a fine job of sprinkling the right amount of voice-quiver and reticence into the title character of Juniper. You just want to take her voice and drape a blanket over it and comfort, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

All in all, by-the-books Young Adult machinations. Perfect for a multitude of demographics.  

Tommy Bui, Inglewood Public Library

Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World

Written and Read by Reshma Saujani

Listening Library

Publication Date: August 22, 2017

ISBN: 1524778222

This is an item that inspires and cajoles young woman to confound expectations and jump with both feet into the world of coding and computer-science. Writer Reshma Saujani makes a compelling case to pursue a passion for computer coding and combine it with other interests to create a synergy of creative potential. It’s all about empowerment and building confidence and flagging that nerd flag high.

The audiobook offers a succinct little primer and introduction into the world of coding. She takes our hand and walks us through the history of the field and the innovations and advancements that women have contributed over the years to computer-science. The writer provides us with several historical figures and a multitude of case studies of the unsung female heroes blazing a trail in the world of tech. And shows that inspiring young girls to explore the world of coding is the future and how imperative it is to close the gender gap in the tech industry. 

Reshma Saujani also gives us a pretty comprehensive play by play into the basics of coding. She goes over the terminology and cobbles a sturdy scaffolding in which to frame a better understanding of coding. She manages to take a sometimes abstruse subject and make it relatable and palatable to digest. She uses an assortment of real-world scenarios and always endeavors to make the topic engaging and approachable. Though the work is largely skewed toward a female audience of a certain age, the information conveyed about rudimentary coding skills can be useful for a wide demographic of people just interested in the course of study.

This work is a big advocate of eschewing stereotypes and impels young audiences to augment their thinking of what’s expected and what’s possible. She reminds us that encouraging STEM and useful computer fundamentals will serve young girls for years to come and that the field is ready and receptive to a whole generation of groundbreaking tech pioneers. The possibilities are nigh boundless. Put the right string of code in the right girl’s hands and she could make a sizeable impact from social justice champion to canny entrepreneur.

This work earns a wholehearted recommendation. The content is delivered in an enthused and infectiously effusive manner. And the range of topics covered impressive from beginning to end and the overall message of empowerment delivered with precision. The item also includes a bonus disc with PDFs of images, computer-history timelines, flowcharts, lines of code, and a handy glossary. All fine fodder for any coding connoisseur. 

Get coding, kids. Plain and simple.

Tommy Bui, Inglewood Public Library

JACK LONDON AND THE KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH

MIDDLE SCHOOL NONFICTION

G/A  Lourie, Peter.  Jack London And The Klondike Gold Rush.  Henry Holt, 2017.  9780805097573.  18.99.  With an appetite for adventure and a financial need to find gold, London developed characters for stories while building his own personal character.  He exhibited love for the outdoors and enough perseverance to withstand the weather's fierce elements.  Shaded sections throughout the text capture London's  (and other's) actual writings about their Klondike experiences.  London's biographical and literary lives are attractively laid out over a four page time line. Terms -- true to the Klondike era -- are well defined in the glossary.  Should appeal to any young reader who'd enjoy outdoor excitement. E.M. Roublow (ret.)

IN THE SHADOW OF LIBERTY

ADULT/YA  NONFICTION

V/A  Davis, Kenneth C.  In The Shadow Of Liberty.  Henry Holt, 2016.  286p.  9781627793117.  17.99.  As early America sought independence and self-sufficiency, four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson) struggled with issues surrounding slavery.  Five enslaved people -- owned by these presidents -- were also challenged as they weighed loyalty vs the unknowns of freedom.  This book's focus is definitely about our country's history more than these individuals' biographies.  Its time line, detailed source notes, plus clear b/w pictures and drawings make it a valuable supplement to classroom texts.   E.M. Roublow (ret.)

Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist

General YA Fiction

VG/A. Sundquist, Josh. Love and First Sight. Little, Brown and Company, 2017. 281p. 978-0-316-30535-8. 17.99.

William Porter was born blind, and until recently he went to a school for the blind.  Now, at 16-year-old, Will is determined to go to a mainstream school and be as normal a teenager as possible.  His first few days at school don’t go quite as planned.  He finds himself in a few embarrassing situations: accidentally groping a girl, making another girl cry when he stares at her a bit too long, sitting on someone’s lap at lunch, and mistakenly walking into the girls’ restroom.  Soon things start to look up. Will’s one favorite class is journalism, and he teams up with Cecily (the same girl he made cry) to report on the Van Gogh exhibit at the museum.  Will becomes good friends with Cecily and the other members of the academic quiz team, despite the initial misunderstandings.  He also becomes a candidate for experimental surgery that may give him eyesight, allowing him to see for the first time in his life.  Even with successful surgery, Will has even more hardships ahead of him.  He will actually have to learn how to see.  This is Sundquist’s debut young adult novel, and it is highly recommended.  

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom

High School Fiction

G/M. Bergstrom, Scott. The Cruelty. Feiwel and Friends, 2017. 371p. 978-1-250-10818-0. 18.99.

When special agents from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security show up at her door, Gwendolyn Bloom knows something serious has gone wrong with her dad.  She is shocked to find out that he has gone missing and even more surprised when she discovers his diplomatic job was just a cover.  When the trail for her father grows cold, and the Bureau is no longer is aggressively pursuing his case, Gwendolyn takes it upon herself to go search for him.  With the clues that her father left for her and with help from friends, she leaves New York with little more than a backpack and first travels to Paris, where he was last seen, following clues that take her all across Europe.  Her search plunges her into a world of organized crime, witnessing first-hand the cruelty and brutality of it, and is forced to commit unspeakable acts herself.  This spy action-packed thriller is at times unbelievable, but is overall engrossing. However, with the level of violence in the book, it is recommended for older teens and young adults.  There is a sequel in the works, and the film rights for the book has been optioned by Paramount. Camille Campos, Benjamin Franklin Library, LAPL.