CET Writes

This 2018 Maverick List honoree and @CTXTeenComicCon guest speaker brings lush artwork and magical realism to the #WeNeedDiverseComics movement. #LibrariesRRock #RRockReviewsHS ​ #MaverickList #yartxla #CTXComicCon   |   @nidhiart ,  @01FirstSecond

In this brilliant sequel to Openly Straight, Ben finds his way, his voice, and his love as Konigsberg continues the tale with this beautifully raw and complex addition to the burgeoning body of LGBTQ YA literature. #LibrariesRRock #RRockReviewHS ​  |   @billkonigsberg ,  @AALBooks

Jones’ team of creators artfully navigates a very heavy topic in a multifaceted approach that refuses to oversimplify or reduce down to a FEW talking points. Bravo! #LibrariesRRock #RRockReviewsHS ​ #MaverickList #yartxla   |   @LEEandLOW ,  @PoetTonyMedina

With messaging, more subtle than the original,  @MollyOstertag 's sequel to Witch Boy enriches the series premise and strengthens the characterization of the denizens--making it clear that this tale is more than a one-off.  #CETReviews #RockReviewsMS #RockReviewsHS   |   @GraphixBooks

In this 2020 #MaverickList nominee, fans of middlegrade, slice-of-life realistic fiction with female strong protagonists will find a new love in this modernization of an old classic.  #CETReviews   #RockReviewsHS   #RockReviewsMS   |   @ndgoarts ,  @littlebrown

Rarely have I read a book so real and laughed so hard! As  @JerryCraft sugar coats nothing without seeming attacking, this title is skillfully and beautifully balanced. #weneeddiversecomics #CETReviews #RRockReviewsHS #RRockReviewsMS #MaverickList   |   @HarperCollinsCh ,  @LibrariesRRock

This 2020 #MaverickList nominee, hurls the reader two years into the future, a world where the rules have changed & crush is forbidden, so hold on tight as the ride is anything but smooth.   #CETReviews   #RockReviewsHS   |   @babsdraws ,  @brendenfletcher ,  @cameronMstewart ,  @ImageComics

In volume 2,  @gracecellis and  @shaebeagle continue this fantastic paranormal romance that delightfully navigates some surprisingly heavy topics with dexterity and levity!  #CETReviews   #RockReviewsHS   |   @ImageComics ,  @LibrariesRRock  

In this 2019 #SPOTTX honoree,  @av_geiger goes beyond merely providing a good mystery. This book is fodder for some interesting thought experiments that center on mental health and social media.  #CETReviews #RockReviewsHS   |   @SourcebooksFire ,  @LibrariesRRock  

Both Abelard and Lily so deeply resonated with me that I felt like I was reading a love story between two halves of myself as I watched each struggle to find their happy. #TheLoveLettersofAbelardandLily #CETReviews #RRockReviewsHS #SPOTTX   |   @LibrariesRRock , @HMHteen

This 2019 #TayshasList honoree presents a perfect argument for social justice & restorative practices. #CETReviews #RRockreviewsHS   |   @DashkaSlater ,  @fsgbooks ,  @yartxla ,  @LibrariesRRock  

Image from  amazon.com As a matter of full disclosure, please be aware that I was gifted a free electronic copy of this book to review. Serena the Sailboat is a charming tale about a day’s adventure involving the protagonist and her friends Simon Seagull and Danny Dolphin. After parading through the harbor and bidding their friends a joyous farewell, the trio head out to sea for a day of fun in the sun; however, their outing turns perilous when a storm rolls in and Serena fears that the gale may breach her hull. Recognizing the power of their collective strength, the friends find a safe harbor where they can weather the storm together. In Serena the Sailboat , Laura Thomae Young crafts a sweet, gentle story in verse while Raina M. Tubba’s illustrations extend the fun sing-song rhyme of Young’s quatrains in a friendly style that will make a good read for pre-kindergarten children ages 3-5. Furthermore, fans of Eric Carle, Leo Lionni, and classics from the Little Golden Boo...

Unlike Rickety Stitch, I know exactly how I arrived at the inaugural Greater Austin Comic Con; indeed, I recall my origin story in more than half-remembered snippets that come to me in a dreamlike state. Just under fifteen years ago, I rather unironically met the man of my dreams and then became his beautiful wife. 🎶 At this point, I quickly realized that I’d been on the periphery of comic fandom all of my life. Comics feature heavily in the reading preferences of all of the significant men in the Christinaverse—my husband, my father-in-law, my father, and my brother. Upon further investigation, as a veteran teacher of literature and literacy I quickly recognized that superheroes are frequently modern instantiations of literary archetypes and that having so much of the story told via a mélange of expertly crafted images and text greatly benefits struggling readers. In short, comics are not only fun to read but could easily be the edification of the innocent!  Thus, ...

Image from Amazon.com Jensen Graham’s fertile thought life is full of heroic antics and daring do in which he regularly saves not only himself but his friends as well. Unfortunately, his actual existence is less spectacular.  As an overweight, awkward, socially inept middle schooler, he finds math hard, friendship harder, and avoiding bullying—even by those he thinks of as friends—hardest of all. Although Jensen has always struggled in that game we call life, someone seems to have cranked up the difficulty setting. So, when the elevator tries to break him down… he stalls out and is at a complete loss as to how to recover himself. Forced into introspection by the school newspaper’s power team, Jensen accepts some ugly truths, finds guidance in YA novel, and actively works on “fixing what’s wrong, changing what’s around [him], and doing what [he’s] afraid of” (236). Brave would be a good read for late elementary and middle grade readers (grades 5-8) who enjoy painfully awkw...

Having barely survived a demon possession,  Mia must move in with her Milanese extended family where she’ll stay alive by learning the family heritage and mastering the family trade of demon catching with the ancient lore of bell, book, and candle.  In the course of these studies, she begins to understand that the world is far more complex than she ever believed it to be and the powerfully seductive forces at play can’t be easily categorized.  Beyer constructs a narrative in which the quick and the dead, the animate and the inanimate, as well as the characters and the setting have had a long standing multi-generational intimacy. As the plot unfolds, the audience quickly realizes that the protagonist seems to have a walk-on part in an expansive drama that has been playing out for a very long time.    Nonetheless, for this scene Mia seems to play the role of both Dante and Cervantes simultaneously-functioning as not only the damned but also the guide through th...

Cover from Goodreads As a typical American teenager, Pri (Priyanka Das) has a lot of questions. As the child of a single, Indian immigrant mother, she has many unanswered questions: Why did her mother leave India? What was India like? Who is her father, and why did her mom leave him? Unfortunately Pri’s mom avoids answering these questions—putting a strain on their relationship and further piquing Priyanka’s interest, as India seems to call to her. Just when mother and daughter seem to be at an impasse, Pri finds a mysterious pashmina that holds the answers to her questions and transports her back to the seat of her heritage. But is this the real? In order to gain the answers that she craves, Pri must travel farther than she’s ever dared—physically, intellectually, and spiritually. This graphic novel's heartwarming navigation of the quotidien terrain of maturation, the hardship of self-discovery, and the adolescent tendency to rail against the confines of familial authority ar...

"It's 1888, and seventeen-year-old Verity Newton lands a job in New York as a governess to a wealthy leading family, "but she quickly learns that the family has big secrets. Magisters have always ruled the colonies, but now an underground society of mechanics and engineers are developing non-magical sources of power via steam engines that they hope will help them gain freedom from British rule. The family Verity works for is magister, "but it seems like the children's young guardian uncle is sympathetic to the rebel cause. As Verity falls for a charming rebel inventor and agrees to become a spy, she also becomes more and more enmeshed in the magister family's life. She soon realizes she's uniquely positioned to advance the cause" but to do so, she'll have to reveal her own dangerous secret." - From the Publisher This is a fantastic read - a real page turner. Lovers of steampunk and speculative history will find a new heroine in Miss ...

"As apprentice to his father, the second-best medical scientist in the empire, Jonathan leads a quiet life in a remote aerial city until the king arrives, calling on them to find the cure to a plague that has struck the capital city and put the queen's life at risk, but the newly discovered chemical, fantillium, that may help will also put at risk all that Jonathan holds dear." - From Follett Illusionarium is an action-packed page-turner that will keep readers on their toes from cover to cover. Fans of steampunk, adventure, and fantasy will decidedly enjoy this title. Illusionarium b y Heather Dixon  Secondary  Greenwillow Books 361 pp.  Published 2015  ISBN 978-0-06-200105-4 $17.99   Steampunk, Fantasy

Image from mikesplacebook.com At Mike’s Place, the blues bar on the Tel Aviv beachfront, patrons -- both renowned and local -- gather to forget the conflict outside. At least, that's what indie filmmakers Jack and Joshua want to convey in their documentary; however, shortly after filming begins, the bar is targeted in a gruesome suicide bombing. Lovers of realistic and historical narratives will not only find this to be an interesting read but also the ways that the Mike’s Place family copes with their tragedy intriguing as well as heart-wrenching at the same time. Mike's place: a true story of love, blues, and terror in Tel Aviv  by Jack Baxter, Joshua Faudem, and Koren Shadmi Secondary FirstSecon 189 pp. Published 2015 ISBN 978-1-59643-857-6 $22.99

Although he’s a civilian now, Mark finds himself sucked back into war by Jason, his old army buddy, who seduces him away from his staid consulting job with promises of a lucrative military contract for a mining job in an obscure South-east Asian country. Unfortunately, what awaits them is the stuff of nightmares - a civil war led by magical child soldiers with an army of god-warriors. Albeit this text is well executed and visually very impressive, the imagery and plot are disturbing to the extent that I do  NOT recommend it for school libraries. The Divine  by Asaf Hanuka (Illustrator), Tomer Hanuka (Illustrator), and Boaz Lavie (Author) Adult  First Second  160 pp. Published 2015  ISBN  978-1596436749 $19.99 Magical Realism