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Shang, Wendy Wan-Long. Bubble Trouble
July 18, 2023 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edeleweiss Plus

Chloe Chen and her best friend Isabel Zhang are taking a drama class, and Chloe is not good withbeing creative under pressure, and struggles with improvisation. She loves plays, and really wants to take the class trip to New York City to see several musicals that the teacher, Mrs. Alamantia, is planning. The problem is that it costs a lot of money. Since her mother, a doctor, died of COVID, her father has quit his job developing medical devices so he can be home more, and spends his day trying to invent things. One of these things is a robotic dog trainer, and he has gotten Chloe a dog, Phineas, that he can use in his behavioral experiments. Chloe is very neat and organized, so doesn't care for the mess that a pet presents. She also doesn't like the way it makes the house feel different. Since her mother passed, she has dealt fairly well with things, but doesn't like change. She and Isabel go to a local bubble tea shop, and Chloe sees Henry, a boy from her theater class who claims that musicals  are silly and unrealistic. He is very attentive, and gives her a bubble tea even after she buys an uninspired soda, since she didn't have enough money. Henry's Uncle Martin, the manager, isn't thrilled with the girl's exuberant ways, and admonishes them to be quiet. Chloe comes back for the peace and quiet when her new pet makes it hard to concentrate at home, but when she has an altercation with a classmate in the shop and dumps tea on her, she is banned from the shop. When her Auntie Sue comes to visit, her aunt is outraged that her neice would be banned, and goes to talk to Uncle Martin. It turns out that the two have quite a past, and Auntie Sue storms out. The two decide to make their own boba tea, and Sue buys many extra ingredients. Chloe is trying to earn money to go on the trip, and her friend Sabrina, whose parents have a restaurant, suggests that Chleo make and sell bubble tea. This is successful, especially when Phineas comes along to help collect that empty mason jars in which the tea is served. Chloe's efforts come to the attention of a local news reporter who wants to interview her. Sabrina can't make it, but Henry once again shows up to save the day. Chloe makes enough money to go on the trip, and everything works out in a very happy way. She even comes to the realization that even though things will change now that her mother is gone, she will still have family and friends to help her through. 

Strengths: *Sigh* I would have loved this one SO much as a tween, especially the exotic setting where there are shops within walking distance that serve bubble tea! Barring being able to get to one of those, I would have been pestering my mother to try to make our own popping boba (Chemicals! And cooking!). There's just the right amount of sadness over the mother's death; the characters aren't happily moving on, but they are continuing to live their lives. This is a hard balance to achieve. Chloe does have a support network with Auntie Sue and her friends. I was particularly enthralled with the whole school notebook check; I always assigned one of these to encourage students to be organized, but I certainly didn't grade them this hard. Those small school details bring a lot of opportunities for students to connect to the character. Chloe's desire to earn her own way and not burder her father was admirable. Of course, the best part was Chloe's budding relationship with Henry. This was also done well; they don't know each other well and disagree at first, but he is kind and friendly, and they eventually learn to work well together and then have some sweet, light romantic moments. This book made my entire day! 
Weaknesses: This was the second book this week I've read where a parent died of COVID, the other being Korman's Mixed Up. At least this is a balanced and resilient look at how people deal with death, rather than the wallow fest most books embrace. People die, and in the words of Robert Frost, “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.” Wallowing is just not an option for many people. 
What I really think: Definitely purchasing this one and highly recommend it! Shang has a note at the end about how much fun it was to write a rom com-- I hope that she writes many more, because this is JUST the sort of thing my readers want! Ms. Shang and I bonded over the work of R.R. Knudsen at a conference, and I would LOVE it if she could do a similar book with characters who play volleyball! Of course, the downside of reading this is that I now desperately want to find some boba. I feel like I would enjoy the texture of the tapioca bubbles! There are a few places in central Ohio, so I'll have to do my research. Maybe this summer!                                                

Zachman, Kim and Donnelly, Peter. There's No Cream in Cream Soda: Facts and Folklore About Our Favorite Drinks 

July 18, 2023 by Running Press Kids

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Like this author's awesome There's No Ham in Hamburgers, this book is filled to the brim with facts about different beverages around the world and across time! I'm a huge fan of popular culture information, and this had me quoting bits to anyone who happened to be around me. 

As the granddaughter of dairy farmers, I found the chapter on milk to be especially interesting. The Clark Dairy of Enon Valley, PA was started not long after milk got a bit safer with pasteurization in the late 1800s, and fortunately was able to weather the decline of milk deliveries until my uncles were ready to sell when they retired. 

Starting the book with water was an inspired choice; we don't really think much about that beverage in the US, and tend to take potable running water for granted. Chapters on coffee and tea have a lot of world history, and I learned a lot about juice and soda. I loved the layout and graphic design of the book, as well as the Mid Century Modern feel to the illustrations. 

I'm definitely purchasing a copy of this book, since  There's No Ham in Hamburgers is constantly checked out, but the E ARC of this kept crashing my E Reader to the point where I couldn't even pull up my copious book marks. I'll definitely be taking another look at this once I get the hard copy.