October 17, 2023 by Graphix
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Althea and JJ Bulan attend Silver Pines Middle School and help their parents with their Beautiful Pig food truck, which is starting to become popular. JJ is often asked to dress as the mascot, which he finds embarassing, and Althea has to sample foof when the truck is at events, although she usually does a half hearted job and then hides so she can watch videos or play games on her phone because she thinks the real world is overrated. Both kids deal with a lot of racism at school, where teachers can't pronounce their name and kids make fun of the lunches they bring. For Althea, the worst is Haley Preston, and her parents have a catering gig at a party for the Prestons! JJ has a bit of a crush on the Preston girl who is his age, and she's actually rather nice. When Tito Arvin shows up, strange things start to happen that make real life events pale in comparison. JJ and Althea both start to have dreams, and before they know it, they are being threatened by the women who raised their mother and have turned out to be witches. Even though two of the characters from what they thought were their mother's stories come to protect them, the forces of evil are too much for Juan and Pinya. JJ and Althea are taken captive by the witches, who want to trade them for a magical amulet that their mother has. There's an even greater force of evil, Bakunawa, coming, and the witches think the amulet will help them get in Bakuanawa's good graces. If JJ and Althea are able to save the world from the forces of evil, will they also be able to survive the tween drama that goes on with catering the Preston's party?
Strengths: As someone who has worn a mascot costume AND sampled food at the mall (for Chick-fil-A) I was a little surprised that JJ and Althea were so against doing these things, but it made for a fascinating family dynamic. Althea's use of her phone as an escape was particularly well done. Bringing in Filipino stories, as well as Filipino food, was very interesting, and provided a lot of information I didn't know. Having Tagalog words and phrases translated in footnotes was extremely helpful. The real life drama is well described, but pales in comparison to the fact that the children have to come to terms with their magical heritage and use their skills to save the world.
Weaknesses: Althea's attitude about helping her family, her addiction to her phone, and her social problems at school would have been enough to unpack in one book, so I was a bit surprised when the story took the turn into fantasy.
What I really think: This is a mix between Badua's The Takeout or Torres' Stef Soto, Taco Queen and Winnick's Hilo or Camper's Lowriders series and is a good choice for readers who want a fantasy graphic novel with cultural connections.
Strengths: As someone who has worn a mascot costume AND sampled food at the mall (for Chick-fil-A) I was a little surprised that JJ and Althea were so against doing these things, but it made for a fascinating family dynamic. Althea's use of her phone as an escape was particularly well done. Bringing in Filipino stories, as well as Filipino food, was very interesting, and provided a lot of information I didn't know. Having Tagalog words and phrases translated in footnotes was extremely helpful. The real life drama is well described, but pales in comparison to the fact that the children have to come to terms with their magical heritage and use their skills to save the world.
Weaknesses: Althea's attitude about helping her family, her addiction to her phone, and her social problems at school would have been enough to unpack in one book, so I was a bit surprised when the story took the turn into fantasy.
What I really think: This is a mix between Badua's The Takeout or Torres' Stef Soto, Taco Queen and Winnick's Hilo or Camper's Lowriders series and is a good choice for readers who want a fantasy graphic novel with cultural connections.
October 17, 2023 by Razorbill
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus
The girls of PAWS are excited for winter break, Christmas, and New Year's Eve, but there are some problems. Priya's family is losing the house they are renting, since the landlord wants to renovate it. It's hard to find a house that suits their needs at a decent price, but they finally find one a distance from their current location. Priya will be able to still attend Bronte, but it now takes her an hour on the bus. For Christmas, Gabby has gotten a phone, and has become obsessed with posting on the PAWS social media account. When one post gets a lot of views and likes, she starts insisting that the other dog walkers keep up with quality content. Since Priya is already spread thin with getting to school, playing sports, and getting settled in her new school, she isn't happy. When there is a big snow, PAWS runs in to trouble getting one client to the vet. Hazel can't go because no one has cleared the walks, and Priya gets stuck on a bus. She tries to walk there, but falls. One of the dads comes to the rescue, and meets Priya on his way back. The girls decide that they have to figure out a better way to get everything done. The social media account is scaled back, but used for things like a PSA telling people to shovel their walks because it's the law. Priya realizes that she needs to start doing things in her new neighborhood, and even sets up a branch of PAWS with new neighbors Simran and Kiara.
Strengths: Ah, smart phones. How they have ruined society. Alarmed that children aren't reading as much? Take away their smart phones and watch these numbers change! Gabby's excitement over getting a phone and her descent into the madness of phone addiction is realistically done. Priya's family's move was also realistic, and it was nice that they were able to find a house they liked in a neighborhood they enjoyed. The dog walking business has some troubles, but takes a back seat to the social media posting. The chaos of the snow day was intriguing; my students will enjoy seeing what it would be like to have a snow day in a city. The parents are around just enough to be supportive and sometimes annoying, which is perfect. The illustrations are bright and appealing, so much so that this series is one that my male readers will pick up even though there are girls on the cover, although it's still hard to get them to read The Baby-Sitters' Club or Absolutely Nat.
Weaknesses: I had trouble telling the characters apart in this book. I don't remember that being an issue in the previous books, so maybe I'm just having an off day. Also, I didn't understand why Gabby's folks didn't take her phone away a lot sooner. Did love that they had it shut down during the school day!
What I really think: Middle schoolers should not have smart phones. If security is an issue, a flip phone does the job just as well. Oh, about the book? This is a good sequel to Gabby Gets it Together and Mindy Makes Some Space. It's always interesting to see how literary characters balance school and activities, and the issue of moving across town is rarely seen in middle grade literature, but does happen more often in real life than moving to another state. I thought it was especially interesting that Priya tried to stay at her school and do her activities, but when it proved untenable, transitioned to her new neighborhood and made new friends while still keeping in contact with her original PAWS group.
Weaknesses: I had trouble telling the characters apart in this book. I don't remember that being an issue in the previous books, so maybe I'm just having an off day. Also, I didn't understand why Gabby's folks didn't take her phone away a lot sooner. Did love that they had it shut down during the school day!
What I really think: Middle schoolers should not have smart phones. If security is an issue, a flip phone does the job just as well. Oh, about the book? This is a good sequel to Gabby Gets it Together and Mindy Makes Some Space. It's always interesting to see how literary characters balance school and activities, and the issue of moving across town is rarely seen in middle grade literature, but does happen more often in real life than moving to another state. I thought it was especially interesting that Priya tried to stay at her school and do her activities, but when it proved untenable, transitioned to her new neighborhood and made new friends while still keeping in contact with her original PAWS group.
No comments:
Post a Comment