Book Review: History Smashers: Ancient Egypt

 

History Smashers: Ancient Egypt
by Kate Messner
Pub Date: Oct 07 2025
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Book 11 of the "History Smashers" series

With its illustrated sections within chapters and comic book-style storytelling mixed with text,
I really liked the formatting of the book. However...

I felt like there were missed opportunities to define some key words for 8-12 year olds (grades 3-7). For example, early in the book the word 'dynasties' is used. Children might know that word if they are familiar with anime or manga, but even then they might have a skewed meaning of the word. Another example is the use of 'BCE,' which is also never defined nor written out the first time as Before Common Era. Other words in the book, like 'mastabas' and 'bas-relief', should have been described or defined.

I also felt misled that the book was to be about Ancient Egypt, but it was heavily focused on kings, gods, and pharaohs. Even the first chapter was called "People of the Nile," but was only about kings, gods, and pharaohs. Short of a discussion of hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone, I found very little through the book about other topics such as daily life or science and medicine. For example, at one point the book randomly mentioned some diseases present in Ancient Egypt, but it didn't relate them to any of the kings being discussed. And why would they tell that people ate desiccated mummy but not tell if people got sick from eating desiccated mummy?

At one point I was confused that the book abruptly switched from telling a story in comic form to text, even though it was a continuation of that story. I also felt the book could have benefitted from offering the readers URLs or some key search words to search rather than a static bibliography.

I wanted to like this much more than I did. History isn't one of my stronger subjects, so I was really hoping I'd learn something more about Ancient Egypt than its kings, gods, and pharaohs.

⭐⭐ 2 stars

Book Review: The Experiment

Book Review: The Experiment
by Rebecca Stead
Pub Date: Sep 16 2025  
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I'm pleasantly surprised by this story - I like sci-fi, and this one doesn't dummy-down (i.e., over-explain) the plot to death. It was a smooth, fun, suspenseful alien abduction story. And I wouldn't say it's fantasy; it's definitely more sci-fi.

I enjoyed the inane, unexpected, but humorous connections to Calvin & Hobbes throughout the story. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trpnblies7/5289019576

The characters had well-developed personalities and delivered believable emotions and dialogue. The story flowed well. The settings were described well enough to follow what the characters were experiencing and doing. 

I've given it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 stars and am looking forward to getting it for my school library.

Book Review: The Better to Eat You With

 

The Better to Eat You With

by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Pub Date: Sep 23 2025  

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I might have liked this more if the author didn't make the 'monster' as vague and disconnected as it was. The narration relied heavily on the reader trying to figure out, along with the main character, if the monster was real. What didn't help was that the adults saw the scars and the effects of the monster's great claws, but when the monster was finally described, it was a hybrid monster made of many different animals. I then lost my ability to suspend disbelief because the 'monster' the adults were looking for couldn't be found even though there was physical evidence of its existence. 

Otherwise... the book sent a positive and realistically described message about eating disorders, their possible origin, the havoc they wreak, and possible ways to get help from others. The characters were well developed, and the story - with the exception of the monster - felt realistic for their ages. However, if the monster had been something that could be experienced by both the adults and the younger characters, I might have bought into the story better.

⭐⭐

Book Review: A Glimmer of Change

 A Glimmer of Change

by Elle McNicoll

Pub Date: Oct 14 2025

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First, I'm really attracted to McNicoll's adroit use of metaphors throughout the book. They allow the reader to get more sophisticated in their depth or understanding of a feeling or event without the author being too wordy. Though some of them may challenge the readers, like one metaphor about being a "cartographer of your own heart," but they don't overwhelm the text.

Initially, I didn't know if the main character was male or female (SPOILER ALERT: she's female), which ends up being somewhat important to the story because of how females historically are portrayed when they are being bossy vs emphatic, snobby vs reserved, and relevant to this story, aggressive vs assertive. 

In this story aggressive vs assertive is emphasized on the themes of bullying, being an upstander, and friendship. There are some really good discussion prompts in the book, too, based on these themes. For example, "It'll be bad for a really quick minute. But the good will last forever." Another place for a good discussion are some passages in chapter 14. One is the connection between kindness and integrity. Another is "Distraction is the enemy of anxiety."

There might be a few places where the Britishisms may affect a teen outside of Scotland to stumble. One example is the use of "Bully for him," especially because a theme of the story is bullying.

I believe McNicoll did a great job of helping non-autistic readers understand what their autistic peers might be experiencing. Even concepts like "masking" are well explained within the context of the story, so the terms and concepts aren't preachy and teachy but instead flow naturally from the characters' thoughts and actions.

I'm looking forward to getting this book for my middle school library.

Book Review: Stella: Ranch Patrol

Stella: Ranch Patrol

by W. Bruce Cameron

Pub Date: Aug 26 2025   | 

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My students eat this series up (4th-8th grade intermediate school); but, this was my first time reading one of the Dogs with a Purpose series by W. Bruce Cameron. I enjoyed the range of emotions through the book - joy through fear - being accessible through Stella (a dog's) perspective. I thought it allowed the reader to think on many levels - a human perspective, an animal's perspective, a *talking* and *thinking* animal's perspective.  I did wonder why Stella was the only 'sentient' beast who could talk (or did talk) for the other animals, so to speak. There was a lot of humor, sometimes subtle, which also provide opportunities for readers of many levels to take what they could from the story. Cameron created plot tension, anticipation, and suspense while cleanly and not artificially coming to satisfying conclusions. Lessons and morals were hinted at in realistic ways without being preachy. Now I know why my students adore these books. :o)

Book Review: The Ink Witch

The Ink Witch
by Steph Cherrywell
Pub Date: Sep 16 2025

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The transgender aspect of the main character was used to move the plot ahead without being preachy. For this reason, I enjoyed the rest of the book much more than I thought I would since at first I thought that the topic of gender was subterfuge a preachy story rather than ending up as a plot method. That being said, I also enjoyed that the book didn't start out as a witchy fantasy and allowed the reader to take the main character's journey with her. The storytelling was smooth and interesting, and I liked that I wasn't inundated with too many characters (i.e., names) to remember. The storytelling descriptions were enough to keep the twisting characters from getting muddy. Unique method of witchcraft (ink spells) was also a good way to keep the story interesting. Probably will get this for my middle school library collection. 

Yes, It's been a while... Book Review: The Unraveling

The Unraveling

by Keith Ward; Karl Buechner; Jeremy Mueller

Pub Date: 20 May 2025

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     Full disclosure: fantasy stories aren't my favorite, and it took me a while to get into this one. But once I did, I enjoyed the story. - at least until it ended abruptly. I understood the anthropomorphizing of the characters, but not the likening it to 'Watership Down' and a slightly derivative feel at times to 'Star Wars.' 

     I also understand the series appeal for this age of reader, but to not end the story as even a possible stand-alone is torturous and manipulative. I'd be really curious what the reading level (A./R. or Lexile) is because the vocabulary was really elevated: melee, attrition, accelerants, haughty, beleaguered, dirge, petulant, hubris, usurp, abattoir, etc. 

     I did enjoy the bit of humor that was peppered into the story: a crow-coo clock, cricket poppers, a stuffed parrot named Admiral Feathers, and some others. However, I did feel a little like I was being indoctrinated into a "humans bad/animals good" ideology, and it wasn't until at least 2/3 into the book that any concessions were made that an individual doesn't define a species.

I rated it a 2-⭐⭐

Book Review: Darling

Darling
by K. Ancrum
Pub Date: 22 Jun 2021

I'm glad I stuck with it because I ended up really liking it, but it was an early struggle to get there.  I loved the modernization of the story and was intrigued by some of the new characterization (hint: Shadow). Because of the nature of the story, however, I do think it is better for the 13 and up, i.e., it's not a children's story. Without spoiling the story, the fact that Peter doesn't want to grow up takes on a new perspective in this modernized version.

The author supported the characterization of the characters' intelligence quite well with direct references to artists that "painted" the settings with their allusions. On the other hand, it's setting is Chicago, and some references would only be known by someone from that area.

In spite of the dark nature of this retold tale, there was a positive, empowering message also portrayed: choice. The reason I said I was glad I stuck with it was the backstory; the author exposed the backstory toward the end, and it was truly engaging.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Book Review: Room Service

Book Review: Room Service
by Maren Stoffels
Pub Date: 29 Jun 2021

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Room Service is written by Maren Stoffels but translated by Laura Watkinson. I would have liked to have read the original because I somehow feel that the translation caused the sentence structures to be a bit basic; although, I do not think any of the action or suspense suffered as a result of the translation.

If you can get past the fact that this is yet another book where the teens think that they are smarter than the adults, then you'll enjoy this more than I did. The teens are surrounded by adults who are either clueless or kept in the dark by the teens. Both conditions create the need for the suspension of disbelief: the reader has to accept that a dangerous, threatening stalker is not something in which to involve any authority figures.

Beyond that, I did enjoy the suspense and the twist. The author cleverly allowed one character's frequent insistence that he didn't want to be involved in the shenanigans to become a part of the plot. The author also played on the characters' interactions during the story and prior interactions at school to create the necessary relationship tangles that augmented the plot. And I was genuinely, pleasantly surprised by the plot twist.

That the story can only exist because the adults are idiots, however, is the thing keeping me from rating this book higher than ⭐⭐⭐. Some really crafty insights come through the characters during their plight, but the persistence of invisible adults dampened my overall enjoyment.

Book Review: A Night Twice as Long

Book Review: A Night Twice as Long
by Andrew Simonet
Pub Date: 01 Jun 2021

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Andrew Simonet represented what it is like to live with a sibling who has autism in a genuinely authentic way. We learn much about the main character, Alex, through her interactions with and thoughts about her non-verbal brother, Georgie, in comparison with how the people around her respond to him. It make her both a likable character and a character with depth. Through Alex we get the perspective of the "Normies," people without disabilities who are strange in their own ways, and of the progression of an autistic child as he grows up and figures out how to "impose his will." 

But that's only part of the story... Alex and her neighbor/best friend/boyfriend, Anthony, and from what they can tell, the entire United States, are in an electrical blackout from an unknown origin. They don't know how long it will last, either. Anthony's mother is in the military, and he hasn't seen her in a while, so when he gets word that someone actually has a working telephone, he jumps at the chance to try to connect with his mom. But without transportation (gas pumps don't work), he'll have to walk to another town to find the person with the phone. He cajoles Alex into taking the trek with him, and what they encounter on their journey makes for great reading. 

Complicating their journey beyond transportation is the fact that Alex's mother told her she couldn't go (she does anyway), and Alex is white, while Anthony is black. On top of that, Alex decided to chop off all of her hair and is often mistaken for a boy.

The author provides vivid descriptions that help the reader picture what's going on; my favorite was a descriptively interesting way of describing hair at one point. Simonet also gives great onomatopoeia.  

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: Things I Learned from Falling

Things I Learned from Falling

by Claire Nelson

Pub Date: 25 May 2021 

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I love biographies. I really love well-written autobiographies. This is well-written, which is expected from someone who works as a writer in the field of journalism. Nelson's personal strength jumps off the page in stark contrast to the self-doubts so many of us feel, including Nelson.  To confront face-to-face the "impostor syndrome" in such an extreme situation provides the lucky readers with an innocuous way to encounter their own feelings with having to drink their own urine. 

There was only one section, midway through the story, that felt heavy and arduous to push through. The congruity is that this section described the depression that precipitated Nelson's self-exploration and eventual trek to the desert.

The part I personally related to the most was the thing that Nelson repeatedly said was the thing that made her the happiest, that was what she fought to live for - talking nonsense with friends. I cherish that, too, and can see why that was the thing worth holding onto hope for. It embodies belonging.

Book Review: Violet & Daisy

Violet & Daisy

by Sarah Miller

Pub Date: 27 Apr 2021 

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I think Sarah Miller was successful in telling the story of Violet and Daisy Hilton because she got me to go to Amazon Prime and rent the movie "Freaks." I was interested in how Miller described Violet's and Daisy's participation and reaction to it and had to experience it for myself.

Miller made me interested in the Hilton sisters' world: their environment, their thoughts, their society. I felt like I was being told the truth about the psychology and sociology of the people and the times. 

The exact thing that I appreciated about Miller's honesty with the facts is also the thing Miller could have achieved more honestly. Though she continuously announced the problems with the data and accounts that she used were subject to memory flaws and gaps in documentation, she also used the sensationalist prose like click bait. She pulled readers in by telling them the suppositions and misrepresentations and then revealed that some or all of what she just told you isn't true. If this is truly aimed at a young adult audience, then Miller's prose should help modern readers understand the sources of what they are about to read not provide what is titillating just to shoot it down.

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book review: Because He's Jeff Goldblum

Book Review:

Because He's Jeff Goldblum

by Travis M. Andrews

Pub Date: 04 May 2021

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Jeff Goldblum is a nice guy. Jeff Goldblum is a nice guy. Jeff Goldblum is a nice guy. There, I've saved you the time from reading this book. Although.... the author did get me to watch a Jeff Goldblum movie of which I wasn't aware:  2008's "Adam Resurrected." The author did what he could with what he had to work with, which in essence is a self-proclaimed unauthorized biography of a really nice guy.

Book Review: Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

Book review:

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

by Nikki Grimes

Pub Date: 05 Jan 2021 

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As an intriguing exercise in poetry, this volume hits the mark. I can't wait to show it to the teacher in my school who teaches poetry and runs the poetry club. Nikki's use of the "Golden Shovel" technique of writing poems using words from others' poems is something that will feel very accessible to our high school students. That being said, Nikki described the Golden Shovel technique as using each word chosen from one line of another's poem as the last word in a line of original poetry; it doesn't look like Nikki followed her own definition  --  although it could be that by reading the book on a Kindle, I couldn't properly see the line breaks.

Regardless, introducing or reintroducing the poems of these women from the Harlem Renaissance is worth the publication in itself. Add Nikki's additions, and we benefit from time and perspective, culture and experience. 

My intention of providing the next part of my review in a somewhat interpretive way is not to sway your own opinions of the poetry itself, but instead to provide the way I interpreted the collection as a teaching tool as much as a book of poetry. My favorite poem was Alice Dunbar-Nelson's "I Sit and Sew." It feels very "of a time." Nikki's corresponding poem, "Room for Dreams," makes for an interesting comparison of the culture of a time. I felt the same parallel of a universal theme moving across time with Clarissa Scott Delany's "Joy" and Nikki's Leah's "Reunion."  On the other hand, I perceived the pairing of Gertrude Parthenia McBrown's "Jehovah's Gesture" as an opposite to Nikki's "Judgment." Nikki even says in the introduction that her challenge was to make sense of and not just be derivative of the original poet's words. There are a few poem pairs that are a bit too similar, but is that really a problem? A shared experience doesn't lessen the experience for any individual. Plus, it's as interesting to see the similarities of culture in spite of the passing of time as it is to experience the opposites that arise from the same words used in different ways.

One of the beautiful poems included in this collection is Effie Lee Newsome's "The Bronze Legacy (to a Brown Boy)." In this case, Nikki's corresponding poem did not augment or improve upon the original one. I felt the same about "Prelude" by Lucy Ariel Williams;  Nikki's "Slow Burn" felt too derivative. 

Given the modern push toward PC language, I found "Advice" by Gwendolyn Bennett and Nikki's "Brown Poems" to reveal the irony of either choosing pale words to write dark poems or using the brown way of saying what the pale one said. That, and the push for PC isn't so modern.

Structurally, I understand why this would first be a book of poetry and then a contextual history volume. However, for many of us, the poems out-of-context from the poet leave gaps in the ability to relate, interpret, or visualize the context of the poem. To that I'd suggest introducing each poem set with the biography of the poet rather than grouping the biographies at the end. Including the index is a real plus for making this book a useful teaching tool.

This is 4 ⭐ as a teaching tool, 3 ⭐ as a book of poetry.

Book Review: Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town

by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Pub Date 20 Apr 2021 

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Book Review: The Murder Game

The Murder Game

by Carrie Doyle

Pub Date 06 Apr 2021 

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The cover pulled me in; bummer, it was misleading. There was neither a game nor were there thirteen murders. Although, there may have been thirteen suspects; I didn't count.

The story is a typical YA whodunit complete with teens who think they can solve a murder better and faster than law enforcement can.  The adults were caricatures of stereotypical school-employed adults: the stern one, the buddy-buddy one, the crazy one, the immature one, the rule-follower, the rule-breaker, etc. Not only that, but the adults were way too free-spoken with the students in discussing an open murder investigation. Granted, it was a residential private school and not a public school, so teachers and students would have closer relationships there, but still, multiple teachers crossed the line on too many occasions to maintain a believable setting. Similarly, too often the adults accepted a teen character's brush-off answer to a direct question.

The author creates plenty of red herrings to keep the readers guessing. Unfortunately, the book's plot feels a little lopsided; the build-up was overbuilt and long, and the revelation was abrupt and short. I probably will get this book for my high school students because I don't know if they will be as critical as I was about the trite hero-teen-knows-more-than-lame-adults genre. It's a genre for a reason. ⭐⭐⭐

- - - - - - - - - -

A few things included in the story distracted me from just letting the story flow over me. These aren't spoiler alerts, but if you think you'll get them stuck in your head and interrupt your ability to read the story, too, then don't read this paragraph. Luke put both hands on a Pippa's face to kiss her after he just said his hands were most likely bleeding (ew); Luke was racing against time to catch the killer who was probably attacking his next victim, but Luke took the time to wait at a traffic light before crossing the street; and we never do find out what the motel clerk was going to tell Luke about the mysterious customer he was trying to identify.

Book Review: What Beauty There Is

What Beauty There Is
by Cory Anderson
Pub Date: 06 Apr 2021

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I couldn't put this book down. The author told a unique tale with interesting details that I've never read anywhere else. It was refreshing to be surprised and engrossed in spite of the somber subjects. The multiple threads of the story are tightly and expertly wound together. The characters have distinct and believable personalities. The setting was described with chilling results (pun intended.) Even the style of writing, which was quite accessible, had layers of nuance depending on which character was speaking or being spoken about. [Not a spoiler alert, but... I finished the book a few hours ago, and it took me until I started writing this to realize why each chapter was written in two different fonts. So cool!]

An aside that I don't think too many YAs would perceive, but the characters of Doyle and Midge reminded me of the law enforcement characters from the movie "Fargo." It's a testament to the author's writing ability to get a regional accent and speech pattern so right in writing as opposed to an aural medium.  

You'll have to excuse me... I think I'm going to go re-read the story now.

Book Review: Notes from a Young Black Chef (Adapted for Young Adults)

Notes from a Young Black Chef (Adapted for Young Adults)

by Kwame Onwuachi

Pub Date: 13 Apr 2021 

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Kwame Onwuachi had an unusual amount of changes and chances in his life; some he could control, and others were beyond his control. But he used resilience and ambition to find his way from the streets to the sweets to the beets and meats, and his story is a wonderful example for young people to read about someone who chose not to be a victim of his circumstances. 

As an easily accessible read for teens, this adapted version of Notes from a Young Black Chef is a well-told story. The book describes the racism Onwuachi endured with the same grace as he endured it. He was upfront about it and demonstrated a life that rose above the ignorance and didn't succumb to being a victim.

This memoir is being turned into a movie: https://dcist.com/story/19/07/16/kwame-onwuachis-memoir-is-being-made-into-a-movie/

He is also joining Bravo’s Top Chef as a judge to be aired in 2021: https://dcist.com/story/20/09/28/kwame-onwuachi-judge-top-chef/

Book Review: Jelly

Book Review:

Jelly

by Clare Rees

Pub Date: 18 May 2021  

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Mash up "Moby Dick," "Life of Pi," "Lord of the Flies," "The Phantom Tollbooth," and James Thurber's humor, and you'd have "Jelly." I was drawn to the story because of the ridiculousness of the characters' situation and wanted to know how it would all turn out (though, I wouldn't rule out a sequel). 

The characters weren't fully-realized people; we're provided just enough description to keep them from being mixed up with each other, which was OK because the characters weren't 'the story.' Their predicament was 'the story.' Imagine being a survivor of a catastrophic event but finding yourself existing on a humongous jellyfish. Intriguing, right? Of course! The tale of their survival - how they lived, what they ate, what their shelter was, what they wore - all made for a great story.

The only thing I might caution to those who are squeamish about animal cruelty is the way the survivors treated their lifeboat jellyfish, which was rather cruelly. However, given that the jellyfish wouldn't allow them to leave its back, one could understand why the survivors reciprocated with torturous acts.

The reader is never told how the survivors initially ended up on the back of a jellyfish, and at the end of the story, we are left to imagine what the survivors next adventure might be. This tale requires two good imaginations, one from the author ✅ and one from the reader ✅.

Book review: Yesterday Is History

Book review:
Yesterday Is History
by Kosoko Jackson
Pub Date: 02 Feb 2021

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Romantic. Not corny teenage romance from an adult's perspective, but true, selfish, selfless romance. And time travel. And the blurring of societal boundaries. And romance.

I was sorry this story ended but was so glad to have experience it. Andre and Blake and Michael were gay young men whose love triangle was complicated but real. The author didn't exaggerate or stereotype in order for the reader to understand the characters' motivations and feelings. The emotional sensitivity of their situations felt pure. The same is true for the parent:son relationships. Smart, mature young men were still allowed to argue, quarrel and rant against their parents; likewise, the parents were not made out to be clueless adults who couldn't do anything right. These were some of the most real characterizations I've encountered in a YA novel in a long time. 

...Which is kind of funny considering what they went through was out-of-this-world. The time travel portion of the story was handled well in that it didn't leave me wondering, "Huh? How could that be?" In other words, there weren't any Marty McFly moments where Andre could see himself in the past. Those type of time travel scenarios always mess with my ability to concentrate on the story instead of the physics of the moment. 😏  

Jackson wrote a well-crafted story with wonderful characters. I cannot wait to get this into the hands of my high school readers. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐