Drawing Deena by Hena Khan, 240 pages. Salaam Reads, Simon and Schuster, 2024 $18.  Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G  BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE  APPEALS TO SEVERAL  12yo Deena is an artist. She loves to draw, especially sketches of her family and friends. Her parents seem to have money problems (she hears them arguing at night) and she's worried she is part of the problem. Her dentist has recommended she get an expensive mouth guard because she grinds her teeth at night and every morning she wakes up feeling sick, some days it carries ..read more

Wander in the Dark by Jumata Emill, 383 pages. Delacorte Press, 2024. $20  Language: R (100 swears 67 'f');  Mature Content: R (reference to sex and drug use); PG-13 Violence received PG-13 because there was murder and some fighting, including blood being mentioned, but none was described in graphic detail. There was also discussion of owning enslaved people.  BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL  APPEALS TO MANY  17yo Amir does not want a relationship with his half-brother 16yo Marcel and the tension between them runs deep, but he shows up to Marcel’s birthday party on ..read more

Ready, Set, Dough by Kelly J. Baptist165 pages. Crown, 2023. $17.  Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G;  BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE  APPEALS TO SOME  When her teacher announces a cookie dough sale, 6th grader Zoe is desperate to win, because first prize is a brand-new laptop. Zoe desperately needs one, but her parents can’t afford it. She’s even willing to neglect her friends to achieve her goal. I liked this book. Zoe is spunky and not afraid to go after what she wants. She is positive and happy, but she really wants to win. She has to w ..read more

What is the Story of Jurassic World by Jim Gigliotti illustrated by Dede Putra, 108 pages. CHAPTER BOOK NON-FICTION Penguin Workshop, 2023. $8. 9780593383483  BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL  APPEALS TO SOME  The author takes us into the story of the Jurassic World movies. He begins by providing background information on paleontology and the Jurassic Age. He mentions early books and exhibitions about dinosaurs. The rest of the book is a summary of each of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movies. I found it interesting that Michael Crichton found his inspiration for t ..read more

Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley, 400 pages. Simon and Schuster, 2024. $20.  Language: R (64 swears 11 'f'); Mature Content: PG (References to weed, scary situations) Violence: PG-13 (Bloody beatings with some significant injuries, zombies attacking people, battle scenes with weapons resulting in injuries and deaths)  BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - OPTIONAL  APPEALS TO: SEVERAL  17 year old Sid Spencer grew up feeling self-conscious as one of the only Asians in town, but also feeling rather ordinary and inconsequential, especially in a town that is ..read more

The Darkness Rises by Stacy Stokes, 336 pages. PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers, 2024. $20  Language: R (79 swears 13 'f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (underage drinking) Violence:  PG-13 (school shooting mentioned) BUYING ADVISORY:  HS - OPTIONAL  APPEALS TO SEVERAL 17yo Whitney sees a dark cloud forming over people who are in danger and can be helped by her. Her grandmother has the same ability and gave Whitney three rules to follow; rules that are meant to keep Whitney safe and free from the guilt of saving someone who ends up ha ..read more

Unbreakable, the Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code by Rebecca E. F. Barone 272 pages. NON FICTION Macmillan Publishing Group LLC, 2022. $20  Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G;  Violence: G; BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE  APPEALS TO SOME  The war over codes during the Second World War began in Poland with a group of men especially selected to help protect their country from German aggression. Marian Rejewski, Henry Zygalski, and Jerzy Rozycki, cryptology students at Poznan University, risked their lives and dedicated their time to unraveling t ..read more

There Was a Hole by Adam Lehraupt illustrated by Carrie O'Neill PICTURE BOOK Sleeping Bear Press, 2022. $18. 9781534111226  BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS - ADVISABLE  APPEALS TO SOME  Lily has a hole in the middle of her chest. Nothing helps it, and it just keeps growing. Then, Lily stops trying. She stops playing with her friends, and stops trying in school. That's when Thomas tells her he has a hole like hers too, but he has patches to help repair it. Soon Lily learns to make her own patches by going outside, playing with her dog, and spending time with friends and family. S ..read more

Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer, 336 pages. PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2024. $15  Language: R (75 swears 7 'f'); Mature Content: PG (kissing, mention of underage drinking); Violence: R (repeated bloody violence and deaths) BUYING ADVISORY:  HS - OPTIONAL  APPEALS TO SEVERAL  Apocalyptic USA! The Tick is rampant and turning people into zombies but there’s a new medicine that turns the effects around, as long as it’s taken consistently. 17 yo Mara has turned and then been given the medicine so she’s now c ..read more

Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage by Lisa Rogers, illustrated by Il Sung Na PICTURE BOOK NON-FICTION Anne Schwartz Books (Random House), 2024 $19.00 9780593646625 G  BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE  APPEALS TO AVERAGE  Born in 1912, John Cage thought that all sounds were beautiful - not just the sounds of a professional orchestra, but also city sounds, country sounds - and the sounds heard in silence. Many people did not have his quirk of imagination - audience members and even orchestras were known to walk out of his performances, but he persisted.  Listenin ..read more