Review: Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

Jay Coles. Hachette: New York, 2018. E-book.
Rating: Decent

Trigger Warning: Police Brutality, Profanity: F-bombs 

Goodreads Summary: When Marvin Johnson's twin, Tyler, goes to a party, Marvin decides to tag along to keep an eye on his brother. But what starts as harmless fun turns into a shooting, followed by a police raid.

The next day, Tyler has gone missing, and it's up to Marvin to find him. But when Tyler is found dead, a video leaked online tells an even more chilling story: Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer. Terrified as his mother unravels and mourning a brother who is now a hashtag, Marvin must learn what justice and freedom really mean.

If I were to judge this book by its cover alone, I would give it a raving five stars. Sadly, that is not the case. There were a few things I liked about the book and plenty I did not, actually, down-right hated. So, for this review, I'm deviating from my normal review style and using a bullet format.

Review: Peas and Carrots by Tanita S. Davis

Tanita S. Davis. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 2016.  279 pp.

Rating: Decent

I debated whether to write a review for this book mainly because the writing is unremarkable and it was just an okay read to me; however, in subject matter this is a narrative that needed to be written. Oftentimes when we think of foster children, our minds are automatically wired to visualize children of color despite the stark reality that children of all races and ethnicities flow in and out of foster care trapped within an imperfect system. This story had to be written if only to demonstrate that black families foster more than just black children. It's important that I reiterate this because a few months back, a friend asked a question that I took exception to. For a brief moment, she shedded her friend cloak for that of a stranger. "How are you going to respond when someone asks you why you chose a white child when there are so many black children in the system?" is the question she posed to me.

To understand this question, you must know that I'm a single Black woman with no biological kids who is now fostering a white teenage girl. There is so much I could say in response to her question, but the bottom line is that ALL children need love, a loving home, and a safe living environment. Period. End of discussion.

Months later my friend confessed that finally she understood that it wasn't about race, but about a child who yearned for a stable, loving home and a woman who has always wanted to be a mother and has an abundance of love to give.

With that said...on to the book review.

Review: The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

Lilliam Rivera. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017.
Rating: Decent

Goodreads Summary: Pretty in Pink comes to the South Bronx in this bold and romantic coming-of-age novel about dysfunctional families, good and bad choices, and finding the courage to question everything you ever thought you wanted—from debut author Lilliam Rivera.

THINGS/PEOPLE MARGOT HATES:

Mami, for destroying my social life

Papi, for allowing Junior to become a Neanderthal

Junior, for becoming a Neanderthal

This supermarket

Everyone else

After “borrowing” her father's credit card to finance a more stylish wardrobe, Margot Sanchez suddenly finds herself grounded. And by grounded, she means working as an indentured servant in her family’s struggling grocery store to pay off her debts.

Review: How Wendy Redbird Dancing Survived the Dark Ages of Nought by Lyn Fairchild Hawks

Lyn Fairchild Hawks. Self-Published, 2013. pp. 268.
Rating: Decent + 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙


Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse/Rape

Some months back, a couple of weeks after I'd finished this book, a student who was new to the youth group remarked that she always wears a jacket because she's constantly cold. I then asked if she was anemic and she said that it was her security blanket...that it protected her from many things. Being extremely thin, I wondered if she was self-conscious of her body or was she possibly hiding/shielding herself from somebody or somebodies; however, we were interrupted before I could question her further. Not only did this conversation call up images of Linus from Peanuts dragging his blue blanket—which could morph into various objects when needed, such as a lasso or shepherd's head covering—everywhere, but it also caused me to think of Wendy Redbird Dancing with Michael Jackson, greasy hair, and kohl eyeliner as her security blankets.

Review: The Tyrant's Daughter by J.C. Carleson

J.C. Carleson. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2014. Ebook.
Rating: OMG

Complimentary e-galley provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

BEWARE: POLITICAL CHESS = DANGER...SOMEONE ALWAYS GETS BURNED

"My brother is the King of Nowhere. 
    This fact doesn't matter to anyone except my family--a rapidly shrinking circle of people who Used to Be."

Whoa! One word...hooked. From the first sentence, I knew this story was going to take me for a ride. On the heels of completing Finding the Dragon Lady, I began The Tyrant's Daughter.* Though both stories are different, they are yet the same—inextricably linked by an unbreakable bond created by the United States government's interference in their country's dynamic; thus, changing their lives forever. Instead of the bygone era of Indochina, I am transported to a small, present-day Middle Eastern country torn apart by civil war.

Review: When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds

Jason Reynolds. New York: Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014. 240 pp.
Rating: OMG

Rarely, do I come across a young adult novel to which I greatly identify. A novel that speaks of some of my childhood experiences while uttering the words of my friends, schoolmates, and family.  A story that opens with one of those out-of-left field questions that I was famous for asking.

Ali lives by one word—loyalty. This sixteen-year old latchkey kid is fiercely loyal to his family and friends. Shying away from the trouble in his neighborhood, Ali spends his time boxing, watching his little sister, hanging out with Noodles and Needles, but mainly bailing Noodles out of his messes. Although Ali is usually the level-headed one of the group, he pushes for them to attend a party catering to an older crowd. However, the good time brought with it tragic consequences.

Review: Almost Home by Joan Bauer

Joan Bauer. New York: Viking, 2012. 264 pp.
Rating: Striking

Being a kid is tough. There's no need to add parent/child role reversals to adolescence. Sometimes, however, it is inevitable. No one knows this more than Sugar Mae Cole.

Sugar lives with her flighty mother, Reba, who aspires to be a grand Southern Belle. Her father, Mr. Leeland, as Sugar refers to him, is an absent parental figure constantly scouring the country seeking his next big win. In her father's stead, grandfather King Cole, showers Sugar with love, support, and lots of sage advice chocked full of life lessons.

Life is color. Sugar Mae Cole, greeting card writer extraordinaire, artfully illustrates that it's whatever color you choose to paint it. Early

Review: When the Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer

Caridad Ferrer. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2010. 324 pp.
Rating: Decent

Book Blurb: Dance is Soledad Reyes’s life. About to graduate from Miami’s Biscayne High School for the Performing Arts, she plans on spending her last summer at home teaching in a dance studio, saving money, and eventually auditioning for dance companies. That is, until fate intervenes in the form of fellow student Jonathan Crandall who has what sounds like an outrageous proposition: Forget teaching. Why not spend the summer performing in the intense environment of the competitive drum and bugle corps? The corps is going to be performing Carmen, and the opportunity to portray the character of the sultry gypsy proves too tempting for Soledad to pass up, as well as the opportunity to spend more time with Jonathan, who intrigues her in a way no boy ever has before.

Review: Crush. Candy. Corpse. by Sylvia Mcnicoll

Sylvia Mcnicoll. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 2012. Ebook.
Rating: Decent + 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

Six years ago, I encountered a frail-looking woman that resembled my grandmother. That cannot be her. That cannot be my fussy, sassy, grandma Jurnise Truitt. I just saw her a few months ago and she was exactly the way I've always known her to be--nosy, cooking, and strong. That day marked the beginning of my denial. My disbelief that my able-bodied grandmother's brain was becoming fogged, scrambled...hers but no longer her own to control. Progressively losing her short-term memory, she forgot to eat triggering faint spells and rapid weight loss. As the Dementia onslaught continued, my grandmother's disposition changed. She became hard to manage and wandered about her apartment at night, not much unlike the residents Sunny encounters at Paradise Manor. My family is blessed that my grandmother still recognizes her children, can feed herself, possesses her lively personality, and walk with supervision. Yet, waving goodbye to my grandma at the nursing home instead of her 2- bedroom domain, my home away from home, breaks my heart a little more each time.