Quiver

Watts, Julia. Quiver. Frontlist, 2018.

Libby is the oldest of her family's six children. They live on a remote farm where their mother home schools the children and their father works at his pest control business. They are a Quiverfull family, and thus they believe that the father is the head of the home just as god is the head of the church. Zo just moved next door to Libby. Zo's family is also home schooled, but Zo is genderfluid and her (when pronouns are used for Zo, they are always feminine, so I will continue that practice here) family is vegetarian, feminist, and socialist. Zo's father and mother share equally in parenting duties, neither one promising to "obey" the other one. When Zo and Libby meet, they become fast friends because they are close in age and there's no one else around for miles. But will they be able to overcome their differences and continue their friendship?

Having been raised in a family eerily similar to Libby's and now living much more like Zo, this book was absolutely right up my alley. I appreciated the way the author dealt with Libby's family's beliefs without ridiculing or belittling them. The descriptions of the way the fundamentalist family functioned - from the purity vows of the children to spanking Libby when she disobeyed - definitely rang true. Zo's family also seemed genuine and accurate. I was a bit disappointed that Zo's gender fluidity wasn't given more focus, but this wasn't a story of Zo coming out as gender fluid, and Zo didn't seem to be bothered with people reading her as female. The ending seemed a bit rushed, and while I was glad it was a happy ending, it seemed to be a bit too neatly tied up in a bow to be reality. If this is a stand-alone novel, though, and not the first in a series, it was good to give some closure to the readers. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: Libby's younger sister has some rather "biblical" terms to use in regards to Zo's admission of a past relationship with a girl. Libby's father spanks her with his belt (and requires her to lift her nightgown for this beating). He also storms into the hospital and threatens violence toward several characters.
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu; Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purpose of review.

This Story is a Lie

Pollock, Tom. This Story is a Lie. Soho Teen, 2018.

Peter is a math genius but also deals with an anxiety disorder; his sister has always been his rock, his protector. When they attend an awards banquet in honor of their mom and she is stabbed and Peter is kidnapped, Peter has to decide what is the truth and whom he can trust.

I can definitely recommend this book to teens who enjoy suspenseful stories that are action-packed and compelling to read. This was a difficult book to put down, even though I guessed at a lot of the plot twists before they happened. I don't think teens will likely guess the ending before it happens, and teens who enjoy crime procedural shows like Criminal Minds will likely enjoy this story as well.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: violence, bullying, language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Naturals, The Rules for Disappearing, Boy Nobody

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of reveiw.

The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden

Glaser, Karina. The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2018

Four of the five siblings are at home for the summer, and they are about to tear each other's hair out when one of their neighbors is hospitalized and they decide to create a "secret garden" to help that neighbor recover upon their return home. Thus begins a summer of hijinx as they attempt to clean up a plot of land and acquire plants and tools on a very limited budget.

This is an adorably clean read, perfect for a summer family road trip or a classroom read-aloud. The four featured siblings are quite distinct from each other, yet united in their desire to help their neighbor. The story definitely has a Disney-esque happy ending, but that doesn't detract from the satisfactory story. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Lotterys Plus One, The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, The Penderwicks
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Gift of Dark Hollow

Larwood, Kieran. The Gift of Dark Hollow. Faber Faber, 2017.

The rabbits are at war with some evil borg-like creatures that take rabbits and turn them into monstrous part-machines. Podkin and his siblings are living in hiding, but they learn that there is a special gift that has been hidden. If they can acquire the gift, then they can forge some weapons and possible defeat their enemies. But there is a long journey between their hiding place and that of the gift.

This is a perfect gift for fans of fantasy involving talking animals such as the Redwall series. The story is intense at times but not overly violent or scary. There is some great world-building in this story and the characters are well-developed. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: minor fantasy violence
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Watership Down, Redwall, the Warriors series

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Illegal

 

Colfer, Eoin. Illegal. Hodder Children's Books, 2017.


This is the tale of a boy and his brother as they traverse Africa in an attempt to find safety in Europe. With powerful illustrations, this story alternates between the current situation, as the boy travels with a group across the Mediterranean Sea on a flimsy raft, and the previous situation, where the boy travels across Africa to find his brother and sister and reunite as a family. The graphic novel presentation makes this story accessible to a younger audience, and while the story isn't a happy one, it is told without undue amounts of graphic violence as well. Recommended.

Recommended for: tweens and teens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: War Brothers, Escape from Aleppo

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.