The Alcatraz Escape

Bertman, Jennifer. The Alcatraz Escape. Henry Holt, 2018

Emily, James, and their friends are going to try an escape room set up by Grizwald himself, set on Alcatraz Island. Once they reach the island, though, there are more mysteries to solve than just the puzzles that are a part of the game. Will they be able to solve the puzzles in time to win the grand prize, and can they do it in time to guarantee that the bookshop receives its large donation?

This is a fantastic middle grade mystery/adventure story, perfect for fans of the previous two installments or Chris Grabenstein's Lemoncello books. The puzzles and the mysterious events keep the reader turning pages to find out what will happen. There is suspense and some mildly scary situations, but this is a clean read that I could wholeheartedly recommend to any child.

What stood out to me the most was a discussion that some of the characters had near the end of the story, where one character says, "If you love something, like a book or a movie, and then you find out the person who created it did something awful or wasn't a very good person--is it still okay to love what they created?" Bertman doesn't provide an answer to this timely question, beyond that "people are complicated," which is certainly true.

I highly recommend this book for kids who like puzzles, for teachers who like to have read-alouds for their classroom, and for those who want their kids to read "clean" stories but still provide them with a challenge.

Recommended for: middle grade and tweens
Red Flags: mild bullying
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Greenglass House, I Kill the Mockingbird

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the publisher for the purposes of review.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Snowsisters

Wilinsky, Tom. Snowsisters. Duet, 2018.

Soph is a rich New Yorker. Tess is from a farm in New Hampshire. The teens room together at a writing conference and together learn more about each others' worlds.

TW: transphobia, homophobia, bullying, misgendering, etc.

Soph and Tess are rooming next to two other girls - Orly and Chris. Chris wants to be an investigative journalist, and when she discovers that Orly is transgender, she decides to investigate; i.e., she digs through Orly's things and spreads rumors to the other girls, trying to turn them against Orly. Never once does she speak with one of the event coordinators or instructors about her problem. This culminates in Chris moving the carrot nose from a snow person to turn it into a carrot penis. There isn't much resolution of this issue; there is an attempt at some sort of restorative justice with Chris and Orly, but as it appears in the last few pages of the book, it mostly falls flat.

The story of Soph and Tess - without the subplot of Orly and Chris - is fine. Soph and Tess come from very different worlds and get to learn about each other through the conference. This plot alone would have made this book fine. However, I take real issue with the transphobia throughout the book. Chris consistently misgenders Orly and is only halfheartedly corrected by some of the other girls. Chris's "come to Jesus" moment at the end does not end with her actually apologizing to Orly; she simply is bothered that no one "warned" her that she was going to have a transgender roommate. The reader is supposed to begin to feel sorry for Chris and this terrible position she was put in, when in fact Chris is the one in a position of power throughout the entire story. I can't in good conscience recommend this book to transgender teen readers. They deserve better.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: transphobia, homophobia (a side character was punched in the face by his father when he came out), misgendering, etc.
Overall Rating: 1/5 stars

Read Instead: If I Was Your Girl, If You Could Be Mine, Beauty Queens

One True Way

Hitchcock, Shannon. One True Way. Scholastic, 2018.

Allie and her mom move to the South after her brother dies in a car accident and her dad separates from her mom. Allie meets Sam at school, and quickly learns that Sam likes girls and that Allie herself also likes girls. But this is 1977, and it's not safe for girls who like girls to advertise this fact. Allie discovers that two of her female teachers are also not just roommates. She and her mom seek advice from their church regarding Allie's sexuality.

What I Liked: The book reads as a solid middle grade story. It's told in a simple matter. Religion is featured prominently but is not mocked.

What I Didn't Like: The 1970s setting makes this read more like a memoir for Generation X adults rather than a book for middle grade students. There are so many things that date this story - Allie's use of a typewriter, the mimeographed notes that Sam receives from a friend, even simple things like Allie's choice to change into a dress before dinner. These date markers almost mark this as historical fiction, but the topic itself rates this as a contemporary book. I think it would have been more successful as a memoir aimed at adults rather than a cute middle grade story with an important message hidden in a very dated wrapper.

Recommended for: adults, really; middle grade
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Annie on My Mind

NOT RECOMMENDED: Miles Away From You

Rutledge, A.B. Miles Away From You. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2018.

Miles fell in love with Vivian, a transgender girl. Vivian attempted suicide and has been on life support for over a year. He takes a trip to Iceland, has sex with lots of people, and deals with the fact that he wants to let Vivian die with dignity while her parents have deadnamed her, taken her off of her hormones, and are continuing to fund her life support.

Why the low rating? This twitter thread by a trans person will help you understand the trans perspective on this book. Also, the main character is not sympathetic, likeable, or relatable (how many teens do you know whose parents can fund a trip to Iceland on a whim?). I could not in good conscience give this book to a transgender teen, an asexual teen, or a nonbinary teen. There are much better books available.

Red Flags: transphobic language is just the start
Overall Rating: 1/5 stars

Read Instead: Autoboyography, Mask of Shadows, Noteworthy, Tash Hearts Tolstoy

A Closed and Common Orbit

Chambers, Becky. A Closed and Common Orbit. Hodder & Stoughton, 2016.

Lovelace was supposed to be the AI aboard the ship, however, due to events in the first book in this series, her program was placed into a body instead and she has been sent to live with Pepper. Pepper is a human who has a complicated past as well, and this book alternates chapters of Pepper's past with the story of Lovelace adapting to being in a body instead of a ship.

That description makes this book sound really dry, which it definitely is not. Sidra (the name Lovelace chooses for herself) has to deal with all the overwhelming sounds and sights of the beings around her all the time, and she has to adjust to being confined to a body with certain programming protocols (for example, she can't lie). In addition, she's not actually allowed to inhabit a body, so her very existence is illegal. Add that to the descriptions of several alien species and their various languages, habits, festivals, etc., and you get a fantastic mix that's perfect for any Star Trek fan.

On top of this we have Pepper's story. Pepper was bred to be an employee in a factory. She and her fellow workers (it's never clear if they are all clones or whatnot) never see the sunlight and never interact with anyone else. When there's an explosion at the factory, Pepper doesn't even know what to make of the "big blue ceiling" she sees outside the walls. But she escapes and ends up living in an abandoned shuttle, which she works on repairing so she can escape. These sequences are equal parts The Martian, combined with any "escape from a cult" type story you can imagine, because Pepper doesn't know anything about the outside world.

Bottom Line: This book is positively fantastic, and my only complaint is that I've finished reading it and the next one isn't out until later this year. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: teens, adults
Red Flags: Pepper's language develops around the time she turns 14 - she learns to swear and therefore uses her new language abilities extensively
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars