Today, I’m reviewing four MG reads and a YA dystopian. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction!
Two Degrees by Alan Gratz Published by Scholastic Press on October 4, 2022
Genres: Action & Adventure, Contemporary, Middle Grade
Pages: 384
Source: B&N ARC
My rating:
Fire. Ice. Flood. Three climate disasters.
Four kids fighting for their lives.
Akira is riding her horse in the California woods when a wildfire sparks--and grows scarily fast. How can she make it to safety when there are flames everywhere?
Owen and his best friend, George, are used to seeing polar bears on the snowy Canadian tundra. But when one bear gets way too close for comfort, do the boys have any chance of surviving?
Natalie hunkers down at home as a massive hurricane barrels toward Miami. When the floodwaters crash into her house, Natalie is dragged out into the storm--with nowhere to hide.
Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie are all swept up in the devastating effects of climate change. They are also connected in ways that will shock them--and could alter their destinies forever.
Two Degrees is a heart-pounding climate change adventure, perfect for kids who loved the I Survived Series and are ready for a read that takes them to the next level. The story follows four kids caught up in three different climate change disasters. Akira is trying to escape a wildfire, while Natalie is swept up in a hurricane, and Owen and George are fleeing a polar bear whose habitat has been disrupted due to the melting icecaps. The book rotates between the three storylines, often ending on a cliffhanger between changing perspectives; which means, of course, that kids will be desperate to keep turning the pages to find out what happened. It isn’t until the very end of the book that the kids all come together and discover some interesting connections between them.
Kids who are overly sensitive might not be ready for this one because the characters witness some of the very real and horrific consequences of these types of disasters. But for those adrenaline junkie readers out there, this story is perfect! Gratz also includes themes like family conflict, friendship turmoil, and wealth distribution, all while liberally weaving in messages about climate change and how we can all be a part of the solution.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via the bookstore I work at. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
School Trip by Jerry Craft Illustrator: Jerry Craft
Published by Quill Tree Books on April 4, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Pages: 247
Source: NetGalley
My rating:
New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft is back with the newest adventures of Jordan, Drew, Liam, and all the characters that fans first met in New Kid, winner of the Newbery Award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award! In this full-color contemporary graphic novel, the gang from Riverdale Academy Day is heading to Paris, for an international education like you've never seen before ...
Jordan, Drew, Liam, Maury, and their friends from Riverdale Academy Day School are heading out on a school trip to Paris. As an aspiring artist himself, Jordan can't wait to see all the amazing art in the famous City of Lights.
But when their trusted faculty guides are replaced at the last minute, the school trip takes an unexpected--and hilarious--turn. Especially when trying to find their way around a foreign city ends up being almost as tricky as navigating the same friendships, fears, and differences that they struggle with at home.
Will Jordan and his friends embrace being exposed to a new language, unfamiliar food, and a different culture? Or will they all end up feeling like the "new kid"?
Don't miss the two hilarious and powerful companion novels by Jerry Craft, New Kid and Class Act!
A fun third installment in this series that focuses on a class trip to Paris where lots of things go wrong. As always in Craft’s graphic novels, there are some fantastic observations about race, class, and privilege, and Craft also manages to make points about book banning in this one. The trip itself is chaotic, and one of the students has to learn some hard lessons about why his racist and downright aggressive behaviors are not okay. Kids who loved the first two books will surely enjoy this new adventure with characters they’ve already grown to love.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
The Guardian Test by Christina Soontornvat Illustrator: Kevin Hong
Series: Legends of Lotus Island #1
Published by Scholastic Press on March 7, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 160
Source: B&N ARC
My rating:
From two-time Newbery honor recipient Christina Soontornvat comes a compelling new young middle grade fantasy series for readers who love stories about animals, magic, and kids like them embracing their power to change the world.
Young Plum is shocked to discover that she’s been accepted to the Guardian Academy on Lotus Island, an elite school where kids learn how to transform into Guardians, magical creatures who are sworn to protect the natural world. The Guardian masters teach Plum and her friends how to communicate with animals and how to use meditation to strengthen their minds and bodies. All the kids also learn to fight, so they can protect the defenseless if needed.
To her dismay, Plum struggles at school. While her classmates begin to transform into amazing creatures, Plum can’t even seem to magic up a single feather! If she can’t embrace her inner animal form soon, she’ll have to leave school ― and lose the first group of real friends she’s ever known.
The Guardian Test is a perfect introduction to fantasy for younger MG readers! The book follows Plum, a young girl who is thrown into a strange new world when she’s accepted into the Guardian Academy and has to train to become a shapeshifting protector of the natural world when she’s not sure she can be anything but an ordinary girl. And first she has to master her own mind, a task that seems more than daunting to a girl who can’t stop her thoughts from wandering away from her. Some of the mysteries of Lotus Island are set in motion in this first book, but kids will have to tune into future books to find out how it all unfolds (book two comes out in July, so they won’t have to wait long).
At the bookstore I work at, I often get parents who come in with their young kids wanting to get them interested in fantasy, but a lot of the typical fantasy books are just too long and complicated for those younger readers. This seems like a perfect fit!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via the bookstore I work at. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Global by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin Illustrator: Giovanni Rigano
Published by Sourcebooks Young Readers on April 11, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Pages: 144
Source: The Publisher
My rating:
From New York Times bestselling author Eoin Colfer and the team behind the Artemis Fowl graphic novels and bestselling, acclaimed graphic novel Illegal comes a compelling and timely story that follows two courageous children as they face the effects of climate change.
Time is running out for Sami and Yuki.
Sami and his grandfather live in a village along the Indian Ocean. They earn their living by fishing. But the ocean is rising and each day they bring back fewer and fewer fish.
Yuki lives in the far north of Canada where warming temperature are melting the ice. Polar bears have less food to hunt and are wandering into town looking for something to eat. Yuki is determined to do something to help the bears.
Apparently I’ve been interested in climate change stories lately, because this is another book that focuses on the ways climate change is affecting both the environment and humanity. The story follows Yuki, a Canadian girl who wants to photograph a local bear and prove her suspicions that it’s a grolar bear (a cross between a polar bear and a grizzly that only exists due to overlapping territories) and Sami, a climate change refugee on the other side of the ocean whose life has been upended more than once by the increasingly savage cyclones. The vivid illustrations bring the dangerous situations these kids encounter to life. I found myself engrossed in both of their storylines, and I loved the addition of Yuki’s adorable dog, who helps her stave off both wildlife and nature. This story is as captivating as it is thought-provoking!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
The Stranded by Sarah Daniels Series: Stranded #1
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on January 3, 2023
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Pages: 470
Source: NetGalley
My rating:
Snowpiercer meets The Hunger Games in a gripping near-future dystopian.
Welcome to the Arcadia.
Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States - a leftover piece of a fractured USA.
For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.
When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever . . .
I was hooked as soon as I heard the intriguing concept of this book—a cruise ship turned refugee camp that has become its own micro-society. The dystopian setting shows a post-Civil-war US that is now split into two countries, which of course provokes thoughts about the state of our own divided nation. And the story also reflects themes of the handling of immigrants and refugees, all while catching the reader up in the action of a rebellion that does not go according to plan. The book is told from three points of view, a boy who is directly involved in the rebellion, a girl who is unknowingly swept up in the conflict, and a ship security officer who is bound and determined to crush anyone who even thinks of sowing discord and ruining his plans to finally make his way back to dry land. When I was finished reading, I was ready to pick up book two and find out what happens next! Looks like I’ll only have to wait until July?
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
I was pleasantly surprised by The Stranded, as well! Hopefully Book 2 is just as good or better. 🙂
I really like Alan Gratz and need to read all his books! I liked The Stranded. I’m wondering if book 2 for us is July, or if that is for the country it was originally published in? But I’m ready for book 2! The graphic novels you have listed here I have on my order list for next year for my students, even high school students like those if they are MG, they don’t care! Great reviews!
Yeah, I’m not sure about the release date. It didn’t occur to me that it might be another country – that’s a good point. Either way, I’m eager for it!
I can definitely see high schoolers reading the graphic novels. They’re not little kiddish at all.
I have not read (or heard) of any of them so thanks for putting them on my radar.
Karen @For What It’s Worth