Today’s edition of Friday Favorites is all about books! Because I want to be the best writer I can be, I read–a lot. So today I am sharing a few of my most recent reads with you in hopes that it will inspire you (or your kiddos) to read something new. I have divided the books into categories, but I will be the first to admit that I love every single one of these books and am sure you will, too.
Children’s Books
The War That Saved My Life
This book is a beautiful historical fiction that takes you to England during WWII. The main character is a strong girl who overcomes incredible odds. This story focuses more on relationships and overcoming adversity and does not address the Nazi hatred aspect of WWII at all. Though war is the backdrop of the story and makes some of the situations a little more poignant, this beautiful story could have taken place anywhere. I came to love the characters (most of them) and rode the roller coaster of emotions all the way from the beginning to the end. If you are looking for a shorter book that still has a substantial storyline, you won’t go wrong with this beautiful story.
This book is great to read along with kids (bonus points if you can do varied British accents—I can’t!), but a 5th grader would enjoy this story on his/her own, too.
Long Way Down
Over the summer I listened to a presentation from Blue Willow Bookshop. The presenter mentioned some of the best new books in kidlit. I took tedious notes. One of the books she recommended was Long Way Down from Jason Reynolds. She pointed out the book cover. It is covered with awards! As if that doesn’t sell a novel, her description did: The main character’s brother gets shot and the main character finds his brother’s gun and goes out seeking revenge. The elevator stops at each floor and admits a new ghost from the main character’s past. It’s sort of a spin on A Christmas Carole. I read it in an afternoon–after my kids came home from school. It was good.
This would be a fantastic read for a middle schooler. There are a few profane words used (none seem to be just sprinkled in for decoration) and the topic is heavy, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this with younger kids.
I also wouldn’t recommend this one as an audio book or as a read-aloud because the book is written in verse and often the form of the writing adds more meaning to the words on the page. The format was good in the ebook copy I checked out from our library, though, so ebooks are a viable option, too.
It All Comes Down to This
This story turns stereotypes a little sideways. The main character is a young Black girl in Los Angeles whose father is a judge and the family is well-off. They live in a predominantly White neighborhood during the Civil Rights Movement. If you thought that the Civil Rights Movement was only relevant in the South, this book will teach you a thing or two. It really makes you think. Even though the main character is young, there is so much an adult can take away from this story.
I would recommend this for children as young as 8 or 9, though the main character does get her period in the story, so if you have a younger son and you haven’t had a conversation on that topic before, you may want to be prepared. I just don’t want to blindside you! This story works as a read-aloud or read-alone book. I like that it encourages conversations about race. This is a topic near and dear to my heart!
The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown
Crystal Allen is a local author, so that was my initial motivation to read her novel. Y’all, I love Mya Tibbs! She is a spunky girl in Bluebonnet, TX, who loves all things cowgirl–oh, and btw, she’s Black. I love so many things about this book that I can’t pick one favorite, so I’m going to share a few.
1-You know that the characters are of different races, but you don’t feel any boring old stereotypes at all.
2-The story teaches a BEAUTIFUL lesson about true friendship. Even though the main character is a girl, this is one of those stories I want my boys to read and I expect they’ll enjoy it.
3-Mya is so authentic! She’s like a modern-day Ramona or Fudge!
This would be a very fun book to read-aloud. If you have strong readers, they could read this book as 7 year-olds. There is nothing offensive or adult in this book, but it is not a wimpy book in any way. Whether read aloud or read alone, this book will take each reader on a fun-filled ride.
See You in the Cosmos
I taught 8th grade. So sometimes when I read a book and the author expects me to believe that the kid wrote something, I am not convinced. The perception is too deep or the thoughts are too well-formed, you know? That was not the case with See You in the Cosmos. The whole book is basically a transcription of tape recordings produced by the main character. The author does an AMAZING job of capturing the main character’s voice and keeping the descriptions and the emotions on point. My heart breaks right along with the main character, sometimes before the main character because I can see and understand what is happening even when he doesn’t quite understand. That is hard to do and Jack Cheng does it masterfully in this book. Though it is labeled as kidlit, this book is appealing to adults and I think it speaks of adulthood in eye-opening ways.
This book is a bit longer and though nothing is too “adult” in it, it does take a more mature mind to grasp the situations the main character faces. Because of that, I think this would work better either for older readers (like 7th grade+) or as a read-aloud so that you could help fill in the blanks with your child(ren).
YA Books
Dear Martin
This book broke my heart. Seriously. The main character is a smart, Black, high school-aged boy who attends a prestigious private school in Atlanta on scholarship. The story takes a very close look at the disparity between those with and those without in our country, specifically people of color. The author masterfully includes classroom conversations within the plot that teach very valuable and necessary lessons to EVERYONE. My only regret is that is a bit more profanity in this book. Because of the language, I am recommending it for 8th grade+, though I think that every adult should read this and teach the important concepts taught within this books pages to every child, long before they are old enough to read this story. It’s THAT important.
I guess if you wanted to read this book aloud you could edit the language as you went and read the book to a sixth or seventh grader. I’ll leave that up to your discretion. Even if you give it to an older child to read, PLEASE read it, too. There are such powerful conversations to be had from the content in this book.
Love & Luck
This is very different from Dear Martin, but still carries an important warning to parents. We are raising kids in a challenging time, with technology and opportunities that we couldn’t have even imagined when we were kids. Our kids are under pressure all the time. This story has so many fun elements: a trip to Ireland, “excerpts” from a guidebook called “Ireland for the Heartbroken: An Unconventional Guide to the Emerald Isle, third edition,” and a spunky main character who learns a lifetime’s worth about relationships and resilience in one summer. Even though this is technically a YA novel, it is fun enough for adults, too, without any concerns if your child reads over your shoulder or listens along to your audiobook.
I will give you a little cautionary warning that if your younger children are listening along, there may be questions near the end, but I think it is something that needs to be addressed within every family, whether you are a parent of boys or girls. This is one of those books that could be fun read aloud or read alone, but my guess is that when your child is of the age that this book is appealing, she won’t want to read aloud with you. Audiobooks on a roadtrip could work!
Adult Books
Girl, Wash Your Face
If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ve already heard me mention this book. Y’all. It is so good. I love that she so unabashedly puts herself out there and affirms to women everywhere that they are not alone. I first heard about Rachel Hollis’ book when she came on to an Awesome with Alison podcast. I loved that episode (It’s episode 50, btw)! (I’m embedding it below if you want to check it out. You’re welcome!)
I had so many takeaways from what she was saying and the story of her book hitting the NYT bestseller list was icing on the cake for me. The full title of the book is Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be. I love that! The book is broken up into 20 chapters: all lies that we tell ourselves or have told ourselves or may tell ourselves. Then she talks about how those lies presented themselves in her life, followed by a few tips for how to overcome them.
If you are a man, you may not enjoy this book as much, though you may appreciate insight into the mind of a beautiful woman. But if you are a woman, you will find that many–if not all–of the chapters resonate with you on some form.
Bird by Bird
To be fair, this is a book on writing. If you are not interested in writing, you will not get as much out of this book. But her writing is so good, I think that a mathematician who only ever works with numbers all day would still enjoy and take away fantastic thought nuggets from this book. A friend recommended this book to me over the summer as we sat at a table in a very hip gelato and coffee place. She enjoyed her coffee and I inhaled my gelato. It was the perfect place to talk about writing. And though people recommend books to me often, I have thanked this friend numerous times for her recommendation because it is–and may always be–exactly what I need.
Whew! There you have it, friends! A few book favorites. I hope at least one of these brings you joy. I have made each title a link, but instead of linking to Amazon as I have always done in the past, I am linking to Indiebound.org. This organization will help you purchase the book locally in a book store near you. Book stores do so much for communities and for authors! I hope you’ll consider buying a book from your local bookstore the next time you’re in the market for a good read.
