Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

Summary:

Jacqueline Woodson's novel-in-verse explores how a family moves forward when their glory days have passed and the cost of professional sports on Black bodies.

For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he's as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ's house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ's mom explains it's because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that--but it doesn't make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can't remember it. And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?

Review:

These books in verse are killing it! This is such a short, little book. But, it packs such punch! I read it basically in one sitting –while I was coloring my hair! And I let the dye sit a little longer so I could finish this book. I knew I was going to like this book because I love Jacqueline Woodson, but I wasn’t expecting to get so sucked into the story because football is not exactly my thing. My husband and I lost power on Superbowl Sunday, and I was mostly upset because it was too dark to take a picture of the painting I just made and I couldn’t post it to Instagram until later…You get the idea.

Any way, it wasn’t really about football. It was about family and learning to live with someone who is slowly forgetting more and more. It was also a friendship story. I read so many great girl friendship stories. It was really nice to read about a strong group of guy friends who were all there for each other through everything.

It was interesting reading this through today’s lens because I already know about CTE. I watched a movie about it. It must have been so scary for families going through this, not having any of that knowledge. Though, it was fun to go back in time to 2000, and reminisce a little.

What really made this book so remarkable was the writing. ZJ writes songs. His songs help him get through the day to day with his dad who is declining, but also he just constantly has a beat in his head. So, the book being in verse not only fits for the author’s writing style, but it fits for the main character. You feel like you can almost sing parts of it out loud. Some of the conversations ZJ has with his father, some of the songs, you can almost hear coming off the pages.

I loved this book. I found it powerful, at times very sad, and at other times extraordinarily hopeful. It’s small, but mighty. I give it a 10/10.

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Summary from Goodreads:

International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.

If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison.

Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav’s got everything under control.

Until, that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father.

Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it’s not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he’s different.

When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can't just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He’ll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.

Review:

Angie Thomas books are wonderful. I will read everything she writes. I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the prequel to The Hate You Give. And then I was surprised again to see how young Star’s parents were. I thought a book about her father would take place a couple decades before this one. But no, her parents were kids when they had their first kids. And reading about them made for a very good story.

I didn’t love Mav like I loved Star. There wasn’t this immediate connection for me. Maybe it’s because our lives are so far removed from each other. I felt sympathy for him, and my heart broke for him a few times, especially over Dre. He has more battles to fight than Star does, and you can see how she comes from him, from both her parents really.

I think maybe part of my disconnect was the fact that the book was as prequel. I knew what was going to happen. Most of the “surprises” for Mav were not surprises for me because I remember The Hate You Give so strongly. That being said, I still read this effortlessly and quickly. The characters felt real. I loved getting to know the background of the Kings, and Mav’s relationship with his father.

The book lightly brushes up on topics I’ve been reading non fiction books about for the past year: racism, prison, drugs, gangs, and a system made to make black men feel like they have no other choices. But, it’s not a book about those things necessarily. It’s more about family and growing up. The Hate You Give tackles the topic of racism a lot more specifically. This book handles more of the deep-rooted, long lasting side effects of it all. And you can’t help but hope for more for these characters who try so hard to achieve for better.

The way Thomas writes grief is so powerful, and I found myself not crying when a death immediately happened, but later, when it came in a wave Mav couldn’t escape. The author understands what it means to feel loss. All in all, I really liked this book. It didn’t have the same impact for me as The Hate You Give, but it was still really good. The topics, the characters, and the story are so real and so compelling, I can’t stop thinking about them. I give it a 9/10.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Summary from Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption.

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Review:

This is what I want in a YA book. I’ve been craving this for months, not really even knowing it. A book, that keeps you up late at night turning pages and has you thinking about it long after you’ve finished it. What a fun read! Just when you think you’ve seen all you possibly can with Greek mythology, think again. Bracken comes up with her own mythology, her own rules and games for the gods.

And this is dark, a whole lot darker than Percy Jackson Greek mythology. The main character comes home from stealing back a shield and finds the brutalized dead bodies of her parents and two younger sisters, dark….It’s a revenge story. Because who wouldn’t want revenge for that? But, also, it’s a Hunger Games style battle to the death hunting of Greek gods turned into humans story.

It also takes place in modern day NYC, where most people aren’t aware that Greek gods walk among them. I love books where fantastical worlds run parallel to realistic ones! And this one is fantastic! There are scenes in warehouses, museums, townhouses, whole city neighborhoods, diners, etc. The setting was just perfect. Though, watching NYC get a little destroyed in floods and explosions was a tiny bit harsh…it made for excellent reading though. I couldn’t put this book down!

Then there’s the twists! Some of the twists I did not see in advance! At one point, I literally yelled out loud, “NO!” and dropped the book. I of course quickly picked it up again. I was just shocked. SHOCKED. Though, I did feel bad that Lore was lied to so much…like a lot. Also, unlike in Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games, the characters have cell phones! What a difference this makes. Though, I think there’s some point, they go underground or something and they don’t work….But still, crazy concept, no?

I also love that Lore has conversations with Athena about women’s rights and blaming the victim. This is literally the conversation I would choose to have with her. I would want answers about Medusa also! If anything was missing, I’d say more of the normal character development. Lore keeps referring back to her time in the town house with Miles, but we never really got to see it. So, I didn’t have a frame of reference or care much about her normal years “hiding” from the gods. Maybe it could of started there, given us a chapter of normal first?

I feel like all of the books I loved last year were mostly Middle Grade, and it’s been a while since I really loved a YA book. This is that YA book I wanted. It’s filled with shocks and twists, and a ton of action. I loved the urban setting. I loved the new plays with Greek mythology. I loved the revenge story. I loved the characters. I give it a 10/10.

Cottons Book 1: The Secret of the Wind By Jim Pascoe

Summary from Goodreads:

In the first volume in the epic Cottons trilogy, rabbits and foxes inhabit a world where magic, technology, and art are used as weapons of war.

To her neighbors in the Vale of Industry, Bridgebelle is an ordinary rabbit. All day long, she toils at the carrot factory. After a hard day, she returns home to care for her ailing auntie. And whenever she's out, she's watchful of the murderous foxes who prey on her kind.

But Bridgebelle is not ordinary—she's a rabbit with talents beyond her own understanding. Using cha, the mysterious fuel that powers her world, she can change everyday objects into thokchas—magical, transforming works of art. Bridgebelle makes thokchas because they're beautiful. But there are those in her world who want to harness her powers and turn her art into a weapon.

Review:

I’m not normally a huge fan of books about talking animals, but wow this one was stunning. You can tell just by the cover that this is going to be one of those graphic novels with amazing artwork inside and you won’t be disappointed. Think Amulet mixed with The City on the Other Side mixed with 5 Worlds. I received this one for review from Macmillan, and I don’t think I ordinarily would have picked it up otherwise. I’m so glad it reached it my hands –and now I can make sure my library gets this and I can put this in the right kids’ hands.

The story is dark. Right off the bat, a fox kills a rabbit. There’s hunting, overworking in a factory, power hungry political grabs, kidnappings, and death. But, there’s also love, family, art, and magic. Pascoe has created an almost Tolkien-esque world layered with history, terminology and depth. It’s hard to believe this is the first book in a series. It almost reads as if the author has been writing books in this world for years.

Kids who love the Erin Hunter books and the books by Tui T. Sutherland will eat this up. I can already imagine them asking me when book 2 is coming out.

My only qualm really with the story was that some plot points didn’t really get explained. Things would happen, and I’m not sure if was I meant to question them or not, but I did. And then the story never circled back…I don’t want to spoil anything and say what I’m talking about. Maybe this will get addressed in the later installments. I’m also excited for book 2.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, more than I was expecting to. It was an action packed fantasy adventure. It’s dark, but also full of hope. The artwork is stunning. The world is fascinating. And I know the right kids will devour this. I give it an 8/10.