As of writing this blogpost on December 30 2018, I have read 178 books this year.  I have enjoyed this journey of getting to know the work of my writing colleagues and peers as well some highly recommended texts.  I have learned so much about storytelling and novel structure that it has helped me to craft and shape my works in progress.  I cannot wait to see what 2019 brings me in the literary world.  I have some amazing books on hold with my Overdrive Toronto Public Library account and I cannot wait to delve in them as well as finish the books that I am still reading.  I may set a reading goal next year of 200 but let's see how it goes... Nevertheless, I hope that I have now inspired you to pick up more books of your own to read this year.  Happy reading!!!!

• Ripper by Isabel Allende
• Big Dose of Lucky by Martha Jocelyn
• ​Olivia by Ian Falconer
• We're All Wonders by R. J. Palacio
• Pinned by Sharon Flake
• ​Pride by Ibi Zoboi
• Jump Cut by Ted Staunton
• Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
• Coda by Ted Staunton
• All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
• Drawn Together by Minh Le; illustrated by Dan Santat
• Julia, Child by Kyo Maclear; illustrated by Julie Morstad
• The Fog by Kyo Maclear; illustrated by Kenard Pak​
• The Specific Ocean by Kyo Maclear; illustrated by Katty Maurey
• Bird by Angela Johnson
• Miracles' Boys by Jacqueline Woodson
• Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• ​The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• ​Ink Me by Richard Scrimger
• Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandha Menon
• Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
• Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
• Blended by Sharon M. Draper​

Big Dose of Lucky by Martha Jocelyne
Part of the Secrets series-- a young girls trying to find the origins of identity after their orphanage burns down.  This installment is about Malou, a mixed race Black girl who tries to find her roots.  Please find my review on Goodreads.

Olivia by Ian Falconer
Sweet, funny, and short story.  Lovely, quiet illustrations.  I have seen this book cover for a long time but was curious for what was inside.  I feel these jokes will be enjoyed by both adult and child.​

Pinned by Sharon Flake
Spoiler Alert: I loved this story.  It was very sweet and telling.  Sharon G. Flake's story is a "coming of age"/"coming to page" (you like that pun? see what I did there?) of Autumn, a female wrestler reluctant reader and low scoring student.  This is a nice flip on the traditionally portrayed male athlete who hates reading.  Autumn is madly in love with Adonis, a boy in a wheelchair who is a perfectionist, academic scholar with high standards and low tolerance for students who don't try or can't read.  In many ways, I identified with these parts of his personality yet his tough exterior is no match for Autumn's persistence and love.  Autumn is also the name of the main character in the manuscript I just finished for NaNoWriMo so imagine my shock.  I thought it was an original name so imagine my shock to find Autumn is also the name of the main character in Pinned.  And although school does not come easy to her, I like that she is a master baker, gifted swimmer, and well-liked by her teammates and other students but seems to get under the skin of the object of her affection.  This was a sweet, heartwarming story.  I also loved how author Sharon quietly referenced her own book as Autumn volunteered in the library with an eager young librarian who recommended a book about skin for a student's book report.  (Sharon Flake's novel, The Skin I'm In, was a bestselling novel that was published in 1998.)  Portrayals of nerds and academically-inclined characters who are both Black males and disabled are hard to come by as well but they are portrayed here in Pinned. I also loved how she shows the connection and reasons behind why some students have difficulty in school (e.g., family legacies) and the hurdles they must overcome.  This is a sweet love story about kids in eighth grade although it seems that they are older.​

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
This was a beautiful story about Melody Brooks-- a brilliant girl who lives with a disability.  She has cerebral palsy meaning that she lives with a physical (she is wheelchair bound, limited control of hands, arms, and legs) and mute.  Her voice lives in her head.  She is observant and her voice so passionate.  The story almost made me cry.  It reminded me of an incident that happened to me at grad night at Canada's Wonderland in which the group of "so-called" friends abandoned me and our disabled classmate at one of the rides.  The night was spent looking for these friends in time so my friend with a disability didn't have to be alone, all before my dad arrived early to pick me up.  I felt Melody's pain especially with the following incidents that took place after.  Sometimes life is tough.  What I love about this story is how it encourages resilience in young readers but also gives such intelligence and voice to a person living with a disability.  This story is also about maintaining ones dignity and "fitting in" or "not fitting in", "being liked" or "not being liked".  Thank you once again Sharon Draper for writing such an amazing story.  I wish I had discovered it years ago when it was a New York Times' Bestseller.  What a gem!​ (I read it on audiobook.)

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sadhya Menon
​A familiar story that feels fresh and exciting in how it was told.  It was part Bollywood movie in terms of story arc as well as some things were typical of many romantic films-- enter airport scene.  It also reminded me of The Sun Is Also a Star as well as the manuscript I am working on based on a play I wrote in high school.  I would love to revisit more of the author Sandhya's work.  It is the whole arranged marriage tradition vs. modern dilemma that a lot of first generation kids experience.  A beautiful new adult/young adult novel.​

I met the author Libba Bray at the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Los Angeles Conference in 2018.  This audibook narrated by her reminded me so much of her humour.  She says so much with the humour she uses here in a book about an island full of beauty queens who survive a plane crash.  It pokes fun at one of America's favourite pasttimes-- pageants.  Stereotypes such as contestants who lack intelligence, the Southern Christian right-winged proponents, token Black and brown girls, immigrant success stories, and sexy pirates abound while dealing with issues of representation, LGBTQI2A participation, and alliances.  This book is smart, cheeky, and salacious.  Filled with commercials, scams, and a hidden sinister plot, this book was a little on the long side but worth the read.  
​

Fall 2018 (October to December, 2018)
Nadia’s Notables Newsletter
 
Dear Everyone,

In this photo, I took a break from writing report cards so that I could visit Wakanda.  In reality, I am dressed in my costume as a Dora Milaje warrior from the film, Black Panther.  I wore this outfit at the first ever Canadian KidLit Masquerade Gala at Lula Lounge in Toronto.  This was a perfect opportunity to celebrate the winners of the TD Canadian Children's Book awards and a year of children's literature with my colleagues.  I must admit that it has been a very busy school year as I continue to balance full-time teaching with writing.  It's quite the balancing act and it calls for my inner warrior.  How do you find your inner strength?


Nadia

In this issue…

1. TD Children’s Book Week
2. NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
3. Soon Come: Miss Lou Book Title and Sneak Peek
4. Words of Advice
5. Important Dates

 
1.  TD Children’s Book Week
​Three times (or three years in a row of applying) a charm! I am excited to be able to finally share this news. I have been selected as one of the presenting authors in the TD Canadian Children's Book Week in May 2019 organized by The Canadian Children's Book Centre. The theme is Readers are Dreamers and coincidentally my first book, Malaika's Costume, starts with a dream. I am excited for this opportunity to travel to a different province in Canada to share my books and stories with students, teachers, and community members. Will I be in Nanaimo? Iqualit? Saskatoon? Tuktoyaktuk? Winnipeg? Labrador? Chicoutimi? Rimouski? Who knows... colourful Canadian town names aside, I'll find out soon enough. Thank you so much for my excellent reference writers. Congratulations to the other touring creators. You know who you are!!! Stay tuned!!!! 

2.   NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is an international online writing community that focuses on a project during the month of November.  The goal is to write a novel.     The group is small but talented and creative, comprised of Grade 7 and 8 students and teachers.  It has been a joy for us to work on our projects in a supportive environment.  I am writing a teen urban romance novel for my NaNoWriMo project.
​
​3.   Soon Come: Miss Lou Book Title and Sneak Peak
Check out a sneak peek on the illustrations of A Likkle Miss Lou, my picture book about the late Jamaican poet/cultural ambassador/playwright/educator/folklorist/dramatist, Louise Bennett-Coverley, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes. Coming Fall 2019 with Owlkids Publishing!  Almost seven years in the works, A Likkle Miss Lou is well underway.  

4.   Words of Advice
Join NaNoWriMo!  Find a writing community to support your goals. 

5.   Important Dates

• November 13, 2018  Facilitator, Get That Grant! Tips for Canadian Writers at the Toronto Reference Library as part of the Eh! Series
• November 16, 2018     School Visit, Peel District School Board (PDSB) in Brampton, ON
• December 1, 2018          Panellist at Diaspora Dialogue
• December 31, 2018 Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter book release
• September 2019  A Likkle Miss Lou: The Story of   Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett-Coverley release

In this month's edition of What Am I Reading?  I have set a personal record of having read 38 books as of November 25th.  I have read several interesting books.  I think my favourites were books by Sharon M. Draper (especially November Blues and Stella by Starlight), Jacqueline Woodson (Harbor Me), Tanaz Bhathena (A Girl Like That), and Elizabeth Acevedo (The Poet X).  The following reviews are cut and pasted from my Goodreads reviews.  Given that reading and reviewing such a high volume is quite a lengthy process, I worn that I did not copyedit these reviews or others.  The books that I continue reading after November 25th will be featured in my December 2018 list.  I hope my reviews will inspire you to pick up some books to read.

These are the books that I read this month:

• Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper
• ​Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper
• The Boat People by Sharon Bala
• ​Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
• The Battle of Jericho by Sharon M. Draper
• November Blues by Sharon M. Draper
• Still Mine by Amy Stuart
• Unstoppable Octobia May by Sharon Flake
• ​The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena
• C is for Consent by Eleanor Morrison, illustrations by Faye Orlove
• ​Deep Underwater by Irene Luxbacher
• Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
• ​Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
• All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold; illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
• I Am Famous by Tara Luebbe, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
• Dude! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Dan Santat
• Ocean Meets Sky by The Fan Brothers
• Even Super Heroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker; illustrated by Eda Kaban
• Made for Me by Zack Bush; illustrated by Gregorio de Laurentis
• Auntie Luce's Talking Paintings by Francie Latour; illustrated by Ken Daley
• Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
• Adultery by Paulo Coelho
• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
• The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
• The Matatu by Eric Walter; illustrated by Eva Campbell
• ​Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
• Chicken in the Kitchen by Nnedi Okorafor; illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini
• Petra by Marianna Coppo
• Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
• A Greyhound A Groundhog by Emily Jenkins; illustrated by Chris Appelhans

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper
Spoiler alert: What a short but mighty book.  It is a story about teens affected by drunk driving and suicide.  The book ends in a way that I didn't want to see coming.  At times I felt that there was too much adult voice in the psychologist and coach, and eventually too many readers for this e=audiobook.  However, after having read this book in its entirety, I'm happy to say that it didn't get too confusing.  I liked how they got completely into the head of Andy's character while telling the story in third person.  I also like how the author shows the manner in which an initial accident and death of his best friend shows the gradual deterioration of his mental health.  It was very real and what made it more tragic is that there were so many people around him who wanted to help, who tried to help but couldn't pick up on his desperate cries for help.  I am happy to discover this little book and looking forward to meeting Sharon Draper in a few weeks.  Small way that I e-audioread the version of the book with the old school pencil crayon "rough" low budget-version of the original 1994 independent-looking cover and not this slick purple cover.

Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper
Spoiler Alert: This writing jumps off the page.  Connected to the life of another character at Hazelwood High, Forged by Fire is the story of Jared.  Like Tears of a Tiger, this novel also deals with loss in a big way.  Jared is resilient, admirable, and a survivor of difficult circumstances.  This story deals with heavy topics of child abuse, incest/molestation, drug addiction, drunk driving, and neglect.  Sharon Draper does this while keeping the novel voice hopeful.  It's a short read but covers a lot of ground and is the kind of novel a lot of teens would like.  Jared is a child, like many in abusive family situations, who becomes the parent, primary caregiver of his younger sister Angel.  Jordan Sparks (coincidentally the same name as an R&B singer) has returned from prison and lives in the home... again, claiming to be reformed.  Monique, who is eerily similar to the mom in the film Precious played by an actress with the same name, is an enabler, substance abuser, negligent, abused, and abusive.  She is in a state of constant denial.  Despite it all, Jared and Angel are resilient, possess justified anger, and just seem like good honest kids dealt a tough hand.  I also recognized a tactic Sharon Draper uses which is write everything seemingly going well and stable but then put in a whole bunch of drama out of left field in the last 15-20 minutes of the book.  And it works to keep you reading until the very end!  What a great read!

The Boat People by Sharon Bala
What a wondrous work!  Dense with research and details.  A rich story about an event that I new only general details about-- the arrival of Tamil refugees on two boats arriving from Sri Lanka in 2009.  Having grown up and taught in Rexdale, I had Tamil classmates who would have migrated before this time.  I realize now that some of my Tamil students could have been on the real life boats or children of those who were.  I found the telling of this story interesting.  First, author Sharon Bala chose to use multiple perspectives to tell this story and not all Tamil characters.   There is Mahindan who is a Tamil refugee.  Priya who is second generation of Tamil descent but she does not speak the language yet she is a law student working on this case.  Then there is Grace who is second generation Japanese-Canadian, her mother was a survivor of the Japanese internment that took place in World War II.  Set in Vancouver, the book is ambitious and goes between the Mahindan's past life in Sri Lanka, fleeing the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) and moments with his young son Sellian and late wife who tragically passed away.  I appreciate these flashbacks as they bring the reader back to the relevant incidents and a variety of emotions as the refugees are interned and the court proceedings continue.  The whole process is painstaking but it is all relevant and everything comes full circle as Grace and Priya finds that the plight of the Tamil refugees is connected to their own family histories.  I love this web affect and would love to incorporate somehow into my own writing somehow.  Full disclosure, I have met author Sharon Bala on three separate occasions.  Her book had received a lot of praise and accolades in the Canadian literary scene and I can clearly see why.  No novel that I am aware of has accomplished all of this telling of the Tamil refugees in Canada and this novel is timely in 2018, especially regarding talks about refugees from Syria and other countries as well as Mexican migrant workers.  Congratulations, Sharon!  Amazing work!​

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Akata Witch is a middle grade novel centred around Sunny, a twelve- or thriteen-year old girl who is albino.  This story takes place in Nigeria and I would call it magical realism since she lives in a modern real world but is trying to figure out her skill set.  Reading this novel reminded me a lot of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, who is also Nigerian-American like author Nnedi Okorafor.  Akata Witch was okay.  I cannot tell if this was partly because I took almost two full months to complete reading it (a long time for me to read a book on my e-reader).  Or was it because the book wasn't as exciting for me.  I saw some recurring themes in this book that I have seen with other speculative fiction by African-descended people which includes a central character who "rolls deep" works magic with a group of friends-- as in Children of Blood..., The Jumbies series by Tracey Baptiste, and ShadowShaper by Daniel Jose Older.  I am also working on a middle grade novel that began as a magic realism work but features a core group.  I liked Akata Witch but at times it felt like there were too many characters and I started to lose track of who was who.  I think a list of characters at the beginning or end of the novel might have been helpful, especially since the book is for a younger audience.  Nevertheless, I appreciated how Nnedi used the conditions that the characters had, e.g., Sunny's alibinism, as a means for magic.  I also liked Orlu, Sasha, and ChiChi's characters and think that they would do great in a spin-off.  I am looking forward to Akata Warrior, the next book in this series.​

The Battle of Jericho by Sharon M. Draper
I wasn't sure if I wanted to listen to this audio e-book.  It follows lead character Jericho and the many initiation activities of the group he wishes to join, The Warrior Club.  I had this dreaded feeling that something bad was going to happen and it did.  I really enjoyed this book in the end and I read it before November's Blues.  This novel also deals with loss as does Sharon's others however it deals with the issue of hazing rituals from a high school perspective gone wrong.  I had a lot of compassion for all of the teens portrayed including Jericho and the late Josh who passes away as a result of an initiation right gone wrong.  I will leave my review at this.  I enjoyed the novel but how emotionally intense were the stages of initiation as I listened with suspense.

November Blues by Sharon M. Draper
​What an amazing book!  I read this as an e-audiobook through Overdrive.  Impressive in its depth and scope of the difficult issue of teen pregnancy but told with a refreshing spin.  I laughed out loud in a few places and I wasn't sure if it was because of Sharon M. Draper's writing style, the narrator, or both.   This book was definitely funnier than some of her other books and I feel like they were fewer heavy issues to deal with than Sharon's other work.  I presume that the other books I read were her earlier titles as this one seems more different than the others-- it's longer, funnier, fewer heavy issues, and introduces a girl as a central character.  I liked seeing the character development of Jericho, first introduced in the Battle of Jericho, as well as the interesting spin that November's life had taken with her pregnancy by her late boyfriend, Josh.  Also, what a change her friendship with Arielle had gone through which was really interesting how it played out.  I appreciated the character of Olivia because I could relate a lot to what she had gone through-- a feeling of invisibility despite the integrity, compassion, and sincerity she showed.  She was not "a looker" by popularity standards, played in band, and had excellent grades but she grew accustomed to being invisible.  I also liked seeing how this newly introduced character grew as well.  In addition to Arielle and old characters like Dana and Kofi, I felt slight echoes of the Warrior Club with the football team that Jericho joined.  Sharon Draper writes boys really well and in this fourth novel of hers that I am reading, as mentioned, I am happy to see that she expanded to include a girl, November Nelson, as a central character.  Ironically, this story was narrated by a male voice but it still works.  Also, characteristic of Sharon's other books, there are important adult figures who support, mentor, and help the teens without seeming preachy, even less so in this book than the first Draper title I read.  I also think this book would appeal to people of faith as it had been mentioned that a main character prayed and there is no swearing or excessive explicit content.  I am looking forward to meeting Sharon Draper next week when she comes to Toronto to learn about her writing process.

Unstoppable Octobia May by Sharon Flake
I will be honest.  I was not the most focussed listening to this e-audiobook.  I was distracted at certain points while others felt disjointed to me but from what I gathered, this was mystery.  I must admit that I am not the biggest fan of mysteries.  Perhaps, this is because I need to listen to every detail and not miss anything or else I'll miss the hidden clue.  Now that I have read Octobia May, I have gained an appreciation for Sharon Flake's writing and how she integrated historical facts, set the story in the 1950s/early 1960s in an integrated neighbourhood, while employing a plucky intelligent young girl at its helm.  Octobia May is definitely unstoppable and wants to become a writer and is a Black girl detective, solving real crimes, while kicking racist ideologies back into the Stone Age.  This concept is genius.  I enjoyed the voice of Octobia and hope that this book will become a series.  This book was read by Bahni Turpin who is becoming to audiobooks what Cree Summer is already to cartoons.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
What a gorgeous, epic book!  This book for me was equally as impressive as his first novel, The Kite Runner which was later made into a movie.  A saga following the life and generations of a Afghan family, separated and reconstructed in the context of wars, changing social regimes, and loves.  This is a winding story and I read this an e-audiobook with three readers, one of which was the author Khaled Hosseini, himself.  And The Mountains Echoed is only his third novel and was published ten years after The Kite Runner, which allowed him to retire from practicing medicine.  I love Khaled's reading as they reflect a warmth and honesty inherent in his voice.  The other voices-- one a woman and the other a man-- were spoken with the thicker accent of Afghan actors, I am guessing.  However, their became clearer to decipher the longer I listened.  There was a confusing part for me and that was the story of Marcos, Talia, Madeline, and his Greek family.  I am not sure if this part of the story was needed so much but the other portions-- stories behind Pari (both the elder and the younger women with this name), Nabi the butler, and Abdullah-- were spun in the form of excellent storytelling thanks to Hosseini's read.  The story went from Kabul to the countryside of Afghanistan to a Greek island to Paris to California and spanned an earlier timeless storytime to present day.  All of the families and the different dynamics left me wondering what happened to each character but Khaled leaves no stone unturned.  What a modern masterpiece!  The narrations by three Afghan actors (including the author himself) were very effective and gave a sense of place.  I love Khaled's voice because it is so earnest.  The other's accents were a little challenging at first but after a while, I got quite used to and appreciated the range and colours they brought to the reading.  Can't wait to read Khaled's other work.​

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Spoiler Alert: When I heard about this novel, it made me want to read it.  I had seen it on a number of lists.  This story started out okay.  I liked the main character's Justice's conversations with Martin Luther King Junior in light of the racial injustices around him.  Justice is one of few Black students at a very white private school where I believes he is the border.  His best friend is Manny, although that doesn't become apparent until later.  There are also SJ, his debating partner and possible girlfriend, another girl, a white boy named Jared, and a teacher/coach named Doc that brings questions around racial and social injustices to the fore for student discussion.  Where the book had me: Justice being pulled over with a near passed out "white girl", named Mellow(?), in the front seat which is a Black man's nightmare, especially where racist police are concerned.  The rest of the novel continues discussing varying aspects about race.  But after a Halloween incident goes terribly wrong-- the boys dress as stereotypes including one as a thug and the other KKK member, my interest began to wane.  Justice was visibly conflicted and Manny just seemed to go along.  Some of the scenarios seemed a bit extreme like this one and then there were others like the tragic run-in with the white off duty cop who told the boys to turn down their music while they were all driving.  As both Justice and Manny deal with a growing racial consciousness, the latter needs to decide about joining a gang.  The gang is called Black Jihad.  They kind of remind me of Killmonger from the Black Panther movie, which is to say, that they bring it with the Black consciousness and spout a lot of truths but they go about completely wrong and are crime-ridden and corrupted.  I find that this combination demonizes the Black consciousness rhetoric.  Then there is the discussion and concern that Justice bringing home a white girlfriend to SJ.  SJ is woke and vocal and I like her but I feel that the conversation that ensues between Justice defending his relationship to his mom oversimplifies her arguments against interracial relationships.  Mother is asking him why he cannot find a black girl to do the same things but given that Justice goes to an almost all-white school, I wonder about its likeliness. The "checking" of Jared's white privilege and prejudice and his emergence at the end of story, I felt needed some more development.  Overall, I liked this book's concept and as a fellow Black writer, I support the author's attempt to tell really important and harsh truths that often happen when a Black youth attends an all-white school in the US, dealing with police violence, and a court system.  Also, judging by the length of my review, author Nic Stone really did delve into a lot of issues and aspects.  However, I felt somewhat uncomfortable with the manner in which the issues were portrayed.​

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena
An excellent work!  Amazing debut novel by Tanaz Bhathena.  This was a page turner.  I read this book a slow read but I was impatient and could wait for it to finish, curious as to what would happen in the next page.  I decided to finish reading it over the weekend.  I also had this book in my Grade 8 Language classroom on display and it was quite popular with one girl who began to pass it around to other students.  Having just read it, I admire the depth of research and details that Tanaz provided about the life of Zarin, a Zoroastrian Indian teenage girl living in Saudi Arabia.  Zarin is also very different from her peers.  She comes from a troubled past, she has her own thoughts, she smokes, and looks boys in the eye. Although it is based in another country, this novel has a lot of relatable topics especially regarding double standards for teenage girls who date a lot and sexual assault.  Having met Tanaz twice and knowing about her difficulty in getting this book published in Canada, I am so pleased that she persevered. I truly feel that this book should get more accolades than what it has already received but it was published in 2018 and the year is not quite yet done.​

C is for Consent by Eleanor Morrison, illustrations by Faye Orlove
I loved this cute little boardbook.  Full of old school illustrations that I might expect to see in a 1950s book yet, they are modern with diverse people represented, different abilities, generations, skin colours, and sexual orientations.  (Religions weren't represented but that would be nice too.)  The language is plain, clear, and to the point.  This book gives young children language and shows in simple ways that they can determine what happens to their bodies and that they have some control over that.  Powerful message.

Deep Underwater by Irene Luxbacher
I read this book and fell in love with the deep dreamy colours.  Dark... I associated it with being symbolic of depression and emerging from tragedy to find oneself, "a friend" in oneself.  Complete disclosure, I know the author-illustrator of this book.  Irene Luxbacher illustrated my two picture books Malaika's Costume and Malaika's Winter Carnival and now she is working on my third (all with the same publisher, Groundwood Books).  I am excited to hear the voice of Sophia as she moves through the mysteries of the sea.  The illustrations are in mixed media, Irene's specialty.  I love the dark, heavy brushstrokes which dominate the book and make the colourful fish and sea life standout.  I relate to this book on a lot of levels.  I am currently writing a book about mermaids.  I am learning to swim and taking adult level three for the third time so a lot of that work is in the deep end of the pool.  I have also experienced depression that can also make one feel like being underwater, gasping for air, grasping for what is familiar.  Great book Irene!

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
What delicious writing!  I loved the cast of characters featured.  They really came to life especially as an e-audiobook partly because children read for each character.  Rarely do we give children the chance to speak together about their problems.  Yet, here we had a teacher that made a group of six of her students stay behind the art room to speak.  What really struck me was how much author Jacqueline Woodson wrote each character and made them sound so authentic and realistic.  They covered issues like parental imprisonment, deportation, racial profiling, special needs, and white privilege-- all from a child's perspective.  What a caring teacher, as well!  She sounds like teachers that I know.  Excellent work, Jacqueline Woodson-- as always.

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold; illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman​
I saw this book being promoted on my Twitter feed and a lot of teachers were using it in their classrooms.  I love this book.  The illustrations are inclusive and reflect different types of families. The diversity of skin tones, religions, abilities, and relationships are all reflected.  The rhyming scheme, rhythm, and pace are all done well and work well in this context.  Amazing book!

Ocean Meets Sky by The Fan Brothers
Dreamy landscape.  Delicious photos.  A book you want to dive into.​

Auntie Luce's Talking Paintings by Francie Latour, illustrated by Ken Daley
Gorgeous illustrations.  Amazing story.  Rich history.  An ode to Haiti.​

Adultery by Paulo Coelho
​Spoiler alert: This was not my favourite Paulo Coelho book and I was surprised that it was a bestseller.  I suppose it has more to do with the author than the actual book.  At points, I wanted to say, "Please make it stop" as the main character seemed like she was immature and bratty at times.  I thought she was either being melodramatic or very, very childlike.  I also found it a bit didactic at the end, like, the moral of the story is... which I did not like.  I know that is part of Paulo Coelho's writing style and signature maybe but I didn't feel like it worked for this book.  The lead character is 32 and bored with her marriage.  She sounds like someone who married at a very young age when they were not yet mature mentally.  She begins an affair and then the rest of the book shows how she recovers from the affair.  There are a lot of words spent on her internal mental conflict as she goes back and forth and second guesses herself constantly.  She is extremely self-centred and becomes desparate.  She WANTS this affiar and she is intentional about pursuing it while on the outside, she seems to have a "perfect" life. The narration of this audiobook was satisfactory. I did not expect the graphic explicit descriptions of sex.  In that way, in the ruminating self-punishing mental way, this book reminds me of Landline by Rainbow Rowell which was also a bestseller but I don't understand why.  I guess, there may be something that I don't completely understand when it comes to bestsellers.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Spoiler Alert: The emotional intensity of this short novel was felt in my gut.  Not every story has a happy ending but a "what if".  I wondered if this was a cautionary story against teen pregnancy as it ended in an unexpected way.  I realized that it was written in an alternating timeframes.  Before Feather was born and after.  Before Feather was born, Bobby is a typical teenager, looking at the things that were directly in front of him.  He liked video games, basketball, parties, and girls.  Then after, so much tragedy with his girlfriend Nia and some very adult decisions.  I would like to read the first book in this series.  I felt that this could have been a longer work. The voice of the teens portrayed was very authentic and effective.​

The Matatu by Eric Walter; illustrated by Eva Campbell
​This was my first time listening to an e-audiobook of a picture book.  I am not sure if this one works.  First of all, Eric Walters is not Kenyan however I appreciate the foreword and afterward which gives credit to the sources for this story.  But all is lost with the very Anglo-Canadian sounding white (?) narrator.  I felt that it should have been read by someone from the region, a Kenyan, East African, or someone from the continent.  I have seen this approach used effectively in several narrations including Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed, "Reading Lolita in Tehran", and several Indian books.  Eva Campbell is the illustrator for this book so I will do my best to access a copy so that I may see the visuals too for this work.​

​Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
​This was a wonderful book. It was spiritual, historical, and funny. The character reminds me of Octobia May in Sharon Flake's novel about a plucky detective. Both novels feature a lead African-American girl. Stella is lovely and she owns the night. She longs to be a writer and she asks a lot of questions. She also knows what to do in emergency situations. I love this about her. I like how author Sharon Draper, writes Stella's process of typing and self-editing. She comes face to face with the Ku Klux Klan as well. It is the first time in which I have seen the Klan's activities and its impact on Black communities handled so well in a middle-grade novel. The e-audiobook seems quite real to me. The story feels like it is made from family lore. Although there is no reference to the song "Stella by Starlight" in the novel, there are songs sung by the narrator. A wonderful and delight historical fiction set in North Carolina in what I believe to be the 1930s (The Great Depression). ​

Petra by Marianna Coppo
ReviewThis picture book has an adorable cover. I have seen it around. I honestly thought it was a whale but a friend told me that it was about a rock which makes total sense. D'uh! It's called Petra. The story is funny and I love the illustrations but the text seems a bit sparse and minimalist for my taste.