Reading Through Life

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Review: Generation Misfits

Publisher: Farrar, STraus, Giroux

Pages: 352

Review copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley

Summary: Millie is attending a real school for the first time, and she dreams of finally having friends and a little bit of freedom. She finds her chance when she joins an imitation band of her favorite J-Pop group, where she's thrilled to meet a group of misfits who quickly become a tight knit group of friends that are like family.But Millie soon realizes that one of them is dealing with problems bigger than what notes to hit when it comes time for their performance. Can Millie help her friend, even when their problem feels too big to say out loud?

My review: I did not expect to cry, but the tears welled up more than once. Sometimes because my heart hurt and sometimes they were happy tears. The cover made me think this was going to be an exciting and upbeat book--and it was. But it was definitely more than just a light friendship story. Everyone has struggles they are working through.The main character has been homeschooled and now is beginning sixth grade at school. I was concerned that the book was going to make homeschooling seem like a horrible thing since Millie had a very negative opinion of it in the beginning. That is balanced out a little later in the book though. So often young people feel like they may never find people they can really connect with and this book will be easy to relate to for those readers. This would be especially true for those who have unique music tastes. It really was fun to see the friends in all of their excitement and effusiveness about their J-Pop band and the gloriousness of finding other who share their enthusiasm. One character is nonbinary and uses them/they pronouns. That isn't explained initially so it really isn't something that stands out as an issue for anyone. Later in the story there is a conversation that goes into it a bit when a friend is seeking to understand, but it isn't a conflict it's just part of the character.Each person is distinct and they are all discovering things about themselves as they learn more about each other. They hurt each other along the way, but they also strengthen each other. Through it all they are learning to be true to themselves.

Recommendation: This will be a great middle grade book to hand to those who enjoy contemporary fiction or music or friendship stories.

Extra:

Video discussion with author along with two authors of books featuring music.

Monday, June 21, 2021

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves here.

Recent Blogposts:

Three book covers. From left to right Aya: Life in Yop City, Here the Whole Time and Dreams Beyond the Shore

Reading Beyond the U.S.

Cover image Love & Other Natural Disasters. It features two young women smiling at each other in the foreground and two young women near each other but looking a bit concerned while they are looking at the other couple.

Review: Love & Other Natural Disasters

Books I've Read Recently:

I finished listening to Made in Korea (thanks Libro.fm!) which is a cute YA rom-com. I found out about it on the Books and Boba podcast when they had a great chat with the author Sarah Suk.

I also ran across A Manga Lover's Tokyo Travel Guide. While I am not a teen manga lover, I still found this comic book to be a lot of fun and I learned a lot of helpful hints in case I ever visit Tokyo again and it was also nice to have memories brought to mind.

In the theme of travel, I also read two books for adults that were place based. When we were in CA to visit family, someone handed me Kendra Atleework's memoir, Miracle Country. She grew up in an area east of the Sierra Nevadas which doesn't seem to show up in books and other pop culture very much. I've really only been there once when we drove from Sacramento to Death Valley. She refers to Mono Lake and many of the other places that I still remember from that trip. The land and the people there are definitely interesting. I also read Disappearing Earth which is a mystery that takes place on the Kamchatka Peninsula which is another place that is rarely a setting in books I read. Both were compelling.

I haven't read many picture books lately, but one that I really loved is My First Day. Apparently it was first published in Asia with a different title, but here is a trailer made for that first publication.

I shared it with my fifth grade classes during our final week of school and we made connections to starting middle school in the fall. Students really enjoyed the book and we also learned a bit about Vietnam. I will definitely be sharing this one at the beginning of school in September.

In a book store this past week, there was a Pride display so I finally got to read Pride Puppy! which is as adorable as it sounds. A puppy and its family get separated during the Pride celebration, but all ends well. There was also a copy of the Prince & Knight sequel The Shadow King. I enjoyed it in spite of the rhyming text.

The Coming Week: I'm still reading Alta California which was interrupted by my actual visit to CA. I am also in the middle of the book Summer of '69 for one of my book clubs. I've just started listening to A Sitting in St. James for a virtual book discussion with Ms. Edith Campbell and Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen. I'm not sure what else I'll be reading this week, but I'm looking forward to having the time to read a bit more now that my travel is finished. Have a great week!

Monday, May 31, 2021

It's Monday! What are you reading?

If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves here.

Recent Blogposts:

Asian Books Challenge - Adult Fiction/Nonfiction List

Asian Books Challenge - Early Chapter Books & Middle Grade

Asian Books Challenge - Young Adult List

Books I've Read Recently:

Three book covers. The first is One in a Million. There are several buildings with a lot of evening sky behind them. The second is Beach Read and shows a man and woman on beach towels and they are not facing each other. The third is Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey and it shows a girl with dark hair among leaves along with a cat.

I slowed down on reading lately as we have a lot of change happening around us. I just drove to Chicago to spend the day there and then drop off our Korean student at the airport to go home. She's been living with us for the past three school years. It was hard to let her go this time as she will be heading to college in the fall and won't be with us. We had a great time in the city though. We are also preparing to say goodbye to our dog. He is sixteen years old and his body is just not able to keep going much longer. These are likely reasons why I picked up rom-coms again.

I read two enjoyable adult rom-coms over the week. One in a Million is a cute My Fair Lady retelling. Beach Read is a fun one about two authors who are having trouble writing. They have a wager going with each of them trying to write in the other's typical genre instead of their own.

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey is an early chapter book about a young girl and her fear of climbing the tree in her backyard along with her day-to-day family and friendship interactions.

The Coming Week: I'm still reading Alta California and have also started listening to Made in Korea. I hope you have a great week.

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Asian Books Challenge - Adult Fiction and Nonfiction List

Square image that says A B C Asian Books Challenge. Share an Asian book or author starting with each letter of the alphabet. There are 26 boxes below that with a book cover image for each letter of the English alphabet. Those titles are listed below in the post. It also says Tag your friends! Hashtag Asian Books Challenge hashtag a b c recs and template by @ books and boba

#AsianHeritageMonth is coming to an end. This year @booksandboba hosted another #AsianBooksChallenge. For 2021, they asked people to share books by authors of Asian descent or author's names for each letter of the alphabet. Here are my picks for adult fiction and nonfiction. I still need to read Crying in H Mart, and Quiet Fire, but have read the rest and would recommend any of them.

*Most of the links will take you to the books on the Books and Boba Bookshop page.

A - Active Voice The Comic Collection: The Real Life Adventures of an Asian-American, Lesbian, Feminist, Activist and Her Friends by Heidi Ho illustrated by Derek Chua & Casandra Grullon

B - Bamboo Among the Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans edited by Mai Neng Moua

C - Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

D - Disability Visibility: First Person Stories from the 21st Century edited by Alice Wong

E - Even This Page is White by Vivek Shraya

F - First Comes Like by Alisha Rai

G - Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob

H - The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

I - If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim

J - Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

K - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

L - The Latehomecomer: A Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang

M - Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

N - No Matter the Wreckage by Sara Kay illustrated by Sarah Janowitz

O - On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta by Jen Lin-Liu

P - Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Q - Quiet Fire: A Historical Anthology of Asian American Poetry, 1892-1970 edited by Juliana Chang

R - Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev

S - Serena Flips the Script by Sonya Lalli

T - Thousand Star Hotel by Bao Phi

U - Useful Phrases for Immigrants: Stories by May-Lee Chai

V - Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

W - The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

X - Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Y - Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto translated by Megan Backus

Z - Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner

I also posted a picture book/emergent reader list and an early chapter book/middle grade list here on the blog and a YA list over at our Rich in Color Instagram if you'd like to see books for other ages. Or you can see all of them in one place here.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Asian Books Challenge - Early Chapter Books and Middle Grade

Square image. Text says A B C Asian Books Challenge. Share an Asian book or author for each letter of the alphabet. Under that are 26 book covers. Template by @ Books and Boba hashtag asian heritage month hashtag a b c recs

It's #AsianHeritageMonth, and @booksandboba is hosting another #AsianBooksChallenge. For 2021, they are asking people to share books by authors of Asian descent or author's names for each letter of the alphabet. Here are my picks for early chapter books and middle grade. I've read them all and would definitely recommend them.

*Most of the links will take you to the books on the Books and Boba Bookshop page.

A - Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood by Varsha Bajaj

B - The Boys in the Back Row by Mike Jung

C - Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj

D - Dumpling Days by Grace Lin

E - Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz

F - Flamer by Mike Curato

G - Gathering Fireflies by Mai Chao

H - Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly illustrated by Isabel Roxas

I - Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lai

J - Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Debbi Michiko Florence illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic

K - Keep it Together Keiko Carter by Debbi Michiko Florence

L - The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw

M - Measuring Up by Lily Lamotte illustrated by Ann Xu

N - The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

O - Once Upon an Eid edited by S.K. Ali, Aisha Saeed, & Sara Alfageeh

P - Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

Q - Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani (I haven't read this one yet)

R - Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf

S - The Serpent's Secret by Sayantani Dasgupta

T - Tall Story by Candy Gourlay

U - Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai

V - The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

W - When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin

X - Melody of the Qeej by Mai Kou Xiong illustrated by Vang Lee

Y - You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly

Z - Garden of My Imaan by Farhana Zia

Monday, May 24, 2021

It's Monday! What are you reading?

If you want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves here.

Recent Blogposts:

Asian Book Challenge image. It has a chart with spaces for each letter of the alphabet and they have the covers of books inside them instead of letters. The books are listed in the post in the link below.

Asian Books Challenge

Two side-by-side over images for Misfit in Love. There are many yellow, hot pink and white paper cutout flowers with the title in the center. A young woman in hijab is glancing over her shoulder and there are silhouettes of three young men looking towards her from different spots around the title.

Review of Misfit in Love at Rich in Color

Cover image of book. Young woman in the center. A flower in each of the bottom corners. A moon above her head and a dove over each of her shoulders and branches reaching out from behind her through a window.

Review of The Marvelous Mirza Girls at Rich in Color

Why I didn't post last weekend:

I'm facing the camera from a wall of rock that I am clutching. I am several stories off the ground and there are tall trees off to the side.

I am standing with my toes on a very small amount of rock several stories above the ground and am spread eagled up against it.

In this photo, I have worked my way to the left edge of the rock even further up that the previous two photos.

I was at a weekend rock climbing event. It was only my second time climbing outside and I loved it even more than the first time.

Books I've Read Recently:

The Girls I've Been was very compelling. It's a twist on a bank heist and survival. I read it for a book club and am looking forward to discussing it later today. Heidi Heckelbeck is an early chapter book series someone recommended to me. It's humorous, but it didn't stand out to me more than some others. Misfit in Love is reviewed above. Hello Door is a Goldilocks type of story with a fox as the main character. Blue Rider shows how books can change lives and does this through the use of a fantasy with a blue horse so is very likely a nod to the Blaue Reiter art group that Franz Marc and others were a part of in the past.

The Coming Week: I'm reading several books right now including Alta California, The Overstory, and The In-Between for different book clubs, Generation Misfits to review, and am listening to Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey. Have a great week!

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Asian Books Challenge

It's #AsianHeritageMonth, and @booksandboba is hosting another #AsianBooksChallenge. For 2021, they are asking people to share books by authors of Asian descent for each letter of the alphabet. Here are my picks for picture books. I've read them all and would definitely recommend them.