Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

Pages: 408

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Coming of Age / LGBTQ

Notes for Parents: Contains mild language, sexuality, underaged drinking, and mature situations.

The Back Cover

Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she’s fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she’s destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever.
The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona’s friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon he’s talked her into joining him for laps at the pool. But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to wonder if perhaps she likes girls and guys or if this new attraction is just a fluke. Either way, Ramona will discover that, for her, life and love are more fluid than they seem.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

Julie Murphy is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’ and Side Effects May Vary.

What’s good?

Relationships are complex, and Ramona Blue knows this all too well. She’s just a small-town girl trying to be her authentic self when her own feelings betray her. Things get complicated when her pregnant sister’s boyfriend moves in, her friends start moving on without her, and a boy from her past shows up. The story has emotion, diversity, introspection, and several poignant moments. Ramona is a convincing character and her supporting cast is varied but believable. The ending is deeply satisfying.

Best Part: Freddie.

What isn’t good?

Thanks to the back-cover description, we knew that Ramona was going to fall for Freddie, but after 80 pages, it still hadn’t happened! Overall, the story moved slowly, there wasn’t a lot of action, and it was fairly predictable. I started getting tired of the characters about three quarters of the way in. While the short chapters moved things along some, it was still too long and lacked tension.

Worst part: The sex scene was gratuitous and offered too much information.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺☻ (3.5/5)

This is essentially an intricate coming-of-age story. Ramona is a strong, memorable character and her small Mississippi town is a beautiful setting for a story that will resonate with many teens. The diverse cast of characters is wonderfully refreshing. The slow pace was its only real weakness. It’s worth the read. Recommended.

Murphy, Julie. Ramona Blue. New York: Balzar + Bray, 2017.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Pages: 349

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Supernatural

Notes for Parents: Contains mild language, violence, and mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Sunny Nwazue lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. Her features are West African, but she’s albino. She’s a terrific athlete but can’t go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing—she is a “free agent” with latent magical power. And she has a lot of catching up to do.

Soon she’s part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But just as she’s finding her footing, Sunny and her friends are asked by the magical authorities to help track down a career criminal who knows magic, too. Will their training be enough to help them against a threat whose powers greatly outnumber theirs?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The author writes fantasy and science fiction for both children and adults. In the past she has won several prestigious awards, including The World Fantasy Award in 2011 for her novel Who Fears Death, and both The Nebula Award and The Hugo Award in 2016 for her novella Binti. The sequel to Akata Witch was published in 2017 and is called Akata Warrior.

What’s good?

As an American living in Nigeria, and an albino, Sunny feels out of place. That is until she discovers she is one of the Leopard People – possessors of magic abilities. She’s taken on a journey, along with three other students, to discover the depth of her abilities. The reader learns along with Sunny who the Leopard People are and what they’re capable of. Running parallel to Sunny’s story is the tale of the Black Hat Killer, a serial killer who is murdering children in the area. The plot and subplots are exciting, it’s easy to read, and the characters are very well drawn. World building is excellent and vividly described. There’s plenty of tension, and themes include family, friendship, bravery, and power. The end was thrilling.

Best Part: People’s names – Periwinkle, Jibaku, Calculus, Chichi, Sugar Cream…

What isn’t good?

Sometimes the story was a little slow.

Worst part: Why is everyone always sucking their teeth?

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺☺ (4.5/5)

It seems like a strange comparison, but this reminded me a lot of Harry Potter, only more sophisticated, darker, more mystical, and beautifully infused with African culture, tradition, and language. Visually it was stunning. It would make a beautiful movie. This is a unique and creative story. Definitely recommended.

Okorafor, Nnedi. Akata Witch. New York: Speak, 2011.

The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari

Pages: 328

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Supernatural / Mystery

Notes for Parents: Contains some language and mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Amber Sand wants you to know she is not a witch. The Sand family magic gene somehow leapfrogged over her. But she did get one highly specific bewitching talent: she can see true love. As a matchmaker, Amber’s pretty far down the sorcery food chain (even birthday-party magicians rank higher), but after five seconds of eye contact, she can envision anyone’s soul mate.

Amber works at her mother’s magic shop—Windy City Magic—in downtown Chicago, and she’s confident she’s seen every kind of happy ending there is, except for one: her own. (The Fates are tricky jerks that way.) So when Charlie Blitzman, the mayor’s son and the most-desired boy in school, comes to her for help finding his father’s missing girlfriend, she’s distressed to find herself falling for him. Because while she can’t see her own match, she can see his—and it’s not Amber. How can she, an honest peddler of true love, pursue a boy she knows full well isn’t meant for her?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book in a series. The sequel is called The Sweetest Kind of Fate.

What’s good?

Amber is a matchmaker. She can look into someone’s eyes and see that person’s true love. Charlie is the mayor’s son and he needs Amber’s help solving the mystery of his dad’s missing girlfriend. Together they navigate back alley magic and mysterious creatures to get to the truth. The plot is good and has several easy-to-follow subplots. The pace is steady. Characters are well-drawn and have believable relationships. It’s great that adults have important roles in the story. Themes include family, friendship, love, and fate. It has a great ending.

Best Part: Amber’s friend, Amani.

What isn’t good?

The pace was a bit slow at the beginning but picked up and stayed steady after that. The writing feels a little juvenile. It was odd that there was no real world-building; everyone just seemed to accept that magic was real. Even though Charlie didn’t know about magic, he doesn’t seem at all phased by the revelations.

Worst part: There’s a disturbing scene on page 206 where Charlie is basically sexually assaulted by Ivy.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺☻ (3.5/5)

Despite the fact that the writing style feels a little juvenile, the mysteries kept me reading – What happened to Cassandra? Why the change to the coven? Who is Amani’s match and why won’t she use her abilities? I read the first two chapters of the next book that were featured in the back and would have continued reading if I would have had the book on hand. It was a fun read. Recommended.

Cestari, Crystal. The Best Kind of Magic. Los Angeles: Hyperion, 2017.

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Pages: 519+

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Contemporary / Crime mystery

Notes for Parents: Contains mild language, underage drinking, and mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Andie had it all planned out. Important internship? Check. Amazing friends? Check. Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks.)

But that was before her dad’s political scandal. Before having to be in the same house with him. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life. Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2016)

What’s good?

Andie’s plans for the summer have suddenly changed and she has to adapt. She gets a job walking dogs and meets a mysterious boy with a very big dog. Her summer is suddenly filled with fun, friends, fur, and an unexpected romance. Meanwhile, she’s also forced to deal with her usually absent father who’s now home thanks to a political scandal. It’s a summer of growth for everyone. Themes of friendship, family, loss, love, and doing what makes you happy makes for a sweet story. The pace is steady and the characters develop well. There’s no perfect ending, but the ending is perfectly done.

Best Part: Toby’s attempt to only text using emojis. And the scavenger hunt was fun.

What isn’t good?

The story moved slowly and not a lot happens. It’s wordy and full of many pointless details. It’s over 500 pages, but the story could have been told just as well (if not better) in less than 300.

Worst part: Too long.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

This is a good summer beach read – a very long summer beach read.

Matson, Morgan. The Unexpected Everything. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016.