Review: The Tryout

By Christina Soontornvat

Illustrated by Joanna Cacao

New York: Graphix, 2022. Graphic novel. 255 pgs.

Fitting-in in small town Texas isn't easy when you are one of the only Asian American kid in your school. So, Christina, who is Thai American, and her best friend Megan, who is Iranian American, decide to try out for the school cheer team together. This is good, because Christina has been sad that Megan is starting to pull away -- spending more time at gymnastics and less time playing make-believe with Christina. So, when it comes time to pick a partner for cheer tryouts, Christina is devastated that Megan doesn't want to be her partner.

The latest entry in the robust world of graphic novel memoirs for kids, this is a standout comic book about navigating school, popularity, growing up, and making friends. Two-time Newbery honoree Christina Soontorntvat talks frankly about her experiences growing up as an outsider, including the microaggressions and racist comments she experienced. Readers will cheer for Christina as she gains confidence in herself, and will be thrilled to read the rest of her books for children.

Comments

Review: Sole Survivor

Sole Survivor Written By Norman Ollestad and Brendan Kiely New York: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2025. 255 pages. This is a juvenile biography/memoire about the plane crash that Norman Ollestad survived when he was a sixth grader. The book starts off with Norman wining a skiing competition and heading home to play in a hockey game only to head onto an airplane with his dad, his dad’s girlfriend (Sandra), and the pilot so he could go and claim his trophy for the skiing competition. Only, the plane crashed and the pilot and Norman’s dad were killed. Then when Sandra falls and dies as well, Norman is left as the sole survivor from the plane crash in the San Gabriel Mountains during a snowstorm. Fans of Hatchet or other adventure novels will love reading how Norman survived this ordeal. And they will be even more impressed with the fact that this is a true story and the person who survived and is still alive today. This book goes over all of...

Review: Kareem Between

Kareem Between By Shifa Saltagi Safadi New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2024. Fiction. 324 pages. Kareem loves football and as he gets ready to start seventh grade he dreams of someday becoming the first Syrian American NFL player. Seventh grade is not off to a great start for Kareem, after football tryouts don't go as he had planned, his best friend moves away, and his mom returns to Syria to help bring his sick grandfather to the US for treatment. So when Austin, the quarterback and coach's son, offers to talk to his dad and get Kareem on the football team in the spring, if he will cheat and do his homework for him, Kareem agrees. Kareem really wants to fit in at school and he is desperate to find a friend, but deep down he knows that doing Austin's homework isn't the right thing to do. And to make things harder, Kareem's mom asks him to be a friend to Fadi, a Syrian Christian refugee. He knows he should stand up for Fadi and help him adjust to the new school,...

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog