Skip to main content

Review: South of Somewhere

By
 
South of Somewhere
By Kalena Miller
Chicago, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 2024. Fiction. 282 pages.

This book opens as, Mavis (she would like you to know her name is French), her two siblings, and her father return home from a trip to Hawaii. Her mom says that she's going to take a cab since there isn't room for all of their stuff plus her in the car. When Mavis' car pulls up to their neighborhood, however, they find that the FBI is raiding their house and their mom has skipped town after being accused of embezzlement. With all of their accounts frozen, Mavis and her family have no where to go but the house of her father's long-estranged sister, who has never even met Mavis and her siblings. As Mavis struggles with losing her friends, babysitting her 4-year-old cousin, moving from downtown Chicago to a tiny suburb town, and caring for her pet pineapple, Mavis tries to come to terms with where her mom could be and whether or not she could truly have committed the crime for which she's accused. 

The subject matter has the potential to feel very heavy, but Miller does a good job of keeping up the pace and adding enough humor to make this a fun read. Hand this to any kid who loves contemporary realistic fiction and they're bound to have a good time.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

By
Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.
Post a Comment
Read more

Dragon Run

By
Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...
1 comment
Read more

Review: Growing Home

By
Growing Home Written by Beth Ferry Illustrated by The Fan Brothers New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. Fiction. 261 pages. This book has some entertaining characters! We get to read about Toasty, the goldfish who loves to eat cheese puffs, Ivy, a plant with magical powers, and Arthur, the spider who ends up with a broken leg. Jillian is the main human character in the book. She loves Toasty and Ivy, and would probably love Arthur, too, but she doesn't know about him....yet. Her parents own an antique shop, but they are facing some economic hardship.  This charming story is about magic, teamwork, and friendship. I loved that there were all kinds of shenanigans happening. While we are on a journey where the fish, the plant, the spider, and the girl are working to solve one mystery after another, the author beautifully guides us to the realization that words are powerful, friendships can heal hearts, and books have their own magic power to help in all kinds ...
Post a Comment
Read more