Rummanah Aasi


Rating: 4 stars


Rummanah Aasi




Rating: 4 stars


Rummanah Aasi


Rating: 3.5 stars


Rummanah Aasi



Rating: 4 stars


Rummanah Aasi


Curriculum Connection: Math, STEM

Rating: 4 stars


Rummanah Aasi
Description: Reiko loves the endless sky and electric colors of the Californian desert. It is a refuge from an increasingly claustrophobic life of family pressures and her own secrets. Then she meets Seth, a boy who shares a love of the desert and her yearning for a different kind of life. But Reiko and Seth both want something the other can't give them. As summer ends, things begin to fall apart. But the end of love can sometimes be the beginning of you.

Review: Reiko seems to have it all: she is popular, pretty, smart, and comes from an affluent family. Reiko also secretly hides her grief for her lost beloved sister Mika and still has frequent imagined conversations with her. Reiko has a hard time talking to anyone else about her loss and the idea of going back to the ocean where Mika died is unbearable.
  Reiko is haunted by survivor's guilt and tries to live her life for both Mika and herself, but is failing to do so. She tries to fill this emotional void by starting a secret relationship with Seth, a poor boy live in a trailer from her school who she has never really noticed before. Reiko claims that her rationale for keeping a secret relationship has to do with her uncertainty of being a romantic relationship rather than being unsure about how to handle their very different social and class statuses. As Seth's social status at school rises due to Reiko's association,  Reiko feels more uncertain about her own position and privilege.
 The publisher has marketed this book as a story of grief and romance, but Reiko's grief provides the emotional backbone for this uneven novel. The author does a good job in showcasing Reiko's journey of grief; however, I wanted the epiphany moment to be much stronger and personal. It is actually Reiko's best friend, Dre, who makes the discovery instead of Reiko. I also had issues with Reiko who comes across as conceited and self absorbed. The author mentions that Reiko is biracial-her mom is white and her father is Japanese, but this adds nothing to her character and comes across as a diversity checklist.
  Readers who might pick this book up in hopes of a sweet romance will be disappointed. The romance is non-existent. Seth teeters on the verge of being an abusive boyfriend who pouts and whines when Reiko wants to spend her time with her friends though he does have a point in being used by her. Similarly, Reiko also uses Seth as an emotional band-aid. One can argue that the lack of romance emphasizes the point of the author: nothing can fix you unless you fix yourself. I agree with that statement, but I think book would have been more efficient and stronger if this book centered on a full character arc of self-discovery without the romance subplot.

Rating: 3 stars

Words of Caution: There is some minor language, scenes of underage drinking, and a scene of making out that goes too far. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk
Rummanah Aasi



Review: Megan Angelo's clever dystopian debut novel, Followers, is a social and cultural analysis on how and why we use social media. Followers has elements of the film Truman Show and George Orwell's classic dystopian 1984, but it manages to stand on its own. In alternating narratives beginning in 2015 and 2051, she creates two chilling versions of celebrity culture entrenched with technology.
  In 2015 staff blogger Orla Cadden writes for a website called Lady-ish , an online version of tabloids meets Cosmo. Orla is an aspiring and talented writer who is stuck at a dead end, soul sucking job unless she can catch a break and possibly land a literary agent. Unlike Orla, her roommate Florence "Floss" does not want to take the winded road in showcasing her talent as a singer and is willing to do anything to become a famous Kardasian type celebrity. Orla and Floss combines each others strengths (Orla's writing and social media skills and Floss's physical beauty) to create a public profile for Floss which is kicked off by a post titled “Sooo What Does The World’s Most Expensive Brow Gel Actually Do? One Instagram It Girl Finds Out” in which a Maybelline mascara tube is scrubbed off for the photo shoot. The post goes viral and soon Orla and Floss become overnight celebrity names.
   In the 2051 plot, we meet Marlow, a young wife in Constellation, California, a closed town populated with government-selected celebrities devoted entirely to the production of a reality show watched by everyone who does not live there. Marlow's story line is the most disturbing of the two as her privacy and freedom are stripped away and technology is literally embedded into people's bodies. Everything is either scripted or sponsored and all actions are curated to maintain the optimum numbers of followers.
  Both the 2015 and 2051 plots revolve around a mysterious event called the Spill, which was bit vague considering its buildup and characters' reaction to it. The alternating timelines show a cause and effect of the main characters' decisions and actions. I was less interested in the reality tv aspects of the story and more interested in the character arcs. The book is highly readable and fast paced with short chapters. This is a smart dystopian novel that asks us how addicted are we to social media, fame, and attention and to what lengths are we willing to go in order to uphold them.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong language, allusions to sexual situations, and a suicide is mentioned. Though it is an 'adult' book, it is has massive crossover teen appeal and is suitable for advanced high school readers.

If you like this book try: The Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green, The Circle by Dave Eggers, Sociable by Rebecca Harrington, Attention: a love story by Casey Schwartz
Rummanah Aasi

Review: I really enjoyed Kevin Sand's debut novel, The Blackthorn Key, which mixes historical fiction and mystery into a fun, action-packed story. Mark of the Plague is the second book in the series which technically could be read independently, but why would you?
  In this equally delightful sequel Sand mixes hysteria, history, science, and humor. It is 1665, and the plague has arrived in London, bringing with it prophets of doom and unscrupulous swindlers hoping to prey upon the fears of the desperate citizens. Christopher, former apprentice to the late apothecary Benedict Blackthorn, finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that will end in either a cure for the Black Death or the destruction of society. Melchior, a charismatic prophet, draws followers by predicting where the plague will strike next. The arrival of an unknown apothecary who claims to have the cure increases the frenzy. It is up to Christopher and Tom, the baker’s son and Christopher's best friend, to solve the mystery swirling around both men.
  Sands does not offer a sanitized version of history to his young readers. London here is gritty, dirty, mesmerizing, and often terrifying in the treatment of lower classes. Desperate poverty, magical thinking, and a complete disregard for life are everyday realities for those living during the Great Plague of London. Along with mysteries and action that will hold the reader's attention throughout, I love the genuine friendship between Christopher and Tom and their earnest desire to help others. This book also provides us an addition to the duo in the fearless, street-savy and smart Sally who provides the perfect balance for the loyal friends. The villains of this story are really clever and villainous and not cartoon-y by any means. If you enjoy history, puzzles, action, and a little fantasy I would highly suggest picking up the Blackthorn Key series.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There are some disturbing images. Recommended for Grades 5 and up.

If you like this book try: The Assassin's Curse by Kevin Sands (The Blackthorn Key #3), York series by Laura Ruby, The Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Rummanah Aasi


Rating: 4.5 stars


Rummanah Aasi
Description: Mads is pretty happy with her life. She goes to church with her family, and minor league baseball games with her dad. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. It's everything she hoped high school would be... until all of a sudden, it's not. Her dad is hiding something big--so big it could tear her family apart. And that's just the beginning of her problems: Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn't want to kiss Adam... because the only person she wants to kiss is Cat. Just like that, Mads's tidy little life has gotten epically messy--and epically heartbreaking. And when your heart is broken, it takes more than an awkward, uncomfortable, tooth-clashing, friendship-ending kiss to put things right again. It takes a whole bunch of them.

Review: There is a lot that I liked about the National Book Award graphic novel finalist, Kiss Number 8, specifically its attempt to address transphobia, sexuality, religion, and hypocrisy, but the execution of the story fell flat for me. Amanda lives in a conservative community with her deeply religious parents. Her social circle includes her friends from Catholic school, Cat, Adam, and Laura, but her best friend is her father. After overhearing a phone conversation and a mysterious letter that upsets him, Amanda realizes that he's hiding something and assumes he is having an affair, but her parents refuse to answer her questions, leaving her angry and betrayed. While dealing with the turmoil at home, Amanda also ponders why her first seven kisses, all with boys, aren't as stirring as kiss number eight, with Laura, and why she feels something deeper than friendship for Cat. While both of these subplots occur simultaneously, there is an explosive confrontation with her parents and grandparents lead to a difficult realization, shaking up all of Amanda's familial relationships and friendship.
  I thought the narrative for this graphic novel was a bit convoluted and both subplots seemed underdeveloped to me. The secrets behind Amanda's trans-grandparent was the strongest of the two story lines, but it was resolved too quickly as the characters spend more time proclaiming their trans- and homophobic views and then suddenly changed their way of thinking towards the end. I also was really confused about Amanda's 'crush' on Cat as I didn't see any indication of her questioning her sexuality until it was blatantly expressed by Jess and even then it is still unclear. I also did not appreciate Cat's character as there were strong undertones male characters slut-shaming her and her being a truly awful friend. I liked the art's retro feel and thought it was strong when depicting the contrast between truth and lies, but I was also a bit confused as to the time period of the graphic novel. The earlier panels seem to indicate that the story takes place post 2000, but the characters use IM and old phones. While I appreciated what the graphic novel was trying to do, it felt very surface level to me.

Rating: 3 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong language, transphobic and homophobic slurs, crude sexual humor, a brief scene of sex and nudity, undertones of slut shaming, and scenes of underage drinking. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash
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