Tales from the Rushmore Kid

April Recommendations--Lynn Becker's Book Picks

I’ve been reading up a storm lately and here are some of my favorites:

Novels:

In MY SISTER ROSA, by Justine Larbalestier, 17 year old Che’s little sister Rosa looks like a doll, but she’s not. She’s a dangerous psychopath, and Che’s the only one who knows. Their parents are in denial, but it looks like Rosa’s games might spiral out of control now that the family is starting over in NYC. Terrific suspense and great characters, this is a real page-turner. (YA)

Neal Shusterman begins a new fantasy series with his Printz Honor book SCYTHE, which also stands pretty well on its own. In the future, humankind has conquered death, so to keep the population under control, scythes perform this “crucial service for society.” Citra and Rowan are reluctantly apprenticed to Honorable Scythe Faraday. But the art of killing isn’t the only thing these two will need to master in order to survive. Great stuff by the National Book Award winning author of Challenger Deep. (YA)

VASSA IN THE NIGHT, by Sarah Porter, is a modern take on the Russian fairy tale, Vassilissa the Beautiful, set in Brooklyn. At a time when night is getting “bigger and fatter and stronger," Vassa leaves her stepmother and two stepsisters on a mission to the corner store, owned and operated by Babs Yagg, who beheads shoplifters and innocents alike. Good thing Vassa has Erg, a talking doll gifted to her by her dying mother. Dark, twisted, magical, and mesmerizing. (YA)

The Sun is Also a Star--Lynn Becker's Book Picks

April’s Book Pick is the 2017 Printz Honor winner, THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR, by Nicola Yoon.

Natasha doesn’t believe in fate. But she’s desperate enough to ask anyone—even fate—to help her find a way to stay in America. She’s been living as an undocumented immigrant since she was eight and her parents moved the family over from Jamaica. Now her father’s DUI means they to leave New York. Tonight. Natasha repeatedly visits US Citizenship and Immigration Services, hoping for a reprieve so she can stay in “the only place [she] calls home.” Finally, just hours before deportation, she’s handed a long shot: the name of a lawyer known as “the fixer,” and she arranges an appointment for that very day.

Daniel’s on his way to a college admission interview with a “Yale alum.” His parents are determined that Daniel apply there to become a doctor, especially since his brother Charlie’s been suspended from Harvard. But Daniel wants to be a poet and is in no hurry to get to the interview. Unlike pragmatic Natasha, Daniel believes in fate, and love, and when he spies her he knows “it’s definitely a Sign.”

I found Yoon’s characters to be so engaging that, right from the start, I was along for the ride. Natasha and Daniel are are caught up in realities imposed on them by their parents, but are desperate to forge their own futures. I think young readers will root for both of these kids. Yoon unravels her story mainly through narration by these two appealing protagonists. But their story is also enriched by voices of the people they meet, and lives they touch, in their search for answers. It's a captivating discussion of love, fate and the interconnectedness of the universe.

Have you read THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR? What did you think?

--Lynn