The Loan Stars

Summary: Favio Chavez is an environmental engineer who also happens to be a musician and music lover. When environmental work took him to Cateura, Paraguay, he was startled to find that the village had been built on a landfill with families -- including children-- living amongst the area's discarded things. Wanting to offer the children living in the landfill the hope, discipline, and beauty that comes from creating music, he enlisted another engineer to help him make instruments from the landfill supplies. Criteria:  Building an Orchestra of Hope fit all the criteria I was looking for: I had not read it previously and it was published in the last 10 years. It also received positive reviews from Booklist,  Horn Book Magazine, and School Library Journal Xpress. On a personal note, hope is my favorite word and I was curious what an orchestra of hope would be. This book did not disappoint. Response: Character: Favio Chavez is the subject of this informational biography, and not a...

  Summary: Amari has never given up hope that her brother who went missing 6 months ago is still alive. She has been in trouble and been causing trouble at her fancy-pants private school where she is on scholarship. When she receives a ticking briefcase from her missing brother, she also finds an invitation to a summer internship at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Seeing this as an opportunity to find out what really happened to her brother, she jumps at the chance. However, she wasn't fully prepared for the magic, danger, and betrayal that comes with the internship. Justification: Amari and the Night Brothers  fit the criteria in books I was looking for: it was published in the last 10 years and had several positive reviews including from Book List, Horn Book Guide, and Publisher's Weekly. It also was named one of ALA's Notable Children's Books for 2022. But my favorite recommendation came from one of my students. Response:  Pacing I had a mixed reaction to Amari. ...

Summary: Merci and her brother are Cuban-American scholarship students at their private school in Florida. Merci never feels like she belongs. Mean girl Edna has a plan to make Merci’s life miserable, and things at home are hard, too. Something is wrong with the way Grandpa is acting. He’s forgetting things he knows, he falls, and since when did he have a temper? No one in the family will talk about it, leaving Merci to feel alone at home and at school. Criteria:  Merci Suarez changes gears  fit the criteria in the books I was looking for: it was published in the last 10 years, I had not read it previously, and it is a Newberry Medal winner. Booklist referred to it as a must-read and the Horn Book Guide points out that the natural use of Spanish (language) builds authenticity. Response:  Style and Language Since Merci is the age of the students I teach, it is relevant to my current job. Author Meg Medina does an excellent job of capturing the highs and lows of middle scho...

  Summary: While traveling to a school competition, a sudden blizzard forces Nell and her theater group to take shelter in a creepy, run-down hotel. They meet other groups sheltering there as well, including a rival team heading for the same competition. The first night in the hotel, the two groups play the game, Two Truths and a Lie, to pass the time. Things get dark when one game piece admits to multiple killings. Then it is discovered that the hotel was the scene of an unsolved double murder many years ago. Everyone is a suspect in the haunting confession. The next morning, one of Nell’s theater friends is found dead. Trapped without power or access to help, Nell and her friends must protect themselves and find a way to survive. Criteria: This book fit the criteria necessary. It was in the suspense category, published in the last 10 years, and I had not read it. It does not have as many accolades and awards as some of the other books reviewed  here but does have positive re...