MADreads Reviews

Reading Elizabeth O’Connor’s Whale Fall, you will become completely immersed in the beautiful, weathered coastal landscape of a Welsh island in 1938.

An important book on colonization and stolen cultural artifacts, And Yet You Shine by Supriya Kelkar follows the story of India's Kohinoor diamond. Its journey from India to the United Kingdom is rife with horrors due to the many hands that want to grab ahold of it. But despite the bloodshed, deception, and even disfiguring that the diamond goes through, it continues to shine. The mixed media illustrations are vividly beautiful, but far more importantly, the message throughout the book is clear: the perpetual unfairness of colonization must be acted upon and reversed.

I think most kids who have siblings wonder, "am I my parents' favorite?". If you could know, would you want to? And what happens when you discover you're not the favorite?

Jason Reynolds's take on a teen romance is unlike anything I was expecting and more than I ever imagined.  For starters, it's told from the perspective of a 17-year-old boy named Neon.  It tackles the difficult subject of intimacy as Neon freaks out in a bathroom, cycling through the timeline of his entire romantic relationship.  

Once upon a time, a tattoo artist had three children, two girls and a boy.

Long before the days of cellphones and food delivery apps, demae (cycling deliverymen) used bicycles and amazing acrobatic balancing skills to deliver trays of steaming soba (buckwheat) noodles to hungry residents of Tokyo. The neighborhood kids all wonder, how do they manage those tottering towers of tasty food and stacks of breakable dishes while steering through the crowded streets with one hand on the handlebars? What would happen if the kids tried that too?

Nonfiction author Melissa Stewart delivers another great book, highlighting some of the mini-est mammals on earth. 

I knew nothing about Ruocchio's debut, first in the Sun Eater series, other than it's pretty long, it's going to take a long time to read. If I say I finished it in a couple days, you'll get an idea as to how exhilarating it was and how much I loved it.

What most people know of the origins of the English Wars of the Roses (if they know anything at all about it) comes through the history plays of Shakespeare; the feuding cousins Richard II and Henr

This has been on my to-read list for about three years and I FINALLY got to it. Now I'm kicking myself for not getting to it sooner.

Are biographies your cup of tea? Then check the annual longlist of best biographies.

I read The Raven Scholar in January and it was my first 5-star book of the year.

I predict this book will be the next sensation.  Everyone is going to be talking about it.  It's about a bloodthirsty governess named Winifred Notty and the havoc she wrecks upon her employers, the esteemed Pounds family of Ensor House in Grim Wolds, England.  I should clarify that the murderous mayhem is not limited to Ensor House.  Really, nothing within England is safe with Miss Notty around.  She is a character who will not be contained by man or beast or ghost or plague.

This gorgeous books tells the story of a young girl who wakes up before the sun for a chance to ride with her Daddy, just the two of them. After collecting apple slices from Abuelita, they are out the door before the sun is up, feeding and grooming the horses under a starry sky. Our protagonist usually rides after school, but today is special because she gets to ride through the streets, like a cowboy, like her Daddy. As the sky starts to lighten, they ride past houses with darkened windows, past the panadería with layered cakes in the window, waving at the few cars that drive by. 

In his debut novel Nick Medina blends mystery, suspense and a touch of supernatural horror in a story that focuses on the disappearance of indigenous women. At the heart of the story is Anna Horn who is finishing high school and trying to figure out her place on the rez and in her tribe. While grappling with her own struggles, and feeling haunted by a entity of ancient myth, Anna is forced to reckon with a larger battle. Women on the reservation are going missing and no one seems to care. It becomes personal, and more immediate, when two women in Anna's life are lost.

Erin Entrada Kelly’s second Newbery win has her and her fans (old and new) jumping for joy!