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READING STYLE GUIDE

Pluto-the-Person

7/12/2021

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How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby

Yes, I'm broken, Pluto thought.  Just let me be broken and leave me alone.
Thirteen-year-old Pluto and her mom are confronted with a challenging situation: understanding and coping with Pluto's recent diagnosis of depression and anxiety.
Her mother is terrified when her daughter completely withdraws, is unable to sustain long-established friendships and can no longer attend school.
Pluto alternates between constantly sleeping and lashing out at others, particularly her mother. Activities she enjoyed such as visiting the planetarium and spending time on the boardwalk are no longer interesting or entertaining.
She was tired of trying. She was tired of her mom's desperate, eager eyes. She was tired of all of it.
There are similarities between How to Become a Planet and Melleby's debut novel Hurricane Season. Both explore the tenuous relationship between a parent and child as they deal with mental illness. While her early book chronicles a young girl struggling with her father's illness, her current novel reverses the situation. A mother must come to grips with her daughter’s depression.
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Pluto-the-Person discovers that like the former planet Pluto, her status seems to have shifted. Over the course of the book her world alters in significant ways. She connects with a girl whose family owns a Jersey Shore business and finds that their developing friendship holds the possibility of romance. She visits her father and his girlfriend in New York City and learns that his partner copes with a mental disorder. She begins tutoring sessions with a sympathetic woman and attempts another session with a therapist. Pluto also make the surprising discovery: her grandmother lived with a mental illness.
By summer's end, Pluto is able to acknowledge some realities. A list of goals does not work for her. She must find what helps her and avoid unrealistic expectations. She wants to repair her relationships with her mother and her best friend. She hopes to explore the possibility of romance. She has the support of her parents, her friends, her tutor, and her therapist. Learning to live with depression will take time. There will be setbacks. That is okay.
Melleby's explorations of mental illness and how it affects family life are stories of everyday people facing real problems. Life is a struggle, but not without hope.
You still are Pluto...You just need to learn how to care for and accept this new understanding of you.
Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.
Pub date: May 25, 2021  Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers  ISBN: 978-1643750361
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Journey to Kiev

1/4/2021

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Anya and the Nightingale
​by Sofiya Pasternack read by Laura Knight Keating

Continuing the remarkable saga that began with Anya and the Dragon, young Anya is bound for Kiev with her friends Ivan the fool and Håkon the dragon. She hopes to find her father who was conscripted into the tzar's army.
The journey is filled with peril: a forest filled with spirits, an underground dungeon, a horrific monster...and magic. There is a lot of magic: sound magic, water magic, healing magic, to name just a few. It seems that everyone has the gift of magic except Anya.
However, this thirteen-year-old adventurer possesses a clear head in the face of danger, courage, loyalty, and a willingness to attempt what seems to be impossible. Anya is an intrepid traveler, working through her own fears while battling foes and outwitting those who stand in her way.
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Anya and the Nightingale introduces an interesting diversity of characters who interact with one another in natural ways while retaining their uniqueness: a blind grandmother who creates healing potions for villagers, a deaf elf who communicates with hand signals, a bisexual character, and a dragon who must choose between living in animal or human form.
Pasternack introduces multiple belief systems that co-exist and intersect comfortably in Anya's world. She is a devout Jew living in a community with no Rabi. The Russian priest is a community spiritual leader. Local Slavs have their forest spirits. There are animals which take human form and vice versa.  Anya retains her own religion, while acknowledging the beliefs of others, including a Sabbath observance quite different from what she has experienced.
Keating's performance brings the story to life, with the individual voices for each character. Anya's wonder, confusion, and determination shine through. Pacing is excellent, sometimes hinting at sarcasm. Accents highlight differences in Eastern European and Jewish communities in a country that will eventually become Russia.
Magnificent imaginative graphic design captures the magic and mystery of Anya.
A fantasy series filled with history, folklore, and adventure. Readers will be enchanted. 

Encore Anya, Encore!

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Read the first book in the series to learn more about Anya, Ivan and ​Håkon.
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Listen to an audiobook sample.
Audiobook accessed via NetGalley.
Release date: November 10, 2020  Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc
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King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

7/21/2020

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King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

It begins with dragonflies. Dragonflies flitting everywhere in a sultry Louisiana town.
Kingston James, known as King, has become fixated with dragonflies. There’s a reason for his obsession. After his older brother Khalid suddenly and tragically dies, King is convinced that his brother has morphed into a dragonfly. Whenever he sees one of these large-eyed iridescent insects he feels that Khalid is nearby.
Callender tells a compelling story of grief and the oppressive burden that death places on a family. The loss of his brother has cast a pall over King’s home. Familiar family routines have been set aside. There is now an empty place at the table. The family dynamic is fractured.
One of the few constants for King is Sandy Sanders. Sandy is the friend he can confide in, can talk with about things that really matter. The two friends share a love for anime and manga, spending spend hours sketching characters and discussing their favorite stories.
To please his brother, King has severed this treasured friendship because Sandy is gay. Khalid convinced King that he should not associate with gays.
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King knows that Sandy’s home situation is painful. He is physically and emotionally abused by his father, the town sheriff. Sandy's life becomes unbearable when his father discovers that his son is gay. Sandy runs away to escape his father’s vicious attacks.
King is the friend who comes to Sandy's rescue, finding him sanctuary in an abandoned shack. Together in this secluded place, the two learn to forgive, to accept one another, and make plans to move on with their lives. Sandy is ready to leave his abusive home for good. King is not sure if he should join Sandy. Is he ready to leave his grieving parents? Will his father accept his gay son?
King felt bound to honor his brother in a way that required him to deny his identity and hurt a friend. He now wonders: Will he honor his brother if he chooses his own life path?
The choice of the dragonfly is an apt metaphor This insect with large, often many-colored wings symbolizes change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization. King experiences a change in his view of himself and his world. Like the dragonfly he is emerging, ready to embrace his identity, his family, and friends.
King and the Dragonflies is a thoughtful exploration of grief, coming out, abuse, friendship, and healing.
​Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.
Pub date: February 4, 2020  Publisher:  Scholastic Press  ISBN:  978-1338129335
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    Barbara Moon

    I like talking about books and  interesting ideas. I like thinking about how books affect my life. Not particularly interested in giving out stars or in rating books. 

    Audio Publishers Association
    2013, - present  Audies judge 
    American Library Association Book Awards and Lists 
    ​2017 YALSA Award Nominating Committee
    2016 Excellence in Nonfiction 
    2014 Margaret Edwards Award
    2012 Odyssey Awards.  
    2009, 2010, 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

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