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2025. What an exhausting timeline we’re living in. Perhaps somewhere in the 100 billion galaxies is a version of me who is able to concentrate better, doom scroll less, and write actual long, thoughtful reviews about books. I do hope to get back to that soon. For the most part, I can still concentrate to read, but when I’m done my mind kind of goes, “BOOK GOOD” and moves on. I still want to share the good books, though, so for now, tiny reviews it is. In many cases here, I certainly have a lot more to say, but I’m going with the “sharing something is better than sharing nothing” approach. I recently joked to my husband that I should quit my job so I can be home and free in case our kid wants to call in between classes at college (when he always calls my mom–not that I’m jealous ((I am))). I could also read and write a lot more. But then the joke turns dark because ha ha ha what if there are no libraries or public schools or positions for me at some point in this timeline? Oof. 2025. Brutal.
I feel like I’m doing a really good job writing inspiring and hopeful blog posts these days.
All descriptions from the publishers. All carpal tunnel-addled scrawls on post-its translated after the publisher’s info.
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Rhino’s Run by Robert Lipsyte (ISBN-13: 9780063343870 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 01/28/2025, Ages 13-17)
“You can’t play it safe when you’re the captain.”
From celebrated author Robert Lipsyte, this powerful coming-of-age follows high school football player Ronnie “Rhino” Rhinehart after a violent incident at school leaves him questioning everything he ever believed.
Ronnie Rhinehart, better known as Rhino on the field, is the captain of his high school team in Woodhaven, a small town obsessed with football. His only goal is to earn a Division I football scholarship so he can escape this town forever. Until the day he punches Josh Kremens in the face.
To avoid serious punishment and stay in school, Ronnie is forced to join Group, a cast of misfits who discuss their feelings with a counselor. At the same time, tensions are rising on the football team. Not everyone is happy that Ronnie, a junior, was named captain, especially Cogan and his friends the Berserkers. Other than his best friend, Andy, Ronnie struggles to find solace and support, even at home, where his dad puts pressure on him to maintain his role on the team. Reluctantly, Ronnie finds himself liking aspects of Group, even if he isn’t always a welcome presence to the other members. Then one fateful day, Keith, another Group member, comes to school with a gun . . . and everything changes.
(POST-IT SAYS: Fast-paced and packed with a lot going on, Lipsyte tackles gun culture, bullying, toxic masculinity, school shootings, and activism all in under 200 pages. Rhino grows a lot as a character and learns how to think for himself after years of team group-think.)
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Muk ‘N’ Honey: Treehouse Trouble #1 by Brett Bean (ISBN-13: 9780593658970 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 02/25/2025, Ages 6-9)
Meet Honey Bunny and Muk Muk Moose: the inventor duo who make whimsical creations to help the forest, even if it takes them a few times to get it right! Designed to engage early readers, this chapter book series combines simple text, lively illustrations, and laugh-out-loud humor to help boost kids’ confidence and create lifelong readers!
Honey Bunny and Muk Muk Moose may be forest inventors, but when the staircase to their treehouse collapses, they’re stumped! Not only do they have to get back up in time to take their delicious Triple Decker Hunger Wrecker concoction out of the oven, but now some of their friends need help solving their own problems, too. Can Honey Bunny and Muk Muk Moose come up with new creations to help everyone, even themselves?
With full-color illustrations on every spread, this humorous and whimsical story is perfect for kids just beginning to read on their own. The short chapters, early vocabulary, and amusing illustrations make reading easy and fun! Exciting, easy-to-read books are the stepping stone a young reader needs to bridge the gap between being a beginner and being fluent.
(POST-IT SAYS: So fun! Give me more! Excellent start to a series. Full-color expressive art, brief chapters, and a fast pace will help emerging readers cruise through this entertaining story full of wacky and useful inventions.)
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Using Literature to Support Children’s Mental Health edited by Kim Becnel and Robin A. Moeller (ISBN-13: 979-8892555760 Publisher: ALA Editions date: 01/10/2025)
In this valuable collection, librarians, educators, parents, counselors, and caregivers will find practical guidance on leveraging quality children’s literature to support the mental health needs of students, families, and communities.
Generation Z and Alpha youth are facing mental health crises that many adults are unprepared to address. There have been dramatic rises in the numbers of young people reporting feelings of hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety. The global COVID-19 pandemic brought such a devastating impact on mental health of young people that it sparked national and global conversations, but experts say that the pandemic only exacerbated problematic trends already well underway. One small silver lining is the proliferation of new fiction and nonfiction geared towards children who are struggling, including books with themes related to social and emotional learning, psychological wellbeing, and specific mental health challenges. Edited by former public and school librarians, this important resource explores the exciting landscape of recent children’s literature and provides helpful frameworks and strategies for adults to think about the evaluation, curation, and use of these books with young people. Readers will discover
- books for children dealing with the cancer diagnosis of a relative, illnesses, death, loss, and grief, with suggested activities that can be paired with these titles to further assist young readers in the grieving and healing process;
- fantasy bibliotherapy to help children understand, process, and cope with anxiety-provoking situations in their lives;
- graphic novels that promote mental and emotional wellbeing, including those that depict common childhood mental health conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder;
- guidance on reaching historically underserved population groups such as Black girls, Muslim children, and young Latin American migrants; and
- using children’s literature to support the unique needs of autistic mental health.
(POST-IT SAYS: Looks at a broad range of mental health issues using mostly contemporary titles to explore how the issues are depicted, how the books can be used, and why the representation is important. A useful and user-friendly crash course in many important and timely topics.)
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Girls to the Front: 40 Asian American Women Who Blazed a Trail by Niña Mata (ISBN-13: 9780063216280 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 01/28/2025, Ages 8-12)
Stand back, the girls are coming through: Learn about forty amazing Asian American women who have changed the course of history!
From the big stage to the US Navy, from laboratories to the boardroom, from the Olympics to the pages in books, these girls and women lead every line. Bold, bright, and empowering profiles by Geisel Honor–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling artist Niña Mata place these incredible changemakers at the very front and inspire readers to tap into their own greatness.
Perfect for fans of Little Leaders, Latinitas, Rebel Girls, Notable Native People, and other anthologies for children.
Readers will meet: Mary Tape · Umpeylia “Sugar Pie” DeSanto · Susan Ahn Cuddy · Sunisa “Suni” Lee · Zarina Hashmi · Cristeta Comerford · Anna May Wong · Grace Lee Boggs · Christine Ha · Kimora Lee Simmons · Vicki Manalo Draves · Amy Tan · Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu · Tammy Duckworth · Lucy Liu · Gyo Fujikawa · Kalpana Chawla · Helen Zia · Ny Sou Okon · Vera Wang · Geena Rocero · Patsy Mink · Gabriella Wilson (H.E.R.) · Dr. Erika Lee · Chloe Kim · Margaret Cho · Maya Lin · Yuri Kochiyama · Kristi Yamaguchi · Tye Leung Schulze · Ali Wong · Dr. Kazue Togasaki · Merritt Moore · Nicole Ponseca · Miyoshi Umeki · Joy Cho · Dorothy Toy · Ruby Ibarra · Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee · Kamala Harris
(POST-IT SAYS: Visually appealing and super informative, these one-page biographies of a wide range of Asian American women highlight familiar faces and will surely introduce readers to many new-to-them figures. A great collection.)
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The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay by Mary Averling (ISBN-13: 9780593624937 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 02/04/2025, Ages 8-12)
A ghost must team up with the living girl she’s been haunting in order to defeat a monster out of her nightmares and save her little brother, from the author of The Curse of Eelgrass Bog.
Maudie isn’t your typical twelve-year-old girl—she’s the ghost of one. Along with her best friend Kit and little brother Scratch, she haunts a cottage in the woods, doing her best to scare off the vacationers and forget her old life.
But everything changes when Kit and Scratch go missing. Maudie knows something terrible must have happened, and she’s right: Longfingers—a monster from her own nightmares, with spidery fingers and needle-sharp teeth—has stolen her friends away.
Longfingers makes Maudie a twisted deal: find the key to a door in a mysterious cabin, or she’ll never see her friends again. With nobody else to turn to, Maudie has to beg for help from Gianna, the living girl she’s been haunting. Together, the girls search for a way to thwart the monster and save Maudie’s friends.
But Maudie’s keeping secrets about the cabin and her past. Unless she finds a way to finally face the truth, she may never be able to rescue her friends from Longfingers’s grasp.
(POST-IT SAYS: The kids at my school love ghost stories and this will certainly satisfy them. Full of secrets, portals, monsters, ghosts, and lies, almost nothing is as it seems in Bitterfly Bay. A compelling mystery with lots of unexpected twists.)
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Kaya of the Ocean by Gloria L. Huang (ISBN-13: 9780823457885 Publisher: Candlewick Press Publication date: 01/07/2025, Ages 8-12)
Anxious thirteen-year-old Kaya has always been afraid of everything—but when she learns she is the descendant of a Chinese water goddess, she’ll have to master herself to master her powers!
On the surface, thirteen-year-old Kaya leads a charmed life. She lives in beautiful, beachy Lihiwai. She has ride-or-die best friends. She’s ultrasmart and killing it at school. She even works with a super-cute boy at her parents’ restaurant.
But she also has anxiety—serious anxiety, the kind that makes you scratch and pick—and she’s always had bad luck around the ocean. It’s hard to enjoy Hawaiian beaches when you’ve almost drowned more than once.
But as stranger and stranger things happen to Kaya around the sea, she realizes that—wanted or not—she has a special connection to it. Waves rise when she’s angry. Surf smooths when she’s calm. Fish come when she calls them. And when she learns the truth about her family and her divine ancestor, Mazu, she knows that she will need to connect with her most difficult emotions ASAP—or her potent powers may become dangerous to the people she loves.
Kaya of the Ocean is an exciting, fresh, and beautiful middle-grade fantasy about embracing who you really are. This heartfelt adventure of sun, surf, and sand touches on mental health, the immigrant experience, and the complexities of growing up.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
An ABA Indies Introduce Selection
(POST-IT SAYS: Kaya is dealing with two large issues: her untreated anxiety disorder and the fact that she’s descended from a water goddess. She tries to hide both facts, but eventually learns to confide in others as she begins to understand them. Wide appeal.)
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Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta (ISBN-13: 9780593569450 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 02/18/2025, Ages 8-12)
New school, new country, but only half a family?! Embark on a coming of age journey with a middle school teen navigating their parent’s divorce while moving to a new country in this stunning graphic novel.
Ave thought moving to Kansas would be boring and flat after enjoying the mountains and trails in Mexico, but at least they would have their family with them. Unfortunately, while Ave, their mom, and their younger brother are relocating to the US, Ave’s father and older sister will be staying in Mexico…permanently. Their parents are getting a divorce.
As if learning a whole new language wasn’t hard enough, and now a Middle-Schooler has to figure out a new family dynamic…and what this means for them as they start middle school with no friends.
Jose Pimienta’s stunningly illustrated and thought provoking middle graphic novel is about exploring identity, understanding family, making friends with a language barrier, and above all else, learning what truly makes a place a home.
(POST-IT SAYS: Nonbinary Ave is not thrilled to leave Mexico for the U.S. Their family is split up, they struggle with English, and a secret makes it all worse. Fortunately, the discovery of good friends begins to help Ave feel better. A thoughtful look at identity and family.)
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True Gretch — Young Adult Edition: Lessons for Anyone Who Wants to Make a Difference by Gretchen Whitmer (ISBN-13: 9781665983761 Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Publication date: 01/28/2025, Ages 14-18)
The young adult edition of the unconventionally honest, deeply personal, and sharply funny account from Michigan governor and rising Democratic star Gretchen Whitmer is packed with remarkable insights for young people wishing to make a difference in the world.
When Gretchen Whitmer was growing up, her beloved grandmother Nino taught her that you can always find something good in other people. “Even the meanest person might have pretty eyes,” she would say, a piece of advice that Gretchen carries with her today in her role as the governor of Michigan. (And one that resonated more than another her grandmother offered: “never part your hair in the middle.”)
From navigating a kidnapping and assassination plot in which she herself was a target to facing monumental challenges during a global pandemic, Big Gretch (as she’s now known) shares the key pieces of wisdom that have shaped her trailblazing career and personal experiences in this often hilarious, always uplifting book. Along the way, she tells stories about growing up gutsy in the Midwest, the wild comments she’s encountered as a public figure, and how to neutralize high-profile bullies with a fearless sense of humor.
Told in her famously straightforward and slyly funny voice, this young adult edition of the governor’s story not only offers an intimate insight into the life of a politician with an astounding journey, but also affords extraordinary lessons for young people everywhere who wish to make a difference in the world.
(POST-IT SAYS: Candid, conversational, and inspirational, Whitmer’s book about a life in politics and all that led up to it is a great read. Important messages about advocating for yourself and listening. Whitmer has endured a lot but is indomitable!)
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After Life by Gayle Forman (ISBN-13: 9780063346147 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 01/07/2025, Ages 14-17)
One spring afternoon after school, Amber arrives home on her bike. It’s just another perfectly normal day. But when Amber’s mom sees her, she screams.
Because Amber died seven years ago, hit by a car while on the very same bicycle she’s inexplicably riding now.
This return doesn’t only impact Amber. Her sister, Melissa, now seven years older, must be a new kind of sibling to Amber. Amber’s estranged parents are battling over her. And the changes ripple farther and farther out: Amber’s friends, boyfriend, and even people she met only once have been deeply affected by her life and death. In the midst of everyone’s turmoil, Amber is struggling with herself. What kind of person was she? How and why was she given this second chance?
This magnificent tour de force by acclaimed author Gayle Forman brilliantly explores the porous veil between life and death, examines the impact that one person can have on the world, and celebrates life in all its beautiful complexity.
(POST-IT SAYS: Amber’s been dead for 7 years and now suddenly is… not? Returning to her old life is extremely complicated. With bits of stories over 29 years from multiple perspectives, we come to understand her life, her death, and whatever is going on with her being back. A unique look at grief.)
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Bat and the Business of Ferrets by Elana K. Arnold (ISBN-13: 9780063385139 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 02/11/2025 Series: The Bat Series #4, Ages 8-12)
The bestselling Bat returns! Bat and the Business of Ferrets is the fourth title in National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold’s heartfelt and widely acclaimed series featuring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum.
Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed “Bat”) is about to start fourth grade—and unfortunately for him, everything is changing: There’s a new teacher, a new classroom, new seats…and new rules. Mr. Grayson, Bat’s third grade teacher, had a lovable class rabbit named Babycakes who Bat could visit anytime he needed a break. But Mr. Peña does not have a class rabbit. In fact, Mr. Peña doesn’t believe in class pets at all. And for Bat, that’s one change too many.
Bat and his best friend, Israel, know they need to convince Mr. Peña to change his mind about class pets—and when a business of friendly ferrets arrives at Bat’s mom’s veterinary clinic, they think they’ve found the perfect pet to do so. But when they discover that their classmate Lucca also doesn’t like the idea of an animal in the classroom, Bat starts to worry that things will never be the way they were again.
(POST-IT SAYS: I love Bat and friends. Fixated on getting a class pet, Bat has to learn to work on accepting change and not getting his way. Everyone in these books is so sweet and tender even when having hard moments. Don’t miss this series.)
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The Davenports: More Than This by Krystal Marquis (ISBN-13: 9780593463369 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 11/12/2024, Ages 12-17)
The anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller featuring escapist romance and a wealthy Black family in 1910s Chicago
Like the blazing Chicago sun, the drama is heating up for the Davenports and their social set. Before the summer of 1910 drops its last petal, the lives—and loves—of these four young women will change in ways they never could have imagined:
Newly engaged Ruby Tremaine is eagerly planning her wedding to the love of her life when a nasty rumor threatens her reputation and her marriage. Olivia Davenporthas committed to the social justice cause and secretly hopes she’ll be reunited with dashing lawyer Washington DeWight—until her parents decide she’s to marry someone else. Amy-Rose Shepherd is making her lifelong wish of owning a salon come true, but when an incident forces her to return to Freeport Manor, she’s back in the path of John Davenport, who still holds her heart. Helen Davenport is determined to get over her own heartbreak and bring the Davenport Carriage Company into the new century, even if it means teaming up with a thrill-seeking racecar driver who just loves to get under her skin.
Inspired by the real-life story of the Patterson family, More Than This is the second book in critically adored Davenports series, following four empowered and passionate young Black women as they navigate a rapidly changing society and discover the courage to steer their own paths in life—and love.
(POST-IT SAYS: If you missed the first one, lucky you to get to read them back-to-back. I loved seeing Olivia, Ruby, Amy-Rose, and Helen continue to grow and come into their own. I love the characters’ ambition and determination to carve their own paths. Excellent historical romance that wraps up satisfyingly.)
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Nat a Chance (Nat Enough #6) by Maria Scrivan (ISBN-13: 9781546104452 Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication date: 03/04/2025 Series: Nat Enough Series, Ages 8-12)
The sixth book in the New York Times bestselling series that began with Nat Enough!
You don’t know until you try…
Nat doesn’t think she’s an athlete, but after a series of painfully embarrassing moments, she’s determined to build her confidence and signs up for a triathlon with her best friend, Zoe. As training begins, Nat realizes she’s in way over her head, facing so many setbacks and challenges that she wonders why she ever signed up! Can Nat get out of her own way and complete the triathlon, or will she convince herself that she’s not cut out for it and quit?
(POST-IT SAYS: Another solid installment of Nat and friends. Great messages about persistence, friendship, kindness, going out of your comfort zone, and doing “impossible” things. Nat’s (eventual) positive attitude is contagious!)
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Radiant by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (ISBN-13: 9780593855782 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 01/07/2025, Ages 10-14)
A historical middle-grade novel in verse from multiple Coretta Scott King winner Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.
As school begins in 1963, Cooper Dale wrestles with what it means to “shine” for a black girl in a predominantly white community near Pittsburgh. Set against the historic backdrop of the Birmingham church bombing, the Kennedy assassination, and Beatlemania, Radiant is a finely crafted novel in verse about race, class, faith, and finding your place in a loving family and a complicated world.
Cooper’s primary concern is navigating fifth grade, where she faces both an extra-strict teacher and the bullying of Wade Carter, the only child of a well-to-do white family, whose home Cooper’s mother cleans for extra income. How can she shine when her mother works for the meanest boy in school? To make matters worse, Cooper quietly wishes she could be someone else.
It’s not all bad, though. Cooper and her beloved older sister have fallen for the Beatles, and Cooper is thrilled to have something special they can share. And what she learns about her British idols adds new complexity to Cooper’s feelings about race.
(POST-IT SAYS: Set in turbulent 1963, 5th grade Cooper attends a majority white school and has lots of complicated feelings about being Black, the value of “color blindness,” forgiveness, empathy, friendship, and what it means to shine. A masterfully done novel in verse with an achingly authentic main character.)
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Mountain Upside Down by Sara Ryan (ISBN-13: 9780593699515 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 02/11/2025, Ages 10-12)
A funny and heartfelt LGBTQIA+ middle grade novel set against the backdrop of family drama and a library funding campaign in a small town.
Alex Eager lives in Faillin, OR with her grandmother, a retired librarian. Life should be great for Alex, since she finally worked up the courage to ask her best friend PJ if they could be more than friends and she said yes. But their new relationship will have to be long distance, because PJ is moving. On top of that, Alex is worried that something is wrong with her increasingly forgetful grandmother. And to make matters worse, Faillin is holding a referendum on library funding, and things aren’t looking good. Will anything good for Alex ever last?
Mountain Upside Down is a beautifully crafted story of a thirteen-year-old girl finding her place in her family and her community. It’s a queer-positive story that doesn’t center coming out. It’s a story of a library’s role in a community that doesn’t feature book banning. And it’s a story of long-held family secrets and resentment that focuses not on final resolution but learning how to communicate again.
(POST-IT SAYS: Everything is changing. Alex’s girlfriend moves, her grandma’s dementia is worsening, her beloved library is in trouble, and family secrets are coming to light. Anxious, thoughtful, and compassionate Alex learns to adjust as it becomes clear that things will not get “fixed” or go back to how they were.)
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Dropping Beats by Nathanael Lessore (ISBN-13: 9780316581516 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Publication date: 02/11/2025, Ages 12-15)
“Funny, bursting with heart, goofy, wise, and did I mention– wildly wonderfully funny.”
—Jon Scieszka, First National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature and Founder of Guys Read
A hilarious and heartfelt young YA comedy about the misadventures of an aspiring young rapper as he navigates school, family, and friendship.
Thirteen-year-old Growls (aka Shaun) is an aspiring (awful) rapper who hopes to enter this year’s Raptology competition with his best friend, Shanks (aka Zachariah). After all, what better way to land his crush (Tanisha) and get the respect he finally deserves than winning the contest and going viral?
But when a livestream practice goes epically wrong, the two friends do go viral– and not in the way they’d hoped.
Now the laughingstock of the school, Growls is sure he’ll never have another chance to date Tanisha. Even worse, Shanks has gone MIA, leaving him terribly alone.
But when Growls meets the new girl on the block (Siobhan), things don’t seem so terrible after all. And with some patience, a little luck, and a whole lot of practice, he just might win the Raptology competition and be a hero to both Siobhan and Shanks.
Either way, he’s ready for this. He’s steady for this. It’s comeback season and they call him comeback king for a reason.
(POST-IT SAYS: Alert! The main character is 13! Quite uncommon. Full of hilarity and humiliation, yes, but also covers serious issues of money and responsibility. Growls is an excellent protagonist who feels very true to his age. A solid read and I was grateful for the glossary!)
Safe Harbor by Padma Venkatraman (ISBN-13: 9780593112502 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 01/21/2025, Ages 10-12)
An uplifting novel in verse about an immigrant girl adjusting to life in the US through her love of nature, music, and poetry, by the award-winning author of The Bridge Home
When Geetha and her mom move from India to Rhode Island after her parents’ divorce, they leave everything Geetha loves behind—her family, her friends, her dog, and all that’s familiar. As if that’s not hard enough, Geetha is bullied at her new school for her clothes, her food, and her English (who knew so many English words could be spelled or pronounced differently in the US—or just be altogether different!). She finds some solace in playing her flute and writing poetry, and even more when she meets Miguel, a kid with whom she has a lot in common, and the two of them help rescue an injured harp seal stranded on the beach. But Geetha can feel her anger building over lots of things—careless people who pollute the sea and hurt animals, and her mom for making her move. She’s never been so sad and angry. She can see a lot of her fears mirrored in the injured seal when she visits it at the Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center, and this broadens her understanding of survival skills. And when she and Miguel start a beach-clean-up venture, she’s surprised to find how many kind kids are out there. Geetha is torn as the time comes to let the seal go, knowing she’ll miss him, but wanting the best for him. She’s learning to live with mixed feelings and accept that while there will always be rough waters, there are plenty of safe harbors too.
(POST-IT SAYS: Really great read and at 176 pages (and a novel in verse) is a quick read too. Geetha faces a lot of change and has a bit of a hard time adjusting to her new life. While she is bullied, she also makes many good new friends and develops new interests. Great messages about climate change and mental health.)