You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight

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not suposed to dieWhat happens when a group of teens who run a fantasy horror experience find out the horror is real?

The “experience” takes place at an isolated location where a popular horror movie, “The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake,” was filmed.  Visitors come to this immersive environment expecting to be scared. They are invited to try and survive the night while being pursued by a deranged killer.

A group of teenagers are responsible for running the camp’s bloody special effects. The teens also play the role of attendees who get slaughtered. Charity is one of the teens and she is in charge. She plays the role of the “last girl” – the classic horror movie trope of being the only person to survive. Two nights before the season ends, some of her staff members go missing. Strange things start to happen, and Charity and her friends make some horrifying discoveries. Could the camp really be cursed? The adults who are supposed to help are useless. It soon becomes clear the teens will have to rely on everything they know about the camp, horror movies and their own survival skills to make it out alive.

The start of this novel leads you to believe you’ll be reading a series of horror tropes, but the story goes in a very different and terrifying direction. For example, Black people typically are the first to die in horror movies, but here, “last girl” Charity is Black. The teens represent a range of cultures and sexualities, which is another thing often missing from horror stories. This novel is as enjoyable as it is scary, thanks to some unexpected twists and a killer ending.

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight comes out in June but you can pre-order it now!

Frizzy

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Side view of a Latine pre-teen girl with beautiful, bountiful curly hair, with city buildings the background.(Updated)

How can a girl love her hair when no one else around her does?

Marlene is at her least favorite place – the hair salon. She has beautiful, thick, curly hair, but according to everyone around her it needs to be tamed. Marlene’s visit to the salon is a weekly ritual, but this day is special, because she’s getting her hair done for her cousin’s quinceañera. It hurts Marlene both physically and emotionally to have her curls forced into submission. Her mother tells Marlene repeatedly that anything other than straight hair is unacceptable, and that natural hair is bad hair. Reverence for straight hair has been passed down for generations in Marlene’s family as well as in their Dominican community. The compliments she gets on her straightened hair don’t make her feel any better. Even when having fun, Marlene is reminded of the problem – she dances joyfully at the quince but she sweats and her hair goes back to its natural, curly state. This upsets her mother even more. Supported by her best friend Camila, Marlene tries unsuccessfully to wear her curls, but gets bullied at school and punished by her mother. Marlene finally finds an ally in her Tia Ruby – but will it be enough to overcome generations of valuing “good hair”?

This graphic novel is more than a story of a girl learning to care for her hair. It addresses the generational damage the concept of “good hair” has done to so many communities. Importantly, it does not shy away from the fact that it is rooted in anti-blackness. The lessons Tia Ruby gives Marlene are a good real-life guide for curly-haired readers. The wonderful art showing Marlene’s hair in various stages of curliness are distinct and accurate. Facial expressions and body language showing the range of emotions everyone experiences are powerful. Despite her struggles, there is a lot of fun in this book as we watch Marlene dare to accept and celebrate her curls.

Find Frizzy at your local bookstore or comic book shop.

Frizzy

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Side view of a Latine pre-teen girl with beautiful, bountiful curly hair, with city buildings the background.How can a girl love her hair when no one else around her does?

Marlene is at her least favorite place – the hair salon. She has beautiful, thick, curly hair, but according to everyone around her it needs to be tamed. Marlene’s visit to the salon is a weekly ritual, but this day is special, because she’s getting her hair done for her cousin’s quinceañera. It hurts Marlene both physically and emotionally to have her curls forced into submission. Her mother tells Marlene repeatedly that anything other than straight hair is unacceptable, and that natural hair is bad hair. Reverence for straight hair has been passed down for generations in Marlene’s family as well as in their Dominican community. The compliments she gets on her straightened hair don’t make her feel any better. Even when having fun, Marlene is reminded of the problem – she dances joyfully at the quince but she sweats and her hair goes back to its natural, curly state. This upsets her mother even more. Supported by her best friend Camila, Marlene tries unsuccessfully to wear her curls, but gets bullied at school and punished by her mother. Marlene finally finds an ally in her Tia Ruby – but will it be enough to overcome generations of valuing “good hair”?

This graphic novel is more than a story of a girl learning to care for her hair. It addresses the generational damage the concept of “good hair” has done to so many communities. Importantly, it does not shy away from the fact that it is rooted in anti-blackness. The lessons Tia Ruby gives Marlene are a good real-life guide for curly-haired readers. The wonderful art showing Marlene’s hair in various stages of curliness are distinct and accurate. Facial expressions and body language showing the range of emotions everyone experiences are powerful. Despite her struggles, there is a lot of fun in this book as we watch Marlene dare to accept and celebrate her curls.

Find Frizzy at your local bookstore or comic book shop.

Cool. Awkward. Black.

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Four Black teens surrounded by swirling, glowing books, ufo's and masks, all indicating something magical is happening.Cool. Awkward. Black: this collection of eighteen stories confirms that yes, you can be all three. Some of the best writers of young adult books have come together to prove it. Into cosplay? Cool. Play videogames? Nice. Enjoy fantasy role playing games? We got you. Do you craft? You’re not alone! Do you love LARPing? We see you!

The genres include fantasy, horror, science fiction and more, often with a bit of romance. You’ll meet teens who hunt UFOs, others with surprising mystical powers, many who dare to live their authentic, nerdy selves. Ibi Zoboi’s “Earth Is Ghetto” explores how people can feel like aliens on earth and questions whether there are answers off planet. “Requiem of Souls” from Terry J. Benton-Walker is straight up horror  – with music. Roseanne A. Brown’s “Wolf Tracks” shows how love can be transformative on multiple levels. If you’re looking for adventure, in “Drive Time” by Lamar Giles, two teens who start out taking a “behind the wheel” lesson suddenly find themselves forced to be their instructor’s getaway drivers.

I have to admit, this book grabbed me from the first entry. In “Our Joy, Our Power” by Julian Winters, two young men meet and make a sweet connection at a Comic-Con like gathering – one of my favorite places to be! A nice thing about this collection is that it’s kind of meta – not only do the stories reflect the interests of different nerdy Black teens, these are also the kinds of stories that nerdy Black teens like to read.  There is so much variety here, anyone who picks up the book will find something to enjoy.

Find Cool. Awkward. Black at your local bookstore.

The Best Graphic Novels of 2022

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I was honored to work on the committee to select School Library Journal’s “Best Graphic Novels of 2022.” It wasn’t easy because there’s a lot of  amazing work out there! Our team read lots of wonderful titles and managed to narrow it down to these 22 books. If you’re still looking for holiday gifts (or shopping for yourself), you will find something good here – for early readers through young adult you’ll find fantasy, non fiction, realistic fiction and more – we have you covered! Learn more about each of these titles on SLJ’s website, and find them at your local bookstore or comic book shop.

Happy holidays!

flamingo

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

Whiteout

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Two Black teens are kissing against a backdrop of a city skyline and falling snow; it looks like they're in a snow globe.Scientific Question – Can you outromance the most romance-obsessed girlfriend in the world?

Stephanie “Stevie” Williams has to answer this question – and fast. Her girlfriend Sola planned a special dinner to introduce Stevie to her family. Stevie screws up royally and turns the night into a disaster. Sola is heartbroken and has given Stevie a deadline to make things right. Stevie, a scientific, logic-driven person, calls on her network of friends to help her create a grand gesture to win Sola back. They all want to help but it won’t be easy. Each of them are in the midst of dealing with their own romantic issues. To make things more complicated, all the plans get tossed in the air because a snowstorm has hit their city of Atlanta, making it almost impossible to get anywhere.

As the teens’ stories are explored we get to enjoy favorite romance tropes, from “do I dare admit my feelings?,” to “can we get past this misunderstanding?,” to “is my ex is your ex?” Queer romances are front and center serving up plotlines that will appeal to many teens. All the teens are Black but they come from a variety of backgrounds including Nigerian, Muslim, Afro-Latino, and Jewish. Rather than shallow mentions, their assorted cultures are important to the narrative. Collectively their stories blend vulnerability, bravery and swoony affection in a way that feels honest. The teens are all relatable as young people trying to figure things out. Whiteout is written by the same lineup of award winning young adult authors that brought us Blackout. This time around Nicola Yoon, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Tiffany D. Jackson and Dhonielle Clayton only give clues to who wrote which storylines. In the end it doesn’t matter. The authors work cohesively to bring Stevie, Sola and their friends together in a warm embrace of romance.

Find Whiteout at your local bookstore.

 

The Getaway

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Black teen's face in shadow with blood red background and lettering. His eyes and mouth are gruesomely stitched closed.It’s the very near future and the US has been devastated by wildfires, drought and floods. Food shortages and riots have become the norm, with very few places designated as safe cities. Karloff Country Resort  offers the very wealthy an escape from this broken world. It is “the funnest place around,” according to the owners. Once inside the walls of Karloff Country’s theme park, nothing in the outside world matters. The staff – all BIPOC – live onsite in an area separate from the guests and consider themselves lucky. They live and breathe the Karloff Country motto, “service and joy.”

Teens Jay, Zeke and Connie work and go to school there. Seychelle Karloff is part of their friend group. Despite being heir to the Karloff empire, she is more connected to the teens than her family. She has always been treated like an outsider. She’s biracial and her grandfather never forgave her mother for bringing a half-Black child into the family.

Things start to get troubling when Jay and Zeke notice some of their neighbors are going missing. At the same time wealthy families are moving into the Karloff vacation mansions but aren’t leaving. Guests become more demanding and treatment of the staff becomes more callous. Jay tries to find logical answers, while Zeke follows conspiracy chat rooms and realizes they might be on to something. Seychelle uses her Karloff family connections to get more information. As the three friends uncover the startling truth, they work together to find a way out.

It’s clear early on that things aren’t quite right; but as the story progresses, the intensity ratchets up quickly, in a frighteningly believable way. Horror stems from the world the Karloffs and their peers created both inside and outside the walls of Karloff Country. The teens’ relationships aren’t without conflict but each in their own way uses their skills and resources to help each other out.

The most frightening thing about The Getaway is how many storylines in the book are playing out in our world right now.

Clear your calendar because once you start this book you will not be able to put it down. And can we talk about that cover? The book is scary before you even open it!

Find The Getaway at your local bookstore

The Weight of Blood

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Black teen girl wearing tiara and Prom Queen sash drenched in blood, set against a black background.A bullied teen, her unhinged parent, a prom and telekinesis. You may think you know where this horror novel is going but trust me, you do not.

A true crime podcast host is looking to uncover the truth about a tragedy that struck a small Georgia town years before. Does the blame really rest on one teen girl, Maddie Washington? Going back and forth in time, the narrative spools out the story in the podcast’s current day interviews with survivors and experts, woven with the events as they happened.

Maddie and her white father live in a small Georgia town where even in 2014 the community continues the tradition of hosting segregated proms – one for white students, another for Black students. Maddie is biracial but has been passing for white her whole life. No one ever knew her mother. Her abusive father keeps her terrorized at the thought of anyone finding out she is part Black.

To make matters worse for Maddie, her father has recreated a 1960’s era world in their home with no cable tv or internet. All Maddie sees are videos of “Father Knows Best” type television shows, old movies and whitewashed history lessons. It’s reminiscent of people today who try to recreate a world  where white men rule and no one else matters.

Maddie’s secret is revealed when an unexpected rainstorm sends her hot comb straightened hair back to its naturally coily state. One classmate, Jules, starts launching pencils into Maddie’s hair; other classmates joyfully join into the abuse. A video of the incident goes viral, bringing their school and community unwanted attention. What the video doesn’t show is Maddie begging them to stop. As she gets more and more upset, classroom lights break, windows shatter, and the floor heaves. The viral video causes things to escalate in this divided town, coming to a horrifying climax on prom night.

Each character in this story brings a different point of view, adding complexity to the narrative. Kendrick, the Black football star is  accepted by the white kids because of his talent, but has to live with that pressure and his tenuous relationship with other Black students. Kendrick’s sister Kali founded the school’s Black Student Union and isn’t afraid to stand up against the daily racism Black students endure. Jules, who started the bullying, feels victimized when called on it, blaming Maddie for this new experience of suffering consequences for her actions.  Wendy, Kendrick’s white girlfriend, believes dating Kendrick makes her a good person and will not stand for anything that gets in the way of her self-image.

Tiffany D. Jackson is an incredible writer who skillfully blends issues of racism, pseudo-allyship, entitlement, police brutality and the supernatural into a compelling story. This horror novel asks what’s more frightening, otherworldly powers or the impact of racism on Black people’s everyday lives?

Find The Weight of Blood at your local bookstore.

Swim Team

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Black tween girl wearing blue and yellow swimsuit and goggles backed by blue water in a swimming pool.Bree Hanley is a seventh grader who faces a host of obstacles when she and her father move to Florida from New York. Her dad works two jobs so he isn’t around much to offer support as she struggles to make friends at her new middle school. Bree’s new home, Palmetto Shores, is obsessed with competitive swimming. Bree’s first choice elective, Math Puzzles, is full and the only activity with space is Swim 101. Bree struggles with anxiety, so having to participate in the spotlight sport – while navigating the challenges of being the new girl at school – proves to be overwhelming. Despite these hurdles she makes a bold move and agrees to join her friends on the swim team. Can new friends and a surprising connection to her town’s last championship swim team help her get through?

Vibrant colors bring the lively characters and settings to life. Issues of racism and classism are communicated well in both art and text, which is well-suited for the intended middle grade audience. Bree’s struggles with anxiety are powerfully illustrated with dark clouds spelling out her fears. They contrast with the colors of the world outside of her head, showing how oppressive those thoughts can be. Most of the characters are Black, which opens up the conversation about how a history of segregation prevented Black people from accessing public pools and beaches. The inclusion of resources to learn more about these issues is a bonus.

This comic is relatable to a wide audience, regardless of any connection to middle school or swimming. Many of us in new, uncomfortable situations have experienced anxiety. The narrative shows that finding support in friends and community can be the first steps on a path to healing.

Find Swim Team at your local bookstore or comic book shop.

Survive in the Outdoors!

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Latinx boy and girl at a wooded campsite building a fire and holding a fish they caught surrounded by camping equipment.Just in time for summer fun, this graphic novel packs an incredible amount of practical, useful, clearly explained information about staying safe while enjoying the outdoors. Tweens Alonso and Sophia are spending the weekend with their Abuelo. Abuelo loves the outdoors and decides to take the children to his favorite remote fishing spot. Alonso and Sophia aren’t excited about this as they aren’t used to being disconnected from their online lives. Abuelo begins teaching them about what to expect as they make and pack the things they’ll need for their trip. As they hike deep into the woods Abuelo twists his ankle and can’t walk. It’s now up to Alonso and Sophia to care for Abuelo and keep themselves safe. 

The story of Alonso, Sophia and Abuelo is a great vehicle for teaching how to be prepared in the outdoors. Since this is a maker project book, it contains fun hands on activities as well as general information. The maker projects include making fishing lures, a compass, and a campfire, all of which are well illustrated and explained in detail. Outdoor safety concerns, e.g. avoiding ticks, administering first aid, making sure water is safe to drink, and creating an emergency shelter are presented in a way that informs rather than frightens. One unexpected and interesting element involves the children’s feelings about fishing for their dinner. Abuelo recognizes their sadness at having to kill a fish to eat it. He explains that feeling sad is normal, but if you’re going to eat meat you should know where it comes from.

The relationships in this Latinx family are sweet and warm. Sophia and Alonso manage through the crisis in a realistically age appropriate way. The art is colorful and engaging, expressing the characters’ emotions just as well as it diagrams project instructions. As someone whose first choice of activity is not spending time camping or fishing, I have to say this book made me feel like going outside might actually be fun.

Find Survive in the Outdoors!  at your local bookstore.

Personal note: Sorry to be absent from the blog for so long. COVID and other upheavals kept me away – I’m happy to be back!