THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY by Katherine Applegate

 

The tale of the One and Only Ivan comes to a close in THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY by Katherine Applegate. Fans of the series will be pleased as the story concludes.

Ivan now lives in a proper zoo along with his mate Kinyani and his friends Ruby and Bob. The gorilla habitat has recently been enlarged making room for some other gorillas and a huge surprise - Kinyani is pregnant.

Ivan never really thought about being a dad, but now it's all he thinks about. As the resident silverback, he is the protector of his new troop of gorillas, and that will soon include a little one of his own. 

As the zoo vet and keepers carefully follow Kinyani's pregnancy, it is discovered that she is expecting twins. Ivan couldn't be more excited but also more nervous than ever.

Applegate weaves another wonderful tale as she describes Ivan's excitement and concerns and the reactions of all his friends. Ruby's helpful advice and Bob's annoying predictions give readers plenty of humor and thoughtfulness just like the other books before it. Ivan's fans will surely find this final book to be a perfect ending they will want to read and reread for years.

SAIL ME AWAY HOME by Ann Clare LeZotte

 

SAIL ME AWAY HOME by Ann Clare LeZotte follows the story of Mary Lambert, a deaf girl living on Martha's Vineyard. Mary was born deaf as many on this island community. The hereditary deafness of many on Martha's Vineyard resulted in the development of a unique sign language that allowed the residents, whether hearing or deaf to communicate.

Mary is the local schoolteacher. She is proud of her ability to educate the numerous deaf children that many normally dismiss as unable to learn. She dreams of visiting a well-known deaf school in Paris to learn even more about education. When a group of missionaries offers to let her travel with them to Europe, she is thrilled that her dream may come true.

After much convincing, Mary gets her parents to agree to this distant voyage. A two-month journey by ship ends in Mary's arrival in England where she visits a school there. Their welcome isn't exactly warm and generous, but Mary does see how another educational program works.

When she arrives in Paris, she is more warmly welcomed at the school there. Although, there are uncertain times and a fear that the missionaries will be forcing her to stay with them on their journey on to Asia, Mary is able to connect with people who help her fulfill her dream of learning more about deaf education.

Ann Clare LeZotte's other books are SHOW ME A SIGN and SET ME FREE.

SLOUCH by Christina Wyman

 

If you are looking for a book packed with great discussion topics, SLOUCH by Christina Wyman is for you. Aimed at a middle grade audience (but could be used for high school as well), SLOUCH takes on multiple topics top of mind for many teens and even their parents and teachers.

Stevie Crumb is the tallest in her class. She's taller than the girls and also the boys. Everyone expects her to play sports, especially basketball, but she's not interested at all. Her brother Ryan is a basketball player with dreams of playing in college with a full scholarship. Their parents are also hoping for that since it will be the only chance he'll have to go to college.

Money is always tight, but Stevie notices that Ryan has whatever he needs for basketball - new shoes, new shorts, whatever he needs. At the same time, Stevie must wear Ryan's hand-me-downs if she wants pants that aren't too short or too tight. She's growing, but when she points this out to her mother, she is told she'll have to wait until there is some extra cash in a few weeks.

Stevie stumbles across a meeting of the school's debate team. She is immediately interested in joining the group. Maybe her parents will like the fact that she is competing in something, even if it isn't a sport. 

Staying after school for debate practice means taking the train home later than usual and often without her best friend. Stevie becomes uncomfortable when older boys and even men start making comments about her physical appearance. Several of them even touch her as they pass her to leave the train. Keeping this information to herself doesn't feel right, but her parents are so focused on Ryan's basketball and their money problems, she can't find the right time to bring it up.

SLOUCH is full of Stevie's problems - bullying, family dynamics, social media issues, best friend dilemmas, and scary threats to her physical safety. Readers will take an instant liking for Stevie and root for her to find all the answers she needs.

THE ART OF BEING NORMAL by Lisa Williamson

 

David has spent most of his life wishing he was a girl. When he is home alone, he tries out being who he wants to be by dressing up and practicing the YouTube make-up video tips he watches. At school he tries to be normal, but only his two best friends treat him kindly.

Leo is starting at his new school. He hopes no one knows what happened at his old school. If they find out, he definitely won't be able to pretend to act normal. When he meets Alicia, the most popular girl in school, he can't believe she likes him. As their relationship becomes more serious, Alicia pushes things physically. That's when everything falls apart. 

David and Leo are both trans. David wants to come out to his parents as Kate, but he isn't sure how they will react. Leo is already out to his mother and siblings. They haven't thought of him as Megan for quite some time. The person he wants to tell is his father who left long ago. Searching for him has been challenging, but Leo has made a breakthrough. He hopes his father will welcome a son instead of a daughter.

Author Lisa Williamson tackles a difficult subject bravely and deftly. David and Leo are confronting what can often be a cruel world. Through their stories, Williamson offers trans teens an inspiring approach with hope for a positive future.

NOT NOTHING by Gayle Forman

 

Alex is twelve years old. He is trying to adjust to the new normal of living with his aunt and uncle. He isn't sure if he will see his mother again or not.

Josey is 107 years old. He lives in Shady Glen, an assisted living facility. He doesn't speak because he doesn't see any reason to communicate anymore.

Alex and Josey meet when Alex is assigned volunteer work at Shady Glen. Alex is under court supervision because of a terrible thing he did. He doesn't want to be around these old people, but it's either that or the judge will send him to a juvenile detention facility.

This is not the way Alex wanted to spend his summer, and it gets even worse when he meets Maya-Jade. She also volunteers at Shady Glen, and it turns out she is Alex's boss. She has him washing everything with bleach and helping with activities for the old people Alex describes as zombies. It isn't until he is sent on an errand to Josey's room that he begins to see the value of his time with the elderly.

Author Gayle Forman's new middle grade novel is a book that should be read by everyone. The parallel stories of Alex and Josey are sure to touch hearts and convince all readers that everyone has something to contribute to the world. NOT NOTHING will stay with readers long after the last page is turned. 

THE ENIGMA GIRLS by Candace Fleming

 

Author Candace Fleming gives readers yet another great nonfiction book. THE ENIGMA GIRLS tells the story of ten teenagers during WW II. These girls ranging from 17-20 years old enlisted in the WRENS and served as code breakers. 

They worked at Bletchley Park, a secret location in England. Beginning in 1940, their work was to break the ciphers used by the German to follow their movements and uncover their battle plans. Ciphers were changed on a daily basis so the girls had to work quickly to determine the meaning of the coded orders and report them so action could be taken to prepare for and defeat the enemy. In 1945 alone, more than 6,000 women worked to decode and translate information from the enemies.

The work was tiring and stressful. Everyone was sworn to secrecy. They didn't even discuss these secrets among themselves for fear of revealing critical information that could result in the death of troops or civilians. These girls later married and had families who didn't even know what contributions they made for the war effort.

Some thirty years after the war ended, facts began to surface about the Enigma girls' significant efforts to direct the paths of British and Allied forces during the war. Author Candace Fleming's research into these brave individuals is presented in THE ENIGMA GIRLS.