In a tony New Jersey suburb, artistic Jaya, outspoken Lola, and shy Maria find an instant bond with each other, recognizing their outsider experiences of being the daughters of immigrant mothers who work as housekeepers and nannies for the wealthy families of their eighth-grade classmates. Jaya...
Young Evelyn gets dumped at her surprised aunt’s posh NYC penthouse so her neglectful father can take yet another honeymoon with the latest young wife. Evelyn’s managed to escape her lonely life by creating her very own manga series, “The Amazing Adventures of Zirconium Man...
What a fast-paced, can’t put-down, biting, over-the-top debut! You'll have to read it for the body count alone ...
I don't know why the galley's back cover touts "shades of Slumdog Millionaire and The Namesake" because this book has no overlaps with either of those titles, much less their authors, or even locations! Really, not all brown people look alike – authors or their characters! Slumdog...
Although the cover of Bi's novel displays a character for "triple happiness" – ostensibly representing the eponymous three sisters – readers shouldn't expect a happily-ever-after tale. After seven daughters, Party Secretary Wang sees his self-esteem redeemed with the birth of a son. Firstborn Yumi, the de facto...
When her parents take their annual summer trip to India, 11-year-old Poppy decides it's the perfect chance to spend a month with her veterinarian Uncle Sanjay who runs an animal clinic on Nisqually Island off Washington’s coast. How else can she learn to be a...
The adventures of Shizuka Shiroyama and her two best sidekicks, strong-willed Okouchi and ever-cheerful Tadami, continues in this third installment with some guilty feelings, a heartwarming wedding, and dealing with a meddlesome doctor's awkward attempts at matchmaking because she still can't get over her own...
How helpful to find a "For New Readers"-summary on the Table of Contents page! And it's so thorough that if you pick up volume 2 (or any after) before volume 1, you can still enjoy this touching series about the trials and travails of early...
It's true, it's true once again ...
Even as he is pulling his body – mid-escape! – out of the tiny hole that will release him from the infamous Umihotaru Prison, manga artist Kakuta momentarily gets distracted: "Whenever I run into anything that would make good material for a manga, I get totally absorbed"...
Through the decades, Ruthanne Lum McCunn has built a lauded career giving voice to spirited, groundbreaking heroes of Asian descent. Growing up in a large, extended family in Hong Kong, McCunn, who is half Chinese and half Scottish American, was surrounded by strong, independent women...
In today's tough times filled with unemployment woes and economic downturns, The Can Man is all too real a story. Once a neighbor with a job – and a real name, Mr. Peters – the homeless man everyone just calls The Can Man wanders the...
Heartbreak and hope are two words that define this 1948 classic by one of South Africa's most important writers. I picked it up recently because it's on our daughter's middle school reading list and while I vaguely remembered some of the plot, I realized I...
Sisters Sharon and Mary are shocked when their mother tells them that their two-year-old younger brother, Di Di, will be sent to China to live for a year with their grandparents. "'A whole year?'" they ask incredulously. Mama explains that the girls are older, heading...
*STARRED REVIEW The title of Sonya Chung’s exquisite novel, Long for This World, seems to be missing a word: “not long for this world” would be the easy, expected phrase. But little is ‘easy’ or ‘expected’ in this multilayered story of two brothers – one Korean,...
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli is one of those favorite authors I share with my children, Maniac Magee and Stargirl probably being our all-time favorite Spinelli titles. I think this might be his very first picture book (Spinelli's back flap bio mentions his 28 novels and...
In 1848 American English, "wench" referred to "[a] colored woman of any age; a negress or mulattress, especially one in service." Among far too many southern (utterly misnamed) 'gentlemen' (as these men exhibited nothing 'gentle' in their behavior), a wench's expected service was sexual in...
Reading this phenomenal title four years ago was and remains for me one of the most searing literary experiences about the horrors of slavery. Something made me pull it out again and leaf through the pages, and viscerally recall 15-year-old Amari's terrifying 1738 journey across...
"Willow's words came out in whispers ...
The story could not be any sweeter. A big brother greets his little sister on the morning of her first birthday, and lovingly explains the happy events of the special day ahead. Following Korean tradition, the first birthday is an especially auspicious day, filled with loving...
