These two quotes from the beginning and the end of the story were powerful. The progression from labels and words "pelting" and "eviscerating" Manu to "why let language ensnare you" felt very indicative of her character development and the realization that she doesn't need to adhere to the systems that she believed she needed to fit into. I think these are great messages for younger readers to see and understand.

I really enjoyed the combination of fantasy and folklore with realistic, tough topics. I think it's a great way to have younger audiences consume issues like immigration without it feeling too heavy, especially if it's something that hits too close to home for someone. I also liked the use of both English and Spanish. It reminded me of Solito in a lot of ways.

I really enjoyed the complex family dynamic in this book. I've always really liked fantasy books that have group dynamics where they're forced to work together for the same end goal, and the fact that this group were all estranged siblings added a lot to that trope. I loved seeing them work out their relationships as the story progressed and make peace with the mistakes their parents made with them.

For my second choice book, I chose "The Ivory Key" by Akshaya Raman. I really liked that this book chose to use multiple POVs throughout. Even though a fantasy book with world building can sometimes be tough to introduce, especially if you have different character perspectives, it didn't feel hard to follow along with. Getting to see the different motivations and emotions for each character added a lot to the story.

I liked how Omar realized that Hassan wasn't completely helpless just because he had a disability. I'm about halfway through the book, but seeing him start having more faith in Hassan and trust that others can take care of him when he can't was really great. I hope that as the story continues, we see this aspect of their relationship progress more because Omar puts a lot of pressure on himself to be a caretaker.

I think it was the right choice to tell this story as a graphic novel. The visual aspects and being able to physically see what the refugee camps were like helped me connect with the story a lot more than if it was only described. You also get to see Omar and Hassan's close bond and the way they interact with the other kids. The visual medium was very powerful.

I'm a little over a third of the way through the book so far, and I like the narrative format Slater uses. The constant switches between telling the story, providing background information on the students' lives before the incident, and also providing factual information and research kept me engaged with the book. It also helps me sympathize with the students more because of how interconnected they all are and everything they've been through.

I really liked the psychological aspects of media literacy that were explained in this book, specifically when it came to the social media chapter. The way Yasmin explains concepts makes it easy to digest and understand, and I can definitely see how this book could fit in a classroom setting.

At the beginning of the book, I assumed the narrator and her best friend would end up together and have some kind of happy ending. As the story went on though, I was honestly frustrated that the narrator continued to be friends with her despite the clear toxicity of their relationship. I also understood why she stayed for so long though, and that complexity is what made this story so captivating. In the end, she made the right choice to leave.

I think it was an interesting choice to tell this story in a non-linear way. Sometimes the timeline was a bit hard to follow along with, but I enjoyed the glimpses into the narrator's past (both individually and her past with her best friend) as the main plot progressed. It gave a lot of insight into her motivations and actions that eventually lead to the climax (the fire).

I used to be a Journalism major before I switched to English Ed, and I took a few classes that discussed a lot of the topics in this book. It's interesting to get a lot more context and learn more than I was able to before I switched my major. I think things like news/media literacy are important to understand, especially when it comes to recognizing things like dis/misinformation in the content we consume every day.

I really like the author's use of sidebars to present rhetorical questions and additional information. If I were to use excerpts from this book in the classroom, I think a lot of these questions would create great discussions as a class. Even outside of the classroom, it was interesting to think about these questions by myself and consider the information being presented.

For my first choice YA book, I chose “Nothing Burns as Bright as You“ by Ashley Woodfolk. I didn't realize it was written in verse when I was considering it, but I figured I should step outside my comfort zone a little bit. So far, I'm really enjoying it. I love that it's written as if the narrator is speaking to the love interest, and I love the themes of conformity and the complex friendship/romance between the main characters.

I would love to include this book in my future classroom library. I think it would be really great for students to be exposed to a story like this, and for students who might relate to see someone like them in fiction. The love story itself was so beautifully told, and the historical setting made it feel so much more impactful because of the danger and urgency of Lily and Kath‘s relationship.

I liked that the author included a physical timeline to follow along with and that she included backstories for Lily‘s family. It added a lot more depth to them to get to see their perspectives and experiences, and I loved that Lily had her Aunt Judy to confide in and feel safe discussing her interests with. She really didn‘t have many people like that in her life.

I loved the scenes where Lily talked to Shirley and her parents. Even though it was such an emotional scene, and it even made me anxious and scared for Lily, I loved her mindset of not wanting to lie about who she is and having it be her own choice to tell her mother herself, rather than have it come from someone else. I love the way Lily grew to not be completely ashamed and repress who she is for the sake of conformity or other people‘s comfort.

I loved the way Lo wrote Lily‘s attraction to women. Her hesitance, shame, and initial confusion in the first half of the novel were some of my favorite parts because of how real and relatable it is. As much as times have changed since the 1950s, many people and places still feel the same prejudices that were present at that time. I think it‘s important to see the way that that affects queer people and how they view themselves.

I was worried I wouldn‘t enjoy this book because I‘m not a huge fan of poetry or books written in verse. It was around chapter 4 that I started to get into the story and appreciate the style of writing. I loved the fairy tale metaphors and the personification of feelings like Sorrow. And I loved the reveal that Whimsy and Faerry knew each other and what happened to their siblings. I think this would be a great book to read in high school.

I absolutely loved how the story of what happened to Cole and Tale was told. The three different perspectives made for a great climax and plot twist to the story, and it gave me a sense of relief for Whimsy and Faerry to finally get closure for a mystery they were always half-blind to. I also loved the message that it wasn't anyone's fault because that was always the root of their sorrow and depression.

I really enjoyed chapter 3 and the way that coming back to school after being hospitalized was depicted. There is always so much stigma around mental health, and having everyone know that you went through something only makes it worse. I think this would be an important chapter to discuss with a class, whether high school or middle school.

Overall, I loved the diversity and variety of stories in this anthology. It definitely seems like a great tool to use in a Middle School classroom, especially the stories with tough subjects and the poetry. It's a great way to ease kids into reading and thinking critically about what they read.

“The Beans and Rice Chronicles of Isaiah Dunn“ was a really powerful story. I love how the author tackled tough topics like alcoholism and homelessness in a way that is palatable to young audiences, but without taking away from how those issues realistically affect children and family dynamics. Although there isn't a “happy ending“, it still ends on a hopeful note, which could make for interesting discussions about that decision in the classroom.

I liked how the first story was written in second-person POV. I don't think I've ever read any stories in second-person, which made this an interesting read. It would be great to introduce a text like this to younger students, who also might not have read or even heard of second-person, and discuss its impacts on storytelling because you have to place yourself in the author's perspective.

Overall, I really enjoyed this memoir. It's important to see firsthand accounts of how people escape dangerous situations in their home country to seek safety and opportunities in the US, especially children who have to leave their families behind at such a young and vulnerable age. It hopefully allows non-immigrants and non-Hispanics to sympathize and understand their very real, heartbreaking, and human struggle.

It's interesting how language plays a role in this memoir. Javier is so young when he migrates, and he lived an arguably sheltered life before he left. Scenes, where certain sentences or phrases are written in untranslated Spanish, broken English, or where Javier uses the wrong dialect of Spanish, stood out to me the most. The constant anxiety about being caught and the unpredictability of their situation in the eyes of a child are amplified.

I think the use of Spanish punctuation (¿ and ¡)-- even though the dialogue and narration are written for us in English-- is a cool detail. It reminds us that none of these people are really speaking English, and Javier doesn't know English at this point in his life. His inner monologue would have been in Spanish.