Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

5 stars I don’t think anything I can write will do this book justice so I’ll keep this short. I loved this story. Yu perfectly balances self-aware humor with heartbreaking reality. Centered around identity, the story explores the way American society pigeonholes people of Asian decent, lumping them all into one group and a set…

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Our Subway Baby by Peter Mercurio, Illustrated by Leo Espinosa

4 stars An adorably sweet, heartwarming book based on a true story. Told from Peter Mercurio’s point of view talking directly to Kevin, the book tells the story of how Kevin became Peter and Danny’s son. The book focuses on the positive aspects of finding and creating family, including the support system of those around…

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The Arrival by Shaun Tan

5 stars An absolute treasure. This is a phenomenal book. This wordless graphic novel tells the tale of a man immigrating to a strange new place and working to create a life for his family there. The fantastic world Tan creates allows all migrant stories to come together. It isn’t a story about immigrating to…

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When We Make It by Elisabet Velasquez

5 stars A powerful novel in verse that proves you are more than the hardships you have faced. I’d recommend looking at the trigger warnings before going in to this as there are quite a few traumatic events that occur. These include rape, food insecurity, homelessness, drug overdose, and police brutality. This book may not…

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Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani

4 stars A heartwarming and magical tale that explores family structures, fantasy versus reality, and self-discovery. Mystery, secrets, and magic combine to explore some of the complexities of growing up and coming into one’s self. The majority of the book is in black and white, which makes the full-color fantasy scenes even more magical. The…

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If My Body Could Speak by Blythe Baird

5 stars A stunning poetry collection. Baird tackles many hardships in her poems including eating disorders, sexual assault, rape culture, relationships and sexuality, and healing. One thing that really stuck out to me was how well organized this collection was. Each poem flowed so nicely into the next. The themes build as the book goes…

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Green Lantern: Legacy by Minh Lê, Illustrated by Andie Tong

4 stars A fast-paced adventure filled with action, mystery, family, and friendship. The next generation of superheroes for new readers and lifelong fans. There’s a great balance to the amount of action to growth and reflection in this book. The story moves along quickly but there is also plenty going on internally. Also, Tai’s relationship…

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Black Canary: Ignite by Meg Cabot, Illustrated by Cara McGee

3 stars A nice updated version of Black Canary suitable for young readers. Dinah Lance has to navigate the world of junior high complete with arguments with friends, that one bully who’s mean for no reason, and a principal that seems to be out to get her… as well as the strange happenings of things…

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