Utopia, Iowa by Brian Yansky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Utopia, Iowa is not your typical Midwestern small town. It was built on sacred ground—constructed, perhaps, by gods—and so it should come as no surprise that many in the town possess certain gifts (or curses, depending upon your perspective). Jack Bell possesses the gift of being able to see dead people. Normally, this doesn’t hinder his day-to-day existence, but recently he has been contacted by not one, but two murdered girls, and this makes him a person of interest in Detective Bloodsmith’s books. With the help of his best friend, Ash, his little sister, Amanda, and his Gram, Jack discovers that he is being targeted by an ancient evil that everyone else has so far been powerless to stop.

On the whole, this was a cute, fun read, but there were some things about it that were jarring. Jack’s apparent obsession with screenwriting led him, as narrator, to constantly interrupt the flow of the story with screenplay ideas and movie references (complete with the date, writer, and stars of the movie). In addition, the plot line surrounding his parents’ fights and possible divorce/separation/breakup seemed awkward and unimportant to the story.

Recommended as optional for gr. 7-12.

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No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What happens when your dad loses his job, becomes obsessed with religion, sells everything, packs up the family in the van and drives across the country so that you can join Brother John and his congregation when the Rapture occurs? That is exactly what twins Abigail and Aaron are wondering now that they are penniless and living in their van, post-Rapture (or more specifically, post-non-Rapture). Their parents are still convinced that the world is about to end and they have to remain in California with Brother John until the end times actually do occur. Abigail is trying to be a good daughter—obedient and faithful—but it’s becoming really hard to remain obedient and faithful now that they are homeless and penniless with no end in sight. Aaron would like to run away, back to North Carolina where their uncle Jake still lives. Ultimately, it becomes clear to Abigail that she and Aaron are going to have to make their own plan in order to return to any semblance of normalcy.

I found it incredibly hard to believe the actions of the parents—in particular, the actions of the mom. I could somewhat understand the unemployed dad becoming obsessed with the promise of a better life, but I just couldn’t understand how the mom could constantly defend the actions of her husband when it was clear how harmful those actions were to her children. I don’t know any mother who would choose her husband over her children. Period. I also found it odd that the word “cult” was never mentioned, although it was very clear that Brother John’s "church" was indeed a cult.

Recommended as an optional purchase for grades 7-12.

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Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the time that she was five weeks old, Emilia Menotti was used to flying in airplanes. Her mother, Rhoda—the White Raven—and Delia, her mother’s flying partner—the Black Raven—performed an aerial show together, barnstorming with aerobatics and wing-walking all across the United States in the 1920s. Rhoda and Delia had a bond of friendship that was unbreakable, and when Delia died in a bird strike plane crash, Rhoda decided to pursue Delia’s dream of taking both children to live in Ethiopia where Teo wouldn’t be discriminated against because of the color of his skin. They lived an idyllic lifestyle for a time, but when tensions arose between Ethiopia and Italy, Teo got caught up in Ethiopian laws of slavery and conscription. Soon they were all fighting for their lives and their freedom in a country that, once so hospitable, had become their prison.

From the opening letter written by Emilia Menotti to the closing letter written by Teo Cooper, readers are swept into a world of racial discrimination, political intrigue, and a time and a place that is not often discussed or analyzed in history books. Readers unfamiliar with Ethiopian history or geography may be at a disadvantage, but the author’s beautiful writing and descriptive storytelling make up for readers' lack of background information.

Recommended for gr. 7-12.

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