Toppling by Sally Murphy with illustrations by Rhian Nest James

John loves dominoes. He can spend hours lining them up, making a pattern, and then sending them toppling. It's so satisfying when everything goes exactly the way that it's supposed to. Sometimes John's best friend Dom sets up the dominoes with him; John really likes spending time with Dom and they get along really well. Then Dom gets sick and stop coming to school. What can John do to help make things feel right again?

Like many kids, I suspect, I'm not entirely sure how to actually play dominoes, but I've definitely spent some time setting them up and knocking them over. I know that there must be books out there that explore what it means when your friend gets sick, but I think that well-crafted books for this young elementary school audience will always be welcome. John's world doesn't exactly fall apart, but it shifts and slips; he still goes to school, he still eats dinner with his family, he still hangs around with friends, but it's not the same because his best friend isn't there. The book also touches on how helpless people feel when something like another person's health is out of their hands; it also brings in the different ways that people react to serious news. The verse-novel style blends well with the illustrations, giving readers a glimpse both into and at John's world.

Check out Sally Murphy's website.

I received a review copy from NetGalley courtesy of Candlewick Press.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls
Jessi's Wish by Ann M. Martin
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy

Sadie and Ratz by Sonya Hartnett illustrated by Ann James

Hannah never goes anywhere without Sadie and Ratz. That's what she calls her hands. They're not animals, exactly, but they can be quite wild...particularly when they get annoyed by Hannah's brother. Then they like to attack! But Baby Boy is up to something. He draws on the wall and blames it on Sadie and Ratz. Then he tries to blame more things on Sadie and Ratz! Hannah's parents aren't happy, and neither is Hannah. How is she going to prove that she - and they - are innocent?

There's something startling about being so deeply in the mind of a young character. The way Hannah talks about Sadie and Ratz (her hands) as independent things completely out of her control made me wonder if maybe some sort of therapy wouldn't help her. It's hard to remember what it was like to be so young and have the bounds of reality and imagination slipping and blurring so quickly. Hannah is a bright, creative child and her parents definitely see and encourage her imagination. The antagonistic relationship that's between Hannah and her brother comes from a place of love and frustration - something many siblings can relate to. The expressive illustrations (I particularly love the characters' faces) and large simple - but not boring - text make this a great book for new readers and a great one to hand to older sisters.

See more about Sonya Hartnett at her website.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan
The Boy and the Toy by Sonya Hartnett
Midnight Babies by Margaret Wild illustrated by Ann James

Flyaway by Lucy Christopher

Isla and her father share a love of birdwatching, and the time when the swans arrive is a special time of year for them. But an outing together turns scary when her father collapses. He's taken to the hospital where it's discovered that he has a rather serious heart condition. Isla's mom tries to encourage her to go on with her life as normally as possible, but Isla isn't sure that she can. Then she meets a young boy named Harry who has health issues of his own and spots an injured swan on its own just outside the hospital. While struggling with her fears about her father, her loneliness at school, and her relationship with her mom and brother, Isla discovers a strength in herself that she never knew she had.

I picked up this book on the strength of Lucy Christopher's name. The cover wasn't one that would have immediately hooked me, although after reading it I do feel more connected to it. I had read Christopher's Stolen and wasn't really expecting a book like this from her (namely, a book for middle grade readers). That, combined with an early scene involving an accident with a flock of birds, stopped me from getting completely settled with the book. I felt like the rug could be pulled out from under me at any moment, which worked perfectly with the plot, because Isla's world is slipping away from her. It was an unsettling reading experience, but also a very powerful one, and I think the book would be just as strong if I reread it. The blurb at the back of the book says that Christopher is working on a new book, a psychological thriller for teens, and I can't wait to read it.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Flyaway: How A Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings by Suzie Gilbert
Birdwing by Rafe Martin

The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks

Toby's life was pretty ordinary until the one day he turned up in a dingo pen. He had no idea how he got there or what he was doing there. His mom worried that he was on drugs, doctors thought that maybe he had epilepsy, but a mysterious stranger had a different explanation - that Toby was a vampire. At first Toby decides to play along and make a fool out of this stranger, but before long he realizes that it's no joke. Meeting strange new people, kidnapped into the middle of nowhere, and fighting for his life, ... what will Toby have do deal with next?

I really enjoyed The Reformed Vampire Support Group but it had been awhile since I'd read it; I was afraid that I'd forget key details for this second book. But for a long time it didn't really matter. This book is very much Toby's story; while Reuben Schneider and Father Alvarez appear fairly early on, the rest of the characters play only minor parts in this story. I missed Nina in particular, and her sense of humour; I didn't care much for the antics of Toby and his two best friends. But once the story started focusing on the werewolf side of things and it became more of an action story, my attention was definitely piqued. A solid choice for fans of humorous supernatural stories.

Check out Catherine Jinks' website.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley (but I ended up listening to an audiobook version).

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Beat the Band by Don Calame

What to Expect When You're Expecting Joeys by Bridget Heos and Stephane Jorisch

Congratulations! You are the parents-to-be of a baby marsupial! I'm sure you have lots of questions: what will my baby look like? How big will my baby be? What's the difference between a marsupial, a joey, and a pinkie? Don't worry; this book will help to explain everything you need to know to take care of the baby and answer all your questions along the way.

This is a very strong follow-up to What to Expect When You're Expecting Larvae. Just as in that book, there was lots of stuff I learned about marsupials. Did you know that the Virginia Opossum is the only North American marsupial? Or that joeys (baby marsupials) are called pinkies when they're born? Or that the biggest baby marsupials are only about the size of a jelly bean? I hope there are more books coming in this series; I could definitely use them to keep learning!

I read an advance review copy from NetGalley.

See more at Bridget Heos' website.

Get more information at Lerner's website.

Find it at Amazon.

Read it with:
What to Expect When You're Expecting Larvae by Bridget Heos and Stephane Jorisch
The Owl and the Pussycat by Stephane Jorisch
Lady Gaga by Bridget Heos
Kangaroos by Jill Anderson

Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi

These days Portia de Rossi is arguably known best as being Ellen Degeneres' wife (and maybe secondarily known for her recent roles on Better Off Ted and the brilliant Arrested Development), but when she first burst onto the American TV scene it was as icy lawyer Nelle Porter on Ally McBeal. So much of the attention that that show got was about the physical appearance and wardrobe of the actors like Calista Flockhart and Courtney Thorne-Smith. Off screen, Portia was suffering from anorexia, ending her marriage to a (male) filmmaker, and constantly worrying about her career. In Unbearable Lightness, she recounts those days with an unflinching honesty that provides a window into the mind of a woman suffering from a terrible disease.

In addition to the detailed accounts of the anorexia, Unbearable Lightness also provides a really interesting look behind the scenes of a hit TV show. Portia De Rossi joined the show when it was at its hottest, but then it eventually cooled down before being canceled after its fifth season. The bulk of the story ends before Portia and Ellen started dating, although Portia does touch on it near the end of the book. I would totally be interested in reading a sequel about the next part of her life if she chose to write one.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
High on Arrival by Mackenzie Phillips
Prairie Tale by Melissa Gilbert
Unsweetined by Jodie Sweetin
Love, Ellen by Betty Degeneres

Borrowed Light by Anna Feinberg

Callisto May, sixteen, has a theory about people: most can be assigned an identity based on astronomy. Some are planets, some are stars. Some, like Callisto, are moons, existing in the borrowed light of others. When Callisto finds out she is pregnant, though, she realizes how little support a borrower actually has.

One of my favourite things about Borrowed Light is how it showed that Callisto's life didn't stop when she discovered she was pregnant. She quickly decides on getting an abortion, but things still have to be dealt with: going to school, taking care of her brother, the details over every day life. Cally's relationship with her five-year-old brother, Jeremy, is the heart of the novel, and their interactions (which are numerous because their mother seems to have abdicated any actual parenting to Cally) consistently ring true with honest emotion. I think this book is out of print now (I read it through an Interlibrary Loan), but if you can find it it's definitely worth reading, especially since abortion is still such a rarely-touched issue in YA books.

Find it at Amazon.

Read it with:
Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn
I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin
Happily Ever After Anyway? by Michelle Taylor
Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont

Will by Maria Boyd

Will's always been a bit of a troublemaker, but this time he's gone too far - he mooned a bus full of girls from a neighbouring girl's school. Instead of expulsion, though, Will's teacher decides that the best thing would be for him to join the school band - just in time to take part in the school musical. Will is horrified; being involved with the school musical is the height of uncool. The close proximity to girls, though, is a positive side effect, and he does love making music. Is it possible that Will might actually enjoy himself - and maybe even learn something?

I was in the drama department in high school, so while I was probably one of the 'freaks' that he was forced to be around, I really liked Will's story. He is a great character. He makes mistakes (sometimes really big, insensitive mistakes) and is definitely not perfect, but as a narrator he has a great voice. He's also surrounded by really great supporting characters that avoid being cliches. This is definitely a book worth checking out.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Castration Celebration by Jake Wizner
Geek Magnet by Kieran Scott
Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Gemma was just killing time before boarding a flight with her parents. She just wanted to have a coffee in one of the airport restaurants. When she didn't have the right currency to pay for a drink, the handsome stranger behind her offers to pay for it. She start talking, and it seems like they might be flirty with each other. Then everything changes. The world starts sliding in and out of focus; Gemma can't speak, can't yell, can't protest. When she regains consciousness, she realizes that he has taken her to a secluded location where no one will find them. And that's just the start of her nightmare.

I was reluctant to pick this one up, because I wasn't sure that I wanted to get involved with a gory thriller type of book. And while there is some action and it does involve a kidnapping, this is really much more of a psychological book that will mess with your head. As Gemma learns more about her captor, he seems like more of a monster - but also more of a human. And as she struggles to make sense of her kidnapping, the reader will also be forced to confront our perceptions of what is happening. I can't remember where I heard of this as a recommendation (it could have been a blog or a twitter post), but I'm really glad I read it.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Girl, Stolen by April Henry
They Never Came Back by Caroline B. Cooney
Bringing Elizabeth Home: A Journey of Faith and Hope by Ed Smart