Astray J.F. Rogers

 

Genre:  Young Adult, Christian,  Fantasy

Source:  I received a copy from Bookfunnel to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love books for teens, especially if they have a message of faith to them.  Fallon is struggling since her mother disappeared and her father died. She is depressed and self-mutilates.  Her friend keeps trying to convince her that all she needs to do is have faith. When she goes through a portal into another world, Fallon finds what she has been missing. However, like so many teens, she is stubborn. Her journey in Ariboslia is one she must go through to learn who she is and grow her faith. This is a book about finding your faith among all the troubles you’ve had.  I really enjoyed the characters in this book. They reminded me of the type of characters Kandi Wyatt created in her “Myth Coast Adventure” series. Maybe that is why I liked this so much.  I also enjoyed the way the ending left room for a sequel. Must read book.

Always by Morris Gleitzman

 

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Source: I own a copy

I enjoyed this entire series. This is a fitting end to it.  We find Felix's past and present reconnecting through a young boy named Wassim.  Felix, in helping Wassim, realizes that even though he has always held out hope for mankind to be better than they were when he was a child, witnessing the atrocities of the Holocaust, there is still so much hatred and prejudice in the world. But maybe he can help change Wassim's life a bit.  This is a series I have not only recommended to my students, daughter and granddaughter, but one I will read from beginning to end this coming school year. Why?  Since I have all of them I want to read straight through. This is one roller coaster of a ride series. I definitely recommend it to everyone.

Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac

 

Genre: Middle Grade, Novel-in-Verse

Source: I own a copy

Rez Dogs is one of those books that seem like a quick read for a lazy day, and it is. However, this book is so much more. We meet a young girl named Malian who is visiting her Penacook grandparents on the reservation when all travel is shut down due to Covid-19. Her parents are in Boston.  She continues her school lessons online, helps her grandparents use video chat all while learning more about her own heritage. She wakes one morning to find a dog sitting in the driveway, as if guarding her and her grandparents. She names him Malsum. 

Through the stories her grandparents tell her, she learns about her Native American heritage as well as life lessons. She learns of the atrocities from the past as well as the good that has come out of them. This is a simple, quick read, so full of simple, and in my opinion, great life lessons all children and adults should hear.  This is just another great book by an author I really admire.