Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

5 stars A beautifully-told journey of the struggle between two worlds, friendship, grief, and acceptance. I loved every page. Pulling from her own life experiences, LaRocca creates a truly fantastic story. This novel-in-verse strikes to the core. It perfectly captures the struggles of its main character. Though the book is relatively short, it covers so…

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Sing, Aretha, Sing! by Hanif Abdurraqib, Illustrated by Ashley Evans

3 stars A lovely picture book that goes beyond Aretha Franklin’s career as a singer and delves into her activism and faith. Abdurraqib’s text is lyrical with some lovely images created. He focuses not just on Franklin’s most well-known song, but how it inspired others to act and its continued effect in bringing people together…

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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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