King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

Thirteen year old Kingston, or King, is grieving over the recent death of his sixteen year old brother Khalid. Seeing a dragonfly at his brother's funeral, he now believes his brother is embodied as a dragonfly. Every day he walks to the river to visit the dragonflies and his brother. His entire family has difficulty dealing with the grief, his father surprising him with an "I love you" as he drops King off for school. King dreams of his brother and recalls his brother's philosophical musings which are poetic, told with beauty and grace.

King's best friend, Sandy, confided in him that he likes boys, and he is gay. When King told his brother about Sandy he warned King that he cannot be friends with him, or others will think he is gay too. King is struggling with his own sexual identity and racism (King is Black, Sandy is white). King tells Sandy he can no longer be his friend and then reveals Sandy's secret to other friends. Sandy is now ostracized and ignored, Sandy's life is further complicated with a racist and homophobic father who is also the town's sheriff. Sandy follows King to the river, confronts King about their friendship and anger. King reveals his guilt and grief for his brother. The two part, but the next day Sandy is missing. King discovers Sandy in his tent, where he often goes when he needs to be alone. King and Sandy confide in each other, Sandy revealing abuse by his father and King his sexuality.

What follows is a deftly told story of King and his conflict with sexuality, race, and family. Callender beautifully weaves poetic prose to describe believable, real, characters, and the gradual growth of King learning to accept the loss of his brother, accept his own sexuality, and confront family to earn their acceptance. 

The confrontation with his father is particularly moving. In an exchange with his father, King has difficulty understanding why his father is needing some time to accept his sexuality. His father explains that he loves him, but "...it's hard. I've got all these ideas of what it means to be gay. Everything I was told by my father, and  my father was told before me, and I don't know if it's wrong or right, but I know I love you."  King has difficulty with this, asking "But why should it be so hard? Why do have to struggle with me being gay, but you don't struggle with me being Black?" His father tells him it is not the same thing. but King responds "It's the same sort of hate. The kinds of things people do or say because I'm Black feels like the kinds of things people do or say because I'm gay."

Some serious issues of grief, sexuality, and racism are handled perfectly for a middle school audience...but don't kid yourself, this is for everyone. A powerful ending that reassures that life will go on. Have some tissue handy.

Mark's Book Picks Score: 5

Reading Level: 4.9 • Interest Level: 4-7 • AR Points: 7 • Lexile Level: 830L• Publisher: Scholastic • Pages: 259 • Copyright: 2020 • ISBN: 978-1-338-12933-5 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

A graphic novel memoir of Omar and Hassan Mohammed, two boys, who's father is killed, and get separated from their mother while fleeing the Somalian civil war. Now, having spent years in the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya, Omar retains the hope of reuniting with his mother, and returning to Somalia. Life in the camp is difficult. He must care for his younger brother who has seizures and doesn't speak. He must wait in long lines to get minimal food and water. Life is desperate. But Omar and Hassan are supported by the community around them, by Fatuma, their "foster" mother, his best friend Jeri, and inspiration from two bright girls, Maryam and Nimo.

Omar is encouraged by his friends to go to school. Omar feels that is out of the question as he must care for his brother. Fatima steps in and tells Omar to go, she will take care of Hassan. Omar is behind others his age, and he's not sure how he will fit in. With support from Jeri, Maryam and Nimo, Omar achieves beyond his expectations, developing into one of the highest achieving boys in his class. As he meets new people, his goals have changed to become a social worker to assist refugee families. While his goal has changed, his love for his brother and search for their mother have not. Omar faces much hardship and challenge in trying to make his dreams a reality.

The graphic format using Victoria Jamieson's clean, simple, artwork will make the intimacy and touching struggle of the Somalian refugees vivid and comprehensible to a young audience. There is much to discuss here, and in light of current events, the topics are relevant and important.

Mark's Book Picks Score: 4.5

Reading Level: 3.7 • Interest Level: 4-7 • AR Points: 4.0 • Lexile Level: GN530L • Dewey: 921 • Publisher: Penguin • Pages: 256 • Copyright: 2020 • ISBN: 978-0-525-55290-8 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding

As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds

Eleven year old Genie is a curious boy, maintaining a notebook to record all his questions and seeking answers from the all-knowing Google. His older brother Ernie is Mr. Cool, more concerned about his muscles and girls. Both boys are headed from home in Brooklyn to Grandma's and Grandpop's in rural Virginia, giving their parents a chance to work out marital issues while vacationing in Jamaica.

What unfolds is a heartwarming story of the boy's adjustment to rural life, making new friends, building a strong relationship with their grandparents and learning about family secrets. Especially touching is Genie's relationship with his blind Grandpop. Genie is amazed and full of questions as to how his Grandpop navigates a blind life, learns about his secret room, and is shocked by the gun he sometimes carries. Their relationship grows stronger as they become dependent upon each other. The quiet rural life unravels when Genie accidentally kills a bird, and Ernie has to face a situation that literally blows up in his face. While the characters are African American, the story is universal, about family, brothers, and courage.

Jason Reynolds has become one of my favorite authors. His words are perfect and warm as he builds characters that you feel close to. Some have felt that the book is slow, but the character building is what this book is all about. I grew to love Genie, Ernie, Grandma and Grandpop and at the end, yearned for their story to continue. 

Mark's Book Picks Score: 5

Reading Level: 4.8 • Interest Level: 5-9 • AR Points: 11 • Lexile Level: 750 • Publisher: Atheneum • Pages: 410 • Copyright: 2017 • ISBN: 978-1-481-41591-0 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

Matthew Dunbar is pecking away on an old Remington typewriter to tell the story of his brother Clay. The story comes out as jumbled memories, with no time continuity, that ultimately goes beyond his brother Clay and becomes a sweeping saga of the Dunbar Family. There are five Dunbar boys, Matthew, the narrator, Rory, Henry, Clay, and Tommy. The boys live by themselves in a house on Archer Street. Their father, who abandoned them, is thought of as The Murderer, because the boys feel he took their lives when he left.  He suddenly reappears, and is greeted with hurt and anger. Their father lives several hours away in the country, and has come back to ask his boys to help him construct a bridge. All his sons refuse, except one, the one that said "Hi, Dad." That one is Clay. Clay leaves his brothers, with much resentment on their part, to help his father build a bridge. A bridge that ultimately becomes a metaphor for the bridge that brings the Dunbar family back together. The story beautifully unfolds revealing the back stories of their father, Michael, their mother Penny, and of Clay. This is a story of warmth, love, family and extreme grief.

I will not lie, this is a difficult book. The story jumps time and place; there is no continuity. Parts drag on with horse racing details that add little to the story's progression. Yet it's a story that is so poetic, told with such love, that I couldn't help but embrace it and read with tears often streaming. I well up just writing about it. This book will be with me for a very long time.

Bridge of Clay  is really an adult book. While marketed as YA in the U.S., it is considered adult elsewhere. For mature high school readers and beyond. The story's value is in the way these five brothers hold together, overcome their hardships and grief, and how the strength of family provides a bond that can't be broken.
Mark's Book Picks Score: 5

Reading Level: 5.3 • Interest Level: 9-12 • AR Points: 19 • Lexile: HL650L 
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf • 537 Pages • Copyright: 2018 • ISBN: 978-1-9848301-5-9 • Available in Perma-Bound binding.

Underdogs by Markus Zusak

Underdogs is a trilogy of Zusak's first three novels; The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and Getting the Girl. I read Fighting Ruben Wolfe first, whose review is below. The three books have so successfully been blended in my mind that I can't differentiate them, so this review covers all three. This is a story about seventeen-year-old Cameron Wolfe, an insecure, seemingly lost soul that beautifully emerges and finds himself. He lives in the shadow of his oldest brother Steve and older brother Ruben. Steve is a perfectionist that seems to have it all together; looks, athleticism, and a great job. Ruben is a fighter, both literally and figuratively, with strapping good looks that always gets the girls. Cameron has a deep affection for his brothers as well as for his sister Sarah, and his parents, for whom he also has tremendous respect. Living in a blue collar, working neighborhood, Cameron and Ruben are looked upon as slackers. Their reality is one of fighting for respect, and finding their way. Told in the first person by Cameron, Zusak's writing style emerges. While not as quite developed as his later novels, the poetic, short sentences that bring out the deep emotions and angst of a seventeen year old boy, bring depth to the novels. The book is for more mature readers who will appreciate these character driven stories.
Reed Reads Score: 4