Karen Lazcano's Book Blog

  Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Simon & Schuster. 2016.  It is the year 2042 and humanity has finally advanced far enough that humans are now living in a utopia. There are no longer any illnesses or accidental deaths, and crime is non-existent everyone is also equipped with super healing cells all thanks to the AI named Thunderhead. Because humans are now essentially immortal the Scythedom, an organization where people are trained to permanently kill or “glean” others, is created for population control. Scythe’s are revered and highly respected. As Scythe’s they only abide to three laws: they must kill, the “gleanings” must be unbiased and with-out malice, and lastly, they will serve as Scythe’s for the rest of their lives and as restitution their family is granted immunity from being “gleaned” for as long as the Scythe chooses to live. Although to most being immune from a “greaning” is enough motivation to want to become a Scythe for six-teen year old Rowan and Citra this is...

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Tor Books. 2020. Linus Baker is a quiet man middle aged man living an uneventful life as a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), where he always follows the rules. Every report is turned in on time, he never questions authority, and above all keeps to himself. Even in the comfort of his own home, Linus lives a quiet comfortable life with his cranky cat, Calliope, listening to music and avoiding his nosy neighbor.   Linus’ monotonous life takes a turn when he is summoned by Extremely Upper Management. He is assigned a secret task to visit the Marysas Orphanage in a remote island for a month and report his findings back to Extremely Upper Management. From the looks of the reports Linus is given, the children in Marysas are unlike any he has ever seen.  Upon Linus’ arrival to the island he meets the six children living in the orphanage. Talia, an opinionated garden gnome, is the first of the children ...

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Media. Candlewick Press. 2018. The beginning of sixth grade in Seaward Pines Academy brings big changes to the life of Mercedes Suarez. First, Merci is asked to join a new student mentorship program called the Welcome Buddies. She begrudgingly joins only to be assigned to be a buddy to a boy, Michael Clark, who moved from Minnesota to South Florida. Right away Merci’s friend group begin to tease her, including her popular and wealthy classmate Edna Santos.  Things at Merci’s home in Las Casitas, a group of houses where most of Merci’s relatives live, are also changing. First, her older brother Roli, a genius in his own right, now has his driver’s license. Although he is not the best driver it is clear he is growing up and soon will be leaving Las Casitas to go to college. Then there is Lolo. Merci’s once enthusiastic and supportive bike-riding grandfather has begun to act like a whole other person. Lolo begins to forget things more and more ever...

  Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Penguin Group. 2014. “And that is what this book is-my past, my people, my memories, my story.”  Jacqueline Woodson’s free verse memoire Brown Girl Dreaming , details her childhood growing up in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York. Woodson was born in 1963 in Ohio during the civil rights movement . Although her father was hard set on keeping her, her siblings, and their mother in Ohio, in the end when her mother and father separate, Woodson’s mother decides to move with the children to her hometown in South Carolina with their grandmother and grandfather.  However, Greenville is in the deep south and segregation is heavily enforced. Although the children love being in South Carolina with their mother it is clear that South Carolina is not nearly as welcoming of people of color. The children must always use correct grammar, speak clearly, and look everyone in the eye. The Woodson’s will not be made to feel lesser.  Once in...

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Philomel Books. 2016. It is 1945 during World War II and the Soviets are quickly advancing on Prussia. The lives of four young adults intersect in Salt to the Sea as each of them struggle to survive the brutal war.  We meet one of four narrators, Joana as she travels in a group of fifteen refugees including a lost boy Klaus, a boisterous woman Eva, and a kind shoemaker, Poet. Before the war Joana was a part of a well-off family. She focused on her studies and worked in a hospital where she received some medical training. Now Joana is haunted by the by the guilt she feels for writing a letter to her cousin Lina, that would end in Lina’s family being arrested and deported to Siberia.  Fourteen-year-old Emilia dreams of the life she had before her mother Halina died giving birth to her brother. Emilia’s father sends her to live with the Kleist family in Nemmersdorf, a village in Germany. Although she misses her father, she finds comfort in August...

Bomb! The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin. Macmillan Publishers. 2012 The non-fiction book Bomb! The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon details the making of the first atomic bomb including the formation of the Manhattan Project. With World War II still underway the United States races to beat the Soviet Union in the creation of the atomic bomb. Sheinkin’s book includes the stories of multiple scientists entrusted with the creation of the deadly weapon, such as: Harry Gold, Leslie Groves, Robert Oppenheimer and Klaus Fuchs. The stakes are high and the pressure to create the atomic bomb while keeping it all under wraps may prove to be harder than they thought. One of the things I enjoyed most about Steve Sheinkin’s book is the use of text features which are interspersed throughout the book. Text features of, for example, photographs of the scientists or the construction of the gadget really add to the story and ...

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds. Simon & Schuster. 2019. Jason Reynolds’ book Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks is a collection of short stories told though the eyes of the many students who attend Latimer Middle School and take one of ten blocks to their home after school.  Take Marston ST. for example, here best friends TJ and Jasmine walk side by side talking about…well talking about boogers. Together they walk chatting about what it means to be a booger.  The Low Cuts: John John, Fancy, Trista, and Bit take Placer Street to Ms. Cece Cece’s house. There the kids use the change they stole that day to buy the best candy, then resell it in the nearby pool bar to multiply their investment. Sometimes they buy extra food in school with their earnings other days, like today, they buy ice cream for Bit’s mother to enjoy after her chemo treatment.   Pia Foster rides her skateboard on Bastion ST. where she is sopped by a group of boy...

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Farrar, Straus, & Grioux. 1999. Thirteen-year-old Melinda Sordino could have never guessed that her life would be forever changed the night she attended an end-of-summer party with her best friend Rachel. Melinda cannot believe her luck, an upperclassman from her soon-to-be high school is flirting with her. Andy showers her in compliments and holds her like no one else ever has. Soon after, he takes Melinda away from the party and before Melinda knows what is happening, he is on top of her. Melinda tries to speak, get up, and fight back, but Andy is there with his hand over her mouth, his weight pinning her to the floor. Afterwards a confused and still intoxicated Melinda calls the police for help. She knows that is what you do when a crime has been committed. Her future classmates, including Rachel, can’t understand Melinda’s abrupt decision to call the police. Melinda can’t voice what Andy did to her, leaving her with one option, to speak as littl...

Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña. Ember. 2008 Mexican Whiteboy follows the summer of sixteen-year-old Danny Lopez. Born to a Mexican father and White mother, Danny has always struggled with his identity. He is constantly being told he is too dark skinned to be White but too well dressed, soft spoken, and mono-linguistic to be Mexican. Danny is given the option to follow his mother, her boyfriend, and his sister to San Francisco or live with his father’s family in National City, a suburb just outside of San Diego. Danny decides to take the leap and live in National City in hopes of getting to know more about his absentee father.  Once Danny arrives in National City, he joins his cousin Sofia and her neighborhood friends in a game of baseball. The neighborhood boys are shocked when Sofia’s soft-spoken cousin hits the ball farther then they thought possible. One of the boys, Uno, is less than impresses when Danny’s bat flies straight into the face of his bother. Danny thinks he ha...

George by Alex Gino. Scholastic Corporation. 2015. When you are a kid it feels like you are constantly wanting. Wanting to be the smartest student in your class. Wanting to have the nicest clothes. Wanting to be invited to all the birthday parties. For George she wants one thing, to show everyone who she truly is, a girl. Alex Gino’s novel George details the heart wrenching story of a transgender girl as she struggles to come to terms with and share her sexual identity. George finds refuge in the pages of a teen girl magazine fantasizing about being one of them. But when she is constantly being belittled by her brother and her peers at school for being too feminine, George wonders if she will ever get to be who she is. That is until her teacher lets the class know they will be preforming a play from George’s favorite book, Charlotte’s Web . George finds an ally within her best friend Kelly, and together they concoct a plan to make two of George’s dreams come true, play Charlotte on st...

  Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. Pantheon. 2003 Author Marjane Satrapi details her experiences growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution in the black and white graphic novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood . Throughout the novel we see a Marji, young Iranian girl grow up to be a levelheaded and outspoken young adult unafraid to stand up for what she believes in regardless of the repercussions. Marji’s story begins before the Islamic Revolution, she, like many other young girls dreams of what her life will be when becomes a woman. However, her dreams are to become a prophet and bring to light the word of God, a position that is only acceptable for a man. Marji’s dreams slowly sour as she begins to notice the disparities occurring in her own home. With the impending Islamic revolutionary war on the horizon Marji loses touch with what and who to believe in. Her mother and father explain to her the complexities of the incoming war, and Marji is no...

  El Deafo by Cece Bell. Amulet Books. 2014 Imagine one day you are a just a girl singing your favorite songs, watching TV with your family, and exploring with your best friend when, seemingly out of nowhere, you become deaf. For Author Cece Bell this was not something she had to imagine this is exactly what happened to her. In her debut graphic novel, El Deafo , Cece Bell details some of the experiences she went through as a child after she contracted meningitis at the age of 4 and became deaf. In Bell’s novel the self-named main character Cece, has to navigate through all the challenges that come with growing up, while also trying to be her herself in a world that is all at once familiar and foreign.  Cece, like any young child, wants to have a noble friend who will be on her side at all times and simply accept her, hearing aid and all. However, as Cece grows up she quickly realized that being deaf comes with more than just the obvious obstacles. Everyone around her, from ...