Dress Coded

Enough is enough.  Molly Frost is sick and tired of her friends getting dress coded - shamed, punished, reprimanded for dress code infractions.  She decides to start a podcast where students can tell their stories and others can hear about how students are unfairly targeted and how it can be arbitrary.  Can Molly and her friends make a difference?

This was a good story about an issue that is quite prevalent in middle schools and high schools.  I felt it could have been trimmed down a bit - it seemed to lag in the middle for me but overall quite good and could lead to some healthy discussion on the topic.

Red Stars

This is kind of an odd story - or at least the format is.  The main gist is that twins Nadya and Viktor were sent away from their hometown to keep them safe after the German invasion of Russia.  But they were separated.  The story, told in diary entries and photos and documents by both children tells of their struggles to survive and to find each other.  The interesting part is that the book itself is an "investigation" into their crimes during this time by a top Russian.  Throughout the book he makes notes in their entries about the crimes they are committing, etc.  

I really liked the format and story at first but to me it got really long and tired by the end.  For readers who are really into a historical jaunt - especially Russia in WWII I think they will enjoy it.

Paris on Repeat

 

This was a fun RomCom with a Groundhog twist.  Eve is on her last day in Paris with her class.  She wants it to be romantic, she wants to tell Jace how she feels.  But everything goes wrong including Jace and her best friend Reggie kissing instead.  When Eve gets jealous and throws their "love lock" into the river the loop begins.  The next morning Eve starts reliving the day again with "advice" from the palm reader who sold the love lock in the first place.  But despite Eve's best efforts the day keeps repeating again and again.  Fortunately Reggie eventually joins in the loop and together they finally discover a way to end it.

Fun RomCom fluff piece :) 

 

Diana and the Island of No Return

This is a story of Diana as a young girl.  She is wishing to be trained but her mother is resisting.  When women and girls from other islands come to her home for a festival Diana is very excited, especially because she will see her best friend.  But when a boy shows up things get weird.  First, he shouldn't be there.  Then everyone except Diana and her friend are impacted by a potion that puts them all to sleep.  Augustus knows he can make a cure but they have to go back to his island where a demon has the whole island hypnotized and he is waiting to capture Diana.

There was some good action here and readers might enjoy it just for that.  For those familiar with Diana's story the ill recognize some names and objects.  

The Elephant's Girl

When Lexington was small a tornado ripped through the town of Lexington and she was found afterward, alone except for the elephants.  Since then she has been cared for by a zoo employee and has an affinity for the wind and the elephant who was sheltering her.  But life hasn't been easy - she is home schooled because of the teasing she received and lately things have gotten weird with her and her best friend Fisher.  When she decides to start exploring more of her past she meets a "misplaced spirit" who talks to a missing treasure.  This sends Lex on a hunt for the treasure and her past.

This was a solid middle grade book - Lex was a cool character who learns and grows.  The few tropes were resolved in unique ways so the book didn't seem "tired" to me.  I enjoyed it.

Scritch Scratch

Claire is not really a fan of her father's obsession and business with ghost hauntings and tourism.  She takes a more scientific approach to things.  But, when a ghost starts following her and demanding her attention after she helps her father one night her opinions change rapidly.  But what does the ghost want and how can she help.  Claire is also struggling with her best friend, school issues, and her brother but eventually has to smooth things over in order to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I enjoyed this ghost story mainly because of the historical aspect, especially the spotlight on a lesser known incident.

When Life Gives You Mangos

Ciarra lives on an island - for tourists it is an exotic location, for her it's home.  She has friends, routines, games, drama.  Lately though there have been issues...something happened last summer and she can't remember it and her best friend is acting strange.  Fortunately a new girl arrives to visit and she is full of adventure.  Can Ciarra ever face the ghosts of her past and move on perhaps even healing old wounds along the way?

This was a decent book.  There is a pretty big surprise near the end but it almost felt too late and I wasn't sure there were enough "hints" along the way.