Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson

Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson is a 2023 RICBA nominee. Have you ever played the card game spades? I haven't either, but that doesn't matter. You'll still get into the excitement of the tournament. Anthony, (Ant), Joplin has a reputation to live up to. His family members are all great spade players and he has to be ready to win. But life seems to be conspiring against him as problems crop up with the new girl at school, his old tournament partner, and family secrets that threaten to unravel the whole thing.

I have had many students who really enjoyed this book. It is very dramatic and deals with some tough family problems. But it's also sweet. I really liked the way Ant and Shirley, the new girl, form a friendship. Pick this up and you won't want to put it down!

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro
 

Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

     Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch takes place in Italy. The main characters are Carolina and Lorenzo. Carolina’s mom recently died and she was sent to live with her ”dad” Howard, who works in a graveyard. Howard is not Carolina’s real dad. In Italy, Carolina meets Lorenzo, who is half italian like Carolina.

     I really liked this book because it was a romance and is about half Italian teenagers who end up dating. I really like the fact that the book is about a girl and a boy who set out to find the girl’s real father after reading her mother’s diary. I don’t relate to this because I’m single and don’t like anyone, but my best friend does. She relates to the romantic part but not the diary and father part. She has liked this boy for about a year and when she got into middle school, on her first month, she told him about how she felt. Now they are dating just like Lorenzo and Carolina.

Reviewed by Unicorns and Rainbows

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton

   Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton is about a girl named Mimi who is half Japanese and half black. She starts middle school in the middle of the year. She meets a girl who is one of the only students who will do stuff with her. But almost everywhere she goes people have to ask her what she is. That is the question she asks herself, What am I?  After a while at school, she wants to take shop instead of home economics. Then she meets a boy that lives next door and he lets her use his grandpa’s tools. But when her friend and she stand up to her principal, they get suspended. When they finally return, their whole grade stands up to the principal. The principal tells them he will think about letting girls take shop. Will the students finally they get their way?

    I chose this book because I think this could happen to a lot of people. I think it is really sad if someone whom I know is getting bullied. If you moved and got bullied, and no one wanted to hangout with you, what would you do? 

Review by #DanceForLife13