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
 

Ruby on the Outside by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Ruby on the Outside by Nora Raleigh Baskin is about a young girl named Ruby who lives with her aunt because her mother is in prison. She visits her mother in prison and it is a frightening experience that she has had to get used to. Ruby has to live without being able to call her mother on the phone, without having her mother to tuck her in at night, or to talk to when she is worried. She has also learned to live with the secret that her mother is in prison. Living with a secret like that, keeping it on the inside is very difficult. Ruby's worlds collide when she meets Margalit who is new in her apartment complex. Ruby thinks she has finally found a best friend, but will her secret and her mother's past make that impossible?

One of the reasons I think reading is so important is because it helps us to understand people who have different life experiences than we have had. We get a chance to be inside their head and know what it might feel like to have the problems they have. This insight allows us to be sympathetic to other peoples' problems. Ruby on the Outside does just this, beautifully.

Mrs. Castro

Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Paperboy by Vince Vawter is a special story.  It is about a boy who has a speech problem, he stutters.  The story is based in the southern United States during the time when African Americans and whites were segregated.  There are a lot of themes that the author focuses on, from race relations, to bullying, to family relationships.  But in the end, it really is a story about a boy who is struggling to understand the grownup world he is living in.

Although his stuttering is so bad he can't even tell people his name,Vince Vawter does an excellent job of giving a voice to the main character of the story.   I really wanted him to win out over his problems and was routing for him throughout the book.  There are many memorable characters in this story.  I loved the special relationship the main character had with his "Mam", the black woman who takes care of him and his family.  You can tell Mam would do anything for him, and he would do anything for her. Read this Newbery honor book to find out about their lives and the troubles they must face.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone

Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone is truly breathtaking.  Some of the main characters are Felicity, or Flissy and Captain Derek.  Felicity is a young girl when her parents leave her in Maine with her uncle, aunt, and Gram.  Flissy is simply devastated.  When Flissy and Derek become close friends, Flissy falls in love with Derek.  When Derek and Flissy follow Uncle Gideon to a small light house on Peace Island, they see a shocking sight that has been happening the whole time…….  I personally love this book, and if you’re into adventurous, realistic fiction, then this is the book for you.   

Reviewed by Fluffy_PANDA101              

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

The Red Pyramid is written by Rick Riordan.  Rick Riordan also wrote the Percy Jackson series.  The main characters are Sadie and Carter Kane.  They are both teenagers and they found out that they have magic powers . They came from London to New York on a magic boat.  Their dad gets captured by the Egyptian god of destruction.  I think the book is very entertaining and if you're interested in myths I think you would like this book.  Will they save their dad?         

Reviewed by Cement head