Book Beat Reviews

Black Bird, Blue Road by Sofiya Pasternack

Hi my name is Kire. I love to read, play volleyball and play my viola.

Black Bird, Blue Road is an interesting and slightly sad fiction novel by Sofiya Pasternack. The book follows Ziva and her twin brother, Pesah, who has some sort of disease that eats away at him slowly. This disease even causes Pesah’s fingers to fall off. Ziva is the only one who will go near him because everyone else in their family doesn’t want to get the disease.

When Pesah’s parents decide that he must be sent away so that he doesn’t pass the disease to everyone in his family, Ziva immediately begins trying to help her brother by figuring out a cure. Her cure ends up failing and their parents’ decision is final.

Ziva can’t bear to have her twin sent away so she decides to go on a journey with Pesah to find a doctor that can cure Pesah’s disease. They begin by taking their parents’ cart and heading off without telling anyone. Through this journey they meet a boy named Almas who ends up helping them later in the journey. They also face many challenges along the way such as facing the angel of death.

All in all, I enjoyed reading Black Bird, Blue Road, but at times I found it to be slow, and it was also a pretty sad story. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about Judaism as this book seamlessly brings in aspects of the religion while telling an interesting story.

Find it in print here.

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Hi, I am Advik. I love to read, write, bike, swim, and watch TV.

On the Come Up is an emotional, powerful, and inspiring book that dives into identity, racism, and, most importantly, chasing your dreams. I picked up this book thinking it would just be a typical coming-of-age, chasing-your-dreams novel. But I was pleasantly surprised. This book felt raw and honest, and the protagonist, Bri, was easy to relate to. She was fierce, outgoing, and flawed in her own ways, and honestly, watching her mature and grow into a young woman was one of the most engaging parts of this book.

At the beginning of the book, Bri is struggling to become a rapper, not just for herself, but also for her struggling family. After an enemy gang shot Bri’s legendary rapper of a father, her mom is trying to stay sober so she can keep her family afloat. After Bri’s aunt encourages her to write a song and pursue her dreams, Bri’s song goes viral for all the wrong reasons. Bri also battles her emotions towards her friends and the world. Throughout the whole book, Bri feels divided between the fake persona that the industry wants to force on her and the authenticity that has brought her this far.

Overall, I thought On the Come Up was an amazing, engaging book that is thought-provoking and addresses real-life issues such as racism, poverty, prejudice, and freedom of expression. I would highly recommend this book to individuals who appreciate honest writing and enjoy realistic stories with strong characters.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

Hi, I am Advik. I love to read, write, bike, swim, and watch TV.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim is the first book in the Blood of Stars duology. It has extremely strong worldbuilding, which is magical, creative, and venturesome. I expected a simple fantasy story, but this book surprised me with its emotional depth, high stakes, and romance.

This book follows the protagonist, Maia, who is strong and determined. At the start of the book, Maia struggles to keep her father’s tailor shop running and feed herself and her father. Maia enters a competition to become the imperial tailor by disguising herself as her brother. In this world, being a tailor is a man’s job and if Maia is caught, she will be executed. After winning the position of the imperial tailor, Maia does have time to celebrate. She is thrust into yet another quest to prove her worth. She is required to do a near-impossible task: to sew three magical dresses made from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of the stars. This journey takes her to every corner of this fantasy world, and on the way, she meets Edan, the emperor’s mysterious enchanter. Maia’s fighting spirit drew my attention the most, even when the odds were stacked against her. The tale intertwines fantasy with emotionally resonant themes while exploring a comprehensive world. Overall, this book was a powerful start to a romantic, action-packed fantasy series. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys magical quests and strong female leads

Find it in print and eaudiobook here.

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt

Hi my name is Kire. I love to read, play volleyball and play my viola.

The Labors of Hercules Beal is an interesting fiction novel that follows a 7th grade boy, Hercules Beal. Unfortunately, both his parents are dead which forces Hercules’s brother to take care of him. They also have to keep the family business afloat.
With his parents dead, his brother ends up putting him in a new school where he is assigned a project about the 12 labors of Hercules. This is a year-long project where Hercules has to apply the 12 labors to things in his own life. He does this through facing all sorts of challenges. One of the challenges he overcomes while doing this project is dealing with a group of feral cats with the help of his friends. This challenge represents the Nemean Lion in Hercules’ school project.

At the beginning of the book, Hercules hates his school project and has no idea how to apply the labors to his own life but at the end of the book, the labors actually help him learn a lot about his life and help him with things like dealing with the grief from losing his parents and juggling school while helping his brother run the family business.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Labors of Hercules Beal although it did start a bit slow. I would recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a book that makes you want to keep reading. It would also be an interesting book for anyone who is into Greek mythology. All in all, I found The Labors of Hercules Beal to be a fun and interesting book.

Find it in print and as an ebook, and eaudiobook here.

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

Hi my name is Kire. I love to read, play volleyball and play my viola.

The First Rule of Punk is a fiction novel that follows a 12 year old girl named Malu. Malu is a girl who loves everything punk just like her dad. Unlike Malu and her dad, Malu’s mom is all about being girly and embracing the Mexican within her family.

Malu adores her dad but when her mom gets a job in Chicago, Malu’s life is turned around as she has to move with her mom. She faces many hardships when she arrives such as being called mean names and simply having a hard time fitting into her new life. Eventually, Malu meets people who like hanging out with her and just like that she has a whole group of friends. With these new friends, Malu starts a punk rock band called the Coco’s for her new school’s upcoming talent show.

Unfortunately, when Malu and her band try out for the talent show, they are rejected because their talent is too different for what the school normally showcases. Because of this rejection, the Coco’s decided to put on their own talent show after school where anyone can showcase any talent. This talent show is a huge success and even Malu’s mom who usually doesn’t enjoy this sort of thing loves it.

All in all, I would give The First Rule of Punk a 3 out of 5 stars. It was a pretty interesting book, but it definitely wasn’t the best thing I have ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys short fiction novels that are pretty interesting.

Find it an an eaudiobook here.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Hi, I am Advik. I love to read, write, bike, swim, and watch TV.

The Grapes of Wrath is an award-winning historical fiction novel that captures the human struggle of the Dust Bowl. It is considered a historical classic, but I did not enjoy it. The book was slow-paced, used outdated language, had too much description, and didn’t have any action to keep the reader interested.

Set during the Great Depression, John Steinbeck’s story follows the thirteen-person Joad family as they travel to California in one small truck in pursuit of jobs. The book shows the exploitation of tenant farmers during the Great Depression.

I didn’t like the book because it wasn’t very exciting and didn’t have many thrilling parts. Most of the book shows the Joads traveling and trying to survive. These themes are essential, but they made the book feel slow and hard to read. Another reason I didn’t enjoy this book was that there are many intercalary chapters that don’t move the plot forward at all; they just are there to focus on random people and events.

Last but not least, the book is slow-paced, description-heavy, and full of small details that aren’t necessary. Sometimes, the author spends a whole paragraph describing the weather or the surrounding land. While this writing may sound articulate, it slows the book down tremendously and makes it boring. In the end, The Grapes of Wrath may be essential and a good read for some readers, but it is a tough go in terms of enjoyment, especially for modern readers.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.