October 2023 Stars & Big Picture
Starred titles are books of special distinction. See the archives for selections from previous months.
Adjepong, Eric Sankofa: A Culinary Story of Resilience and Belonging; illus. by Lala Watkins. Penguin Workshop, 2023 [48p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9780593385944 $19.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9780593661727 $10.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. K-3
Córdova, Zoraida, ed. Mermaids Never Drown: Tales to Dive For; ed. by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker. Feiwel, 2023 [320p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781250823816 $19.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9781250823830 $11.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr 9-12
Datcher, Michael Harlem at Four; illus. by Frank Morrison. Random House Studio, 2023 [48p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9780593429334 $18.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9780593429358 $10.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* 4-8 yrs
Faruqi, Saadia Saving Sunshine; illus. by Shazleen Khan. First Second, 2023 [224p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781250793805 $22.99
Paper ed. ISBN 9781250793812 $14.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 5-7
Gopal, Jyoti Rajan Desert Queen; illus. by Svabhu Kohli. Levine Querido, 2023 [50p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781646142620 $18.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 2-4
Gray Jr., Gary R. I’m From; illus. by Oge Mora. Balzer + Bray, 2023 [40p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9780063089969 $19.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9780063334366 $10.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* 4-7 yrs
Higuera, Donna Barba Alebrijes; illus. by David Álvarez. Levine Querido, 2023 [416p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781646142637 $18.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9781646143382 $15.19
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 7-10
Pearl, Emma Saving the Sun; illus. by Sara Ugolotti. Page Street, 2023 [32p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781645679882 $18.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* 4-7 yrs
Pearsall, Kate Bittersweet in the Hollow. Putnam, 2023 [384p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9780593531020 $18.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9780593531037 $10.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 8-12
Pendziwol, Jean E. Skating Wild on an Inland Sea; illus. by Todd Stewart. Groundwood, 2023 [32p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781773067049 $19.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9781773067056 $16.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* 4-7 yrs
Senf, Lora The Nighthouse Keeper; illus. by Alfredo Cáceres. Atheneum, 2023 [320p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781665934633 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9781665934596 $10.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 6-8
Sun, Miranda If I Have to Be Haunted. HarperTeen, 2023 [368p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9780063252769 $19.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9780063252790 $10.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 9-12
Walls, Jasmine Brooms; illus. by Teo DuVall. Levine Querido, 2023 [240p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781646142675 $24.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 7-12
See this month’s Big Picture, below, for review.
Brooms
Written by Jasmine Walls; illus. by Teo DuVall
Set in 1930s Mississippi, this month’s Big Picture features rich characters and excellent world-building to make a boldly factual historical fantasy. Whereas many fantastical depictions of history often use the fantasy elements to provide readers some emotional distance from the tragedies of the past, Brooms instead draws on the fantastical to amplify and confront issues of both the past and the present. The result is a heartfelt, gripping, and resonant story about power—how the majority wields it, and how marginalized groups reclaim it.
For a team of broom racers called the Night Storms, illegal races held in the dark of night are really their only option if they want to compete; as Black people, heroic athlete Billy Mae and steady, sardonic Loretta are banned from using magic in Mississippi and most southern states. California, however, does allow Black folks to both practice magic and participate in legal races, so the duo are fixing to earn enough in prize money from the unofficial races to head west. Being part of the Night Storms means something different but just as important for the exuberant custom broom maker Cheng Kwan, as it is the only place she can be her true self, and not the boy her parents believe her to be. Meanwhile, Billie Mae’s lover Luella sees in the team the chance to help her cousins Mattie and Emma stay out of a government residential school. When Luella manages to convince her family to let Mattie and Emma compete, the Night Storms total five, which means they are eligible to take part in the Witch’s Cackle, the most dangerous—and most lucrative—race of all. As the law closes in, racing becomes riskier than ever, and these heroes are faced with the decision to risk it all or give up their hopes for a future.
Full-color art is simple but evocative; the carnival-like atmosphere of the races (based on historical queer communities of color) is depicted in the deep purples and blues of the night contrasting with the warm yellow glow of lanterns. Illustrator DuVall’s spare backgrounds and panels focus on mid- and close-shots of the character’s faces, impelling readers to focus on their beauty and humanity. Scenes where characters’ emotions break the surface in bursts of celebration or rage have little dialogue and are all the more powerful for it—facial expressions and body language do the heavy lifting. The creators make excellent use of their page space, too, quickly introducing rival racers in a single panel, such as the androgynously dressed team Enbious, the sour-faced Lou Belle and the Lambs, and the Night Racers’ main rivals, a group of white boys dressed in Ivy fashion called the Pedigrees; each team seems to suggest they could have their own comic written about them.
The heart of the story, however, beats with the Night Storms and their crew. Each character faces a compelling struggle, based on their own unique histories, fears, and desires, with Luella especially stand-out. Her story ably demonstrates the book’s use of magic to amplify a historical reality: as a young girl, Luella was forced into a residential school for Indigenous magic users, where she suffered abuse at the hands of the adults running it. When she defended herself, resulting in injury to her abuser, she was sentenced in a court of law and her magic was sealed away. Embodying the phrase “still waters run deep,” Luella is quiet and reserved, but driven to keep Mattie and Emma from suffering the same fate. Her story is an unflinching parallel to the history of Indigenous people being stripped of their languages, their culture, and their power in residential schools.
Walls’ creator’s note details the research, including her own family history, that went into creating this story. Her efforts show in the carefully detailed world-building, like Emma’s use of Indian Sign Language, and in the quiet intimacy of the Night Storms as a found family, remaining defiant in the face of intense external pressure. Indeed, not even an angry lynch mob can defeat this team of queer, disabled, and Black, Indigenous, people of color as they triumph over terror in a story that will surely leave readers in tears of joy.
–Aaren Tucker, Reviewer
Cover illustration from Brooms copyright © 2023 Teo DuVall. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Levine Querido.