Wendy Mass

The town of Martinville's public library burned down when fifth-grader Evan's dad was a kid, and has never been rebuilt, but one day, a Little Free Library appears, and people begin adding to it. Evan begins to investigate the mystery - starting with some of the books inside the LFL, some of which were old library books returned the very same day of the fire, and one of which was checked out by none other than his dad.

But Evan only tells part of the story; the rest of the narrative duties show more fall to a cat called Mortimer and a ghost called AL, who lives in the History House along with Ms. Scoggin and Mr. Brock, who died in the library fire. People, felines, and even mice have a role in revealing what really happened in the library that night, and a role in rebuilding as well.

Poignant, and with a surprise twist or two. Also a story about friendship, and transitioning from elementary to middle school.

See also: The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

Quotes

Being a Great Reader has nothing to do with reading great sophisticated books, or reading great long books, or even with reading a great many books.
Being a Great Reader means feeling something about books. (AL, 59)

I am not upset when others don't love the books I love. We each have our own book spaces inside us, and they do not match up perfectly, nor should they. (AL, 61)

...Ms. Scoggin stayed and stayed. For me.
She waited for me to take my place in the world again. Waited for me to let go of her.
This, I believe, is similar to what mothers do. (AL, 194)

"I always thought writers were from someplace special, you know?"
...
"Maybe this is someplace special....Maybe everywhere is special to the people who live there." (Demetri and Evan, 211-212) show less

"He can make me go with him, but he can't make me interested." Addie packs up and spends a summer on a college campus where her futurist father is leading a team of students developing virtual and augmented reality projects. Despite Addie's initial reluctance, she becomes interested in VR as a way to escape and explore, and she even makes a friend in real life, Mateo. They share interests—geocaching, moon trees—before they finally share more personal stories, like what happened to show more Mateo's brother and Addie's mom. Ultimately, with the help of some students, Doug, Lily, and Surekha, they work together to develop VR experiences for people in the hospital where Mateo volunteers. At its heart, this is a story about empathy, whether it's a stranger with chemo or your own parent. Addie reflects, "I think it's harder to have empathy for the people we love the most. When they do something wrong it feels so personal." The layout is creative and dynamic, and the illustrations are full of relevant details. Mendez and Tse do excellent work with shadow and light, and the faint shimmer of VR. Panels set in the past have a gray outline with rounded corners, while VR panels have a half-round cutout along the middle of the bottom. Addie and her family present as white; there is diversity among the secondary characters. show less

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley.)

Addie's dad is a futurist; her mom gave tours at the zoo. They met in front of a giant tortoise enclosure, so it was only natural that she be named after one: Adwaitya, the longest-lived tortoise at 250 years old. Her home was filled with magic (read: science) and curiosity and brimming with possibilities. That is, until her mom broke her leg in a bike accident and subsequently became addicted to painkillers.

With her show more mom out of the picture, Addie's dad drags her thousands of miles away from home for his summer job: mentoring a group of graduate students whose projects focus on his area of expertise, augmented reality. Sure, Springhaven University might look like a boring old college campus, but strap on a VR headset and it's a colorful dreamland of wizardry and wonder, with VR geocaching games, art installations, workout programs disguised as ghostbusting challenges, even a project meant to foster empathy.

Try as she might to disengage from the world, Addie is drawn into her father's work - with a little nudge from Mateo, a neighbor boy and fellow geek who also happens to be a habitual do-gooder. Together, they merge his volunteerism at the local hospital with "The Gang's" technology to help kids (and adults) who are struggling like they are.

LO & BEHOLD is such a sweet, wholesome, life-affirming story - sorely needed after the last few years. The Breckers are such a delightfully nerdy family, with their affinity for space exploration, nonhuman animals (I love that, in an attempt to cheer her up, Addie's dad takes her to see the pups at an animal shelter and NOT a pet store), and technology (particularly the ways it can be used for good). Dad is a sweetheart, and Mass and Mendez handle mom's addiction with sensitivity and compassion (even if the ending is maybe unrealistically happy). The Gang is likewise an entertaining bunch, and I love Surekha's empathy project - which, like the moon seeds, is rooted in reality.

Even though LO & BEHOLD is a middle grade graphic novel, I'd recommend it to teens and adults who need something soft and cozy to soothe the soul. show less

Amanda and Leo were born on the same day. They were actually born at the very same hospital! After they shared an accidental first birthday party, the two celebrated all of their birthdays with each other until and became best friends. Amanda and Leo did everything together until their tenth birthday. Their party came with some drama, and Amanda vowed she was never speaking to Leo again after the way he embarrassed her. She hasn’t spoken to him for a whole year, and now that their birthday show more is here, she can’t help wonder who will show up at her party, and who will be at Leo’s. From the start, her 11th birthday is a bit of a disaster—she has a pop quiz she wasn’t prepared for, her gymnastics try out is terrible, and then her party is even worse. She doesn’t like the “costume” theme her mom planned, especially because her outfit is uncomfortable and her shoes pinch her feet giving her blisters. Plus, almost everyone is at Leo’s amazing party. Amanda can’t wait to go to bed and have her birthday be over and done. Only when she wakes up it’s her 11th birthday again. And each day it keeps happening- no matter what she does to change things. It isn’t long before Amanda and Leo realize they are the only ones reliving this day with “memories of what happened before”. Now they have to figure out how to get to Saturday, the day after their birthday. Can they figure out what to do? Is there any way to get things back on track? What would make for the best 11th birthday? You’ll have to read this realistic fantasy fiction book to find out.

I have read other books by Wendy Mass, but 11 Birthdays is my favorite book by her so far. Amanda and Leo seem like very realistic kids, and I enjoyed seeing the different ways their birthday played out. It gave me a lot to think about. What would I do if I could relive the same day over and over again? Would I do anything wild to see what would happen? Or would I try to do everything okay and by the rules so I would be able to deal with things the next day if it ever came? I like the stories of friendship and the different turns of events because it showed how all of our actions ripple out— even in ways we do not see. Change one thing about your day and there will be surprise impacts from that act all day (especially if you know how the day went originally). I would recommend this book to anyone in fourth grade and up who enjoy books about friendship and a little bit of magic. I noticed this is the first book in the Willow Falls series. I look forward to checking out the rest. show less