Saints, by Gene Leung Yang

BTW: at the National book Festival a couple of weeks ago, I found out that Gene Leung Lang a) is a Middle School teacher, and b) just got a MacArthur Prize! Cool!

All of Gene Leung Lang's books that I have read so far are complicated, a little confusing, and in the end-- for me-- utterly uplifting. His American Born Chinese got a Printz award, and is also pretty amazing, so go check that out, too. Saints focuses on a fictional heroine living in China at the time of the Boxer Rebellion, who begins seeing visions of Joan of Arc, eventually converts to Christianity, and in the end gets caught between the warring factions in her region. There are no easy heroes in this story, but there are utterly real characters who make me want to be a better Christian myself-- without (I think) being didactic or preachy or manipulative. Read it yourself, and tell me what you think.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, by J.K. Rowling

This book was lovely. All the stuff I had felt frustrated about with Harry Potter, especially in the later books-- all addressed.

Not everyone will love it. That's OK. I will say that it's the kind of book I would like to write. As in, not necessarily spectacular, but truly lovely in its own way, well worth owning (in my opinion). Or, at the very least, putting yourself in the hold queue for.

Also, I have a new all-time favorite J.K. Rowling character, but I will wait to tell you until we see each other in person; you can ask then. (If you've read this story, you can probably figure it out.)

Bad Island, by Doug TenNapel

A story in which we get adventure AND parents get to live AND be involved? Indeed, this rare sort of book does not come along often, and I very much enjoyed the story. (I had been noticing for a while how quickly TenNapel books circulate at our middle school library, and finally decided to give his stuff a try. Glad I did.)

P.S. I also enjoyed Cardboard, by the same author. Sadly, the hero has lost one parent in that story; happily, the remaining parent still gets to be involved with the adventure, while not completely taking over it.