The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

A Warning About Swans by R.M. Romero Peachtree Teen (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2023 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Heather J. Matthews Buy at Bookshop.org Set in Bavaria in 1880, this is the story of Hilde and her five sisters. Norse god Odin, their father and creator, has gifted each of the six sisters with the ability to bring dreams to life. Beyond this gift, Odin gives each sister a cloak which grants them a unique skill, in addition to allowing the girls to take the shape of a swan when wearing the cloak. Hilde’s unique gift is the ability to comfort and usher newly-deceased souls into the afterlife. Six years after gaining her talent, Hilde has struggled under the weight of her task and seeks to experience the human world in her human shape, away from constant death and suffering. Meeting a young man named Baron Maximillian von Richter, Hilde finds an opportunity to put aside her responsibilities and live amongst the humans in her human form. Hilde spends the next few mo...

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero Peachtree Teen, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Evonne Marzouk Buy at Bookshop.org The Ghosts of Rose Hill is a beautiful and magical story, told in verse that is as entrancing as the tale itself. Ilana’s parents, immigrants from Cuba and Prague, are desperate for her to be successful in America. So when her grades slip and PSAT scores don’t meet the goal, Ilana is sent from her home in Miami to live with her aunt in Prague for the summer. Away from her violin, parties, and her friends, her parents hope she’ll be able to focus better on studying and improving her test scores. Instead, when Ilana discovers an overgrown Jewish cemetery behind her aunt’s cottage on Rose Hill, her summer becomes about clearing the cemetery… and though her aunt warns her not to speak to them, the ghosts she meets there. Benjamin, with blue eyes like the sea, befriends Ilana while she cares for the cemetery and shows her the secrets of Prague. Pearl is a young chi...