The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Strange Creatures by Phoebe North Balzar + Bray (imprint of HarperCollins) Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Valerie Estelle Frankel Buy at Bookshop.org Is Phoebe North’s Strange Creatures a fantasy novel? Well, is Bridge to Terabithia ? Both feature  children’s imaginary worlds, used as a coping mechanism for everyday struggles. North’s other offerings were spaceship fiction (in fact, on a specifically Jewish generational ship, a delight for readers seeking representation). It’s easier to group an author’s books in the same category, mentally or otherwise. But the fantasy here is deniable in a “maybe the magic was coincidence or a dream” sort of way.   Big brother Jamie and younger sister Annie are devoted to each other. They spend years exuberantly building a magical fantasy world called Gumlea in the woods near their house. After Jamie breaks some of its laws, he vanishes, and Annie struggles being the sister of a public tragedy and a personal devastation. While ot...

 The (Un)Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez Katherine Tegan Books (imprint of HarperCollins) Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Valerie Estelle Frankel Buy at Bookshop.org Mark Adams is a born politician. The son of a California congressman near San Francisco, he runs for student body president when a gay kid is bullied, and he wants to change the system. That’s the big story arc—his campaign, supported by his friends. The complication is that Mark is in hiding. His father’s constituents think he’s still Madison, and his father has threatened to disown him if he tells his story to anyone. Thus the tension with his father, his religion, and his self-doubt are personal, adding to the struggle of keeping this secret from all his friends and his new Jewish love interest.    It’s a charming book—Mark is endearing and very honest. He’s committed to his politics—even over-committed as he refuses to compromise on perfection. This of course can become a fatal flaw as he pushes ...