molly_dettmann's reviews
1873 reviews

So I’m late to the game on Jo Boaler, but glad I know her now because this was an incredible book about teaching. While the examples and the focus are on math, I would recommend any educator check this particular title out because I was taking some notes I think could be useful across subjects (so a total win for me as a librarian). This was informative and reflective and made me want to incorporate more reflective practices in my teaching, but also read quick, had illustrations, and was just a warm fuzzy of a read. 

Rex Ogle has told his life story in a variety of books, but this one was one of the darkest chapters of his life. This part was hinted at in Don’t Forget Me, Abuela, and I knew it would be difficult but wow, I’m grateful Rex made it through this time to tell us about it and hopefully change some minds and hearts with it. I just want to give poor 17-year-old Rex the love, acceptance, and safety his father chose not to give Rex when he kicked Rex out of his home for being gay. Because he was on his own Rex faced homelessness, domestic violence, and a lot of other awful and scary things just because he was who he was. Ugh! I hate that this happens to so many LGBTQ+ youth and applaud Rex for sharing his story and living his best life, and giving so many experiencing similar situations hope.  

All of these authors really stuck hard to the theme of collecting, some a little too much on the nose for my taste. Out of all of the stories I like A Recording for Carole Before It All Goes the best. Play House grew on me the more I thought about it, as did Ring of Fire. Pool Bandits was good but drug on a bit. The White Savior Does Not Save the Day was interesting and I liked mix of story and screenplay. Overall this was a very mixed bag and I don’t necessarily know who to recommend this to or which stories I could use with classes and probably wouldn’t have bought it for my school library if it hadn’t had won the Printz.  

This book took a second to get into but then I was wrapped up in Johannes story and trying to free the bison, and all the adventures that happened in between. There were some humorous bits as well that made me smile. I’m not sure if kids would really get into it but if they like animals they might find it quirky and fun. 

This reminded me of Song of Achilles and Julie Berry’s Lovely War. I see why so many people have liked and recommended it to me and it lived up to the hype for me! I started it over morning coffee and finished by early afternoon because h was so engrossed in this story. The ending was not what I expected but I didn’t mind it. 

An interesting look at the 2020s culture war around public schools with a whole chapter on school libraries. This felt like a rehash of news reports and nothing particularly revolutionary. I do feel like while it opens with and fact checks a Moms for Liberty conference it seemed to just lay out what’s been happening and objectively trying to dispel some myths about public schools. I really enjoyed seeing friends quoted in it speaking about the truth of how school libraries run!

This was a great read. As a public school educator and a product of public schools, I know they aren’t perfect, but they sure as heck aren’t the evil and indoctrinating. Personally I want my students to learn a little more about the world around them and enjoy reading a book of their choice every now and then at the very basic level. This was a really interesting look at one area of Texas where extreme politics came into play as a larger attack on inclusivity and public schools that still plays out across our nation. The look at how activists are fighting back against it ends it with a hopeful, but still grim look at the fight to provide an education to every child. I thought the author did a great job providing a lot of historical context for Southlake and his writing style made me race through, I was so engaged (despite how shocked and sad I was at parts!)

This book felt like I was sitting down with an old friend as he told me all about his childhood over a delicious fried Oklahoman meal. The prose was short and to the point, often ending stories as soon as they started, and just picking up with another the next chapter. Somehow this made me nostalgic for 1970s/80s Oklahoma. I really enjoyed this story of an Indian kid who loved sports and got into journalism all while growing up in poverty, but having friends and family that loved him and teachers that believed in him. 

If you’re a world history fan you’d enjoy this (though it may be just a rehash of things you already knew). There were a few sections where I hadn’t heard about those reveals of moments and people in history, but even for the things I was familiar with I thought the writing and information was interesting and worth the read.

This was a delightful graphic memoir that was overall a funny and charming story about a boy traveling with his family to Mexico to bring back his abuelito to live in the US with them. There is plenty of action and humorous side bars throughout and I felt like I was a part of the eclectic family and their adventures and misadventures. A great pick for middle school and upper elementary library collections for sure!