Books read in July 2021 (part one of two)

1. The Wild Christmas Reindeer, by Jan Brett (1990)

I absolutely LOVED this picture book in elementary school, and reading it now as an adult, it utterly held up. What fantastic, enthralling, intricate illustrations!

2. The Weight of the Sky, by Lisa Ann Sandell (2006)

A verse novel about an American teenager volunteering on a kibbutz for a summer. After reading the first 50 or so pages, I was wondering if the focus was going to be a sub-par romance. Thankfully it didn't turn out as expected. I enjoyed the cross-cultural adventure aspect of it. I read that it's based on the author's own experience volunteering on a kibbutz as a young person, and it left me wondering - to what extent is that experience actually available in this millennium, when this book takes place? I'm curious to know, as I always hear that the kibbutzim of today are a shadow of their former glory.

3. The Tail of Emily Windsnap, by Liz Kessler (2003)

A middle-grade novel about a girl who discovers she turns into a mermaid when submerged in water. I read this as research for future niece birthday gifts. It was cute. I wished there was a bit more inventiveness to the descriptions of the mer-world, e.g. why would merpeople need chairs and beds and desks? How do their pens work? Etc. 

4. Lady Knight, by Tamora Pierce (2002)

Again and again, this series provides the type of fantasy book I enjoy re-reading. (This is the final book in her Protector of the Small quartet.) Such well-crafted and enjoyable reads; such great characters - including a truly great heroine. I think I love the earlier books (the school stories) of this series a little more, but I couldn't not love the whole of it.

5. Aria of the Sea, by Dia Calhoun (2000)

Another old favorite, this time from middle school. To my great fortune, combines several elements I love in one sweet little YA book: ballet, fantasy, an island kingdom with a sea-based religion. It leans toward the middle-grade end of YA. I do enjoy the world-building, how it feels both like an 18th- or 19th-century European reality and like something from another world. There is an interestingly executed focus on how passion, vocation, and obligation interact in the choices and experiences of its young female character.

(Part two here.)