All Roads Lead to Lawrence by Craig Leener

Craig Leener's novel All Roads Lead to Lawrence is the exciting sequel to his debut novel, This Was Never About Basketball.  And this story was just as fun and riveting as the first.  With all the references to KU, this was a great read as a Jayhawk fan.  Lawrence is a fast paced read about finding your place in the world while dealing with tragedy.  It is about resilience and our ability to survive when we think we may fall apart.



From Amazon:

In this sequel to THIS WAS NEVER ABOUT BASKETBALL, a few months have passed since Zeke Archer saved basketball from extinction after the 7th Dimension—the otherworldly entity that brought the game to Earth in 1891—tried to take it away for good. Now Zeke is settling into life after high school, leading his team and running the point at Jefferson Community College. And there, on his home court, is where this strange tale begins . . . Tragedy strikes close to Zeke’s heart, and his world slowly begins to crumble around him. But when he receives a mysterious message that could only have originated from another realm, Zeke begins a journey like no other. Flanked by his trusted friend Lawrence—a math whiz who might have just discovered a top-secret inter-dimensional portal—Zeke crosses paths with a drop-kicking rugby aficionado, a sage and telepathic sea creature, and the possible inventor of basketball, all in the quest to find the true meaning of love, loss, and friendship, on and off the court.

This Was Never About Basketball by Craig Leener

This Was Never About Basketball by Craig Leener was such a fun read.  As a KU fan, it was even better.  Having your favorite team play a role in a novel like this makes it even more enjoyable.   But even with out that element to the story, this one would have been a fantastic read.  And this book, like the title suggest, is not really about basketball.  That doesn't mean that the game doesn't play an important role, because it does.  But this story is about so much more than that.  It is a coming of age story about redemption, acceptance, family, and friendship.  It was such a fun ride.

This Was Never About Basketball is the story of Ezekiel Archer, a standout basketball player who is heading to the University of Kansas to continue his playing career after high school.  But when his temper gets the best of him during the city championship game, his scholarship to KU is taken away.  But even worse than that, the game of basketball is slowly being taken away from all of humanity by an otherworldly entity that first introduced the game to us over one hundred years ago.  Now Ezekiel must travel to the KU campus with his new sidekick, Lawrence, in order to try and save the game he loves so much.  With the inevitable bumps in the road, Zeke has a chance to learn from his past and find a path to redemption in his future. 

From Amazon:

In this coming-of-age novel, seventeen-year-old high school basketball star Ezekiel “Zeke” Archer has it all: a sweet jump shot, a full-ride scholarship to a Midwestern basketball powerhouse, and the brightest future. But when Zeke’s temper gets the better of him in the city championship, he is expelled from school, has to forfeit his scholarship, and is left to ponder his once-hopeful future.While finishing his final high school days in the California educational system’s version of purgatory, Zeke makes a stunning discovery. With the help of a young autistic classmate Zeke befriends, he learns that the mysterious 7th Dimension, which brought basketball to Earth more than a century ago, has decided to take the game away for good — all because of the ugly event Zeke set into motion in his final game!As he embarks on the ultimate cross-country road trip to save basketball, Zeke must confront his unsettled past — including a father he’s not heard from in years and a brother fighting in a war half a world away — in order to set his life on the right path and rescue the game he loves.

Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley

Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley is such an intense and engaging novel.  It grabs your attention from the first pages and doesn't let go until Nate tells us his whole story.  This is a story that deals with so many important topics like identity, self-acceptance, friendship, family, and trauma.  Smedley has given us a unique story that will leave you gasping as the truth is finally revealed.

Nate has been stabbed.  Cam was arrested and charged with the crime.  But the story of these best friends and what led to the events is far from clear.  Now Nate must tell his story in a deposition for the case.  As he goes back to the beginning of his friendship with Cam, he gives us the details of their friendship, their love, and most often their arguments.  But in telling his story, Nate starts to come to grips with his reality and what it means to accept who he really is.  

From Amazon:


For sixteen years, Nate was the perfect son―the product of a no-nonsense upbringing and deep spiritual faith. Then he met Cam, who pushed him to break rules, dream, and accept himself. Conflicted, Nate began to push back. With each push, the boys became more entangled in each others' worlds...but they also spiraled closer to their breaking points. And now all of it has fallen apart after a fistfight-turned-near-fatal-incident―one that's left Nate with a stab wound and Cam in jail.

Now Nate is being ordered to give a statement, under oath, that will send his best friend to prison. The problem is, the real story of what happened between them isn't as simple as anyone thinks. With all eyes on him, Nate must make his confessions about what led up to that night with Cam...and in doing so, risk tearing both of their lives apart.

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds

In Look Both Ways we get another fantastic story from Jason Reynolds.  As you would expect from Reynolds, he gives us a story that is both entertaining and thought provoking.  Look Both Ways is told in a unique way, which is not surprising from a risk-taker like Reynolds.  This one is told in a series of different stories, one block at a time.  Told as school is let out for the day, we meet all kinds of different characters and get a peek in to each of their lives.  We see the distractions they each face in their lives as they navigate their way home.  And through the difficulties they each face, the reader is also able to revel in their triumphs.  We get to see the good they are each putting in to a world that often seems against them.  As a reader, we get to see each one of them answer the question, "How you gon' change the world?"

From Amazon:

A National Book Award Finalist!

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019!

From National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds comes a novel told in ten blocks, showing all the different directions a walk home can take.

This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy—

Talking about boogers.
Stealing pocket change.
Skateboarding.
Wiping out.
Braving up.
Executing complicated handshakes.
Planning an escape.
Making jokes.
Lotioning up.
Finding comfort.
But mostly, too busy walking home.

Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life.

The Year We Fell From Space by Amy Sarig King

If you have read any of my posts before, I'm sure you are well aware of my deep admiration for Amy Sarig King (A.S. King).  She is an incredible author and even better person.  She writes the stories that people, especially young people, really need.  She isn't afraid to hit on the hard topics and finds a place where readers can really connect.  Her newest middle grade novel, The Year We Fell From Space, is no exception.

King has given us a beautiful story about loss and grief, mental health, hope, and self discovery.  She has shown us that we don't always have to look at things the way we are told.  We can discover new pictures in the map of our lives.  We can create our own stories and don't always have to follow what others expect of us.  Liberty Johansen shows us that we all have the ability to own our lives and create of them beautiful pictures.  

From Amazon:

Liberty Johansen is going to change the way we look at the night sky. Most people see the old constellations, the things they've been told to see. But Liberty sees new patterns, pictures, and possibilities. She's an exception.

Some other exceptions:

Her dad, who gave her the stars. Who moved out months ago and hasn't talked to her since.

Her mom, who's happier since he left, even though everyone thinks she should be sad and lonely.

And her sister, who won't go outside their house.

Liberty feels like her whole world is falling from space. Can she map a new life for herself and her family before they spin too far out of reach?

The Devil and Winnie Flynn by Micol Ostow and David Ostow

The Devil and Winnie Flynn written by Micol Ostow and illustrated by David Ostow, was such a fun read.  If you are looking for an engaging and entertaining horror story, you can't go wrong with this one.  This story hits on so many of the classic horror tropes, while being self-aware that it is doing just that.  This one was lots of fun.

The Devil and Winnie Flynn tells the story of a young girl who has recently lost her mother to suicide.  Her estranged Aunt Maggie swoops in soon after the death and takes Winnie away to New Jersey so that she can assist in Maggie's horror reality TV show, Fantastic, Fearsome.  Winnie doesn't believe in ghost or the supernatural, but the people involved in the show are determined to change her mind, especially Maggie.

As the show focuses on the history of the Jersey Devil, Winnie's family history starts to reveal itself to her.  And what she discovers is that her family is more closely entwined with the lore of the Jersey Devil than she ever could have imagined.  As she learns more about her secret history, she starts to realize her mother's death may not have been what everyone thought it was.  Accepting her place in the legends may be the only thing that helps her escape New Jersey alive.  

From Amazon:

"A love letter to all your favorite horror movie classics . . . Micol Ostow's razor sharp writing and David Ostow's wonderful illustrations combine for an unforgettable reading experience."
—Courtney Summers, author of This Is Not a Test and All the Rage

Winnie Flynn doesn’t believe in ghosts. (Though she wouldn’t mind a visit from her mom, explaining why she took her own life.) When her mysterious aunt Maggie, a high-profile TV producer, recruits Winnie to spend a summer working as a production assistant on her current reality hit, Fantastic, Fearsome, she suddenly finds herself in the one place her mother would never go: New Jersey.

New Jersey’s famous Devil makes perfect fodder for Maggie’s show. But as the filming progresses, Winnie sees and hears things that make her think that the Devil might not be totally fake after all. Things that involve her and her family. Things about her mother’s death that might explain why she’s never met Aunt Maggie until now.

Winnie soon discovers her family’s history is deeply entwined with the Devil’s. If she’s going to make it out of the Pine Barrens alive, she might have to start believing in what her aunt is telling her—and find out what she isn’t.

Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me by Gae Polisner

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of Gae Polisner's upcoming novel, Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me.  As I am sure you know, I am a huge fan of Gae and her work.  She has written some incredible stuff, and this story is no different.

JL Markham, 15 years old, has her whole life in front of her.  But these first 15 have not always been easy.  Her once unbreakable friendship with Aubrey has fallen apart, her father has been in California for work for way longer than he was supposed to, and her mom is suffering from a sometimes debilitating mental illness in his absence.  The bright spot in her life is Max Gordon, her nineteen-year-old boyfriend.  A senior at 19, Max is often misjudged, but JL feels like she knows the real Max, a kindhearted, smart, and well-read kid.  But Max is graduating and he is leaving for California.  JL now has to decide if she is going with him.  With her dad already there, her mom spiraling deeper into her illness, and no real relationship with Aubrey, what does she have keeping her home?  JL must figure out who she is and what she wants out of this life.  And in the end she may discover she isn't as fragile as she once believed she was.

Gae Polisner has given us a beautiful coming of age story about friendship, love, self-discovery, and probably most important, resilience.   In JL's character, we have a young girl who is trying to navigate a world where she has lost her closest friend, but has also fallen in love for the first time.  A girl trying to find a balance between her boyfriend and her crumbling family.  A girl who discovers the strength that has been hiding deep inside.  We see a character who eventually realizes that she can withstand much more than she ever thought possible.  I think this is a story that will stick with the reader long after the last page has been turned. 

From Amazon:

"Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me is an absolutely real, raw and emotional read, and it's a book that touched my heart with every page." - Katie McGarry, critically acclaimed author of Only a Breath Apart

Fifteen-year-old JL Markham’s life used to be filled with carnival nights and hot summer days spent giggling with her forever best friend Aubrey about their families and boys. Together, they were unstoppable. But they aren’t the friends they once were.

With JL’s father gone on long term business, and her mother suffering from dissociative disorder, JL takes solace in the tropical butterflies she raises, and in her new, older boyfriend, Max Gordon. Max may be rough on the outside, but he has the soul of a poet (something Aubrey will never understand). Only, Max is about to graduate, and he's going to hit the road - with or without JL.

JL can't bear being left behind again. But what if devoting herself to Max not only means betraying her parents, but permanently losing the love of her best friend? What becomes of loyalty, when no one is loyal to you?

Gae Polisner’s Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me is a story about the fragility of female friendship, of falling in love and wondering if you are ready for more, and of the glimmers of hope we find by taking stock in ourselves.