Returning to Mini-Reviews! I’m hoping to have caught up on these in a few weeks, and then we’ll be sticking to biweekly wrap-ups to review everything that doesn’t get lumped into a review post/video. We’re still in December with these, but hopefully we’ll catch up shortly.
I know I reviewed One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia on Litsy, but I don’t believe I ever talked about it here. This is a great story about three sisters who realistically struggle with a mother who doesn’t seem to want them and with the racial tension and movements of the late 60s. All I know about that time period (which is almost nothing) is all based around what a very white Tennessee middle school attempted to teach me so this was super interesting. I really enjoyed all three sisters and really felt for them. I loved how very real it felt, and it didn’t hold your hand even if it was a children’s book. Very recommended if you haven’t read this.
I finished The Troop by Nick Cutter shortly after that. This was one of those books that had me squirming in my seat, not an easy thing to do. I’m not typically affected by scary books overly much but this one did a number on me. The descriptions and the surprise cause of the ‘hungry man’ really spooked me. I won’t spoil anything, and I recommend not reading anything about it to get the full effect of this. If you like bizarre body horror, and don’t mind some slightly gory scenes I really recommend this one. Much better than The Deep, this one properly freaked me out.
I made a big jump between genres then and read The Book of 
Unknown Americans by Christina Henriquez. This is definitely out of my wheelhouse, but I wound up liking it. The story follows a Mexican family that comes to America to try and find a school for their daughter, who after an accident needs special assistance. It gave me the immigrant perspective in a way I hadn’t had before. Again, I’ll say – born and raised in mostly white, very southern flavored area of Tennessee. These stories with different people and experiences are what I need, I want to learn these things. I really enjoyed this, it was a tough read at times and challenging at others but I really recommend it.
Finally, I took a small break from serious and tried out Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur by 
Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare. What a romp, I just wish the next few volumes were out! This was a lighter volume for the heavy stuff that seems to be going on in the Marvel Universe right now, but it does hint at them. It follows Lunella, a young genius, who’s obsessed with finding out/preventing her transformation into an Inhuman. In her quest to do this she ends up with a tear in time. Before it’s closed Devil Dinosaur has come through and he acts like a giant puppy to the tiny girl. It’s ridiculous. The main ‘villains’, a batch of evil cavemen that followed him over cracked me up. I also loved her interactions with characters like the Hulk who just completely disregarded her, and her subsequent dismay was worth it. I really think this is a great one for younger kids and adult readers too. I’m looking forward to volume 2!
Sarah Evermotion's Book Thoughts 
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