New Crayons: What's New On Our Shelves

Remember when you were a kid and getting new crayons was a big deal? Getting new books holds the same kind of magic for some of us big kids. Every week on Sunday, I post what's new in our box. I think crayons is a pretty cool metaphor for multicultural lit. Every week we receive a book is a good week.

Here's what's new on our shelves:

The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland. My daughter starts high school this year. This was on freshman's summer reading list. Looking forward to it. My daughter shrugged and was already talking about homecoming. But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands. Read full synopsis at Annick.


Ash by Malinda Lo. Thanks to Steph from Steph Su Reads. I could not get my hands on a copy. The unemployed cannot buy a book simply because she wants it. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love. Read a full review at Frentic Reader.


Paula by Isabel Allende. Doing some shifting in our library. Pulled this from the shelf and brought it home. We have a few Allende titles. Let me know if you'd like to borrow this. In December 1991, Isabel Allende's daughter Paula, aged 26 fell gravely ill and sank into a coma. This book was written during the interminable hours the novelist spent in the corridors of the Madrid hospital, in her hotel room and beside Paula's bed during the summer and autumn of 1992. Fantastic Fiction.


Broken China by Lori Aurelia Williams. The writing is poetic and poignant in When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune by this author. I am so impressed with her work, I got this based on my first book by her. It's available for loan as well. Her story centers on 14-year-old China Cup Cameron (named by a physician's assistant since, at the time, her teen mother 'could care less'), who herself became a mother at 12. But in the first chapter, China's two-year-old daughter dies, and she takes on an enormous debt to pay for an elaborate funeral service. See review at Powell's.

My Two Grannies byFloella Benjamin . This is on our wish list. Very happy to a new book about mixed-race familes. [A]ppealing story about a mixed-race family learning to accept different traditions and customs. Alvina has two grannies: Grannie Vero from Trinidad and Grannie Rose from England. When Alvina’s parents go on vacation, both grannies arrive to look after Alvina. But the two grannies have two very different ideas about what to eat, what to play, even what stories to tell. Rainbow Book Cooperative.

What did you get this week from the library, the bookstore or in the mail? Drop us a link. Happy reading.