Finding the worm has a complicated title, but it has heart. This story is about Julian, "Jules", Tweski, a Jewish person living in Flushing, Queens. It is a superb book, of decent writing. In the end, the themes in this book were very thought-provoking. The style, in regards to using many commas and ands, added to the experience of being a relatable book. A brief description: Quentin, "Quick Quentin", has a tumor. The kids on the block, Lonnie, Shlomo, Julian, Eric, and Howie, who live in the Dorado House or such named buildings, go on with their lives, and Julian, whose Bar Mitzvah is coming up, learns from the rabbi (a very good character with witty lines) about death. All the while, Julian Tweski records his thoughts about life and all the events that happen during this time. It was interesting reading a book that portrayed the 70s and life in New York so well, painting a vivid picture of the activities of those living in this time. Many of the landmarks described within this book I could find on the Internet; likewise with the baseball players. It's a sequel to the book TWERP but you don't have to read that one (it does give you some spoilers though). All in all, a sad and thoughtful book at the end, but some middle parts, describing their daily activities, were a little "meh". It is a contemplative realistic fiction book with good dialogue.

Finding the worm has a complicated title, but it has heart. This story is about Julian, "Jules", Tweski, a Jewish person living in Flushing, Queens. It is a superb book, of decent writing. In the end, the themes in this book were very thought-provoking. The style, in regards to using many commas and ands, added to the experience of being a relatable book. A brief description: Quentin, "Quick Quentin", has a tumor. The kids on the block, Lonnie, Shlomo, Julian, Eric, and Howie, who live in the Dorado House or such named buildings, go on with their lives, and Julian, whose Bar Mitzvah is coming up, learns from the rabbi (a very good character with witty lines) about death. All the while, Julian Tweski records his thoughts about life and all the events that happen during this time. It was interesting reading a book that portrayed the 70s and life in New York so well, painting a vivid picture of the activities of those living in this time. Many of the landmarks described within this book I could find on the Internet; likewise with the baseball players. It's a sequel to the book TWERP but you don't have to read that one (it does give you some spoilers though). All in all, a sad and thoughtful book at the end, but some middle parts, describing their daily activities, were a little "meh". It is a contemplative realistic fiction book with good dialogue.

With a great plot and creepy supernatural stories, this fantasy/horror story was delightfully engaging. The characters include the following: Emrys, who has just moved to the notoriously haunted city of New Rotterdam; Hazel, Emrys's longtime friend, and unexplained phenomenon enthusiast; Serena, Hazel's friend. In the book's beginning, Emry and Hazel return to their apartment in the middle of a thunderstorm. Soon, a mysterious whistler is heard: Emrys, Serena, and Hazel decide to snoop around their mysterious neighbor's mysterious apartment (where they hear the Whistler going in). What they find astonishes them: destruction, and in the midst of it, a talking book containing the consciousness of the apartment's former owner, Mr. Van Stavern. He tells them that they are to be members of a secret order. Their mission is clear–protect New Rotterdam and the world from paranormal forces by containing powerful cursed relics. But a dilemma is caused when Serena, the skeptic, decides to forget about it. Their first task begins as a red hourglass starts appearing all over New Rotterdam, and people start disappearing. With only 2 members, will the team be able to survive the deadly relic and the organization that is putting them in public spaces? First of all, the book had very relatable themes such as climate change and friendship. The characters, such as Emrys, were all fleshed out and relatable too. The Wiki entries after every chapter were interesting and in my opinion, made the book a lot better. But I felt that one of the big flaws of the book was that the Wandering Hour, which is what the book is focused on (it's in the title even), could have been a lot scarier and stranger, like the other Wiki entries in the book. Finally, the dialogue feels natural and there are even some funny parts, which lighten up the grim tale of disappearing juveniles. About the scariness level, it's pretty mild, but there is talk of humans disappearing and dying, so I would recommend this book to middle grades and above. Also, if you like unexplained things such as cryptids, this would be an interesting book (the book goes by pretty quickly, so it's good for light reading).

With a great plot and creepy supernatural stories, this fantasy/horror story was delightfully engaging. The characters include the following: Emrys, who has just moved to the notoriously haunted city of New Rotterdam; Hazel, Emrys's longtime friend, and unexplained phenomenon enthusiast; Serena, Hazel's friend. In the book's beginning, Emry and Hazel return to their apartment in the middle of a thunderstorm. Soon, a mysterious whistler is heard: Emrys, Serena, and Hazel decide to snoop around their mysterious neighbor's mysterious apartment (where they hear the Whistler going in). What they find astonishes them: destruction, and in the midst of it, a talking book containing the consciousness of the apartment's former owner, Mr. Van Stavern. He tells them that they are to be members of a secret order. Their mission is clear–protect New Rotterdam and the world from paranormal forces by containing powerful cursed relics. But a dilemma is caused when Serena, the skeptic, decides to forget about it. Their first task begins as a red hourglass starts appearing all over New Rotterdam, and people start disappearing. With only 2 members, will the team be able to survive the deadly relic and the organization that is putting them in public spaces? First of all, the book had very relatable themes such as climate change and friendship. The characters, such as Emrys, were all fleshed out and relatable too. The Wiki entries after every chapter were interesting and in my opinion, made the book a lot better. But I felt that one of the big flaws of the book was that the Wandering Hour, which is what the book is focused on (it's in the title even), could have been a lot scarier and stranger, like the other Wiki entries in the book. Finally, the dialogue feels natural and there are even some funny parts, which lighten up the grim tale of disappearing juveniles. About the scariness level, it's pretty mild, but there is talk of humans disappearing and dying, so I would recommend this book to middle grades and above. Also, if you like unexplained things such as cryptids, this would be an interesting book (the book goes by pretty quickly, so it's good for light reading).

Efrén must learn to make do in this story about immigration, friendships, and more. Being born in the US, Efrén has US citizenship and thus can continue living in the country. But for his Amá, it isn't that simple. With no visa, Efrén's mom is in constant danger of being deported, but when this happens, Efrén's life falls apart. Now his Apá must work two shifts, one late into the night, to raise money for Ama's return, and it is up to Efrén to manage his extremely excitable siblings, Max and Mía. This includes taking them to school, bringing them home from school, making them breakfast, playing hide-and-seek, etc. Efrén's life becomes even more complicated as he hides his secret from his best friend and the only White person at school, David, and a girl at school, Jennifer Huertas, is deported too. Efrén knows he has to do something, but his attempt to raise awareness rips apart his friendship with David. Efrén, the only person with citizenship, aside from Max and Mía, is faced with making a solo trip to the Tijuanan restaurant where Amá now works. I really enjoyed this powerful tale of coping with life's challenges. Additionally, the dialogue is well-structured and natural-sounding. There were some funny moments in this book, but I feel like there could have been more humor. The writing style was okay, but not too good. Overall, this is a good realistic fiction book about Mexican families.