- Ashley S.
- Friday, October 20, 2023
Check out these September 2023 youth titles you may have missed!
Keeping up with new book releases is an extremely difficult task. Even as a voracious reader, I'm unable to keep up with every single youth title that releases each week. "Did You Miss It" is a new review based series that takes time to explore and highlight youth titles that may have gone unnoticed. Each month, I will showcase 2 to 3 titles from the previous month providing both a summary and my own personal thoughts. This month's post features two of my favorite reads from September! I hope you enjoy!
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (Released September 5th)
Summary: London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing. After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.
My Thoughts: Published by one of my favorite authors, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, is a dark, yet necessary look at transphobia, misogyny, as well as ableism. Silas, due to his violet eyes and lack of desire to become a Speaker wife, is forced to attend a sanitorium to cure him of his veil sickness. While there, he discovers a world where young women are traded, sold, and bartered as mere commodities for the likes of men. Using a hint of magical realism, White develops a dark and sinister world where Silas must depend on his own courage and self-validation as well as a few ghosts of the past to make it out alive. Outside of his wonderful writing skills, White develops an intriguing, yet painful world that mirrors the realities of so many from both the past and the present. From those that have suffered from systemic ableism to those that have bared the trauma of medical experimentation, White writes to shed light on the horrors of their experiences. This book is not for the faint of heart, and while I enjoyed the storytelling, I do implore readers to check out content warnings ahead of reading. Another great release from the wonderful Andrew Joseph White.
A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers, Illus. by Jonathan Nelson (Released September 19th)
Summary: Ever since the day Mom and Dad brought Bob home from the car dealership, Bob has been a part of Katie’s family. Bob has taken them all over, from powwows to vacations to time spent with faraway family. Bob has been there in sad and scary times and for some of the family’s most treasured memories. But after many miles, it’s time for the family to say goodbye to Bob. This humorous and tender story about a beloved family car—and all the stories and love carried along for the ride—will appeal to every kid whose family has owned a special car!
My Thoughts: This is such a lovely picture book that reminded me of the attachment I used to have to my mom's 1994 blue Honda Accord. Although the title appears to be in reference to a person, it is an ode/love letter to a family car, but also to Native families and traditions. A Letter for Bob is a heart-warming title perfect for the entire family.