Ritualo's Reviews

  Bibliography:  Nijkamp, M. (Ed.). (2018). Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens . Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN: 978-0-374-30650-2 Plot    Plot Summary: This anthology featuring stories by various authors, centers around teenagers with a range of disabilities and experiences. Disabilities include physical disabilities, chronic illnesses, mental health issues and neurodivergence. The stories also cover various genres such as realistic fiction, science fiction and fantasy. Despite their difficulties, the main characters all show strength and resilience in their daily lives.            Critical Analysis: The book prioritizes inclusivity as every story features a protagonist  with some type of disability. Each story focuses on the characters' abilities rather than disabilities. Each story accurately display the challenges disabled teenagers face, including discrimination and other obstacles, while emphasizing their achievements an...

  Bib   Bibl iography:  Budhos, M. T. (2006). Ask Me No Questions . Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN:  9781416903512 b        Plot Summary: Nadira is a 14 year old girl.  She and her family are illegal aliens who have emigrated from Bangladesh.  They remain virtually invisible, until the events of 9/11.  Fearing deportation, her father takes the family to the Canadian border seeking asylum, only to be turned around.  When crossing back into the US, the guards notice their expired visas and the father is arrested.  The story follows Nadira and her mother and sister who try to stay under the radar until they can figure out how to get their father out of jail.             Critical Analysis: Narrated by Nadira ,  the story is well told and easy to read.  It realistically discusses the discrimination and hardships faced by many Arab Americans following the events of 9/11. ...

         Bibl iography:  Levithan, D. (2003). Boy Meets Boy . Ember. ISBN:  9780375824005             Plot Summary: Paul is a normal high school boy in a school that's not quite normal. The cheerleaders ride motorcycles into the gym. The quarterback is a drag queen. He hates his ex-boyfriend and wants nothing more than to move on.  And when he meets Noah, he thinks he has.  But when Paul makes a stupid mistake, he needs to decide what's really important to him, and what he can do to fix things with Noah.           Critical Analysis: Regardless of sexuality, any teen reader can relate to this book.  Gossip, ex-boy/girlfriends, high school drama, a broken heart and stressed frienships are all things teenagers go through. Though the characters ethnicities are never discussed, the book still demonstrates diversity in orientation with gay, straight, bisexual and drag characters....

  B        Bibli ography:  Que, J., & Marquez, C. (2023). Ill. by Fran Alvarez. Trans. by Karen Llagas.  Dancing hands: A Story of Friendship in Filipino Sign Language . Library Ideas, LLC. ISBN:  9781797213323           Plot Summary: A little girl, the narrator, notices her neighbors talk with their hands. She soon befriends their daughter, Mai, but they have difficulty communicating. That is until Mai teaches her new friend sign language, and through that,  they are able to get to know each much better.           Critical Analysis: The use of sign language is beautifully described as "[t]heir hands move as if to music", hence the title.  The illustrations are simple yet effective in telling the story as the illustrator pays special attention to the characters' hands in order to clearly show the signs that are being used. Though the title specifies the use of Filipino sign language, ...

  Bibiliography:  Pon, C. (2016). Sacrifice (Ser. Kingdom of Xia). Month9Books. ISBN: 9781944816926 Plot Summary: In this sequel to Serpentine, Skybright, the offspring of a serpent demon, struggles with her new identity. When a powerful demon threatens those she loves, Skybrigh must come to terms with her past and embrace who she is in order to protect them. Facing new challenges, she and her friends begin a journey to defeat the demon, and along the way she learns the meaning of sacrifice and real friendship.  Critical Analysis: With the very first sentence, Pon brings the reader in with her use of figurative language. Her vivid description help the reader visualize the characters and settings, letting readers imagine themselves as part of the story. The storyline is fast-paced and the action and suspense keep the reader invested in Skybright's journey.  Chinese culture is beautifully represented in the descriptions of foods and annual festivals, as well as the in...

           Bibl iography:  Lin, G. (2009). Where the Mountain Meets the Moon . Little, Brown and Co. ISBN:  9780316114271           Plot Summary: Minli lives in a poor village. After hearing many of the old folktales from her father, she decides to head on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of changing her family's circumstances. Along the way, she meets many fantastical creatures who regale with her stories that teach her many valuable lessons. Eventually Minli discovers that the magic she was searching for lies within her, and with this knowledge, she returns to her family where true happiness had been all along.  Critical Analysis: Lin uses beautiful figurative language to create vivid imagery that immerses the reader into Minli's world. Lin gracefully incorporates elements of Chinese culture into the story providing the reader insight into Chinese tradition (such as filial piety) and ...

           Bibl iography:  Choi, Y., Tyo, S., & Choi, Y. (2023). The Name Jar . Library Ideas, LLC. ISBN:  9780375806131           Plot Summary: Unhei just moved to the U.S. from Korea. When she left, her grandmother gave her a jar with her a name stamp on it.  Her new classmates cannot say her name, so she decides she wants an American name that's easier to pronounce. But she can't decide, so her classmates fill a jar with suggestions. But she doesn't like any of the suggestions. A curly-haired boy from class discovers her birth name and learns how to pronounce it.  This helps Unhei decide that she likes her name, and she teaches the class how to say it so they can now all pronounce it.           Critical Analysis: Choi uses vocabulary appropriate to a younger audience to share Unhei's story. The story shows how Unhei struggles with feeling different from her classmates as her name i...

  Bibliography:  Say, A. (1999). Tea with Milk . Houghton Mifflin. ISBN:  978-0-7587-3768-7 Plot Summary: May, a Japanese-American girl, moves with her parent from San Francisco to Japan, her parents homeland.  Though of Japanese heritage, May (now called by her Japanese name, Masako) feels like a foreigner. Her parents try to match her with a young Japanese man, but May, raised in America, has something more nontraditional in mind.  Against her parents wishes, she escapes to the city and finds a job.  Here, she meets Joseph, and they begin a friendship that turns into family as we discover May is the author's mother, and this is her story.  Critical Analysis: The story is told simply but well, allowing the reader to clearly understand May and her experiences. Say does an excellent job of showing May's feeling of not belonging in a country where, superficially, one would assume she would because she is of Japanese heritage.  Say respectfully shows...