Iveliz Explains It All

I put Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango on my to-read list after it won the 2023 Newbery Honor. Here's the description from the book jacket:
The end of elementary school?
Worst time of my life.
And the start of middle school?
I just wasn’t quite right.
But this year?
YO VOY A MI.
Seventh grade is going to be Iveliz’s year. She’s going to make a new friend, help her abuela Mimi get settled after moving from Puerto Rico, and she is not going to get into any more trouble at school....Except is that what happens? Of course not. Because no matter how hard Iveliz tries, sometimes people say things that just make her so mad. And worse, Mimi keeps saying Iveliz’s medicine is unnecessary—even though it helps Iveliz feel less sad. But how do you explain your feelings to others when you’re not even sure what’s going on yourself?

This book was a great read. I liked how the book uncovered more information about Iveliz and her background as the book went on, and you just couldn't help but feel for her. I felt like the author did a great job getting inside the mind of a teen struggling with her mental health, and I liked the lesson the book taught in the end about friendship and about speaking up and asking for help. This was an engaging read with wonderful characters. It got me teared up and left me inspired.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Freewater

I put Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson on my to-read list after it won the 2023 Newbery medal. The book description says, "Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp. In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home."

This was a great read. It took me a little bit to get through because I kinda hit a lull in the middle, but once I got back into it, I was able to finish it out quickly. I really loved the well-developed characters (mainly children!) and their bravery and courage, and I appreciated the glimpse into the terribly unfair and difficult lives enslaved people had to live. This book reminded me of another book I read (Unbound) that took place in a similar setting (enslaved people finding refuge in a swamp).

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Snow Leopard

I read The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen for my book club. The book description reads, "In 1973, Peter Matthiessen and field biologist George Schaller traveled high into the remote mountains of Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and possibly glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard. Matthiessen, a student of Zen Buddhism, was also on a spiritual quest to find the Lama of Shey at the ancient shrine on Crystal Mountain. As the climb proceeds, Matthiessen charts his inner path as well as his outer one, with a deepening Buddhist understanding of reality, suffering, impermanence, and beauty."

This was a really slow read for me at first, and it just wasn't my kind of book. If it wasn't for book club, I would have stopped reading pretty early on because I found it pretty boring. However, I kept reading, and by the end, I actually kinda liked it. I was definitely glad I read it too because I like reading things that are outside my usual, and I felt proud of myself for completing it. I did find the story engaging by the end, and I enjoyed following their journey and some of the characters. And there were lots of great discussion points at book club! The book was also full of some great gems. Here are some I particularlly liked. When some of the sherpas accidentally dropped one of the other's pack in a river: "Wonderfully, Jang-bu laughed aloud, as did Dawa and Phu-Tsering, although it meant wet clothes and a wet sleeping bag for the head sherpa. That happy-go-lucky spirit, that acceptance which is not fatalism but a deep trust in life, made me ashamed." When Peter was angry about something: "My anger is wasting energy I badly need, and realizing this, it is easy to put it aside." When Peter was wondering about the Lama of the Crystal Monastery who appears happy but is also isolated and will likely never leave because he is crippled: "Indicating his twisted legs without a trace of self-pity or bitterness, as if they belonged to all of us, he casts his arms wide to the sky and the snow mountains, the high sun and dancing sheep, and cries, 'Of course I am happy here! It's wonderful! Especially when I have no choice!"

Rating: * (1/3 = It was okay)