Novel Novels: Two Reviews

Last semester, the Butler Center hosted a Mock Pura Belpré Award event. I somehow found the time to read all but one of the books on the reading list, and I'm so grateful I did. Two of them, novels for middle grade readers, don't let traditional "novel" formats limit them, which helps to show instead of tell their stories. The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez includes zines (homemade mini-magazines) created by the story's protagonist and Forest World by Margarita Engle is told in dual-narrative poems, allowing the reader to see into both protagonists' thoughts.


The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

MaLu is exactly the type of kid I would have wanted to be friends with in middle and high school - she knows who she is and what she stands for, and she's not about to let any sort of authority tell her differently. The adult in me had a few moments of "yeah, I don't think so honey," but middle school Rachel loved MaLu's artistry, earnestness, and fashion sense. What really makes The First Rule of Punk stand out is the inclusion of zines, collage-style mini-mags that show just how passionate MaLu is about being her most true self.

Forest World by Margarita Engle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Edver isn't quite sure what to think of his older sister Luza when he meets her for the first time during a visit to Cuba, made possible by relaxed travel laws and his mother's hope that Edver spend some time with his father, away from his precious cell phone. Luza, though, remembers Edver and their mother, and wants to reconnect with the family she was forced to say goodbye to so many years ago. Told in a series of poems from both Edver and Luza's perspectives, Forest World is as beautiful and stunning as the Cuban forest it's set in.

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