Book list Claudia, who generally flies under the radar at her all-girls school, isn't planning on being there for the difficult breakup of it-couple Paige and Iris. But alas, she hears every brutal word and is confronted by angry, difficult Iris Huang herself, who threatens to ruin her if Claudia breathes a word to anyone. It doesn't seem likely to be a problem Claudia's not much of a gossip, and her best friend goes to another school but as their senior year starts, Claudia keeps finding herself paired with Iris. When they're both forced to be a part of the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, they develop a tentative friendship against all odds. Even as her friendship with Iris blossoms, Claudia resists growing closer to Gideon, a boy involved in the show. Mills (This Adventure Ends, 2016) offers up another realistic depiction of teen relationships. Claudia's friendship with Iris takes center stage more than her budding romance with Gideon, and her pragmatic voice shines. A fun, thoughtful portrayal of different kinds of vulnerability.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

School Library Journal Gr 8 Up-Claudia is at the last party of the summer before senior year when she overhears the breakup of two girls and finds herself on the wrong side of prickly student Iris, who is difficult and knows just how to use her words as knives. Claudia herself has recently gone through a breakup with a young man who explains that he just "feels regular" with her (no sparks) and she has no desire to expose herself to any sort of further romantic drama. And yet drama is where she lands when she and Iris both have to work on the school's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream along with increasingly attentive, cute as a button, goofy Gideon. While Claudia's developing romance with Gideon is textbook high school hyperbole, the backdrop of her school interactions, family events, (including her sister's dangerous premature delivery), gaming, part-time job, developing interest in a hot new band, and personal growth in her circle of friends is exceptional and drives the story forward on a level beyond the average derivative teen novel. VERDICT Purchase where Shakespeare-centered and theater-inspired books, and Mills's earlier titles circulate well.-Susan Riley, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Publishers Weekly "Redemption arc?" asks Claudia's best friend, Zoe, curious about Claudia's unexpected new friendship with Iris, her private school's class president and infamous mean girl. It all starts when Claudia is forced to spend time with Iris for a class project, just as Iris is reeling from a breakup with her longtime girlfriend, Paige. Claudia discovers that Iris is more complicated and vulnerable than everyone assumes, and the evolution of their relationship-from enemies to intimate friends who respect and rely on each other-is compelling and real. Mills (This Adventure Ends) thoughtfully explores the nuances of all kinds of relationships, both friendly and romantic, via Claudia and her circle of friends. Also in the mix: Zoe is falling in love with Claudia's brother, Iris longs to get back together with Paige, and Claudia faces her own insecurities and hopes for a romance with popular Gideon. Through these friendship struggles and romances old and new, Mills evokes the high stakes and vast rewards of trust, intimacy, and honesty. Ages 14-up. Agent: Bridget Smith, Dunham Literary. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Horn Book Insecure high-school senior Claudia and hard-edged class president Iris are assigned to work on the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. As Iris regrets a break-up with her girlfriend and Claudia hopes for romance with a popular boy, an unlikely friendship evolves and expands. Told in Claudia's conversational voice, the novel's realistic characters tread familiar YA territory in a fresh, candid way. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus In Mills' (This Adventure Ends, 2016, etc.) latest, the beginning of senior year leads to new friendships and new love. When Claudia accidentally overhears the breakup of Iris and Paige, Prospect-Landower School for Girls' "cutest couple," no-nonsense Iris threatens to ruin her. Instead, Claudia and Iris strike up an unlikely friendship after a failed group project forces them to participate in the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Iris is Chinese-American, the other primary characters ambiguously described, suggesting a white default. Claudia, who previously hadn't bothered to make friends outside her childhood bestie, Zoe, begins to open herself to her peers. Chief among them is outgoing, kindhearted Gideon, a student at nearby all-male Danforth Prep. Even when Claudia lets herself believe that Gideon may actually be interested in her, a previous breakup makes her hesitant to pursue a new relationship ("It's just easier to never start something than to have to see it end"). Unfortunately, the story follows the tired popular-boy-falls-for-unpopular-girl trope; otherwise, however, the characters are wonderfully fresh and honest. Claudia narrates in funny, conversational first-person present as the plot meanders toward opening night of Midsummer, allowing time for Claudia's blooming relationships and self-confidence to develop. The course of true love never did run smooth, but in the case of these two lovers, the journey is worth your while. (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Horn Book A NYC boy moving to Mexico City and a girl in Cuidad de México who's relocating to NYC each describes (in English) what he or she will miss and expresses anxieties about the move. The ink, colored-pencil, watercolor, and gouache illustrations mainly place the boy's and girl's experiences on opposite sides of the spreads, allowing readers to appreciate their shared feelings while acknowledging the differences between the cities. Concurrently published in Spanish as Un nuevo hogar. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal PreS-Gr 1-This debut picture book features a boy in New York City who learns he will be relocating to Mexico City, and a girl in Mexico City considering her move to the Big Apple. Both children are unsure about their respective moves, as they will miss many things about their homes. The narrative is structured so that both children share the same thoughts, while the whimsical, detailed watercolor and pencil illustrations show each child enjoying, playing, and exploring their home cities. For instance, when the story reads, "But what if there is nowhere for me to play in my new city?" side-by-side, single-page spreads depict the boy ice-skating in Central Park and the girl riding her bike through Bosque de Chapultepec. Each child thinks, "I hope my life won't be so different in my new city," while the quiet, thoughtful illustrations demonstrate how simultaneously distinctive and similar their homes are. The endpapers offer fun facts about each city alongside compact replicas of the story's individual spreads. VERDICT A positive, reassuring recommendation for families coping with relocating to a new city. Recommended for school and public libraries.-Brianne -Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Book list An unnamed New York City boy and Mexico City girl consider what they like best about their present homes as they prepare to trade locales. Both live in apartment buildings, attend school, enjoy sporting events, play at the park, take in museums, and love the beach. Each hopes to find similar activities in their new cities. What makes this simple story work are de Regil's brightly colored mixed-media illustrations. Each spread features a single line of text (applicable to both children) with paired illustrations, one for each child. Cheering loudly for our team to win at the stadium features depictions of the boy and his dad at Yankee Stadium and the girl and her father watching soccer at Estadio Azteca. The sites in each metropolis are further delineated by consistent color schemes: the U.S. scenes feature reds and blues prominently, while the Mexican sites highlight greens and reds. Appended with information about each scene represented, this makes an upbeat and reassuring addition to books about moving.--Kay Weisman Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Kirkus A boy from New York and a girl from Mexico City reminisce about the things they love in their hometowns prior to moving to each other's respective cities.After the characters are introduced, the narration unfolds in such a way that it represents the experiences of either child. As the story progresses and the images mirror each other in the spreads, the visual narrative depicts the similar experiences both families have without othering either child. De Regil, in her colored pencil, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, moves from the wide snapshots of either city into close experiences. As both stories merge and progress through the same events (attending sporting and cultural events, playing, traveling to their new homes), the narrative furthers the conversation on the similarities between the protagonists. The stories come together in a sweet moment when they cross paths at the airport, hopeful for the possibilities of different adventures in their new homes. De Regil doesn't shy away from the problems both countries and cultures experience, such as homelessness and wealth inequality, yet does not place blame. The backmatter provides information on both the landmarks the children visitsuch as Lincoln Center, Palacio de Bellas Artes, and the Museo Nacional de Antropologaand the cultures and issues that surround them. The boy presents white, and the girl has brown skin.A heartwarming story that depicts the anxiety of moving and leaving the familiarity of one's own culture behind. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly Data Over Dogma podcaster McClellan debuts with a smart and historically grounded look at what scripture says about some of Christianity’s most provocative questions. Drawing on the text and canonical sources, he unpacks the origins of what he argues are misconstrued symbols (the number 666 does not signify “the mark of the beast” but is more likely code for Roman emperor Nero, an infamous “persecutor of early Christians” around the time the number first appeared in scripture); debunks literalist readings (while the book of Proverbs supports corporal punishment for children, the practice should be considered a relic of the ancient world); and unravels the nuances of hot-button issues, arguing, for example, that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality because “the concept of sexual orientation” didn’t exist in ancient times—though it does prohibit same-sex intercourse. In the process, he perceptively examines how biblical tenets have been skewed or exploited by some believers to cloak their innate prejudices, which then become “identity markers” used to justify “authoritarianism and social dominance.” Combining fine-grained textual analysis with enlightening historical context, this is a valuable resource. (Apr.)

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Library Journal Independent religion scholar McClellan draws from his popular TikTok account and expands upon it in this work, answering common questions many may have when discussing what the Bible actually says about a range of current issues. He starts each chapter with a summary of a viral video addressing the question at hand, and, with faith-based skepticism and a hint of irreverence, tackles what that video gets wrong or right about the text of the Bible. He explains how he reaches his conclusions, highlighting a variety of translations and Hebrew and Greek word studies to dissect and show his perspectives, referencing many other biblical scholars and their work, and pivoting away from how the Bible has been weaponized against marginalized groups. VERDICT At times it can be difficult to determine the audience McClellan hopes to reach, as the book's chapters vary in length and depth, leaving some readers to find it too verbose. The work will best serves readers hoping to resolve specific issues with how the Bible is used in arguments and defenses of particular beliefs.—Amanda Ray

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