Diverse Reads – Page 11 – The Mint Girl Blog

Mint Girl Reads A Galaxy Of Sea Stars

A Galaxy of Sea Stars is a middle grade book written by Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo. It tells the story of 11-year old Izzy who is having friendship troubles.

Her dad is back from the war in Afghanistan, but he’s changed. Her mom is working at their aunt’s bakery in Block Island for the summer. But just summer turns into a longer time and Izzy starts to feel annoyed. Then Sitara and her family joins and Izzy starts to feel more left out by her dad. Quickly, though, Sitara and Izzy become friends. At school, Izzy has way more problems, like how will she go on her school’s news? and why is Zelda acting so mean to Sitara.

Slowly, Izzy begins to understand the meaning of friendship and loyalty and being yourself.

Mint Girl Meets Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi

On 3/13/2020, I attended Blue Willow’s Meet Jason Reynolds session. It was about his new book Stamped. The book is about racism and how it spread. The format was easy to read and understandable. It made talking/reading about race much easier.

Jason Reynolds answered many inspiring questions asked by Ibram X Kendi, kids, and adults. The whole topic of this meeting was what inspires race and how can we stop it.

The book Stamped is a shortened version of Stamped From The Beginning which is written by Ibram X Kendi. The Jason Reynolds version is much easier to read and makes more sense to kids.

I haven’t finished reading it yet but I hope to over this extended spring break. Stay Healthy!

Mint Girl Reads Stories For South Asian Super Girls by Raj Kaur Khaira

I have recently read Stories For South Asian Super Girls by Raj Kaur Khaira. This is a book where you learn about many south Asian wonder women in today’s world. This is a nonfiction book about strong Asian women from Jhansi Ki Rani (amazing warrior queen) to Hannah Simone ( an actor). This book is chock-full of interesting facts and it has the best illustrations.I love this book.

This book tells you about all the amazing things women can do. They fight for their rights and can become role-models. This book earns a big thumbs-up from me.

International Women’s Day is a day where we celebrate all the strong women in the world and think about how women have come a long way from where we begun.It’s a day where we remember how far we have to go and think about achieving our goal.Happy Woman’s Day! 😁

Mint Girl Reads: Count me In By Varsha Bajaj

Count Me In is a middle grade fiction book written by Varsa Bajaj.

The protagonists in this book are 12 year old Karina and Chris who live in Houston, Texas. They’re neighbors but they don’t know each other well until Karina’s grandfather gets attacked and things start spiraling out of control. What follows is that Chris, Karina, and their friends find the true meaning of belonging in America today.

This realistic fiction book is very relevant in today’s world, as kids like me figure out where we belong in present day America. I found this book very moving and emotional. I live in a community that is welcoming and accepting and I am shocked at how people can act. I knew hate crimes existed, but I never gave it much thought until I read this book. I was shocked at how Karina’s grandfather was treated and how cruel people can be.

If you enjoy diverse reads and middle grade fiction then you’ll definitely enjoy this book.

The Tweens Read 2019

On Saturday, October 19, I attended the Tweens Read book event.
It was held at Pasadena Memorial High School.It was hosted by Blue Willow Bookshop. It was my second year attending and I always look forward to these events.

I really enjoy these events because I can learn more about the authors.I can learn about their inspiration, the writing process, and what you can do if you get stuck. These things are really important as I feel they help me with my writing.

This year I attended the Art on the Page panel (Which featured Lincoln Pierce, Matthew Holm, and Remy Lai)The authors talked about their books, read some of their books, and answered questions. Next I attended the creative writing workshop. Robbi Behr and Matthew Swanson were the authors for this event. They taught us how to brainstorm and how to crowd-source when you’re stuck.Then I went to the Shelf Stuff workshop from Harper Collins. They taught us how to advertise our books. Then they asked us for our advice and which apps would be the best to advertise on.We gladly came up with a few suggestions.Finally, we went to the Do the Write Stuff workshop. Varsha Bajaj, James Riley ,Robbi Behr, and Matthew Swanson were the speakers for this panel. The setup was the same as the first panel but the things they talked about were completely different!

Interacting with these authors inspire me to work harder on my writing and to go above and beyond with it. I always want to be a great writer and by going to these sessions, I am motivated to become one. Going to the tweens read and also exposes me the tons of new middle grade fiction. My pile of books to read always increases with each visit to the Tweens Read.I would love if in the future I could interact with these authors: Kelly Barnhill (author of The Girl who Drank the Moon), Colin Meloy(author of The Whiz Mob and The Grenadine Kid), and Christina Uss( author of The Adventures Of a Girl Called Bicycle).

Mint Girl Reads : More To The Story by Hena Khan

When I first saw the cover of this book, I was captivated. The vibrant colors blended together in perfect harmony. The girls on the cover of the book captured my attention and I found myself wanting to know more about them. That is the reason I started to read More to the Story.

More to the Story is about how sisters, Jam, Bisma, Aleeza, and Maryanm, face a hard time where their dad is in a different country working and Bisma has just gotten diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of cancer. This book is about the relationship between the sisters and Ali, their cousin while they discover themselves.

Jam’s story enraptured me. I loved her passion for journeling and her interesting ideas. I especially love her relationship with Travis and how he keeps shooting down her ideas. Bisma deserves a big round of applause. She managed to stay brave and calm during a hard time for her. Aleeza and Maryanam don’t appear much in the story, but their bond surprises me to no ends.In any fights, it usually ends up being Bisma and Jam vs. Aleeza and Maryanm.

I’ve read many of Hena Khan’s literature before and I’ve always enjoyed them. I especially like how she uses diversity in middle grade fiction. Amina’s Voice will always be one of my favorite books, as I love Amina, Emily, and Soojin’s story.

Mint Girl Reads More to the Story by Hena Khan. Picture created on Canva.com

Mint Rating: 4/5 Mints