Book Reviews by Brace Books

BY LORRIE LAYTON

To Think The Last Kids on Earth meets Goosebumps. The first book in this new series introduces us to a secret society of super-babysitters who protect kids from the monsters that really are under their beds or in their closets.

On Kelly Ferguson’s first babysitting job, she discovers that monsters truly are real when Jacob (Kelly’s babysitter) is kidnapped from right under her nose by none other than the Boogeyman himself. (Well, technically there are seven Boogeymen, but who’s counting?) In order to rescue Jacob, Kelly turns to The Babysitters for help.

These Babysitters take their job seriously. Not only are they professionals when it comes to changing diapers and mollifying fussy little ones, they dive right in when dealing with a monster. A Babysitter’s priority is to keep children safe and to rescue those who fall into the wrong (monstrous) hands.

When dealing with a new monster, a Babysitter’s go-to reference material is a manual entitled A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting. This manual contains data on all the monsters this group has ever encountered, including a physical description, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and smell. Yep, smell. If a Babysitter encounters a monster he’s seeing for the first time, the manual even includes a decision tree to help determine the type of monster he’s facing.

Of course, Kelly’s first time babysitting is on Halloween when this particular Boogeyman plans to transform our world into anyone’s worst nightmare full of the worst monsters from all of our nightmares – with the unwilling help of the child Kelly is babysitting. Absolutely no pressure there! Kelly and The Babysitters reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her gang – although this series is written for a slightly younger crowd.

BY TARA SMITH

American Dirt starts off with a bang (literally, a gunshot) and doesn’t stop. The main character, Lydia, is a woman to whom I can easily relate. Lydia owns a small bookstore, while her husband, Sebastian, is a journalist. Together with their young son, Luca, they live a comfortable, middle-class life in Acapulco. For a long time, the tourist trade has protected Acapulco from the drug cartels, but that is no longer true. Sebastian writes a fair but honest exposé on the leader of a new, violent cartel. The retaliation is immediate, brutal, and gruesome.

Lydia and Luca begin a desperate trek to Los Estados Unidos, doing everything they can to move quickly while avoiding notice by any of the drug cartel’s many foot soldiers scattered throughout Mexico. Within twenty-four hours, they exchange their middle-class life for a migrant’s existence. As they walk hundreds of miles and ride atop trains for thousands more on their way north, they experience violence, fear, and despair. They receive unexpected help, and see wanton disregard for human life. Lydia worries Luca will witness so much horror as they flee northward that he will be permanently damaged.

Author Jeanine Cummins spent five years researching immigration and the U.S.- Mexico border. She interviewed migrants seeking refuge, as well as deportees who were forced to leave family members behind in the U.S. She also consulted with Hispanic culture experts. American Dirt’s publication resulted in a surprising amount of controversy — much of it from the Latinx community. While some praise how the novel raises awareness of immigrant issues, others claim Cummins, whose heritage is Irish and Puerto Rican, has no right to tell a story that is not hers.

Personally, I believe the novel did open my eyes to experiences of others in the real world.