Jeanine:
Broken – In the Best Possible Way by Jenny Lawson
Michelle
How Beautiful We Were Imbolo Mbue
A parable of what the powerful in first world countries will do to the powerless in third world countries – all in the name of greed – and all because…. they can. This is one of those reading experiences that once finished with the final page, you close the book, and sit in the silent aftermath of an ethical and emotional sucker punch to the gut.
So beautifully written and narrated, though it is the first book I’ve read by Imbolo Mbue, it won’t be the last.
Katie
A Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Twelve-year-old Iris is a repair genius, she loves fixing old, broken radios, and she was born deaf. When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. She is the only deaf student in her classes at school, and sometimes feels lonely. She hatches a plan to communicate with him, but Blue 55 is three thousand miles away. Will Iris succeed?