RECOMMENDED READS

Welcome to our literary circle, in which San Diegans pass the (printed) word on books

Marianne Reiner

Job: Owner, Run for Cover Bookstore

She recommends: “Birdie and Me” by J.M.M. Nuanez (Kathy Dawson Books, 2020; 304 pages)

Why? I love the complex and deep themes that publishers now choose to expose young readers to. With “Birdie and Me,” the subjects of grief, gender, sibling bonds and what it means to be a family are explored in ways that stole my heart. Jack, a young girl, and Birdie, her gender-creative brother, are sent to live with their sweet uncle Carl after their mother dies. When Carl proves unable to take care of the children, their other uncle, Patrick, takes them in. Patrick is brusque and does not know how to deal with independent Jack and is at a loss with Birdie’s rainbow leggings and purple jacket. The children must navigate their new life in this small town where they must confront bullying and scrutiny. Jack will form a friendship with Janet, a wise girl just a bit older than her who is one of my favorite characters in the book. She is central to the discovery of what it means to be a family. J.M.M. Nuanez’s words flow so easily and capture the reader’s attention to the end. Her words are touching, profound and resonated deeply with me. The whimsical and endearing characters will stick with the readers long past the last page. This is a book slated for upper elementary and middlegrade readers, but it should be read by everyone. If you read and loved books by Lynda Mullaly Hunt or Holly Goldberg Sloan, hurry up and pick up a copy of “Birdie and Me” today.

Jason Rogers

Job: Accessibility & I CAN! Center manager, Central Library, San Diego Public Library

He recommends: “There There” by Tommy Orange (Alfred A. Knopf, 2018; 294 pages)

Why? Everything about Orange’s novel has an energy that keeps crackling along, from the passionate prologue through the tense conclusion. It begins with a series of seemingly disconnected character sketches of several Native Americans in and around Oakland. We get to meet the characters in their current circumstance and gradually learn about their personal histories that eventually lead them to the novel’s climax, a big community powwow. The narrative jumps between characters as well as chronologically, but each character is rendered in such terrific details that you will be immersed well before the plot connections begin to show themselves. The range of voices that Orange presents in the book is truly impressive, but so is the way he constructs the story to keep the reader engaged through the final page.