Curator of Wonder

I'm in love with Aurélia Durand's illustrations. I want to tear them out and hang them on my walls. I won't, because this is a library book (which I've been lucky to have with me during lockdown) and because I want as many people as possible to have the chance to read this.  The art is full of beautiful black and brown faces. The pages are absolutely bursting with color.  As a whole, the book straddles a line between highly polished and a little homemade. It's is reminiscent of a zine that has grown up and taken over the school.  This book is what it says on the tin: a manual on how to take action against racism.  It explores what being "anti-racist" means, and how that's different from claiming to "not be racist." As the subtitle indicates, the book includes "20 lessons on how to wake up, take action, and do the work." These lessons take the form of journal prompts and activities like reflecting on your own social identities and hi...

“Welcome, welcome to Caraval! The grandest show on land or by sea. Inside you’ll experience more wonders than most people see in a lifetime. You can sip magic from a cup and buy dreams in a bottle. But before you fully enter into our world, you must remember it’s all a game.” Caraval, by Stephanie Garber I first heard about this book when I was the Teen Services intern for a local library near where I went to grad school. One of my coworkers mentioned it to me as a good readers advisory option for a particular project I was working on. I read the synopsis and was immediately intrigued. Magical circus? I am into it. And I was, indeed, very into Caraval. The game, or performance, or world of illusion that Scarlett Dragna has waited her entire life to see was enticing and magical and had a spicy edge of darkness that made the game more exciting. I loved the descriptions of the island where Caraval takes place. A castle that looks like a giant birdcage, where time moves faster....

It seems fitting that the first book I discuss is one with "wonder" in the title, and worked throughout the fabric of the story. In this series, “wunder” is tangible matter. It’s from what much of the city of Nevermoor is built, but it has also become something to fear since the last Wundersmith of the age made his mark as a psychopathic villain reminiscent of Voldemort.  Rarely have I read a book in which the fantastical world is so clearly drawn, and so endlessly fun to imagine. This is the sequel to Jessica Townsend’s first book in the series, Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow. Though I started this book with very little memory of what happened in the first one, I knew I liked it, and I was quickly reminded of why. The world of Nevermoor is so fun . Morrigan, our plucky, grumpy young hero, lives in a hotel that seems a lot like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The eccentric concierge is consistently throwing massive, magical parties to compete with rival hot...