1930s

A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez / María Dolores Águila

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez
By: María Dolores Águila
Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 304
Published: September 16, 2025
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Dates Read: February 17, 2026 - February 18, 2026
Format: Library Book / Hardcover	ISBN: 9781250342614

This middle grade, novel-in-verse is based on the true story of Roberto Alvarez and the Lemon Grove Incident.

Twelve-year-old Roberto Alvarez is the first one in his family born on US soil. He’s el futuro.

When the Lemon Grove School Board and Chamber of Commerce are moved by anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican propaganda, they create a separate “Americanization” school in an old barn for the Mexican children who originally were attending the Lemon Grove Grammar School.

Amidst threats of deportation, the Comité de Vecinos risk everything to stand their ground on getting their kids back to the regular Grammar School. With the help of the Mexican Consulate, the committee chooses Roberto as the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against the school board.

Who else came here to read about another part of history that was left out of history lessons back in the day?

The author did a fantastic job at showing the growth of Roberto from being an innocent twelve-year-old who basically just got kicked out of school, to then someone who was more and more aware of the injustices around him and his community.

As an English speaker, who took French in high school, and then has become semifluent in American Sign Language, I did struggle a little bit with the Spanish that was sprinkled into the verses. Sometimes I could use context clues to figure out what was being said, but other times I would grab my phone to use the camera option of Google translate. That was okay with me, because it helped me become more submerged in the story, but, I can see some people getting frustrated with that.

Overall, a beautiful novel in verse for middle grade readers (and older to be real!) who would enjoy learning about a time in history that is probably not told very often and that was two decades before Brown v. Board of Education.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store / James McBride (REREAD)

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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (Reread)
By: James McBride
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 400
Published: August 8. 2023
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Dates Read: January 23, 2026 - January 28, 2026
Format: ARC / Paperback		ISBN: 9780593422946

In 1972, workers were digging a new foundation in Pottstown, Pennsylvania when they found a skeleton at the bottom of a well. To figure out who it is, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store goes back 40 years to the secrets of the neighborhood of Chicken Hill, a dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side.

This book was ultimately about the community of Chicken Hill, rallying together in order to protect a young deaf boy they’ve named Dodo, from being taken by the state to an institution. It starts off with a murder mystery, but to be honest, that wasn’t at all the most interesting part of the story.

Below is my second time reading it’s review:

This time around, I physically read this book verses listening to it in audio and doing this definitely changed my mind about it. Chuna is still one of my favorite characters, but I now also have a soft spot for Monkey Pants. But also, since I was really slowing myself down to pay attention, the list of characters is so long! I gained more respect for a lot of characters that, during the first read through, I didn’t even remember! Characters like Moche, or Malachi, or Paper!

Above all though, it really made me think about justice and how it’s served and does taking it into your own hands count?

Overall, I’m glad I gave this a second chance. It is rich and full of characters that are there for their community and get things done.

If you want to re my first review, you can below. A lot of changed since I physically read it this time around.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store / James McBride

A Tiny Piece of Blue / Charlotte Whitney

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
A Tiny Piece of Blue
By: Charlotte Whitney
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 336
Published: February 18, 2025
Publisher: She Writes Press
Dates Read: April 11, 2025 - April 16, 2025
Format: ARC / Paperback

In 1934 rural Michigan, the Great Depression was hitting everyone hard. After a house fire, Silstice Trayson finds herself homeless and abandoned by her parents. Nearby, aging farmers Edna and Vernon Goetz are pillars of the community, with Edna always up for helping and volunteering. But when Edna takes Silstice under her wing, Vernon digs his heels in – it’s the Great Depression, everyone is hurting.

With so many children leaving home to make it on their own, child trafficking has grown rampant as the kids are forced into labor and sometimes worse. Silstice worries about her two younger brothers, who disappeared from her grandparents house. Meanwhile, Vernon finds himself at risk of losing everything.

Narrated by Silstice, Vernon, and Edna, A Tiny Piece of Blue is a story about a community during the Great Depression with a backdrop of thievery, bribery, and child-trafficking.

This is a well researched novel with excellent characterization of multiple points of views. You definitely get immersed in this Great Depression, rural Michigan world that Charlotte Whitney writes about. Not only did I learn more about the ins and outs of farm life, but I also learned more about the roles of males and females and how this time changed a few things.

A big theme in this novel is also family, both blood and found, and the bonds that form and can be broken between them. I just knew Vernon, even with all his orneriness and bad temper, would still have a soft spot – well hidden of course, and only shown to those around those he chooses, but still.

Overall, this is an excellent historical fiction read about a small town during the Great Depression that is filled with page turning themes of hope, despair, family, secrets, survival, and community.

*Thank you She Writes Press and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store / James McBride

/ Alisha Helms / 1 Comment

I promise I’m still around y’all! I ended up doing a 3:1 book read this time around because I realized I really need to get through my book for judging. I’ve got quite a few left to read still, so you may not hear from me again for a few more weeks. May 15 is when all of my comments are due, so you’ll probably see me shortly after that. And of course, once the winner(s) are announced, I’ll talk a bit more about them and stuff.

Until then, here’s what I listened to as an Audiobook on 2x speed on Saturday while I cleared out over 200+ books from my bookshelves because I had officially ran out of room for books.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
By: James McBride
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 380
Published: August 8, 2023
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Dates Read: April 20, 2024
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

In 1972, workers were digging a new foundation in Pottstown, Pennsylvania when they found a skeleton at the bottom of a well. To figure out who it is, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store goes back 40 years to the secrets of the neighborhood of Chicken Hill, a dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side.

This book was ultimately about the community of Chicken Hill, rallying together in order to protect a young deaf boy they’ve named Dodo, from being taken by the state to an institution. It starts off with a murder mystery, but to be honest, that wasn’t at all the most interesting part of the story.

This is one of those books where I kind of wish I did ½ star ratings and not rounding up, because I don’t really think this is a 4 star book, but I don’t think it’s a 3 star one either. I listened to this on 2x speed on a Saturday while I did some deep cleaning of my book shelves and yes, I totally missed some things here and there, but a lot of it was repeated stuff. I know the author was showing how all the characters were connected, but the characters all already knew this, and we, the reader, mostly knew that stuff too.

We meet a lot of characters in this book, but I really enjoyed Chuna, the outspoken wife who runs the grocery store. And of course Dodo.

Was this book of the year for me – no. It actually left me a bit disappointed to be completely honest. It’s rich and full of characters, but it also went on and on in places it could have been edited out and also broke away from the story to give us background information that wasn’t always necessary to keep the book going. Maybe I’ll sit down and physically read it one day, and not as an audiobook, but as of right now, this is where I stand with it.