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of the three girls vows to make a difference,
like Dinah’s father, and Dinah plans to sign
up for the Gotham City Junior Police
Academy. Then the trio notices that when
Dinah gets emotional and yells, glass
breaks, among other strange occurrences.
Her parents reveal that she has a super-
power, a “sonic canary cry,” and Dinah
begins to juggle her desires to keep her
secret and to keep her friends. McGee’s
artwork has a manga-inspired look and a
pleasing, lavender-heavy palette. Middle
graders discovering their own talents and
voices will find much to appreciate. Ages
8–12. (Oct.)The Lonesome Era
Jon Allen. Iron Circus Comics, $30 (422p)
ISBN 978-1-945820-38-0
Camden, a cat, spends his time outside
of high school stargazing, skate boarding,
and listening to death metal with his best
friend, Jeremiah. For his part, Jeremiah
casually uses gay as an insult and is good at
finding ways to get into trouble in their
small town; his bad ideas lead the more
cautious Camden to try drinking, weed,
stealing, and fighting, with dramatic results
for Camden. Set in the 1990s, Allen’s (Ohio
Is for Sale for adults) world is rendered in a
simple, black-and-white cartoon style
reminiscent of Matt Groening’s and pop-
ulated with lightly differentiated anthro-
pomorphic animals. The art offers an
avenue into a turning point in Camden’s
life as he seeks to discern his desires; scenes
that show him experimenting to determine
who he is feel honest and offer universality
to this consideration of teenage life. In
addition, it offers a solid depiction of how
specific moments can change in perceived
importance, especially when layered iden-
tity is part of the mix. Ages 15–up. (Oct.)Nonfiction
★ Suffragette:
The Battle for Equality
David Roberts. Walker Books US, $25 (128p)
ISBN 978-1-5362-0841-2
Roberts’s (Rosie Revere, Engineer) hand-
somely illustrated history of the battle for
women’s suffrage in the U.K. and the U.S.
makes its American debut in time for the
100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
Though heavily tilted toward events andkey figures in the U.K., the detailed
chronological account covers the multi-
pronged fight for the vote on both sides of
the Atlantic. Many of the diverse activists,
such as journalist Ida B. Wells, are featured
on pages of yearbook-style captioned por-
traits. Others, such as Britain’s Millicent
Garrett Fawcett, the leader of Britain’s
largest suffrage society, receive longer
treatment, as do pivotal protests. Interest-
piquing titles headline each double spread
(“1910: Suffrajitsu”), while a conversational
narrative, aesthetically pleasing page
design, and stunning visuals keep the
complex topic accessible. Lively scenes
depict law-abiding suffragists (and more
militant suffragettes) engaging in all
manner of protest, often clad in lavish,
ruffled Edwardian-period dress. Roberts
hasn’t shied from depicting the harsh
realities of a struggle that also involved
racism, classism, vandalism, and violence;
one graphic scene, for example, depicts
the forced tube feeding of a female prisoner
on a hunger strike. Vignettes of female
suffragists from around the world and a
bibliography wrap up this engaging,
stirring chronicle. Ages 7–10. (Oct.)★ Her Own Two Feet: A Rwandan
Girl’s Brave Fight to Walk
Meredith Davis and Rebeka Uwitonze.
Scholastic Focus, $17.99 (208p) ISBN 978-1-
338-35637-3
Born in the Rwandan countryside with
arthrogryposis, a disease resulting in curled
hands and twisted feet, Rebeka Uwitonze
taught herself to walk on the tops of her
feet at age seven. Following multiple
unsuccessful attempts to straighten her
feet, an American sponsoring her school
education arranges for U.S. doctors to
evaluate then-nine-year-old Uwitonze for
another possible treatment, this time sur-
gical. If she is found to be a candidate for
the surgery, Uwitonze would have to stay in
the States with a host family for as long as
a year. With her family’s blessing (“Chance
comes once,” her father says, a phrase
repeated throughout the book), Uwitonze
flies, alongside translator Anna, to Austin,
Tex. With the support of her host family—
coauthor Davis and her family—Uwitonze
undergoes numerous medical procedures
(31 casts and 58 hospital visits) and works
arduously studying English and learning
to walk anew, while missing her family.Mixing Davis’s third-person narrative and
Uwitonze’s first-person introspection (via
letters to her sister), interspersed with
endearing photographs, the authors sensi-
tively convey Uwitonze’s wealth of strength
through adversity and the familial love—
from both her own family and her American
host family—that helped her navigate her
experience. A glossary of Kinyarwanda
words and notes from the authors conclude.
Ages 8–12. (Oct.)★ Spies: The Secret Showdown
Between America and Russia
Marc Favreau. Little, Brown, $19.99 (320p)
ISBN 978-0-316-54592-1
Favreau (Crash: The Great Depression and
the Fall and Rise of America) weaves vivid,
succinct accounts of the volatile U.S.-Soviet
relationship into his tension-inducing
spy stories, which range from the 1940s
to the 1991 collapse of the U.S.S.R.
While detailing the lead-up to a spy’s
mission in Moscow in 1981, for example,
the prologue crisply summarizes how an
official policy of deterrence became the
excuse for ever-
proliferating
nuclear weapons.
Favreau’s suc-
ceeding chapters
cover a well-
chosen selection
of spies, defec-
tors, double
agents, and
moles, in the
West and
behind the Iron Curtain, illuminating
each spy’s motivations and the spy craft
employed. Several cases raise complicated
moral questions, and sections on Russian
espionage and the CIA since 1991 bring
the reader up to 2018; Favreau ominously
concludes, “The lessons of the Cold War...
suddenly [seem] shockingly relevant—a
prologue, perhaps, to a new and ominous
showdown between old enemies.” Black-
and-white photos and excellent supple-
mental material, including a Cold War
timeline, glossaries of key espionage
terms and techniques, a comprehensive
list of sources, and further reading
enhance the reader’s understanding of
this riveting, timely topic. Ages 12–up.
(Oct.) ■