Hazel Rochman

Black, White, Other

Children & Youth

“Teens will be caught by the alternating stories and, yes, by the messages about the cruel cliques and prejudices, then and now, which will make for great group discussion.”

Boyfriends, Burritos and an Ocean of Trouble

Fiction

“Romance goes terribly wrong in this second book in the author’s Real Life series. Bryn, 15, is assaulted by her gorgeous boyfriend, Preston, and she tries to hide her bruises and deny her shame until her father discovers the abuse and makes her press charges. The court hearings drag on, and Bryn just wants to make it all go away. Meanwhile, Preston threatens her, and his in-crowd friends call her a drama queen and send her ugly text messages. Bryn finds help from her hip grandmother, who teaches Bryn to surf wild waves, and also from Jesus, who speaks to her from a contemporary version of the Book of Luke. Will she ever trust a boy and fall in love again? Romance does return when Bryn gets close with Sean, a cool surfer who supports her. Rue folds in quite a lot for one YA novel, but the secrets will grab readers, and the dialogue is right on target.”

Boyfriends, Burritos and an Ocean of Trouble

Fiction

“Romance goes terribly wrong in this second book in the author’s Real Life series. Bryn, 15, is assaulted by her gorgeous boyfriend, Preston, and she tries to hide her bruises and deny her shame, until her father discovers the abuse and makes her press charges. The court hearing drags on, and Bryn just wants to make it all go away. Meanwhile, Preston threatens her, and his in-crowd friends call her a drama queen and send her ugly text messages. Bryn finds help from her cool grandmother, who teaches Bryn to surf wild waves, and also from Jesus, who speaks to her from a contemporary version of the Book of Luke. Will she ever trust a boy and fall in love again? Romance does return when Bryn gets close with Sean, a cool surfer, who supports her. Rue folds in quite a lot for one YA novel, but the abusive secrets will grab readers, and the dialogue is right on target.”

Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing

Children & Youth

“Illustrated with dramatic, soft-edged digital artwork, the 101 free-verse poems in this spacious collection present Christian messages from the Bible to talk about at home and in church groups. The frequent question-and-answer format adds to the conversational tone, starting with lines accompanying an image of a huge horse leaping across the end pages: “God loves the horse / how much more must he love you?” “Dance!” shows “the whole universe dancing around the sun.” In contrast is “Cataclysm!,” which discusses planets that are in uproar because “we sinned.” Some entries are lighthearted: just as you don’t put porridge in a car engine, the Bible says don’t put anyone except God in the center of your life. Most, though, are serious and may disturb some, even as they stress forgiveness: God transformed murderers such as Moses and St. Paul into heroic leaders—“what could he do for you?” At the bottom of each page is the biblical passage on which the poem is based, and appended sources are paired with “more things to think about.” Grades 1-4.”