Never Fear, Meena's Here!

January 1, 2020
The further growing ups and downs of the one and only Meena Zee, first introduced in Meena Meets Her Match (2019). When Meena, who continues seeing treasure in other people's trash, finds a beautiful and mysterious ring in the school parking lot, she plans to save it for when Inspiration strikes. Moments later, she saves a schoolmate from certain doom. Meena is a hero! Just as the spider did for Peter Parker, the Ring must have activated her superpowers, right? Now, Meena sees proof everywhere that she's a superhero (she makes it to the top of the good-behavior chart for the first time, and she turns her mother's boring gray accounting spreadsheet into a rainbow), but the one person who matters most isn't convinced. As Meena tests her powers, her friendship with best friend Sofía is also put to the test. The Ring can't save Meena from epilepsy, a condition that plays an important role in the plot but doesn't define it. She manages it, with her family's help, in moments of gentle humor. If Harriet M. Welsch had a literary little sister, it would be offbeat Meena. Readers not quite ready for Harriet the Spy will discover along with Meena that, perhaps, the power of true friendship is all that matters. Cover art shows Meena as white, and there are indications that Spanish-speaking Sofía is Mexican American. Assume whiteness elsewhere. Meena's escapades will rescue readers from boredom. (Fiction. 8-12)

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February 14, 2020

Gr 2-5-After saving a first grader from being run over and finding an amazing rainbow ring, third grader Meena becomes convinced that she and the ring both have superpowers. Now all she needs to do is find a way to prove it. And she needs to figure out why her best friend Sofía wants to be friends with so many other people, and why her little sister is always hanging around, and why her cousin Eli cares so much about seeing his uncaring older brother. Oh, and if she could make everyone stop treating her like she's contagious because she had a convulsive seizure in the lunchroom one day, well, that would be good too. After an escalating series of experiments, mishaps, and near-disasters, Meena finally comes to some important realizations about what makes a hero of any kind. Meena is brash, funny, creative, more than a little impulsive, and sometimes truly obnoxious. Sofía is pretty darned saintly, but she has good reason for behaving the way she does. Little sister Rosie turns out to be stronger than anyone gives her credit for. Aside from these central figures, most everyone else is background. Realistic descriptions of a family learning to live with a new normal ring true and don't overwhelm the narrative of a girl discovering that maybe she's not the center of the universe, and that's okay. VERDICT Fans of Meena's first outing (Meena Meets Her Match, S. & S., 2019) and of realistic fiction that handles serious topics with sweet humor will enjoy this installment.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

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