Blog Tour & Review (Giveaway) : When the World Turned Upside Down

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the WHEN THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN by K. Ibura Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About the Book:

Title: WHEN THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

Author: K. Ibura

Pub. Date: February 1, 2022

Publisher:  Scholastic Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 288

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle,
Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

What do you do when the world shuts down? A heartwarming story of friendship and overcoming
adversity in a time of COVID, When the World Turns Upside Down is about community, giving back, and understanding the world around us through the power of generosity from debut middle grade author K. Ibura.

Nobody expected a tiny little virus to change the whole world in such a big way, especially not Shayla, Liam, Ai, and Ben. But when school closes to keep everyone safe, their lives turn upside down. It is one thing to learn that the
outside world isn’t safe, but why does it seem that the virus is causing trouble inside their homes too?

As they each struggle to adjust to life in quarantine, they discover they are not alone: their apartment building is full of people who need their help. Working together, they begin to see that there is power in numbers. When they cooperate, they can ease each other’s challenges and help their neighbors through tough times. It’s a lesson they’ll need when protests explode in the streets. Soon, each friend has to decide what it means to be part of a community—and how much they’re willing to do to make this world safer for everyone.

Set against the onset of COVID, When the World Turned Upside Down navigates issues of race and social justice in a heartwarming story of generosity, friendship, and the power of youth.

Reviews:

“When The World Turned Upside Down is as clear-eyed as it is
engaging, as timely as it is timeless. I fell in love with every single student
in this book. And days after reading it, each of them remains with me.” ―
Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl
Dreaming“

A beautifully written story that will inspire young readers to work for
positive change even in times of turmoil and stress. This book reminds readers
that all of us can make an impact and find ways to shine bright.” ―Angela
Cervantes, author of Pura Belpré Honor Book Lety Out Loud“

A hope-filled book dealing with the struggles children face in
extraordinary times, K. Ibura has crafted a story perfect for young readers
looking to make sense of current events. Timely and important.” – Adrianna
Cuevas, author of Pura Belpré Honor Book The Total Eclipse of Nestor
López and Cuba In My Pocket

“A heartwarming call to action.” — Kirkus Reviews

Before I begin my review I quickly have to thank Rockstar Book Tours for letting me be a part of this tour and the publicist at Scholastic Press for sending me an eArc of When The World Turned Upside Down by K. Ibura to read for my review today.

After reading this, I knew I had to have a physical copy of the book to add to my collection so I did a preorder and more than likely will be doing a reread of this as soon as I get it.

I believe that this might be the second book I have read that deals with the current situation in the world and I think the author did a fantastic job doing so. I was instantly hooked from the start and read it pretty much in one sitting. If you get emotional when reading a book I highly recommend having tissue close by.

I am not going to lie 2020 is the year that is going to go down in history. We started the year off by dealing with Covid. The world basically shut down, schools were closed, parents were working from home (and some still are), we were in lockdown (not as severe as most places), staying home unless you needed to go out and disinfecting everything that was brought into the home. Just to keep ourselves safe and out of Covid’s way. We definitely weren’t prepared for what Covid would do to us.

When the World Turned Upside Down has four main characters Shayla, Ai, Ben, and Liam. They are all in middle school (not quite sure how old they really are as it’s not mentioned) and they all live in the same apartment building. This group of four used to be friends but something along the way has changed that. Will they be able to move past what broke up the friendships?

One of the things I loved about the book was that the author made each character real and relatable. The author not only showed what was going on on the outside but also what was going on behind closed doors.

Shayla lives with her dad and he has a booming business until covid. He designs prom dresses and to recoup the losses he decides to make masks. Shayla is African American and her father makes her write book reports on their history because he knows that the schools don’t discuss it as it should be.

Ai lives with her parents and sister. She is struggling to help her family and be responsible. She feels like she is alone because her father works, her sister is studying for her exams and her mother hasn’t left her bed due to her depression.

Ben has his parents home 24/7 and all they seem to do is fight and it’s gradually escalating. He has been keeping a chart and tracking to see how often it is happening.

Finally, we have Liam and he is dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. Thankfully his friends know about it and how to help him deal with it. Liam lives with his mother and two younger sisters. I loved how Liam never complained about taking care of his two younger sisters even though they were probably a handful. He would do anything for his family.

It just took an elderly lady to ask for dog food because she wasn’t well for the group to realize that they need to help out their fellow neighbor. Yes, all the parents were mad because they were exposed to Covid. As a parent, I would be upset as well but at the same time, I would be proud that they came to me to tell me about her and got her the help she needed.

From that one little act of kindness, the group decided to help the rest of the building from helping the super disinfect the building, to picking up groceries to collecting recycling to walking dogs all while practicing social distancing and wearing a mask.

Not only does the book talk about covid but also mentions the killing of George Floyd and the protest. The kids want to take part but they were told not to go to protests. They try to figure out how they can do it safely. The author did a fantastic job of breaking this discussion down so that kids could understand it and what they could actually do. Yes, they question the fact they are young and if they can make a difference and they can make a difference.

We all need to stand up for what is right, we all need to speak up when we see something that isn’t right, we all need to stop ignoring what is going on around us, we need to stop thinking that the world is about me me me and start taking care of our neighbor/our fellow human being. We need to start treating people with kindness and respect that each one of us deserves. We need to stop the hatred.

 

 

About K. Ibura:

K. IBURA is an essayist, science fiction and fantasy short story writer, and painter
from New Orleans, Louisiana. The middle child of five in a family of human
rights activists, she grew up in a hardscrabble neighborhood with oak and fig
trees, locusts and mosquitoes, cousins and neighbors. Her short story collection
Ancient, Ancient won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award for 2012. Ibura’s debut
YA novel will be coming out with Alloy and Harper Teen in spring 2022.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners
will receive a finished copy of WHEN THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway