By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 11/28/2016
Synopsis: I picked this one up (and got it signed; woot!) at the most recent Kidlitosphere Conference in Wichita—somehow I missed it when it came out a few years ago, but I'm so glad I went back for it, because it's up there with my favorite A.S.... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 11/7/2016
Synopsis: Yes, look, I'm participating in a Thing, and that thing is Middle Grade Monday! When am I ever organized enough to do that? Today, evidently. Anyway, I recently read Newbery Award winner Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, who was one... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 11/2/2016
Welcome to the 2016 Cybils Speculative Reader! As a first run reader for the Cybils, I'll be briefly introducing you to the books on the list, giving you a mostly unbiased look at some of the plot.Enjoy! One of the strengths of speculative fiction... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 10/24/2016
This is one of the most gorgeous and effectivecovers I've seen. I love it.Synopsis: Clara and Hailey are twin sisters, and like a lot of sisters, they are closer than close one moment, but in the next, they get on each other's last nerve. Hailey is... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 9/30/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!One of the things the kidlitosphere talked about a lot in the early days of the early 2000's was the preponderance of YA novels with ridiculously 1% families in them. Rare were the books where the kids... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 9/14/2016
It's Day 6 of the PASADENA blog tour!Bad things happen everywhere. Even in the land of sun and roses. When Jude's best friend is found dead in a swimming pool, her family calls it an accident. Her friends call it suicide. But Jude calls it what it... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/12/2016
Don't miss our interview with author Sherri Smith this Wednesday, as part of the Pasadena blog tour! Synopsis: "The thing I'm finally learning is that someone can be your best friend in the world, but you're not necessarily theirs." Pasadena. It's... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 9/2/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is a big deal for a lot of young readers, but many, many, many others consider death a happier alternative than committing to the famous 19th century novel. Enter the modern day... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/1/2016
I really like the cutout-look images on the cover, with the hidden animals...Synopsis: We don't necessarily review a ton of realistic MG fiction here (not as much Wonderland in the real world, I suppose) but it doesn't mean we aren't reading or... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 8/30/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!One of the uses of exploring new people, places, and things in fiction is to understand and normalize them. As I stated a few months back in my review of Marike Nijkamp's THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS, I struggle... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 8/24/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!I taught junior high/high school in a group home, just out of college. I was a coteacher who worked in a classroom with another teacher and an aide, mostly 1:1, since my students were at wildly varying... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 8/23/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!According to the PEW Research peeps, about 70% of people consider themselves religious in some fashion, whether through traditional Jewish, Muslim or Christian denominations or other neopagan practices... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 8/18/2016
This has been the summer of the monkeybrain - too much going on, too much we wanted to do and we're not going to get it done, because it's nearing the end of August. ::sigh:: One thing we didn't want to miss was talking about Kate Messner's latest... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 8/5/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages! Mostly I'm not that big a fan of YA historical fiction that are set in modern history. Finding a novel set in the 70's or 80's feels weird, mainly because I've been alive during part of those years, and... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 8/1/2016
Synopsis: This surprisingly literary speculative fiction / friendship / family story is another welcome addition to the growing shelf of books about A) people of color, B) South Asians, and C) teens of mixed heritage. Tara Krishnan, the narrator, is... Read the rest of this post
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By: Becca F (ReadingTeen),
on 7/25/2016
Review by Jackie... OUR CHEMICAL HEARTS By Krystal Sutherland Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: G.P. Putnam (September 6, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon John Green meets Rainbow Rowell in this irresistible story of first love, broken hearts, and the golden seams that put them back together again. Henry Page has never been in love. He fancies himself a hopeless romantic, but
By: tanita✿davis,
on 7/22/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages! So, this book was agonizing. Yeah, that's really the only word, agonizing. As the title suggests, the storyline features a lot of angst, and I read it with a rock in my stomach. I approached this novel... Read the rest of this post
By: Becca F (ReadingTeen),
on 6/1/2016
Review by Sara... FRANNIE AND TRU By Karen Hattrup Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: HarperTeen (May 31, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon When Frannie Little eavesdrops on her parents fighting she discovers that her cousin Truman is gay, and his parents are so upset they are sending him to live with her family for the summer. At least, that’s what she thinks the story is. . .
By: Becca F (ReadingTeen),
on 5/31/2016
Review by Sara... THE FALL OF BUTTERFLIES By Andrea Portes Hardcover: 386 pages Publisher: Harper Teen (May 10, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon Willa Parker, 646th and least popular resident of What Cheer, Iowa, is headed east to start a new life.Did she choose this new life? No, because that would be too easy—and nothing in Willa’s life is easy. It’s her famous genius
By: tanita✿davis,
on 5/24/2016
Literature trends toward patterns or themes which repeat -- sometimes because that's just what happens to hit the market at a given time, and other times it's the current zeitgeist and an active interest which people are seeking to promote.... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 5/20/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!Once, long ago, I used to watch Daria and then get RIGHT online to talk about it. Though I didn't write stories or draw pictures about it, I had favorite characters and discussions with people all across... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 5/17/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!It's National Mental Health month, and I've been looking for books which fit the theme. While this book has a great many negatives for me, not the least because there is an unethical relationship with an... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 5/13/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages! Synopsis: Nola Chambers is a reminder that her family wasn't always the golden-skinned, fair-haired folk who can stand proud and nearly-white in their village of Redding. Nola reminds her father that... Read the rest of this post
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By: Naomi Bates,
on 5/10/2016
By: tanita✿davis,
on 4/13/2016
Welcome to the first Monday of the month, and another episode of Wicked Cool Overlooked Books! I completely missed September somehow -- but I'm back! In honor of Beverly Cleary's 36,526th day on Earth (we have to count the Leap Years, people, come... Read the rest of this post
