• Reviews

    Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea

    ocean

    Synopsis: “For fans of Erin Entrada Kelly and Ali Benjamin comes a poignant yet hopeful novel about a girl navigating grief, trauma, and friendship, from Ashley Herring Blake, the award-winning author of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World. Hazel Bly used to live in the perfect house with the perfect family…

  • Reviews

    Wild Survival: Crocodile Rescue

    crocodile

    Synopsis: “Twelve-year-old Adriana Villalobos and her older brother Feye travel the globe with their parents, the hosts of a suspenseful nature show called “Wild Survival!” The show features daring animal rescues and the work the family does at their animal sanctuary. They’ve recently gotten an offer to take the show…

  • Reviews

    Just Pretend

    woods

    Synopsis: “Tori has never lived in just one world. Since her parents’ divorce, she’s lived in both her mom’s house and her dad’s new apartment. And in both places, no matter how hard she tries, her family still treats her like a little kid. Then there’s school, where friendships old…

  • Reviews

    Baloney and Friends: Going Up!

    Synopsis: “Baloney and friends will have newly independent readers giggling their way through more day-to-day adventures in the second book of this pitch-perfect graphic novel series. Whether it’s writing the lyrics to their own original theme song, having an epic sleepover in a tent, experimenting with an incredible new device…

  • Reviews

    Squad Goals

    cheerleaders

    Synopsis: “Camp is in session in this cheer-tastic middle-grade novel about making new friends, finding your place, and learning to embrace your inner Magic.  Magic Olive Poindexter has big shoes to fill. Her mother was a professional cheerleader, her father is a retired NBA legend, her big sister is the…

  • Reviews

    Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet

    food truck

    Synopsis: “I‘m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning story of first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong. Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelerĂ­a next to her father’s restaurant, Nacho’s Tacos. But her mom and dad have different plans—leaving Pen…

  • Reviews

    The Losers at the Center of the Galaxy

    football

    Synopsis: “A tuba player without a tuba and his jellyfish-imitating sister cope with their father’s disappearance in this hilarious and moving novel by the author of The Mortification of Fovea Munson.  When Lenny Volpe, former quarterback of the worst professional football team in the nation, leaves his family and disappears, the…

  • Reviews

    The Great Whipplethorp Bug Collection

    beetle

    Synopsis: “Enjoy this witty, heartwarming exploration of father-son relationships and growing up male in today’s culture through the lens of a boy yearning to forge his own identity.  Chuck Whipplethorp has a lot to live up to. He is Charles Whipplethorp the Fifth after all, named after his seriously cool ancestors who…

  • Reviews

    William Still and His Freedom Stories

    ink pen

    Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Synopsis: “William Still’s parents escaped slavery but had to leave two of their children behind, a tragedy that haunted the family.…

  • Lifestyle

    Slice of Life Day 14: Perfect Gift

    gift

    I love searching for the perfect gift for a friend or family member. It’s like the best kind of treasure hunt – finding something that is personal and means so much to that person. I think it’s one of the reasons I love Christmas time so much – not getting…