• Reviews

    Eleanor & Park

    This book cover has bee intriguing to me for the past couple of months and I finally got a chance to read the book last week.  A story of love found in the most unlikely of places is one that I rarely can put down.  This is a universal story…

  • Activities

    Anything But Typical – Book Discussion

    Nora Raleigh Baskin’s Anything But Typical is about Jason Blake, a 12-year-old boy diagnosed on the autism spectrum.  He’s not very good in social situations and often misunderstands facial expressions, but he is also an amazing writer.  He becomes friends with a girl on the Storyboard website where he posts…

  • Reviews

    Mr. Terupt Falls Again

    A powerful story of how a teacher and his students can affect each other over the course of a school year.  Mr. Terupt Falls Again written by Rob Buyea is the companion novel to Because of Mr. Terupt told in the point-of-view of seven students in his classroom in both…

  • Reviews

    Ask the Passengers

    Ask the Passengers by A.S. King is a great young adult novel focusing on the ideas of not fitting in, bullying, small-town life, and figuring out who you are.  I grew up in a small town and could easily relate to the main character, Astrid Jones.  Small town life can be…

  • Reviews

    Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip

    Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick is a quick read about a All-Star pitcher, Peter going into high school.  He’s pretty sure life will be a breeze when he joins the high school baseball team with his best friend, AJ until a pitching accident over the summer ruins…

  • Reviews

    The Center of Everything

    The Center of Everything by Linda Urban is a coming-of-age story for a young girl whose grandmother has recently passed away.  Ruby Pepperdine lives in Bunning New Hampshire where it is said the inventor of the donut settled after spending years on the ocean in his sailing ship.  Ruby’s grandmother…

  • Reviews

    33 Minutes

    A lot can happen in 33 minutes… just ask Sam Lewis, who is going to get his butt kicked in 33 minutes by his former best friend, Morgan Sturtz.  Written in a span of time that takes only 33 minutes, Todd Hasak-Lowy creates a typical middle school environment where anything can happen. …

  • Reviews

    The Second Life of Abigail Walker

    Bullying has become a huge issues in schools across America and it has clearly bled into children’s literature as well.  The Second Life of Abigail Walker by Frances O’Roark Dowell is a book about rising above the bullies and believing in yourself, even when you’re not quite sure what that means. …