Perfect for animal lovers, How to Heal a Gryphon by Meg Cannistra puts a magical spin on veterinarians and showcases a plump witch with spunk and sass. Giada Bellantuonos is twelve, and on her thirteenth birthday, she is expected to take the oath to become a guaritrice and to join the family business. These guardians of the people use their power to strengthen people. However, the family business is not Giada’s dream. She has lived in the shadow of her famous brother Rocco, and wants her own identity as a famous fixer. Rather than heal people, she wishes instead to honor Diana, goddess of wildRead More →

Living in Brazil, Felipe cannot think about other people’s suffering because he has too many issues of his own, so being gay is a small detail in a truckload of crises. He is a shy, anxious, socially-challenged young man with low self-esteem, conditions which largely center around his obesity.  Given these challenges and his experiences with bullies, jumping to the worst-case scenario is Felipe’s specialty. Instead of having to endure this life in which he lost out in the talent lottery and his dad gave him the fat gene before abandoning him, Felipe wishes he were a superhero, one who could create force fields soRead More →

Sometimes a story can take us to a place of understanding and awareness.  Cultural identity literature at its best, The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller transports readers to a place so familiar we wonder whether we haven’t been here before, where we know the people and can relate to their challenges, where we share their hunger for fulfillment, their starvation for affection, attention, and validation, and their hunger for justice. This book will appeal to readers who enjoyed Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron or Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.  Although it is a book for all readers,Read More →