The Beautiful Game by Yamile Saied Mendez

Twelve-year-old Valeria Salomón loves fútbol, aka soccer. Because of her talent, her teammates have nicknamed her Magic. The protagonist in The Beautiful Game by Yamile Saied Méndez, Magic plays for a boys’ team, the Overlords until her period arrives and

Read More →

All Alone with You by Amelia Diane Coombs

With her book All Alone with You, Amelia Diane Coombs has written an honest account of a seventeen-year-old girl who copes with anxiety and depression because of imbalanced brain chemicals. Carrying around an unshakable sense of dread, Eloise Deane distracts

Read More →

Swimming with Spies by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Given the past two years, with a war waging between Russia and Ukraine, Swimming with Spies by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is an especially relevant novel for middle grade readers. This historical fiction text tells the story of the annexation of Crimea

Read More →

Taxi Ghost by Sophie Escabasse

When Adele enters “womanhood,” she discovers that in addition to her monthly cycle, she has the family gift, or burden, depending on one’s perspective. She sees ghosts! Others in the family also share the ability to be a medium. Gram,

Read More →

The Midnight Game by Cynthia Murphy

Cynthia Murphy’s book The Midnight Game is nightmare fuel.  Although her novel may not reflect the same fear-factor as a Dean Koontz or Steven King work, it is certainly sinister.  A group of teens make the mistake of meeting up

Read More →

Wolves at the Door by Steve Watkins

With his book Wolves at the Door, Steve Watkins writes a horrific reminder of the effects of war. Painting with historical accuracy, he captures the lives of eleven-year-old Asta, her nine-year-old sister Pieta, and their eventual ten-year-old friend Gerhard. The

Read More →

House Party by Various Authors

In a similar style as that written by Tom Leveen in his book Party (Random House, 2010), Justin Reynolds edits a book entitled House Party, in which ten authors pen perspectives from ten teens who all attend the party of

Read More →

The Girl in the Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt

In her newest novel in verse, Meg Eden Kuyatt again writes from personal experience to create her protagonist Valeria, aka V. Describing herself as possessing a “neuro-spicy brain,” V considers art her superpower, a key survival mechanism: “the one thing

Read More →

The Second Chance of Darius Logan by David F. Walker

Eight years ago, as just a nine-year-old, Darius Logan lost his parents and baby brother in The Attack. Since the band of ACU-64 Killbots wreaked havoc, destroying his life and devastating his neighborhood, Darius has been fighting to survive. His

Read More →

Categories

Archives

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, General Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews, Sports
With: 0 Comments

Twelve-year-old Valeria Salomón loves fútbol, aka soccer. Because of her talent, her teammates have nicknamed her Magic. The protagonist in The Beautiful Game by Yamile Saied Méndez, Magic plays for a boys’ team, the Overlords until her period arrives and she gets kicked off the team. Dedicated to the sport she loves and not ready to give it up, Val approaches Coach Blume and asks for a place on her all-girls’ team, the Amazons. Although Val missed try-outs and the team roster is full, Coach Blume decides to “accommodate for exceptional circumstances” (144). As Val tries to find a place in her new sisterhood, sheRead More →

By:
On:
In: General Book Reviews, Realistic Fiction (YA), Romance (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

With her book All Alone with You, Amelia Diane Coombs has written an honest account of a seventeen-year-old girl who copes with anxiety and depression because of imbalanced brain chemicals. Carrying around an unshakable sense of dread, Eloise Deane distracts herself by focusing on her dream to attend University of Southern California (USC). She can’t wait to graduate from Evanston High School in Seattle and make her escape. However, when her guidance counsellor tells her that USC will be expecting not just academic expertise but “investment and involvement” in her community, Eloise wavers.  That means that in order for her dream to come true, sheRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, General Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Mystery & Suspense, Realistic Fiction
With: 0 Comments

Given the past two years, with a war waging between Russia and Ukraine, Swimming with Spies by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is an especially relevant novel for middle grade readers. This historical fiction text tells the story of the annexation of Crimea in 2014—a time when “Russkyi mir, the violence and blood and criminality and corruption,” threatened Ukrainian’s language, culture, and tradition. The stars of this story are Sofiya, Ilya, Cedric, Anna, and Petro, twelve-year-old classmates who have to decide whether they will work together as well as determine the degree to which nationalism plays a role in identity. Additional characters serve as significant support staff inRead More →

By:
On:
In: General Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Reviews
With: 0 Comments

When Adele enters “womanhood,” she discovers that in addition to her monthly cycle, she has the family gift, or burden, depending on one’s perspective. She sees ghosts! Others in the family also share the ability to be a medium. Gram, who despises the gift, has painted her house an electric blue to ward off the ghosts and to avoid their invasive requests to tap into her power. She insists that ghosts are not welcome in her home and advises Adele to adopt her viewpoint. About the family gift, Gram tells Adele, “We have the power to stand in the middle, you see. Halfway between theRead More →

By:
On:
In: Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Cynthia Murphy’s book The Midnight Game is nightmare fuel.  Although her novel may not reflect the same fear-factor as a Dean Koontz or Steven King work, it is certainly sinister.  A group of teens make the mistake of meeting up in real life with people they’ve met in internet chat rooms and through online threads. Ellie, Mei, Hugo, Callum, Toni, and Reece join in a terrifying game in which the Midnight Man comes to hunt. Classed as a pagan ritual, The Midnight Game was “a punishment for wrong-doers. . . . It was sort of a trial. . . . If the ‘player’ survived, theyRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, General Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural
With: 0 Comments

With his book Wolves at the Door, Steve Watkins writes a horrific reminder of the effects of war. Painting with historical accuracy, he captures the lives of eleven-year-old Asta, her nine-year-old sister Pieta, and their eventual ten-year-old friend Gerhard. The three are thrust in the midst of the last days of World War II, in the harsh winter of 1944-45 when more than two million people desperately fled the northeastern German province of East Prussia, just weeks ahead of the Soviet Red Army invasion. The trio of youth are traumatized by the Königsberg bombing and fearful of more planes and more bombs. Although Asta typicallyRead More →

By:
On:
In: General Book Reviews, Realistic Fiction (YA), Romance (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

In a similar style as that written by Tom Leveen in his book Party (Random House, 2010), Justin Reynolds edits a book entitled House Party, in which ten authors pen perspectives from ten teens who all attend the party of the year at DeAndre Dixon’s house. Set in Florence Hills, a glitzy, corporate, and commercial suburb of Chicago, this party is one of hook-ups, showmances, dangerous flirtations, and heart break. It’s where the young come to dance with abandon, confess feelings, reveal secrets, make future plans, or have a fashion show down. “The unfiltered life of the party is the perfect backdrop to the highlyRead More →

By:
On:
In: General Book Reviews, Middle Grade Reviews, Supernatural & Horror
With: 0 Comments

In her newest novel in verse, Meg Eden Kuyatt again writes from personal experience to create her protagonist Valeria, aka V. Describing herself as possessing a “neuro-spicy brain,” V considers art her superpower, a key survival mechanism: “the one thing I know to do to help me survive the summer with Jojo. So even if I don’t know how just yet, I’ll find a way to paint my own reality” (14). With The Girl in the Walls targeted to middle-grade readers, Kuyatt takes on the topic of generational neurodivergence and describes how various characters employ their coping mechanisms. V hasn’t yet discovered the beauty inRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure (YA), General Book Reviews, Sci-Fi & Fantasy (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Eight years ago, as just a nine-year-old, Darius Logan lost his parents and baby brother in The Attack. Since the band of ACU-64 Killbots wreaked havoc, destroying his life and devastating his neighborhood, Darius has been fighting to survive. His juvenile probation officer, Edith O’Malley is the closest thing to family he has looking out for him. However, Darius is a fighter who refuses to give in to fear. “If he knew anything at all, he knew how to fight—it came as naturally as breathing” (9). Eventually, Darius gets himself into trouble with the law, and he can’t fight his way out of the sentence.Read More →