Reviews of books for children and teens.
Review by Makenna Vanegas. 16-year-old Rosa Dominguez dégagés her way to a dreamy life as a ballet dancer at the Minnesota Dance Company–though this life is of her father Geno’s dreams, rather than her own. … More The Turning Pointe by Vanessa L. Torres
Review by Kaitlyn Chan. Dee Hahn’s debut novel The Grave Thief subtly subverts the expectation that overcoming our hardships is as simple as slaying an enemy. … More The Grave Thief by Dee Hahn
Review by Avery Lau. Lisa Yee’s book follows Maizy Chen, a pre-teen Chinese-American girl who is taken on a trip to visit her elderly grandparents in a small town called Last Chance, Minnesota. … More Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee
Review by Claudine Yip. While their parents take English as a second language class, immigrant children from all cultural backgrounds wait in the playroom next door. The problem is: how do you make friends when you don’t speak the same language? … More Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang, illus. by Hyewon Yum
Jade Armstrong’s graphic novel Scout Is Not a Band Kid is incredibly fun, with an abundance of jokes throughout the charming panels and a story that dives into the messy world of eighth-grade friendships. Review by Kaileigh Funnell. … More Scout Is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong
Review by MacKenzie Sewell. Kaitlyn Hill’s debut novel Love From Scratch captures romance under stardom while confronting the rampant sexism in the workforce. … More Love from Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill
Susan Juby’s Me Three is a daring and refreshing exploration of 11-year-old Rodney’s coming-of-age in the midst of his father’s sexual assault allegations, the displacement of his family, and his subsequent loss of direction and identity. … More Me Three by Susan Juby
Review by Kaila Johnson. By intertwining her struggles as a teenager with her life as an activist, Robinson reminds readers of her vulnerability and the weight that racism unjustly places on children’s shoulders. … More Child of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963 by Sharon Robinson
Indigenous futurity takes on a new meaning in Wab Kinew’s debut YA novel, Walking in Two Worlds. Review by Carolina Leyton. … More Walking in Two Worlds by Wab Kinew
Review by Hira Peracha. [W]hen Joss finds herself contaminated with dark magic that allows her inside Lord Banyon’s memories, she teams up with the mysterious Jericho Nox, a 19-year-old thief, to expel all sources of magic from within her before the people she loves find out. … More Echoes and Empires by Morgan Rhodes
YOUNG ADULTING 