Review by Emily Anctil
Alma and the Beast is a wonderfully executed picture book about finding similarities in those that seem different from you. … More Alma and the Beast by Esmé Shapiro
Review by Shyamala Parthasarathy
Seventeen-year-old Lainey is dragged along to a videogame convention with her brother Cody, aka, famous YouTuber Codemeister, to be his roadie. She crosses paths with SamTheBrave, who’s an up-and-coming gamer and YouTuber, and a lonely, bullied, fat kid with a mental illness who finds his safe space online. … More Fan the Flame by Anna Priemaza
Review by Elizabeth Leung
It is truly a testament to the genius of the original song how, over 40 years after its debut on The Elephant Show, the undeniably catchy tune of Skinnamarink(-y dinky dink, skinnamarinky doo) can resonate with this book’s readers. … More Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Skinnamarink by Sharon Hampson, Lois Lilienstein, and Bram Morrison with Randi Hampson, Illus. by Qin Leng
Review by Juhyun Tony Bae
Some stories possess the ability to connect us to emotions that can be almost impossible to express, and Travis Dandro’s debut graphic novel, King of King Court, is one of those stories. … More King of King Court by Travis Dandro
Review by Emily-Anne Mikos
Laurie Halse Anderson wrote Speak in 1999 to encourage the discussion and awareness of sexual assault that was lacking at the time. Shout is the response to absence of change since then by further exploring what it means to be a survivor in the form of a poetic memoir. … More Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
Review by Kelsey Elizabeth Moorhouse
Ask seventeen-year-old Violet Sterling what she plans to be when she grows up, and she’ll give you an answer rehearsed from birth: she will be the Caretaker of her Great House, Burleigh, like her father was before her—until he died on the job, that is. … More A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth
Review by Shyamala Parthasarathy
Heather Smith’s Chicken Girl is a book about hiding and confronting both yourself and the world, and accepting that not everything revolves around you. When sixteen-year old Poppy posts a picture of herself dressed as Rosie the Riveter from the era of World War I, she gets what every curvy girl gets on the internet—photoshopped onto sub-Reddit thread ISeeFatPeople that make fun of fat people for existing. … More Chicken Girl by Heather Smith
Review by Louise Brecht
Saskia Holte fears the fury of bone magic’s flame. She sees safety in life as a tutor, security in a love match with her suitor, Declan, comfort in the familiarity of her home in Midwood. She is deeply troubled, however, by the possibility that the life she has chosen may not be the one she is granted. … More The Bone Charmer by Breeana Shields
Review by Emily-Anne Mikos
Deposing Nathan is a novel that reads like a secret: special, emotional, and powerful. As we learn more about Nate and Cam’s intertwined and complicated story, we fall deeper and deeper into their secrets, until all we can do is keep turning page after page. This was one of those books I couldn’t put down. … More Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley
Review by Jennifer Irvine
The timeless tale of teenage rivalry, jealousy, and social hierarchy—all delivered with a cruelty that only teens can spoon out—keeps this narrative feisty. Author Ian Doescher morphs the iconic movie Mean Girls into a Shakespearean play, complete with five acts, numerous scenes, and stage directions. … More Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher
