All Systems Red by Martha Wells

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

It may seem strange to say about a book in a series called “The Murderbot Diaries,” but this was just a whole lot of fun! It’s full of classic sci-fi elements like a stranded team on a hostile planet under attack from unknown sources, but tells the tale from the viewpoint of the team’s assigned […]


The Girl With All The Gifts by Mike Carey

The Girl With All The Gifts by Mike Carey

This is the expanded version of a short story called “Iphigenia in Aulis” that Mike Carey wrote for a collection of horror stories set in schools (An Apple For The Creature). To describe the premise beyond that would spoil the story for you, so I will just say that it is beautifully written and has […]


I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda (2015)

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda (2015)

This book is a Rebecca Caudill nominee for 2018. The two teens in this true story make really compelling reading. Caitlin in Hatfield and Martin in Mutare begin a pen pal correspondence in 1997. The two of them connect in fits and starts but grow slowly into best friends and finally into brother & sister. Liz […]


Tiny Pretty Things

Tiny Pretty Things

Drama, romance, back stabbing and ballet fill the intriguing pages of Tiny Pretty Things.  Told from three points of view, you see the rise of Gigi, the fall of Bette, the insight of June and all of their dirty secrets.  Everyone’s hiding something.  Gigi is sweet and authentic, scoring the lead role in the Nutcracker […]


The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets. Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to […]


The Privilege of the Sword bu Ellen Kushner

The Privilege of the Sword bu Ellen Kushner

If you are a fan of Arya Stark, this is the book for you!  Set about 10 years after the events in Kushner’s first “Riverside” novel (Swordspoint), but you don’t need to have read the first one to enjoy this swashbuckling coming-of-age story (although you should, because it’s terrific!). The central issues of whether women […]


Gorilla Dawn by Gill Lewis (2017 US) (2015 UK)

Gorilla Dawn by Gill Lewis (2017 US) (2015 UK)

Terrific book about a girl caught up with a violent militia that is mining coltan in gorilla territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a boy whose father was a ranger. Respectful, empowering, with no stock characters, not only is Gorilla Dawn the best book I have read for young people about the DRC […]


The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Henry “Monty” Montague doesn’t care that his roguish passions are far from suitable for the gentleman he was born to be. But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quests for pleasure and vice are in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over […]


Rooting for Rafael Rosales by Kurtis Scaletta

Rooting for Rafael Rosales by Kurtis Scaletta

I loved this story with its dual parts: one about Rafael Rosales growing up in the Dominican Republic and the other about Maya living in the Twin cities caring about bees and native grasses. I loved how their lives were never supposed to intersect but then — they did, in an amazing, charming, challenging way! […]


Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Sisters Isabel and Ruth have been slaves their whole lives.  Miss. Mary Finch, their owner, has just passed away.  Miss. Finch  promised Isabel they would be freed upon her death and even made it legal with a lawyer. But now that lawyer is gone and Miss. Finch’s son, Robert, wants to make a few bucks […]


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