Review Once for Yes by Allie Millington

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Once for Yes by Allie Millington

Once for Yes
Allie Millington
Feiwel & Friends
Published March 25, 2025

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About Once for Yes

The Odenburgh, an old apartment building made of brick and blunt opinions, is the last of its kind in a swiftly changing neighborhood. After years of putting up with people and their many problems, the Odenburgh knows there’s no point in getting attached. They all just leave eventually. A truth that comes all too soon when the building is sold and slated for demolition, giving tenants a month to move out.

No one is more troubled … Continue reading →

Review: The Peach Thief by Linda Joan Smith

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The Peach Thief by Linda Joan Smith

The Peach Thief
Linda Joan Smith
Publisher
Published March 4, 2025

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About The Peach Thief

This shimmering middle-grade debut set in 1850s Lancashire, England, explores longing, belonging, and the courage it takes to find your place—and bloom.

The night that workhouse orphan Scilla Brown dares to climb the Earl of Havermore’s garden wall, she wants only to steal a peach—the best thing she’s ever tasted in her hard, hungry life. But when she’s caught by the earl’s head gardener and mistaken for a boy, she grabs on to something a temporary job scrubbing flowerpots. If she … Continue reading →

Review: I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Connor

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I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner

I Shall Never Fall in Love
Hari Conner
HarperAlley
Published November 19, 2024

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About I Shall Never Fall in Love

George has major problems: They’ve just inherited the failing family estate, and the feelings for their best friend, Eleanor, have become more complicated than ever. Not to mention, if anyone found out they were secretly dressing in men’s clothes, George is sure it would be ruination for the family name.

Eleanor has always wanted to do everything “right,” including falling in love—but she’s never met a boy she was interested in. She’d much rather … Continue reading →

Review: The Snowman Code by Simon Stephenson

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The Snowman Code by Simon Stephenson

The Snowman Code
Simon Stephenson
Simon & Schuster
Published December 16, 2025

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About The Snowman Code

A beautifully hopeful, funny and heartwarming tale about the lasting power of love and friendship, from the critically-acclaimed and award-winning screenwriter behind Pixar’s Luca and Paddington 2.

In London, in a winter which shows no sign of ending, a unique friendship begins.

This is the story of Blessing, aged ten-and-a-half, and Albert Framlington, aged six hundred – an eccentric snowman who has seen many winters in many cities, and who is duty-bound by the Snowman Code to help any child in need. Together, Blessing … Continue reading →

Review: Nothing But the Truth by Avi

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Nothing But the Truth by Avi

Nothing But the Truth
Avi
Scholastic
Published January 1, 2010 (Orig. 1991)

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About Nothing But the Truth

When Philip Malloy starts humming along to his school’s daily playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, his insistence on continuing to do so even after his teacher, Miss Margaret Narwin, asks him to stop sets in motion a chain of events that will soon ripple out beyond anything Phil or Miss Narwin could have imagined. Phil’s friends, his teachers, and the school administration are soon swept up in the controversy…and that’s just the beginning!

Distinctions and Praise For Nothing But the Truth: … Continue reading →

Review of Sense and Sensibility and Happy Birthday Jane Austen

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Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility
Jane Austen
Puffin Books
Published February 13, 2024 (Orig. 1811)

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About Sense and Sensibility

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby, she ignores her sister Elinor’s warning that her impulsive behavior leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her.

Through their parallel experience of love– and its threatened loss–the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find … Continue reading →