Review: Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B. B. Alston

Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,
Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B. B. Alston

Amari and the Despicable Wonders (Supernatural Investigations #3)
B. B. Alston
Balzer + Bray
Published August 27, 2024

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About Amari and the Despicable Wonders

The highly anticipated third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Supernatural Investigations series that began with Amari and the Night Brothers!

Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Nevermoor.

War has come to the supernatural world, and Amari’s two worst enemies are leading the charge.

Elaine Harlowe has manipulated her way into becoming prime minister, using her mind control ability to force the Bureau to take up her vicious grudge against magiciankind. Meanwhile, Dylan Van Helsing, the newly crowned leader of the League of Magicians—and Amari’s former partner—is after a destructive new power that would not only ensure the magicians’ victory . . . it would make him invincible.

With neither the Bureau nor the League safe for Amari, and her newly returned brother, Quinton, determined to keep her out of the fray, she and her friends decide to find a way to end the war on their own.

So when they learn that the only way to stop Dylan is to find powerful magical inventions known as Wonders, they go after them. But wielding these items comes at a terrible cost, and Amari will have to decide just how much she’s willing to sacrifice . . . because the Despicable Wonders will demand everything.

My Review

I loved the first two books in this series, so the third was high on my reading list. It took me longer than I expected to finally get a chance to read it, though.

I didn’t hear a lot of buzz about the book when it came out. I think the publication date got pushed back a bit, which could have meant that the advance reviews were spread out more or something? I’m not sure what happened. At any rate, I pretty much went into the book without knowing anything more than the cover copy.

The first two books delivered fast-paced, high-stakes magical stories that kept me on the edge of my seat. This book unfolded a little more slowly and didn’t feel as focused on a single issue. I still enjoyed the magical world and the characters who joined Amari’s team. In particular, a ghost named Peekaboo and Amari’s best friend from her neighborhood both have significant roles in the story. There are some sweet and sad moments, too, with some other characters.

Amari is a great character. She continues to grow and reflect on her choices throughout the book. I liked that the things she experiences in this book make her think differently about some of the judgments she made regarding her brother’s behavior and his choices. I also like that Amari isn’t a one-girl show. She needs her friends, and they’re always stronger together.

This was a nice continuation of an engaging series. I think series readers will enjoy getting to see more of Amari’s adventures and the development of her friendships. The author just announced deals for books four and five in the series, so it looks like there will be more to come as well.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Hints of a crush between Amari and another character.

Spiritual Content
Characters have magical abilities. Magical creatures such as fauns exist and were brought to life by magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to torture (not shown on scene).

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Pretty Girl County by Lakita Wilson

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Pretty Girl County
Lakita Wilson
Publisher
Published July 1, 2025

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About Pretty Girl County

The glitz of Gossip Girl meets the hustle of Leah Johnson’s You Should See Me in a Crown in this charming and hilarious story of ex-BFFs from PG County, Maryland, perfect for fans of Joya Goffney and Elise Bryant.

Girls like Reya Samuels always come from Prince George’s County. Reya is rich and she’s not afraid to show it—she wears designer clothes, drives a custom pink Audi, and lives in a neighborhood tucked behind a fancy cast iron gate. She works hard, but she can get anything she wants with a snap.

Sommer Watkins is from Seat Pleasant, where the cast iron gates are significantly smaller—and attached to the windows, where most folks are still trying to make ends meet. Every day for Sommer is a hustle, working at her dad’s bookstore, and using her art skills to scrounge up enough scholarship money for her dream school, Spelman.

Reya and Sommer used to be BFFs—back when Reya lived in Seat Pleasant, too. Now the girls are from different stratospheres—but when Reya desperately needs help to prove to FIT admissions officers that she has what it takes to make it in fashion, the only person who can help is Sommer. Reya promises to help Sommer in return—she’ll pay her for her services, helping Sommer afford the school her parents can’t.

As the girls work together, slowly they begin to trust each other again. But when new relationships push them both, and Sommer’s dad’s bookstore is suddenly in danger of closing, old wounds bubble up. Can the girls find a way to repair their friendship and stay true to themselves along the way?

My Review

This is such a great story of friendship. The story alternates between Sommer and Reya’s points of view. At the beginning of the story, their old friendship has ended, and Sommer isn’t interested in renewing it or connecting with any of Reya’s new friends. An opportunity associated with a schoolwide fashion show changes that, though.

The story has great pacing in terms of relationship development. The ways that Reya and Sommer’s friendship changes and each girl’s romantic opportunities develop feels natural and easy to follow. Each relationship faces challenges, and in both cases, the girls have to ask themselves hard questions about who they are and what they want their lives to look like.

It took me a minute to get into Reya’s character, but I ended up being really glad that the story was divided between both girls. I like the lessons that each of them learned.

Pretty Girl County is also a pretty lighthearted story. Sure, there’s some relationship drama and some family struggle. But this is the kind of book that anyone could read. It would make a great choice for a reader aging up into young adult books.

Also, bonus: there’s a fabulous reading list of books by Black authors in the back that’s worth checking out as well. The characters mention many of those titles as they work at the bookstore or talk about their own reading. I’ll definitely be adding some of those titles to my own reading list! The ones I’ve read already have all been well worth the time.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
References to church.

Violent Content
Some classist comments.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Green

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The Wild Robot Protects (The Wild Robot #3)
Peter Green
Little, Brown BFYR
Published September 26, 2023

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About The Wild Robot Protects

Life for Roz and the animals on their island is wild, natural, harmonious. Her son Brightbill has even found a mate! But then, one day an injured seal washes ashore and warns of dangerous, cloudy waters that are flowing toward the island—and soon the animals are forced inland to fight over dwindling resources.

Roz calms and organizes the animals, but the poison tide takes a terrible toll on the island. And when the robot discovers that her new body is waterproof, she marches into the waves and sets out across the ocean, determined to stop the poison tide.

During her undersea journey, Roz encounters amazing geological formations and incredible creatures, and she sees the devastation caused by the toxic waters. Creatures she meets along the way direct her to a mysterious character known as the Ancient Shark, who explains that the poison tide is caused by a huge station that floats on the waves; a station operated by humans and by robots. To stop them, the Ancient Shark is prepared to attack with an army of sea creatures. However, Roz hopes to find a peaceful solution, instead. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island and everything she loves?

My Review

This is the first middle grade series that my littlest and I enjoyed together. We had so much fun reading about Roz and her friends and everything she does to protect them and learn about the world. This story focuses on a threat to the environment and the animals on Roz’s island home. She sets out to find the source of the threat and stop it somehow. Her journey takes her across vast oceans where she meets other creatures and eventually learns what endangers her friends.

Like the other books in the series, this one contains short chapters (there are 80 in the whole 288-page book) with illustrations sprinkled throughout the text. My daughter loved getting to see Brightbill and his mate form a new family and for Roz to become a grandmother.

The whole story is really sweet. It reminds me a little bit of Charlotte’s Web in that it doesn’t shy away from the natural order. Some characters die, but their deaths are minimally discussed. It felt very age-appropriate to me, and she seemed to have no issues understanding what was happening or worrying more than an appropriate amount over something that happened.

Readers triggered by death, especially death of an animal should tread carefully, but I think that overall, those are handled really well within the context of the story.

Green also briefly explores the relationship between humans and machines and humans and the environment. While that’s a big, heavy topic, the story stays hopeful and leaves readers with an overall positive view of humanity.

I love this series. The short chapters make it an easy read-aloud or a great book for readers transitioning from chapter books to longer middle grade novels.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Roz’s son Brightbill (a goose) finds a mate and eventually has goslings.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to death and harm to animals from the toxins in the water. For example, early in the book, a seal washes up on the shore of the island with swollen eyes and a bloody nose after exposure to the tide. The seal later goes back into the water and drifts away. The narrative doesn’t specifically say the seal perishes.

A fire breaks out on a human base, threatening the lives of the workers and destroying some of the robots there.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

MMGM Review: Free Piano (Not Haunted) by Whitney Gardner

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Free Piano (Not Haunted)
Whitney Gardner
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published July 1, 2025

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About Free Piano (Not Haunted)

From beloved graphic novelist Whitney Gardner comes a big-hearted, touching, and spooky coming-of-age story about a young aspiring songwriter who forms a ghostly partnership with the pop star who haunts her secondhand piano.

The piano is free, but fame has a price.

On the sleepy streets of Cascade Cove, lonely Margot knows that when she stumbles across a discarded synthesizer with a “not haunted” sign, she’s discovered the key to realizing her dreams. Determined to become a real songwriter and earn her absent father’s admiration, Margot dives headfirst into trying to gain followers and fans online. But her musical journey takes an unexpected turn when she realizes the (not haunted) piano is very much…haunted.

Enter Vision, teen pop sensation of 1979 whose untimely demise left her spirit intertwined with the keys of her synthesizer. Though Margot and Vision couldn’t be more different, the girls form an unlikely bond fueled by their shared passion for music.

But as Margot’s obsession with fame and recognition grows, she may come dangerously close to losing what she loves about music…and herself.

My Review

I didn’t realize right away that the author of Free Piano also wrote the young adult novel, Chaotic Good, which I really enjoyed. Once I figured that out, I was eager to see how she handled a story for a younger age group and in a different medium, since this is a graphic novel.

I loved Margot’s friends, who have a social media channel called Sons of Smash. They are goofy kids with inside jokes who remind me SO MUCH of some of the guys I was friends with around that age. So their antics cracked me up quite a bit.

I also loved that the ghost-inside-the-keyboard wasn’t what I expected. I pegged the book as a sort of musical inspiration story where the ghost helps her compose a breakout hit, but one that’s true to herself. The idea of whether Margot should write a song suited to what she thinks other people want versus finding her own style and voice does come up in the story. We do get the positive messages about how chasing likes or views on social media only leaves us feeling worse, but doing what we love lifts our mood.

Margot also wrestles with her relationships with her parents in some believable ways. Her mom, whom she lives with, isn’t as available as Margot wants, and she takes out her frustration over her absent dad on her mom sometimes. Her relationship with her dad is much like her relationship with social media. She feels like in order to get her dad’s attention, she has to be something different than she is, so she tries really hard. I loved watching her figure out what she wanted and how to change her own behavior to better achieve the goals that matter to her.

All in all, what a fun summer read. I love the light-hearted approach to talking about social media and divorced parents that still offers wisdom and celebrates music.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Margot encounters a ghost in her piano. Her friend’s aunt offers advice on using stones, herbs, and salt to “cleanse” the item, possibly getting rid of the ghost.

Violent Content
Margot’s two friends have a social media channel where they post videos of them smashing things. They only smash things they have permission to destroy.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.

Review: Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker

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Soulmatch
Rebecca Danzenbaker
Publisher
Published July 29, 2025

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About Soulmatch

Two-hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every 18-year-old must report to the government to learn about their past lives, a terrifying process known as kirling. Good souls leave the institute with their inheritance, a career path, and if they’re lucky, a soulmate. Bad souls leave in handcuffs.

It’s a nerve-wracking ordeal for Sivon, who, given her uncanny ability to win every chess match, already suspects her soul isn’t normal. Turns out, she was right to worry. Sivon’s results stun not only her, but the entire world, making her the object of public scrutiny and anonymous threats.

Saddled with an infuriating and off-limits bodyguard, Sivon is thrust into a high-stakes game where souls are pawns and rules don’t exist. As deaths mount, Sivon must decipher friend from foe while protecting her heart against impossible odds. One wrong move could destroy the future lives of everyone Sivon loves, and she can’t let that happen, even if they’ll never love her back.

My Review

It’s been a while since I read a fast-paced dystopian young adult book, so this one really scratched that itch for me. It reminded me a little bit of The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld or Matched by Ally Condie in that the society cares a lot about appearances and plays a large part in determining the role people are meant to play.

I liked Sivon’s character from the beginning, though I wish we had gotten to see more of her chess prowess in action. The fact that she’s really great at chess comes up now and then, but it obviously isn’t something that she thinks of as defining her.

Later on in the book, though, she uses her ability to think about logical outcomes to unravel some of the lies she’s been told. I love that idea, but I wanted to see more of that process on paper. Instead, she puts her head down and we wait while she thinks before we enjoy her “aha” moment. Being shut out of her mentally connecting those dots wasn’t as satisfying as seeing that thought process play out, especially if it had been connected to her understanding of chess more directly.

One thing that I thought was very nicely crafted is the romance element of the story. It develops over time, and the obstacles and miscommunications feel pretty realistic. A bit of the descriptions of the two finally together got a little cheesy, but I think considering the whole soulmate aspect of the book, it worked.

When I started reading this book, I was really nervous about how long it would take me to finish it. I tend to struggle with longer books, and this one is almost 500 pages. It’s a pretty big testament to how compulsively readable the book is that I finished it in just over 36 hours.

Conclusion

Even though this is dystopian rather than fantasy, I could see Stephanie Garber fans really liking this one. I think fans of Chloe Gong will also like the political intrigue aspects of the book. The cover is also gorgeous, so I suspect that will draw a lot of attention, too!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used intermittently.

Romance/Sexual Content
The kirling process also identifies soulmates, which may or may not be romantic pairings. For example, Sivon’s identical twin best friends are soulmates. Some scenes show kissing between characters. One scene begins with kissing and the scene ends, hinting the characters will go further.

Spiritual Content
Souls are reincarnated into new bodies. The kirling system identifies a soul and connects the current life to the soul’s past lives. If one committed a crime in a past life and didn’t serve out a sentence for it or pay a fine, they will have to do so in their next life.

Violent Content
Repeated mentions of suicide. Every time one soul is reincarnated, they die by suicide. This is not shown on scene, but referenced a number of times. References to child abuse (not shown on scene). Situations of peril and assassination attempts. Reference to murder and death.

Drug Content
Social drinking.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Knocking on Windows: A Memoir by Jeannine Atkins

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Knocking on Windows: A Memoir
Jeannine Atkins
Atheneum
Published August 5, 2025

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About Knocking on Windows: A Memoir

Acclaimed author Jeannine Atkins revisits her past in this brave and powerful memoir-in-verse about memory, healing, and finding her voice as a writer, perfect for fans of Amber Smith and Speak.

Night darkens the window to mirror.
I’m back in my old bedroom.

Six weeks after the start of her freshman year of college, Jeannine Atkins finds herself back in her childhood bedroom after an unimaginable trauma. Now home in Massachusetts, she’s struggling to reclaim her life and her voice. Seeking comfort in the words of women, she turns to the lives and stories of Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, and Emily Dickinson. Through raw and poignant letter-poems addressed to these literary giants, Jeannine finds that the process of writing and reflecting has become not only a means of survival but the catalyst for a burgeoning writing career.

Inspired and ready to move forward, she enrolls in her state university, where she feeds her growing passion for writing in fiction seminars. But she finds that she’s unable to escape the pervasive misogyny of her classmates and professors, who challenge her to assert her own voice against a backdrop of disbelief and minimalization. This time, though, Jeannine is not willing to go down without a fight.

A searingly honest memoir told through gorgeous verse, Knocking on Windows stands as a beacon of hope and a celebration of the enduring spirit of survivors of sexual assault—and of writers.

My Review

Since assault is one of the topics that I struggle to read about, I always approach books like this with caution. I love that it’s told in verse and that so much of the book focuses on finding and holding onto hope in the midst of hard times/trauma/processing hard feelings.

For example, Jeannine writes often about her admiration for and study of the work of Sylvia Plath. As she reads her work and learns about her life, she struggles to hold both her genius and her mistakes in her hand at the same time. That can be uncomfortable, but it’s SO real. It feels especially real to me right now.

In one poem, she talks about studying literature in college (in the 1970s) and how work by women tends to be trivialized. One of her peers talks about how he doesn’t want to read about bodies or boyfriends because it makes him uncomfortable.

At one point she shares a story about a girl and her mother and the difficulty of their relationship. One of her classmates minimized the experience, but others push back. “I see myself, [in the story]” one classmate tells the group. The professor agrees.

Which highlights, to me, the importance of writing about uncomfortable experiences and reading about them.

This is NOT to say you shouldn’t have boundaries and be safe. Please do that. There is a very real difference between discomfort and trauma. Discomfort can be okay (when you’re safe). Trauma isn’t okay.

Conclusion

Knocking on Windows is the first book by Jeannine Atkins that I’ve ever read. I checked my library to see if they had more of her work, but it looks like if I want to read more, I’ll have to buy it! I do want to read more.

Readers who enjoy verse memoirs or reading about writers or writing will find lots to love in this one. I love the way she connects the work of other writers with her experiences and thinks about those writers as living breathing people, too. This book gave me lots to think about. I will probably read it more than once, when all is said and done.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief description of rape and reporting it to the police. References to the assault and how others respond to Jeannine’s experience. She also describes Sylvia Plath’s experience when someone attacks her.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
See above.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.