All posts by Kasey

About Kasey

Reads things. Writes things. Fluent in sarcasm. Willful optimist. Cat companion, chocolate connoisseur, coffee drinker. There are some who call me Mom.

Review: The Demon and the Light by Axie Oh

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , ,
The Demon and the Light by Axie Oh

The Demon and the Light (The Floating World #2)
Axie Oh
Feiwel & Friends
Published October 21, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Demon and the Light

Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in The Demon and the Light, the hotly anticipated follow-up to Axie Oh’s The Floating World.

The battle is over, but the war is just beginning…

With the help of her friends and allies, Ren managed to topple the General’s insurrection, but the Floating World and its territories are still under threat of attack from the rival Volmaran Empire. And far worse, she was powerless to save Sunho from being overcome by the monstrous power in his blood. Now he’s gone, transformed into a feral, deadly creature that doesn’t even recognize her anymore, and her heart aches for the sweet boy she’s grown to love.

But the escalating war will not pause for her grief. Seen by some as a heavenly savior and others merely a figurehead to be manipulated, Ren must use all her courage and cunning to survive the royal court’s game long enough to find Sunho and bring him home before he loses himself to the Demon forever.

My Review

The Demon and the Light is the second part of a duology that began with The Floating World, which came out last spring. This book is a lot more focused on the romance between Sunho and Ren than I remember the first book being. Ren faces some uncertainty about her future as queen, and a powerful enemy rises to destroy her people, so she and Sunho have more going on than the question of whether or not they’ll be together. Their feelings for one another are never far from their thoughts, though, which keeps the romance a central focus.

The story also follows Jaeil, Ren’s childhood friend and now military adviser, who relates some of the political turmoil and observes Ren and Sunho’s relationship. A romance blooms between him and Ren’s adopted uncle (he’s one year older than Ren) as well.

Just like the first novel in the duology, this book is packed with Final Fantasy vibes. We learn more about the experiment that led to Sunho’s demon transformation. Ren learns more about her ancestry and her mother’s life and death. A powerful villain rises, intent on destroying the world in revenge. All we need are wild hairstyles and a super giant sword.

I remember racing through the first book in the duology, so eager to read every chapter. I enjoyed this second book a lot, too. It’s awesome that we got both books in the duology in the same year.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Ren is descended from a goddess and has some supernatural abilities. By entering a dreamlike state, she revisits her ancestors. Some characters transform into beings with monstrous characteristics and violent natures, referred to as demons.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Reference to execution. Some battle scenes.

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: Going Overboard by Caroline Huntoon

Blogger's Favorites, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Going Overboard
Caroline Huntoon
Feiwel & Friends
Published May 27, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Going Overboard

From author Caroline Huntoon comes a sparkling new middle grade novel, Going Overboard, a reverse-Parent Trap story where tweens Piper and Colton must force their parents to break up, or their lives will change forever.

Piper Shapiro has the best mom in the world: Noura, a single parent by choice who always has a plan, whether it’s for a spontaneous Saturday adventure or helping Piper navigate middle school as a nonbinary kid. They’re a package deal, and they tell each other everything. At least, they used to. But then Noura invites Piper out to dinner with her girlfriend Gwinny… and Gwinny’s son, Colton—a boy Piper knows, and doesn’t exactly get along with. Piper panics when the realization Noura and Gwinny are serious about each other. Suddenly, Piper’s life as half of a duo has an expiration date, and ze is horrified.

To put a stop to any potential wedding bells, Piper makes a plan to break up the parents and keep things the way they are—the way they should be. When Gwinny surprises everyone with a getting-to-know-each-other cruise for spring break, Piper’s game is on—and Colton is in on it. The two of them work hard to make it clear that they are not one big happy family, even though it turns out that Colton might not be so bad after all. But when things with Operation Break Up go a bit too far, Piper starts to question everything… and realize that maybe a little change isn’t a bad thing.

My Review

I read Linus and Etta Could Use a Win, another book by Caroline Huntoon, earlier this year, so when I saw a review copy of this one up for grabs, I jumped at the chance to read it. Going Overboard is the first novel I’ve read in which the main character uses neopronouns. Piper uses the nonbinary pronouns ze/zir/zem. Piper’s pronouns don’t come up as often as you’d think in the story. At one point, a salesperson in a store misgenders zem, but someone immediately corrects the clerk, and she switches to the correct pronouns. Piper’s pronouns simply aren’t the focus of the narrative beyond the support that Piper feels from zir mom and others around zem.

The real focus of the story is the attempt to break up Piper’s mom and her girlfriend, Colton’s mom. The narrative does a great job showcasing the shift in Piper’s feelings about the relationship despite the commitment to the breakup project. While Piper is certain Colton is a jerk and Gwinny is too perky, ze begins to see qualities ze enjoys and admires in both of them.

The cruise creates a close-proximity environment in which Piper really only has Colton to talk to, and an artificial deadline (return to port) in which to accomplish zir mission. Both of those things drive the story forward and keep the narrative from drifting too far from the central plot.

Piper and zir mom’s relationship is really sweet. I think it borders on maybe too enmeshed at some points, but I loved seeing a mom of a middle schooler so engaged and supportive.

Going Overboard feels like the perfect read for someone needing a slightly aged-up Alex Gino book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently (twice, I think).

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to Piper’s best friend’s crush on someone. Colton also has a crush on someone.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A group of older kids make fun of Piper and Colton, who are dressed similarly at the dance.

Drug Content
Adults drink alcohol socially on a vacation.

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 Tea Dragon Festival by K. O’Neill

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

The Tea Dragon Festival (The Tea Dragon Society #2)
K. O’Neill
Oni Press
Published September 17, 2019

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Tea Dragon Festival

Rinn has grown up with the Tea Dragons that inhabit their village, but stumbling across a real dragon turns out to be a different matter entirely! Aedhan is a young dragon who was appointed to protect the village but fell asleep in the forest eighty years ago.

With the aid of Rinn’s adventuring uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel, they investigate the mystery of his enchanted sleep, but Rinn’s real challenge is to help Aedhan come to terms with feeling that he cannot get back the time he has lost.

My Review

I absolutely love K. O’Neill’s beautiful fantasy communities. They create such unique characters with a wide variety of skin tones and fantasy-inspired features. This story is set in a different village (and at a different time) than the first book. Initially, I wasn’t sure of the connection between the two stories beyond the presence of tea dragons. But then, shortly after the story begins, two characters from the first book appear as visitors to Rinn’s village.

You could read this book without having read the first book in the series. The storytelling here is pretty gentle, so it’s accessible to very early middle grade readers. My daughter is seven and enjoyed this one.

Rinn and Aedhan’s friendship is such a sweet part of the book. I loved how that developed. I also loved the way that the sleep mystery resolved. I’m looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have magical abilities. Bounty hunters look for a nature spirit that can cause people to fall asleep for long periods of time.

Violent Content
A mythical creature attacks a group. A dragon fights off the creature but is injured.

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 public library. All opinions are my own.

MMGM Review: Setting the Stage by Lindsay Champion

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , , ,

Setting the Stage (Cast vs Crew #1)
Lindsay Champion
Pixel+Ink
Published October 21, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Setting the Stage

SERIES LAUNCH! The full story of a junior high musical production, told exclusively from the POV of the kids backstage. It’s High School Musical, from behind the scenes…without the high school.

Every cast depends on its stage crew. But what happens when they hate each other? SETTING THE STAGE is the first act in a trilogy that tells the whole story!

Eighth grader Ella Amani has been waiting her whole life to be the stage manager of the middle school musical, and this is her year!

Somehow she’ll have to find jobs for Willow, who’s doing stage crew instead of detention, and Sebastian, a shy sixth grader whose sister is the star of the show. She’ll have to wrangle Kevin, the clumsy new kid who was homeschooled on a boat, and Levi, her best friend, who used to tell her everything.

Still, Ella’s pretty sure she can handle the crew. The cast? That’s a different story. They’re ungrateful, they treat the crew like servants, and when Ella finally pushes back, they start playing pranks!

Setting the Stage is a behind-the-scenes look at the drama of drama club from the crew’s point of view.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

My Review

The story alternates through four different points of view: Ella, the stage manager, Willow, the unwilling stage crew member serving out a dentention sentence, Sebastian, the younger brother of the musical’s star, and Levi, the technical lead who’s dealing with a challenging family situation.

Having all those points of view pulls the reader deeper into how the crew prepares for the musical while showing different perspectives on each of the characters. For example, Willow thinks of organized, committed Ella as being bossy and uptight at first. What she doesn’t realize is that Ella is good at finding ways for people to use their strengths as part of her team, and this helps Willow invest in her role backstage.

Showing both Levi and Ella’s points of view helps readers see that Ella’s perception of what’s happening with her best friend (a showmance) isn’t the full story. It makes sense that Levi would leave certain things about his past unsaid because of how his relationship with Ella works, and that when the pressure on those parts of his life increases, that leaves him in a hard place.

I feel like readers who are theater-curious will enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at how a stage crew works on putting together a show. It’s also a great middle school relationships story with a dash of romance. The romance angle shows one crush coming to a disappointing end and another ending with plans to go on a date, so even there, the story offers some different experiences.

At under 200 pages, this book is also a nice, short read. The story also includes some less common representation. One character has dyslexia and another lives with relatives in a foster placement.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
One brief kiss.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Kids play (generally harmless) pranks on one another.

Drug Content
Vague reference to Levi’s mom having had some past issues with alcohol.

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.

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.

November 2025 Reading Recap

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November 2025 Reading Recap

LOOK AT THIS. It’s the last day of November, and I’m posting a monthly reading recap. Cue the choir and toss the confetti because this is probably never going to happen again. Ha!

I feel pretty proud of my reading this month. While I did not come close to October’s 28 books, I read 20 titles, which still feels pretty good. I read over 4000 pages and listened to almost 36 hours of audiobooks. It was a great month.

I started the month really behind on books I’d committed to review. As of my writing this, I’ve got one more book to review that came out in October and one more from November, and then I’m on to my December list, which is only three books! If all goes well, by this time next week, I’ll be starting to read January releases. It took me ALL YEAR to get there, but progress is progress.

Let’s get into what I read this month.

Note: This post contains affiliate links that do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. Thanks for using them to do your shopping.

November 2025 Reading Recap

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (Logan Family Saga #4)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I’d been meaning to reread this book for such a long time, and this year, it finally happened. Cassie’s story stands out as one of the formative novels I read in elementary school. Her courage, her curiosity, and her love for her family make her an unforgettable heroine. I love that this is a story totally accessible to young readers that presents truths about American life for a Black family in the 1930s.

Published January 5, 2016 (Orig. 1976) | My Review to Come

The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: Another reader noted how different this book is from Meyer’s other reimagined fairytales, and I totally agree. The main character is a survivor. She’s bristly and slippery at once. I spent quite a few chapters worrying about the person she was taking advantage of, only for the story to flip in ways I didn’t expect. Loved it.

Published November 4, 2025 | My Review

Dead Ends!: Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I’d read another book by this author/illustrator team that was wildly entertaining, so when this showed up in my mailbox, I had to check it out. Squeamish readers will probably not want a piece of this hilarious look at some of the medical failures that led to treatments we depend on today. Readers who enjoy books about the human body or science will be completely engrossed.

Published October 14, 2025 | My Review

The Tear Collector by R. M. Romero

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This is an unusual fantasy story set in a world heavily impacted by rising sea levels. I love how it shows the ways an isolated community’s ideas can get stagnant or warped by those in power and how a new perspective can clear the air.

Published October 14, 2025 | My Review

These Bodies Ain’t Broken edited by Madeline Dyer

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I love that this anthology pairs together horror short stories featuring disabled characters as heroes and essays from the authors offering context about the disabilities portrayed in the work. If you enjoyed Disfigured by Amanda LeDuc, definitely grab a copy of this one.

Published October 7, 2025 | My Review

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I read an anthology edited by Ashley Hope Pérez earlier this year, and added this book to my reading list out of that experience. It’s a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet set in Texas in the 1930s in a town where racial tensions ran high and a school exploded. It’s heartbreaking, brutal, intense, and also somehow threaded through with joy and beauty.

Published September 10, 2019 | My Review to Come

A Matter of Murder (Lizzie & Darcy Mystery #2) by Tirzah Price

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I’ve enjoyed this spinoff of “The Jane Austen Murder Mysteries” for its cozy mystery and regency era vibes. I don’t know how true to the original Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy these characters are, but I find that less important to me than the fun of imagining those characters in this universe solving a mystery together.

Published November 11, 2025 | My Review

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung le Nguyen

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: As a huge fan of The Magic Fish, I knew I wanted to read this. In some ways (celebrating fairytales alongside a contemporary story) it reminded me a lot of TMF, but in some ways it’s so different. The storytelling here is a bit sassy, which I enjoyed, and it shows a lot of interactions in which the characters communicate what they need and what isn’t working, which I found very welcome!

Published October 7, 2025 | My Review to Come

The Beasts Beneath the Winds: Tales of Southeast Asia’s Mythical Creatures edited by Hanna Alkaf

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This playful anthology shows modern kids interacting with cryptids and creatures from Asian folklore and mythology. Such a fun read. Introducing each story is a spread that looks like a cryptid journal with photos and facts about the creature.

Published October 21, 2025 | My Review

Lord of Blade and Bone (Waking Hearts #2) by Erica Ivy Rodgers

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This was one of my most anticipated books for 2025. At nearly 500 pages, this book has a LOT to say. I kind of wish it had been two books so the story had room to slow down a little and recap or go deeper with some of the characters a little more. It has a huge cast of characters, and one of my favorite magic systems out in fantasy right now. It took me about 100 pages to get back into the story because I couldn’t always remember who was who, but once I got that far, I remembered why I love this series (duology?) so much.

Published November 11, 2025 | My Review

Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: Bring your willing suspension of disbelief and dive into this world-jumping story about a girl from Ireland who’s just trying to get to school and a boy from a marginalized nomadic people trying to survive in hostile worlds. It’s part love story, part multiverse exploration, and part revolution. I loved it.

Published June 3, 2025 | My Review

How Girls Are Made by Mindy McGinnis

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This is a hard read, but felt like such a necessary story. The writing is so compelling. It shows the importance of comprehensive sex ed and how anyone can be vulnerable to abuse, even people who think they’re safe.

Published November 18, 2025 | My Review

The Whale’s Song: Discover the Giants of Our Oceans by Rossana Bossù

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This is such a cool book. Short paragraphs and passages offer great information on a variety of topics about marine mammals, like the different regional groups of orcas, the phases of decomposition of a whalefall, how whales support a healthy, diverse ocean environment, etc.

Published June 24, 2025 | My Review to Come

North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This debut graphic novel by a Pixar animator offers a lot of Christmas cheer. I’d been looking for an uplifting holiday story when this one landed in my mailbox, so it was a very welcome read.

Published September 2, 2025 | My Review

Finally, Something Mysterious (The One and Onlys #1) by Doug Cornett

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: I was scrambling to find something to read to my seven-year-old, and I hit the jackpot with this one. I’d read this book back in 2020, and loved the quirky humor and small town setting. This is a perfect mystery for a younger MG audience, and it had my girl laughing out loud. Total win.

Published April 14, 2020 | My Review

I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This one started out a little rough for me, but once some elements of the plot came into focus, I found it much easier to invest in the characters and their romance. I wish the love interest wasn’t so heavy-handed in the early chapters of the book, but I enjoyed the way the author used some common time travel tropes.

Published November 18, 2025 | My Review

Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I’m totally unsurprised that this book received a starred review from Kirkus. It’s such a unique story world. The characters pulled me in right away. If you love weird, ethereal novels, you want this on your list.

Published July 1, 2025 | My Review to Come

Hollow by Taylor Grothe

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This book is every bit as weird and eerie as its cover image. Estranged friends go for a hike in the woods to reconnect only to become separated and lost. One winds up in a remote village that seems too good to be true. This book too me on a wild ride.

Published September 30, 2025 | My Review

Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: A graphic novel inspired by real events. I am embarrassingly unfamiliar with North American history outside of American history, so I wanted to read this book as part of an effort to broaden my understanding. I also love seeing how graphic novelists use this form to educate young readers through history or novels inspired by real events. I’m so glad I read this one.

Published September 2, 2025 | My Review

Setting the Stage (Cast vs Crew) by Lindsay Champion

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: Theater kids and theater-curious readers will enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at a stage crew in this short MG novel. I like the variety of viewpoints presented and how that helps clue readers into what’s driving some of the conflicts and misunderstandings.

Published October 21, 2025 | My Review Coming Tomorrow

What did you read in November?

What is your favorite book that you read in November? Leave a comment letting me know about your favorites, and let me know if you read anything on my list.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is probably my favorite from this recap. Of the books that came out this year, I’d say Graciela in the Abyss is my favorite. If you post a November reading recap on your blog or social media, leave me a link in the comments! I’d love to check it out.

Review: I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends
Kylie Lee Baker
Feiwel & Friends
Published November 18, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends

A teen descendant of a Japanese dragon god must team up with a cute rogue agent to subvert a corrupt time travel organization and find out the truth of what happened to her missing sister in acclaimed author Kylie Lee Baker’s magical new YA romance, I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends.

When you’re ready, come find me. I will keep you safe. -Hana

Descended from a Japanese dragon god, Yang Mina was born with the power to travel through time, and has spent her life training to take her place in the Descendants, a secret organization whose purpose is to protect the timeline. Then Mina’s world is uprooted when she moves to Seoul and finds a note from her sister–a sister who no one remembers, as if she had been erased. The only people who could have made her sister vanish so completely are part of the very agency that she’s been working so hard to join. So now Mina has a new mission, infiltrate the agency as quickly as possible to find her lost sister.

And, as if things weren’t complicated enough, a strikingly handsome rogue agent has determined that Mina is the only person who can help him put an end to the Descendants’ corruption. Placed in an impossible situation, Mina must decide how much she’s willing to risk to find the truth.

My Review

At first, this story might look like a love triangle between Mina, Jihoon, the boy she’s supposed to seduce into a kiss, and Yejun, the rogue agent desperate for her help righting a wrong in the timeline. It becomes clear pretty quickly, though, that poor, sweet Jihoon really doesn’t stand a chance against the unpredictable Yejun.

It took me a long time to invest in the Mina-Yejun connection. He seemed too pushy, and too determined that she should just take orders from him, no questions asked. That didn’t sit well with me. It seemed like it was exactly the same way that her superiors within the organization treated her. He was asking her to go rogue, risk her life, and just trust him that it would all be okay. Seemed like a big ask to me.

I’m glad I stuck with the story, though. I don’t want to give spoilers. But I will say that by the time I reached the end of the story, I understood why certain things happened the way they did. It’s a pretzel-y story, which I enjoyed. For example, both Mina and Yejun encounter future versions of themselves in the present taking action to alter what happens. Later, we see those same scenes, and they make a lot more sense from the vantage point later in the story.

Time travel stories have got to be hard to write. I love that this one plays with some of the common tropes and elements of time travel. I also grew to appreciate the love story as the full landscape of what was going on became clear.

If you’re looking for a time travel romance, check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are descended from the gods and have magic abilities. They use these abilities to navigate to different parts of the timeline and make changes.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief gun violence. References to tragedies that caused deaths, such as a bridge collapse. One character witnesses allies punishing a woman by “erasing” her from the timeline. (They force her to eat her own magic and she disappears.)

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.