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: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline WoodsonBrown Girl Dreaming
Jacqueline Woodson
Nancy Paulsen Books
Published August 28, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

From Goodreads
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice … Continue reading

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan EeAngelfall (Penryn and the End of Days #1)
Susan Ee
Hodder & Stoughton
Published May 23, 2013 (Originally published 2011)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Since angels of the apocalypse swarmed the skies, humanity has been on the run. With their supplies running low, Penryn and her small family risk their lives to scavenge for food and find themselves in the middle of an angel battle. When angels carry Penryn’s sister away, she’ll do anything to get her back, even form an alliance with one of the enemy.

Angelfall is dark and twisty. Penryn not only battles outside evil, but also struggles to cope with her mother’s mental illness and the voices she hears … Continue reading

April AVA Readathon Challenge Update

This month I’m participating in the AVA Readathon Challenge with Bookshelves and Paperbacks. I listed the ARCs (advance release copies) of books I’m planning to read this month. Some have been lingering in my to-be-read stack for far too long. Others were a bit of a cheat because they come out this month, so I wanted to read them anyway.

Here’s the list I posted at the beginning of the month:

AVA Readathon ChallengeNote: I don’t know why Between the Lies ended up on this list, since it doesn’t come out until September. Probably I got it mixed up with something else, though now I can’t remember what. So that one is last on my list for now.

What I’ve Read So Far

Racial … Continue reading

Review and Giveaway: Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer

Spindle FireSpindle Fire
Lexa Hillyer
HarperCollins
Published April 11, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Spindle Fire
Half sisters Isabelle and Aurora are polar opposites: Isabelle is the king’s headstrong illegitimate daughter, whose sight was tithed by faeries; Aurora, beautiful and sheltered, was tithed her sense of touch and her voice on the same day. Despite their differences, the sisters have always been extremely close.

And then everything changes, with a single drop of Aurora’s blood–and a sleep so deep it cannot be broken.

As the faerie queen and her army of Vultures prepare to march, Isabelle must race to find a prince who can awaken her sister with … Continue reading

Review: Dream Magic by Joshua Khan

Dream Magic by Joshua Khan

Dream Magic (Shadow Magic #2)
Joshua Khan
Disney-Hyperion
Published April 11, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Dream Magic

People throughout Gehenna are disappearing, even the feared executioner Tyburn. Many of the nobles believe the kidnappings to be the work of the northern trolls, raiding south for the winter, and when Baron Sable and others head off to fight them, Castle Gloom is left guarded by only the squires.

Lily is struggling with her growing necromantic powers. The castle fills with ghosts, drawn like moths to a flame by the brightness of her magic. Zombies roam the country, some left over from those raised in SHADOW MAGIC, … Continue reading

Review: Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Defy the Stars by Claudia GrayDefy the Stars
Claudia Gray
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published April 4, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Defy the Stars
She’s a soldier.

Noemi Vidal is a seventeen years old and sworn to protect her planet, Genesis. She’s willing to risk anything—including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she’s a rebel.

He’s a machine.

Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel has advanced programming that’s begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he’s an abomination.

Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they … Continue reading