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 Spindle of Fate by Aimee Lim

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,
The Spindle of Fate by Aimee Lim

The Spindle of Fate
Aimee Lim
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 4, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Spindle of Fate

When Evie Mei discovers that her recently passed mother was the head of a guild of magical weavers, she enters the Chinese netherworld to try and bring her back in this middle-grade debut.

Twelve-year-old Evie Mei Huang never did like helping in her mom’s tailor shop. She hated helping to mend fraying clothes, how the measuring tape got all twisted up, and how pushy her mother’s clients were. Most of all, she hates that her mother is dead and isn’t here to help anymore.

But when the universe sends a life preserver, Evie knows to grab it. So yes, it’s weird when a talking monkey shows up and tells her that her plainspoken, hardworking tailor mother was actually the head of a Guild of magical weavers who can change the fate of a person with only a spool of thread. Very weird. But he also comes bearing news that her mother is trapped in Diyu, the Chinese underworld, and that only Evie can get her back. No pressure.

The important thing is that Evie’s mom isn’t dead. And if she’s got this one shot to bring her back and save her family, she’s got to take it.

Inspired by Chinese mythology, Aimee Lim’s debut middle grade peers into the dark and gritty underworld, while showcasing the unbreakable bond between a family and the lengths we’ll go to save them.

My Review

I’ve read a couple of other middle grade books in which someone must journey into the underworld to save a family member or the world, but what makes this story fresh and different is the complex relationship between Evie and her mom. While Evie’s mom was alive, she complained about her, wasn’t interested in her mom’s work, and felt that her mom didn’t understand her at all.

As Evie learns about her mom’s secret life as the leader of a magical Guild, she starts to rethink things she took for granted. Perhaps there was a lot more to her mom than she knew. And if she has a chance to save her, Evie realizes she desperately wants to take it.

I also like the boy who comes with her on her quest. He’s a bit goofy, but the story doesn’t lean too far into that goofiness. He has knowledge and abilities that help Evie, but he provides some comedic relief, too.

Another great element of this book is that her mom’s magic is through sewing. She can sew messages that appear on special fabric in someone else’s possession. She can use thread in magical ways. I loved how this was used in the resolution of the story.

Readers who enjoyed Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao or Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit by Jesse Q. Sutanto will enjoy another chance to delve into Chinese mythology and celebrate family connections.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Most characters are Chinese.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A man embraces a woman.

Spiritual Content
Evie meets a monkey who is also a powerful spiritual being or demon. She and another person make the journey to Diyu, the Chinese underworld. There they meet several supernatural “staff” members who run Diyu.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and brief battle sequences. Evie and her companion witness people being tortured on the various courts of Diyu. For example, they encounter people who appear to be starving, whose bowls are filled with uncooked rice they can’t eat. They don’t witness any graphic torture.

References to murder.

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: Boris in Switzerland by Lucinda Gifford

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Boris in Switzerland (The Wolves of Greycoat Hall #2)
Lucinda Gifford
Kane Miller Publishing
Published January 21, 2023

Kane Miller Website | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Boris in Switzerland

A romp of a read, with an ingenious mystery to solve, and packed with endearing illustrations.

Boris is attending the Institute of International Excellence, a fancy Swiss boarding school while his parents are staying with Great Aunt Orfilia. Although worried about being the only wolf, and having to navigate around the rude vice principal, he quickly makes friends, learns how to “log in” and heli-board, and has plentiful supply of cake, Boris can’t shake the idea that something funny is going on . . .

My Review

Both the books in this series are so sweet. The plentiful illustrations show Boris, his family, and friends doing all kinds of different activities. From skiing to eating cake to horseback riding, they keep busy. The illustrations show a wheelchair user and a Black girl.

The first half of the book focuses on Boris joining a boarding school and settling in. In the second half, Boris and his friends investigate a mystery on campus. Seemingly unconnected threads weave together to reveal what’s really going on at the elite boarding school. The gentle pacing and engaging characters make this an easy book to read. Pen and ink illustrations add interest and break up the text, making Boris in Switzerland a great book for readers transitioning from chapter books to middle grade fiction.

I had a great time with this sweet, imaginative book. I hope the author writes more adventures of Boris and his family.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Boris is a wolf. One of his friends is a wheelchair-user. Another friend is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Boris and his friends wonder if a ghost haunts the school. One note about wolves of Morovia specifies the kinds of scary stories wolves tell over a campfire. They’re more silly than scary.

Violent Content
Implications of child abuse. Boris learns that an adult forces a child to work and threatens to prevent them from seeing their family.

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: We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

We Deserve Monuments
Jas Hammonds
Roaring Brook Press
Published November 29, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Deserve Monuments

Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery collide in WE DESERVE MONUMENTS, a YA debut from Jas Hammonds that explores how racial violence can ripple down through generations.

What’s more important: Knowing the truth or keeping the peace?

Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she’s uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, she’s turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two.

While tempers flare in her avoidant family, Avery finds friendship in unexpected places: in Simone Cole, her captivating next-door neighbor, and Jade Oliver, daughter of the town’s most prominent family—whose mother’s murder remains unsolved.

As the three girls grow closer—Avery and Simone’s friendship blossoming into romance—the sharp-edged opinions of their small southern town begin to hint at something insidious underneath. The racist history of Bardell, Georgia is rooted in Avery’s family in ways she can’t even imagine. With Mama Letty’s health dwindling every day, Avery must decide if digging for the truth is worth toppling the delicate relationships she’s built in Bardell—or if some things are better left buried.

My Review

I love intergenerational family stories, and at its core, that’s what this story truly is. In reconnecting with the grandmother she barely knows, Avery learns of her family’s painful history. That history impacts others in the small town of Bardell as well, including her two new best friends, Simone and Jade. The threads connecting each girl to her family’s past weave together to form a tapestry that’s both beautiful and terrible.

The story unflinchingly faces the complicated grief of thwarted justice. Jade’s mother’s murderer was never held to account. Neither were the men who murdered Avery’s grandfather. That grief binds the girls together and drives a wedge between them at the same time.

WE DESERVE MONUMENTS is also a love story. It celebrates the connection between grandmothers and granddaughters, even when they only have a short time together. Avery’s relationship with her grandmother anchors her in her history in a way that no other relationship in her family does. The book also celebrates romantic love—perhaps even second-chance love—as Simone and Avery fall for one another and learn to embrace the hope that the previous generation could not.

I wouldn’t call this book an easy read, but I loved the way it explored family history and relationships and the hopefulness that it leaves with its readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Avery is biracial (Black mom and white dad) and a lesbian. Her friend Simone is also Black and queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between girls.

Spiritual Content
Simone gives Avery a tarot reading. She pulls tarot cards to help her set expectations for the day. She also believes in astrological signs. Simone’s mom attends church often, and when she feels Simone has done something wrong, she makes her attend church several times per week and prays over her repeatedly.

Violent Content
References to a woman’s murder and the racist history of the South and the town of Bardell.

Drug Content
Avery and her friends smoke pot together. They get drunk one night.

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 Pale Queen by Ethan M. Aldridge

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

The Pale Queen
Ethan M. Aldridge
Quill Tree Press
Published June 25, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Pale Queen

From the acclaimed creator of Estranged and The Legend of Brightblade comes a lush fantasy graphic novel about an aspiring astronomer who attracts the attention of a mysterious being known as the Lady. Perfect for fans of Anya’s Ghost and Snapdragon!

Agatha has always dreamed of the stars. But when a chance encounter introduces her to the Lady of the Hills, Agatha is shocked to learn that a secret magical world lays hidden in the mist-shrouded land next to her village. She finds herself quickly captivated by the Lady, but is the Lady who she appears to be?

As Agatha forms a new friendship with a girl in town, she learns that the Lady is far older and more powerful than she could’ve guessed and that her plans aren’t as innocent as they appear. Will Agatha be able to protect the people she loves from the Lady’s sinister agenda?

My Review

This is another one of those books that I read at just the right time. (I’m not sure there could be a bad time to read a book by Ethan Aldridge, honestly.)

It’s been a hard week, so when I started this book, the first thing I appreciated was the soothing color palette. It’s got greens and yellows in softer tones. The woods have deep shadows, which makes them feel old and untouched, just like I’d imagine woods hiding magical creatures at the edge of a small town would be.

I loved Agatha’s character from the first page. She’s smart. Kind. Frustrated by the way her life has boxed her in, but still good to the people around her as much as she can be.

Heather, the girl who comes to stay with the family Agatha works for, also won me over. She constantly quotes authors and is pretty unapologetically nerdy, which is fabulous.

The Lady who makes a bargain with Agatha is also a fascinating character. I love the way her appearance changes depending on what’s happening and how Agatha reacts to her in certain scenes.

There were a couple of places where a chapter or scene ending felt a little abrupt, leaving me wanting a few more panels to really finish the scene. However, I’m now wondering if that was done on purpose to add to the eerie, slightly off-balance feeling the author created in those moments. Either way, it ultimately worked well.

Readers who’ve experienced Aldridge’s work before won’t need me to tell them this one is worth reading. It’s got the same powerful fantasy artwork and immersive storytelling that his fans have come to expect from his books.

Fans of K. O’Neill or Tim Probert will want to check this one out, for sure.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Some characters have brown skin. Two girls have romantic feelings for one another.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can perform magic. A special stone leads one character to another person through a bond.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A boy doesn’t respect a girl’s boundaries. She wants him to leave her alone. He treats her roughly, making her cry.

Someone turns a person into a pig. Someone freezes a group of people.

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: Love, Off the Record by Samantha Markum

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Love, Off the Record
Samantha Markum
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published June 11, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Love, Off the Record

The Hating Game meets Alex, Approximately in this smart, chemistry-filled teen rom-com about two rival journalism students competing for the same position on their university newspaper.

Wyn is going to beat Three even if it kills her—or, preferably, him. Being freshmen staffers on the university newspaper puts them at the bottom of the pecking order—until a rare reporter spot opens up. Wyn and Three are both determined to get the position, starting a game of sabotage that pushes them to do their worst, from stealing each other’s ideas to playing twisted mind games. No road is too low when it comes to winning.

As Wyn’s search for the perfect story leads her to an anonymous, campus-wide dating app, she hits it off with a mystery man she thinks might be the cute RA from her dorm. But Wyn is all too familiar with being rejected because of her weight, and she’s hesitant to reveal her identity, even as she grows closer with someone who might be the guy of her dreams.

When Three breaks a story that’s closer to home than he or Wyn expects, the two must put aside their differences to expose the truth—and face their real feelings for each other, which threaten everything Wyn has built with her anonymous match.

My Review

Fans of Samantha Markum’s books will likely recognize Three from his supporting role in This May End Badly. This time, he gets the spotlight in this smart, banter-filled tale of college freshmen in competition for a coveted role with a newspaper.

I definitely see the Alex, Approximately vibes in play in this one. The tension between Three and Wyn, especially at the beginning, is palpable. The banter between those two never stops, and I love it.

The whole story follows Wyn’s point of view, which leaves some room for miscommunication, mistrust, and misdirection, all of which I enjoyed as well. I love the frank way that Wyn relates her experiences with her body, both the positive and negative, the easy and painful. It feels like adding some essential nuance to the conversation within YA about body image, self-love, and fatphobia.

The only thing about the book that tripped me up at all is the pacing. Like This May End Badly, this book is first and foremost a rom-com, but it contains a gritty subplot about a shadowy group selling hard drugs on Wyn’s and Three’s college campus.

The combination works great in creating a reason to bring Three and Wyn to the same side of something. It also makes the book a whopping 400 pages, which is long for a young adult contemporary romance. I was entertained all throughout the book, but I wonder if the size of the book will intimidate some readers.

Fans of romance with strong characters and endless banter will want to give this one a try. It’s a great book to crack open at the beach or by the pool this summer.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Wyn is plus-sized. Her friend Dara is Black. Two minor characters (girls) are in a dating relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
F-bombs scattered throughout. Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to making out and touching.

Spiritual Content
One of Wyn’s suitemates is the daughter of a Christian pastor. She speaks openly about her faith and the challenge of figuring out the kind of life she wants to live, especially when it contradicts her parents’ expectations.

Violent Content
Wyn and Three make threatening comments to one another, joking but with some dislike behind at least some of them.

Someone gets jumped (off-scene).

Drug Content
Wyn eats cookies without realizing they’re laced with edibles. She ends up saying and doing some dangerous things and things she regrets later. She attends a party where she drinks beer, and a friend gets drunk. Someone reports that people were doing cocaine at a party and leaves.

Students get caught dealing hard drugs on campus, resulting in some consequences. Wyn and Three find a backpack stuffed with drugs, which Three photographs for evidence for the story they’re writing.

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: Takedown by Ali Bryan

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Takedown
Ali Bryan
DCB Young Readers
Published May 11, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Takedown

Sixteen-year-old star wrestler Rowan Harper’s biggest fan is her father.

But he has ALS, and his symptoms are getting worse. Saving his life will cost more money than the family has, but Rowan finds a solution. Will she risk her chances at a scholarship by competing in a lucrative, but illegal, underground MMA fight?

Takedown is a high-intensity coming-of-age story about family illness and competitive combat, with lots of heart, hope, and headlocks.

My Review

This is a fiercely compelling read about a girl wrestler readying herself for a big tournament and struggling with the grim progression of her father’s ALS. The author doesn’t pull her punches. These scenes are filled with big emotions, high-stakes combat, and heartwarming family moments.

It’s also got a lot of attitude. Rowan, definitely not a morning person, grouches her way through the early hours of the day. She keeps secrets more and more as she faces greater pressure to do something to help her dad. She doesn’t always think things through– which made me grind my teeth sometimes, but reads so realistically.

I liked that both Rowan and her best friend, Pia, are wrestlers, and they’re super different from one another. Pia thrives on fashion and is an online influencer. Rowan is more of a purist athlete: most of what she does is train and compete around moments with her family and boyfriend.

I cried multiple times while reading this book. Sometimes, a moving line caught me just right, and other times, a heartbreaking turn of events brought me to tears. I feel like I didn’t even have a lot of time to ask myself whether I *liked* Rowan. She is such a compelling character that it almost didn’t matter, if that makes sense.

I think I like her. Although her choices often frustrated me, I understood why she did what she did.

All in all, this book is a win for books about girls in sports, and books about wrestling. It’s one of those books that draws you in and won’t let you go until the last page.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Rowan’s dad has ALS. She’s a wrestler on a competitive team. One character is Lebanese on one side of his family and has two dads. Another character is South Asian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
F-bombs appear at intense moments. Other swearing used moderately.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. In one scene, a boy and girl quickly undress so they can have sex. (Not shown on scene.)

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Several scenes show Rowan in a fight and wrestling matches in practice and competition. She punches a guy in the face. She helps someone who has obviously been in a fight.

At one point, Rowan wonders if her dad is checked out of life. Like, not depressed/suicidal, but maybe thinking about assisted suicide.

Spoiler: Death of a parent. (Select text to view.)

Drug Content
Rowan and her friend drink beer at her friend’s house. They attend a party and drink more. Rowan ends up super drunk and sick and embarrassed about it later. Rowan’s brother, Ike, smokes cigarettes he gets from a neighbor. He comes home smelling like weed in one scene.

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.