Author Archives: 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: Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

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Belzhar by Meg WolitzerBelzhar
Meg Wolitzer
Dutton Books for Young Readers

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When Jam can’t recover from her boyfriend’s death, her desperate family sends her to The Wooden Barn, a boarding school for distraught teens. There Jam finds herself enrolled in Special Topics in English, an elite, invitation-only course. This year, Jam and her classmates will study the works of Sylvia Plath, and will write about their own experiences in special journals given to them by their fascinating instructor, Mrs. Quenell.

As Jam begins to write in her journal, she’s transported to a place where Reeve still lives, and they can be together. A place she calls Belzhar. As the semester winds down, and … Continue reading →

Top Ten Controversial Characters

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TTT Top Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is controversial characters. These are characters I loved, but everyone hated, or I hated, when everyone else loved. So I’ve split my list into my top five from each category.

Controversial Characters Part One: Top Five Characters I Couldn’t Get Into, but People Rave About

Wuthering HeightsHeathcliff/Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I remember reading this book in high school and wishing I could drop into the story and be like, Catherine, honey. Lose this guy, please! I just did not get … Continue reading →

Review: Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate

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Seven Ways We Lie by Riley RedgateSeven Ways We Lie
Riley Redgate
ABRAMS Kids/Amulet Books

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Everyone has a secret to hide. Olivia seems like a girl who has it together. She knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to say so. At home, she watches her father and sister sink deeper into isolation following her mom’s disappearance, and for once, there’s nothing Olivia can do to fix it. Matt’s parents never stop fighting, and his little brother too often ends up caught in the cross-fire. After months of tuning out his parents’ battles in a haze of pot smoke, is it too late for Matt to confront them? Claire can’t let … Continue reading →

Upcoming Reviews: March 2016

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Coming Soon: March 2016 Reviews

So far this year seems to be speeding by. I still haven’t managed to finish the remaining books languishing on my To-Be-Read list from last year, but I’m trying to get to a couple each month. So, you know, by summer or something I’ll actually be finished?

Here are the books I’ve scheduled for review this month. There are some new ones and some recent releases as well. Hope you’re as excited about reading them as I am!Seven Ways We Lie by Riley RedgateSeven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate – A story of teens who have secrets to keep. When they discover a secret too big to keep, they have to figure out what to do about it. I like books about dilemmas such as this one.

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Top Ten Tuesday: When You’re In the Mood for Folk and Fairytales

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TTTTop Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is about finding books to fit our moods. Recently I read a post about some fairytales with a new twist, and it made me think of a few that I’m excited about. I’ve posted a list of books based on Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and stories about Merlin before, because I LOVE folk tales and fairytales retold. But this will be a fresh new list. Most of these books I’ve already read and reviewed, but there are a few I haven’t gotten to yet but am super excited to read.

Top Ten Folk or Fairytales Re-imagined

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Review: You Were Here by Cori McCarthy

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You Were Here by Cori McCarthyYou Were Here
Cori McCarthy
Sourcebooks Fire

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Jaycee intends to spend the anniversary of her brother Jake’s death the same way she spent the last one: exploring an abandoned building with her brother’s best friend. Jake’s death fractured Jaycee’s entire community, and even though it’s been five years since his death, her relationships remain in the same ruined condition as the broken mental institution she visits.

Her friends are determined to reach her, though. Even Mik, with whom Jaycee feels a powerful if wordless connection. As grief pushes Jaycee closer and closer to the edge, her friends realize the only way to save her is to join … Continue reading →