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: Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland

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Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee

Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea
Sunju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland
Amulet Books
Published September 13, 2016

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About Every Falling Star

EVERY FALLING STAR, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create … Continue reading →

Author Interview and Giveaway with Monica Lee Kennedy

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The amazing Monica Lee Kennedy joins me today to talk about her series The Parting Breath in which the land itself is sentient. Check out what inspired the story and its characters here in the interview and don’t miss out on your chance to win a copy of the series opener, The Land’s Whisper! Giveaway details will be at the end of this post.

Interview with Author Monica Lee Kennedy

I find that a story was often inspired by a question. Was there a question that inspired you to write The Parting Breath series?

It wasn’t a question that drew me to write this story, but more of a sense of dissatisfaction. I was displeased by all the novels laden with sex and unappealing … Continue reading →

Review: Wrecked by Maria Padian

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wreckedWrecked
Maria Padian
Algonquin Young Readers

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In the midst of Haley’s recovery from a concussion, she learns her roommate has been raped. As Jenny wrestles with the aftermath of the trauma, she’s faced with a lot of decisions: should she report the incident to the college? Should she go to the police? She depends on Haley for support, a burden which Haley isn’t sure she’s capable of shouldering. Especially when a group of aggressive feminists rally around Jenny to support her and convince her to respond the way they believe is best.

In this midst of all this, Haley meets Richard, a handsome fellow student and math tutor. Just when it seems she may … Continue reading →

Author Interview and Giveaway with Cat Clarke

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Irish Banana Tours BannerAuthor Cat Clarke is here today to talk about what inspired her novel The Lost and the Found, a story about a girl abducted as a child who returns home thirteen years later. Stick around for the interview and then enter the giveaway for a chance to win one of three copies of The Lost and the Found. To start us off, here’s some more about the story:

the-lost-and-the-found-low-resThe Lost and the Found
Cat Clarke
Crown Books for Young Readers

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LOST.

When six-year-old Laurel Logan … Continue reading →

Review: Melissa by Alex Gino

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Melissa by Alex Gino

Melissa (previously published as George)
Alex Gino
Scholastic Press
Published August 25, 2015

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About Melissa

BE WHO YOU ARE.

When people look at Melissa, they think they see a boy named George. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl.

Melissa thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be CHARLOTTE’S WEB. Melissa really, really, really wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part… because she’s a boy.

With the help of her best friend, Kelly, Melissa comes up with … Continue reading →

Review: Pax by Sarah Pennypacker

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Pax by Sarah PennypackerPax
Sara Pennypacker
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Balzer + Bray

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From Goodreads

Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes … Continue reading →