Reads things. Writes things. Fluent in sarcasm. Willful optimist. Cat companion, chocolate connoisseur, coffee drinker. There are some who call me Mom.
View all posts by Kasey →
March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.
Book One spans John Lewis’ youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.
Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1950s comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.
My Review
This book has been on my TBR list for a long time. I love that it brings some of the history of the Civil Rights Movement to readers who enjoy a graphic novel format. The visuals also help make the events more real. I found it easy to imagine the real-life events unfolding from the static images on the page.
This part of the series highlights the beginning of the Nashville Student Movement, which was referenced in King: A Life, the biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that I read earlier this year. Reading these two books in such close proximity helped create a broader understanding of the Civil Rights Movement, the different groups involved, and the overall timeline of events.
There are several pages on which the text shows people using the “N” word against Black people. It never stops being shocking and awful. But it does highlight the great need for change that we faced (and still face) as a nation.
I’m excited to continue reading this series and to learn more about John Lewis’ life.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 13 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content Some panels show people using the “N” word to describe Black people.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content References to church.
Violent Content Use of the N-word. Scenes show marching and sit-in protests. A few show violent responses to protestors, such as tear gas, physically dragging them away, and dumping food on them.
Drug Content None.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.
I’m wildly late getting this post together, but there are some amazing middle grade books coming winter 2025 that I desperately want to talk about, so here we are. Better late than never, I guess!
This is a pretty eclectic list, ranging from horror to fantasy to historical to contemporary to memoir. There are novels in verse and some more experimental formats. Pretty much something for everyone.
These are the books I’m most looking forward to, so there are bound to be some other highly anticipated books that I don’t have on my radar. Please leave a comment and let me know if you’re looking forward to some upcoming releases from January to March that aren’t on my list.
Note: This post contains affiliate links that do not cost you anything but help support this blog. Thanks for using them to do your shopping.
What you need to know: Kami Garcia knocks it out of the park with this sweet, encouraging story about friendship and learning with dyslexia. The illustrations are bright, friendly, and emotive. It’s brilliant.
What you need to know: A moving novel in verse about a girl who helps rescue a harbor seal and learns to deal with her own feelings as an immigrant to the US.
Published January 21, 2025 | My Review to Come
Doomsday Vault (Everwhen: School of Time Travel (and Other Odd Sciences) #1) by Thomas Wheeler
What you need to know: Inventive students from different time periods attend a special school where they face the threats of a missing dean, a time paradox, and a secret space society.
Published January 28, 2025 | My Review to Come
City Spies: London Calling (City Spies #6) by James Ponti
What you need to know: The sixth book in the popular City Spies series takes the team to Rome and back as the newest member searches for his missing sister.
What you need to know: Renée Watson is one of those authors whose name alone gets a book added to my reading list. In this novel in verse, Sage wrestles with guilt and unresolved grief over the sudden death of her best friend. Moving, heartfelt, and absolutely beautiful.
What you need to know: In this companion novel to Away, a group of kids investigates the mysterious threat responsible for large-scale evacuations. Can they unravel the conspiracy and expose the truth? Told from multiple points of view with verse, newspaper clippings, movie scripts, production diary entries, and letters.
What you need to know: A girl with a rare gift to see Nightmare creatures discovers that the monsters have begun to seep into the Waking World. She and her friends must find a way to stop them. I loved Leslie Vedder’s young adult trilogy, so I’m excited to see what she brings to this haunting middle grade series opener.
Published February 11, 2025 | My Review to Come
Investigators: Agents of S.U.I.T.: Wild Ghost Chase by John Patrick Green
What you need to know: Investigators and Agents of S.U.I.T. are quite popular around my house just now, so I know we’ll be reading this one as soon as possible. This time, Zeb the sheep joins the cast of agents tracking down the ghost of the General Inspectre to conclude his unfinished business.
Published February 18, 2025 | My Review to Come
Max in the Land of Lies: A Tale of World War II by Adam Gidwitz
What you need to know: Max returns to Berlin as a British spy to infiltrate the center of Nazi propaganda and find his parents. I heard so much about the first book in this series that I have to read this one.
What you need to know: Three cousins time travel to 1862 and race to deliver a sword to the general for the Battle of Puebla (which became the reason we celebrate Cinco de Mayo). Along the way, they learn how Latine communities have shaped US history. I love the inclusive look at history here and the spin on time travel adventure!
What you need to know: Pablo and Splash return with more zany adventures. This time they must rescue Professor O’Brain from the Ice Age. This graphic novel series is a ton of fun with a little bit of science and history threaded throughout.
What you need to know: A boy from 2023 facing a school bully writes a letter for a school assignment and throws it in his closet, only to be surprised when a girl from 1987 writes back. Looks cute, poignant, and full of heart.
What you need to know: In the follow-up to her middle grade debut, Johnson tells the story of Ellie’s best friend, Bree, whose orderly life is turned upside down when a lightning strike grants her the ability to move things with her mind. This looks like it will be hilarious and heartwarming.
What you need to know: A girl reeling from the unexpected loss of her mother finds solace in caring for a skittish horse. Méndez is a brilliant writer who deftly writes about complex emotions. I’m betting this one will be a winner.
What you need to know: When a boy and girl witness an avalanche on Mt. Everest, they set out looking for survivors, but sickness, bad weather, and a possible Nazi spy put their mission at risk. I keep missing out on the amazing books by this author– this year, I’m going to read one!
What you need to know: I loved The Moth Keeper and have been trying since then to catch up on other books by K. O’Neill. This one, about a driven ranger with an injured horse and a laid-back shepherd, explores unlikely friendship and the possibility of something more.
What you need to know: As a divorced parent, I’ve read a lot of books for kids about divorce. It’s such a complex experience for parents and kids alike. I’m always glad to see more resources available for kids especially, and especially ones that talk about blended families. I’m looking forward to this one.
What you need to know: I can’t say it better than the cover copy: Amari and the Night Brothers meets Nevermoor in this enchanting middle grade fantasy, inspired by Indian mythology and British folklore, about a neurodivergent heroine, a mysterious school, and a world of magical creatures. — Who could resist that?
What you need to know: An illustrated memoir told through anecdotes and interactive visuals. Helps readers confront discomfort with disability. I’m excited for this one. It sounds incredibly different, timely, and necessary.
What you need to know: The great great (great?) granddaughter of a famous explorer must return relics he collected to break the curse on her family. I love the inclusive spin on the Indiana Jones-type story.
Published March 25, 2025 | My Review to Come
The Girl and the Robot by Oz Rodriguez and Claribel A. Ortega
What you need to know: A girl who can fix electronics prepares to enter a contest, hoping for the prize money to bring her Papi home. Then a robot crashlands from space, broken, alone, and in need of Mimi’s help, even if it risks everything she’s worked for. Ortega is another author whose books are irresistible great.
What you need to know: The cover copy says this is perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and the series Greenwild, which is one of my favorites. I love the cover and the story’s themes about friendship.
What you need to know: Hayden and Gabe bring a mummy to the battlefield for another fight, this time against new coaches and a ghost. This series is packed with creepy crawly fun. Definitely something to read purely for fun.
Published March 25, 2025 | My Review to Come
What middle grade books coming winter 2025 are you most looking forward to reading?
Are you looking forward to any of the middle grade books on my list? Have you had a chance to read any of them yet? What else needs to be on my reading list this season? Leave a comment and let me know!
# 1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor author Renée Watson explores friendship, loss, and life with grief in this poignant new novel in verse and vignettes.
Sage’s thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn’t predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life — and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all.
In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is an important story of a girl’s journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands.
My Review
I could not put this book down, and that did not surprise me since I have LOVED everything by Renée Watson that I’ve ever read. She’s an incredibly talented writer with some serious range– writing young adult and middle grade fiction, a poetry collection, and this novel in verse. She’s amazing. I can’t say it enough.
Sage’s story drew me in from its first pages. Her grief is raw. You can feel it pulsing beneath the words on the page like a heartbeat. She feels guilty for unresolved parts of her friendship with her best friend. She envies others who got to say goodbye to their loved ones. Her feelings are moving and easy to understand.
I love the sense of community around Sage. She’s part of a grief support group for kids, and even though she feels closer to some kids than others, she learns different things from each of the kids in her group. She has meaningful relationships with adults in her life, too, beyond her parents.
The book includes an author’s note in which Watson shares that she lost 15 loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic and how this made her think about the losses that children were experiencing during that time.
All the Blues in the Sky offers hope amid the heartache and reminds us how much we need our connections to one another. I love this book and recommend it wholeheartedly.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.
Profanity/Crude Language Content None.
Romance/Sexual Content A kiss on the cheek and then the mouth.
Spiritual Content References to attending funeral services. One character describes memories of attending church with their grandmother.
Violent Content Brief descriptions of an accident in which a car struck a girl on a bike, killing her. References to someone who was murdered by police officers. Reference to fatal illnesses and loss of child and adult family members. (These are mentioned in the grief group Sage attends. They’re described appropriately for the audience.)
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.
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 with Greg Pattridge.
Now that the season is practically half over, I’m finally ready to post my list of my 25 most-anticipated YA books coming out in winter 2025. I’ve had my eye on some of these books since early last year. Others were recent discoveries. The list spans various genres from historical to fantasy to contemporary and even a few horror novels.
I’d love to know if any of these books are on your reading list, so be sure to comment below if they are or if you’ve read them already. Let me know if I’ve left off any sure winners you’re looking forward to reading this season, too!
Note: This post contains affiliate links that do not cost you anything but help support this blog. Thanks for using them to do your shopping.
What you need to know: I’m a huge fan of this author, so all I had to see was her name on the cover to add this to my reading list. However, the plot about pirates seeking a missing enemy (brother) and monsters attacking ships has me deeply intrigued.
What you need to know: If you read one book for Black History month, this would be a good one. It explores Dr. King’s life and puts many popular quotes in context. Highly recommended.
What you need to know: A girl who has been dead for seven years returns to her family. The people she left behind grapple with her return and the ways her death impacted them. I couldn’t put this down.
What you need to know: A boy with a bit of a Holden Caulfield vibe and grieving a girl he was secretly dating for a year finds letters she wrote to him before she died. This has big emotions and complicated grief.
What you need to know: A novel based on teachings by Bruce Lee. A young man enters a contest that will name the nation’s leader in martial arts. Political intrigue, magic, and romance weave through the intricate fantasy world crafted here.
What you need to know: Ell didn’t attend the ball, but when the Prince’s mystery love’s shoe fits her foot, she jumps at the chance to escape an abusive family. When she discovers a plot to harm the prince, she vows to stop it, even if it exposes her true identity. Cinderella as you’ve never seen her before! This was a really fun read.
What you need to know: A timely, carefully researched walk through the Scopes Trial and its impact on school curriculum. The parallels between this moment in history and conflicts over teaching science and history in school will be impossible to ignore.
What you need to know: An enemies-to-lovers romcom about two people trying to save a family-owned Korean coffee shop. An inclusive cast filled with great friendships and fun moments. A charming, romantic read.
What you need to know: A girl uses the mistakes in her dating history to make herself the perfect girlfriend and perhaps get revenge on the boy who broke her heart. A debut rom-com that looks smart and funny.
Published January 14, 2025 | My Review to Come
True Gretch: Lessons for Anyone Who Wants to Make a Difference (Young Adult Edition) by Gretchen Whitmer
What you need to know: Key wisdom from the governor who survived a kidnapping plot and led her state through a global pandemic for teen who want to make a difference. Funny and insightful.
What you need to know: The second book in the Forging Silver into Stars series follows the now nineteen-year-old Tycho as he seeks to preserve peace between two kingdoms as the courier to the king. Cursebreakers fans will love revisiting the familiar cast of characters and the romantic developments.
What you need to know: A girl who can sense tangible things people need uses her ability to find her missing best friend– though the ability may place her in the same danger her friend was in. A debut speculative mystery that explores justice, friendship, and family.
What you need to know: A girl running from grief over her mom’s death realizes she can communicate with a boy who lived thirty years earlier through voice recordings. Explores the ripple effects of unresolved grief. Grab your tissues for this one!
What you need to know: What if there was a deadly pandemic that… made you happy? Shusterman brings a whole different spin on a pandemic and explores the meaning of and happiness and what price people are willing to pay for it in this fascinating novel.
What you need to know: An absolutely adorable story collection in which each story connects through characters and/or events. I loved every single page. Favorite anthology so far. If you need some humor and hope in your life, grab this one!
What you need to know: A historical romance set in the late 1500s French court featuring a secret society of spies, forbidden love, and political intrigue. Sounds irresistible to me.
What you need to know: History prominently remembers Sally Ride, but what about the other five women at her side, helping to blaze the trail for female astronauts? This timely book reveals their stories.
What you need to know: After a massive snowstorm, a girl who has shut out the world reaches out for help. Contains flashbacks to childhood trauma, haunting poetry, and a sense of hope and possibility for the future. If the blurbs for this one are any indication, it is too good to miss.
What you need to know: A powerful anthology that explores the impact of book bans through fiction, essays, graphic narratives, memoir, and poetry from fifteen acclaimed authors.
What you need to know: Hindu and Buddhist folklore abound in this beautiful contemporary fantasy about a magical forest that may destroy the future and the once-friends who can save it.
What you need to know: After a catastrophic hurricane submerges a town, the wildlife mutates, and a monster tries to drown the remaining townsfolk until a girl is tasked with saving them. Looks inescapably haunting.
Published March 4, 2025 | My Review to Come
How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans
What you need to know: I’m not usually a fan of slasher stories, but I’m always intrigued by the ones that turn the tropes on their heads. A mysterious manuscript predicts new murders in a town that is no stranger to massacres. CJ vows to save the first girl slated to die, but in doing so becomes the story’s new lead.
What you need to know: Bells awake a monster in a sentient city, and Mina has to decide how far she’s willing to go to stop the evil in this gothic fantasy. Something about this reminds me of Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek, which I loved.
What you need to know: In the conclusion to the Forest Grimm duology, Clara and Axel must return to the forest to find out why villagers continue to disappear. Monsters, riddles, and more dark fairytale-ish things abound. I cannot wait for this one!
What you need to know: A bereft sibling writes letters to her brother exploring her identity. She discovers a cache of secret poetry from her brother and reads it to try to make sense of his death. Looks heartfelt and poignant.
Published March 29, 2025 | My Review to Come
What YA Books Coming Winter 2025 are you most looking forward to reading?
Are you looking forward to any of the books on my list? Have you had a chance to read any of them yet? What else needs to be on my reading list this season? Leave a comment and let me know!
Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity.”—James Baldwin
Thoughts About Reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
As I read this book, I thought back through my English literature education. Other than at least one poem by Langston Hughes in seventh grade, I can’t remember specifically reading any Black authors. It’s possible we read poetry by Maya Angelou. I especially do not remember ever reading about life in segregated America from a Black perspective, which seems like a huge thing when I think about it.
It is honestly a little bit alarming to me that I’m this old and just now reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings for the first time. I’ve read a pathetically small amount of classic literature by Black authors and/or authors of color in general. This is a problem I’m working to fix.
My Review
I love the way the author describes things. Some of the descriptions are pure poetry. Others vividly recount a moment or experience with such specificity that I felt like I was there witnessing the scene.
I listened to the audiobook version, read by the author, which I deeply enjoyed. She sings the hymns written in the text. She reads in a way that shows off the beauty of the poetic descriptions in the text while inviting the reader into each moment.
As I mentioned above, I think this is the first book I’ve read that shows segregated life in America from a Black perspective. (The more I think about it, the more I think that should absolutely be a requirement for high school literature. Wow.) I’m not sure I will ever forget the scene in which Maya and her brother hide her uncle in a vegetable bin and pile onions and potatoes on top of him because they’ve been warned that the Klan will be riding through their town looking for someone to harm.
The author describes the people in her life really well, too. As I read, I could sense both her admiration and her frustration with her mother and grandmother. These were both strong women with different values. They protected her and wounded her, sometimes knowingly, and sometimes without meaning to do so.
Conclusion
I’m so glad I read this book. It’s haunting and beautiful. There are some scenes that are hard to read (see content warnings below), but I really believe books like this are important. I am looking forward to reading more of Maya Angelou’s work.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 16 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content A couple uses of the N-word as Maya heard it used. In one scene, she lists other derogatory terms she heard used.
Romance/Sexual Content A man abuses Maya (a child) multiple times, the last time being the most violent. Descriptions are brief. It’s hard to read, but it does show the trauma and the complicated feelings and conclusions she drew from the experience as a child.
Maya worries about her body’s development. She reads about lesbianism and intersex conditions at the library and then speaks with her mom, who helps her understand that what’s happening to her body is normal development. There’s a little bit of biological description here.
One scene briefly relates Maya’s first (consensual) sexual experience. It’s not very specific except to relate how functional rather than romantic it was.
Spiritual Content References to attending church and singing hymns. Maya’s grandmother, Mama, believes that if you’re good, God will love you.
Violent Content Brief mentions of harm to children. Maya’s uncle threatens to burn her on the stove if she can’t answer his questions. She believes, looking back, that he never would have harmed her. Reference to a woman hitting a child’s legs with a switch if they didn’t wash properly or teachers striking the palms of students with rulers if they disobeyed.
Maya’s grandmother hits her as punishment for using the term “by the way,” which her grandmother considers swearing.
Drug Content Several scenes reference adults smoking cigarettes.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.
With stories from NYT bestselling and debut authors, Why on Earth uses an accidental alien invasion to explore love and identity.
What starts as a simple rescue mission for a crew of teen aliens to recover one of their own soon becomes an interstellar encounter no one will forget.
Captain Iona is organizing an impromptu retrieval for her brother, an undercover alien posing as a movie star. But her efforts go awry when a technical malfunction turns her heroic rescue into an unintentional invasion. With tales of disguised extraterrestrials stuck in theme parks, starship engineers hitchhiking to get home, and myth-inspired intergalactic sibling reunions, each story in this multi-author anthology explores the universal desire to be loved and understood, no matter where you come from. After all…aliens are just like us.
“This anthology twinkles with an adventurous spirit, quirky personalities, hope, and a sense of belonging. Stellar.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Out of this world!” ―Scott Reintgen, New York Times bestselling author of A Door in the Dark
“Epic fun exploring themes of acceptance and the desire to connect, regardless of species, Why on Earth is an absolute blast!” ―Alechia Dow, author of The Sound of Stars
“A delightful collection of offbeat, otherworldly stories filled with heartwarming moments and loads of entertaining, imaginative writing.” ―Kimberly Jones, New York Times bestselling author of I’m Not Dying with You Tonight
“An all-star lineup of brilliant authors with stories that make you laugh, feel, and cheer.” ―Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of Wish of the Wicked
“Whether it’s a story to build the world we’re beaming into, misguided crushes in the middle of an alien invasion, or the most charmingly awkward teen alien this side of the Milky Way, there will be plenty for readers to enjoy in this anthology!” ―Preeti Chhibber, author of Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot
My Review
This might be the most fun anthology that I’ve read to this point. I loved how the individual stories connected together. Each one, as the cover copy infers, explores love and identity. Some follow romantic relationships or hopes, while others explore a character’s dreams and what makes them feel they belong.
The opening story tells about an alien captain and her crew on a rescue mission to earth to retrieve a family member the captain fears is being held captive. Each story that follows connects to the stories that came before it in some way. Some of them include the same characters. Others witness the alien ship crash or lift off.
I enjoyed every single story. The individual stories feature an inclusive cast of characters. The authors captured a sense of humanity, wonder, and what it means to be alive and connected to others. This is a great anthology for this moment in time. It’s filled with hope and humor. Definitely worth a read!
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content A few stories have some limited profanity. I think a couple have the F-bomb.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing between two characters. The alien characters refer to this human experience as “a meeting of the lips,” which I found absolutely charming.
Spiritual Content None.
Violent Content Situations of peril. People react to the news of the alien ship crashlanding on earth by worrying that an invasion is imminent. Some panic. Police and other officials yell and try to clear the street to enforce a shelter-in-place order.
A few stories contain brief homophobic or transphobic comments. Some characters are misgendered or rejected for their identities. One character has been kicked out of their home because they came out to 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.
