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: Pauli Murray by Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasús Jennings

Pauli Murray by Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasus Jennings

Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist
Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasús Jennings
Yellow Jacket
Published February 8, 2022

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About Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist

Pauli Murray was a trailblazer who spent her life fighting for civil rights and women’s rights. Writer, lawyer, activist, priest, Pauli was a champion for justice. Her life is immortalized in this biography told in verse.

Pauli Murray was a thorn in the side of white America demanding justice and equal treatment for all. She was a queer civil rights … Continue reading

Review: The Long Run by James Acker

The Long Run by James Acker

The Long Run
James Acker
Inkyard Press
Published February 7, 2023

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About The Long Run

“A boldly authentic new voice in queer fiction.” —Abdi Nazemian, author of Stonewall Honor book Like a Love Story and The Chandler Legacies

Two track and field athletes find an unexpected but powerful love in this unapologetically blunt and unforgettably real YA debut.
 
Sebastian Villeda is over it. Over his rep. Over his bros. Over being “Bash the Flash,” fastest sprinter in South Jersey. His dad is gone, his mom is dead, and his stepfather is clueless. Bash has no idea what he wants out of life. Until he meets Sandro.
 
Sandro … Continue reading

Author Q&A with Jacqueline Jules

Author Q&A with Jacqueline Jules

Author Q&A with Jacqueline Jules

Today, I’m excited to share a Q&A with the author of more than 50 books for young readers, and most particularly, the author of My Name is Hamburger, which I reviewed yesterday. Jacqueline Jules shares some of the inspiration behind favorite characters, why she chose to write Trudie Hamburger’s story in verse, and more.

Q: What is your favorite thing about Trudie Hamburger? What inspired you to create her?

Trudie is a version of myself at her age. My Name is Hamburger was inspired by my own childhood in a small southern town as a Jewish minority. Writing this book gave me the opportunity to recall both pleasant and not-so-pleasant memories … Continue reading

Review: My Name is Hamburger by Jacqueline Jules

My Name is Hamburger by Jacqueline Jules

My Name is Hamburger
Jacqueline Jules
Kar-Ben Publishing
Published October

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About My Name is Hamburger

Trudie Hamburger is the only Jewish kid living in the small southern town of Colburn in 1962. Nobody else at her school has a father who speaks with a German accent or a last name that means chopped meat. Trudie doesn’t want to be the girl who cries when Daniel Reynolds teases her. Or the girl who hides in the library to avoid singing Christian songs in music class.

She doesn’t want to be different. But over the course of a few pivotal months, as Trudie … Continue reading

Review: Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson

Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson cover shows a young woman with dark hair in the foreground holding the pommel of a sword. A young dark-haired man stands behind her looking at her.

Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Sorcery of Thorns #1.5)
Margaret Rogerson
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published January 17, 2023

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About Mysteries of Thorn Manor

In this sequel novella to SORCERY OF THORNS, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas must unravel the magical trap keeping them inside Thorn Manor in time for their Midwinter Ball!

Elisabeth Scrivener is finally settling into her new life with sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn. Now that their demon companion Silas … Continue reading

Review: The Architect by Jonathan Starrett

The Architect by Jonathan Starrett

The Architect
Jonathan Starrett
Tyndale House
Published February 7, 2023

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About The Architect

There’s a golden rule in Phantom City: “No one about when the Zeppelin is out.” But one night, twelve-year-old Charlie Crane comes face-to-face with the Zeppelin, and instead of finding trouble, she is awakened.

Determined to find the truth in a city plagued with lies, Charlie, along with a quirky band of unlikely heroes, works to free the people of Phantom City from the clutches of a shadowy, evil villain. Helped by a mysterious Architect who only communicates over radio and telephone, Charlie wrestles with two big questions: Can she trust a guide … Continue reading