Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on Review: The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers

The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen RiversThe Girl in the Well is Me
Karen Rivers
Algonquin Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When tough circumstances force Kammie’s family to relocate, she’s determined to make the most of the change. She approaches the prettiest, most popular girls and attempts to join their group. Only what results is Kammie standing on a board that splits and sends her tumbling into a well. Trapped and slowly sinking further, Kammie begs her new “friends” to help her get out. As she waits for them to bring help (and wonders if they’ve simply abandoned her) she begins to think about the good times lost and the struggles … Continue reading →

Review: Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire by Sundee T Frazier

By | | , ,
2 Comments

Cleo Edison Oliver Playground Millionaire by Sundee T Frazer

Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire
Sundee T. Frazier
Scholastic, Inc.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire

Cleo wants to be just like her role model, Miss Fortune A. Davies, a famous businesswoman with a nightly TV show motivating young entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. Cleo has lots of ideas to make money, from selling avocados off the tree in the back yard to her latest and greatest idea ever: a nearly painless tooth-pulling service. As Cleo’s business succeeds, she gets even more excited. Unfortunately, not everyone in her life is as thrilled as she is. Her best friend begins to withdraw, and Cleo has some … Continue reading →

Upcoming Reviews: March 2016

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on Upcoming Reviews: March 2016

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.

Continue reading →

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

By | | , , , , ,
16 Comments

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

Continue reading →

Top Ten Diverse Reads

By | | , , , ,
8 Comments

TTTTop Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is top ten books which are outside the normal scope of what we read. I am pretty territorial about my reading time, so I pretty much stick to young adult and middle grade fiction with a few nonfiction books thrown in for sanity sake. This made the topic was a little tough for me. One of the things I’ve realized over the last year or so is that sometimes I need to be purposeful about choosing books with narrators who are different than me. Whether that means different in terms of race, gender, identity, or experience. Here are ten books that I really enjoyed … Continue reading →

Review: Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

By | | , , , ,
Comments Off on Review: Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day GeorgeTuesdays at the Castle
Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Castle Glower isn’t like any other fairy tale castle. Every Tuesday, new room appear, existing rooms may find themselves located in entirely new parts of the castle. Guests may even discover their rooms becoming more or less luxurious depending on their behavior toward the king. The youngest in her family, Princess Celie catalogs the castle’s changes in an atlas. When her parents go missing, leaving Celie, her brother and sister behind, the three siblings must work together to thwart nefarious plans by the council and visiting princes, and with the Castle as their ally, they just might … Continue reading →