Category Archives: By Genre

Review: Codebreaker by Jay Martel

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Codebreaker by Jay Martel

Codebreaker
Jay Martel
Wendesday Books
Published July 22, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Codebreaker

This original, interactive thriller from debut author Jay Martel follows a brilliant teenage girl as she races across D.C. to decode the clues her father left behind, which may just be the key to saving the country from a devastating tragedy.

Mia Hayes has peaceful plans for the summer—find a part-time job at a coffee shop and work on her application for Harvard. Those plans are shattered one night when government agents arrive unannounced at her home seeking something they believe her father has taken. When the dust settles, her mother is dead and her father is gone, a fugitive on the run.

Three weeks later, and still reeling from her father’s betrayal, Mia spends her seventeenth birthday at a protest in the heart of D.C., where she meets Logan, a rebellious and charming hacker. Just as she’s enjoying her first happy moment since the night her world exploded, a voicemail from her father arrives to upend everything she believed about her family, her past, and what really happened that night three weeks ago. Even more, the voicemail hides another encoded message inside which, once Mia solves it, sets her and Logan off on a mission from her sleepy suburb straight into the heart of the federal government.

With the same agents now hot on their trail, Mia and Logan must navigate their way through American history’s most iconic sites and uncover its most well-hidden secrets to reveal the truth about her family and stop a deadly attack.

In this non-stop thrill ride, the reader has the chance to test their own codebreaking skills alongside Mia, lending an exciting interactive element to this page-turning thriller packed with action, romance, and life-changing revelations.

My Review

One of the really clever things about this book is that it allows and encourages readers to break the codes along with Mia. Once the reader has all the information necessary to break a code, a certain symbol appears on the page. At that point, you can pause and break the code or keep reading and see Mia reveal the answers. I love that concept, and I had fun figuring the codes out myself as I read.

The story also kept me engaged. It’s fast-paced with short chapters, so it felt like I was reading really fast. I liked both Mia and Logan, and appreciated that the authors balanced Mia’s focus and intelligence with her fresh grief. There was one thing that I guessed before it was revealed. I don’t think it altered my enjoyment of the story.

Codebreakers feels like a great book for readers aging out of middle grade and into young adult fiction who like intense, action-packed stories. The interactive element would be great for kids interested in codes. I hope there are more books like this in our future!

Content Notes for Codebreaker

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few instances of profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Gun violence. Death of a parent. In two scenes, a person with a gun threatens to harm someone else unless Mia cooperates with them.

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.

MMGM Review: The Space Cat by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford

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The Space Cat
Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford
First Second
Published August 12, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Space Cat

Invaders from outer space have descended on Nigeria. They have no idea whose home they’re messing with.

Ah, yes, the luxurious life of a well-loved cat. It’s the best. And Periwinkle has it the cushiest. But there’s more to this pampered pet than meets the eye. He’s not just a house cat. He’s a space cat. By day, he’s showered with scritches, cuddles, and delicious chicken fillets. By night, he races through the cosmos in his custom-built spaceship.

Between epic battles with squeaky toys and working on ways to improve his ship, Periwinkle is never bored. And when his humans decide to leave the United States and move to the small but bustling town of Kaleria, Nigeria, he’s excited to explore his new home—even after he learns that many Nigerians hate cats. After all, a born adventurer like Periwinkle doesn’t shy away from new experiences. But not everything in Kaleria is as it seems. Soon enough, Periwinkle finds himself on his most out-of-this-world adventure yet, right here on Earth.

My Review

This funny graphic novel reads like a love letter to a cherished pet. The human characters, Nnedi and her daughter, don’t know their clever Periwinkle came from space and sneaks out in her spaceship to race another space cat at night. But they love her anyway.

The whole story is narrated by Periwinkle. She’s a smart, curious cat who takes readers on a fun adventure from her comfy apartment, to outer space, to Nigeria. I love her secret lair in the closet where she builds her spaceship.

The plot is evenly paced, with never a dull moment. And the engaging illustrations add to the humor of the story.

Certainly cat-fans will want to check this one out, but I think Space Cat will have broad appeal. It’s a fun, international (and intergalactic) adventure!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Mentions of prejudice against cats and owls in Nigeria. The cat sees a group of people threatening to kill an owl.

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.

Review: Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jairgirdar

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Four Eids and a Funeral
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jairgirdar
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 4, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Four Eids and a Funeral

Ex-best friends, Tiwa and Said, must work together to save their Islamic Center from demolition, in this romantic story of rekindling and rebuilding by award-winning authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar!

Let’s get one thing straight: this is a love story.

These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian Ms. Barnes dies, he must return home to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex-best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor.

Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly staying through the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on, between grieving her broken family and helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center—a place that means so much to Tiwa.

But when the Islamic Center accidentally catches fire, it turns out the mayor plans to demolish the center entirely. Things are still tense between the ex-friends but Tiwa needs Said’s help if there’s any hope of changing the mayor’s mind, and Said needs a project to submit to art school (unbeknownst to anyone). Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe save their relationship?

My Review

This is such a sweet story. The book is broken into different parts or acts, and most begin with a memory of an Eid celebration from the past. These memories highlight the trajectory of Tiwa and Said’s friendship, including how they drifted apart.

I liked the cast of characters, including the cat Laddoo. It was easy to keep track of who everyone was and how they were connected because each one felt distinct, even down to the mayor with his plastic smile and the grumpy receptionist who loved lemon bars.

I also like that the romance element proceeds at a sensible pace. Said and Tiwa have some fences to mend, and the story allows them to do that and to sift through what went wrong between them and why. It makes the shift in their feelings organic and believable. So I thought that was really well done.

The setting is also integrated into the story really nicely. The authors do a great job showing the sense of community among the families who attend the Muslim Center and the character of the small Vermont town. It made me want to visit that part of the country, especially a town with a mural festival!

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I’ve read other solo projects by both authors. I recommend Jaigirdar’s contemporary romance novels for anyone who enjoyed this book. If you’re looking for something more intense, definitely check out Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Àbíké-Íyímídé.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Talk about dating and marriage.

Spiritual Content
Tiwa and Said’s families celebrate Eid together in scenes spanning several years. References to prayer and study of the Quran.

Violent Content
Some racist microaggressions. (Tiwa, a Black Muslim, is treated differently than others sometimes because of her race. People assume she’s not a Muslim.)

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.

Review: An Encantadora’s Guide to Monstros and Magic by Sarah J. Mendonca

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An Encantadora’s Guide to Monstros and Magic
Sarah J. Mendonca
Quill Tree Books
Published July 8, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About An Encantadora’s Guide to Monstros and Magic

Encanto meets Oceans 8 in this middle-grade fantasy-adventure, set in a Portuguese-inspired world, following a tween girl who joins a notorious band of thieves to steal a priceless jewel and discovers corruption that must be stopped.

Rosa Coelho has spent her whole life hunting monstros, wandering the city streets with her best friend Tiago, and dreaming of a better life for herself and her grandmother. And in a society that favors the rich and educated, every piece of knowledge comes with a hefty price, even the most basic books Rosa’s family needs to trap monstros.

So when the powerful Ministério dos Monstros threatens her family’s struggling Encantadora shop, Rosa only has two weeks to scrape together the money for their debts. It seems like an impossible task… until Rosa tricks her way onto an infamous thief crew as their magical safecracker.

Thrust into the world of high class luxury and betrayal, Rosa is pulled into a scheme with the highest possible stakes: stealing from the Ministry itself. She must learn to trust her magical abilities and her crew—for if the heist goes wrong, everything she loves is forfeit.

My Review

This was such an easy book to read. I loved the cast of characters. The whole story is told from Rosa’s point of view, but she gets close to several others while on her mission with the thief crew. I liked that the crew members all had different personalities and secrets that made them assets and liabilities. As Rosa struggled to get to know the team and form friendships, oh, I just wanted to hug her! Her clumsy attempts made me cringe or laugh out loud. Her strong heart kept me believing she’d figure it out in the end, though.

Plot-wise, the story keeps a steady pace. The chapters are a nice length. They’re long enough that we get to dive into a scene or problem and short enough that they don’t overwhelm. I found myself leaping from one chapter to another, reading past my bedtime, because I was sure I could fit one more chapter in before it got too late.

Rosa has an interesting approach to her relationships with others. I’m not sure if there’s some neurodivergence at play, or if she’s meant to read as sheltered and inexperienced. The narrative doesn’t specify. At any rate, anyone who has struggled to form new friendships, especially in the middle-grade years, will likely empathize with Rosa.

An Encantadora’s Guide to Monstros and Magic is the first book that I’ve read with some Portuguese words in it since I started learning a little bit of the language. It was cool to recognize some words as I read, though the author offers context or translation within the narrative, so even if you were unfamiliar, you wouldn’t be lost.

Conclusion

The story offers a satisfying ending to the heist, but raises plenty of new questions for a follow-up book. It looks like a sequel is expected next year, which I’m excited about.

If you liked Monsters and Marvels by Alysa Wishingrad, you’ll want to read this monster-chasing adventure.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic. Other characters use charms and chains that have special powers. Magical creatures like fire slugs (they burn whatever they touch) exist in the story.

Violent Content
Situations of peril.

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.

Review: If I Have to Be Haunted by Miranda Sun

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

If I Have to Be Haunted
Miranda Sun
HarperCollins
Published September 26, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About If I Have to Be Haunted

Cemetery Boys meets Legendborn in this thrillingly romantic, irresistibly fun YA contemporary fantasy debut following a teenage Chinese American ghost speaker who (reluctantly) makes a deal to raise her nemesis from the dead.

Cara Tang doesn’t want to be haunted.

Look, the dead have issues, and Cara has enough of her own. Her overbearing mother insists she be the “perfect” Chinese American daughter—which means suppressing her ghost-speaking powers—and she keeps getting into fights with Zacharias Coleson, the local golden boy whose smirk makes her want to set things on fire.

Then she stumbles across Zach’s dead body in the woods. He’s even more infuriating as a ghost, but Cara’s the only one who can see him—and save him.

Agreeing to resurrect him puts her at odds with her mother, draws her into a dangerous liminal world of monsters and magic—and worse, leaves her stuck with Zach. Yet as she and Zach grow closer, forced to depend on each other to survive, Cara finds the most terrifying thing is that she might not hate him so much after all.

Maybe this is why her mother warned her about ghosts.

Delightful and compulsively readable, this contemporary fantasy has something for every reader: a snarky voice, a magnetic enemies-to-lovers romance, and a spirited adventure through a magical, unpredictable world hidden within our own.

My Review

I can see why this book is compared to Cemetery Boys. Both have ghosts who need the main character’s help. In both stories, the main character’s family doesn’t support them engaging in their supernatural gifts, though for different reasons. Both feature an enemies-to-lovers romance as a secondary plot.

I liked a lot of things about the story. At one point, Zach and Cara meet Brittany, who helps them navigate the liminal space. I loved her. She gave Cara another person to bounce thoughts and questions off of and someone to call it out when she was not being honest with herself.

In some scenes, I wished there were more setting details. The liminal space was so strange that I had difficulty picturing what was happening at a few points. Despite that, I liked the strangeness of that landscape and how it challenged Cara and Zach’s perceptions of each other.

At the beginning of the story, I really didn’t like Zach as a character. He’s rude, entitled, and kind of a bully. Through the journey he and Cara take together, the story shows how alone Zach is and how his family doesn’t seem to care about him. But I didn’t feel like it addressed the bullying and entitlement. I liked the person that Zach became, though.

A lot of things about the story made me feel like it was meant more for a younger YA audience, such as the descriptions of Cara’s friendships with the girls in her class and her rivalry with Zach. A few things made it seem more appropriate for upper YA, like some of the scarier situations they faced and the kids drinking alcohol at a party near the end.

The writing style reminds me a little bit of Katie Zhao’s books. So readers who enjoyed Dragon Warriors, her middle grade series, and are ready for YA books will probably like this one. Unlike Zhao’s books, the lore in If I Have to Be Haunted isn’t particularly based on Chinese folklore or mythology, but the tenor of the writing reminded me of her books.

Content Notes for If I Have to Be Haunted

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two characters. Someone asks if they’ve had sex.

Spiritual Content
Like her grandmother and a few others, Cara can see and speak to ghosts. She journeys with allies to a liminal space, a place between worlds, where she encounters other monsters and spiritual beings.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to cannibalism. A snake bites someone. Characters battle ghosts and monsters.

Drug Content
Zach tells a story about how he and a friend tried to sneak into his parent’s liquor cabinet when they were younger. High school students gather at a party where some teens drink alcohol.

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.

Review: Spark by Chris Baron

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Spark
Chris Baron
Feiwel & Friends
Published July 15, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Spark

As a community recovers from a devastating wildfire, two friends find their way back to each other and their homes, by award-winning author Chris Baron.

Perfect for fans of Alan Gratz and Lauren Tarshis.

Finn and his friend, nicknamed Rabbit, live in a rural area that’s been hit hard by wildfires. Families were displaced and school was interrupted. Moreover, their beloved forest is suffering — animals and plants haven’t been able to come back, and the two friends wonder if there’s anything they can do to help. Rabbit’s uncle, a science teacher, is part of a study that may help bring the forest back to life, but Finn and Rabbit wonder if the forest can wait. And what if another fire comes in the meantime? They believe a small part of the forest — the forest heart — that survived the wildfire may hold the key to regrowth, but first, they have to find it and then convince the adults around them to listen.

For any young person who’s ever felt powerless against the world, here is a story about two kids doing all they can to understand their natural world and preserve it.

My Review

This is the second novel by Chris Baron that I’ve read, but the first in verse, and what a treat! Like, it’s largely a serious story that bravely excavates some big feelings and mental health issues. I found it incredibly easy to get lost in this story, though. A couple times, I had to pause and just breathe.

In the story, Finn faces some scary situations. Afterward, he experiences some symptoms of PTSD. I remember experiencing some of the symptoms he described. Those lines took me back to those moments– it felt like the kind of observations that had to come from someone who’d been through what Finn felt.

It’s also such a hopeful story, and that’s so important. Wildfires and the threat of them is terrifying. What can one person do in the face of such a huge fire or a serious threat? Baron’s characters explore these questions themselves and look for ways they can help their families and community. They celebrate a connection with nature that others don’t always understand. As they continue sharing their hope and passion, others begin to listen and forge their own connections with the natural world.

I loved that the story faces hardship head-on but remains so focused on hope. I can’t think of anything we need more than stories that take our kids fears and experiences seriously and make space for those things but also remind us to be hopeful and remind us how powerful a little hope can be.

Expect to see Spark on end of the year favorites lists. It’s so worth reading.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Finn and his family celebrate the sabbath and attend services at a synogogue.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Finn’s family must evacuate when a fire gets too close to their home. Their escape is a bit harrowing, though the descriptions of the danger are brief. Finn learns about others who also had to hunker down (safely/with gear) and let the fire pass by. Some people lose homes. A girl searches for a missing dog. A man slides off the roof of his house (because he’s in a hurry to get his family to safety) and injures his leg.

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.