Review: The Byways by Mary Pascual

The Byways by Mary Pascual cover shows a large keyhole shaped opening with a golden cat walking past, its shadow filling the bottom of the opening.

The Byways
Mary Pascual
Sparkpress
Published June 6, 2023

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About The Byways

Neurodivergent high school student CeeCee Harper has a temper, and a reputation for trouble. Angry at the rumors and afraid she’ll never fit in, she makes a wrong move—and lands in the Byways, a world of alleys, magic, and forgotten people . . . some that aren’t even human. And if she doesn’t escape quickly, CeeCee learns, she’ll be trapped for good.

Searching for a way out, she gets lost among monsters, … Continue reading

Review: The Hunt for the Hollower by Callie C. Miller

The Hunt for the Hollower by Callie C. Miller cover shows a girl holding a glowing scepter in the foreground. A boy reaches for her from above and behind her. A girl and boy stand back to back in the upper left background.

The Hunt for the Hollower
Callie C. Miller
Aladdin Books
Published June 13, 2023

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About The Hunt for the Hollower

In this riff on Arthurian legend, a wizardess who is still mastering her powers goes on an epic quest to save her brother from an evil wizard in this middle grade magical adventure perfect for fans of Adam Gidwitz and Amanda Foody!

The great wizard Merlyn prophesied that his seventh … Continue reading

Review: Everyone Wants to Know by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Everyone Wants to Know by Kelly Loy Gilbert cover shows a girl and boy standing back to back. She faces the camera.

Everyone Wants to Know
Kelly Loy Gilbert
Simon & Schuster
Published June 13, 2023

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About Everyone Wants to Know

This ripped-from-the-tabloids young adult drama by the critically acclaimed author Kelly Loy Gilbert about a girl’s famous-for-being-famous family fracturing from within as their dirty laundry gets exposed.

The Lo family sticks together. That’s what Honor has been told her whole life while growing up in the glare of the public eye on Lo and Behold , the reality show about her, her four siblings, and their parents.

Their show may … Continue reading

Review: The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi

The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi

The Kingdom Over the Sea
Zohra Nabi
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published June 6, 2023

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About The Kingdom Over the Sea

Aru Shah meets One Thousand and One Nights in this lavish middle grade adventure following a girl who must travel to a mystical land of sorceresses, alchemists, jinn, and flying carpets to discover her heritage and fulfill her destiny.

My own Yara, if you are reading this, then something terrible has happened, and you are on your own. To return to the city of Zehaira, you must read out the words on the back of this letter… Good luck, my brave girl.

Continue reading

Review: Time Out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald

Time Out by Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner cover shows two boys, one in a basketball uniform and the other in long pants and a jacket sitting on the bottom row of the bleachers together. Items are scattered around them on the floor of the gym and on the bleachers.

Time Out
Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald
Simon & Schuster
Published May 30, 2023

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About Time Out

Heartstopper meets Friday Night Lights in this keenly felt coming-of-age story about a teen hometown hero who must find out who he is outside of basketball when his coming out as gay costs him his popularity and place on the team.

In his small Georgia … Continue reading

Review: Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon

Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon

Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta’s Academy #1)
Sandhya Menon
Simon Pulse
February 18, 2020

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About Of Curses and Kisses

The first novel in a series set at an elite international boarding school, that’s a contemporary spin on Beauty and the Beast.

Will the princess save the beast?

For Princess Jaya Rao, nothing is more important than family. When the loathsome Emerson clan steps up their centuries-old feud to target Jaya’s little sister, nothing will keep Jaya from exacting her revenge. Then Jaya finds out she’ll be attending the same elite boarding school as Grey Emerson, and it feels like the opportunity … Continue reading