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Review: The Redemption of Daya Keane by Gia Gordon

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The Redemption of Daya Keane by Gia Gordon

The Redemption of Daya Keane
Gia Gordon
Publisher
Published May 28, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Redemption of Daya Keane

The end of Daya Keane’s junior year in Escondido, Arizona, is anything but expected.

And it starts when her longtime, swoon-worthy crush, Beckett Wild, actually talks to her at a party neither of them should’ve been at.

But as Daya’s best friends, Stella and B’Rad, are quick to point out, smart, cute, artistic Beckett is also the poster girl for the wildly popular youth group at Grace Redeemer, the megachurch Daya’s mom prays at and pushes her daughter to attend.

Amid the concert-worthy light shows, high-energy live band, and pastor preaching to love thy neighbor so long as thy neighbor “gets right with God” first, Daya struggles to find her place in a house of worship that doesn’t seem to create space for someone like her. Then again, she never planned to fall this hard for a girl like Beckett Wild.

Now Daya has to decide how far she’s willing to surrender to Beckett’s world of Grace Redeemer, and who she’s willing to become to be with her.

A fearless and profound tale ideal for readers of Jeff Zentner and Jennifer Dugan, The Redemption of Daya Keane gives an intimate and unforgettable look into a world that demands to be seen.

My Review

This might be the most triggering book that I’ve ever read in terms of its religious representation. I’ll get to that, though.

First, I want to say that this book is one of those debuts that really doesn’t read like a debut. The characterization is so perfect. The banter between characters feels so authentic and had me literally laughing out loud in a few scenes. I love Daya and her two closest friends so much.

In the story, Daya visits a church that reminds me of places I’ve attended myself in the past. The worship service is highly polished and filled with songs that sound identical to those performed by popular artists on the radio. It’s funny because I grew up in that environment, so reading about someone looking in from the outside was a whole new experience for me.

Daya’s critique of the church world rang true. She spots hypocrisy in the way the church has perfected its merchandising and glittery appeal. Her assessment of the kids in the Great Wait club also landed a bullseye. It made me think of a passage from Barking to the Choir by Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle:

“In a recent New Yorker profile of American Baptists, the congregation’s leadership resigned itself to the fact that “secular culture” would always be “hostile” to Christianity. I don’t believe this is true. Our culture is hostile only to the inauthentic living of the gospel. It sniffs out hypocrisy everywhere and knows when Christians aren’t taking seriously what Jesus took seriously.”

That’s how the scenes in this book struck me. It’s not that Daya was necessarily on a deep spiritual quest, though she was desperately trying to understand her mom’s perspective and wanted to give the church a chance for her mom’s sake. But instead of finding life, and life abundant, she found a performative, control-based, rules-oriented organization that devalued her without ever bothering to get to know her.

All that to say that this book struck a deep chord with me, and I have a feeling I’ll return to this story again in the future. If you like young adult books by Jeff Zentner or Adam Sass, definitely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex. One scene includes characters undressing and a brief description of sex.

Spiritual Content
Daya attends church with her mother, religious club meetings, and a dance centered around abstinence.

Violent Content
Several scenes include homophobic statements and beliefs, including reference to conversion therapy and being kicked out of one’s home because of being LGBTQIA+.

One character reveals that their parents died by murder-suicide. A man drunkenly rages in a nearby house.

Drug Content
References to teen drinking and smoking pot. In one scene, Daya smokes with two other teens.

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: Threat of the Spider by Michael P. Spradlin

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Threat of the Spider (The Web of the Spider #2)
Michael P. Spradlin
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published June 24, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Threat of the Spider

A twelve-year-old boy searches for his father and fights for free press amid the chilling rise of Hitler’s Germany in this second book in the action-packed middle grade series Web of the Spider for fans of I Survived and A Night Divided.

Ansel has never been afraid to say what’s on his mind. He’s always the first among his friends to speak up when something doesn’t feel right. When the Hitler Youth first set up shop in Heroldsberg the year before, Ansel quickly made enemies of the chapter’s arrogant leader, Hans. Of course, Ansel is also twelve years old, so he spends much of his time reading his favorite Dirk Goodly, Boy Detective novels and trying to make his friends laugh.

But more and more of his classmates have been swayed by Hans’s tactics and the Youth organization is growing throughout the city. Ansel knows that Hans and his group are spreading false information—after all, Ansel’s father is a journalist for the local paper and has been going toe to toe with Nazi propaganda for a long time.

Then Ansel’s father goes missing right before a prominent Nazi leader comes to town. With the local police in the Nazi’s pocket, can Ansel and his friends use their detective skills to find his father and thwart the Nazi’s plans to suppress the truth?

My Review

This book came out at kind of a wild moment for US residents. (Have we had NOT wild moments lately? Hmm.)

So this one takes place in 1930 in Heroldsberg. The Hitler Youth are a growing organization, and one Ansel and his friends have zero interest in joining. Ansel’s father is a journalist who continues to report on violence against his Jewish neighbors and the harm of the Nazi rhetoric.

It’s clear that Ansel’s family is being targeted because of his father speaking out. Ansel and his friends routinely encounter a group of boys in the HJ who bully them.

Despite those heavy topics, Ansel’s tone is light. He’s smart and tends to view things with a wry sense of humor. He and his friends settle a dispute with the HJ boys in a game of capture the flag. At one point, he is mystified by a girl’s strange shy behavior, and when someone tells him it must be because she’s in love, he thinks, wow, who could she be in love with? Which definitely got a little chuckle out of me.

The content stays appropriate for the audience while relating critical facts about German history. It’s nicely done. It’s just also quite surreal to read about this period in history right now.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially that about World War II will not want to miss this series. Here’s my review of the first book, Rise of the Spider.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Vague references to characters swearing. What they say isn’t listed.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vague references to a girl having a crush on someone. Ansel can’t figure out who it is.

Spiritual Content
References to some characters Jewish identities.

Violent Content
Ansel and his friends get into arguments and later a fight with members of the Hitler Youth program. Someone kidnaps another person. A man with a gun chases Ansel and fires the gun. Someone lies on the ground, apparently the victim of gun violence.

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: Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky by Pari Thomson

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Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky (Greenwild #3)
Pari Thomson
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published June 3, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Greenwild: The Forest in the Sky

The Secret Garden meets A Wrinkle in Time in the spellbinding final book of the New York Times-bestselling Greenwild series.

Daisy and her friends may have defeated the Grim Reapers in Iffenwild, but it’s clear that the battle for the Greenwild is only just beginning…

With the support of the Iffenwilders and their mighty water magic, Daisy and her friends are finally setting off to rescue the Botanists held prisoner in the heart of the Amazon rainforest – including Daisy’s ma and the Prof’s grandfather.

But when an unexpected attack sends the rescue mission spinning off course, Daisy, Indigo, and the Prof find themselves in the Amazon alone – where they must draw on every ounce of their courage, magic, and ingenuity to survive. This is a battle that can’t be won single-handedly, and Daisy will need the support of her new friend Max, a strange Grayside girl called Fen, and the massed might of the Amazerians, guardians of the biggest and most magical pocket in the Greenwild – if she is to take on the Reapers once and for all.

Readers will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to the Greenwild series.

My Review

I’ve been eagerly following this series from the very beginning. Reading the last book in a series is always bittersweet, because it means the characters’ journeys end, but it also means we know how the story plays out. I saved reading this one for the perfect moment in my recovery, when I’d be able to read far past bedtime and get completely lost in the pages.

The story follows two groups of characters. First, there’s Daisy, Indigo, and Prof, who head off to the Amazon to find the Greenwild pocket of Amazeria. Then, there’s Max and Acorn, who try to follow them and end up on a separate adventure. The chapters alternate between Daisy and Max’s points of view. I think the chapters from Max’s perspective had a sweet tenderness to them as he discovered things about his family members that he never knew and had the space to grow into his magic and his identity.

I also liked the way that magic is used through the course of the book. Daisy can talk to plants and do some plant magic. Indigo can talk to animals. Max has water magic. These abilities come in handy in sometimes unexpected ways. I liked that all of them had value and limits, so no one ability was outsized.

The ending of the book unfolds so quickly. (Or maybe I just read it quickly because I was so eager??) There were a couple of moments in which the identity of some characters is revealed, and I found myself wishing we’d lingered in that realization a little bit more. It was totally okay as is. I don’t think any of those reveals were shortchanged. Possibly, I just wanted longer to revel in the ending of the book and to spend a little more time in this rich story world.

I think readers who enjoy rich, magical fantasy stories will really enjoy getting lost in this botanical series. The story explores family relationships and found family as well as finding courage and bravery within oneself. It’s got strong positive messages and a powerful, hopeful message.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vague references to a possible crush between characters.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can do magic. There’s green magic, or magic involving plants and blue magic, or magic involving water.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief battles between Reapers and Botanists. In one scene, Caimans chase the characters. One bites a character (happens off-scene). Reference to a quarrel that ends in murder (happens off-scene). Someone offers themselves to an enemy in place of another character. In one scene, a falling tree lands on a cat.

Drug Content
Plants cause dreams, remedy illnesses, and cause confusion, depending on the type and use.

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: We Could Be Magic by Marissa Meyer and Joelle Murray

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

We Could Be Magic
Marissa Meyer
Art by Joelle Murray
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 3, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Could Be Magic

A swoon-worthy young adult graphic novel about a girl’s summer job at a theme park from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

When Tabitha Laurie was growing up, a visit to Sommerland saved her belief in true love, even as her parents’ marriage was falling apart. Now she’s landed her dream job at the theme park’s prestigious summer program, where she can make magical memories for other kids, guests, and superfans just like her. All she has to do is audition for one of the coveted princess roles, and soon her dreams will come true.

There’s just one problem. The heroes and heroines at Sommerland are all, well… thin. And no matter how much Tabi lives for the magic, she simply doesn’t fit the park’s idea of a princess.

Given a not-so-regal position at a nacho food stand instead, Tabi is going to need the support of new friends, a new crush, and a whole lot of magic if she’s going to devise her own happily ever after. . . without getting herself fired in the process.

With art by Joelle Murray, the wonder of Sommerland comes to life with charming characters and whimsical backdrops. We Could Be Magic is a perfect read for anyone looking to get swept away by a sparkly summer romance.

My Review

I was so excited to receive a finished copy of We Could Be Magic from the publisher in my mailbox a few days after I had surgery recently. It was a really nice pick-me-up at a time when I needed one!

It’s such an enthusiastic story. Tabi has the epitome of a can-do attitude. She shows up at her summer internship determined to bring the Summerland magic to every guest encounter she has. I loved that.

It was hard to watch some of her setbacks, just because she deserved so much more. But, as she finds allies and even a romance, you see the tide start to turn for her. Her hard work pays off in big and unexpected ways.

So Tabitha works at a theme park that’s been a huge part of her life. She loves the line of princess movies and the magic of the theme park experience. It’s not hard to squint and see some parallels to another popular theme park with a canon of princess stories.

I think this book would work really well as a transitional read for upper middle grade readers and those ready to transition to young adult books. The themes (summer romance, summer internship, and the importance of a positive attitude) give We Could Be Magic broad appeal.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A few instances of fat shaming.

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: You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

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You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!
Alex Gino
Scholastic Press
Published September 25, 2018

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!

Alex Gino, the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Melissa, is back with another sensitive tale based on increasingly relevant social justice issues.

Jilly thinks she’s figured out how life works. But when her sister, Emma, is born deaf, she realizes how much she still has to learn. The world is going to treat Jilly, who is white and hearing, differently from Emma, just as it will treat them both differently from their Black cousins.

A big fantasy reader, Jilly makes a connection online with another fantasy fan, Derek, who is a Deaf, Black ASL user. She goes to Derek for help with Emma but doesn’t always know the best way or time to ask for it.

As she and Derek meet in person, have some really fun conversations, and become friends, Jilly makes some mistakes . . . but comes to understand that it’s up to her, not Derek to figure out how to do better next time–especially when she wants to be there for Derek the most.

Within a world where kids like Derek and Emma aren’t assured the same freedom or safety as kids like Jilly, Jilly is starting to learn all the things she doesn’t know–and by doing that, she’s also working to discover how to support her family and her friends.

With You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!, award-winning author Alex Gino uses their trademark humor, heart, and humanity to show readers how being open to difference can make you a better person, and how being open to change can make you change in the best possible ways.

My Review

I’m so grateful that middle grade fiction includes work by Alex Gino. They are an incredibly talented writer, but more than simply having a gift with words, they have a wonderful way of bringing important conversations into the middle grade sphere and creating opportunities for MG readers to talk about these important things. I love how they never talk down to their readers, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end of this book acknowledging some components of the story and revealing some of the research done along the journey to bring it to the page.

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! is the second book by Gino I’ve read. I started with Melissa, and I knew before I’d finished that I would want to read more by this author.

In this novel, Jilly hears troubling news stories about Black teens and children being shot by police. In one instance, a Deaf Black girl is shot after she does not respond to police commands she cannot hear.

At the same time that the news stories unfold around her, Jilly experiences uncomfortable family gatherings. Relatives say sometimes well-meaning but racist things to her aunt, a Black woman. When a rift in the family occurs, Jilly wants to understand why. She wants to know what she can do to support her aunt and cousins.

Additionally, Jilly’s parents have a new baby who was born with hearing loss. As the family navigates medical questions and decisions, Jilly discovers she doesn’t understand a lot about Deaf culture.

It might seem like the book has a lot of threads running through it, and it does. Gino ties all these ideas together nicely through Jilly’s experience trying to learn the right things to say and sometimes making big mistakes.

Ultimately, Jilly learns that avoiding mistakes isn’t the solution. Learning to try, make changes, and brave uncomfortable conversations help her form closer bonds with people from different communities. I love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jilly has a crush on a boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Reference to police brutality and the deaths of two Black children at the hands of police. (Nothing happens on scene.)

Some racist or ableist comments. (No slurs used. These are more like microaggressions and ignorance, but still harmful and hurtful.)

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.

Review: Heir of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton Murray

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Heir of Storms (Storm Weaver #1)
Lauryn Hamilton Murray
Roaring Brook Press
Published June 3, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Heir of Storms

Red Queen meets Shadow and Bone in this explosive start to a YA romantasy trilogy about dangerous magic, forbidden love, and a cut-throat competition for the throne in an empire where crowns are not inherited — they’re won.

The very day Blaze came into the world, she almost drowned it. A Rain Singer born into one of the most powerful fire-wielding families in the empire, Blaze’s birth summoned a devastating storm that left thousands dead. She’s been hidden away ever since with a dark secret: the same torrential power that branded her an outcast disappeared that fateful day. And she’s not sure she wants it back.

When an unexpected invitation arrives for Blaze and her twin brother, Flint, to compete as future rulers of the empire, she’s suddenly thrust into the limelight again — and into battle. Threats abound at the Golden Palace, where intrigue and romance await with not one but two handsome suitors: the enchanting Crown Prince and a dangerously alluring newcomer at court.

As Blaze explores her untapped power, she discovers the throne may be within her grasp. But in order to take it, she’ll have to leave behind the stories that others have told about her, and find the courage to write her own.

My Review

Wow. Okay. I am having a hard time organizing my thoughts about this one. It was super easy to read. I just had surgery, so I was struggling to get back into reading, having a hard time focusing, stuff like that. And when I picked up this book, the story immediately drew me in.

Blaze has a lot of guilt. She’s a twin child in a family with powerful fire magic, but she somehow has water magic. And not just water magic, but water magic that killed a ton of people on the day she was born.

I thought it was interesting that the book created this moment to focus on what might happen when babies are born with magic power. She had no understanding of what she was doing to anyone else. She was literally a baby. And yet, people died. It’s one of those things that maybe other magic-based fantasies skim past or overlook. It was interesting for this book to highlight that and make it a critical moment in Blaze’s life.

I loved the magic competition. Basically, the gods of the story world determine when it’s time to pass the crown to the next generation. When this happens, there’s an eclipse. Competitors with different types of magic fight for the top positions serving the emperor as kings or queens. They remain rulers of their own magic users and serve as advisors to the emperor. So that process begins and Blaze, of course, must compete.

The competition brings up some interesting magic rules and political intrigue. Blaze herself feels caught between the attention of two powerful guys. I wasn’t the biggest fan of either one of them, but I’m intrigued to see where the story goes. The conclusion of the book kind of makes it clear who the true love interest is, and I think I’m willing to see if he’s actually worthy of her.

Conclusion

Overall, I definitely see the comparisons to Red Queen and Shadow and Bone. There’s a lot of politics and magic, as well as at least one possible love interest who might turn out to be the villain? I will absolutely follow this series into the second book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are born with the ability to do certain kinds of magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Bullying. Battle scenes. One character is enslaved.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at social functions. One character gets very drunk on a painful anniversary.

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.