Category Archives: News and Fun

Review: The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill

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The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie MorrillThe Lost Girl of Astor Street
Stephanie Morrill
Blink
Published February 7, 2017

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Eighteen-year-old Piper Sail’s best friend Lydia goes missing from a neighborhood street in 1924 Chicago. Piper vows to find her friend, even if she has to take up the investigation herself. As Piper begins to hunt for Lydia, she soon learns everyone in her neighborhood hides a secret, even her father and the handsome detective who’s working the case. Piper realizes finding the truth may cost her newfound love, her respect for her family, and possibly, her own life.

I loved this book! I was hooked from the first page. Immediately we … Continue reading →

Monthly Wrap-Up: February 2017

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February 2017I feel like I always start these posts with some surprised exclamation like, OMG, how is it MARCH ALREADY?!

But we’ll move past that and get to the good stuff! First… book mail. I got so many books this month from participation in Irish Banana Blog Tours, a Disney blog tour, Children’s Literature, and directly from Bloomsbury. It was like Christmas all over again! (And if you know my family, you know we just finished celebrating Christmas like four weeks ago, so it’s like the magic continues…)

So here’s my book stash for February 2017:

Have … Continue reading →

Review: The Fearless Traveler’s Guide to Wicked Places by Peter Begler

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Fearless Traveler's Guide to Wicked Places by Peter BeglerFearless Traveler’s Guide to Wicked Places
Peter Begler
Capstone Books for Young Readers
Available March 1, 2017

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When a skull-shaped cloud kidnaps Nell’s mother and turns her into a bird, she and her brothers vow to get their mother back. To do this, they must find a powerful Fearless Traveler and persuade him to take them to a land of nightmares. Once there, they will have to make the dangerous journey to see Ravenhead, the only Dreamer who can undo the curse and return Nell’s mother to her real form. Along the way, Nell and her brother battle nightmares both outside and inside themselves. The … Continue reading →

Review: Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

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Piecing Me Together by Renee WatsonPiecing Me Together
Renée Watson
Bloomsbury
Published February 14, 2017

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About Piecing Me Together

Jade believes the only way she’ll find success is to get out of her neighborhood. That’s why she accepts a scholarship to a privileged, mostly white school. It’s why she puts her studies first—no time for boys, no time for goofing around. As a girl from a poor neighborhood, Jade knows she must appreciate the opportunities that come her way, even those that treat her as less-than. When she joins a mentorship program meant to help “at-risk” (read: black) girls, Jade’s frustration mounts. How is her so-called mentor supposed to teach … Continue reading →

Guest Post: Alternative Valentine’s Day Reading List by Renee Watson

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Piecing Me Together Guest Post by Renée Watson

Poetry was my first love.

When I was a child, I wrote poems in a journal and often created hand-made birthday or holiday cards for family and friends with my own poem penned on the inside written especially for my loved one. On Valentine’s Day, more than chocolate—I wanted a poem. I enjoyed the exchange of Valentines with my schoolmates, how we showed care for each other and took one day of the year to make sure each person in our class felt special. By high school, Valentine’s Day was no longer about friendship but more about relationships— was dating, who wasn’t. All of a sudden love was only about romance.

I’m all for romance but I also think it’s important to … Continue reading →

Review: City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

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The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrauCity of Ember
Jeanne DuPrau
Yearling Books
Published in 2003

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Lina has only known life in the City of Ember, a settlement built and stocked with all the supplies its citizens might need hundreds of years earlier. Now the shelves of the storehouses grow increasingly bare, and power outages plague everyone. When Lina and her best friend Doon discover a damaged document, Lina wonders if it could be from the Builders themselves. She and Doon work to decipher the message and save Ember before the city’s power supply fails for the last time.

I picked up this book because a friend recommended it, and I’m so glad I … Continue reading →