Review: Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez

Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez

Furia
Yamile Saied Méndez
Algonquin Young Readers
Published September 15, 2020

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About Furia

An #ownvoices contemporary YA set in Argentina, about a rising soccer star who must put everything on the line—even her blooming love story—to follow her dreams.

In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life.

At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father.

On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South … Continue reading

Review: Kyra Just for Today by Sara Zarr

Kyra, Just for Today by Sara Zarr cover shows a girl standing at the water's edge on a sandy beach, looking up and shielding her eyes from the sun.

Kyra Just for Today
Sara Zarr
Balzer + Bray
Published March 5, 2024

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About Kyra Just for Today

From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a gorgeously crafted and deeply personal story about a young girl, her alcoholic mother, and the hope that ties them together. Krya has always felt like she’s a bit too much. Too tall. Too loud. Too earnest. But she’s okay with that, because she’s got her mom. Ever since Mom got sober about five years … Continue reading

Review: Daughter of the Bone Forest by Jasmine Skye

Daughter of the Bone Forest by Jasmine Skye cover shows the head and shoulders of a blonde girl with a wolf curled behind her head and one swooping in front of her.

Daughter of the Bone Forest (Witch Hall #1)
Jasmine Skye
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 27, 2023

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About Daughter of the Bone Forest

Two girls reluctantly bound by fate must weather a dangerous courtship as a prophesied war grows ever closer in Jasmine Skye’s high-stakes, queernormative dark fantasy debut, DAUGHTER OF THE BONE FOREST.

Rosy is a bone familiar, gifted with the power to shift into animals marked with exposed bone. She spends most … Continue reading

Review: Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff

Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff

Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Humans
Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD
Avid Reader Press
Published March 2, 2021

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About Hunt, Gather, Parent

When Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff becomes a mother, she examines the studies behind modern parenting guidance and finds the evidence frustratingly limited and the conclusions often ineffective. Curious to learn about more effective parenting approaches, she visits a Maya village in the Yucatán Peninsula. There she encounters moms and dads who parent in a totally different way than we do—and raise extraordinarily kind, generous, and helpful children without yelling, nagging, or issuing timeouts. What else, Doucleff wonders, are … Continue reading

Review: Conditions of a Heart by Bethany Mangle

Conditions of a Heart by Bethany Mangle

Conditions of a Heart
Bethany Mangle
Margaret K. Mc Elderry Books
Published February 20, 2023

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About Conditions of a Heart

For fans of Talia Hibbert and Lynn Painter comes a funny and unflinchingly honest story about a teen who must come to terms with her disability and what it means for her identity, her love life, and her future.

Brynn Kwan is desperate for her high school persona to be real. That Brynn is head of the yearbook committee, the favorite for prom queen, and definitely not crumbling from a secret disability that’s rapidly wearing her down. If … Continue reading

Review: Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson

Eagle Drums by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson

Eagle Drums
Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson
Roaring Brook Press
Published September 12, 2023

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About Eagle Drums

A magical realistic middle grade debut about the origin story of the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast, a Native Alaskan tradition.

As his family prepares for winter, a young, skilled hunter must travel up the mountain to collect obsidian for knapping―the same mountain where his two older brothers died.

When he reaches the mountaintop, he is immediately confronted by a terrifying eagle god named Savik. Savik gives the boy a follow me or die like your brothers.

What comes next is a harrowing journey to the … Continue reading