Review: She Deserves Better by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenback, and Joanna Sawatsky

She Deserves Better by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky cover shows a silhouette of a girl's face, her chin lifted

She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self, and Speaking Up
Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenback, and Joanna Sawatsky
Baker
Published April 18, 2023

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About She Deserves Better

You want your daughter to thrive–to be strong, confident, and equipped to step into the life God has for her.

But what if the church is setting your daughter up to be small?

Armed with data from an all-new survey of over 7,000 women, … Continue reading

Review: Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

Flip Turns
Catherine Arguelles
Jolly Fish Press
Published September 13, 2022

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About Flip Turns

Thirteen-year-old Maddie just wants her classmate, Lucas, to leave her alone. He keeps asking her out—as if she hasn’t already said no a thousand times! Focusing on her competitive swim team, the Electric Eels, Maddie tries to ignore him, hoping he’ll go away.

But then, when someone starts sabotaging Maddie’s family-owned pool—glass on the deck, ketchup in the pool, followed by a “code brown”—Maddie worries it’s her “admirer” trying to get even. After Maddie’s parents rule the problems at the pool just harmless pranks, Maddie and her best friend Ez decide to … Continue reading

Review: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X
Elizabeth Acevedo
HarperTeen
Published March 6, 2018

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About The Poet X

Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award-winning slam poet, about an Afro-Latina heroine who tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, … Continue reading

Review: Going Dark by Melissa da la Cruz

Going Dark by Melissa de la Cruz cover shows a girl facing the camera, her face dark. She holds up a photograph of a girl's face partly over hers.

Going Dark
Melissa de la Cruz
Union Square Co.
Published January 31, 2023

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About Going Dark

“An intense rollercoaster of a thriller and a searing indictment of which victims get our attention and sympathy.”
#1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Marie Lu

In this ripped-from-the-headlines GONE GIRL meets A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz weaves a white-knuckle YA thriller about a beautiful young influencer who vanishes after going on vacation with her boyfriend.

#WhereisAmeliaAshley

The Influencer
Amelia Ashley shares everything … Continue reading

Author Q&A with Bookerlunds Taya and Nathan Okerlund

Author Q&A with Bookerlunds, Never Lore Authors Taya and Nathan Okerlund

Author Q&A with Bookerlunds Taya and Nathan Okerlund

I knew from the moment that I first read about this book that I would request to review it. The book description and email from the author were so cleverly worded and in such a great voice! I couldn’t resist. So, I was even more thrilled when the authors offered to let me host them for a Q&A post.

If you haven’t checked out my review of NEVER LORE, please pop over there either before or after reading this post because if you like fantasy adventure middle grade books, you do NOT want to miss this one.

Let’s get to the Q&A with the Bookerlunds!

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Review: The Paper Daughters of Chinatown (Adapted for Young Readers) by Heather B. Moore and Allison Hong Merrill

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore and Allison Hong Merrill

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown (Adapted for Young Readers)
Heather B. Moore and Allison Hong Merrill
Shadow Mountain
Published April 11, 2023

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About The Paper Daughters of Chinatown

Based on the true story of two friends who unite to help rescue immigrant women and girls in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the late 1890s.

When Tai Choi leaves her home in the Zhejiang province of China, she believes it’s to visit her grandmother. But despite her mother’s opposition, her father has sold her to pay his gambling debts. Alone and afraid, Tai Choi is put on a ship … Continue reading