Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, Spirituality, , , , , ,
Twi Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen

Two Tribes
Emily Bowen Cohen
Heartdrum
Published August 15, 2023

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About Two Tribes

In her poignant debut graphic novel inspired by her own life, Emily Bowen Cohen embraces the complexity, meaning, and deep love that comes from being part of two vibrant tribes. Mia is still getting used to living with her mom and stepfather, and to the new role their Jewish identity plays in their home. Feeling out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, Mia finds herself thinking more and more about her Muscogee father, who lives with his new family in Oklahoma. Her mother doesn’t want to talk about him, but Mia can’t help but feel like she’s missing a part of herself without him in her life.

Soon, Mia makes a plan to use the gifts from her bat mitzvah to take a bus to Oklahoma—without telling her mom—to visit her dad and find the connection to her Muscogee side she knows is just as important as her Jewish side. This graphic novel by Muscogee-Jewish writer and artist Emily Bowen Cohen is perfect for fans of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. It is published by Heartdrum, an imprint that centers stories about contemporary Indigenous young people.

My Review

This is one of those books where I have to separate my feelings as a divorced parent from my thoughts about a kid reading this book. It was so easy to identify with Mia’s mom’s struggle with her relationship with her dad. Kids have a right to have relationship with both parents, but it can be really tricky to figure out how to do that safely. And to figure out the difference between safe for your kid and comfortable for you as the other parent. (Because there can be a huge difference.)

Mia’s mom definitely doesn’t do everything right (which she acknowledges). Her dad also has some mistakes to own up for. I liked how both parents are portrayed as imperfect and still learning. That’s pretty real, too.

Mia’s experiences also resonate as realistic. Her hunger to know both parts of her family history is palpable. As she’s able to fill in some of the gaps in her history and culture, she blossoms. It bolsters her confidence. I love that we can see the impact of both cultures on her life.

This book has been on my reading list for a while, but it wasn’t until I spotted it on the shelf at the library that I realized it was a graphic novel. I love seeing a story about Jewish and Muscogee heritage in graphic novel format. If you enjoy stories about family connections and culture, definitely pick this one up.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Mentions of Jewish holidays and traditions. Mia attends a powwow with her family. Mentions of Muscogee traditions and spiritual practices and beliefs. Mia’s cousin shares a Muscogee creation story with her. Mia studies Torah with the rabbi, learning about Jonah. Mia’s dad attends church.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library. All opinions are my own.

Review: A Matter of Murder by Tirzah Price

Book Review and Content, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

A Matter of Murder (A Lizzie & Darcy Mystery #2)
Tirzah Price
Storytide
Published November 11, 2025

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About A Matter of Murder

The thrilling conclusion to the Lizzie & Darcy Mysteries duology, following Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy from the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series!

A Bingley family curse looms over Lizzie’s sister and Darcy’s best friend—but are the dark forces at work supernatural or human?

Lizzie Bennet’s beloved sister Jane has just married Darcy’s best friend, Bingley, and the Bennet family and Darcy are paying the newlyweds a visit at Bingley’s family home, Netherfield Park. It doesn’t take long for their country retreat to turn into an investigation, though, when a long-dead body is discovered stuffed up the parlor chimney.

The locals are convinced that Netherfield is cursed, but Lizzie and Darcy know better than to believe in such nonsense and are determined to uncover the truth about what happened to the mysterious man in the chimney. But as they dig deeper into the history of Netherfield Park, they find that danger is waiting for them around every corner. Soon enough, they’re forced to consider if the curse might have some merit to it, or if there’s something—or someone—far more sinister behind their near brushes with death….

This duology closer is a daring and delightful conclusion to the chronicles of supersleuths Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy!

My Review

More cozy mysteries featuring Jane Austen characters! Yet again, I find that this book arrived in my life at just the right moment. It was a joy to read this. The writing is smooth, so I flew through the pages. The characters are engaging, and the setting enjoyable.

If you’re a stickler for your historical fiction *sounding* like historical fiction… the writing here might feel too modern for you, especially if you are looking for something written more like the original work. But if you simply need more adventures with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy at the helm, you definitely want to check out this series.

This is the second book in the “Lizzie and Darcy Murder Mysteries” duology, so if you’re new to this story universe, start with Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price, which is part of her “Jane Austen Murder Mysteries” series. (Sense and Second-degree Murder is still my favorite!) From there, you’ll want to pick up In Want of a Suspect, which is book one in the spin-off duology.

I especially love that the author offers Charlotte Lucas, who is a biracial woman in this reimagining of the story, an alternate, happier romance. I will always love the original story and respect Charlotte’s pragmatism, but I love that this story offers her the happiness she deserves.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity a few times. I love Georgiana Darcy’s response to this.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
References to attending Anglican church services. At one point, a character wonders whether another is. *gasp* a Catholic.

Violent Content
Mr. Darcy discovers a body (sort of a mummified skeleton) in the fireplace flue. He examines the clothes and personal items the murder victim carried as well as noting evidence of a head injury. (Later, characters briefly recount a recap of what happened to this person.) A heavy object falls from above, seriously injuring someone. Someone kidnaps a character and holds two people hostage in exchange for another’s cooperation. Someone fires a handgun at another person. References to someone being sentenced to hanging. (Not shown on scene.)

Drug Content
Adult characters drink alcohol occasionally. One character appears drunk at a funeral.

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: These Bodies Ain’t Broken edited by Madeline Dyer

Anthology or Collection, Book Review and Content, Horror, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

These Bodies Ain’t Broken
edited by Madeline Dyer
Page Street YA
Published October 7, 2025

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About These Bodies Ain’t Broken

A monstrous transformation within your own body.
A sacrificial imprisonment.
A fight to the death against an ancient evil.

These stories showcase disabled characters winning against all odds.

Outsmarting deadly video games, hunting the predatory monster in the woods, rooting out evil within their community, finding love and revenge with their newly turned vampire friend—this anthology upends expectations of the roles disabled people can play in horror. With visibly and invisibly disabled characters whose illnesses include Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, PTSD, and more, each entry also includes a short essay from the author about the conditions portrayed in their stories to further contextualize their characters’ perspectives. From breaking ancient curses to defying death itself, these 13 horror stories cast disabled characters as heroes we can all root for.

Contributors include bestselling and award-winning as well as emerging authors: Dana Mele, Lillie Lainoff, Soumi Roy, Anandi, Fin Leary, S.E. Anderson, K. Ancrum, Pintip Dunn, Lily Meade, Mo Netz, P.H. Low, and Carly Nugent.

My Review

I love the premise of this collection and how it’s set up. The anthology opens with a note from Madeline Dyer commenting on how horror often limits the presence of disabled characters to the villain roles. (For more on this, please read Amanda LeDuc’s incredible book, Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability, and Making Space.) This collection gives its disabled characters protagonist roles. A brief essay by the author accompanies each short story, where the author will, if desired, offer information about their experiences that informed the writing in the short story. The essay offers some context about the disability represented in the work, too.

I really like how the disabilities represented in each story impact the protagonist’s experience. There’s no magical healing. There’s no special exception to the rules simply because plot. These protagonists must fight their way through literal horrors despite the limits of their bodies.

The stories span many places and range from long past to present-day settings. Some characters are in the midst of adjusting to or preparing to leave for college while others navigate grief, military capture, and long distance moves.

Because horror has so many layers and often requires buildup, I imagine it was challenging to write succinct, compelling tales. While a few had some meandering moments, most drew me immediately into the strangeness of the story and had me rooting for the main character to make it through.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to romantic feelings. Kissing. Mentions of marriage and pressure to become pregnant. References to child marriage.

Spiritual Content
Reference to spiritual beliefs and practices, including sacrificial rituals. Reference to Catholic services and practices.

Violent Content
Some stories contain instances of ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and bullying. Some instances of body horror and gore. References to murder, imprisonment, and assault. One story has implied sexual assault, reference to child marriage, and emotional abuse. Some stories show self-harm, suicidal ideation, or mention of suicide. A couple stories include references to cannibalism, and one includes human sacrifice.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol in several stories.

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: Dead Ends!: Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, , , , ,

Dead Ends!: Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels
Lindsey Fitzharris
Illustrated by Adrian Teal
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published October 14, 2025

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About Dead Ends!: Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels

From New York Times bestselling author Lindsey Fitzharris, a riveting middle grade nonfiction book about medicine’s most fascinating failures and dead ends.

Beheadings! Bloodletting! Bodysnatching!Journey down a snaking road bristling with medicine’s most astonishing “dead ends.” Marvel at the diagnoses, experiments, and treatments that were frequently useless, and often harmful, but that sometimes led doctors to discoveries that changed the world for the better.

Enjoy a whirlwind tour of the human body-from brain, to heart, to limbs-during which New York Times bestselling author Lindsey Fitzharris and caricaturist Adrian Teal will guide you through centuries of medical mistakes, festooned with riveting facts, pitch-perfect humor, and vivid illustrations. Celebrate the flukes, flops, and failures that have given science a better understanding of our bodies and ways to treat them.

This fascinating book of foul-ups is sure to delight young readers, and inspire them to embrace their failures, too!

My Review

Squeamish readers will probably find this book gives too much information about icky medical mishaps, but those with a stronger stomach will find these facts fascinating. The book is broken up into sections containing stories about a particular body part or system, such as heart, lungs, etc. Each section is filled with wild stories about experiments that went wrong or accidents that led to new discoveries that ultimately paved the way for breakthroughs.

Readers might be familiar with some of the medical blunders, such as the practice of bleeding a patient to balance their humors. Others will probably be totally unknown, like early experiments in organ transplants.

The writing is energetic and fun, making this an easy read. It’s easy to see the author’s passion for these topics, and her enthusiasm is contagious. Give this to readers interested in medical history or with a passion for weird and wacky nonfiction.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Reference to medical experimentation without consent, especially on remains of executed criminals. Very brief, graphic descriptions of medical procedures, experiments or accidents.

Drug Content
List.

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: The Tear Collector by R.M. Romero

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , ,

The Tear Collector
R.M. Romero
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published October 14, 2025

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About The Tear Collector

This darkly fantastical climate change tale explores hope, memory, and what really makes a monster—set after the end of the world.

Climate change culminated in the Flood, an enormous wave that wiped out entire countries. Malka and her younger brother Ezra survived and now live with Dr. Jonas Hollman on the Island, the only piece of land left on Earth. Scavenging useful things from the shoreline under the watchful eye of the Island’s sinister leader Mr. Gray, Malka and her family get by. Barely.

But an illness called the Sorrow is changing people into monsters when their memories of the Mainland grow too sad…and Ezra is the latest to get sick. Desperate not to lose her brother, Malka throws herself into helping “Uncle” Jonas with his research to find a cure.

Then her family’s dismal lives are turned upside down by the mysterious Olivia, who crashes a plane on the beach. More people are out there, she says. The world isn’t lost forever. To save Ezra and the other Islanders, Malka will have to uncover the secrets of her flooded world—and the lies even the people she loves have told her about the true nature of the Sorrow.

R.M. Romero tackles our fear and anxiety surrounding climate change and weaves it through with hope in this beautifully told adventure that will resonate with readers young and old.

My Review

With her signature darkly whimsical writing, Romero introduces readers to a small island populated with survivors of a catastrophic flood. They subsist on items that wash up on the shore, scavenging for signs of life before the flood. The island community has a very rigid hierarchy, with a rich man at the top. He kidnaps any residents who become the Sorrowful, people who lose hope and grow animal-like characteristics. It’s a desperate way to live, and one that no one challenges until Olivia and her plane crashland on the island.

Olivia’s presence changes everything. Suddenly, someone voices the injustice and asks the difficult questions out loud. Someone offers the islanders hope, the thing they most desperately need and are most afraid to grasp.

I really enjoyed the reminder of how important hope is. Earlier in the story, the islanders are scared of remembering the past and feeling sad. They worry that if they think of sad things, they’ll lose hope. But, of course, they come to discover that sometimes remembering the sad things gives them reasons to hope for the future. I liked that the story explored that nuance a bit.

At one point Olivia needs a new engine for her plane. She and another character carry one from a car over to the plane to install it. I don’t think that would work in real life, but I was content to suspend my disbelief.

Throughout the book, I kept asking myself whether the story was stigmatizing depression. It clearly isn’t the author’s intent, and the difference between grief and depression doesn’t really come up in the story. That might have been something interesting to explore or to include in a note at the end.

All in all, I think readers who enjoy standalone fantasy about siblings will love this one. Give this to fans of The Firebird Song by Arnée Flores.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
People who lose hope transform by growing extra limbs, fur, wings, antlers, etc.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. One character enslaves others and imprisons them in his basement.

Drug Content
An adult character drinks champagne at a party.

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: My Life: Growing Up Native in America edited by IllumiNative

Anthology or Collection, Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

My Life: Growing Up Native in America
IllumiNative
MTV Books
Published October 1, 2024

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About My Life: Growing Up Native in America

A moving collection of twenty powerful essays, poems, and more that capture and celebrate the modern Native American experience, featuring entries by Angeline Boulley, Madison Hammond, Kara Roselle Smith, and many more.

With heart, pathos, humor, and insight, 20 renowned writers, performers, athletes, and activists explore what it means to be Native American today. Through a series of essays and poems, these luminaries give voice to their individual experiences while shedding light on the depth and complexity of modern Native American identity, resiliency, and joy.

The topics are as fascinating and diverse as the creators. From Mato Wayuhi, award-winning composer of Reservation Dogs, honoring a friend who believed in his talent to New York Times bestselling author Angeline Boulley exploring what it means to feel Native enough, these entries are not only an exploration of community, they are also a call for a more just and equitable world, and a road map toward a brighter future.

Edited by IllumiNative, an organization dedicated to amplifying contemporary Native voices, My Life: Growing Up Native in America features contributions from Angeline Boulley, Philip J. Deloria, Eric Gansworth, Kimberly Guerrero, Somah Haaland, Madison Hammond, Nasugraq Rainey Hopson, Trudie Jackson, Princess Daazhraii Johnson, Lady Shug, Ahsaki Baa LaFrance-Chachere, Taietsaró Leclaire, Cece Meadows, Sherri Mitchell, Charlie Amaya Scott, Kara Roselle Smith, Vera Starbard, Dash Turner, Crystal Wahpepah, and Mato Wayuhi.

My Review

This collection features everything from narrative essays recounting deeply formative experiences to poetry to advice for young readers on finding success and happiness. Some explore one’s relationship with oneself. Others unpack their experiences, examining internalized racism and prejudice directed at them.

Each piece differs in style, but the common theme running through them all is a love for Indigenous communities and hope and optimism about the future. The authors come from different tribes and geographical areas, and some share a snippet or two of history. This really highlights the differences in experiences that someone from one tribe may have from another, and yet simultaneously draws attention to the values and beliefs that run true across tribal lines.

I listened to this collection as an audiobook, and I really enjoyed it. I went back and reread some of the entries via the ebook version so that I could sit with the ideas a little more deeply in a few of the entries, especially the poetry.

While the intended audience of this book is young Indigenous readers, I would recommend that anyone read it. How often do we get a chance to listen to so many different Indigenous perspectives in one place? It’s a quick read and definitely worth checking out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Very few instances of profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a romantic relationship.

Spiritual Content
References to offerings and traditions, beliefs, and rituals.

Violent Content
References to racism and indian residential schools. One essay explores an instance in which someone was bullied for their appearance. One essay briefly mentions that the author attempted suicide at one point in life.

Drug Content
References to alcohol use.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from the public library. All opinions are my own.