Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Under a Carnivore Sky by Brianna Jett

Review: Under a Carnivore Sky by Brianna Jett

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Horror, Poetry, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Under a Carnivore Sky
Brianna Jett
Page Street YA
Published August 18, 2026

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About Under a Carnivore Sky

I’m the only one left hunting the monster, the only one left with a chance of saving us all.

Raised in a town surrounded by a labyrinthine, man-eating swamp, Lili craves nothing more than to track down the monster lurking in its depths and kill it. 


The monster’s curse claims the flesh and bone of every adult in town, stealing them away, piece by piece. For generations, people have tried to kill it or escape the town altogether, but every path out of town leads them right back in.

Caleb, a bookish boy with dreams of freedom, is hungry to escape. He thinks that with Lili’s help and knowledge of the swamp, he can make a map to freedom. And Lili hopes that with a better sense of its territory, she might finally find and kill the monster.


Together, they chart the swamp’s shifting terrain. Sharing in the danger and the beauty
of the landscape sparks a friendship between them—and then something more. However, what they discover disrupts everything Lili thought she knew about the town, her father, the monster—even herself. The truth at the root of the curse could devour them all. And Lili must decide if risking her life to be the town’s savior is worth sacrificing her own chance of escape.

My Review

This verse novel is dark and intense. The setting reminded me a little of They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran or The Forest of a Thousand Eyes by Frances Hardinge, in that nature itself has become dangerous. Lili talks a lot about the danger of being hungry, or acknowledging hunger or longing in herself, as something that puts her at risk. But she isn’t like the complacent townspeople who squabble over what little the community has and blame the swamp and its monster for their troubles. Like every good protagonist, she wants more.

I think my favorite part of the story is Lili’s evolving relationship with the swamp monster. She wants desperately to understand why it feeds on people and where it came from. Is killing it the only way to make it go away? She wrestles with some feeling of kinship or understanding that she has with this creature that has literally been eating her father.

I struggled with the disdain that Lili has for depression. Her feelings about her situation make sense, and I think being angry when she discovers some of the things she does is pretty reasonable. I just didn’t like that her emotional processing kind of stopped there.

I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. Again, I think it makes sense for her character, and sometimes the path she takes is the only one possible. I think this was a really hard story to tell in verse. So much of the story happens between the lines in a verse novel, and I think I wanted more information and more scenes showing her fight to help her community.

On the whole, I think readers who enjoy eco-horror will connect with the story and its dangerous, creepy setting. Give this to fans of dark dystopian stories.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used twice.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to arousal. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
A monster lives in the swamp near the town and literally feeds on the bodies of the townspeople, leaving them without limbs or with holes in their necks and faces.

Violent Content
Carnivorous plants try to catch and eat characters. Strange, mimicking monsters attack. Lili is tasked with killing the monster in the swamp and freeing the town.

Drug Content
None.

Review: The Pools by E. Lockhart

Book Review and Content, Magical Realism, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

The Pools
E. Lockhart
Delacorte Press
Published October 6, 2026

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About The Pools

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the We Were Liars series comes a love story full of simmering darkness and astonishing twists, following two teenagers whose lives are shattered by a shocking transformation.

Once, in a small New England town known for its hot springs, something terrible happened. Something that should have been a warning to stay away from the pools, if the stories were to be believed.

But no one is afraid of the water anymore, even if they should be. 

When new girl Lexie meets golden boy Chester, their chemistry is undeniable. She’s running from a glittering life she won’t speak about. He’s hiding secrets of his own. Their connection feels bigger than both of them, despite their damage. 

One frigid winter morning in that small New England town, five people go for a swim in the pools. Five people, including Chester. What happens there sends shock waves through the town, changing life as Lexie knows it forever.

My Review

I’ve been a fan of E. Lockhart’s books since I first read We Were Liars. I’ve read several of her books since then, but this is the first novel in verse that I’ve read. I really like that some of the poems were written with really specific intentions or using specific types of poetry. Some are found poems made with phrases found on signs or menus. A couple of poems come from mashed-up song lyrics. The author also describes the story as being in conversation with the European fairy tale “Wild Swans.”

If you’re familiar with Lockhart’s work, you’ll come to this book expecting some angst and struggle. The story holds a lot of tension in its relationships. There are a lot of relationships where there’s something separating people, like an unresolved conflict, a secret, or other failure of communication.

I like how layered this story is. Beyond the relationship issues, there’s a whole conversation about what makes someone a person. Are there circumstances in which someone stops being a person? What if they wanted to stop being human? The book also explores what true love means and the impact it is supposed to have on the world. It looks at a small community trying to make sense of a senseless loss and the different ways people cope —some helpful and others not so.

Though I like how this story resolves, I also felt like there are some big threads left untended to. The second-most important relationship in the book kind of falls by the wayside. I found it hard to believe that Lexie wouldn’t have taken what she learned and tried to use it to change the outcome for someone else that she cared about.

That said, I think the story still works as is. There’s an open-ended feeling to the ending that leaves room to imagine what might come next.

I think readers who enjoy fairy tale-inspired novels in verse will like this one. I could see fans of The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R. M. Romero picking this one up.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Brief nudity and reference to sex.

Spiritual Content
Some characters experience a supernatural transformation.

Violent Content
Prejudice, bullying. Someone discovers a gruesome scene in which a cat has been killed. Two boys bring a rifle and shoot someone. Someone else kills a person in self-defense. References to a child star being neglected and used for money.

Drug Content
Teens attend a party where they drink alcohol.

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 Christmas Wish by Lee Heart

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

The Christmas Wish
Lee Heart
Simon Spotlight
Published September 8, 2026

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About The Christmas Wish

A girl full of holiday spirit hopes to get her secret crush’s attention for Christmas in this latest installment in the acclaimed tween middle grade rom-com series, Spotlight Sprinkles—full of evergreen tropes like holiday parties and the magic of the season!

Joy Rudolph is convinced nobody loves Christmastime more than her. After all, she was born on Christmas Day! Joy’s birthday parties are always full of holiday cheer, but this year, she has an extra-special wish: for her secret crush, Kris Conrad, to be there. 

Kris is the cutest boy in their grade—and probably ever!—plus, he was born on Christmas Eve! Could they be any more perfect for each other? If Kris comes to Joy’s party, she can figure out if he likes her back…and maybe even share a moment under some mistletoe! Will the combined magic of a birthday and Christmas wish make her dream come true?

My Review

I needed a break after two angsty young adult novels in which the dads died, so I picked up this cute holiday story. It’s very upbeat. Joy’s immediate family members are all present, supportive (except for her older brother, who sometimes finds her annoying), and helpful. Joy has good friends who cheer her on when she does well and comfort her when she’s feeling discouraged. The big issues she faces are how to celebrate her upcoming birthday, which falls right on Christmas Day, and whether her crush feels the same.

The birthday dilemma is a familiar one in my family. One of my sisters and one of my girls were both born in December, and it can be hard to make space amid all the holiday hoopla to give their special days the attention they deserve.

The first crush experience is also pretty familiar– ha! I thought the author captured the excitement and anticipation really nicely.

This is a sweet holiday story perfect for readers who want an uplifting holiday story. Middle grade readers with December birthdays, or birthdays that often fall on a big holiday, will identify with Joy’s struggle to carve out space for her birthday.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages LIST.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
List.

Romance/Sexual Content
List.

Spiritual Content
List.

Violent Content
List.

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: Holloway by Elana K. Arnold

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Holloway
Elana K. Arnold
Clarion Books
Published May 5, 2026

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About Holloway

“Elana K. Arnold paints prose like a master. A fascinating journey through time, love, and forgiveness.” – A.S. King, Printz Award-winning author of Dig

Award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with a boldly visionary, deeply felt story that crosses space and time to examine loss and love in a world on the brink.

It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.

Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.

Nora, who couldn’t help her mother when her mother needed her most.

Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings to: a cylinder containing her mother’s ashes.

With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to make: to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible. 

Because it is no longer 2021.

Questioning everything—including her own sanity—Nora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her mother—and heal herself—in a world that feels irrevocably broken.

My Review

I read a short piece by Elana K. Arnold in the anthology, Banned Together. I’ve seen her name on banned book lists as well. Holloway is the first novel that I’ve read by her, though.

I think, weirdly, one of my favorite parts of the book is what happens after Nora is no longer in 2021. She reacts pretty reasonably to the news, first deciding someone is tricking her, then trying to evaluate whether she’s having some kind of breakdown, and ultimately wondering when to accept that the impossible has truly happened and she is somehow in another time.

I just really appreciated that Arnold put that whole mental progression on the page. More often, characters experience something unbelievable, like slipping through a portal to elsewhere, and they simply must accept it because the plot is moving forward. I am willing to suspend my disbelief and carry on, but I loved that this book made space for the protagonist to explore those questions and feelings.

Holloway is a bit dark, and it wrestles with some hard realities. Nora grieves both the loss of her mother, with whom she has a complicated relationship, and her grandmother, who cared for her in her mom’s absence and pressed Nora’s mom to make space for Nora’s neurodivergence. Nora’s mom says some ugly things about Nora’s need for extra processing or her stimming behavior. She also blames vaccines for causing Nora to have autism and frames the diagnosis as a negative thing.

Another thing I thought was really cool about this book is that having Nora experience two separate time periods gave the narrative room to explore how the broader cultural understanding of, and treatment of, neurodivergent people differs in each timeline. That exploration contains a lot of nuance and layers. Nora knows people in her present and the past who seem to accept her as she is without question. Other people in each timeline judge or restrict her in varying ways.

Initially, I wasn’t going to try to read this book this year because of the parental loss the story includes. It wasn’t actually too hard for me once I got into it. Nora’s experience with her mom was so different from my experience with my dad that I didn’t feel the same kind of connection to the book.

Conclusion

Holloway is a compelling, thoughtful read that I think fans of stories exploring complex relationships will enjoy. I’m really glad I read it, and I’ll definitely look for more books by Elana K. Arnold.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to sexual assault. Kissing. Nora unexpectedly notices two people making love.

Spiritual Content
Nora leaves one time period and steps into another.

Violent Content
Nora encounters prejudice for her autism. She compares the ways she was treated in 2021 to how people perceive and treat people with autism in the earlier time period.

Drug Content
At one point, Nora is sedated and taken to a facility.

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: Just the Good Parts by Robbie Couch

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Just the Good Parts
Robbie Couch
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published September 29, 2026

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About Just the Good Parts

From the New York Times bestselling author of If I See You Again Tomorrow comes a stunningly romantic, speculative novel about a teen looking for his missing dad, who keeps getting pulled into others’ memories and crossing paths with a handsome stranger who also doesn’t belong there.

Caspen Coolsby’s dad is missing. But even though it’s only been a few months, everyone has given up on finding him. Except for Caspen.

He finally gets a break in the case when he meets his new upstairs neighbors and discovers he can somehow transport himself into each of the college students’ memories using candle scents that remind them of important moments. No one loved candles more than his dad, so Caspen is sure there must be clues pointing toward where to find him hidden in the memories.

His thinking hits a snag, though, when a handsome boy named Lars keeps popping up in memories where he also doesn’t belong. As the lines between memory and reality begin to blur, Caspen can’t help but fall for the mysterious boy who keeps chipping away at the rose-colored lens he’s always seen life through. But will Caspen be able to find his dad and his crush outside of these stolen moments if it means reliving the hard truths of his past and not just the good parts?

My Review

This book manages to be both playful and serious at the same time. I loved the wacky whimsy of a boy disappearing into his friends’ memories when they light a candle. Why Lars appears in the memories is never explained, but that didn’t bother me too much. I think it would have been cool if there was a connection that Caspen hadn’t realized until the end, but I was okay with the open-ended storyline there.

The fact that his family owns a candle store is super cute. Between that and the paranormal elements of the tale, I think this book works really well as a cozy fall read with slight Halloween vibes. Nothing truly spooky happens during the story, but the fact that this strange situation is happening and all the references to fall leaves and candles made me really glad I was reading this book during the fall season.

A lot of pieces of the story do get explained, and Caspen learns a lot about himself and his family along the way. I enjoyed seeing those connections, even though the conclusion of the story is pretty emotional. I wasn’t prepared for that considering how goofy and lighthearted the rest of the book is. I think the story works; I just probably wouldn’t have read the last five chapters in a Starbucks if I’d known where things were heading.

Just the Good Parts is the first book by Robbie Couch that I’ve read, and I enjoyed it. I think fans of Lance Rubin will want to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Brief profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Caspen experiences the memories of three other people when they light candles and he touches them. Someone else appears in the memories, too.

Violent Content
Caspen’s dad is missing. References to the death of a girlfriend and unresolved grief. Reference to an injury from falling.

SPOILER: (Select the text below to view.)

Death of a parent.

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: The Wild Season by Dashka Slater

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, , , , , , , ,

The Wild Season
Dashka Slater
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published September 8, 2026

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About The Wild Season

When four abandoned bunnies turn up in a city park, the community rallies to save them in award-winning, bestselling author Dashka Slater’s unforgettable middle grade nonfiction debut.

No one knows how a bunch of pet rabbits ended up in a San Francisco park—but one thing is clear: they don’t belong. Predators are circling, and if they aren’t rescued soon, the park itself will be overrun. From the moment they’re spotted, the countdown begins.
 
Join a cast of kids hiding out in forts, keen-eyed teenagers surveying the park, rabbit experts setting traps, and scores of neighbors willing to do anything to help as they rally together in pursuit of rabbits.
 
For fans of Candace Fleming, this exceptional true story comes to life in a beautifully illustrated book, which includes a fun feature that animates a running rabbit when you flip though the pages as well as behind-the-scenes bonus material.

My Review

I’ve read almost every book that Dashka Slater has published. I subscribe to her Substack, too. So, when I heard she was writing a new nonfiction title, that was kind of all I needed to know. And every additional thing I learned about the book only made me want to read it more. A feel-good story about a community coming together for a rabbit rescue? Yes, please. If there’s one thing I need more of in 2026, it’s stories about people doing and being good and making a positive difference in the world. Plus, bunnies!

I really enjoyed this book. It’s peppered with interesting facts about rabbits: their relationships, behavior, diet, and genetics. Each rabbit feels unique and has its own story. The community members who join forces to rescue the rabbits each have a story as well, and those details are well integrated into the whole.

By the end, I felt like I’d been right there in the brush chasing down rabbits and celebrating when each one found a new home. While the story does include some sad moments, it’s ultimately such a hopeful tale.

Readers who love animals and animal rescue stories will definitely find this one appealing. If you’re particularly interested in rabbits as a pet or animal, this is a great book to introduce you to some facts. Or, if you simply need to look for the helpers, as Mr. Rogers reminds us to do in hard times, this book is a great place to find them.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Two of the rabbits form a bonded pair.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Reference to rabbits being vulnerable to predatory animals such as coyotes.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I purchased a copy of this book and am sharing my honest review. All opinions are my own.