Review: Where There’s Smoke by E. B. Vickers

Where There's Smoke by E. B. Vickers cover shows the title words blended into orange and red flame-like shapes.

Where There’s Smoke
E. B. Vickers
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published December 12, 2023

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About Where There’s Smoke

In this fast-paced thriller, eighteen-year-old Calli finds herself alone after the loss of her father—until a bruised and broken girl shows up on her property, forcing her to face the present, rethink her future, and unearth the skeletons of her own past.

Life has never been easy in the small desert town of Harmony, but even on the day Calli Christopher buries her father, she knows she is surrounded by people … Continue reading

Review: What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez cover shows a girl standing before a building surrounded by plant life.

What the River Knows
Isabel Ibañez
Wednesday Books
Published November 14, 2023

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About What the River Knows

The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth-century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old-world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her … Continue reading

Review: Fall of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Fall of the School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani cover shows a boy with white hair and golden armor in front center foreground. A boy with wavy red hair stands over his right shoulder in similar armor, glaring at him.

Fall of the School for Good and Evil (Rise of the School for Good and Evil #2)
Soman Chainani
HarperCollins
Published May 2, 2023

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About Fall of the School for Good and Evil

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL is the #1 movie now streaming on Netflix—starring Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Sofia Wylie, Sophie Anne Caruso, Jamie Flatters, Earl Cave, Kit Young, and … Continue reading

Review: Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel by James Howe, Andrew Donkin, and Stephen Gilpin

Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel by James Howe, Andrew Donkin, and Stephen Gilpin

Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel
James How and Andrew Donkin
Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published August 30, 2022

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About Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel

Celebrate over forty years of the modern classic BUNNICULA with this graphic novelization!

Beware the hare!

Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household—a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits…and fangs! Could this innocent-seeming rabbit actually be a vampire?

Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel on Goodreads

My Review

I … Continue reading

Fall 2023 Backlist Check-in

9 Great Books from My Fall 2023 Backlist Reading cover collage includes The Goose Girl, Furia, Hunt Gather Parent, Foul Lady Fortune, Disfigured, Anne Frank's Diary, Elatsoe, and Meg Jo Beth and Amy.

Welcome to my second seasonal back-list reading check-in! So far, I love this format to talk about my backlist reading. I started this post right after I published the last one, and as I finished reading a backlist title, I added it to the list.

Like last time, my list is pretty eclectic. I read a parenting book, the diary of Anne Frank, and a novel about an Argentinian soccer player, among others. Most of these I listened to as audiobooks, usually while driving. That … Continue reading

Review: Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen

Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen cover shows a girl on the left standing with one leg bent and a boy on the right with one hand in his pocket. They hold up a broken heart between them.

Artifacts of an Ex
Jennifer Chen
Wednesday Books
Published November 14, 2023

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About Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen

When Chloe Chang gets dumped via USPS after moving across the county from NYC to LA, her first instinct is to throw her box of memories in the garbage. Instead, she starts buying other teenagers’ break-up boxes to create an art exhibit, Heartifacts. Opening night is going great, until she spots … Continue reading