Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this debut novel-in-verse.
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she’s been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules–like “no making waves,” “avoid eating in public,” and “don’t move so fast that your body jiggles.” And she’s found her safe space–her swimming pool–where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world.
In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It’s also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie’s weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life–by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.
My Review
I’ve heard so many great things about this book, and I can for sure say that none of them were exaggerated. I loved Ellie so much. She bares her soul on the page. I loved reading her journey from feeling crushed by shame to finding the confidence and self-love to stretch out and take up space like a starfish.
Ellie’s dad is awesome, too. There’s one scene where he’s just witnessed some of the hurtful things people say to Ellie, and he begins to cry. Even writing about it now, my eyes are all weepy. He doesn’t do everything perfectly (which just makes him all the more realistic), but it’s so clear he loves Ellie. I love that.
I also love Ellie’s relationship with Catalina. At first, she’s unsure of this new skinny girl. But as she gets to know Catalina, she realizes that Catalina knows about discrimination. Catalina treats Ellie the way she should be treated– loving her for who she is and gently challenging Ellie to learn to love herself, too.
STARFISH is a novel in verse, so it’s a quick read that will leap straight to your heart. I think readers who enjoyed RECKLESS, GLORIOUS GIRL by Ellen Hagan will love this one.
Content Notes
Content warning for bullying.
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation Ellie is fat. Her dad is Jewish and her mom is Christian. Ellie celebrates both religions. Ellie’s next door neighbors are Mexican American.
Profanity/Crude Language Content None.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Ellie celebrates Shabbat and Hanukkah as well as Christmas with her family.
Violent Content Bullies at school and home say cruel things to Ellie. In one scene, students sabotage Ellie’s desk so that it breaks when she sits on it.
Drug Content None.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.
From the authors behind The Stick Book and many other outdoor adventure favorites, this interactive one-of-a-kind creative scrapbook offers children an outlet for creativity inspired by the wild world.
This truly unique book contains prompts for all kinds of creative activity based around the natural world around us, from drawing to writing to mixed-media collage.
Readers will be encouraged to draw on their creativity, to express themselves without fear of being judged, and to make their book really WILD!
They will need scissors, pens, paints, tape, glue and a magnifying glass, plus lots of wild materials and their wildest creativity, as this book becomes filled with keepsakes from their own outdoor adventures.
From finding the faces hidden in pictures of trees, to collecting ingredients for a spell to keep nature safe, to sticking the feathers back onto a mythical bird, these prompts and activities will provide hours and hours of entertainment as they take children on flights of fantasy through the natural world.
Readers can color outside the lines, do the activities in any order and go at their own pace.
The mixture of art, creative writing, collecting, games, wildlife-watching and imaginative prompts will appeal to kids with all kinds of interests, and there are no rules!
My Review
This is such a cute, imaginative book! I love that it pairs imagination and nature together, celebrating curiosity and creativity along with opportunities to learn about the world around us.
I requested this book hoping that my daughter would be able to use this for some outside activities. There are definitely some things in here that she can do, but some of the activities are probably better for older kids, like maybe eight or ten years old. I think she would love making berry ink and creating little fairy outfits out of leaves and flower petals. There’s another activity in which you mash up some banana and mix with water to create a food for butterflies. Then you watch to see if any come to eat. I’m sure she would love that, and the similar one for birds. Although, where we live, it’s likely the squirrels will show up first and try to eat all the bird snacks. Ha.
All in all, I’m really impressed with the cleverness and creative approach this book takes to nature. The book contains more than 60 activities to do outside (or do with items collected from outside). So, it provides a LOT of opportunities to visit nature and spend time noticing the natural world around us. I’m a huge fan. I’m also eager to see how many of these activities my daughter and I can try out together.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation None.
Profanity/Crude Language Content None.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content The book contains pictures of fairies and dragons and things like that.
Violent Content None.
Drug Content None.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of MAKE THIS BOOK WILD in exchange for my honest review.
A Malaysian spin on Little Red Riding Hood from the critically acclaimed author of The Girl and the Ghost, Hanna Alkaf.
Courage is the strongest magic there is.
On Hamra’s thirteenth birthday, she receives nothing but endless nagging and yet another errand to run in the Langkawi jungle that looms behind her home.
No one has remembered her special day.
And so, stifled and angry, Hamra ignores something she shouldn’t: the rules of the jungle.
Always ask permission before you enter. Hamra walks boldly in.
Never take what isn’t yours. Hamra finds the most perfect jambu and picks it.
Of course, rules exist for a reason, and soon an enormous weretiger is stalking her dreams, demanding payment for her crimes–and Hamra embarks on a quest deep into the jungle to set things right.
For fans of Ikegna and A Tale Dark and Grimm comes a story of a brave heroine, a beguiling villain, fantastical worlds, magical adventures, and a journey that will remind you that hope, friendship, and love endures all.
My Review
What a fun story! Hamra’s adventure in the jungle swept me away. I loved the way the story is introduced. In a few places, the narrator kind of steps back and tells us things about what’s coming. Sometimes that mechanic doesn’t work for me, but it really felt like it was a good fit for this particular story.
I loved the relationship between Hamra and her grandmother. It was heartbreaking to see the divide between them caused by her memory issues and her illness. Her hopefulness when her grandmother had a moment of clarity made me cry every time. I can remember so deeply feeling the same ache with my grandmother during her illness, too.
I also really loved the dynamics in the friendship between Hamra and Ilyas, her best friend and neighbor. He’s so nerdy and sweet in all the best ways. I loved his loyalty and also the moments he pushes back on Hamra when she’s getting to be too controlling. We all need someone in our lives who can remind us to be our better selves, and he definitely does that for Hamra without rescuing her or mentoring her, just being her friend.
The way the story explores Little Red Riding Hood is really cool, too. At first glance, it may not seem to be much the same story, but as you look closer, there are a lot of similarities, so I loved the way the author created those parallels in less obvious ways. For example, Hamra lives with her grandmother, so her quest through the jungle isn’t about bringing a basket of goodies to her grandmother’s house. But for Hamra, the whole goal of the quest is to provide a cure for her grandmother’s dementia– helping her grandmother get well.
Representation Hamra and other characters are Malaysian.
Profanity/Crude Language Content One instance of mild profanity.
Romance/Sexual Content A man and woman kiss on the mouth.
Spiritual Content Hamra wears a hijab. She mentions daily prayers and practices Islam. She and her allies visit places and people from Malay folktales, like ghosts or elves.
Violent Content Situations of peril. A group of men with spears surround Hamra and her friends. Multiple creatures threaten them. A tiger attacks its enemies. Hamra and her friends have to pull all the teeth from a dangerous creature.
Drug Content None.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of HAMRA AND THE JUNGLE OF MEMORIES in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.
Two rival apprentice sorcerers must team up to save their teachers and protect their own magic in this lively young adult romantic adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of In Deeper Waters and So This Is Ever After.
Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed.
Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, and Rook minds less and less.
But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.
My Review
SPELL BOUND is the first book I’ve ever read by F. T. Lukens, and after this, I definitely want to read more. (Their other books look super fun, by the way!) I really liked the sunshine vs. grumpy rivals to romance between Rook and Sun. The story is told from both their points of view, and I thought both were really compelling and individual. I loved the other characters, too, especially Herb (the coatrack with an attitude) and Antonia, Rook’s employer and mentor who will gladly kick butt and take names when it’s required, thank you.
The only hiccup I encountered was in my expectations. So the cover copy references Antonia and Fable getting attacked, so I expected that to be an early event in the book. It actually happens just after the middle, I think? So I felt like I spent a lot of time looking for that rather than enjoying the earlier scenes for what they were and recognizing how those played into the larger story.
Aside from that, though, I had a lot of fun reading this book. It’s set in the real world, but add magic, and I loved the way that was set up. The powerful Consortium charges magic users taxes for spells and business services, and has gotten perhaps too comfortable with their power.
It’s kind of just a fun romp through a magic world led by two characters who are grieving in different ways, and searching for their place and validation for who they are. I felt like those emotional parts read so real and genuine, and the rest of the story– the adventure and antics– was so much fun to read.
Representation Rook is white and maybe pansexual? He doesn’t specifically self-identify. Sun is nonbinary and Asian, maybe Korean?
Profanity/Crude Language Content Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing. Rook and Sun fall asleep together while on the run.
Spiritual Content Some characters have the ability to do magic by pulling power from ley lines, a sort of grid of magic power that exists on earth.
Violent Content Situations of peril. Rook and Sun encounter cursed objects that try to harm them. For example, a rug repeatedly trips anyone who steps on it. A some scenes show a group attacking and trying to subdue an individual or smaller group.
Drug Content None.
Note: I received a free copy of SPELL BOUND in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.
Spring has (maybe?) sprung, and here I am scraping together my winter wrap-up. It’s been a busy season! Read on to see the best books I read this season as well as my most popular posts. Finally, I’ll check in on the goals I set for the year and how I’m doing in meeting them.
Winter Wrap-Up Behind the Scenes News
Last year, I started working directly with several new publishers, which means easier access to more of the books I can’t wait to read. Which is good and bad? Because yeowza, my calendar has never been so packed.
I used to limit myself to three reviews per week, but last September, I increased that to four. In January, I increased to five reviews per week.
Honestly, this only works because I’ve been sitting on a backlog of about 40 reviews for backlist books I read sometime last year. Sometimes, though, I’ve needed to read four or five new books per week. I don’t think that’s a sustainable pace, so I’m trying to refine my process for deciding which books to review.
Changes in My What to Review Decision-Making Process
For a long time, I was really just reviewing whatever books looked interesting. I had few enough requests that this made sense and still left me wiggle room to add in backlist titles I couldn’t get review copies of or discovered after publication and wanted to read.
I’ve tried to have an eye toward reading diversely as I select which books to read, but there are definitely holes I would like to fill. For example, I don’t read very many books by Indigenous authors. Not on purpose. I just don’t often get asked to review them, and I haven’t been purposefully seeking them out. So I’m working on that this year.
Lately, though, that’s not the case, and I’m finding that I have to say no to books that look really great. The good news is that my blog viewership has grown enough (thanks to all of you!) that I have access to a larger selection of books. The bad news is that I can’t review them all!
One of the new things that I’m considering as I encounter books by authors I’ve read before is how those past reviews performed in terms of the number of views they received. This was super helpful last week when I was asked to review the sequel to SKANDAR AND THE UNICORN THIEF. When I checked the post performance for my review, I discovered it was one of my top ten best performing posts last year, and it’s in the top twenty for this year so far.
So I’d say the data indicates my readers would be interested in the sequel, so I eagerly accepted the book for review.
Winter Wrap-Up: Top Posts
Technically these are the top five best performing reviews for the first quarter of this year. What’s funny to me is that none of these were posted this quarter. I’m guessing people searched for reviews of RUIN AND RISING because of the release of the second season of the Shadow and Bone series on Netflix. The others have been high performing posts for a while, so I guess there aren’t really any big surprises here.
What’s interesting to me is that I’ve heard other bloggers talk about how their reviews don’t perform well over time in terms of clicks and views, but four out of my top five posts are reviews. (The other is this list of middle grade books I was eagerly anticipating coming out this past winter.)
One of the things that I do which probably helps my stats is to use a plugin that helps me strengthen my SEO for each post. (I use a free one called Yoast.)
Now that we’ve discussed what most of my viewers were reading this past quarter, let’s look at what I was reading!
Best Books I Read This Winter
Middle Grade Favorites
I read 26 middle grade books during the first quarter of this year, and there were some really great ones in that list. These four are my favorites. They’re the ones I still think about even weeks after I finished reading them. I loved the sense of community and celebration of amigurumi and boba tea in IT’S BOBA TIME FOR PEARL LI.
That Gillian McDunn’s latest book, WHEN SEA BECOMES SKY, moved me probably won’t surprise anyone who has followed this blog the last few years. I love her writing and the explorations of deep feelings she brings to the pages of her books.
MIRROR TO MIRROR surprised me with its beautiful celebration of sisterhood and individuality in its spare verse chapters. I loved getting the points of view of both of the twins and seeing the difference in how they viewed each other and themselves.
THE BOY WHO FOLLOWED HIS FATHER INTO AUSCHWITZ is a haunting, true story about a family fractured by World War II and the Holocaust. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book after I’d finished it. It’s definitely worth a read, and does a great job showing the destruction that happened to Jewish families both within and outside concentration camps during World War II.
Young Adult Favorites
I read 39 young adult books from January to March this year. Lots of them were really well done, so it was hard to narrow down to a handful of favorites.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect picking up MY DEAR HENRY, but wow, was it good. Kalynn Bayron really captured the vibe of the original story and delivered complex, tortured characters in Victorian England. It was so good. Definitely made me want to catch up on the books by this author that I’ve missed.
I WILL FIND YOU AGAIN was another wild card for me. The cover copy made me think a bit of WE WERE LIARS, which is one of my favorite books ever, so that was enough to get me to check it out. And let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed! I’ll definitely keep Sarah Lyu on my radar, because what a compelling, twisty story.
I’ve been a long-time Elizabeth Wein fan, so again, probably not a surprise to see STATELESS on my favorites list if you’ve been reading my reviews for a long time. I was really excited to see a book about a female pilot in the 1930s. Wein does an amazing job showing the tension between nations as Europe nears another World War.
Though it’s got kind of an understated cover, MISSING CLARISSA packed some serious punch. The pacing was perfect, and the characters were compelling enough to propel me through this one all the way to the final page. It’s a definite must-read for fans of ONE OF US IS LYING.
Goals Tracking
At the beginning of the year, I wrote this Top Ten Tuesday post outlining a long list of goals for this year. So how’s that going, you ask? Let’s take a super quick look…
Reading Goals
Goal: Read at least 150 books this year. Update: I’ve read 75 books so far this year, so I’d say I’ve made great progress on this one.
Goal: Say no when my calendar is full. Update: Hahahahahahaha! …. Yeah, this one is a work in progress.
Backlist Reading Goals
Goal: Read and review 3-5 timely classics, preferably by BIPOC. Update: I started both THE FIRE NEXT TIME by James Baldwin and THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET by Sandra Cisneros, so those I expect to finish this year for sure. I also finally read ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell, which only half-counts toward this goal, because it is definitely timely.
Goal: Read 3-5 backlist TBR nonfiction titles. Update: So far I’ve read one– ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE by George M. Johnson, so that’s one.
Goal: Read 10-12 backlist TBR fiction titles. Update: I started CLAP WHEN YOU LAND, but haven’t finished it yet.
Bookish List Post Goals
Goal: Post 3-4 Top Ten Tuesday lists each quarter. Update: I posted six TTT lists this quarter. Win!
Goal: Post lists for monthly celebrations. Update: I did make a list for Holocaust Remembrance Day, but I totally missed both Women’s History month this month and Black History month in February. I’ve got an Earth Day post coming soon. Still a work in progress.
Writing Goals
I listed two writing goals in my original post (publishing another indie book for authors and finishing a novel of my own), and honestly, I haven’t really worked on either of these. Some family stuff has come up that’s made it necessary for me to table both those projects for now. I’m working on a short story currently, and would like to write some essays to sell as well. That seems more manageable right now.
What Would You Like to See More of?
Now that you know what I’m working on and what’s coming soon… what are the things you wish you could see more of on this site? Do you want more lists? More updates like this one? Are you interested in voting on what backlist books I read and review next? Leave a comment and let me know!
The people of Greymist Fair know that the woods are a dangerous and magical place, and that they should never set foot off the road. But when a young tailor discovers a body on the road, her search for the culprit reveals even more strange and dark happenings around her town. From acclaimed author Francesca Zappia, GREYMIST FAIR is a suspenseful and inventive murder-mystery inspired by the lesser-known fairytales of the Brothers Grimm. GREYMIST FAIR will bewitch readers of Rachel Vincent’s RED WOLF, Liz Braswell’s A Twisted Tale series, and fans of INTO THE WOODS.
Features chapter decorations by the author throughout, as well as a map.
Two roads lead into a dark forest. They meet at Greymist Fair, the village hidden in the trees, a place kept alive by the families that never leave. The people of Greymist Fair know the woods are a dangerous and magical place, and to set foot off the road is to invite trouble.
When Heike, the village’s young tailor, discovers a body on the road, she goes looking for who is responsible. But her quest only leads to more strange happenings around Greymist Fair.
Inspired by the original, bloody, lesser-known fairytales of the Brothers Grimm, acclaimed author Francesca Zappia crafts an enthralling murder-mystery that will keep readers turning the pages. Told from multiple points of view, with each narrative building on the crime discovered by Heike, Greymist Fair examines the themes of childhood fears, growing into adult responsibilities, and finding a place to call home amid the trials of life and death.
While KATZENJAMMER is a strange story, I found the characters very compelling. I also thought the author did a great job telling a weird/unusual story, so when I saw GREYMIST FAIR, I was excited to try it.
And guess what? I loved it! It’s definitely less strange than KATZENJAMMER, but the storytelling is still what I’d call nontraditional? The book is broken down into parts which are usually 5-6 chapters or so. Each part gives us an up-close point of view of a single character connected to the village of Greymist Fair.
Each of those stories was pretty compelling on its own. One reveals a serial killer. Another tells of a wish gone horribly wrong. Each part is like a puzzle piece, adding to an overall image of what happened to create the danger in the forest that surrounds Greymist Fair and makes it no longer safe to travel even on the road in and out.
I think readers who enjoyed the GILDED duology by Marissa Meyer (reviews coming soon) or dark fairytales like HEARTLESS will love GREYMIST FAIR.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Representation A broad cast of characters. I think one mentions putting a binder on as he gets dressed, so I took that to mean he’s transgender. Some are described as having brown skin.
Profanity/Crude Language Content Mild profanity used very infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing between boy and girl. Flirting between two boys.
Spiritual Content Death is a character in the book. There’s also a witch. Innocents who die become Wargs, spirits who cause harm to those who venture into the woods.
Violent Content Situations of peril. A girl discovers the remains of a village boy in the woods outside her village. A girl discovers children chained in the basement of a home and frees them. A man dies after falling into a well. A boy has a rival bound and whipped.
Drug Content Characters drink alcohol as part of a Yule celebration.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of GREYMIST FAIR in exchange for my honest review.
