Review: You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!
Alex Gino
Scholastic Press
Published September 25, 2018

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About You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!

Alex Gino, the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Melissa, is back with another sensitive tale based on increasingly relevant social justice issues.

Jilly thinks she’s figured out how life works. But when her sister, Emma, is born deaf, she realizes how much she still has to learn. The world is going to treat Jilly, who is white and hearing, differently from Emma, just as it will treat them both differently from their Black cousins.

A big fantasy … Continue reading

Review: Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea
Ashley Herring Blake
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published May 25, 2021

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About Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea

A poignant yet hopeful novel about a girl navigating grief, trauma, and friendship, from Ashley Herring Blake, the award-winning author of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World.

Hazel Bly used to live in the perfect house with the perfect family in sunny California. But when a kayaking trip goes horribly wrong, Mum is suddenly gone forever and Hazel is left with crippling anxiety and … Continue reading

Review: On the Block: Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh

On the Block: Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh

On the Block: Stories of Home
Edited by Ellen Oh
Crown Books for Young Readers
Published October 22, 2024

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About On the Block: Stories of Home

From We Need Diverse Books comes a heart-warming middle-grade anthology that follows the loosely interconnected lives of multigenerational immigrant families inhabiting the Entrada apartment building. Edited by Ellen Oh, a founding member of WNDB.”The beauty of their shared home does not come from any single person, but instead from the sum of their experiences” -Meg Medina, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

12 Families. 12 Cultures. 1 … Continue reading

Review: City Spies by James Ponti

City Spies by James Ponti

City Spies (City Spies #1)
James Ponti
Aladdin
Published March 10, 2020

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About City Spies

Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 … Continue reading

Review: Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos by Alex Evanovich

Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos by Alex Evanovich

Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos
Alex Evanovich
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published October 8, 2024

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About Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos

For graduates of Percy Jackson comes the adventure-filled story of an average boy offered a life of villainy that’s about good vs. evil, mischief vs. mayhem, and making your mark on the world, by acclaimed author Alex Evanovich. 

If you’ve ever lost a sock in the dryer, it might have been the work of the Evil Villains International League, EVIL. And if your feet smell so bad, they keep … Continue reading

Review: Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

Loveboat, Taipei (Loveboat, Taipei #1)
Abigail Hing Wen
HarperTeen
Published January 7, 2020

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About Loveboat, Taipei

“Our cousins have done this program,” Sophie whispers. “Best kept secret. Zero supervision.

And just like that, Ever Wong’s summer takes an unexpected turnGone is Chien Tan, the strict educational program in Taiwan that Ever was expecting. In its place, she finds Loveboat: a summer-long free-for-all where hookups abound, adults turn a blind eye, snake-blood sake flows abundantly, and the nightlife runs nonstop.

But not every student is quite what they seem:

Ever is working toward becoming a doctor but nurses a secret passion for dance.

Rick Woo is … Continue reading