Tag Archives: blended family

Review: Dog Trouble by Kristin Varner

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , , ,
Dog Trouble by Kristin Varner

Dog Trouble
Kristin Varner
First Second
Published October 29, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Dog Trouble

From the author of Horse Trouble comes a graphic novel perfect for fans of PAWS and Allergic!

Ash is a good kid at heart. But his grades are slipping, and when he gets caught vandalizing an old building, it’s the last straw. It’s decided: Ash will spend some time away from the city, at his dad’s place on Ferncliff Island.

It’s bad enough that Ash has no friends on the island (just an annoying little stepsister), but his parents are also making him do community service! He volunteers at the local animal shelter, even though he’s not really a dog person. Dogs slobber! They smell! And the dogs at the shelter bark, bark, and bark. But as Ash bonds with the dogs―especially Cooper, a clever, fun-loving pointer that gives sloppy kisses―he starts to see that maybe his time on Ferncliff Island isn’t a total loss.

My Review

If a book had the power to make me a dog person, this one would probably do it! (I don’t hate dogs, but I’m solidly a cat person.)

The story follows Ash, a boy who must spend his summer volunteering at an animal shelter after getting into trouble with some friends. At the start of many of the chapters, a dog profile appears, introducing readers to a dog that will appear later in the story and giving some information about its breed and personality. Some terms related to the care of animals appear in bold in the text. Those are defined at the bottom of the page. I liked that format of keeping the panels focused on the story but continually making caring for animals accessible to inexperienced readers.

Ash makes a lot of mistakes, and sometimes, even when he’s doing the right things, accidents happen. I loved that his supervisor at the shelter responded calmly, acknowledged his anxiety, and helped him navigate whatever issue was at hand.

Ash also makes an unexpected friend and forms a closer bond with his stepsister than he imagined would be possible through his experience of staying with his dad for the summer. Having gone through some of the blended family challenges, I felt like the portrayal of those relationships made a lot of sense, and the evolution felt organic.

All in all, if you love dogs and/or stories about navigating family challenges or skateboarding, Dog Trouble is one story you won’t want to miss.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 to 12.

Representation
Ash’s parents are divorced. His stepmom and stepsister are Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to animal abuse or trauma. (Nothing shown on scene.) One of the dogs in the book dies (off-scene). The loss is unexpected and difficult for Ash.

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 One That Got Away With Murder by Trish Lundy

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

The One That Got Away with Murder
Trish Lundy
Henry Holt & Co.
Published April 16, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The One That Got Away with Murder

Be careful who you fall for…

Robbie and Trevor Cresmont have a body count—the killer kind. Handsome and privileged, the Crestmont brothers’ have enough wealth to ensure they’ll never be found guilty of any wrongdoing, even if all of Happy Valley believes they’re behind the deaths of their ex-girlfriends. First there was soccer star Victoria Moreno, Robbie’s ex, who mysteriously drowned at the family lake house. Then, a year later, Trevor’s girlfriend died of a suspicious overdose.

But the Crestmonts aren’t the only ones with secrets. Lauren O’Brian might be the new girl at school, but she’s never been a good girl. With a dark past of her own, she’s desperate for a fresh start. Except when she starts a no-strings-attached relationship with Robbie, her chance is put in jeopardy. During what’s meant to be their last weekend together, Lauren stumbles across shocking evidence that just might implicate Robbie.

With danger closing in, Lauren doesn’t know who to trust. And after a third death rocks the town, she must decide whether to end things with Robbie or risk becoming another cautionary tale.

This is an edge-of-your-seat debut YA thriller about a teen who is forced to confront her past in order to catch a murderer before she ends up the next victim. Perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

My Review

This tightly-paced book definitely kept me turning pages. I read the whole thing in one afternoon. The stakes ratchet up as the story progresses, which also made me want to just-one-more-chapter all the way to the end.

I also appreciated that Lauren and Robbie’s connection isn’t too insta-lovey. She recognizes him as a fellow trauma survivor, and that connection makes it hard for her to walk away from a relationship with him. I also found his character believable because of his background and experience. I liked that the author set him up to be that brooding, untrusting loner for reasons rather than because it turns Lauren’s head.

The only thing that tripped me up a little bit is the brief point-of-view shift near the end, in which the story flips to the murderer’s perspective. I can see why the author chose to include those chapters, as they did heighten the tension and keep the action going at a critical point. I did find myself wishing that the story had played out in a way that made that unnecessary, though. For me personally, reading from the viewpoint of a person intending someone else harm feels icky, so I would have preferred to stay in one point-of-view all the way through the book, but that would have required telling the story in a different way.

I do think the author handled those chapters in a good way. It was creepy, but the story didn’t revel in harming others, which does sometimes happen when you’re in a villain’s point of view.

All in all, I can see readers who enjoy books by Karen McManus or Diana Urban loving this one, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Lauren is white. Her soccer team is pretty diverse. A couple of the players are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. A couple of scenes imply the characters are going to or have had sex, but it happens offscene. Two girls talk openly about being in a relationship with each other.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Lauren briefly sees a person who has died from an apparent drug overdose. She has flashes of memories from a fire she survived that injured someone. There are also brief descriptions of a girl being coerced and blackmailed by someone who wants her to perform sexual acts. Three chapters are from a murderer’s point of view and briefly describe him killing someone.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol. One teen snorts cocaine.

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 Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis and Vivian Truong

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, Sci-Fi, , , , , , ,

The Awakening Storm (City of Dragons #1)
Jaimal Yogis
Illustrated by Vivian Truong
Graphix
Published September 21, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Awakening Storm

Grace and her friends must protect a newly hatched dragon from mysterious evildoers.

When Grace moves to Hong Kong with her mom and new stepdad, her biggest concern is making friends at her fancy new boarding school. But when a mysterious old woman gifts her a dragon egg during a field trip, Grace discovers that the wonderful stories of dragons she heard when she was a young girl might actually be real–especially when the egg hatches overnight.

The dragon has immense powers that Grace has yet to understand. And that puts them both in danger from mysterious forces intent on abusing the dragon’s power. And now it’s up to Grace and her school friends to uncover the sinister plot threatening the entire city!

My Review

I think I expected something a little different based on the cover art of this book, so as I started reading, it took me a while to catch up to what the story was actually about. Based on the cover art, I expected there to be more dragons in the story. Some are mentioned, but only one is a main character.

I really liked Grace’s friend group. They’re an inclusive bunch, and they have well-defined personalities. I liked how their input shaped Grace’s quest, and the banter and jokes kept the tone light.

Though the story started off slow, once Grace and her family moved to Hong Kong, I felt like things picked up. She finds the dragon, and bad guys start chasing her. The tension just kept going up from there.

I got this book because I know my nephew loves stories about dragons. I liked the book well enough to consider buying the rest of the series, too. It was really fun to read once I got past those opening scenes.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Grace is Chinese American and biracial. Her mom is white, and her dad is Chinese American. Her friend Ramesh is Indian, and her friend James is Black and Australian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Grace’s dad tells her tales about the Yellow Emperor and the warriors who served him. Grace cares for a young dragon and searches for others. A goddess speaks to a fisherman.

Violent Content
Racist comments and bullying. Death of a parent.

Drug Content
Grace learns about medical experimentation that took place years before.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but which help support this blog.

Review: Together for Never by Marilyn Kaye

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

Together for Never
Marilyn Kaye
Holiday House
Published March 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Together for Never

The Parent Trap meets Mean Girls when two polar opposites are squeezed into a tiny vacation house just because their parents are dating.

Charlotte is the queen bee of her 8th grade class—popular, confident, always wearing the trendiest clothes—and judging others for what they wear. Lily is a loner who dreams of becoming a writer—and she wants nothing to do with Charlotte and her snobby crowd.

Then Charlotte’s divorced father starts dating Lily’s single mother. Neither one of the girls even notices—until the day they learn that they are going on vacation together. Worse than that, they’ll have to share a small bedroom for two whole weeks. 

When The Parent Trap meets Mean Girls , can two girls ever make peace, or will they drag their vacations—and their parents’ romance—into disaster?  Every teen girl’s nightmare becomes an entertaining, surprising and heartfelt story in the hands of seasoned middle grade pro Marilyn Kaye.

My Review

This is a super quick read at about 150 pages. I liked that the girls were so different from one another– it created a lot of opportunities for misunderstandings and conflicts. The relationships between the girls and their parents were interesting, too. Charlotte’s relationship with her mom definitely broke my heart a bit. You could really feel Charlotte’s need to connect and that plus her mom’s behavior leading to Charlotte trying to act older than she was.

When Charlotte gets involved with the older kids at the beach, I couldn’t help feeling nervous for her. There were clear warning signs that this was going to go badly, but it made sense why she persisted in hanging out with them. I loved the way Lily was strong and independent, but that her independence and not caring what anyone thought about her left her vulnerable to some mistakes, too.

Ultimately, I thought this was a cool story about divorce and blended families as well as peer relationships. For a short book, the author really packed a lot in. Every scene, every page felt essential to the story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white. A minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. He’s older and in high school, while she’s in eighth grade. Lily’s mother makes a comment about needing to look “beneath the suit” to discover that Charlotte’s dad is a good person. Lily feels embarrassed at the double entendre.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A girl is injured in an accident.

Drug Content
Charlotte’s mother pressures her to drink wine with her. Charlotte pretends to enjoy it, but doesn’t like the taste or the pressure.

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 TOGETHER FOR NEVER in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Betrayal by the Book by Michael D. Beil

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , , , , ,

Betrayal by the Book (The Swallowtail Legacy #2)
Michael D. Beil
Pixel+Ink
Published April 18, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Betrayal by the Book

A writer’s conference brings twelve-year-old Lark’s favorite writer–and a suspicious death–to Swallowtail Island, in the second book in this middle grade mystery series by an Edgar Award-nominated author.

Swallowtail Island is hosting the Swallowtales Writer’s Conference. Lark’s ecstatic to be chosen as a “page” for her favorite author, Ann E. Keyhart.

But they say you should never meet your idols. When Keyhart arrives with her personal assistant in tow, she is nothing but a terror. And within a few hours, the assistant is dead! But the explanation isn’t sitting well. Not when lots of people had reasons to want to be rid of Keyhart, and especially not after it’s revealed the assistant recently completed a hot new novel and the file’s vanished from her computer.

Then Lark finds out the assistant had a bird–the match to the one she found hidden in her mom’s book–and she needs answers. It looks like Swallowtail Island still has secrets to reveal, and Lark’s going to uncover them.

A gripping new chapter in the Swallowtail Legacy series, Mike D. Beil spins another clever clue hunt that seamlessly slips in alongside the best classics of middle grade mystery.

My Review

I read the first book in this series, WRECK AT ATA’S REEF last year, and really enjoyed it. So, I was excited to see that this second book was coming out this year. Like the first, it’s set on a small island, and features some of Lark’s many family members.

I really liked that the story takes place during a writer’s conference at which Lark is a volunteer helper to her favorite author. Though the conference itself stays more in the background, it still managed to hit a lot of key moments from a conference: panels, hurt feelings over harsh feedback, encouraging words from a beloved author, and disorganized statements from someone clearly underprepared.

I had very strong suspicions about who was responsible for the assistant’s death even before I read the first page of the story, and I was right. So, that made it a little difficult for me to enjoy Lark’s journey unraveling the clues.

I also expected the bird figurine to tie into the mystery somehow? It remained pretty separate, though. Because that thread began in the first book, I kind of wonder if it’s something that will be the center of a mystery in the next book in the series? I haven’t heard anything, so I don’t know.

All in all, I think I’d have enjoyed this one a bit more if I hadn’t figured out the mystery so quickly. I still enjoyed the island community and Lark’s role as a conference volunteer. I’m not sorry I read the book. The series still makes me think of the Northwoods Mysteries by Margi Preus.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Lark wonders whether she’s attracted to a boy on the island.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Lark responds to a scream and sees the dead body of a woman who has apparently died of an allergic reaction. (No blood, just open blank eyes, clearly not breathing, cold to the touch.)

Drug Content
Ann Keyheart gets drunk in several scenes and slurs her words or behaves rudely.

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 BETRAYAL BY THE BOOK in exchange for my honest review.

Middle Grade Mondays!

Greg at Always in the Middle does a Monday roundup of posts about middle grade books and news. Check out today’s Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays!

Review: You Wouldn’t Dare by Samantha Markum

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

You Wouldn’t Dare
Samantha Markum
Wednesday Books
Published March 28, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Wouldn’t Dare

A rom com about trying to have the summer of your life before everything changes – only to realize change might be exactly what you need…

When Juniper Nash Abreheart kissed Graham Isham for the first time, she had no idea it would nearly be the end of their friendship.

More specifically, she had no idea that the terrible, unforgivable thing she did to keep their summer fling a secret wouldn’t just ruin their friendship, but also Graham’s entire life. Now, months since the fallout, Junie and Graham spend most of their time sidestepping conversational landmines on the journey back to normalcy.

Junie is sure the strangeness between her and Graham is her biggest problem – until her mom hires Tallulah, her boyfriend’s surly teenage daughter, to work at their family café, and then announces they’ll all be moving in together at the end of the summer. The only bright spot ahead is Junie’s dad’s upcoming visit, just in time for her community theater production. And then poor turnout soon threatens that.

But when Junie starts to realize the feelings she swore to take care of last summer have lingered, saving her production and managing her hostile relationship with Tallulah might be the least of her problems. Graham isn’t just off limits – their friendship has been mended to barely withstand a breeze, and the gale force of Junie’s feelings could be just what breaks them.

Samantha Markum’s YOU WOULDN’T DARE is about the risks and triumphs that come with being brave enough to take a chance at what you really want, including love.

My Review

YOU WOULDN’T DARE is set in Florida, on a (made up) island called White Coral Key that’s about four hours from Jacksonville. One side of the island is ocean-facing, and the other is bay-facing, so I’m guessing the island would be either somewhere just south of Tampa on the Gulf side of FL or somewhere around West Palm Beach on the Atlantic coast. Anyway. I live a pretty short drive from both of those places, so it was fun to read about a place so similar to my own hometown.

Besides the beachy summer setting, there’s so much to love about this book. There’s the fun community theater production, which Junie ropes all her friends into helping with. There’s the banter between her and her three best friends, and the simmering tension between her and Graham.

This book literally made me laugh out loud (twice) and cry (also twice). I loved the messages about community, found family, and the bravery it takes to have the relationships you want. I also loved Samantha Markum’s debut, THIS MAY END BADLY, but I might have actually enjoyed this one even more?

If you like friend banter, antics, and summer fun plus angsty friends-to-lovers romance, you do not want to miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Junie is white. She has a diverse group of friends. One is bisexual. One is biracial, and one is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls. References to hands up shirts in the kissing sessions between the boy and girl. Vague reference to Junie’s friends having sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a car accident in which someone was killed. References to characters stung by jellyfish.

Drug Content
Junie and her friends drink alcohol at parties. One gets very drunk and sick.

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 YOU WOULDN’T DARE in exchange for my honest review.