Tag Archives: family business

Review: Ready or Not by Andi Porretta

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Ready or Not by Andi Porretta

Ready or Not
Andi Porretta
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published July 2, 2024

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About Ready or Not

An anxious teen hopes that a summer of adventure and offbeat dares will keep her friend group together after graduation in this luminous coming-of-age graphic novel with the feel-good vibes of Booksmart and Morgan Matson’s Since You’ve Been Gone.

With senior year finally behind them, Cassie and her three best friends are on their way to what’s next. Like their parents, the crew has always been there’s Marcy, the artist, for whom style is self-expression and sarcasm is a love … Continue reading →

Review: The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella

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The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Callela

The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray
Christine Calella
Page Street Press
Published April 9, 2024

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About The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray

Storms and pirates are nothing compared to the evil within men’s hearts.

After a lifetime of abuse at the hands of superstitious townsfolk, Ophelia Young, a bastard child of the notorious pirate queen, is tired of paying for the sins of her mother. Despite playing by the rules her whole life, she’s earned nothing but spite and suspicion. So when a naval officer saves her from the jeering crowd at her mother’s hanging, Ophelia … Continue reading →

Review: Drawing Deena by Hena Khan

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Drawing Deena by Hena Khan

Drawing Deena
Hena Khan
Salaam Reads
Published February 6, 2024

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About Drawing Deena

From the award-winning author of AMINA’S VOICE and AMINA’S SONG comes a tenderhearted middle grade novel about a young Pakistani American artist determined to manage her anxiety and forge her own creative path.

Deena’s never given a name to the familiar knot in her stomach that appears when her parents argue about money, when it’s time to go to school, or when she struggles to find the right words. She manages to make it through each day with the help of her friends and the art she … Continue reading →

Review: Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce

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Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce

Dungeons and Drama
Kristy Boyce
Delacorte Press
Published January 9, 2023

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About Dungeons and Drama

When it comes to romance, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to play games. A fun YA romcom full of fake dating hijinks!

Musical lover Riley has big aspirations to become a director on Broadway. Crucial to this plan is to bring back her high school’s spring musical, but when Riley takes her mom’s car without permission, she’s grounded and stuck with the worst punishment: spending her after-school hours working at her dad’s game shop.

Riley can’t waste her time working when she has a musical … Continue reading →

Review: Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

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Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

Flip Turns
Catherine Arguelles
Jolly Fish Press
Published September 13, 2022

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About Flip Turns

Thirteen-year-old Maddie just wants her classmate, Lucas, to leave her alone. He keeps asking her out—as if she hasn’t already said no a thousand times! Focusing on her competitive swim team, the Electric Eels, Maddie tries to ignore him, hoping he’ll go away.

But then, when someone starts sabotaging Maddie’s family-owned pool—glass on the deck, ketchup in the pool, followed by a “code brown”—Maddie worries it’s her “admirer” trying to get even. After Maddie’s parents rule the problems at the pool just harmless pranks, Maddie and her best friend Ez decide to … Continue reading →

Review: Belittled Women by Amanda Sellet

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Belittled Women by Amanda Sallet

Belittled Women
Amanda Sellet
Clarion Books
Published November 29, 2022

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About Belittled Women

Sharp and subversive, this delightfully messy YA rom-com offers a sly wink to the classic LITTLE WOMEN, as teenage Jo Porter rebels against living in the shadow of her literary namesake.

Lit’s about to hit the fan. Jo Porter has had enough LITTLE WOMEN to last a lifetime. As if being named after the sappiest family in literature wasn’t sufficiently humiliating, Jo’s mom, ahem Marmee, leveled up her Alcott obsession by turning their rambling old house into a sad-sack tourist attraction.

Now Jo, along with her siblings, Meg and Bethamy (yes, that’s two March sisters in one), spends … Continue reading →