Review: Spell Bound by F. T. Lukens

Spell Bound by F. T. Lukens

Spell Bound
F. T. Lukens
Simon & Schuster
Published April 4, 2023

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About Spell Bound

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 … Continue reading

Review: I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu

I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu

I Will Find You Again
Sarah Lyu
Simon & Schuster
Published March 14, 2023

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About I Will Find You Again

All the Bright Places meets Ace of Spades in this twisty teen thriller about finding a way to live after losing the one person who feels like home.

Welcome to Meadowlark, Long Island—expensive homes and good schools, ambition and loneliness. Meet Chase Ohara and Lia Vestiano: the driven overachiever and the impulsive wanderer, the future CEO and the free spirit. Best friends for years—weekend trips to Montauk, sleepovers on a yacht—and then, first love. True love.

But when Lia disappears, Chase’s life turns into a series … Continue reading

Review: My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix
Kalynn Bayron
Feiwel & Friends
Published March 7, 2023

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About My Dear Henry

In this gothic YA remix of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, a teen boy tries to discover the reason behind his best friend’s disappearance—and the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic stranger—in misty Victorian London.

London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life— and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry’s expuslion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and … Continue reading

Review: Missing Clarissa by Ripley Scott

Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones cover shows a long gold chain with a blue teardrop stone and the title in capital letters on pieces of duct tape.

Missing Clarissa
Ripley Jones
Wednesday Books
Published March 7, 2023

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About Missing Clarissa

In a gripping novel perfect for fans of Sadie and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, two best friends start a true crime podcast—only to realize they may have helped a killer in the process.

In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her—who all have something … Continue reading

Review: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto
George M. Johnson
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published April 28, 2020

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About All Boys Aren’t Blue

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well … Continue reading

Review: Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

Always the Almost
Edward Underhill
Wednesday Books
Published February 7, 2023

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About Always the Almost

A trans pianist makes a New Year’s resolution on a frozen Wisconsin night to win regionals and win back his ex, but a new boy complicates things in Edward Underhill’s heartfelt debut YA rom-dram, ALWAYS THE ALMOST.

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Miles Jacobson has two New Year’s resolutions: 1) win back his ex-boyfriend (and star of the football team) Shane McIntyre, and 2) finally beat his slimy arch-nemesis at the Midwest’s biggest classical piano competition. But that’s not going to be so easy. For one thing, Shane broke up with Miles two weeks after Miles came … Continue reading