Review: Where There’s Smoke by E. B. Vickers

Where There's Smoke by E. B. Vickers cover shows the title words blended into orange and red flame-like shapes.

Where There’s Smoke
E. B. Vickers
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published December 12, 2023

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About Where There’s Smoke

In this fast-paced thriller, eighteen-year-old Calli finds herself alone after the loss of her father—until a bruised and broken girl shows up on her property, forcing her to face the present, rethink her future, and unearth the skeletons of her own past.

Life has never been easy in the small desert town of Harmony, but even on the day Calli Christopher buries her father, she knows she is surrounded by people … Continue reading

Review: No Perfect Places by Steven Salvatore

No Perfect Places by Steven Salvatore

No Perfect Places
Steven Salvatore
Bloomsbury YA
Published May 30, 2023

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About No Perfect Places

From lauded author Steven Salvatore comes a YA about twins whose incarcerated father dies and leaves behind a life-changing secret.

When their father was imprisoned for embezzlement, twins Alex and Olly Brucke lost everything except their strong bond with each other. But after their dad dies unexpectedly, the twins start to fracture. Alex is spiraling, skipping classes to get drunk or high. Olly is struggling with a secret his dad ordered him to keep: they have a secret half-brother, Tyler.

So when Tyler shows up in their lakeside town for … Continue reading

Review: Brighter Than the Moon by David Valdes

Brighter Than the Moon by David Valdes

Brighter Than the Moon
David Valdes
Bloomsbury YA
Published January 10, 2023

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About Brighter Than the Moon

Shy foster kid Jonas and self-assured vlogger Shani met online, and so far, that’s where their relationship has stayed, sharing memes and baring their souls from behind their screens. Shani is eager to finally meet up, but Jonas isn’t so sure–he’s not confident Shani will like the real him . . . if he’s even sure who that is.

Jonas knows he’s trapped himself in a lie with Shani–and wants to dig himself out. But Shani, who’s been burned before, may not give him a chance: she talks her best friend Ash into … Continue reading

Review: Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

Bookish and the Beast (Once Upon a Con #3)
Ashley Poston
Quirk Books
Published August 4, 2020

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About Bookish and the Beast

In the third book in Ashley Poston’s Once Upon a Con series, Beauty and the Beast is retold in the beloved Starfield universe.

Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they … Continue reading

Review: The Space Between Lost and Found by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

The Space Between Lost and Found by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

The Space Between Lost and Found
Sandy Stark-McGinnis
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published April 28, 2020

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About The Space Between Lost and Found

Cassie’s always looked up to her mom, a vivacious woman with big ideas and a mischievous smile. Together they planned to check off every item on a big-dream bucket list, no matter how far the adventure would take them. But then Mom was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and everything changed.

Now, Cassie tries to keep Mom happy, and to understand some of Dad’s restrictive new rules. She tries to focus on math lessons and … Continue reading

Review: The Slug Queen Chronicles by S. O. Thomas

The Slug Queen Chronicles by S. O. Thomas

The Slug Queen Chronicles
S. O. Thomas
Published April 2, 2020

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About The Slug Queen Chronicles

She never believed in fairies… until one set its sights on her little brother. Now, she must risk everything to get him back.

On her twelfth birthday, Cricket Kane uncovers a chilling secret–tooth fairies have stopped collecting single teeth and have resorted to kidnapping children instead. When her brother is taken, the fairy leaves a changeling and … Continue reading