Tag Archives: Reading List

Review: Chris Makes a Friend by Alex Gino

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Chris Makes a Friend by Alex Gino

Chris Makes a Friend
Alex Gino
Scholastic Press
Published November 4, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Chris Makes a Friend

From the award-winning author of MELISSA, a sweet and tart story about unexpected friendship and family reconciliation.

Chris does not want to be spending the summer with their grouchy grandmother and social butterfly sister. But they don’t really have a choice, once their mom leaves them at Grandmother’s house. They can, however, try to escape whenever they want to — into the woods, where they encounter another kid who is the friend they need to survive the summer.

Only… there’s more to this friend … Continue reading →

May and June Reading Recap

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May and June Reading Recap

May and June Reading Recap

May slipped by without a moment for me to stop and recap my reading life. I feel like I blinked, and June is gone as well, so I figured I would drop both into one long reading recap.

For me personally, May was a busy month, between all the end-of-year activities at school and gearing up for summer. We had some trouble with our water softener system (another thing my dad used to take care of), so we spent several weeks drinking bottled water and juggling extra tasks related to that.

We also officially launched our new Friends of the Library nonprofit group supporting our local library branch. We’ve … Continue reading →

20 Young Adult Books Still on My Spring 2026 Reading List

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YA Books Still on My Spring 2025 Reading List

20 Young Adult Books Still on My Spring 2026 Reading List

This spring has been an incredibly rough season. From personal tragedy to unexpected home repairs, I feel like nothing in my life has gone as planned. Reading-wise, I’m way behind. There’s just no other way to say it. It takes me longer to read a book right now, and some things are just too hard to read in the aftermath of losing my dad.

These are the books I agreed to review this spring and just haven’t been able to get to yet. I want to read all of them. (I’m pretty careful about what I accept for review.) As … Continue reading →

April 2026 Reading Recap

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April Reading Recap

April 2026 Reading Recap

This month began with services for my dad’s passing and our first Easter without him. Every day is still strange, like we’re navigating around unexpected holes he used to fill. The cat continues to hold on– we’re having real success with his medications at the moment. Fingers crossed that we’ll make it at least through the end of the school year with him feeling well. Truthfully, we’ll enjoy every good day he can give us before we say another painful goodbye.

In terms of my reading life, by the end of the month, I felt much more in the swing of things. I’m still reading much more slowly than usual, but catching up … Continue reading →

March 2026 Reading Recap

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March 2026 Reading Recap

March 2026 Reading Recap

Trigger warning: pet illness and death of a parent.

Well, March started out peacefully, but it really went out with a bang for my family. On March 21, we spent the day at the emergency vet with a very sick cat, who we learned has cancer. We brought him home with the intention of trying to keep him comfortable for a few days while we said goodbye. Within a couple of days, he was responding well to the medication and doing a lot better.

And then my dad passed away suddenly that Monday night.

Our household is perhaps a little bit unusual in that it includes my parents, my partner, … Continue reading →

February 2026 Reading Recap

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February 2026 Reading Recap

February 2026 Reading Recap

LOL. After a couple of months of perfectly timed recap posts, here I am, nearing the end of March, finally looking back at what I read in February. Falling behind was bound to happen eventually.

February was a busy month. I ended up starting a new job, which has required some reorganizing in the other areas of my life. It’s been really cool, though. Prior to this, I worked primarily from home doing freelance writing. This puts me in an office and in connection with a lot of people for 10-15 hours per week. The change in what’s required of me in terms of social energy has taken some time to acclimate to, but I find I really enjoy the work. I’m also enjoying connecting with … Continue reading →