Review: Hope is a Dangerous Place by Jim Baton

Hope is a Dangerous Place by Jim Baton

Hope is a Dangerous Place
Jim Baton
Published February 5, 2020

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About Hope is a Dangerous Place

Seventy-five years ago, fifteen-year-old Hope McCormick disappeared. To remember her, the newly incorporated town was named “Hope.” When high school friends Kelsey and Harmonie begin looking into this unsolved mystery, they discover that someone will do anything to make sure the town’s secrets never come to light. Which neighbors are allies, and which face masks a violent enemy? And what will it take for their struggling town to fulfill its original destiny of … Continue reading

Review: Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

Wild and Crooked
Leah Thomas
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
June 4, 2019

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About WILD AND CROOKED

In Samsboro, Kentucky, Kalyn Spence’s name is inseparable from the brutal murder her father committed when he was a teenager. Forced to return to town, Kalyn must attend school under a pseudonym . . . or face the lingering anger of Samsboro’s citizens, who refuse to forget the crime.

Gus Peake has never had the luxury of redefining himself. A Samsboro native, he’s either known as the … Continue reading

Review: Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

Two Can Keep a Secret
Karen McManus
Delacorte Press
January 8, 2019

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About TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET

Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother … Continue reading

Review: Running Strong by Diana Sharples

Running Strong by Diana Sharples

Running Strong
Diana Sharples
Published on June 29, 2018

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About Running Strong

Races are won in the turns.

Flannery Moore rides motocross bikes and can’t remember the last time she wore a dress. She’s also in love with one of her riding friends. Although nothing else could make her do so, Flannery decides to redefine herself into the kind of girl Tyler Dorset might fall for.

Despite his mother’s desperate efforts to keep Tyler close to home, he has dreams of his own. Dreams that will take him far away from sleepy and safe Bentley, North Carolina. Will Flannery understand how … Continue reading

Review: Silent Days, Holy Night by Phyllis Clark Nichols

Silent Days, Holy NightSilent Days, Holy Night
Phyllis Clark Nichols
Gilead Publishing
Published on October 30, 2018

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About Silent Days, Holy Night

The sounds of Christmases past echo through a silent house . . .

Everyone in town knows Emerald Crest, the green granite mansion atop the highest hill: the legendary, lavish Christmas festivities that used to light up the nights— and the silence that followed when the parties abruptly stopped many years ago. And everyone has heard whispers about the reclusive, mysterious master of the manor, Henry Lafferty the Second . . .

When eleven-year-old Julia Russell steps into the great house for the first time and meets Mr. Lafferty, … Continue reading

Review: Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamilloLouisiana’s Way Home
Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick Press
Published on October 2, 2018

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About Louisiana’s Way Home

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be.

When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose … Continue reading