Review: Dog Trouble by Kristin Varner

Dog Trouble by Kristin Varner

Dog Trouble
Kristin Varner
First Second
Published October 29, 2024

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About Dog Trouble

From the author of Horse Trouble comes a graphic novel perfect for fans of PAWS and Allergic!

Ash is a good kid at heart. But his grades are slipping, and when he gets caught vandalizing an old building, it’s the last straw. It’s decided: Ash will spend some time away from the city, at his dad’s place on Ferncliff Island.

It’s bad enough that Ash has no friends on the island (just an annoying little stepsister), but his parents are also making him do community service! He volunteers at the … Continue reading

Review: How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days by Fiona Hardy

How to Make a Movie in 12 Days by Fiona Hardy

How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days
Fiona Hardy
Kane Miller Publishing
Published September 1, 2019

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About How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days

‘How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days’ is the story of what happens when 11-year-old Hayley Whelan tries to bring her horror-movie vision to the big-screen over the summer holidays.

Friendships will be tested, the fake blood will flow, and the snacks budget will be well and truly blown in this wonderful, heart-warming reel of contemporary Aussie … Continue reading

Review: Ready or Not by Andi Porretta

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 language; … Continue reading

Review: Winnie Nash is Not Your Sunshine by Nicole Melleby

Winnie Nash is Not Your Sunshine by Nicole Melleby

Winnie Nash is Not Your Sunshine
Nicole Melleby
Algonquin Young Readers
Published April 2, 2024

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About Winnie Nash is Not Your Sunshine

In this powerful new novel by award-winning author Nicole Melleby, 12-year-old Winnie Nash is forced to live with her grandma for the summer and finds herself torn between her family’s secrets and the joy of celebrating Pride.

Winnifred “Winnie” Nash is not a senior citizen, despite what anyone thinks of her name. And she is definitely not excited to live with her grandma in New Jersey for the summer. Not only are they basically … Continue reading

Review: The Someday Daughter by Ellen O’Clover

The Someday Daughter by Ellen O'Clover

The Someday Daughter
Ellen O’Clover
HarperTeen
Published February 20, 2024

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About The Someday Daughter

Years before Audrey St. Vrain was born, her mother, Camilla, shot to fame with Letters to My Someday Daughter, a self-help book encouraging women to treat themselves with the same love and care they’d treat their own daughters. While the world considers Audrey lucky to have Camilla for a mother, the truth is that Audrey knows a different side of being the someday daughter. Shipped off to boarding school when she was eleven, she feels more like a promotional tool than a member of Camilla’s … Continue reading

Review: The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich cover shows a young girl in the foreground with a crow sitting on her shoulder and her house made of birchbark in the background.

The Birchbark House (The Birchbark House #1)
Louise Erdrich
Hyperion Books for Children
Published June 3, 2002 (orig. 1999)

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About The Birchbark House

Nineteenth-century American pioneer life was introduced to thousands of young readers by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved Little House books. With THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE, award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s first novel for young readers, this same slice of history is seen through the eyes of the spirited, 7-year-old Ojibwa girl Omakayas, or Little Frog, so named because … Continue reading