Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwasney is at its heart a story of mothers and daughters. In this case, there are three generations of mothers and daughters who all make mistakes but ultimately struggle to do the best they can.
Each of the storytellers, Madeline, Desiree and Ariel has a distinct voice. Madeline is super-responsible, [...]

Noonie is sure that she will someday be a famous artist. She knows many well-known artists go through periods where they focus on color, and she herself has been through a blue period. This came after her mom died while she was in kindergarten and her dad’s job as an archeologist took him to locations [...]

Will Grayson #1 believes in two rules: 1. Don’t care too much. 2. Shut up. He’s pretty sure if he follows those he can make it through high school. But he’s not always good at following them. The last time he violated his rules was to defend his best friend Tiny Cooper, who is gay, [...]

Abbie Adams has a lot to worry about. Her little brother isn’t always good at controlling his magic, so she often has to use her own magic to reverse his spells and make his first-grade teacher and his classmates forget weird things they’ve seen. But sometimes she forgets to cover her own tracks well enough, [...]

Solomon’s Thieves is a new graphic novel that takes the reader back to medieval times and the story of the Knights Templar. The Templars came into being to protect pilgrims on their journey to the Holy Land. Over the years they became strong and wealthy in their own right, and kings began to see them [...]

Congratulations to Sonia, who won The Adoration of Jenna Fox in last week’s giveaway. This week I’m giving away a copy of The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent. Here’s my previous review:
When hardship hits ten-year-old Sarah Carrier’s family, they move on a cold December day from their home in Billerica, Massachusetts to nearby Andover. They [...]

Pia is feeling down about having to adjust to a new home for herself and a new stable for her horse, Drummer, after her parents get divorced. She’s worried about making new friends with the other kids who ride, and she hopes Drummer gets along with the new horses too. When she takes a tumble [...]

Do you remember the first person you called your best friend? If you do, chances are you’ll enjoy the 30 stories celebrating friendship in a new book from Nancy Lindemeyer, My First Best Friend: Thirty Stories, Lifetime Memories.
Stories feature friends who are still close and continue to think of each other as “the best,” and [...]

For years I’ve heard of Prince of Persia as a video game, but as I don’t play games I didn’t know much about it. When I was given the chance to review the new graphic novel inspired by the video, I knew I wanted to take a look. Graphic novels in general are something relatively [...]

Mary Richards isn’t sure what’s wrong with her. She got so tired in school she fell asleep…and purred. She’s sprouting fur wherever a cat rubs against her skin. And she’s craving milk. When Nick, the guy she has a crush on, seems to understand what’s happening to her, and he offers to help, she decides [...]