Evan and Lucy have been best friends ever since they can remember. They used to spend hours playing together and creating stories and drawings for an imaginary place they call Aelysthia. That was before Lucy’s parents split up and she moved with her mother from New England to Georgia. Now she comes back once a [...]

Ivy and Eldridge have become fast friends after their adventures in Ivy’s Ever After by Dawn Lairamore. Now they’re trying to enjoy themselves at Drusilla’s wedding when a giant beanstalk with vicious teeth for pods grows into the clouds, taking Drusilla’s pet goat with it. In Ivy and the Meanstalk, the two set off to [...]

Take an unconventional princess, a shy and timid dragon, an evil prince as would-be rescuer, and a kingdom that sorely needs a dash of hope. Mix in an absent-minded, wayward fairy godmother, a few trolls, and a cute stable boy. Bring all the ingredients together in a tale called Ivy’s Ever After by Dawn Lairamore [...]

The new Rebel in a Dress series by Sylvia Branzei succeeds in showcasing women who have broken the boundaries of their times to achieve what they wanted. Illustrations by Melissa Sweet and historic photographs make each woman featured come alive in just a few pages. I read two titles in the series: one that focuses [...]

In 1965 the U.S. was committing more troops to Vietnam, Malcolm X was assassinated, civil rights demonstrators marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, and riots broke out in Los Angeles. Sex, drugs and rock and roll was the mantra of the day. In Purple Daze by Sherry Shahan, six high school friends navigate these unsettling [...]

Sam doesn’t remember too much from before his dad took him and his little brother away from home for a life on the run. He just knows that it’s important that he not attract attention to himself when he goes out. But when he makes a connection with Emily, he suddenly doesn’t want to be [...]

Violet has high expectations for her junior year at the exclusive all-girls school she attends in Boston. She’s always had to work hard for whatever she achieves, and she’s willing to put in as many hours as it takes to increase her chances of getting into a good college. But she soon finds out that [...]

Neva lives in a world where someone is always watching. The government built the Protectosphere she lives in to keep everyone safe, yet that same government also seems to make people disappear and never come back. As life inside the dome becomes more limited, the government squeezes its citizens ever more tightly to squelch insurgencies [...]