Felix, a free black man who has sailed from America via the French coast city of Calais to England, has found himself employed as a servant working for Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland. Visiting Lord Byron are… Read More ›
Month: May 2018
Chaotic Good
Cameron Birch and her twin brother Cooper have moved with their parents from Portland, Oregon, to Eugene, where her mother has accepted a job with the university and where her dad has retired to work in his garden. Having recently… Read More ›
League of American Traitors
A teenage boy loses both his parents to death in a relatively short time. At his dad’s funeral a stranger tries to talk to him, but he brushes the guy off. Then he is ambushed and almost killed by people… Read More ›
Now Is Everything
A wealthy family is ruled by a bullying tyrant of a husband/father. Everyone has learned to tiptoe around the triggers that set him off. There is no sexual abuse but there is much physical and psychological violenc The oldest child… Read More ›
Sunkissed
This is just an excellent little happy but not silly book, for the most part. A teenage girl gets shipped off to a small island in Sweden for a month-long vacation stay with her hippie aunt. Dismayed to find there… Read More ›
Black Water Rising
This is not a bad eco tale about a big company managing a dam irresponsibly and the folks affected by it. There are good adults shown, no sex, some violence, bad language and profanity. Not a bad tale but the… Read More ›
What to Say Next
There are two protagonists in this book : One is David, a teenager with Asperger’s who has a great family supporting him. The other is Kit, a girl whose father was recently killed in a car accident. The book alternates… Read More ›
Broken Circle
This book can stand alone but looks like the first in a series. Somewhere in it is the germ of an interesting plot, but the story is not well- or logically-told. A boy’s dad is the Grim Reaper; indeed, he… Read More ›
Nothing
Two 15-year-old girls decide to write a book about a year in their life and call it NOTHING because they say nothing ever happens to them. Over the course of the year they write about their classes, teachers, siblings, boyfriends,… Read More ›
Protected
The cover says “A tender story of grief, trust, and healing.” Well, no, it’s not that, although those factors are present. I wouldn’t call it “tender.” A teenage girl is involved in a bad car accident with her dad and… Read More ›
Before You Buy YA 