The day after her fifteenth birthday, Willowjean “Will” Parker runs away from home and ends up joining the circus. Life is not easy for her on the road as she learns the ins and outs of carny life, but it… Read More ›
Differently Abled
Charming as a Verb
Okay, let me start with a disclaimer that Ben Philippe is currently my very favorite YA author. Yes, I wish he didn’t sometimes use religious profanity and occasional slang that undoubtedly gives offense to some readers, but he is spot-on… Read More ›
Miss Meteor
This is a Throw-Everything-at-the-Reader-and-See-What-Sticks sort of book, with a little Wizard of Oz and X-Files thrown in for good measure. Every societal issue at play today is covered, including gender fluidity and discrimination, unequal wealth distribution, economic discrimination, political posturing,… Read More ›
Rick
About to start his first year of middle school, Rick is both nervous and excited. He looks forward to the new system of changing classes and teachers each period, but he is nervous about making new friends. Up to this… Read More ›
Dress Coded
Transition from elementary school to middle school has got to be one of the hardest changes a person’s got to endure–boys and girls maturing at different rates, childhood friendships evolving or ending and new ones being formed, and new anxieties… Read More ›
The Voting Booth
Too bad I didn’t discover this book sooner (its publication date was July 2020) so that I could have pushed it as a voter’s primer for YA readers and in particular for senior students voting for their first time. It… Read More ›
midnight sun
Here we have the 658-page retelling of the first part of the Twilight saga, told from Edward Cullen’s point of view. Fans will remember that the author had started work on this a long time ago but reportedly someone prematurely… Read More ›
We Are Not From Here
Chico, Pulga and Pequena are three teenagers living in the small village of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. They are not related but are close enough in friendship to be so. Chico lives with Pulga, having been orphaned when his mother died… Read More ›
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
So here’s the long-anticipated prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy. Coriolanus Snow is in his final year at the elitist Academy, training ground for future leaders of Panem. He is fortunate to be there because although he is charming, intelligent… Read More ›
The Kingdom of Back
In 18th-century Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Woferl) lives with his parents, older sister Maria Anna (Nannerl), and their family manservant Sebastian in respectable but slightly shabby quarters while their father Leopold serves as musician in residence to the Archbishop…. Read More ›
Before You Buy YA 