Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria belong to one of 13 witch families of Palermo, families whose true identities float waaaayyyy under the radar to avoid historical spates of witch-killing. In their case, their family owns a very old and… Read More ›
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 ›
Ellie is a 12-year-old girl whose life changes dramatically as a result of the Great Depression. Her dad, a tailor, and mom, a teacher, manage to hang onto normal city life for a while, but eventually lose the proverbial shirts… Read More ›
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 ›
Fifteen-year-old Quinn spends much of his free time with best friends Luke, Leon and Jeremy at the Enchanted Grounds gamer coffee shop. When they meet there for the weekly Magic the Gathering tournament, Quinn quickly dispatches a young challenger and… Read More ›
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 ›
Norris Kaplan arrives in Austin TX on a blazing hot day with his mother, a Creole/Patois linguist who has just accepted a tenure-track position at the University of Texas after months and months of applying for jobs all over the… Read More ›
When Native American Lou relocates from Texas to Kansas in January of her junior year, she quickly captures the attention of star jock Cam Ryan and pretty much makes a seamless transition into the new high school. As the months… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
Before You Buy YA 