Everyone knows that the best books maximize your emotions: you laugh like an idiot, you weep like a baby, and your thoughts spin madly in circles. Everyone also knows that the best fairy tales show you the best and worst of humanity in the most magical ways. Probably not since Wildwood Dancing has a fantasy … Continue reading Into the Heartless Wood, by Joanna Ruth Meyer →

In the many, many months since my review of Alex & Eliza: A Love Story, I finally viewed the original Broadway production of Hamilton through the magic of Disney+. And, I'm sorry, guys, but it just didn't take me in the way it did for so many others. Lin-Manuel Miranda and his cast are remarkably … Continue reading Love & War: An Alex & Eliza Story, by Melissa de la Cruz →

I vaguely remember in 2019 when the college admissions scandal news broke, and being slightly disappointed that Lori Loughlin, of all people, was involved. It certainly wasn't the most shocking news I'd ever heard, but I, like many others, found it pathetic how much privilege and entitlement reached as high as they did. That very … Continue reading Admission, by Julie Bexbaum →

Some books, like Elsewhere, I read so long ago, and yet I remember so much in vivid detail. Like A Mango-Shaped Space, it was so real and so gripping to fourteen-year-old me that it made me sob my eyes out. I've read enough old young adult books from my childhood to not be quite as … Continue reading Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin →

In the fall of 2018, when I was just starting out as a teacher, Jenna Moreci's The Savior's Champion proved to be a pretty good escape. I was impressed with her world-building, the stakes surrounding the bloody Sovereign's Tournament, and the romance between Tobias and Leila. More than anything, the ending left me breathless for … Continue reading The Savior’s Sister (The Savior’s Champion #2), by Jenna Moreci →

Give me a book involving a group of teenagers with magical powers fighting evil, and I'm a happy camper. Add the fact that these teenagers are babysitters tasked with protecting the innocent and I'm an intrigued happy camper. Probably because I did not do much babysitting as a teenager, and thus, it was fun to … Continue reading The Babysitters Coven, by Kate M. Williams →

Back in October 2019, I was given an ARC of The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith and fell absolutely head over heels in love with it! It had been so long since I'd felt so immersed in another world, and even longer since I'd enjoyed a protagonist so much. Although I complained that it … Continue reading The Glamourist, by Luanne G. Smith →

Peter Pan was quintessential in my childhood. I watched the Disney cartoon so many times that I was Peter Pan for Halloween in kindergarten. When the 2003 live-action movie came out, the "I do believe in fairies!" sequence just pumped my sisters and me up. I'd heard that, of all the retellings and unofficial sequels … Continue reading Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson →

I was sorely tempted to compare Playlist for the Dead to another famous story of teen suicide and its repercussions. Let’s see: a troubled teen kills themselves, check. They leave behind a series of technological files to cryptically explain something to the living, check. The people left behind have to piece together why the suicide … Continue reading Playlist for the Dead, by Michelle Falkoff →

With a lot of personal stuff going on recently, I’ve tried starting a few other books, but they just weren’t keeping my interest. So, I healed my rut by returning to Half-Price Books to sell my latest failure reads. It was there that I found Much Ado About You by Samantha Young. Just from that … Continue reading Much Ado About You, by Samantha Young →