So I know I am nearly a month late, but The Library Key celebrated its one-year anniversary on May 18th! I’ve reviewed close to fifty titles over the course of this year, but I thought I would do something different to commemorate a whole year of reviews. My most recent review at that date was … Continue reading RoseBlood, Phantom of the Opera, and other Bloody Tales: A Conversation →

Junior high can be a magical time for reading. When you’re a preadolescent reading about kids becoming heroes and having grand, magical destinies, you honestly believe that anything is possible. Makes sense, considering that junior high is a heck of a confusing and awkward time. Looking back on these books, it is so easy to … Continue reading The Moon Key, by J.R. Stampfl →

I’ve mentioned before that I sometimes attend comic conventions. So I thought, in order to celebrate my third year attending Indiana Comic Con, I would review a book that hints at one of my cosplays for this year's convention--one of my most ambitious cosplay projects to date, I'll add. Wintersong is not a new read … Continue reading Wintersong, by S. Jae-Jones →

Every once in a while, there comes a book that I really truly marvel at. I am in a perverse rapture at the choices the writer made in creating their characters and their wondrous new world. My head hurts from trying to comprehend these choices, and I slam my hand to my cheek in sheer … Continue reading RoseBlood, by A.G. Howard →

I’m an English major. I read a classic book, I make an analysis out of it. Now, since I’ve been out of school for a year, why suddenly pick up a classic from the 1920s? A classic banned in England and the U.S. for being pornographic up until a few decades ago? Because another reviewer … Continue reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover, by D.H. Lawrence →

Angie Thomas herself said that she was afraid to write The Hate U Give. In the same way, I’m afraid to review it. I’m used to talking about flights of fancy, not emphatic social commentaries—dragons and fairies, not human studies of racial bias. I’m afraid of coming across as inarticulate, but I feel I’d be … Continue reading The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas →

Witches, in their many incarnations, have always fascinated me. When I was thirteen, I watched the cartoon W.I.T.C.H over and over again, I wrote made-up spells in a notebook (my little sister and I even tried some—to no effect), and even composed a series of mini-stories about a seventh-grade witch’s misadventures in school. Give me … Continue reading The Book of Spells, by Kate Brian →

Pretty soon, I’m going to run out of ways to talk about Beauty and the Beast stories. I’m sorry, I just cannot help loving stories about redemption and true love, no matter how corny or dramatic. Plus I haven’t read many books that tell the Beast’s story. Kyle Kingsbury is the prince of his high … Continue reading Beastly, by Alex Flinn →

February is turning into quite the nostalgia month, isn’t it: first with Ready Player One, plus a couple of books that I read once way back when. And now I continue that accidental theme by looking at a book that makes me laugh and feel the warm-and-fuzzies every time: My Unfair Godmother, by Janette Rallison. … Continue reading My Unfair Godmother, by Janette Rallison →

I really truly do not know what I would do without fairy tales. In times of anxiety and uncertainty, I always return to worlds filled with adventure, fairy godmothers, special creatures, far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise…wait a minute. A few months ago I reviewed Robin McKinley’s second foray … Continue reading Beauty, by Robin McKinley →