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The Great Unexpected
“I had big thoughts to match the big wind. I wondered if we find the people we need when we need them. I wondered if we attract our future by some sort of invisible force, or if we are drawn to it by a similar force. I felt I was…
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Vote for Me!
I don’t pretend to be a political person, I’m not even a fan of discussing politics due to the way most people seem to forget how to have a civilized conversation when discussing politics. But due to the fact that election day just happened, I figured I should at least…
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Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms
Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms is a captivating mystery filled with magic tricks, nosy triplets and a small boy who is much older than he looks. This story also has a number of funny, wacky parts that made me laugh out loud. Stuart Horten, whose name can be shortened to “shorten”…
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The Whole Story of a Half Girl
The Whole Story of a Half Girl written by Veera Hiranandani grabbed my attention, again due to the cover. It was definitely something I wanted to read and I’m so glad I did! Sonia Nadhamuni’s father loses his job and she is forced to go to public school for 6th grade. Never has her…
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The Boy On Cinnamon Street
I am in love with Phoebe Stone’s cover art for many of her books. I recently read The Romeo and Juliet Code and I just picked up The Boy on Cinnamon Street this weekend. Her cover art is always something that makes me want to pick up her books and…
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Prairie Evers
Prairie Evers is a ten-year old girl who has been homeschooled by her grandmother until the family moves to upstate New York and her parents decide it’s time she goes to public school to be around children her own age. Prairie is content to stay at home on the farm…
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Liar & Spy
Written by Newbery Award Winning writer, Rebecca Stead, Liar & Spy is a tale of mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. When Georges (the s is silent) moves into an apartment building in Brooklyn, he meets Safer a kid his own age and a self-appointed spy…
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The Unforgotten Coat
Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of Millions and Cosmic, has created a short novel called The Unforgotten Coat written about two Mongolian brothers who appear in Julie’s playground at school. Chingis, the older brother declares Julie their “Good Guide” a nomadic tradition of welcoming strangers, and Julie takes her job seriously teaching the…
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Enchanted
Enchanted (not the Disney movie, but a YA novel) written by Alethea Kontis combines a number of fairy tales into one complete story which is magical in its own right. This is the story of Sunday Woodcutter who is born to be (as written in the childhood rhyme) “but the child born on…
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The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True
The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True written by Gerald Morris was such a fun read and something that I think both boys and girls in elementary school would enjoy! Morris combines humor and Arthurian legend seamlessly in a way that is easily accessible to children – especially those who want…