• Reviews

    Eleanor & Park

    This book cover has bee intriguing to me for the past couple of months and I finally got a chance to read the book last week.  A story of love found in the most unlikely of places is one that I rarely can put down.  This is a universal story…

  • Reviews

    The Tragedy Paper

    I’m back!  After a week with extended family in the beautiful states of Tennessee and North Carolina, I’m back at work and reeling at how much I need to get done in the next couple of weeks! Over vacation I was able to read a handful of books that I’ll…

  • Reviews

    Bad Girls

    This was such an interesting title, I just had to pick it up!  Written in (very) short chapters, the authors cover 26 “bad” girls of history with  graphic novel conversation between the authors as to their own opinions on each of the women.  Many of these women I have heard…

  • Reviews

    The Moon and More

    I have turned so many teens on to Sarah Dessen’s books.  Her characters, the dialog, the situations they are placed in all ring true to the teenagers that stop into the library.  She’s my go-to author for “chick-lit” books that also deal with heavier topics that teens deal with everyday. …

  • Lifestyle

    Young Adult vs. Middle Grade Books

    Summer is fast approaching and as a librarian, I have found that many parents and even some kids are confused and misunderstand the difference between young adult books and books for those students in middle grades.  Once I read past the middle grade novels in my public library in my…

  • Reviews

    Ripper

    Unsolved mysteries are always intriguing and the sensationalized serial killer Jack the Ripper is no different.  Stefan Petrucha created a new twist in the historical fiction/steampunk novel, Ripper.  Carver Young is adopted by ex-Pinkerton detective, Harking at the age of 14 and soon becomes entangled in the  pursuit of Jack the Ripper…

  • Reviews

    My Family for the War

    My Family for the War written by Anne C. Voorhoeve and translated by Tammi Reichel won the Mildred L. Batchelder medal for most outstanding children’s book in translation (from German) this past year.  This book intrigued me on three different levels, the first being a winner for a book in translation.  I honestly…

  • Reviews

    Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

    Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe written by Benjamin Alire Saenz is a coming-of-age story about an angry, young Mexican boy and how he learns the secrets to his own universe and learns about himself and his family.  Aristotle is essentially an only child, his twin sisters are much older…

  • Reviews

    Courage Has No Color

    Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers written by Tanya Lee Stone is such an interesting piece of history that I had never heard before.  I am amazed by informational text authors finding these interesting subjects to write about – I feel that…

  • Reviews

    Ask the Passengers

    Ask the Passengers by A.S. King is a great young adult novel focusing on the ideas of not fitting in, bullying, small-town life, and figuring out who you are.  I grew up in a small town and could easily relate to the main character, Astrid Jones.  Small town life can be…