Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. Michael Marion Magadlene Morn Edson was found in a White Castle by St. Mary of the Woods School for Wayward boys when he was just a baby. There was no tearful goodbye on a doorstep, or anything like that for Michael. What he discovered there, as he got older, was […]
When You Reach Me
September 9, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. “The trip is a difficult one, I will not be myself when I reach you.” In When You Reach Me, Miranda is the daughter of a single mom who got an invitation to be on the $20,000 Dollar Pyramid. She’s dealing with the strain of helping her mom train, as […]
Pennyroyal Academy
February 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Pennyroyal Academy is a story of a young girl who joins a military academy where girls study to become princesses who can fight witches while boys study to become knights who can fight dragons. You just have to accept the terms princess and knight—they’re titles conferred upon completion of the course (But they’re not parallel […]
Sidekicked
February 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. The Sensationalist is unhappy with his lot in life. Born Andrew Macon Bean, he was recruited into H.E.R.O., a superhero sidekick training program, because of his incredibly heightened senses. H.E.R.O aims to take young people with extraordinary talents and pair them with superheroes willing to take on apprentices who have […]
Lumberjanes
January 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Lumberjanes is a comic book series about a summer camp for “hardcore lady-types.” Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy is a collection of the first 4 issues, which introduces the characters and gets them started on their adventures—it certainly doesn’t bring a story arc to a close, so expect your young reader to start asking for […]
The Door in the Hedge
January 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. The Door in the Hedge came on my radar as I was trolling through the Toronto Public Library ebook website. It was part of the Big Library Read program where the company that handles ebooks for the library, Overdrive, decided to let everyone borrow this book and even provided points […]
A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel
December 17, 2015 by 2 Comments
The graphic novel of A Wrinkle in Time hews so closely to the original novel that this review will in many ways serve for both. But first a quick story. I was one of those kids (mostly girls) who discovered A Wrinkle in Time on her own and fell madly in love with it. I […]
A Whole New World
December 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale reimagines the Disney movie Aladdinby working from the premise that Jafar maintained ownership of the lamp at the Cave of Wonders. This, as you can probably imagine, does NOT go well for the Sultan, Jasmine, the genie, or Agrabah. It doesn’t make things worse for Aladdin, really, but […]
Jinx
November 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. Jinx can see it happening, the hunger in the clearing, the fact that his step-parents just had a new child. He’s going to be the one abandoned in the woods. So, when Jinx is taken into the Urwald he isn’t shocked. Just resigned to his fate. That’s when he meets […]
Manners & Mutiny
November 11, 2015 by 1 Comment
It’s always nice when the highly anticipated ending to a series is satisfying. (I still haven’t forgiven you, Mockingjay!) Manners & Mutiny, the final book in the Finishing School series, delivers on that front. The book assumes you’ve read the other three novels, and likewise I will assume you’ve read my other three reviews (Etiquette […]
