Zack Jackson & The Cult of Athos tells the story of Zack as he leaves Earth for the first time with the Junior Rangers, an interstellar group kind of like the Boy Scouts (although apparently much more open in their membership since there are girls and non-Earthlings and creatures with no gender). He’s the youngest […]
Wintergirls
May 21, 2013 by 4 Comments
Trigger warning: This review contains spoilers which include discussions of severe eating disorders and self harm. I just finished reading Wintergirls and I’m feeling that relief that comes from no longer hitting yourself in the head with a hammer—and that’s actually a compliment to the power of the book. It’s a terrifying and very effective […]
Jacob Two-Two’s First Spy Case
May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. In Jacob Two-Two’s First Spy Case, the title character lives his life by twos. He has two eyes, two ears, two lips, two hands, two feet, and two brothers and two sisters. Two of them are older siblings, and two of them are very much older siblings and Jacob is […]
Fiona Thorn and the Carapacem Spell
May 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Fiona Thorn and the Carapacem Spell is the story of a young girl who loves to blow things up. She’s (mostly) well trained with explosives and she’s on a quest to save her friend who has been wrongly accused of putting a boy in a catatonic state. Along the way, she needs to free herself […]
Amelia Lost
May 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart is a nonfiction biography of Amelia Earhart. I rarely read nonfiction for fun, but my daughter—who also rarely reads nonfiction—enjoyed this and asked me to review it. It’s an interesting book that provides a nuanced picture of Earhart. She’s certainly not painted as a heroic saint, […]
The Lacemaker and the Princess
April 24, 2013 by 1 Comment
The Lacemaker and the Princess is a historical novel set in France in 1788. It involves real characters, including the royal family. Our heroine, Isabelle, is made up, although the author explains that there could very well have been a girl like her in 1788 France. Isabelle has been making lace since she was 4 […]
Enthusiasm
April 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I thoroughly enjoyed Enthusiasm, the story of Julie and her best friend Ashleigh and their sophomore year of high school. Ashleigh moves from obsessive craze to obsessive craze, and for most of the novel she’s obsessed with Pride and Prejudice. It’s obvious that the author also loves Jane Austen, Shakespeare, and other staples of English […]
The Escape of Princess Madeline
April 9, 2013 by 3 Comments
The Escape of Princess Madeline is described by the author as a novella, although in print I think it would be at least comparable to a typical 10 chapter style book for younger readers. It tells the story of Princess Madeline who has to come to terms with the expectations of growing up as she […]
The Princess Curse
April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jeff Dougan. As Amanda and Jocelyn Koehler have noted, there’s been a lot of interest recently in retelling the story of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” It’s one of my two or three favorite fairy tales (in company with “The Six Swans” and “Seven Simons”). In a fairy tale, I like a hero […]
Before Midnight
March 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Yet another fairy tale retelling by Cameron Dokey! I hope she never stops writing these. Before Midnight is based loosely on “Cinderella” and it makes some really interesting changes to the familiar tale. Cendrillon (“child of cinders”—Cinderella’s name in Perrault’s French fairy tales) was born just before midnight, as one day ends and another begins. […]
