Category Archives: book reviews

I haven’t been that great about leaving reviews for books, but I wanted to review this one. It was recommended to me by a student who was reading it while we were reading The Things They Carried in literature class. … Continue reading →

While my son was in the library, I decided to pick up a graphic novel from the middle grade/young adult section to read over while he ignored storytime and played with all the hands-on activities in the children’s section. This … Continue reading →

The reason I picked this book up is because I saw an interview with Ben Montgomery about how to encourage high school journalists to improve their interview skills, so I was curious to read a book-length piece by him regarding … Continue reading →

When I was in college, I heard an author speak. I did little research about her before I went to hear her read a passage from her book, When the Emperor was Divine, but I do remember a poignant passage … Continue reading →

Original story by Mary Downing Hahn. Adapted by Scott Peterson, Meredith Laxton, and Russ Badgett A while back, I reviewed the original novel Wait Till Helen Comes, though when I first became aware of the title, it was as a … Continue reading →

Now that school’s out, I’m catching up on posting reviews of some of the easier reads I’ve read over the school year. I try to preview books that my daughter might be interested in reading. Having grown up in the … Continue reading →

I picked up this book in a classroom one day while substituting for another class, and it was a super easy and fast read, but with complex themes that would be good for a reader in the coming-of-age years, someone … Continue reading →

Last year, this was the Loudoun County 1book1community pick, and I grabbed a copy after we had excess in our school library. I had forgotten about it until now. It’s about a seventh grader, so that gives you an idea … Continue reading →

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while now. The fictionalized film version of this story is one I’ve enjoyed, so I was glad to finally pick up this book that was written in the 1970s and has achieved … Continue reading →

I received this book years ago as part of a promotion—it came with the purchase of another book which I cannot now remember. It’s a novella by Stephen King that also includes another short story called “Mortality.” The novella is … Continue reading →