I read this book as part of my young adult professional development reading group. The book follows a 17-year old girl named Charlie who has been through more in her young life than most of us experience in all of ours. She has been homeless, had a rough family life, …
This title is part of a book club I’m in, in which teachers evaluate young adult (YA) books for use in the classroom. The goal is for teachers to have resources available to help students choose books they would enjoy. To that end, I’m evaluating this novel not only on …
I chose this book as part of my interest in exploring the steampunk genre. It’s a young adult version of Cinderella, only it involves elements of steampunk and a super-empowered protagonist. Mechanica, or Nicolette, is a girl whose mother passed away. Following the traditional fairy tale, her father remarried a …
Earlier, I reviewed the first book in Mary Pope Osborne’s series. With a little one at home, I’ve been delving into some of the children’s books that came out after my childhood so that I can be ready with recommendations. I purchased a collection of these books at a consignment …
I chose this as my “summer reading pick” at the school where I teach: each teacher shared the title of a book they were reading and invited students, parents, and community members to read the same book. In August, we will have an opportunity to convene and discuss the book. …
Illustrated by David Wardle, this collection of fifteen fairy tales puts a “Doctor Who” twist on traditional fairy tales. As a fan of the show Doctor Who, I enjoyed the twist. The fifteen tales are divided over 261 pages, which include illustrations and an illustrated title page for each tale. …
As the film The Dark Crystal was formative in my childhood—I watched the film several dozen times per summer as a kid—I was excited to see that someone had written a sequel about it. I’m not an expert in the “lore” of The Dark Crystal’s fan fiction, as I just …
I’d meant to read this book for a while now. After enjoying Clan of the Cavebear, I found it while researching similar stories. The story follows thirteen-year-old Julie, aka Miyax, as she escapes the arranged marriage of her Eskimo village. Hoping to board a ship for San Francisco, she finds …
A friend loaned me this book—it looks like an ex-library book that she purchased at a sale. I’ll be honest. I started it when I was on maternity leave. I couldn’t get into it. I thought maybe I was too tired, so I read several other books and came back …
I promise I’m reading grown-up books, too, but these middle-grade and YA books are so easy to read while keeping an eye on the toddler. Speaking of whom…I’m doing lots of research into books that she might like to read when she gets a bit older. Hence, my purchase of …