YA Librarian Reviews

Adventures in Cartooning – book review

by

Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles into Comics by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost Adventure Fantasy Funny Graphic Novel Nonfiction * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) This is my new favorite DIY guide to writing comics. A snarky Magic Cartooning Elf encourages a not-so-artistic princess to follow her dreams and make a comic book of her own, along the way offering helpful suggestions and tips about design and storytelling. The … Read more

Sunny Rolls the Dice – book review

by

Sunny Rolls the Dice Sunny #3 by Jennifer Holm & Matthew Holm Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Sunny is settling into middle school and discovering that she and her best friend Deb are starting to develop different interests. Deb is super into fashion, boys, and being cool (or rather, “groovy”). Sunny, on the other hand, wants to play D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) with some other friends. For awhile, Sunny is … Read more

Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules – book review

by

Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules Delilah Dirk #3 by Tony Cliff Adventure Graphic Novel Historical Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Delilah and Selim take a break from their exploits when they meet a Dutch journalist who talks them into undertaking a treasure hunting expedition. Unbeknownst to them (at least initially) he’s sending copy of their adventures back to his editors, and the stories are appearing in a number of newspapers. This … Read more

Okay Witch – book review

by

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner Fantasy Graphic Novel Historical Fiction Supernatural Tween * * * * Stars (Great!) Moth discovers that she’s a real, honest-to-goodness witch with witch powers – a fact that her mother has been keeping from her ALL her life. When mom won’t divulge any additional details and refuses to teach Moth how to master her powers, Moth takes matters into her own hands. (Well, she has the help of Mr. … Read more

Just Jaime – book review

by

Just Jaime by Terri Libenson Graphic Novel Illustrated Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) It’s the last day of seventh grade and Jaime should be celebrating, but she’s got something on her mind. It has to do with the way her group of friends has been treating her all year – cutting her down, leaving her out, teasing her, and ignoring her. She decides to confront her best friend, Maya, and find … Read more

Pashmina – book review

by

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Priyanka is full of questions for her mother, who emigrated to America just before Pri was born. She wants to know more about India (the country her mother left), her father (her mother won’t talk about him at all), and her family. There are reasons her mother won’t talk about these things, but those are hidden from Pri as well. Then … Read more

Titans – book review

by

Titans by Victoria Scott Science Fiction Suspense Thriller Young Adult * * * * Stars (Great!) Astrid Sullivan would do anything to keep her family from falling apart, but her grandfather’s and father’s gambling have put them in a precarious position and they stand to lose everything. A chance meeting with a cantankerous elderly engineer (Rags) at the racetrack, gives Astrid new hope when he asks her to be the jockey for a Titan 1.0 … Read more

Vanishing Throne – book review

by

The Vanishing Throne Falconer #2 by Elizabeth May Fantasy Romance Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) In the first book of the Falconer trilogy, Aileana Kameron discovered she was a warrior with special gifts (a Falconer) and vowed to take her vengeance on the Fae who had murdered her mother. She failed in her quest to renew the seal that kept human and Fae worlds separate, which the Fae exploited by invading the … Read more

Kingdom – book review

by

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg Mystery Romance Science Fiction Suspense Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) When we first meet Ana, all we know about her is that she has been on trial for murder. But she is no ordinary criminal. Ana is a Fantasist – a human/cyborg hybrid who was created in a lab specifically to be one of the hostess-princesses in a sprawling theme-park known as “The Kingdom.” She and her sisters … Read more

Belles – book review

by

The Belles Belles #1 by Dhonielle Clayton (Audio edition) Fantasy Science Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) The Belles are a group of women who have special powers to enhance the appearance of normal people (who typically have grey skin and red eyes). Depending on how powerful a Belle is, she can use her arcana to color skin, hair and eyes, do body shaping, even alter bone structure. Some can even change personality. A … Read more