Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty Nonfiction * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Caitlin Doughty is a mortician and funeral director and in this book she responds to some of the questions she has received from young folks about death, corpses, funerals and more (including “Will my cat eat my eyeballs?”). Kids are curious about ALL aspects of death, so there’s a nice selection … Read more
Auggie & Me (sequel to Wonder) by R.J. Palacio Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) “Auggie & Me” consists of three new chapters from three different characters that were in the book, “Wonder.” It takes place after the book and follows bully Julian, Auggie’s oldest friend Christopher, and his classmate Charlotte. It gives an insight into how Auggie has touched their own lives and where they go and what they … Read more
The Counselors by Jessica Goodman Mystery Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) Goldie, Ava, and Imogen have been best friends since they met at camp their first summer and now they are counselors. Over the past year, however, they’ve kept certain details about their lives hidden from one another and their secrets are getting in the way of their friendship. Goldie, for instance, is still dealing with the fallout from the car accident … Read more
Teen Killers Club Teen Killers Club #1 by Lily Sparks Mystery Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) Signal Deere supposedly killed her best friend, but she was framed! Looking at spending the rest of her life in prison, Signal opts instead to take a deal that will train her to be a teen assassin. Unaware of exactly what this entails, she finds herself at a training “camp” with other teen killers, decidedly lacking … Read more
Any Sign of Life by Rae Carson Science Fiction Suspense Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) Teen basketball star Paige Miller wakes up attached to an IV and feeling like death itself. She discovers that she’s all alone and that everyone in her town is dead. Determined to survive, she goes in search of supplies and other people – eventually finding some companions. Together they follow a radio broadcast that promises additional community and … Read more
Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Marlene comes from a long line of women with beautiful kinky hair and, alas, a tradition of straightening it to keep it under control. When her mom starts taking her to the salon, Marlene is initially excited about the attention and time they get to spend together, but that’s quickly overshadowed by the pain she experiences during the procedure, the … Read more
Real by Carol Cujec & Peyton Goddard Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Charity is an intelligent thirteen-year-old, but no one knows that because she is autistic and has difficulty communicating and controlling her body. Her parents love and support her, but have no more idea than anyone else how smart she really is. Forced to attend a special “school” that’s basically just a holding cell for kids with disabilities, Charity is regularly … Read more
The Final Gambit The Inheritance Games #3 by Jennifer Lynne Barnes Mystery Romance Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) Pretty satisfying conclusion to the Inheritance Games trilogy. Avery Grambs manages to unravel the mystery surrounding her unexpected inheritance as well as survive the terms of its settlement. Family drama! Romance! Secrets! Puzzles! The game/puzzle-solving elements are fun. What will she do with the money? What would you do? It’s interesting to speculate. For … Read more
The Innocence Treatment by Ari Goelman Dystopian Mystery Science Fiction Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) Lauren Fielding has always been extremely trusting, generous, good natured, and friendly – so much so that her condition is viewed as a disability, because she can’t tell when people are trying to take advantage of her. She has to be supervised outside of her home and at school and has aides assigned to her to keep … Read more
Diper Overlode Diary of a Wimpy Kid #17 by Jeff Kinney Funny Illustrated Fiction Realistic Fiction Grades 5+ Review #1 * * * Stars (Pretty good) This book is about Rodrick, the older brother, and his band. Rodrick and his band want to be very famous so they decide to enter a competition. They practice a lot, but at one poin tthey stop because they think it has gotten too extreme for them. Rodrick now … Read more