Published by Owlkids Books Summary: Thao Lam and her family escaped from Vietnam in 1980 when she was two years old. This wordless book shows her family’s journey, starting with a dinner in their Vietnam home where they’re planning their escape. The author’s note explains how, as a child, her mother used to rescue ants […]
Review: The Map From Here To There
This coming of age novel centres on the last year of high school for Paige Hancock and her friends. Paige seems to have it all mapped out – she has a part-time job she loves at the local cinema, the perfect boyfriend in Max and her close friends. Everything seems so perfect, Paige doesn’t want […]
Review: None Shall Sleep
Emma Lewis and Travis Bell are both teenagers who have had survived encounters with serial killers. They are therefore recruited by the FBI to interview a convicted teenaged serial killer in order to gain some clues about an ongoing investigation into another serial killer, who is targeting teenagers. The jailed killer, Simon Gutmunsson, is a […]
Catching Emotions by Artun Bekar
CATCHING EMOTIONS by Artun Bekar Middle Grade Fantasy 92 pages ages 8 to 12 Willy, a very rational boy, is forced to grapple with his unpredictable emotions on an adventure with a classmate. On a journey through a nearby forbidden forest, he discovers nine primary emotions that put him in hazardous situations, then help […]
Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers Summary: When Felix and Benji find a wallet belonging to billionaire Laura Friendly, they return it–after first “borrowing” $20.00 to buy themselves hot dogs and ice cream. As a reward/punishment, Ms. Friendly offers the boys $10 million. But there’s a catch: first they have to spend $5,368,709.12 […]
Review: Challenger Deep
Caden Bosch lives a double life – seemingly a normal adolescent boy, quirky, smart and fun, living in suburbia, juggling the demands of friends, schoolwork and leisure. Yet he is simultaneously working as the artist in residence on board a ship with the mission to explore the deepest part of the ocean, the Challenger Deep […]
Review: The Austen Girls
The Austen Girls is a fictional story featuring real life people, written into a plot inspired by the times. Writer and presenter, Lucy Worsley (you might have seen her on TV), is the Chief Curator at Britain’s Historic Royal Palaces and has many historical facts and experiences to draw upon. In The Austen Girls, she’s […]
Review: How to Break an Evil Curse by Laura Morrison
HOW TO BREAK AN EVIL CURSE Chronicles of Fritillary, Book 1 by Laura Morrison Black Spot Books YA Fantasy 410 pages Princess Julianna may be cursed to dwell in darkness, but she’s no damsel in distress. How to Break an Evil Curse is the first book in a fantasy series about a princess who may […]
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh
Published by First Second Summary: Snapdragon believes a woman in her town is a witch, and when her dog goes missing, she’s afraid the witch has eaten him. An angry confrontation winds up being the beginning of an unusual friendship. The “witch”, Jacks, turns out to be a lonely old woman whose business is rescuing […]
Review: Contagion
The Great War has ended but a new war has begun. It is through fourteen year-old Charlotte’s daily diary entries that the story is told. The end of 1918 is nearing. Charlotte’s dad has returned from the war a broken man. His experiences are locked inside him. He is grumpy and resentful of everything. Charlotte cannot […]
Review: The Strangeworlds Travel Agency
Have you ever dreamt of travelling to another world? I certainly have, but 12-year-old Flick really hasn’t. She’s a no-nonsense kid who doesn’t need bedtime stories and knows magic isn’t real. But when Flick discovers a strange travel agency while exploring her new town, everything changes. Flick discovers she can see magical tears in the […]
Kenny and the Book of Beasts by Tony DiTerlizzi
KENNY & THE BOOK OF BEASTS by Tony DiTerlizzi Kenny & the Dragon, Book Two Simon & Schuster Middle Grade Fantasy 224 pages COMING… SEPTEMBER 22nd!!! In this highly anticipated sequel to New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Honor–winning author Tony DiTerlizzi’s Kenny and the Dragon, Kenny must cope with many changes in his life—including […]
Stealing Mt. Rushmore by Daphne Kalmar
It’s the summer of 1974, and the Watergate scandal is all the news. But for Nell Sanders, 12, there are other worries. Five months ago, her mother had walked out, leaving Nell to care for her depressed father Ronnie, a short order cook, three brothers, and the house. Mom may be gone, but her father’s […]
Review: The Places We Sleep by Caroline Brooks Dubois
THE PLACES WE SLEEP by Caroline Brooks Dubois Holiday House Middle Grade Historical 272 pages ages 8 to 12 A stunning debut novel in verse about a family divided, a country going to war, and a girl desperate to feel at home. It’s early September 2001, and twelve-year-old Abbey is the new kid […]
The Itsy Bitsy Spyder by Apeksha Rao
Itsy Bitsy Spyder The Spyders #0.5 by Apeksha Rao Young Adult / Espionage 15th to 17th August What do you do when your mother feels that you don’t trust her? If you’re Samira Joshi, and your mother is an elite spy who works for RAW, the first thing you do is … hide the knives. […]