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 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 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 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
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
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
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
How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom by S.J. Goslee Funny LGBTQ Realistic Fiction Romance * * * * Stars (Great!) Nolan Grant’s family loves him like crazy, but his slightly older sister takes her sisterly responsibilities a little too seriously and intensely sometimes. She wants to make sure Nolan is adequately prepared for life – particularly life after she goes away to college and can’t be there for him constantly. Her goals (for … Read more
The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Zoey is in 7th grade and she tries to keep a low profile because other kids have opinions about her that she can’t do anything about. She’s poor, she’s moved around a lot (when her family wasn’t living out of her mom’s car), sometimes she doesn’t have enough to eat or clean clothes to wear, she’s got 3 … Read more
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Lucy Callahan is a math savant. She acquired her “superpowers” after being struck by lightning and suddenly developed an affinity with and for numbers. There were some negative side effects, though – she also has some obsessive-compulsive tendencies and a fear of germs that other people often perceive as weird or freakish. Raised by her Nana, and homeschooled since … Read more