Genre: Middle Grade

Bite-Sized Reviews of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, Valentina Salazar Is Not a Monster Hunter, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, and I Cannot Draw a Horse

Today, I’m reviewing two MG fantasies, a YA contemp (or recent historical, I guess?) set in Syria, and a picture book. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! Skandar and the Unicorn Thief is an exciting middle grade fantasy adventure, filled with elemental magic, dangerous unicorns, and backstabbing betrayals. First off, I thought the worldbuilding in this book was really interesting. I loved the concept of the unicorn races […]

Posted October 27, 2022 in Reviews / 3 Comments

Charlie Hernández & the Golden Dooms by Ryan Calejo: Review & Giveaway

Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org Charlie Hernández & the Golden Dooms is the third installment in the series, and it continues the humor, adventure, and heart of the first two books. When a calaca (a Mexican skeleton of sorts) shows up at Charlie’s school and begs him for help, he can’t refuse. And of course, his incredibly intelligent and inquisitive longtime crush Violet is ready to put her sleuthing skills to the test and jumps right in to […]

Posted September 30, 2022 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 4 Comments

Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting by Roseanne A. Brown: Review & Giveaway

Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org Serwa Boateng is not your average kid. She has been training her whole life to fight adze, a Ghanian version of vampires, so when she has to face the woes of regular middle school, she isn’t sure she can handle it. The book brings Ghanian folklore to life, with gods, monsters, and a fascinating magic system based on adinkra symbols that can still be found in Ghanian art today. I […]

Posted September 9, 2022 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 7 Comments

1-2-3-4, I Declare a Thumb War by Lisi Harrison & Daniel Kraus: Review & Giveaway

Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org Beware! This truly creepy middle grade tome will terrify its readers–and they will be delighted! I have to start by saying this book is not for the faint of heart. It gets downright gory in one part, so not every kid will be happy to read this. However, the most frightening and terrible part of the book is actually a story within a story (a tale that one of the […]

Posted August 29, 2022 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 4 Comments

(Tiny) Bite-Sized Reviews of Turn the Tide, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, When Winter Robeson Came, and The Scorpio Races

Today, I’m reviewing a few books I read just for fun. I don’t think I’d get around to writing a true review (even a bite-sized one) for any of these, but I want to give them a mention, since they deserve it. So instead I’m writing “tiny bite” reviews—I hope these will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! Turn the Tide is an inspiring verse novel that will help kids think about the environment and […]

Posted August 17, 2022 in Reviews / 6 Comments

MacKenzie’s Last Run by Gayle Rosengren: Review, Pre-order Giveaway, & Gayle’s Top Ten Addictions!

Gayle is one of those authors I’ve been meaning to read for ages because so many people raved about her last book, COLD WAR ON MAPLEWOOD STREET. So when she reached out to me and asked if I’d be willing to read and review MACKENZIE’S LAST RUN and help her create a pre-order giveaway, I was more than happy to oblige. I’m very glad I did because this new book is a gem! Read on […]

Posted August 15, 2022 in Author Top Ten Lists, Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 3 Comments

How to Speak Animal by Aubre Andrus & Gabby Wild: Review & Giveaway

Amazon, B&N, TBD, Bookshop.org Kids will love this fascinating look at animal communication! The book starts out with an overview of the different ways that animals “talk” to one another using their eyes, ears, noses, bodies and more. Then there’s a two-page spread about each animal explaining the secrets of its communication style. The book also includes one or two fun and engaging random facts for each animal (not always specifically related to communication) and special […]

Posted August 12, 2022 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 3 Comments

Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows by Tehlor Kay Mejia: Review & Giveaway

Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org This final book in this series tests Paola’s ever-evolving relationships and explores the theme of community. Paola hasn’t given up on her best friend Dante, even though he said terrible things before he disappeared into the void. She is determined to find him and rescue him. But her newfound relationship with her father complicates things–he sees her as a little girl he needs to protect, which does nothing […]

Posted August 11, 2022 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 9 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Bloody Fool for Love, Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun, Bravely, Aru Shah and the End of Time: the Graphic Novel, & Ultimate Book of the Future

Today, I’m reviewing two YA historical fantasies, a MG fantasy, a MG fantasy graphic novel, and a MG historical verse novel! I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! Bloody Fool for Love is a historical fantasy prequel to Buffy the Vampire Slayer that focuses on Spike, the vampire we all know and love! Spike has always been my favorite character from the Buffy franchise, so I’m pretty much automatically […]

Posted August 9, 2022 in Reviews / 6 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Ballad & Dagger, Spineless, Lia Park and the Missing Jewel, and Mina

Today, I’m reviewing a YA contemporary fantasy, a MG historical fiction, a MG fantasy, and a picture book! I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! Ballad & Dagger lends a fantastical twist to the immigrant experience. It’s set in Brooklyn, but in a diaspora community from a fictional island that sank into the sea. The island’s population was a blend of pirates, Cuban Santeros, and Sephardic Jews, and it […]

Posted July 13, 2022 in Reviews / 6 Comments