Genre: Middle Grade

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, Mañanaland, The Copycat, & Shuri

As my regular readers know, I’m a round one judge for the Cybils Awards in the Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category. Because of that, I’ve been reading LOTS of books lately! I’m not allowed to share any details about our process for choosing the finalists, but I am allowed (and encouraged) to review the books as I read, so I figured I’d share four of them with you today. I hope these bite-sized reviews will […]

Posted November 12, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 4 Comments

Breaking the News from National Geographic: Giveaway and a Fun Quiz!

Welcome to the Breaking the News Blog Tour! This book sounded really interesting to me (and timely), so I’m eager to see what it has to say. After recently watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix and hearing that fake news spreads six times faster than actual news, I’ve realized what a huge problem this actually is. Then, of course, there are certain politicians (who will remain nameless) that like to throw out the term Fake […]

Posted November 6, 2020 in Giveaways (Ended) / 8 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: Race to the Sun, Skunk and Badger, The Dragon Thief, and The Forgotten Girl

Posted October 23, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 0 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: A Wish in the Dark, Ghost Squad, Scritch Scratch, & Midnight at the Barclay Hotel

Posted October 17, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 13 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch; Four Days of You and Me; Maya and the Rising Dark; and Hello, Arnie!: An Arnie the Doughnut Story

I’ve got four reviews for you today: two MG fantasies, a YA contemporary, and a picture book. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! An utterly adorable fantasy adventure about finding and playing to your strengths. This reminded me a lot of The Worst Witch (a series that my daughter really enjoys) because Eva’s magic often goes a bit awry. Except this book is set in a fantasy world […]

Posted October 8, 2020 in Reviews / 8 Comments

I’m a 2020 Round One Cybils Awards Judge! Plus, Quick Reviews of Last Year’s MG Speculative Fiction Finalists

I really enjoyed being a round-two judge for the Cybils Awards. The process for picking a winner was WAY harder than I expected it to be, but it was also great to have in-depth discussions about each of the finalists. I was surprised how many of the books I absolutely loved! This year, I said I’d be willing to be either a round-one or round-two judge, and I was chosen for round one for the […]

Posted September 23, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 8 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of My Life in the Fish Tank; Girl, Serpent, Thorn; Flamer; and Graceling

I’ve got four reviews for you today: two YA fantasies, a MG contemporary, and a YA historical graphic novel. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! A compelling story about grief and mental health, My Life in the Fish Tank examines how secrecy and shame can be the root of pain. When Zinnia’s brother is in an accident, her whole life changes, not because he’s hurt but because […]

Posted September 8, 2020 in Reviews / 11 Comments

Two Books by Natalie Rompella: Secrets of Storytelling: A Creative Writing Workbook for Kids & Cookie Cutters and Sled Runners – PLUS Rompella’s Top Ten Addictions!

Today I’m featuring two books by Natalie Rompella: her newly-released kids’ writing book, Secrets of Storytelling: A Creative Writing Workbook for Kids, and her MG contemporary, Cookie Cutters and Sled Runners. Plus, scroll down to see Natalie’s top ten addictions! Natalie is a friend of mine from my SCBWI critique group, so I was excited to get this chance to feature her! Purchase Links: This workbook is perfect for the budding writer! Filled with interesting prompts […]

Posted August 19, 2020 in Author Top Ten Lists, Reviews / 10 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cinderella Is Dead, The Elephant’s Girl & New Kid

I’ve got three reviews for you today: a YA fantasy retelling, a MG contemporary fantasy, and a MG contemporary graphic novel. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! What if the stories that we think of as fairy tales were historical accounts? And what if those accounts had been twisted to serve the purposes of the people in power? This is the case in Cinderella Is Dead. Cinderella’s […]

Posted July 29, 2020 in Reviews / 14 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Deeplight, More to the Story, The Female of the Species, and Knockout

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA fantasy, a MG contemporary retelling, a YA contemporary and a MG contemporary in verse. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! A fascinating YA fantasy with incredible worldbuilding! Deeplight had me entranced from the very beginning. It reminded me of books by my favorite fantasy author, Robin Hobb, because of its unique worldbuilding and epic-but-not-overly-ponderous fantasy feel. Hardinge’s gorgeous writing […]

Posted July 8, 2020 in Reviews / 16 Comments