Genre: Retellings

Bite-Sized Reviews of Legendborn, Ana on the Edge, Furia, The Mystwick School of Musicraft, and Amal Unbound

Bite-Sized Reviews of Legendborn, Ana on the Edge, Furia, The Mystwick School of Musicraft, and Amal Unbound

Today I’ve got some bite-sized reviews of some of my recent reads: A YA fantasy, a YA contemp, a MG fantasy, and a MG contemp. I hope these bite-sized reviews are enough to feed your fiction addiction! This YA paranormal reimagining of King Arthur’s court is utterly addictive! The book goes deep into the world of secret societies when sixteen-year-old Bree goes to her late mother’s private school and discovers that demons are running amok—along with […]

Posted March 4, 2021 in Reviews / 13 Comments
Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: Dragon Assassin, The Girl Who Speaks Bear, Mulan: Before the Sword, Bones in the Wall, and The Barren Grounds

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: Dragon Assassin, The Girl Who Speaks Bear, Mulan: Before the Sword, Bones in the Wall, and The Barren Grounds

The Cybils Awards winners have been announced, and you should definitely check them out! Congrats especially to Rival Magic, which won in the MG spec fic category, which is the category I judged for round one. Even though the awards have been doled out, I still want to feature some very quick reviews of the nominees I read since there were so many good ones. It will take me quite some time to get to […]

Posted February 18, 2021 in Cybils, Reviews / 3 Comments
Alone by Megan E. Freeman: Review, Giveaway & Freeman’s Top Ten Addictions

Alone by Megan E. Freeman: Review, Giveaway & Freeman’s Top Ten Addictions

Today I’m featuring my good friend Megan E. Freeman’s debut ALONE, a middle grade retelling of Island of the Blue Dolphins in verse. Alone releases tomorrow, January 12th, so get yourself to a bookstore and buy it now (I can’t wait to pick up my finished copy)! This book so accessible and beautiful—it’s sure to capture the hearts and minds of even the most reluctant readers. Make sure you also check out Megan’s list of […]

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

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

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 October 17, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 13 Comments
Bite-Sized Reviews of My Life in the Fish Tank; Girl, Serpent, Thorn; Flamer; and Graceling

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
Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold: Review & Giveaway

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold: Review & Giveaway

Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Google This book is a dark, brutal retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, an unflinching exploration of the victimization of women. It is not for the faint of heart, and I’m honestly a little unsure if I’d recommend it to the average YA reader. If you’re going to read this book, you need to know what you’re getting into. Not only are there many triggers in it, but Arnold pulls […]

Posted February 20, 2020 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 22 Comments
Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun: Review & Giveaway

Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun: Review & Giveaway

You can purchase Pippa Park Raises Her Game at the following Retailers:   To sum this book up, it’s Mean Girls for middle graders with the addition of basketball and a big lie that threatens to blow up everything! I know this is a Great Expectations retelling, but honestly, as I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think of Mean Girls often—it just has that vibe (I guess I’d forgotten most of GA, which I read […]

Posted February 14, 2020 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 13 Comments
Bite-Sized Reviews of Every Other Weekend, Storm and Fury, The Afterlife of Holly Chase, and All of Me

Bite-Sized Reviews of Every Other Weekend, Storm and Fury, The Afterlife of Holly Chase, and All of Me

  I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA contemporary, two YA paranormals, and a MG book contemporary in verse. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! I had no idea this was going to be such an emotional read! I’ll confess that at first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like these characters: Jolene is rebellious(ish) purely for the sake of aggravating her stepmom (who I […]

Posted January 15, 2020 in Reviews / 30 Comments
Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim: Review & Giveaway

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim: Review & Giveaway

Ever pick up a new series from an author you LOVE and feel both excited and afraid? You have such high expectations, but what if the new book doesn’t live up to your hopes? What if you’re … gulp … disappointed? That’s how I felt when I started reading Scavenge the Stars. Fortunately, it took me all of ten pages to fall in love with Amaya and realize I was going to be just as […]

Posted January 3, 2020 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 18 Comments
Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan: Review & Giveaway

Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan: Review & Giveaway

When I heard that Annie Sullivan had written a retelling of “The Lady or the Tiger” I was incredibly excited! I’d loved her unique retelling of “The Midas Touch,” and I had no doubt she’d do one of my favorite short stories justice. I distinctly remember reading this story when I was a teenager and being left with that agonizing open ending. I read the story again with my own students when I taught at my […]

Posted September 5, 2019 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 26 Comments