Genre: Young Adult

(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

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

For PRIDE Month and Beyond: Bite-Sized Reviews of Love Is Love, The Girl from the Sea, Mighty Red Riding Hood, and The Pants Project

PRIDE month is almost over, and I’ve practically missed it because of COVID. Ugh! But I couldn’t let the month pass without highlighting some great LGBTQ+ reads! I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! This book, told from the perspective of a kid with two dads, is simple and direct, but its message is both important and necessary. It teaches that kids should never have to feel ashamed of […]

Posted June 29, 2022 in Reviews / 5 Comments

The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley: Review, Guest Post and Giveaway

Buy “Wistful verse highlights small but telling moments throughout Rynn’s search…The author’s lived history with foster care and adoption gives the narrative nuance and authority. Emotionally complex and empathetic characters…and a faithfully depicted rural landscape form an exemplary backdrop for this contemplative novel.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Compassionate and compelling.” —Kirkus This emotionally compelling novel in verse is a bittersweet portrayal of the complexities of adoption. Rynn has wondered her whole life where she came from. She’s always […]

Posted June 27, 2022 in Author Guest Post, Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 9 Comments

The War on All Fronts by Kim Oclon: Review, Giveaway & Author AND Character Top Ten Addictions

Today I’m featuring THE WAR ON ALL FRONTS, an LGBTQ YA historical that takes place during the Vietnam War. Check out my review, along with Kim’s list of top ten addictions, bonus lists of the two MCs’ top ten addictions, and a giveaway of the book! This YA LGBT historical fiction novel highlights the turmoil of the Vietnam War and the personal turmoil of living in a world that can’t accept you for who […]

Posted May 24, 2022 in Author Top Ten Lists, Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 6 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of The Ogress and the Orphans, The Button Box, Home Is Not a Country, and El Cucuy Is Scared, Too!

Today, I’m reviewing two MG fantasies (one historical), a YA verse novel, and a picture book! I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! With its distinctly fairy-tale feel, The Ogress and the Orphans tells a story of misconceptions and misunderstanding and the way we can sometimes judge each other without thiking and without evidence. The ogress has spent years trying to bring joy to the townspeople by leaving them […]

Posted April 15, 2022 in Reviews / 5 Comments

YA Reads for Black History Month (and Beyond!): Daughters of Jubilation and Ain’t Burned All the Bright

Today, I’m focusing on YA books with Black protagonists for Black History Month, but these books are great reads any time! In addition to those two reviews, scroll down to see one other book recommendation as well. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction. Daughters of Jubilation is a story of power and the ways it can be wielded for both good and evil. Having grown up in the […]

Posted February 23, 2022 in Reviews / 6 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Instant Karma, Inkling, and Kingdom of Secrets

Today, I’m reviewing an adult contemporary/historical fantasy (Surprise! I don’t review adult books here on the blog often), a YA and a MG contemporary fantasy, and a MG steampunk fantasy. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! I know I don’t review many adult books here on the blog anymore, but I couldn’t resist mentioning this one. And since so many of my YA blogger friends read V.E. Schwab, […]

Posted February 11, 2022 in Reviews / 8 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Across the Desert, Our Violent Ends, Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna, and How to Be Ace

Today, I have a MG contemporary, a YA historical fantasy, a MG historical, and a YA graphic novel memoir. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! Across the Desert is a captivating survival story about not giving up on someone who needs you. Jolene feels helpless in her home life—ever since a serious accident, she constantly skates the boundaries of a panic attack while her mom grows more and […]

Posted January 22, 2022 in Reviews / 9 Comments