#BookReview: Fugly by Claire Waller

Synopsis: A wrenchingly honest, thought-provoking exploration of a girl judged and dismissed by society who must break the cycle of shaming that traps her in her real life and comforts her in her online one.

In real life, eighteen-year-old Beth is overweight, shy, and geeky. 

She's been bullied all her life, and her only refuge is food. 

Online, though, she's a vicious troll who targets the beautiful, vain, oversharing It Girls of the internet. When she meets Tori, a fellow troll, she becomes her online girlfriend-slash-partner-in-crime.


But then Tori picks a target who's a little too close to home for Beth. Unsettled, Beth decides to quit their online bullying partnership. 

The only problem is, Tori is not willing to let her go.

#BookReview: Dino-Halloween by Lisa Wheeler Barry Gott @CarolrhodaLab

Synopsis: Trick or treat! Join your favorite dinosaurs as they visit a haunted house, carve pumpkins, make costumes, and more! Lisa Wheeler and Barry Gott come together again to show how these fun-loving dinos celebrate Halloween.

#BookReview: Cardslinger by @Velasco_MG @CarolrhodaLab

Synopsis: A dangerous quest, a lost treasure, and the card game that started it all. 

It's 1881, and a newfangled card game called Mythic is sweeping the nation. 

Twelve-year-old Jason "Shuffle" Jones doesn't like it. 

He and his father created the game for themselves, before his father went missing. 

Mythic should have disappeared with him. 

But when Shuffle discovers a clue in a pack of Mythic cards, he sets out on a quest to find his dad. 

Along the way he clashes with a devious card swindler, an epic twister, and the ruthless bounty hunter Six-Plum Skylla and her gang.

 As he gets closer to the truth, will he turn tail or push all-in to become a real hero? 

#BookReview: A Time Traveler's Theory of Relativity by @nicoleva @CarolrhodaLab

Synopsis: He believes in science, but only magic can help his mom.

Twelve-year-old Finn is used to people in his family disappearing. 

His twin sister, Faith, drowned when they were three years old. 

A few months ago, his mom abandoned him and his dad with no explanation. 

Finn clings to the concrete facts in his physics books--and to his best friend, Gabi--to ward off his sadness.

 But then his grandmother tells him a secret: the women in their family are Travelers, able to move back and forth in time. 

Finn's mom is trapped somewhere in the timeline, and she's left Finn a portal to find her. 

But to succeed, he'll have to put his trust in something bigger than logic.

This title will be released on October 1, 2019.

#BookReview: A Side of Sabotage (Quinnie Boyd Mysteries #3) by @csurrisi

Synopsis: For decades, Gusty's Café has been a beloved staple in Maiden Rock, Maine. 

Quinnie Boyd's dad runs the café, just like Quinnie's granddad before him. 

But the family business has new competition when a bad-boy chef from Boston opens his own place in the small vacation town.

The new restaurant takes fancy dining to the extreme. Still, that's not a crime . . . but when things start to go wrong at Gusty's, Quinnie suspects foul play. 

Are the people behind Restaurant Hubert trying to squash the Boyds' family café? 

Quinnie is about to find out if it is a coincidence—or sabotage.

#BookReview: Truthers by Geoffrey Girard

Title: Truthers

Author: Geoffrey Girard
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, 9/11
Pages: Hardcover, 360
Published: August 2017
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Rating: ★★

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Synopsis:  Katie Wallace has never given much thought to 9/11. She was only a year old when terrorists struck American soil. But now her dad has landed in a mental institution after claiming to know what really happened. He insists the attacks were part of a government conspiracy. And he claims that Katie is living proof: the lone survivor of a massive cover-up.

Hoping to free her dad, Katie sets out to investigate his bizarre claims. Soon she's drawn into the strange and secretive world of 9/11 conspiracy theorists known as the "Truthers".

Wading through a dangerous web of fact and fiction, questions and distortion, Katie no longer knows what to believe. But she does know that she's being followed -- and that someone is determined to stop her search for the truth.

A novel for teens, exploring 9/11 & our conspiracy culture...

#BookReview for Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy by Joshua Levy

Synopsis: PSS 118 is just your typical school--except that it's a rickety old spaceship orbiting Jupiter. When the school is mysteriously attacked, thirteen-year-old Jack receives a cryptic message from his father (the school's recently-fired-for-tinkering-with-the-ship science teacher). Amidst the chaos, Jack discovers that his dad has built humanity's first light-speed engine--and given Jack control of it. To save the ship, Jack catapults it hundreds of light-years away and right into the clutches of the first aliens humans have ever seen. School hasn't just gotten out: it's gone clear across the galaxy. And now it's up to Jack and his friends to get everyone home.
This title will be released on March 5, 2019.
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#BookReview: Pointe, Claw by Amber J. Keyser

Title: Pointe, Claw

Author: Amber J. Keyser
Genres: Young Adult, Magical Realism
Pages: Hardcover, 280
Published: April 1, 2017
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab (R)
Rating: ★

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Synopsis:  Jessie Vale dances in an elite ballet program that requires perfection to land a spot with the professional company. When she is cast in an animalistic avant garde production, her careful composure cracks wide open. Nothing has felt more dangerous.

Meanwhile, her friend Dawn McCormick's world is full of holes. She wakes in strange places, bruised, battered, and unable to speak. The doctors are out of ideas.

These childhood friends are both running out of time. Jessie has one shot at her ballet dream. Dawn's blackouts are getting worse. At every turn, they crash into the many ways girls are watched, judged, used, and discarded. Should they play it safe or go feral?

#BookReview: Honor Code by Kiersi Burkhart

Title: Honor Code

Author: Kiersi Burkhart
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: Hardcover, 312
Published: March 1, 2018
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Rating: ★

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Synopsis:  Sam knows how lucky she is to be part of the elite Edwards Academy. As she dreams of getting into Harvard one day, she's willing to do anything to fit in and excel at the private high school. Even if that means enduring hazing, signing up for a sport she hates, and attending the school dance with an upperclassman she barely knows.

But when she learns the high cost of entry, will Sam be willing to bury the worst night of her life in order to "keep the community sacred"? As the line between truth and justice blurs, Sam must find out for herself what honor really means.

#BookReview: Blink by Sasha Dawn

Title: Blink

Author: Sasha Dawn
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery
Pages: Hardcover, 336
Published: May 1, 2018
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Rating: ★★

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Synopsis:  When Chatham begins to understand more about a crime she witnessed a decade ago, she disappears . . . in a blink. 

Finding her means more than simply saving her. 

It could also be the key to the town's longest unsolved mystery.

 Joshua's in love with Chatham and he's determined to find her and untangle the web of lies and mystery surrounding her. 

But who is Chatham really and what is her connection to the crime that was committed so long ago?

#BookReview: A Dangerous Magic (Gifted #1) by Donald Hounam

Title: A Dangerous Magic

Series: Gifted
Author: Donald Hounam
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy 
Pages: Hardcover, 352
Published: Septemeber 1, 2017
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Rating: ★

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Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Frank Sampson has a hard time following the rules. He's smart-mouthed and not so good with people. He also happens to be a highly gifted forensic sorcerer. 

So when the Bishop of Oxford is beheaded, Frank is called in to help solve the case. The mystery of the bishop's murder becomes even more complicated when Frank's magic shows him the missing head doesn't actually belong to the headless corpse. To crack the case, he'll need to use unorthodox methods, no matter the consequences.

 A bishop is beheaded, and Frank, a rule-breaking forensic sorcerer, is requested to help solve the case. 

Frank's extraordinary gifts lead him to perform dangerous magic like summoning demons to untangle the mystery.

#BookReview: On the Free by Coert Voorhees

Title: On the Free

Author: Coert Voorhees
Genres: Young Adult, Survival
Pages: Hardcover, 
Published: October 1, 2017
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Rating: ★★

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Synopsis:  Santi agreed to join the Bear Canyon Wilderness Therapy Program for one reason: less time in juvie. 

Amelia signed up to prove a point. Victor--well, no one can figure out why Victor's on the trip, but he's definitely not out to make friends. 

After a mudslide sweeps away other campers, the trio is left stranded in the Colorado wilderness and short on supplies. 

They'll have to band together to survive the elements, their demons, and each other. 

When a mudslide wipes out multiple members of a wilderness therapy trip, the three remaining teenagers must survive the elements, their demons, and one another.

#BookReview: Girls on the Line by Jennie Liu

Title: Girls on the Line

Author:  Jennie Liu
Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Pages: Hardcover, 232 pages
Published: November 1st 2018
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab (R)

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Synopsis:  A teen pregnancy puts two orphan girls in contemporary China on a collision course with factory bosses, family planning regulators, and a bride trafficker.

#BookReview: The Ghostly Carousel: Delightfully Frightful Poems by Calef Brown

About the Book:

A zombie family reunion, a "Jekyll lantern," a giggling undertaker, a telekinetic warlock . . . are you scared yet? Sure to induce shrieks and giggles in equal measure, Calef Brown's poems present a wonderfully creepy cast of characters. Richly detailed paintings add to the frightful fun!

#BookReview: The Magic of Melwick Orchard by Rebecca Caprara

About the Book:

After more moves than they can count, Isa's family finally puts down roots. 

People in town are afraid of the abandoned orchard behind their home, but Isa and her sister Junie are happy to have acres of land to explore.

But when Junie gets sick, Isa's mom falls into a depression, and medical bills force Isa's dad to work more. 

No one notices that Isa's clothes are falling apart and her stomach is empty.

Out of frustration, Isa buries her out-grown sneakers in the orchard. 

The next day a sapling sprouts buds that bloom to reveal new shoes. 

Can Isa use this magical tree to save her family?

#BookReview: The Flight of Swans by Sarah McGuire

About the Book:

Based on the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale Six Swans, The Flight of Swans follows Ryn's journey to save her family and their kingdom.

Princess Andaryn's six older brothers have always been her protectors--until her father takes a new Queen, a frightening, mysterious woman who enchants the men in the royal family. When Ryn's attempt to break the enchantment fails, she makes a bitter bargain: the Queen will spare her brothers' lives if Ryn remains silent for six years.

Ryn thinks she freed her brothers, but she never thought the Queen would turn her brothers into swans. She never thought she'd have to discover the secret to undoing the Queen's spell while eluding the Otherworldly forces that hunt her. And she never thought she'd have to do it alone, without speaking a single word.

As months as years go by, Ryn learns there is more to courage than speech . . . and that she is stronger than the Queen could have ever imagined. 

#BookReview: The Universe Ate My Homework by David Zeltser

About the Book:

Abby hates doing homework. In fact, she'll do just about anything to get out of it.


 So when she discovers an amazing scientific recipe for creating a parallel universe where she'll never have to do homework again, she's ready to jump right in. 

There's just one small wrinkle--she might not be able to find a way back.

#BookReview of Lark Ascending by @MeaganSpooner

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia

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About the Book: Lark thought returning home to face her city was the hardest thing she'd ever do. She was wrong.

No longer the girl who ran for her life, Lark's ready for the Institute. She never dreamed she'd find a rebellion, a Renewable, and those she used to love embroiled in the fight of their lives. She's mastered her magic, but she still doesn't know if she can master the darkness stirring inside her. 

Nothing is simple anymore, and finding her place in this war—and discovering the terrible secrets behind her ruined world—might cost her everything she has left.

#BookReview: I Got a Chicken for My Birthday by Laura Gehl Sarah Horne with @_awesomeannie @lernerbooks

About the Book:

What a birthday girl wants more than anything from her Abuela are tickets to the amusement park. Instead she gets a chicken. But this chicken is no ordinary chicken; it has plans! With a lot of hard work, and help from lots of other animals, this chicken may just end up building the girl the best birthday gift ever!

#BookReview: Honk! Splat! Vroom! by Barry Gott with @_awesomeannie @lernerbooks

About the Book:

Five mice race down a road, eager to cross the finish line. But first they must overcome all sorts of messy obstacles, including mud and one very hungry cat! Luckily, a friendly goose saves the day.