Immigration and border issues between the US and Mexico are incredibly important to me and this book did such a beautiful job of explaining to the world why we should care more. Villasante has created such complex characters and shows the lengths people will go to for the hopes of safety. Marisol, the main character, …
Holy crap this book is amazing! I can’t handle the book hangover I am currently experiencing. Hamlet meets drag queens who are also incredibly teenage thieves. What more could you want? Margo Manning is a rich, LA socialite with a secret. In her spare time, she dresses up in drag with a group of her …
I requested this at the library after seeing it on a bunch of lists, which I don’t usually do because I have so much other stuff to read that I already own. But I am so glad that I did. Scream All Night is a completely unique concept, pulling the reader into the bizarre world …
Nemesis left me hanging and so I inhaled Genesis. And this book is so much more intense than I ever imagined it could be. I love this series. Set in our real world, Reichs messes with the reality around us and speculates a way in which the world could survive a horrible disaster. If you haven’t read the …
I read this one for the Chicago Young Adult Book Festival and was shocked to find that my college, Lawrence University, was in this book! That was such a great surprise in a great book. Paula Garner deals with questions of identity in such an interesting way, telling the story of a teen girl who …
Have I told you all how much I love Stephanie Strohm?!? So much love for her and her books. This is a great and very Stephanie book. Taking place in Paris at a cooking school for teenagers, Love a la Mode is filled with love, love-triangles, jokes, and so so so many sweet treats. I …
Don’t let the cover fool you. This is not a light, fluffy read that will make you feel like you are smiling and drinking a hot chocolate. American Panda tells the story of Mei, a 17 year-old who finds herself as a freshman at MIT. As well as starting at a new school, she is dealing with …
Words cannot explain how much I love this book! When I saw it was about a prince who secretly puts on dresses, I was hooked. Jen Wang has created a beautiful and powerful story. It is a story of friendship, of acceptance, and of bravery. This book has been a hit with everyone I have …
I loved My Lady Jane and Jane Eyre is my favorite classic so this book felt like it was made for me. I was nervous going in because My Lady Jane was so great but My Plain Jane did not disappoint. Filled with even more references than the first one, The Lady Janies had me laughing out loud so many times. (Their Trump …
I am so excited for the Chicago Young Adult Book Festival this year because I am absolutely loving the books by this year’s authors. I am going to start by saying that this was a book I don’t relate to at all. I come from a very supportive family who let both my brother and …
I love when I have to read books for work and end up loving them! (Because when the other direction happens, it is so incredibly heartbreaking.) Satellite, Whalen’s first YA novel, is a great piece of realistic YA fiction. She deals with first love, family dynamics, as well as confusion as to what it means to be …
I absolutely loved The Best Kind of Magic and have been gazing longly at The Sweetest Kind of Fate on my bookshelf for months, saving it for a time when I really needed it. And that time finally came. I absolutely love Amber Sand and the fun world that Cestari has created. When I met her for the launch …
