I was surprised by how utterly and completely this book won me over withThis review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I was surprised by how utterly and completely this book won me over with its beautiful magic system based on music. The story itself focuses on Amelia Jones, who accidentally gets into the magic school of her dreams when a girl with her same name dies and the dead girl’s acceptance is delivered to the MC in error. Amelia is determined to prove that she’s good enough to attend but often doubts if it could possibly be true. Meanwhile there is a bit of a mystery element to the story because the school has been under a sort of mystical attack and no one knows where the destructive magic has come from. Khoury’s descriptions of the magic through music are what truly wowed me—I was entranced every time magic was used in the book, which was a lot. Amelia has to learn to discover her own worth and find her place among the elites of music and magic, and I enjoyed every step of that journey with her!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***...more
This book once again took me back to my days of true Buffy fandom and rThis review and a giveaway can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This book once again took me back to my days of true Buffy fandom and reminded me why these stories resonate so well with people—sure, there’s supernatural adventure and a big bad, but it always comes back to heart. It always comes back to relationships. Buffy wasn’t just Buffy; she was the whole Scooby gang, and then that expanded even more. Well, the same goes for these books. Sure, the series centers on Nina and Artemis, but there’s a whole group of friends (and frenemies) backing them up who add so much to the story. For instance, Doug, the demon who feeds off of emotion (and can give you a high from it), plays a prominent role in this book, and I loved every minute of his presence. There are tensions between the friends—who’ve gone through a whole lot together but don’t always agree on the direction the future should take—and huge tensions between the sisters now that Artemis has left. Then there’s also Nina’s complicated feelings about Leo’s death (and his lies while he was still alive). Basically, all those complicated relationships are what kept me reading long into the night.
Don’t get me wrong, this book wasn’t light on plot—Nina’s bound and determined to protect her friends, including the demons, and there’s a dangerous new player in the game who threatens all of them. They have to figure out who that is (first of all) and then how best to fight him. There are some glorious twists and turns along the way!!
As with the first book, Kiersten White captures the snarky tone of the Buffyverse wonderfully. And, in this book, we get cameos by several familiar characters from the original series—those were a true treat (I loved one in particular, but I don’t want to spoil who it was).
I hadn’t realized this was a duology, but by the end of the book everything felt wrapped up pretty perfectly, so I wasn’t surprised when a little research revealed that fact. (Who knows, though—it’s always possible White could revisit these new friends. I certainly wouldn’t complain if that was the case.)
Basically, if you’re a fan of the Buffyverse, Kiersten White or paranormal books in general, you should definitely pick this series up. You will not be disappointed!!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***...more
This modern Muslim retelling of Little Women is a perfect MG read! I’ll confess that I’ve never read the original, so I can’t make any comparisons, buThis modern Muslim retelling of Little Women is a perfect MG read! I’ll confess that I’ve never read the original, so I can’t make any comparisons, but I can attest to the fact that this was a wonderful read, even without knowing the details of the story it retells. Jameela is a bright young girl whose greatest desire is to be a writer one day and make her father proud. But when her father has to go out of the country on business and her beloved little sister gets sick, Jameela’s life is turned upside down. In the meantime, she also faces a dilemma with her journalism that lands her in trouble with her new family friend (and kind-of crush?). The themes of this book seem truly timeless, so I’m not surprised that it’s a retelling of a classic. When Jameela’s sister gets sick, the thing that gets them through it all is the strong bonds they have with friends and family. This support system is the highlight of the book and shows how we can rally together in times of crisis. Kids who like to write will relate to Jameela’s journalistic ambitions, but even those who aren’t interested in journalism will find themselves pulled into Jameela’s dilemmas with how to write a worthy story (without ruining her friendships in the process). Overall, this was a wonderful read!
NARRATION: I ended up listening to the audiobook version, and the narration by Priya Ayyar was wonderful!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review purposes (but then ended up listening to the audiobook from my local library). No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***...more
Guys, I don’t even know how to talk about this book. I just want to singThis review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Guys, I don’t even know how to talk about this book. I just want to sing Shusterman’s praises and perhaps worship his writing in some sort of benevolent pagan ritual.* Because he is a genius. Pure. Utter. Genius. And how can a human being write this way?
Once again, Shusterman makes us think. Hard. Like your brain cells might catch fire. But you won’t notice it’s happening because you’ll be enjoying the story too much to be distracted by the tiny inconvenience of a flaming brain. This book is chock full of philosophical meanderings and political, religious and social commentary—but he doesn’t make you feel like you’re being manipulated. In fact, one of the things I love about all of Shusterman’s dystopian books is that he presents so many philosophical questions without giving hard and fast answers. He almost always acknowledges the fact that answers can sometimes be complicated.
Okay, but on to what actually happened in the book. It was … a lot. The story took a ton of twists and turns I never saw coming and kept me guessing when it came to how it would all end up. I had no idea if everyone would survive, and I didn’t know if society would end up thriving or if it would end in ruins. (I did know that humans would survive in some capacity because there are snippets from a future religious group—but that’s all I knew for sure). And the ending of the book is bittersweet and yet satisfying: the kind of ending that makes you want to dwell on it—to imagine the possibilities. (Don’t worry, though, you do get definite closure.)
Basically, what I’m saying is, read this book. And all of Shusterman’s other books. That is all.
*Yikes! Sorry, God. I swear it isn’t true!
***Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher for review purposes (but then ended up buying the audiobook so I could continue listening to the series since I was enjoying the narration so much). No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***...more
Okay, confession: I probably would have never read a regular biography oThis review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Okay, confession: I probably would have never read a regular biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Not because I doubt that she's a fascinating person, but just because biographies don't really interest me. And, with so many great fiction books on my TBR, I just don't get around to reading much non-fiction. But put a biography of an interesting person in graphic novel form, and I'm suddenly all excited! And I am so glad that this showed up in my mailbox because it was a fascinating read!
I knew a little bit about RBG (in the current political climate, I've paid a bit more attention to the supreme court than I had in the past), but I didn't realize just how involved she was in key cases that brought more gender equality to our country. The book also gives us insight into RBG's early life and her mother's battle with cancer. I found RBG's life truly inspiring, and it gives me hope for the future of our world---it's good to see how far we've come and to focus on someone who is fighting for justice and equality in our world. I also thought it was wonderful that the book highlights a friendship with a judge whose views do not match RBG's---in today's political climate, it's become harder and harder to show respect and empathy toward people with opposing views. I loved just about everything about this book!
I should also mention that the artwork is wonderful, with a clean style that works especially well for middle grade.
***Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***...more
This book is like every other Rick Riordan Presents book, and I mean that in the best of ways: almost every RRP book I’ve read is fun, action-packed, This book is like every other Rick Riordan Presents book, and I mean that in the best of ways: almost every RRP book I’ve read is fun, action-packed, and culturally rich. The MC is usually a child of a god or mythological figure and learns of their awesome supernatural powers as the book progresses. You can say it’s a formula, but there’s a reason that my youngest has read every single Rick Riordan book ever written and many of the books from his imprint (he’s still getting to them all)—it’s a formula that kids love!
This book focuses on Navajo folklore, once again shedding light on a culture that many kids (unfortunately) haven’t had much access to. I have to say, that I was surprised how very little I knew of Native American lore—you’d think that since their stories are so close to home, they’d be widely known, but it just goes to show how certain voices are ignored. The main character, Nizhoni, has waited her whole life to find the one thing she’s good at so she can stand out—but she never counted on discovering that she’s a monster hunter. She ends up on a quest to hunt down her dad’s boss(!) before he releases all the other monsters on the world, but she needs the help of ancient Navajo heroes (including her used-to-be-stuffed frog) to do it. Along the way, Nizhoni learns secrets of her family’s past and finds that her life goal of gaining middle school fame isn’t as important as making a real difference....more
This book has a whole lot going for it: a Latina MC stuck between culturThis review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This book has a whole lot going for it: a Latina MC stuck between cultures, a cooking competition with life-altering consequences, a lifelong dream that just might get smashed, a hunky (sort of, kind of, almost) stepbrother—and don’t forget his adorable pup. Isa has her life all figured out. Inspired by her late-grandmother’s cooking, she wants to be a world-class chef. The best way to achieve that dream is by winning a competition for an internship with a local famous chef. The only problem is, the further Isa gets into the competition, the more she starts to realize that her dream life as a chef might not match reality. Isa has a lot going on in her life, with her parents’ recent divorce, her father’s remarriage and a baby on the way. The book deals a lot with her complicated feelings about this family dynamic (including the fact that she’s aware her dad cheated), and I liked the fact that there were no cut-and-dry answers about how she should feel. Then there’s Diego, her stepmom’s ultra-infuriating used-to-be stepson. Diego shakes Isa’s life up in ways she was never expecting, and he gets her to start questioning what she really wants for her future. This is such a common theme for teens at this age—trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your life is so hard, and sometimes it can seem nearly impossible to figure out if the lifestyle you want will match up with the career you choose. In Isa’s case, she discovers that she might have to give up to much of her own happiness to experience her dream career. Oh, and the book is read filled with delectable food references, so maybe don’t read while hungry!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***...more
This book is so engrossing and emotionally compeThis review (along with a GIVEAWAY) and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This book is so engrossing and emotionally compelling that I read it in one evening! I was immediately drawn in by the concept: Ava is the sole survivor of a house fire that claimed the lives of her parents and her cousin—she’s now recovering from burns that covered over 60% of her body and living with her aunt and uncle, who are also trying to hold it together after the loss of their daughter in the very fire that almost claimed Ava’s life. Right there, you can see why the emotional stakes of the story are so incredibly high. Not only is Ava struggling to adapt to her “new normal” after being disfigured in the fire, but she’s dealing with the loss of her parents and the guilt of surviving when her cousin didn’t.
The cast of characters is wonderful. Asad is a hilariously geeky guy (in a theater-geek sort of way), and you can understand how Ava starts to fall for him, especially when he doesn’t seem to see her for only her scars. And, though at first it seems that Piper might be the stereotypical peppy best friend—she sees to handle her own scars and injuries due to a car accident with cheery optimism and a get-yourself-out-there attitude—as the book progresses you start to suspect there might be more to her story than she’s letting on. Throughout the book, the stories of the accidents that caused Piper’s and Ava’s injuries unspool, and you don’t find out all the details until almost the end—a touch of mystery that keeps you turning the pages. The friendships in the story are realistic and complex and not without their difficult moments, which makes them feel that much more “earned” in the end.
Basically, I loved this book. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me want to keep reading until the very last page!
***Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***...more
This is one of those books that's just plain fun to read (or listen to, This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This is one of those books that's just plain fun to read (or listen to, as I ended up doing). It takes the basic Freaky Friday premise and gives it a modern twist by making it about two cousins who couldn't be more different. Ricki is a horror film buff who desperately wants to save her local drive-in theater---and share a perfect first kiss during the drive-in's big night. Lana, on the other hand, is a blossoming beauty YouTube star who cares much more about her follower count than anything going on IRL---or at least that's what Ricki thinks. When the two switch places and Ricki has to live Lana's life for a day, she realizes that there's a lot more behind her cousin's YouTube obsession than just a desire to be popular. I loved that the book explored themes of how an online presence can be both rewarding and toxic. I think that teens will relate to Lana's desire to show only her most perfect self to the world since that's such a predominant theme in our culture right now. Meanwhile, she's been hiding a whole host of secret fears and anxieties. Ricki's self-sabotaging quest for the perfect first kiss is also incredibly relatable---she's the type of girl who tries really hard to create that perfect scenario, only to mess up the natural romantic scenario that's unfolding right in front of her. Overall, I found this to be an entertaining book with some great messages about friendship and family and walking a mile in someone else's shoes!
NARRATION: Madison Lawrence did a great job with the narration, and I'd definitely listen to her again (actually I am, right now).
***Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher for review purposes (but ended up listening to the audiobook via my library). No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***...more
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