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Book Reviews

The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

6/20/2018

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Thanks to @kidlitexchange for providing me with a free copy of The Beauty That Remains in exchange for an honest review.  
​All opinions are my own.
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A book that explores the many forms of grief that comes with unexpected loss, The Beauty That Remains follows three teens at they learn that life can still be beautiful in the midst of the hard.  The book flips between the three narrators, and a little over half-way through you see the threads that connects their stories. This book examines more than just grief, though. Targeting the YA audience, it tackles coming-of-age, LGBTQ themes, love, guilt, anger, and passion.  This would be a great story to pass along to a young person that may be struggling with a major loss, just so they can see their thoughts reflected on the page. I know I would have loved to read this one after I lost several loved ones in high school. This one does have trigger warnings for suicide, biphobia, drug use, grief, death, car accidents, leukaemia, and physical and mental abuse, which made the book seem pretty heavy at times.  Overall, a solid three star read to pass along.
TL/DR: The Beauty That Remains is as beautiful on the inside as its cover.  Young readers would benefit from a book club discussion on the themes and topics discussed.
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Rating: 3 / 5 stars
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Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West

5/29/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange and @kasiewest for providing me with a free copy of Listen to Your Heart to read in exchange for an unbiased review.  All opinions are my own.
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Kate Bailey isn’t an extrovert.  Instead of hanging out with friends like a “normal” teenager she’d rather be on her family’s lake, alone with her thoughts, the sun, and the water.  Kate finds herself pushed out of her comfort zone when she is chosen to co-host the school’s podcast so she can give advice to her fellow students. Kate is hesitant at first, but finds that she’s pretty good at both listening and giving thoughtful advice, that is until an anonymous caller asks about a topic she has little experience in: love.  Kate thinks she knows the caller interested in her best friend, Alana, and the more time Kate spends with who she thinks is the caller, the more she herself falls for him.  I loved this fun summer romance, and I think you will too! 

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The Dead Inside by Cyndy Drew Etler

5/21/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for providing me with a free copy of The Dead Inside to read in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.  All opinions are my own.
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The Dead Inside is not like any other book I’ve read for Kid Lit Exchange.  It’s heavy and heart wrenching, providing a glimpse into the 16-month stay the author, Cyndy Drew Etler, had at a place called Straight Inc.  Straight Inc. is described as a horrific place, where all free will and reason were thrown out the door. After a few wrong decisions and years of conflict in her home, Etler’s mother and step-father sent her to the “rehab” facility, telling her she was going to boarding school.  What follows is Etler’s degrading and painful account of the ways Straight Inc. attempted to change who they thought she was into an unfeeling, emotionless lemming.

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The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente

5/10/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for providing @bookedupblog with a free copy of The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente  in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own. ​
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For all of you who just love a good fantasy about your favorite classic authors, look no further than The Glass Town Game!  Young Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell Brontë find themselves in the middle of their make-believe games after a train-ride whisks them away to a life-size version!  The fictional Glass Town comes to life complete with the Bronte’s favorite toy soldiers! The siblings soon realize their delightful childhood games are much more serious than they initially imagined, and one wrong step could mean life or death.  
A tome of a middle-grade novel, I gave this fantasy three stars. While it’s marketed to grades 4-7 due to the attitudes, adventures, ages of the main characters, I think the language and the length are a bit too daunting for that age range.  This book seems to appeal more to adults who have enjoyed the works and history of the Bronte’s, yet would also like some fantastical fiction based on their lives. While Valente is a beautiful writer, I think this one is better left for a more mature middle-grade reader.  It’s a great challenge for your more bookwormy middle-grade kiddos or for a read-along! 

TL/DR: At 500+ pages, you may need to convince your younger readers to give this historical fantasy a try.  If anything, you’ll enjoy reading it as an adult!

Rating: 3/5 stars
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The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

3/26/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for providing @bookedupblog with a free copy of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own. ​
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One of the most delightful middle grade reads I’ve read in a long time, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser takes us into the heart and home of the Vanderbeekers at Christmastime.  All is merry and bright, until the family learns their landlord is refusing to renew their lease and they must be out by the end of the month. The 5 Vanderbeeker children take matters into their own hands, showing their unique personalities and talents in an attempt to change their Scrooge-like landlord’s mind before it’s too late.  Each character is charming in their own way. Great for the classroom or for independent reading, this middle grade novel will teach kiddos never to give up when faced with the impossible and to never judge a book by its cover.

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Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life by Shelley Tougas

3/2/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for a free copy of Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life by Shelley Tougas in exchange for an honest review.
​ All opinions are my own.
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Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life is a perfect read if you grew up reading or watching Little House on the Prairie.  It brought a flood of nostalgic feelings back to my reading life, leaving me wanting to go back and reread (and rewatch) the original.  Tougas highlights all the ways in which Laura Ingalls Wilder portrays life on the prairie, including many ways in which she misrepresents the people and the experience.  

​The main character, Charlotte, moves to Walnut Grove with her twin brother, little sister, and their dog’s ashes after their mother has a dream about Laura Ingalls Wilder.  As a writer, Charlotte’s mom needs the inspiration only Laura’s childhood can provide, causing upheaval in everyone’s lives, especially Charlotte’s.
When they finally arrive, however, Charlotte’s mom begins to spiral into a depression, struggles to write about the prairie, and breaks her promises to her children.  Blaming Laura for all her family problems, Charlotte expresses her disdain for Walnut Grove in an essay assignment, explaining in detail all the ways Laura has ruined her life.  

Perfect for adults needing a tug on their nostalgic heartstrings and middle-grade readers that want to see how life on the prairie compares to the past, check out why you should read Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life​.

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Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

2/13/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for a free copy of Love, Hate, and Other Filters in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.
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Love, Hate, and Other Filters is a recent release by Samira Ahmed that I absolutely devoured.  This coming of age story of a Muslim girl who just wants to experience the world through her own lens rather than the filter of her parents’ Indian heritage is poignant, clever, and just plain wonderful. It starts off as a tale of forbidden love but quickly shifts into a discussion of Islamophobia.  Ahmed creates a strong female protagonist, Maya Aziz, to handle all of the topics from the romance to the real-world issues we face today.  In her struggle to figure out where she’s headed in life after high school, she learns to rely on her own strength and to trust in herself.  All of my reads so far in 2018 have been heavy, but this is the kind of breath-of-fresh-air writing my reading slump needed.  I highly recommend you check it out (along with my full five star review below)!

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Sit by Deborah Ellis

1/19/2018

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange and Groundwood Books for a free advanced copy of Sit in exchange for my honest review.  
All opinions are my own.
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Sit is a powerful collection of stories, all connected by one theme: the ways we sit and observe the world.  Author Deborah Ellis shares the experience of seven children as they try to understand the situations they find themselves in and the world at large.  Each is faced with a choice: to continue to sit or to stand up and take action.  I truly enjoyed this collection and found several ways in which older middle grade and young adults could connect and relate.  Read on to hear what I loved, what I didn't enjoy, and my rating!

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Suspect Red by L. M. Elliott

11/20/2017

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for providing the free copy of Suspect Red by L. M. Elliott in exchange for an honest review.  
All opinions are my own.
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Suspect Red takes readers back in time to experience life in America 1953 during the height of the Red Scare.  L. M. Elliott uses historical fiction to explain to young readers the impact political events had on everyday kids like them.  Each chapter begins with a few pages of history to immerse readers in the events of the time, which in turn is expertly weaved into the plot.  Photographs, headlines, and quotes from the era help put you in the frame of mind of our characters as they traverse the uncertainty that was the Red Scare.  ​

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Jorie and the Magic Stones by A. H. Richardson

11/16/2017

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Thank you to @kidlitexchange for providing the free copy of Jorie and the Magic Stones by A. H. Richardson in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.
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Nine-year-old Jorie is your typical girl with a typical childhood who has gone to live with her Great Aunt Letty at Mortimer Manor.  She likes to explore and play, especially with her new friend, Rufus.  Rufus and Jorie travel to an magical land called Cabrynthius, a location that is not in their imaginations.  Guided by a talking cat through the local lake (yes, through), Jorie and Rufus discover that Jorie isn’t so “typical” at all.  She is the Child with Hair of Fire foretold by legends as the savior of Cabrynthius.  Jorie must find the missing Stones of Maalog before an evil sorcerer so that he cannot gain their power and wreak havoc in Cabrynthius.  Along Jorie’s dangerous journey she and Rufus encounter dragons, a greedy tutor, caves of fire, and shape-shifting creatures.  It’s an adventure straight out of a storybook that you have to read to believe.  

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