Come On In Anthology – Thoughts and Doodles

WELCOME From some of the most exciting bestselling and up-and-coming YA authors writing today...journey from Ecuador to New York City and Argentina to Utah, from Australia to Harlem and India to New Jersey, from Fiji, America, Mexico and more... Come On In. With characters who face random traffic stops, TSA detention, customs anxiety, and the …

Review: Bent Heavens – Horrific, Depressing, and Super Compelling

Title: Bent Heavens Author: Daniel Kraus Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Genre(s): "YA" Horror, Contemporary Subject(s): Alien abduction, torture Release Date: Feb 25th, 2020 Page Count: 304 (hardback) Rating: 8.0/10         Liv Fleming’s father went missing more than two years ago, not long after he claimed to have been abducted by aliens. …

Blog Tour + Giveaway: The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams

I'm thrilled to present a spotlight and a giveaway (US only) for Kate Williams' upcoming The Babysitters Coven! I'll be posting a mini review for it after the tour ends. Title: The Babysitters Coven Author: Kate Williams Publisher: Delacorte Press Release Date: September 17th, 2019 Genre(s): YA Paranormal Subjects and Themes: Witches, Female Friendships Page …

DNF Review: The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep – Wrong Character as the Narrator

Title: The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep Author: H.G. Parry Publisher: Redhook Release Date: July 23rd, 2019 Genre(s): Contemporary Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Stories about Stories, Siblings Page Count: 465 (hardback) Rating: DNF @ ~40%       For his entire life, Charley Sutherland has concealed a magical ability he can't quite control: he can …

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Took Me Out of My Comfort Zone (And Helped Me Find New Ones)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now being hosted by The Artsy Reader. This week's topic is Books I Enjoyed That Are Outside of My Comfort Zone, but I've modified it slightly to "books that took me out of my comfort zone but I didn't necessarily enjoy." Comfort …

Review: All the Bad Apples – Smoky with Old Magic

  Title: All the Bad Apples Author: Moïra Fowley-Doyle Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books Release Date: August 1st, 2019 (UK); August 27th (NA) Genre(s): YA Contemporary, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction Subjects and Themes: Family, Women's Rights, LGBTQIAP+ (lesbian mc, queer side characters) Page Count: 319 (hardback) Rating: 8.5/10     CW: Rape, homophobia, and a myriad …

Monday Chatter: Why Plagiarizing Reviews is Bad (Because Apparently it Needs to Be Said)

Happy Monday, everyone! Originally I wasn't going to write an entire post about this because I don't like voluntarily courting drama (unless it involves someone coming after a person I care about. Then I start sharpening knives), but the more I thought about it, the more irritated I got. So I'm just gonna get it …

Top Ten Tuesday – Settings I Want to See More of in Fiction

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now being hosted by The Artsy Reader. I've been telling myself that I'll try out a TTT topic for over a year now, but I never actually took the plunge. But I saw posts for this week's topic pop up in my …

Review: Destroy all Monsters – Messy with a Chance of Dinosaurs

Title: Destroy all Monsters Author: Sam J. Miller Publisher: HarperTeen Release Date: July 2nd, 2019 Genre(s): YA Fantasy, Contemporary Subjects and Themes: Mental Health, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 400 (hardback) Rating: 4.0/10       Solomon and Ash both experienced a traumatic event when they were twelve. Ash lost all memory of that event when she …

Interview with Sam J. Miller – Destroy all Monsters

A crucial, genre-bending tale, equal parts Ned Vizzini and Patrick Ness, about the life-saving power of friendship. Solomon and Ash both experienced a traumatic event when they were twelve. Ash lost all memory of that event when she fell from Solomon’s treehouse. Since then, Solomon has retreated further and further into a world he seems …