Loved this conclusion of the companion to “The Silence of the Girls.”‘While the SOTG was before the fall of Troy and during it, this one takes place after the Greeks conquered the Trojans, and what the fates of the Trojan women at the hands of the Greeks.

SO good! Can‘t choose a favorite between ARIADNE or ELEKTRA- I love that both provide alternative perspective to women in mythology who do not have a voice other than through their male counterparts and male story tellers.

Loved reading it a second time around. ✨especially when this time I had to create a critical analysis of it and how I can use it in the library as a Youth Librarian.

✨It‘s good to be back ✨ the last 9 months have been a roller coaster at work, where I am honestly just ✨surviving✨ until Librarians finish on 6/6. There might be a lot of changes coming up, but I am thankful for rest, reading, & healing 📚While I have been MIA for a while, I have read quite a bit, thanks to my Youth Lit grad course, & then some. Soon I‘ll gather all that I have read while I have been out of commission, & share with you all 💙

So creative! Love the artist‘s style and the graphic novel/ comic strip style of each of the women‘s stories.

This is my first read from the Texas Book Challenges List, one of a couple I hope to read & finish over Spring Break. Banning books will not erase the power of any of the books on the list, but instead encourages readers to read & acquire the books in any way they can to discover the stories , while there are those in power seeking to censor. ⚠️Trigger warnings ⚠️ will be at the end of my review ➡️ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4606104984

My knowledge on the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War is very limited, and I am thankful to read Margarita Engle‘s childhood experiences growing up in two different cultures and countries. This memoir has encouraged me to search for other memoirs of the author‘s experiences during this time period.

Written as a Novel in Verse, it is the story of Sophie Scholl, one of the leaders of the White Rose youth resistance groups who spread information against Hitler and his regime. There are not many books available about Sophie, and only recently some have been writtwn for the YA audience. I have never read anything like this, and I highly recommend it!

Finished this one little bit ago. It‘s a cute book, but it took it until halfway to pickup speed. I definitely do want to still continue the series, and I look forward to tracking down a copy of book two 💙

Also my book reviews from my class with the focused genre POETRY. Forgot to share in the craziness of my huge project I posted below. https://thediverseshelvesbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Hello all! I have been MIA due to work stress AND my major project for my Children‘s and Teen‘s grad class, a book trailer over “We are not free” by Traci Chee. It‘s a 1:55 video so it won‘t take long to watch! ☺️https://thediverseshelvesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/03/young-adult-book-trailer-we-are-not.html

The Traditional Tales blog review posts are in! These were fun to read and analyze, and I really enjoyed the Traditional Tales genre. Head to the links below in the comments to read my critical analysis for each of the three books ⬇️ For those of y‘all who have visited my Children‘s book blog already… THANKS!!💙💙 I have never done a blog before and I love being able to review kids books for my masters of library science grad class 📚🎓

Texas is experiencing some ❄️ icy ❄️ conditions, & thank the celestial librarians for my school district to be closed. While I‘d rather be reading this whole time, I‘ll be getting ahead on my grad work because my midterm is due at the end of the month ( A Book Trailer 🤯), but I will definitely be sure to take multiple reading breaks today and tomorrow 💙 Also, notice my Aragorn & Arwen bookmark- found it in the HS bookmark collection!

Very intriguing plot, but the last half of the book was slow. Still intrigued to read rest of the series , but will probably audiobook them instead.

New Display! I have gotten a lot of astrology sign book requests, and while we are waiting to order those nonfiction, Book Riot and Upper Case YA on Instagram had great fiction book recs to pair with each sign! I couldn‘t display them all- I only displayed books we have currently in our system 💙

It was a great month for reading! Can‘t choose a favorite- they were all amazing! Top were physical books, bottom were audiobooks.

Second Jacqueline Woodson book is in the books!
I loved getting to read more about Lonnie‘s story, and as he is coming to love his second family, his foster family. Both of the audiobooks were very well done, and I am Looking forward to listening to her other books.

I‘ve never read any of Jaqueline Woodson‘s books, and now I‘m at a loss for why I haven‘t until now! I listened to this one over audiobook on SCRIBD and would listen to it as I was driving to/ from work, and when cleaning the house- when I couldn‘t listen to it, my mind was still on Lonnie‘s story.
After I finish “Promise, Lonnie” I am going to explore Woodson‘s other books to listen to on audiobook.

Hello all! The following link is my childrens and teen BOOK REVIEW BLOG for my masters course at TWU for “Children‘s and Teen Literature.” I would love it if you would check it out! The above 3 books are my first books to critically analyze and review for my course 💙 https://thediverseshlevesbookreviews.blogspot.com/

*Read as an Audiobook on SCRIBD*
First time in a while to read a middle grade book, and this beautiful story in novel in verse format was a warm welcome back. I wasn‘t prepared to cry during my lunch break while listening to this, but thankfully made the right choice to sit outside in my car to get some fresh air.

2nd seasonal Display - Best Enemies to Lovers Trope ❤️ Tag your favorite YA books that I have missed! I am very new to this trope! Sorry for the weird picture crop- it‘s all that I could get in!

One of our seasonal displays- February and Valentines! Literary Conversation Hearts for the Win!

When I found out there was a retelling of the fairy tale, “The Goose Girl”, I nabbed my local library‘s copy before you could say Pfennigeist ( you will know this name from the book). I fell in love with Shannon Hale‘s retelling of “The Goose Girl” back in 2005, and this retelling was icing on the “fairy tale retelling” cake, and just what I needed to read, seventeen years later.⬇️

Today is the day I start my Children‘s & Young Adult Literature class at TWU!🎉I have been greatly anticipating this one out of my grad classes planned . I chose from a large reading list 19 books i wanted to read and review, and post on my self made Children‘s literature blog. ➡️I will be sharing the link to my blog post for each book I read this semester- if you have time I would love it if y‘all read my formal reviews! 📚 ✍️ 💻

Surprisingly am enjoying this one! Maybe because it‘s a loose retelling of “ The Goose Girl”? Couldn‘t stand and finish The Merciful Crow- hopefully I can stick with it!

Wanted to like this one, but couldn‘t STAND the way Fie talks. Loved the idea of the caste system but I couldn‘t stay interested. Stopped at 50 pages. Hoping that it wasn‘t the right time to read this ( I have a week until grad classes start, which limits my reading) and may come back to it this summer to try again on audiobook.

I was mesmerized by this retelling of The Little Mermaid. Only, it is not just a retelling, but it is filled with African history and mythology, where one can learn about the African culture, knowledge, and history, as well as the transatlantic slave trade, the If‘a spiritual system, and rich mythology. 🌊🪨🌊 read the rest of my review HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4230339727

Absolutely stunning! Despite having watched the movie last year, I was still hooked !

Do you judge a book by its cover? This title is a great example for how my motivation to read a book can depend on my interest of the cover 🪞 I had a half price mass market paperback of this same title on my shelves for 5+ years,& despite all what I heard about it, I had no motivation. After reading “The Reading List” I bought this copy, with a cover I like, & have FLOWN through it 🌊🚤 🪨 🌊 Even when I have already seen the movie, I‘m hooked!

Loved that they did this! The Harry Potter books and movies have been such a big part of my life and growth in loving reading - it was book 1 that got 8 year old me who HATED READING to fall in love with reading, and the movies were such a comfort.

🎉Emily‘s 2021 Top 10 Favorite Adult Fiction 🎉 In no particular order ; The Witch‘s Heart and The Reading List are tied for my favorite adult book of the year

🎉🎉My 2021 Top 10 Favorite Ya Fiction 🎉🎉( in no particular order- a few ties for top 5 🤦‍♀️)

🎉Didn‘t meet my 2021 Goal, but it was definitely a good year of discovery in finding new faves. Will post my top 5 favorites in Adult Fiction and YA Fiction ASAP. 🎉

This book is making it VERY hard for me to decide my top 5 favorite books of 2021. It was absolutely perfect in all bookish ways imaginable, and powerful in dealing with real issues. If you haven‘t read this one yet, RUN to your nearest indie bookstore and treat yoself.

An amazing collection of #ownvoices stories. I appreciated the author‘s note about ⚠️Trigger Warnings⚠️, noting the stories to avoid if triggered by Sexual Abuse/ Rape and/or Racial violence. While I read all the stories, I could see that note as helpful for my teens / students in the library I work at, or any other reader.

This series was a bit of a roller coaster, with highs and lows, but overall one I enjoyed it, while stepping out of my usual genres. The first was fast and furious ( definitely a high), the second was agonizingly slow and almost abandoned the series entirely, and the third ended brilliantly. Tears were shed and I fell in love with the characters. Definitely would recommend this series.

Next is the Chonky 3rd book of the series. A bit behind on my 2021 reading challenge due to grad school and work, but I think I can make it 👍🏻

4 ⭐️ my goodness, this was a slow and anguishing read, BUT the last 150 pages or so made up for it. 🎉🎉I had heard so many good things about the 3rd book, I knew I couldn‘t stop here at the 2nd. I‘m really glad I didn‘t. If you are having a hard time with this one like I did ( took me over two months to finish), I‘d encourage you to read it. The finale is quite amazing and I am hooked!

Finally got a physical copy ( thanks to #Thriftbooks)-
I thought I could do well on my SCRIBD ebook but it is so SLOW and I am struggling. Word on the street this book in the series is the most grueling ( I loved the first) but the last book is worth it.

I picked this up because I saw on Kelly Yang‘s Instagram a large list of books challenged by a certain group, “No Left Turn in Education”, books they believe should be pulled from school classrooms & libraries, including her book, “Front Desk”. The list challenged me to purchase the YA books I have not read yet.
➡️My thoughts on this POWERFUL book and link to challenged books in book review ➡️https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4337677969

Knowing that this story of survival is based on the true lives of the author‘s family was powerful, yet heart wrenching. The story of their survival in the midst of despair and unspeakable evil is one to honor and keep alive theirs and others stories who lived and died through the genocide of the Jewish men, women, and children.
This is one I highly recommend to all.

I was not prepared for how much I would LOVE this book! It took me by surprise and I absolutely loved every minute! It was very much the Rom-Com with delightfully witty banter that I needed at the right time! 🧪🧫💘

With how busy it‘s been with grad school since I read this, bear with me 📚 this book came to me at the perfect time and place. After reading some amazing books that had been really hard/ read difficult subjects to read, this was just the light-ish book I needed. Not sure why I didn‘t pick it up sooner, but I‘m glad I read it when I did. Finished it in one day!💙

IM BACK!!🎉🎉 This semester has been NUTS, and not one for reading 📚I‘m utterly speechless at this book. Jackson writes unabashedly about hard subjects, & does not turn away from the themes that can be “uncomfortable “. This was my 2nd book to read of hers, & I gave myself space to take time to read and process what I was reading. This is one of the hardest books on this particular subject I have read in some time, but I am glad I stuck with it.

When I say everyone needs to read this book, I mean EVERYONE. This story and it‘s haunting truth will stay with you, and the gut-punching realization that the horrors described in this book are a reality for thousands of children, maybe even strangers we have crossed paths with…. Read the rest of my review: ➡️https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4305696077

I really wasn‘t expecting how much I would enjoy this book as I did. I went into reading it just to be “in the know” about this TikTok YA famous book, and with no plans to finish the trilogy. Oh, how wrong I was. Other than not being a fan of the “enemies to lovers” and “one bed” tropes found in many YA books, this one so far is an exception. The rest of the review is on my Goodreads! 👍🏻 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4297838352

What a sweet and cozy book! While the storyline didn‘t have the depth I was hoping for, overall I loved the characters, and their eccentricities ! 📚 I have had really bad Vertigo this last week, and am just now recovering. Wasn‘t able to read during that week due to how dizzy I was, but today I made up for it by finishing the book and feeling better !

It‘s been a tough week at work. Still acclimating to a new head librarian who‘s personality and idea of the library is VERY different than I have ever worked in/with, and I am utterly exhausted. My mom offered to pick up a book for me at my favorite bookshop Fabled Bookstore in Waco when visiting my aunt, and that sweet gesture was a good start to the week💙

100 pages in & I could not get into it. As many of you know, I LOVE books & am currently in my Masters for Library Science to work as a Public Librarian Youth Services Librarian, & with a focus on Collection Development. HOWEVER, the language was too stilted for me, & I felt disconnected from the characters. We need more books like this that presents racism in our history, and how many struggled to live as passing White for their own safety⬇️.

When I started it, I was afraid it would be too similar to “Circe” and “Ariadne”, both in themselves each retellings of mythological women whose tales fail to tell their true stories, and give them a voice.
I loved each of those books, but I wasn‘t sure how the author would tell the tale of the little-known giantess witch who married Loki…. For the rest of my REVIEW https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4230208865