4 1/2 Stars. Newbery Honor book. Great book for your middle grade readers. Thought provoking yet age appropriate account of Katrina.

Brilliant book! 5 Stars!

Almost a 5 star book but ending felt rushed. Very different from his usual lawyer books but fantastic for book lovers.

Excellent book. Photographer Sarah Bain and an unlikely group of friends help solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper. Interesting take on an old story with engaging characters. Full review in profile.

Excited about this ARC from Laura Joh Rowland. The first book The Ripper's Shadow was great.

A book I bought for myself this holiday season. 🎄🎅 I've heard great things about this book by @karinaisreadingandwriting
#bookstagram #bookreviewer #yafiction #currentlyreading #middlegradefiction #childrensbooks #hmh @hmhkids @hmhbooks @hmhteen @houghtonmifflinharcourt #harrythehedgehog

I have SNOW in Florida! 😃🎅🎄

Just kidding. I bought a copy of SNOW by Sam Usher as a holiday gift to myself. Almost as good as the real thing.

I ❤❤❤❤ illustrated books and everything about this book is adorable.

@templarpublishing #bookstagram #christmas #bookreviewer #illustratedbooks #kidsbooks #kidlit @bonnier_publish

My current read for review. A very cute detective story by Caroline Carlson. Published by Harper imprint. Featured in the @owlcratejr book box.
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Full review to follow.

@owlcrate @OwlCrateJr @HarperCollins

Near perfect book for teen girls. Strong and smart female heroine. ❤❤❤❤❤

Hello Saturday! I finally get a chance to sit down and review this new Middle Grade book by Melanie Schubert and New Wrinkle Publishing.

full review in my profile link tree.

Reading books doesn't make me cry but receiving beautiful signed and bejeweled books does. My newest favorite possession. Full review in my profile link.

Bless you Carolyn Swanson It has been a pleasure getting to know you & watching your wonderful book succeed.

Grab a copy for yourself or give it as a gift this holiday season to a princess in your life.

Full disclosure: I actually did cry during Deathly Hallows and The Ghostwriter.

My favorite quote from James Patterson's Word of Mouse. Full review here... https://linktr.ee/goodreadsandme

4 Stars for the very strong start, suspenseful storytelling, plenty of bad guys to keep you guessing, and likable characters that I'd like to read more about.

3.5 stars for an ending that seemed rushed. And please get Morgan some bubblewrap, knee pads, and a bodyguard. She gets wounded or stumbles into a life-threatening situation every other chapter. While I am a klutz myself, it seems a bit unbelievable.

There really is no better place to read than in the Florida marsh. My heart lives here. ❤

Have you read Swamplandia by Karen Russell? She grew up here in Florida and this awesome book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012.

Basically a list of Southisms. Grab it. Read it. Pass it on.

One of my favorite cozy series. Make sure to start with Cape Light. I reread these every few years.

Excellent book from beginning to end. I found the characters to be likable and thoroughly flushed out. There is nothing like a good suspense novel that I do not figure out midway through. Well done!

The Girl in the Glass Box by Andi Adams is a fun read beginning to end. Having the story told from Genevieve/Snow White's and Agrippine/her Stepmother's alternating points of view is brilliant. I found Agrippine to be deliciously evil, although I would not want to eat anything she makes. Here's a tease... STEW. Now you have to read it to find out what I mean. Full review on Goodreads.

Mix a bit of Law & Order- Special Victims Unit, The Shining, and Gone Girl together and you have a recipe for a crazy twisted ride. Simon Lelic has created a creepy novel that once again proves that the scariest stories do not involve ghosts and goblins but it is what PEOPLE do to one another that is truly terrifying.

Full review on Goodreads.

Once Upon A Time... there was a brilliant book about a modern princess.

Blending the beloved stories of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and more, The Fairytale's Daughter by Carolyn Swanson is an enchanting read.

Full review https://linktr.ee/goodreadsandme

Shadow Weaver is an unique story about Emmeline, a girl with a special power to control shadows and Dar, Emmeline's shadow and only friend. On the run from a family that does not approve of her powers and the people that want to "cure" her, Emmeline questions the only life she has ever known with Dar, her influence, and the true meaning of friendship.

Full review on goodreads. https://linktr.ee/goodreadsandme

A cozy mystery set in a tiny southern beach town... with lots of CHOCOLATE and included recipes. Yes, please!

I enjoyed the descriptions of this tiny beach hamlet, the issues with small town living where everyone knows everyone, and the characters that inevitably flock to such towns in search of perpetual sun and a laid back lifestyle. Living in such a town myself, it resonates. Seriously, I am watching such characters out my window as I type.

A suspenseful ride that takes you from the United States to Egypt, Liberia, Uruguay and back. This book weaves medical and political story lines with an intimate look at the complicated side of multi-cultural families. It will keep you hooked and hopeful as one family stops at nothing to reunite a mother and son.

Some novels are like rafting on a fast moving river. You are carried along through twists and turns, exhilarated, and perched on the end of your seat until the end. The French Girl is not such a novel. I compare the experience more to a leisurely float on a lazy river to a destination unknown. Peacefully and steadily moving along until its conclusion.

Full review on Goodreads.

The author, Nancy Price, has brought to page the internal voice of all the characters in such a way that you can feel their anguish and anxiety levels. I love her use of repetitive thoughts. Someone stressed out or obsessing over something does not think of things just once and move on. The thoughts run through your head over and over. Remembering. Analyzing. Processing. Debilitating. And sometimes... Empowering. Full review on Goodreads.

I enjoyed this book PURELY for its value as reference material about collecting books and new authors to seek out. If I was the type to write in my books, I'd have scribbled notes all through it. I can not wait to receive materials that I ordered based on their suggestions. Well worth the $3.99 I paid for the hardcover on eBay.

One of my favorite books! While part of the Rizzoli and Isles series, it is a great stand alone book.
Features a page turning serial killer storyline. That's all I'll say because I don't want to spoil a moment of this suspenseful ride.

If you can grab a copy of the audiobook, do it. The narrator is very good. I always come back to this when I need a good book. It feels like home.

I love love love illustrated books. I am seriously a 5 year old at heart. Am so. Am so...

This new book about a lost toy dinosaur is perfect for a young reader or as a read-along bedtime story book.

Doesn't everyone need a neurotic dinosaur in their lives?

Part coming-of-age story and part suspense novel, this narrative of Susannah's sophomore semester at a Quaker prep school will keep you riveted until the very end.

Touching on subjects such as choices and consequences, the abuse of religious power, trust, teen angst, personal growth, peer pressure, bullying, and more, this book will have you pondering your own teen years and the secrets you may have held close.
https://linktr.ee/goodreadsandme

Teens and adults alike will find this book to be thought-provoking with a very realistic (and often heart-wrenching) look at divorce through the eyes of a child. You will laugh and hurt right along with Rebecca. I highly recommend this book. Full review here... https://linktr.ee/goodreadsandme

The psychic Mrs. Habbibi had me mesmerized in the first chapter and made me feel like I was somehow complicate in the unfolding story of grief, hope, trust, and karma.

This book will leave you exasperated and amused. I found myself alternating between cracking up at Jozette's audacity and ingenuity and wanting to punch Mrs. Habbibi in the nose for playing with the deepest emotions one can have -- the death of a loved one, especially a child.

Helena has 3 months to live but has one last story to tell. With her deteriorating health, Helena needs a ghostwriter. The unfolding tale is perfectly paced with a storyline of deep loss & love. You will fall in love with her selected ghostwriter. Their compassion and kindness is the perfect counterbalance to Helena's demanding and inflexible personality. You will feel EVERY emotion. It will leave you feeling raw and in awe of the author's genius.

Personally, I think I will like this entire series. It is more enjoyable than Twilight since I never cared for mopey Bella and Tessa is a much more likable lead character. The pacing of the story is pretty good since Tessa has a lot to come to grips with over short period of time. There is just enough action and romance to keep me interested in reading more.

Meh. I really really wanted to like this more but it is definitely not a favorite. While the prose about the GREEN rainforest is lovely. I might have enjoyed it more if it was about half as long and not every object was described in technicolor detail and given human qualities. Did I mention that everything is green... VERY green?

It's the Amazon versus 4 kids stranded in a plane crash. Most of the time I was rooting for the Amazon. #TeamAmazon.

"Words have no muscles but they are strong enough to break a heart." - Isaiah.

This ingenious story tackles themes such as daring to be different, being brave, bullying, use of animals in a laboratory, personal sacrifice, and the importance of friends and family. It is a perfect read for 8-12 years old that are ready to move up to chapter books.