YA book gift ideas

A school librarian friend was looking for book recommendations for middle-school kids, so I thought I might share some of the YA titles that I liked this year here, too. For the most part, my tastes run to mystery and fantasy/horror, so these might skew a little on the dark/strange/older side. Give them a looksee…Continue reading YA book gift ideas

My favorite books of 2022

For the past seven years, I’ve kept track of every book I read on Goodreads, a handy tool to keep track of authors and series that I’ve enjoyed so I can remember to grab the next installment. (It’s also where I park my enormous To Be Read list.) And of course there’s the stats: the…Continue reading My favorite books of 2022

Book review: Reverie

One of my favorite books of 2020, Ryan La Sala’s Reverie is an effervescent YA fantasy that explores identity, responsibility, and friendship with humor and supernatural butt-kicking. Main character Kane can’t remember anything from before his car accident a few months ago, but his family, his therapist, and the police have questions: Why did he…Continue reading Book review: Reverie

Book review: YA fantasy books with strong girls

Welcome to Part 3 of my book review series featuring speculative literature books with strong girl protagonists. In previous installments, I listed books for younger middle grade readers (ages 8-10) and middle grade readers (10-12). This post emphasizes readers 12-16, moving into the young adult category. (By the way, my age recommendations are based on…Continue reading Book review: YA fantasy books with strong girls

Book review: Sisters of the Revolution

Sometimes I forget how fulfilling it can be to read explicitly feminist writing. So I have been enjoying the heck out of Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer. Speculative fiction is a catch-all phrase for science fiction, fantasy, and other harder-to-classify writing with a fabulist “what-if” slant.…Continue reading Book review: Sisters of the Revolution