As a big fan of Stephan Pastis’ acerbic yet contemplative Pearls Before Swine comic strip, I couldn’t wait to read Pastis’ middle-grade Timmy Failure series. I was in for a treat. Our protagonist, Timmy Failure, comes from a long line of Fayleures (his ancestors changed the spelling of their name). He lives with his mother and his friend/detective agency partner- […]
Last year I read Molly Idle’s wordless picture book Flora and the Flamingo and it instantly became a favourite of mine. When I found out that another Flora book was planned, I was ecstatic…but wondered if a follow-up could be as magical, as lyrical, as the first. Well, I can tell you that Flora and the Penguin is marvelous- perhaps […]
There is a lot of awesomeness in the picture book genre; so much so that I have a hard time keeping up with all the great new titles coming out! Here, in no particular order, are picture book titles that I have recently read and would recommend: Mister Bud Wears the Cone by Carter Goodrich. I fell in love with […]
Review: Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King Source: Hardcover, Published October 12th 2010 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers Verdict: Very Good/Excellent Book Description: Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after […]
Review: The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks Source: ebook, Published April 24th 2012 by Schwartz & Wade Verdict: Very Good Book Description: When Wendy Geller’s body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,”Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled.” But shy Rain, once Wendy’s best friend, knows there was […]
Review: Burning Blue by Paul Griffin Source: Hardcover, Published October 25th 2012 by Dial Verdict: Very Good Book Description: How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy? When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. […]
Review: Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins Source: Hardcover, Published March 2 2010 by Hyperion Books Verdict: Very Good/Excellent Book Description: Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But […]
Review: Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff Source: ARC, courtesy of Goodreads First Reads and Penguin Canada. Thank you! Verdict: Okay/Good Book Description: Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten. Now she’s out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why. When Clementine was a child, dangerous and […]
Review: Shine by Lauren Myracle Source: Hardcover, Published May 1st 2011 by Amulet Books Verdict: Very Good/Excellent Book Description: When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and […]
Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Source: Hardcover, Published June 5th 2012 by Crown Publishers Verdict: Excellent Book Description: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi […]
