A-Z Reviews

August 17, 2022

Favorite Line:  "I've never been so happy to get back to a classroom" (157).

Summary:  Chase Ambrose is a bully, and that all changes when he falls off the roof of his house and loses his memory.  As Chase sees the fear in the eyes of his four year old half-sister and in the eyes of his classmates, will he become who he once was, or will remain new and improved? 

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Status:  Available via MackinVIA eBooks.

January 01, 2022

There are so many favorite lines that I couldn't choose a few . . .

Favorite Lines:  “I could do much worse than a kind man” (23).

“My character was forged by independence and self-sufficiency in the face of loneliness, so I assumed the tools for survival were already in my kit, it was just a matter of learning how to use them.   But, not only do I not have the tools, I have no plans and no supplies and seem to be working in a different medium entirely.  And, because I’m a woman, I’m forced to do it all with my hands tied behind my back” (43).

"There are so many invisible layers to decorum that you didn't think if it until you’re staring them down across a fancy parlor" (134).

"I want to know everything about my own self and never have to rely on someone else to tell me the way I work" (291).

‘Let me dream that there is something unquestionably pure in this world’ (338).

“I should have known I wasn’t a forest fire, but a small flame that could be snuffed out easily by the first man who turned my way with a heavy breath” (356).

‘But there are always consequences.  Even in standing still.  And, I’m tired of stillness’ (429).

Summary:  After returning from her adventures with her brother and childhood friend Percy, Felicity is ready for her own.  She desires to become a physician, but that kind of goal is more likely to have Felicity placed in an asylum than in medical school.  So, Felicity takes her future into her own hands and agrees to seek out the doctor she has admired for years and entreat him to allow her to study with him.  But, Felicity is a Montague, and Montagues always have obstacles in their paths - like petticoats and piracy!

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Status:  Available at your school library.

April 22, 2021

Favorite Line:  "While we are alive we always contain a future of multifarious possibility" (278).

Nora Seed simply isn't happy, and while she has plenty of connections, there is one emotion that is missing.  After Nora decides that life isn't worth living, she has another chance to explore the possibilities of the many lives of other Nora Seed.  Nora's possibilites are housed in The Midnight Library, and Nora's perpendicular lives are in the forms of books.  But the biggest book is The Book of Regrets.  When Nora explores her Book of Regrets and her perpendicular lives, which kind of life does Nora like best?  The life she could have, the life she has, or the death she can choose?

Genre:  Supernatural

Status:  Available at your school library.

October 29, 2020

It's amazing how frightening a book written for elementary school students is.  

Coraline is precocious, and while she can entertain herself, she would prefer if her parents spent time with her.  Alas, that is not the case.  When Coraline's mother shows her a door that goes to nowhere, Coraline's curiosity is aroused, and she decides to explore.  But, what she finds is the family she thinks she wishes she had.  She finds an alternate reality on the other side of the door, and she learns that Dorian Gray is right . . . the soul is a frightening and terrible reality - especially when it's lost.  

If you're looking for a book that explores ideas and illustrates courage, read Neil Gaiman's Coraline.

Favorite Line:  "Spiders' webs only have to be large enough to catch flies."

Genre:  Horror

Status:  Available at your school library.

January 01, 2020

Julep is trouble, and she is also in trouble.  In addition to carrying the weight of her best friend being sent by his parents to a military school, she is haunted by the death of Tyler.  Julep is in trouble because instead of her being the grifter, others are running grifts on her.  When she finally realizes who is a pawn and who is a king, it is too late to save the person she loves the most. 

Favorite Line:  "Ghosts don't haunt people.  Guilt does" (4).

Second Favorite Line: "I beam at him.  He gets it.  He knows what it takes and he's willing to make the hard choices.  I'm going to have to double his salary.  I can afford, it, too, since his salary is zero and zero doubled is still zero" (193).

Genre:  Suspense

Status:  Available at your school library.

November 30, 2019

It's the first day of 8th grade, and Claudia still hasn't heard from her best friend, Monday.  And, that's not like Monday because she didn't write all summer - even though she promised Claudia she would. That Monday is the first day that Claudia really begins to ask questions, and nothing is adding up.  Monday's mom won't let Claudia in the house.  And, before Monday went missing, August, Monday's brother, hasn't been seen in months.  So, Claudia asks questions and tells every adult she trusts that something isn't quite right.   So, where is Monday, why isn't she coming, and most importantly, why doesn't anyone seem to really care?

Favorite Line:  'Who's really responsible for your well-being--your family, the government, or your community?' (421).

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Status:  Available at your school library.

September 2, 2019

It's been years since The Event, and ghosts are practically everywhere.  Veronica is living with two: her father, who appears at 7:13 every morning at the kitchen table, and a 16 year old boy who appears in her bathroom.

So, what's making these ghosts appear?  It could be that Leap Year is less than a few weeks away.  It could be that the ghosts are trying to warn Veronica . . . 

But, Veronica isn't a cowering wall flower, and she's getting strange vibes from her History teacher who has developed a fixation with her. How can she solve the mystery without being left behind?  

Favorite Line:  'I'd rather see him every morning, like I do now.  I'd rather he break my heart one thousand times, like he does every morning, than go through a day where I don't see him or think about him' (236).

Genre:  Supernatural

Status:  Available at your school library.

June 25, 2019

Zora Neale Hurston interviews Cudjo Lewis, one of the last shipload of Africans enslaved and brought to America.   His story is not one of happiness because Lewis is unable to move past the pain he has endured from the time he was eighteen.  In his own words, Lewis paints a picture of Africa - the justices and injustices - , and he paints his life in America, and despite it all, it's his words that resonate and leave the reader wanting him to have what he cannot, his motherland.

Genre:  Nonfiction

Status:  Available at your school library.

June 22, 2019

Adaptations are a running thematic idea of my summer reading, and First & Last is a cute adaptation of Jane's Austen's Pride & Prejudice. Devon, a high school senior, has been in love with her friend, Cas since she has been in seventh grade, and she's willing to hold out hope that one day he'll wake up and realize how he feels about her. And, changes happen, but not the change Devon wants the most.  First, her cousin, Foster moves in with her and her parents, and then Devon's life becomes like her favorite character's life - in Pride and Prejudice - Elizabeth. 

Favorite Line:  'Kind of reminds me of dances in middle school,' I said. 'You know, the ones were the vice principal would go around with the ruler, making sure there was 'room for the Holy Ghost?' (96).

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Status:  Available at your school library.

December 8, 2018

Jane's life is full of secrets, and those secrets have led her to her current occupation: fighting the "shamblers."  What kind of girl fights the undead?  An Attendant - the kind of girl who is unwanted by her country.  Jane is a young black girl, and the government has decided it needs to protect its citizens from the shamblers, so young black and Native American children have been sent to school to learn how to protect those citizens.  And, Jane is good at what she does (killing shamblers); she's also good at asking questions, and seeking the answers to those questions gets her sent to the wilderness, to a town that is safe from shamblers.  But, we soon learn that nothing (Jane's secrets) and no one (including those who Jane loves) is ever safe.  

Favorite Line:  "It's a cruel, cruel world.  And the people are the worst part (81).

Second Favorite Line:  "Here's a thing about me:  I regret most of my actions five minutes after the fact.  I'm rash in my decisions and I spend half my time trying to extricate myself from situations of my own making.  But, I don't regret taking charge last night.  Without me, we would have died and the town would have been overrun.  So whatever the sheriff has planned for me, I have to believe that everyone's survival was worth it" (398).

Genre:  Supernatural

Status:  Available at your school library.

September 15, 2018

Jess and Angie are best friends, but Jess is in love with Angie. Jess is okay with her secret crush, but when Margot sets her sights on Angie, it's Jess who is left alone. When Jess crosses a line, it changes the trajectory of four lives.

Favorite Line: "When we reach the dark trail through the center of Ellicott Park, I reach for her hand, . . I lace my fingers in hers and I don't let go" (281).

Genre: Mystery

Status: Available @ Amazon.

July 12, 2018

For as long as he can remember, Salvie's father has been his teacher and mentor. For as long as long as Salvie can remember, Sam has been his best friend. These two are about to enter their senior year, and these two know about love and loss. Salvie's mom died when he was three, and his grandma is making peace with her impending death. Sam's dad left, and her mom leaves her to raise herself. Somehow, these two manage to save each other and save someone who is in worse shape than they are. The inexpliciable logic of their lives is that all three are survivors.

Favorite Line: 'Maybe we don't always know what we have inside us' (9).

Second Favorite Line: "Words only exist in theory. And then one ordinary day you run into a word that exists only in theory. And you meet it face to face. And then that word becomes someone you know. That word becomes someone you hate. And you take that word with you wherever you go. And you can't pretend it isn't there.

Third Favorite Line: 'Let yourself be loved' (414).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available @ your public library.

July 08, 2018

Told as a frame novel, the two narrators, William and Rowan, enlighten the reader about life in Tulsa from two different centuries. William was alive during the race riots, and what happens to him and around him make him a central character. Rowan, the 17 year old who moves in to William's family home, discovers the body of someone who was murdered during the Riots. Can Rowan discover the truth of who was murdered, and what does William have to do with that murder that occurred so many years ago?

Favorite Line: "And I did as I was told because he was my father. And because it hadn't yet occurred to me that I had any other choice" (227).

Genre: Historical Fiction

Status: Available @ your public library.

July 06, 2018

Jade is doing okay waiting for opportunities. She attends a private school on academic scholarship, but for two years she's been hoping to travel abroad. In the meantime, Jade's mentor, Maxine, has so much to teach her: how to appreciate the symphony, how to know which fork to use, and how to eat healthy. But, there are other things Jade wants to know. How will she get what she needs if she doesn't learn to speak for herself?

Favorite Line: ' . . . knowing how to read words and knowing when to speak them is the most valuable commodity a person can have' (74).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available from the public library.

July 02, 2018

Three girls with little in common form a group whose sole goal is to improve how girls are treated. What can a preacher's kid, a Mexican, and a girl with Asperger's do to change their high school? Well, they can do a whole lot. They can do so much that they can change their school and their community.

Favorite Line: "I, for one, will not be silenced any longer" (221).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available from Amazon.

June 27, 2018

Ruta Sepetys scores another win with her fictional account of a maritime tragedy. Russian submarines fired torpedos that led to the deaths of 9000. The desperation that leads the 10,000 people who thought they found refuge from Stalin and the war wasn't over, and a watery grave awaited most who boarded the Wilhelm Gustloff. Take a journey back in time and meet four people, Emilia, Alfred, Florian, and Joana, who struggle with their guilt and fear and shame and thoughts of revenge. They are four characters who stay with you--even after you turn the last page.

Favorite Line: "War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost. Near our cottage, where the small creek winds under the old wooden bridge, is the most beautiful bed of roses. And there Emilia rests. She is safe. She is loved" (336).

Genre: Historical Fiction

Status: Available in print and online @ https://www.mackinvia.com.

June 22, 2018

Bailey, who is in D.C., has been communicating with Alex, who is in California. On a whim, Alex invites her out to go to the movies. When Bailey's dad invites her to California, she goes about finding Alex. But, is Alex his real name? She does have a few facts. He has a job in the city; he loves old movies; he has a white cat that hangs around his family's business. Can Bailey find Alex? And, if she finds him, will she still like him?

Favorite Line: "Maybe Walt Whitman was right. We all really do contradict ourselves and contain multitudes. How do we even figure out who we really are?" (147).

Genre: Romance

Status: Available from Amazon.

June 18, 2018

Girls are disappearing; sometimes they are never found. Sara's best friend was one of the girls, but since she's a reporter, she can use her words to advocate for her best friend and those like her. But, speaking the truth comes with a price. While Sara's fighting the cartel, her brother believes the only way to improve his family's situation and court the girl he likes is to join the same cartel that hopes to kill his sister. No matter what Sara and Emiliano choose, there's no safe passage, but sometimes doing what's right is more important than being safe.

Favorite Line: "He does not want to believe what is slowly becoming obvious to him" (66).

Needed Line: "It had all been words, an abstraction. But here it is, palpable, shown through bullets meant for her and her family. Sara had never realized fear could be so physical, how it invades all of your body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. She can even taste it. It tastes like metal" (213).

Second Favorite Line: ' . . . we are all meant to be the best person we are capable of being' (227).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available from Amazon.

June 15, 2018

I'm going to do something I typically don't do in these reviews . . . I'm going to use last names. Tom Grendel lives in a neighborhood, Hereot, filled with the elderly. His dad suffers from PTSD, and being surrounded by the quiet is what works best. However, Rex Rothgar moves in, and the parties and loud times start, and Tom Grendel's dad can't handle it. Tom Grendel decides he's going to stop these rowdy shenanigans, and just when he think he's won, Wolf Gates, Rex Rothgar's cousin makes the battles between Tom Grendel and Rex Rothgar worse. Have you figured out why I've used last names? If not, you haven't read Beowulf and are not familiar with Hereot, Grendel, and the parties that keep the monster up all night, come by the library. I'll be glad to give you a brief (yes, brief) summary of that Anglo-Saxon epic that is the heart of British literature.

Favorite Line: 'I am so tired . . . of being the person things happen to' (199).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available from Amazon.

June 12, 2018

Julia's sister, Olga, was a perfect Mexican daughter. She worked, helped her mother clean houses, was a good cook, and took care of her parents. Julia is not the perfect Mexican daughter, and she's left to be the kind of daughter she's supposed to be after Olga dies. But, Julia's a rebel, and she couldn't be the perfect daughter--even if she tried. Julia's okay not fitting in, but will it be okay with those who matter to her that she doesn't fit in?

Favorite Line: " . . . when a woman with a burned face makes her way through the crowded aisle, asking everyone to spare some change. When she gets closer, I see that her green T-shirt says God Has Been So Good to Me! The letters are so bright and shiny, they feel like they're yelling. She puts her hand in front of me, and I reach into my backpack to pull out the rest of the money I have left. The mystery guy at the diner paid for my food today, so why not?" (46-47).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available at Amazon or at Burry Bookstore.

May 31, 2018

Leigh Bardugo's novel is comprised of six short stories. These stories are fantastical tales of toys that come to life, girls who murder, fathers who wear two faces, and girls who can enchant the sea. For a reader who wants a break from an involved read, this offers a nice break.

Favorite Line: 'Great magic asks that you trouble the waters. It requires a disruption, something new' (205).

Genre: Fantasy

Status: Available at your school library.

May 13, 2018

Five women, three generations. The story begins in England, but the roots can be found in India. Sonia, Tara, and their mother are immigrating to America. Their mother, a traditional Bengali lady, wants them to be traditional girls who marry traditional men. However, life has other plans, and what happens is that they don't leave India behind; their traditions allow them to bring what is physically distant close to their hearts.

Favorite Line: "All is well" (303).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available at your public library. Visit http://darlington-lib.org/ and search the online catalog.

May 9, 2018

Jude's earliest memory is of her parents' murder, and it happens when her mother's first husband darkens their doorstep. She, her twin, and her oldest sister are "spirited" away to a land of fairies and enchantment, and her life becomes one of intrigue and attempts of assimilation. But ironically, the mortal girl is the one who is so much like those who mock and underestimate her.

Favorite Line: "All my promises have come due" (364).

Genre: Fantasy

Status: Available at your public library. Visit http://darlington-lib.org/ and search the online catalog.

May 02, 2018

Being a witness to the murder of her parents and her eleven month old sister scars Nova in ways most of those who live under the rule of the Renegades cannot imagine, so Nova fights back against those who could save them and did not. She fights against superheroes and conjures a way to bring them down. Nova becomes that which she abhors . . . a Renegade to get justice for her family.

Favorite Line: "Heroism wasn't about what you could do, it was about what you did" (169).

Genre: Supernatural

Status: Available in print.

April 11, 2018

It took me fifteen days to read this book. It took me fifteen days because I knew this book wasn't about laughter, and I knew it probably didn't have a happy ending. It is a book about how to move on when the person you love the most dies. It is a book about facing the truth of the role you played in that person's life and in this case--that person's death. If you scroll down, you'll see this novel contained quite a few lines that were memorable. So, let me give you a little summary. Theo McIntyre no longer exists, and his best friend and former boyfriend, Griffin is upset that Theo broke his promise not to die. It doesn't matter that Griffin and Theo are no longer together; what matters is that Griffin is broken and that their history is all he thinks he has left.

Favorite Line: "And if bringing up the past annoys you now . . . know that I'm sorry, but please don't be mad at me for reliving all of it. History is all you left me" (1).

Second Favorite Line: "I've spent a lot of the past year waiting--mostly for you" (130).

Third Favorite Line: "Having a plan isn't always a guarantee" (142).

Fourth Favorite Line: "History remains with the people who will appreciate it the most" (292).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available in print.

April 05, 2018

If you find yourself not understanding why people want to come to this country and what those who have that desire in their heart are really like, read American Street. Fabiola, or Fab, as her cousins call her, just returned to the US. Accompanied by her mother, they plan to start a new life after living in Haiti for the last sixteen years. However, Fabiola's mother is detained in New Jersey, but Fab is allowed to proceed to Detroit because she has American citizenship. Yet, life on the streets of Detroit is really not much different than life in Haiti. There is still corruption, and there is still two sides to every story amongst the truth. How can this one girl help her cousin, who has an abusive boyfriend, and her mother, who is still detained, and her boyfriend, who puts his "fam" before good decisions save her cousins, her aunt, her boyfriend, and herself from all that awaits them at the intersection of Joy Street & American Street?

Favorite Line: "And then tomorrow, she will come to this side of the glass, where there is good work that will make her hold her head up with dignity, where she will be proud to send me to school for free, and where we will build a good, brand-new life" (6).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available in print.

April 01, 2018

She is the author and illustrator of one of the greatest and most profitable online creations . . . Monstrous Sea. And, she likes her identity being a secret. IRL, she is an older sister to two brothers and a misfit in her high school. It is not until Wallace, a new student, shows up that Eliza contemplates leaving her online world for the real one. Can Eliza conquer the monsters that live outside the sea?

Favorite Line: "There's a small monster in my brain that controls my doubt. The doubt itself is a stupid thing, without sense or feeling, blind and straining at the end of a long chain. The monster, though, is smart. It's always watching, and when I am completely sure of myself, it unchains the doubt and lets it run wild" (88).

Second Favorite Line: "Nothing makes a joke less funny than someone wanting in on it, especially parents" (144).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available in print.

March 17, 2018

"Ant"hony Jones from East Cleveland, Ohio has just been accepted to a private boarding school in Maine, and thank goodness---on his way back from the store, he and his friend dodge bullets. One of those bullets kills his friend, Mookie, so going to Maine probably saves Ant's life. But, in Maine, Ant has to become Tony if he wants to be accepted by his roommate and his teachers. Being a black boy in a white school shows Ant there's more to the world than East Cleveland, and that just like he wears a face to fit an image, other people wear masks, too.

Favorite Line: 'So I put on a mask that was so perfectly polished that it only reflected who you all wanted to see' (241).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available at your public library. Visit http://darlington-lib.org/ and search the online catalog.

March 10, 2018

It's the summer right before senior year, and all is well with Lena. Her best friend comes over every night; her part-time job allows her to save a little money. She stands a good chance to earn a volleyball scholarship, and right now, she's on her way to a party hoping that when it's over her best friend is her boyfriend. But, Lena's a master at hiding her feelings and waiting until tomorrow, and when tomorrow comes, she's bedridden after a horrible accident in which four of her friends died. Instead of putting off facing her mistakes, can Lena face her mistakes today?

Favorite Line: 'It's always easier to point out the flaws in others while ignoring your own' (320).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available in print.

March 01, 2018

Ruth, Dora, Alyce, and Hank are metaphorically lost. These four teenagers are bound to the land and bound to a past they cannot manage to escape. They have lost fathers and mothers, so it is no wonder that they are lost. It appears that their stories have no connection but towards the end their paths cross. This story, set in Alaska, shows another reality that we just don't see in South Carolina. Although each teenager has a different challenge they yearn for the same feeling and connection--and, it is universal to us all.

Favorite Line: "It feels like my best friend just skipped a pebble across the glassy surface of my soul" (87).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available in print.

February 09, 2018

Because she's good with numbers, Farrah's unwanted nickname is Digit. She's better than good with numbers; she's a prodigy who figured out that the terrorists communicated their plans to bomb a private plane at JFK via a message on a popular teen show. Now, the FBI has her under protection, but Farrah still isn't safe. How is it that a girl named Farrah, for Farrah Fawcett, grows into her own and embraces who she really is?

Favorite Line: "The worst part was that I had been so wrong. I had become my truest most authentic self; I had listened to my instincts and followed them completely. I had opened up and jumped in . . . and I had been completely wrong" (177).

Genre: Suspense

Status: Available in print.

February 1, 2018

Nixy Bauer is the go-to bounty hunter for parents whose kids whose kids are spending too much time in the MEEP, a virtual reality game, and she has a 100% success rate in bringing kids home in an hour. However, this time, she's going after the game creator's son, Wyn, who has created his own game that reflects all of the other bounty-hunters' worst fears. It's Nixy's turn to go after Wyn, and if she can't find him, the game will be shut down, and everyone in the game will be lost with them.

Favorite Line: "After the dark hell that was Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, Hemingway's stories seem pleasingly crisp and clean" (90).

Genre: Science Fiction

Status: Available in print.

January 25, 2018

Throwback Thursday Edition!

This novel is another one of my favorites . . . In fact, my seniors in English V had to read this! When I first passed out this book the first day of the second nine weeks, one of my students said, "It's thicker than the Bible!"

Let me begin by telling you that Howard Roark is the man that every guy wants to be. He is an architect who was dismissed from school because he would not conform. He refuses to conform--even when it is in his economical best interest. He refuses to be anything other than being an individual. He is the kind of man who others seek to destroy because he lives up to his full potential. Howard is tested at every turn, but he never falters. If you are looking for a novel that illustrates what it takes to be a courageous individual, this novel is exactly what you need.

Favorite Line: 'A building is alive, like a man. Its integrity is to follow its own truth, its one single theme, and to serve its own single purpose' (24).

Genre: Classics

Status: Available in print.

January 13, 2018

In this fifth and final book in the Mike & Riel series, Mike just cannot find peace; his best friend has been murdered. Mike was supposed to offer Sal moral support for his driving test, but Mike left his girlfriend's book at home, so instead of going with Sal, he went home. By the time Mike makes it back to school, Sal has been murdered in an alley. Who did it, and why?

Favorite Line: "But just because you know something probably hasn't happened yet, that doesn't stop you from wishing that it had" (214).

Genre: Mystery

Status: Available in print and as an eBook.

January 07, 2018

Ryan is about love. She loves her dad. She loves the Chicago Cubs. She loves the last day of school. When her dad dies, her connection to him is severed. Ryan pulls away from her mom and sister, and she pulls away from her friends. On the first day of Opening Season, Ryan skips school and encounters Nick. Like Ryan and the Cubs, Nick is hoping that this season is his comeback season. Should he and Ryan and the Cubs hope that this season is better than the last one?

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Favorite Line: 'Anything happens to her . . . this family---we know how to dispose of a body' (44).

Genre: Mystery

Status: Available in print.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Status: Available in print.