Tag: middle grade
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Book Review: The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson
When Norvia’s mother remarries, she moves from the island where she was allowed to celebrate her Ojibwe heritage to the city. Suddenly, she’s being told to hide the fact that she’s Native, including from her stepfather and brother. Adapting to city life isn’t easy, but Norvia remains optimistic…
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Book Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
I am one of the few Americans who has never seen The Wizard of Oz all the way through. Not because I’ve never liked the story, but because the beginning of the movie terrified me as a child and I just haven’t felt like going back. I have seen Wicked on Broadway, though, and I love that story. Since…
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Book Review: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
I’d been unaware of this series until I watched the movie adaptation. I fell in love with the story and charming characters. Seeing that this was a decent-sized series, I wanted to give the books a go…
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Book Review: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Because of Winn-Dixie was one of my favorite movies growing up. I’ve probably had the book sitting on my shelf since childhood, and I know I attempted to read it at least once, but it took until adulthood to finally sit down and give it a proper read…
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Book Review: Maria von Trapp and Her Musical Family by Cheri Blomquist
Earlier this year, I read Maria by Michelle Moran and loved it so much. I felt starved for more of the Von Trapp Family. I particularly wanted to read more about their time in America. I’d purchased this book a couple of years ago and had forgotten about it until I read Maria. This book covered a lot of…
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Top 5: Favorite reads of 2025 (so far)
The first half of 2025 has been such a fantastic year of books for me! I feel like this list may as well drop the ‘so far’ tag because I can’t imagine any books that will be able to top the reading experiences I had with these books. This list only includes fiction books. Nonfiction…
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Book Review: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
Coyote and Rodeo have been living on the road for the past five years. They don’t and won’t talk about the past, the tragic event that led to this new lifestyle. But lately, Coyote has been feeling the loneliness that comes with living campsite to campsite and gas station to gas station…
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Book Review: After the Worst Thing Happens by Audrey Vernick
After losing her beloved dog, Maybe, Army isn’t sure how to go on in this ‘new normal’. What makes everything worse is that she knows the accident could have been avoided and that she only has herself to blame…
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Book Review: The Other Side of Tomorrow by Tina Cho & Deb JJ Lee
Yunho and Myunghee are kids living in North Korea. Every day is a fight for survival, be it avoiding soldiers, bartering and scavenging for food, etc. They know their only hope for their futures is to sneak across the border to China, but even there they run the risk of being captured…
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Book Review: Blue Skies by Anne Bustard
I absolutely picked this book up for the cover and for the cover alone. Later glancing at the synopsis, I was excited to see it’s a historical novel…