Reviews written by Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer

What worked: Powerful portrayal of how a simple act of kindness showed courage in the face of hatred during the Holocaust. Readers follow twelve-year-old Sara Blum who lived a sheltered life in Vichy France during WWII. That changes once the Nazis take over her village. After fellow Jewish classmates are...

Cade Webster is a talented football star at his private high school but lives on the other side of town. He hates that some around him fear his presence. After avoiding an encounter with the police, he stumbles into a pawnshop. But this is no regular shop. He purchases a...

What worked: The Buccaneers meets Gossip Girls where British royalty's quest for a husband collides with the heart. Readers meet Alix of Hesse, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria with a secret; Helene D'Orleans, daughter of the exiled King of France whose indiscretions might cause her to lose the one person...

What worked: Fast-paced conclusion to The Crimson Moth duology series. This sequel starts right off after Rune Winters leaves with Cressida Roseblood to take back the Republic and reinstate the Reign of Witches. Only now Rune is engaged to Soren, a prince, who has...

Dayana always dreamed of going to London. After her father leaves, Dayana is angry. Then when her mother tragically dies, she's whisked from her Brazilian home to live with her estranged father and his new family. The London dream of her childhood is anything but that. While walking by Buckingham...

What worked: Well-researched book going over some key historical facts of London. This coffee table-sized book starts 2.6 million years ago and ends with Queen Elizabeth's funeral in 2022. Some facts I found fascinating include: The history behind the Romans...

Kara's sudden visions of terror haunt her. Now at age twelve the visions come more often and are scarier. One day she finds a diary on her doorstep with the possible answers to her visions. When Kara and her friend Sienna search for the truth they find a town...

What worked: Accurate portrayal of Mexican American history that isn't white-washed. As someone who shares Mexican heritage, it wasn't until my Chicano Studies class at the university that I found a part of my history that wasn't in any of my classroom school books. I'm excited that others can learn...

Fern, Jaq, and Mallory never felt safe coming out. There was one place they did feel safe. A hidden abandoned house in the woods where the urban legend of the Patron of Port Promise resides. You make a wish and he keeps you safe. Only the friends find out there...

What worked: Poignant glimpse into what might have been Anne Frank's life before the diary. Readers see Anne from age 10 as being curious about the world around her; her close relationship with her grandmother; a complicated relationship with her mother and sister; and a first romantic relationship. ...

It's 1517. Seventeen-year-old grifter Rosa Cellini arrives in Florence when Medici Pope, Leo X, returns. Needless to say, his arrival doesn't sit kindly on the Florence people. Rosa rounds up a group of highly trained misfits to help pull off a huge heist to regain the money the Medici family...

Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his younger sister Lizzie love riddles and puzzles. When their mother is listed as dead after the bombing in Poland, Lizzie questions if that is true. She ends up at Bletchley Park during the summer of 1940. The same place where some, like her brother, are...

Devon plans the 'Perfect summer' before her twin Drew leaves for college. But not all goes as expected. Drew's friend Avery brings an Ouiji board out at her graduation party. Devon's friends know not to mess with that supernatural stuff. Little do they know that a released demon has its...

Sadie has been haunted by a ghost her whole life. When her best friend Anna dies, she's traumatized. Sadie fears the ghost had something to do with the death of Anna. When Sadie moves to a new school, she's afraid of being friendly as the ghost shows its displeasure by...

The Lo Family sticks together. Honor has heard this since childhood. Her family was part of the popular reality TV show Lo and Behold. Though the show is now off the air, the Lo family has podcasts, conferences, brand partnerships, and more. When Honor's father and mother decide to separate,...