Reviews written by Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer

949 results - showing 1 - 15
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Ordering
June 23, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
How (not) To Renovate A Haunted House

Amity Callaway can't believe her mother decides to move them clear across the country before college. Amity has her life mapped out. She planned on going on a taco road trip with her bestie Taylor, then going to college to become an archivist. Figures...

June 16, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.0
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
My Roman Summer

Livia's summer vacation involves going to Rome and visiting her grandmother, whom she hadn't seen since she was a child. She's excited to get to know her grandmother, but is surprised when a boy from her childhood has her grandmother's attention. Livia planned to help in the family cafe, but...

June 13, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
5.0
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Middle Grade Fiction
Ghost In The Night

Twelve-year-old Harmony Roundtree loves going on haunted tours while traveling with her father on his music gigs. She also loves photography. While on a ghost tour in Savannah, Georgia, she witnessed something she believed to be a ghost inside a haunted building. She's determined to find out more. Add to...

June 09, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Metamorphosis: Grove Hollow

Seventeen-year-old Jade finds out about her mysterious family after the death of her beloved grandfather. It's 1985, and Jade ends up moving to her wealthy great-aunt Ruth's house in Grove Hollow, New York. While there, she encounters something spooky about the huge mansion. Only to find an attractive ghost named...

May 26, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.5
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Learning Value
 
5.0
Young Adult Nonfiction
Defying China

Tsultrim Dolma was born in eastern Tibet. As a young girl, she was denied an education. This didn't stop her, though. In this amazing true story, Tsultrim's persistence and courage drive her to become a Buddhist nun, and later she stands up to the cruelty of the Chinese occupation, during...

May 20, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Estela, Undrowning

Seventeen-year-old Estela is one of the few Latinas who tested into a prestigious San Francisco public high school. So much is happening in her senior year. She feels less than, as she's only barely passing Spanish. Estela's goal is to get accepted to UC Berkley. She expresses herself best...

May 16, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.0
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Ancient History Between Us

What worked: Mamma Mia meets YA set in Naples, where a girl searches for her biological father while struggling with emotions of being around the boy who broke her heart three years ago. Lush images of Naples, Italy add to the charm. Cammie is devastated...

May 07, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
5.0
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
That Which Feeds Us

Lehua and her twin Ohia had been shuffled in foster homes in Arizona after the death of their grandparents. Never did Lehua think she'd visit the ancestral home in Hawai'i. Then, after a fight, Ohia is missing. Lehua's search leads her to the exclusive resort of Kopa'a. Once there, she...

April 26, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Insatiable

Sometimes you should watch what you wish for. 1885 Scottish Highlands. Seventeen-year-old Catriona Cameron longs to be educated like her brother Hamish, but instead, her father has other plans for her. When a wish brings her biggest desire, little does she know that there is a dark side. A scholarship...

April 12, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.0
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Night Of Madness

What worked: Bone-chilling movie-themed reality show where influencers enter a contest at an abandoned asylum and find that not all is what it claims to be with deadly consequences. This was one horror-filled ride! There's a reason I never went to the asylum's Halloween-themed haunted...

April 10, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
The Gravewood

What worked: Atmospheric dystopian world where climate change brings horrific consequences, and the teens who will do just about anything to survive. This novel starts with Shea Parker, a special needs protagonist who makes a barter with Oliver Lysander, the gravewood devil. Lysander is the leader of a vampire gang...

April 09, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
5.0
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
She Is A Haunting

What worked: Wowza, wow, wow! This spine-tingling horror novel kept me up. I love a good horror novel, and this one delivers! Jade struggles with trying to be the 'good' girl and not disappointing her parents. Once in Vietnam, she feels as if she doesn't fit in, even though her...

March 28, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
3.3
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
3.0
Writing Style
 
3.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Where No Shadow Stays

Seventeen-year-old Mina wants to visit her deceased mother's hometown. So when an opportunity presents itself, she goes. Only Mina doesn't come back alone. An evil presence follows her. Mina tries to keep away from her friends, fearing she's putting their lives at risk. The only person who isn't affected is...

March 26, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
5.0
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Doe
Young Adult Fiction
Doe

Maris Larsen is the captain of the West Eaton High cheer team. Even though she's captain, she's not satisfied with her lot in life. Then the coach brings a new girl to the team. Geneviene Ray is more than a threat. She eliminates a couple of the teammates and takes...

March 22, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)
Overall rating
 
3.7
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
3.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Middle Grade Fiction
Building 903

Fourteen-year-old Tessa's twin brother Theo has gone missing and is presumed dead. The world has erased him, but Tessa can never forget. When an elderly neighbor, Miriam, is sent off to Eldercare, she gives Tessa a key to the house. Tessa finds boxes with something she's only heard about. Books!...

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