Reviews written by Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer

Finley decides that the prestigious New England prep school she's attending is nothing like she'd pictured. She tries hard to fit in and doesn't. After she is very creative on her town's website to impress her snobby classmates, she goes back home. Only Arthur, a fellow classmate, and his British...

Lily is seventeen-years-old and lives in Chinatown in the early 1950s. She's the dutiful daughter and tries hard to do the right thing. Only she feels and questions what is expected of her. When Lily finds an ad announcing a male impersonator playing at the Telegraph Club, she's intrigued. And...

Echo is the first in her family to not only go to college but an Ivy League one. The first thing she realizes is that Dartmouth College isn't like the pamphlet promised. Even though she was valedictorian of her high school Cleveland, college is harder than she thought. Echo is...

What worked: I love these graphic novels that touch on historical parts of history without being boring. In this novel, readers are introduced to Maggie Higgins, one of the first news correspondents as she's recording what happened at the beginning of the Korean War. My...

When Hannah turns seventeen, she wakes up to her body changing into some kind of mystical being. Her mother freaks out at the change and rushes off, leaving Hannah and her older brother Gabe, vowing to find help. Only she doesn't return. Every morning, Hannah is transformed into a different...

One hundred and eleven-year-old Eleonora, 'Leo' ends up causing a disaster in town when she tries to hunt her first prey. Not only do her actions cause one ghost to appear, but she unwittingly unleashes an evil presence. Now not only does she has to prove to her mother vampire,...

What worked: Reluctant vamp queen meets Veronica Mars in this fast-paced, engaging new paranormal series from author Marlene Perez. In this story, Tansy has to come to terms with being the new California vamp queen. Her boyfriend Vaughn has been ghosting her and suddenly shows...

What worked: Inspirational story of the first woman Speaker of the House. This book shows what motivated Nancy Pelosi in her early years as the daughter of a Baltimore mayor. Her family believed in serving the less fortunate. But it was when a friend asked her to run in a...

What worked: Great intro to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This picture book shows the early life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her fight for the rights of all. She truly was a trailblazer of her time! But this book doesn't stop there. It shows how Ginsburg loved such...

What worked: This story gave me lots of feels. As a former bilingual teacher, I had former students like Mateo and Sophie. INDIVISIBLE gives a voice to what many undocumented families endure in our country right now. It's an important story that needs to be told. ...

What worked: Intense, gripping portrayal of the recent opioid epidemic. In this novel, the Synthetic Gods toy with human souls. Roxy and Addison make a wager on two siblings that lead to deadly results. Though the world of the Synthetic Gods is a fantasy, there is unfortunately so much real...

What worked: Intriguing dystopian tale told in the POV of three friends who live with their families underground. Dr. Imogen Moran is their leader who tells them that life above ground no longer exists. She's charismatic and a cult-like doctor who has endless rules for all in the bunker to...

Twelve-year-old Lucy’s family moves to a new city right after the death of her younger brother, Theo. Her parents feel this will be a fresh start. Only Lucy finds they moved into the house of a victim of a horrific elementary school shooting. Lucy doesn’t know how to fit in...

Fascinating memoir told in graphic novel format of a teen who figures out her parents work for the CIA. This story follows Sophia as she questions why her family has moved so many times and why friendships aren’t encouraged. A chance peek at a letter from her older sister to...

Seventeen-year-old Molly Green’s life in an orphanage takes a twist after her best friend Kitty’s tragic death. Molly expects to be thrown out when she confronts a nun over the death but finds a mysterious aunt has a place for her. This place is among the rich in town. But...