Reviews written by Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer

Sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne returns to New Orleans after the hurricane of the century hits. Everything is in chaos including her home but when more people show up dead, unanswered questions circulate. What worked: The whole New Orleans backdrop adds flavor to this story where a...

Elizabeth Camperdowne's one main purpose in life is to marry well to help her family. When an opportunity to do this turns bad, she's sent to royal court as a maid of honour. She's drawn to another maid, Katherine Howard, her cousin. Elizabeth knows her place but...

It's been ten years since Earth has found proof of aliens. When the aliens send a message, most people freak out and fear the end of the world is coming. Almost eighteen-year-old Derek doesn't care and can't believe his luck when he hooks up with Jennifer Novak at...

When Hadley Jamison finds out a fellow classmate, Archer Morales, committed suicide, she can't help but feel she could have stopped him. Then at the funeral she runs into Death who has a proposition for her. She has 27 days to stop Archer from killing himself. Hadley...

What worked: This is a fun, quirky look at so-called mistakes, failures and what we can learn from them. I really loved the illustrations that went along with the mistakes throughout time. A huge bonus is how the author doesn't dwell on the failures but gives insight on...

Adam Blake is excited that he lucked out with an easy elective class in which he serves as the aide to the school psychologist. Then he finds out that one of the students he’s supposed to help is ...

Just wowza. I'm a huge fan of FRONT LINES, the first book in the series. This series is an alternative history of what would have happened if women fought alongside men during WWII. SILVER STARS continues the story of three heroines who are WWII soldiers. ...

Intriguing take on 'what would have happened if Hitler had won the war'. Add to that a wicked paranormal twist with a shapeshifter heroine who has the task to win a race and kill Hitler. What worked: This intriguing, fast paced alternative universe thriller grabbed my...

It's so true when they say you'll always remember where you were on 9-11. I was a first grade teacher at that time. When I got to work, a team teacher told me what had happened in NYC. I didn't believe her until I saw the one tower...

What worked: Younger brother Nicholas plays as if he's shooting a gun. He points it at his older brother Charlie, who tells him that their mother doesn't like when he does that. Then Nicholas shoots the moon and the consequences follow. I love that this...

What worked: I'm a huge fan of books show diversity in families. In MY DAD IS A CLOWN, readers see a young boy who is proud of the occupations of both of his dads. One of them, Pascual, is a doctor and the other one...

What worked: I totally fell in love with this book. There are so many feels in this story-first love; breaking stereotypes; belief in yourself; and the power of love. This is a loosely retelling of the fairy tale BEAUTY AND THE BEAST only the beast is...

What worked: I really loved this insight into the life of a transgender teen. The first time I heard of Jazz Jennings was when she was interviewed by Barbara Walters. Her story is filled with hope for other teens out there that are transgender. A huge plus...

Ella still believes her dead father looks out for her. But her mother and BFF don't believe in the paranormal. Ella's mother quickly remarries and estranged son of her new stepfather shows up. Around this time strange things happen to Ella like a hand...

What worked: This is at times a gut-wrenching, emotional tale of a teen who is found after being abducted. It's a story that could be taken from recent headlines or from an episode of Law & Order SVU. Only here, Kensie goes beyond the sensationalism and shows us what...