Reviews written by Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer

What worked: This was one fast-paced tale with a protagonist who jumps through different worlds in the multiverse. At fifteen, Alicia finds she's either losing her sanity or having a breakdown. What she is though is a 'spandrel', someone who can go to different worlds...

What worked: This story starts out similar to recent news stories where some abducted girls are later found and returned to their families. Only in this story, readers get a glimpse of what happens after the media leaves. In The Lost and the Found we see how this...

Seventeen-year-old Nina Barrows hates to sleep. Whenever she does, she sees through the eyes of a serial killer that she calls 'The Thief'. He lets her in on his methods of killing as she follows him while he stalks and then kills his victims. Nina not sure...

Eighteen-year-old Micaela Burgos comes back to her hometown Sleepy Hollow after the tragic death of her mother. Town locals considered her mother crazy with her over the top obsession with author Washington Irving. She insisted that they were in fact related but no one believes that. When...

In this future, the American people choose presidents on Twitter. After they are dissatisfied with two candidates, they end up choosing Oregon teen Beth Ross. In this world the poor will shoot themselves on live TV in order to win money, big corporations take over things like vaccines...

I'm a firm believer that manga and graphic novels are perfect for reluctant readers. I know as that's what helped my son discover the magic of books. What worked: First off, I loved the premise of this manga novel that has a teen receive...

What worked: This is an unique twist on the whole post-apocalyptic world only in this case the church rules with a heavy hand to 'protect' citizens from demons. Only not all is what it seems to be. Vincent introduces readers to a new tough protagonist who finds out...

What worked: This novel nails the fear and struggles of an undocumented teen during her senior year of high school. The voice is authentic and rang true. This book brought back memories I had as a bilingual teacher in a school district close to East LA...

What worked: Intriguing premise of a place where memories are erased every twelve years and the only thing that helps you remember is the book you carry. Without that book? You become one of the 'Lost'. First off, I was totally engaged in this dystopian...

When April's father suddenly dies, she finds herself alone. Her mother abandoned her when she was a baby. Then she finds herself in New Orleans with an aunt she barely knows. While checking out the sites of her new city, she stumbles on a haunted tour. ...

Sixteen-year-old Lucie Blaise is a spy in Paris during the Nazi occupation. This is one way she deals with the loss of her beloved brother who was killed while serving in the North Africa campaign. While in Paris she becomes part of the Covert Ops-a secret espionage unit....

What worked: This is a creepy, nail-biting suspenseful tale where horror takes different forms. I seriously couldn't put this book down! The horror starts out slow and then strikes out when readers don't expect it. Think Pretty Little Liars with an edge meets Stephen King....

What worked: This is a realistic portrayal of a teen who is ridiculed by just about everyone, including her so-called friends, and the lengths she'll go to be noticed. First off, this book brought back memories of my own awkward years when I tried so hard to...

What worked: Where do I even begin? This novel is amazingly brilliant with it's lush, dark world of monsters set some time in the future. Beautifully written, I was hooked right from the very first page and couldn't put this book down! THIS SAVAGE SONG...

What worked: This is one suspenseful tale of the son of a serial killer who goes to another town to start over. He changes his name and goes to a private academy. Then his world is shaken when he finds out that the daughter of one of his...