Reviews written by Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer

What worked: Bright, colorful book that poetically celebrates Women's History. The illustrations are modern and draw readers right in. I especially loved how this picture book uses all 26 letters of the alphabet in its celebration with not only important women figures in modern history, but also uses positive,...

On the way to the beach, a lone coconut hits twelve-year-old Finn on the head. Suddenly, he finds himself dead. Add to that the surprise that he has to go to a ghost academy. Seems school doesn't end when you die. He finds himself a student at Phantom Academy....

Seventeen-year-old Aurie is a fashion influencer in Paris who is fake-dating Remy St. Julien, who is a popular musician. Things seem perfect. Or at least they were until a chance encounter with Kylian at a Parisian drugstore. The Paparazzi has a field day. When Kylian is hired by her agent...

What worked: Scooby Doo gang meets Scream in this who-done-it murder mystery. After the popular high school couple is murdered at a so-called haunted manor, some friends decide to find out who did it. An urban legend of the Carrington Ghoul isn't enough to scare these friends off. ...

Gripping twist on Medusa meets Jack the Ripper set in 1888. I was riveted by this engaging historical fantasy. Readers meet Tabitha and Pearl, two Salvation Army Hallelujah lasses in 1888. These two roommates at first don't have a great relationship, but stay together as they both believe in helping...

Maya and Alana have been inseparable since middle school. Maya thought they'd be together forever. Until they aren't. After breaking up with Alana, things turn tragic fast. Only in this case, the ghost of Alana stalks Maya, threatening her that she'll never leave. When Alana's body surfaces, all evidence points...

Eighteen-year-old Ana is spending her last summer before college with a group of friends visiting Hamburg, Germany. Unfortunately, her ex is there as well, but it's too late to cancel. Right as the group is partying in one of the sacred caves of Eadin forest, an earthquake causes the...

Greta used to play the viola every day and dreamed of being an opera singer. Her dreams were all shattered when she and her father were taken by the Germans and placed in concentration camps. Greta never knew she was, in fact, Jewish, and that her father never told her...

Ariel's thoughts have overtaken her. Her thoughts at times are violent, and her way of coping is a series of rituals and distancing herself from those whom she fears she'll hurt. The summer carnival job is her bright place and quiets the noises in her head. Later, she finds a...

After quitting modeling, Leah Zhang is not sure what to do with her life. After a disastrous event at her cousin's wedding, her mother suggests she attend a two-week travel program in China. To Leah's horror, the boy who ruined her life is also there. Only Cyrus isn't what she...

Engaging collection of diverse short stories told in free verse. I'm a huge fan of Kip Wilson, the editor of this captivating anthology. The theme is love, and each author does a great job showing their take with stories with strong, diverse protagonists. Love isn't just romantic, but is...

After sixteen-year-old Mari dies, she finds herself in a place that isn't the stereotypical version of heaven. Seems that she's in a place that requires all souls to do endless self-motivation projects to prepare to 'ascend' to whatever is next. When she dies, she finds her roommate is her dead...

For as long as the Strand family has existed, the women have received a magical gift on their fifteenth birthdays. When Nell gets the 'gift', at first it's subtle with ladybugs appearing while she's at piano practice. She feels joy. Then the other insects appear. Some are darker than others....

Hazel Perez hasn't gotten over her former BFF Becca's rejection. Hazel is usually a loner and is surprised when Becca invites her to sit with her and her friends during social studies, where they decide to do a group project on the abandoned Oakwell Farms. Becca's family has ties to...

Freya lives in a town named after Benjamin Wellstone, a historical hero of his time. When Freya's middle school social studies teacher gives them a big school project, Freya finds that even though Wellstone was an abolitionist, he was against women having the right to vote. This fact infuriates Freya....