Reviews written by CJ Redwine, Site and Staff Manager

If you love thrillers, then THE SAFEST LIES is the book for you. Tight pacing, a spiraling sense of increasing doom, secrets that lead to more secrets, and a hook at the end of every chapter that refuses to let the reader close the book make this one of the...

Wow. This book is captivating, unique, devastating, heartbreaking, and utterly brilliant. I couldn't put it down. The heroine has such a vivid, interesting voice, and the premise is fascinating. But what really takes this book into 5 star territory are the twists and turns. The heroine becomes...

This book is a vivid, colorful array of silly comics that each emphasize one of the long vowel sounds. Early readers will delight in the madcap nonsense while getting excellent practice with their long vowels. At the end of the book, there is a page that recaps the rules of...

This lively collection of brightly illustrated comics does an excellent job of helping early readers nail down short vowel sounds. Each comic focuses on one short vowel sound, and there are plenty of sight words to aid early readers as they learn. The back of the book has all of...

In this fun, engaging book, Pig learns that life is better when you include your friends. Early readers will be able to fully participate with the story as the rhymes and sight words make reading along easier. The humor and exaggerated situations are hilarious to younger readers. This will be...

FALLOUT is fresh, engaging, and impossible to put down. From the first page, readers will be captivated by the voice of Lois Lane, narrator and rebel with a hundred causes. The author perfectly captures Lois's indomitable spirit while also giving us a glimpse of ordinary teen loneliness and a deep...

Butter is a hard book to put down. The narrative style is authentic and unpretentious, much like Butter himself, and it immediately sucks the reader into the story. Every detail felt true, from Butter's compulsion to eat, to his dr visits, to his mother's enabling of his condition. The scenes...

What I Loved: THE ORPHAN QUEEN is a compelling, action-packed fantasy adventure full of vigilante shenanigans, secret identities, palace intrigue, and magic that frankly terrified me once I realized what was going on. From the first page, the reader is thrust into the action, and the story...

What I Loved: The premise of THE LAST ACADEMY and the plot twists that keep the reader guessing are fascinating. The reader is constantly off-balance, constantly trying to figure out what is going on beneath the surface of the academy. There is a...

What I Loved: The tense, atmospheric tone of FIND ME makes for a compulsively readable story. The suspense never relents, and as more questions are raised and the villain circles near, it's almost painful to keep reading because the reader is convinced that Wick is destined for...

In this action-packed conclusion, Cordova brings her fantastic trilogy to its full potential. True to the other books in the series, THE VAST AND BRUTAL SEA is full of compelling mythology, fascinating plot twists, heartbreaking betrayal, and funny moments. Romance, friendship, family, loyalty, and the lengths a person will go...

THE GIRL FROM THE WELL is a triumph of a debut novel. Steeped in Japanese culture and mythology, fraught with atmosphere and tension, this unusual story is told from the perspective of a vengeful ghost whose narrative is at once compelling, heartbreaking, and compulsively entertaining. It's...

Gorgeously atmospheric, lyrical and fraught with tension, BEWARE THE WILD is a stunning debut. Fans of southern Gothic will want to drop everything and go buy this book. The setting, as much a character in the book as the characters themselves, is steeped in authentic Louisiana culture, and the tired...

What I Loved: Relentless action is the hallmark of this second installment in THE VICIOUS DEEP trilogy. From the first chapter, the reader is thrust into Tristan's high stakes world of mythological creatures, monsters, secrets, and a race for the trident that will test every character's limits....

Rocky Zang in the Amazing Mr. Magic is yet another charming installment in the Judy Moody and Friends series. Independent readers will devour this book, which uses kid friendly humor and bright, engaging illustrations to further draw in the reader. The children in this series are very authentic and relatable...