Reviews written by Deena Graves

The premise of 13 Days of Midnight is what initially pulled me toward this book. Leo Hunt is a big Stephen King fan and wanted to pay homage with a Faust-type story. I was game. I figured 13 Days would be some good horror, a lot of weird, and possibly...

Dea Donahue is just a typical teen with a crazy mom. Well, if a typical teen has the ability—no, necessity—to walk the dreams of others. She doesn’t have any real friends, except for Gollum, and that’s because her mom tends to leave town just as Dea gets settled. Dea thought...

I’m not sure what I expected before opening KILLER WITHIN by S.E Green. Maybe a bit of thriller, a tad bit of darkness, or maybe a dollop of horror. Regardless of what I expected before cracking the cover, I could NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! Killer Within...

For the love of all that is Greek, hold onto your hats as you break open the fourth installment to the Seven Wonders series, CURSE OF THE KING by Peter Lerangis! Jack McKinley and his band of Select just cannot get a break. After barely escaping with their lives in...

LITTLE ELFIE ONE by Pamela Jane is a delightful tale that glows with the happiness of Christmas. It’s the North Pole and everyone is getting ready for the big night. Gingerbread men run, polar bears swim, snowmen shiver, and reindeer fly as Pamela Jane weaves a holiday story full of...

The Little Critter books are probably some of my favorite early reader books. JUST A TEACHER’S PET by Mercer Mayer is no exception. Little Critter has a new classmate. She’s everything a teacher could want, but everything that Little Critter and his pals don’t. Bunella does everything a perfect student...

I go on record to say that I’m a HUGE LEGO nerd. My obsession began when I was an early teen. I don’t recall my first experience with LEGOs, but it quickly grew to a small obsession. I remember hitting the store with Mom and making my way to the...

The zombie-pocalypse has come! Thanks to chemical spills, overpopulation, or just bad fast food, humans have gone Z: Zombie. Zombie Attack! The Rising Horde by Devan Sagliani opens with our main guy, Xander, holed up at a sizeable Air Force base with a group of other...

Sally Green is my hero. She’s snarky. She’s an insanely talented writer. And she’s British. So, that’s the trifecta of awesome in my book. Speaking of books, if you haven’t read HALF BAD, you need to. Like right this moment. NOW! Then you can come round and read HALF WILD....

Action, heartache, and adventure of the epic kind wrap up KING, the final installment of the Prophesy Trilogy by Ellen Oh. KING sets off right where WARRIOR ends. No preamble, no intro, just BOOM, you’re back in the ring with Kira as she tries to get her feet under her...

It took me a while to gather my thoughts on THE ORPHAN QUEEN by Jodi Meadows. It’s just one of those books that are so ridiculously good that the words to express their awesomeness don’t come. I drew a blank. I wanted to take my word doc and fill it...

Some time ago I read that sophomore books are much like sophomore record albums or movies. The enigmatic sophomore curse. The fight to keep the momentum going from a great debut, but only to fall short. DEVIATE by Tracy Clark is a sophomore book for The Light Key Trilogy and...

Reading FLORA AND ULYSSES by Kate DiCamillo was an absolute joy. Children’s books are usually full of everything that’s normally impossible but becomes possible, and Flora and Ulysses is no exception. Flora (don’t you dare care her Flora Belle) Buckman is a cynic. How a ten...

Epic. Mic drop. IYF (in your face). Winning. Boom! If there was ever a character voice that could reach through the black and white text of the page and palm-heel-strike you to the dome, it’s Adam Higgs. Seriously. How to Win at High School by Owen Matthews...

I have a major book crush on The Nerdy Dozen. Such a fun book! Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind is the second installment of the Nerdy Dozen series by Jeff Miller. Though I haven’t read the first book of The Nerdy Dozen, I had no trouble dropping right in...