Reviews written by Megan Kelly

In the eight and a half months since we left them in Bumped, Harmony and Melody have become the most famous teens in the world, known as The Hotties. As twins who are pregnant with twins, they are swamped with endorsement deals for perfumes and energy bars, hounded by paparazzi,...

Viola, her mother, and her brother are doing their best in war-torn Sudan, where all the men have gone to fight and those left behind are terrorized by soldiers. Viola is not exempt from the violence; when she is raped, the family escapes to stay with an uncle in Portland,...

I'm always looking to add sports books to my collection, but the challenge is that I don't really enjoy reading them. There are many sports that don't interest me, and I would rather be playing the ones that do. I want to read all the books that I recommend to...

Zeeta and her mother Layla have moved to a new country every year for Zeeta's entire life. When they end up running cabanas in Mazunte, Mexico, Zeeta is determined to make it stick. After all, her beloved Wendell has an internship nearby and her long-lost father is supposedly from Mazunte....

Master of graphic novel anthologies, Kazu Kibuishi is back with "Explorer: The Mystery Boxes" which features seven stories about a mystery box. By inviting artists who are comfortable with writing short stories in graphic novel form, then providing them with a provocative theme, Kibuishi has guaranteed the reader an entertaining...

Karla's quilt is unlike any other: it comforts her as she falls asleep with stories of the squares (or "schnitz") that make it up. Through the quilt, she learns about her grandparents' love, her aunt's imagination, and her mother's adventurous childhood. When Karla's new baby sister moves into her bedroom,...

When a young girl and her mother move to a new house in a neighborhood that must be described as "Dirty-third street", the mother declares it perfect because they can afford it. She encourages her daughter to see the house through eyes of faith, then sets about creating their home....

A young boy prepares for winter by asking his pet lamb for wool, then knitting himself a whole host of cold weather gear. When he sees his his tiny wool-less friend, he surprises the lamb with his own set of wool clothing. This book could be...

Marsha Wilson Chall’s sweet new picture book, A SECRET KEEPS, follows a young boy as he visits his grandparents’ country home, imagining the secret that his grandfather promised him. Written in verse, Chall uses alliteration and gorgeous descriptive language to create a read aloud that will be requested again and...

In a plot device similar to Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", Tessa passes away in a freak dodgeball accident and is forced to relive her life, based on items from the mall where she spends all her time. I did not enjoy this book at all, unfortunately....

Seventeen-year-old Kit has her life all planned out. Between her AP classes, social life, and plans to spend the summer road tripping with her best friend, she lives a happily high-pressured life. When she learns that her younger brother has cancer, everything changes. Her family is swept up...

FAR FROM YOU is the only Lisa Schroeder book I hadn't read, and I was hesitant to check it out because I am not a fan of angels, which the cover emphasizes. I ignored my reservations and read this novel in verse, and there were hardly any references to angels...

When I'm reading a book that I plan on reviewing, I turn down the corners of pages with lines I particularly enjoy. With David Levithan's novel in verse, The Realm of Possibility, I wasn't able to do this because every single page would be dog-eared. He is such a talented...

We meet Ruby at the airport, where she is flying across the country to meet and live with her father after her mother's death. Oh yeah, her father is a Hollywood star (think Tom Cruise) and Ruby is furious with him for never contacting her before her mother's death. ...

I've read many novels about WWII, but never anything about Lithuania. Sadly, until now, the only thing I knew about Lithuania was that the Grateful Dead sponsored their Olympic basketball team (ignorance isn't pretty). BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY taught me a lot. Author Ruta Sepetys details...