Reviews written by Angela Blount, Staff Reviewer

From the international street artist whose single piece of interactive artwork sparked a global campaign, this heartening and hopeful coloring book strives to be as motivating as it is lovely. In the first few pages the author/artist, Montague, goes into detail about the origins of...

A masterful work of storytelling through imagery. The first thing readers should know up-front about this book is this: There are no words. That’s right—32 pages, and no actual prose to speak of. If that bothers you, then this isn’t the children’s story for...

This YA contemporary centers around an almost 16-year-old boy named Michael Wilson, and his coming-of-age struggles as he shoulders the burdens of a strained family life—9 years after his father died in the war in Afghanistan. In addition to working a heavy labor job and handling his own family’s unending...

Ninjas and Pirates and Djinns… oh my! This 32 page comics and activities book is an engaging cross between an educational magazine and supplemental short stories—all rooted in the LEGO Ninjago universe. Activities include: descriptive finds, matching, image unscrambling, map-based pathfinding, coordinate reading, pattern association, and a...

This Urban Fantasy is a quick, simple read with an intriguing premise and a younger YA appeal. High-schooler David “Sully” Sullivan is a low-income kid trying to keep his tiny family afloat through sphere-hocking. Nobody knows exactly what the spheres are or how they work—but it’s...

A brave and potentially valuable story about toxic families, childhood sexual trauma, and searching for healing. Innocent is a mature contemporary YA, bordering on New Adult in content and tone. The story is told entirely from the first-person past-tense point of view of seventeen-year-old Missy (who turns...

A techno-magical good time! This 32 page comics and activities book is the perfect cross between an educational magazine and a set of supplemental short stories—all rooted in the NEXO Knights realm. Activities include mazes, puzzles, pattern recognition, match reasoning, and even a creative opportunity for kids...

Suggested Subtitle: Levana’s Journey from Malignant Narcissist to Raging Sociopath. To be completely honest… I went into this series tie-in not expecting to like it. Some people love to indulge in extended villain backstory. I am not, typically, one of those people. I do, however, appreciate an...

This is a fast-paced supplemental story, ideal for diehard LEGO Ninjago fans. A 32 page segue to chapter books, this story is dense with text without being overwhelming in length. There are tone and situation-appropriate images featured on every page, which look to be taken as...

A feline-guided tour through famous sayings—all on the theme of love in its many modes of expression. This charming little hardback diverges from most in the Pete the Cat collection in that it doesn’t actually convey a plot or story. Instead it offers a wide range of...

TAKING FLIGHT is both potent and potentially worldview-expanding. Whether you’re interested in ballet or not, this YA memoir is a stirring must-read. Let me start out by saying that this reader, personally, has no particular interest in dancing of any kind. But when I came across a...

Strangely beautiful and bravely unorthodox. I hesitate to rate/review something so very experimental and artistic, but Rothfuss' work deserves discussion. The author does give fair warning in the Forward, proclaiming this is an odd book—one you may not want to read. (That's not just some reverse-psychology gimmick....

A sweet and upbeat contemporary with light romantic comedy elements—one that bridges the maturity span between Middle Grade and Young Adult. Levi starts out as a forlorn California transplant, struggling with Wisconsin’s climate and trying to fit in with the sports-obsessed guys at his new school. And...

Set in Louisiana in an ultra small-town (with the rather tongue-in-cheek name of ‘Sticks’), this YA urban fantasy presents with memorable characters and a deliciously eerie bayou ambiance. Ever since they were children surviving the abuse of their alcoholic father, Sterling has always relied on her older...

A modern take on timeless wisdom. I went in expecting a short-story collection, and immediately had to adjust my mindset. This is a book of bite-sized allegories. Which means the moral of the story (and its intrinsic acumen) is of far more consequence than the story itself....