Reviews written by Angela Blount, Staff Reviewer

On the surface, this contemporary YA is a blended family story. A year and a half after his mother’s death, a still-mourning 13-year-old named Stewart is uprooted from his childhood home when his father decides to consolidate households with the girlfriend he met at work. His...

The cat came back—and he’s brought a homemade friend. Pete just wants to play catch. But when all of his friends are too busy to play with him, he does the only reasonable thing a young cat can do. He builds a robotic copy of himself and...

It’s an age-old question. Who’s faster: Superman or The Flash? In order to end the argument once and for all, the Justice League proposes a challenge. The two heroes are pitted against each other in a global-scale footrace. It’s sure to be a photo finish! But...

Quite the polarizing read. (No pun intended.) Full disclosure: As someone who spent a scary number of their teen years coping with the hell of depression and suicidal ideation, there was absolutely no way I could look at this sort of subject matter from a purely...

Miranda Kane is a pinky-wiggling dyslexic witch with an eclectic pack of supernatural friends and a single-minded mother who’s bent on turning her into a winner. Though Miranda isn’t thrilled with the latest magical competition her mother has placed her in, she can’t resist the enticing offer of a free...

“This Ability, Not Disability.” Fourteen-year-old Aaron Philip was born on the Caribbean island of Antigua, but the lack of resources for combating his cerebral palsy resulted in a move to New York City—and his family spending years torn between two nations. Written...

This YA Urban Fantasy is a Shadow Falls series tie-in, told in a sort of back-and-forth format between single page BREAKING NEWS segments detailing a plane crash and attempted rescue, and the events of a day prior--as given from the 3rd-person-limited perspective of 14-year-old Chase Tallman. Chase’s...

Sheila and the Magnificent Tail is one of those unique books that's very concept snared my attention. What's this? A deep children's story dealing with a significant loss (not to mention a physical malformation) that results in a reexamination of personal worth and identity? Yes, please! I'm...

This novella was a fast, easy read that happens to include the first chapter of McGarry's next book, "Take Me On." (Oh, and it also happened to be free!) McGarry apparently was asked to write this novella to highlight a charity called the "Goodie Two Shoes...

A simple, visually engrossing introduction to the concept of equality. Two champions of human rights meet for tea. The premise is interesting, as well as historically accurate. Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass did indeed become friends in the mid 1800’s, drawn together by the similarity of...

This YA Urban Fantasy takes on a Hackers meets Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers feel as readers follow a kickbutt heroine into the battlefield of her own mind. Marci Guerrero always has her guard up, but not for any of the usual reasons. Marci has been running from...

Following only the loosest definition of the word “book,” this coffee-table styled paperback is aimed at existing fans of millionaire Swedish gamer/live-streaming sensation, PewDiePie. DISCLAIMER: I picked up this book because I’d heard of PewDiePie and had seen a handful of his videos. I’m also a...

“So many different jobs to be done— Just choose the right one and work can be fun!” Thoroughly engaging and deftly educational—this delightful story of exploration doubles as a great conversation-starter between parents and children. It may even get kids considering their future career...

It’s always a bit of a challenge to review a literary collection, and so I’ll try to give each work within this 5-piece anthology its own just consideration. I’ll also preface this assessment by openly divulging that this was my first true introduction to the Shadow Falls series. ...

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad." This book is primarily a coming-of-age satire, through which the author offers her own sardonic social critique of love, marriage, popular literature, and high society in the...