Reviews written by Kayla King

The promise of a novel filled with the essence of both Practical Magic and Hocus Pocus is fulfilled by reading Shea Ernshaw's debut novel, The Wicked Deep. Within these pages is a story filled with regret, revenge, lies, and most of all, love. And every bit of this summertime story...

Calla Devlin’s sophomore novel offers a look into what happens to those left behind after disaster. The story begins with the poignant line, “My father specializes in devastation,” and from that point onward, readers are swept into Charlotte’s devastation. After her father leaves for the Ukraine...

K. Ancrum’s debut novel, The Wicker King, offers a glimpse into the unraveling of the human psyche. August Bateman and Jack Rossi have always been friends. Their mythology reaches from the shadows of the past into the present narrative of the novel, affecting every moment that...

Corey Ann Haydu's newest novel, The Careful Undressing of Love, offers an interesting premise: the girls of Devonairre Street are cursed. Any boy they love is destined to die. We are introduced to Lorna, one of the Devonairre Street girls for whom this curse...

Another beautifully illustrated book from Judi Abbot, this will take most kids into familiar territory spun into fun: spending time with grandparents. This book appears to be set in Africa, though that doesn't much matter. The zebra family drives through a field along with an elephant...

This gorgeous book comes at a time when children most need it. Arun Gandhi dedicates this book to "the children of the world in the hope that they will, through personal change, be the catalyst to steer the world on the path to sanity." Amidst death...

Mike Boldt's latest picture book is filled with color, humor, and an endearing message! In a very Kafka like manner, Anya wakes one morning, only to find she has grown a tiger tail. The opening pages are bright and colorful with lovely illustrations and it is here...

Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu's stunning debut novel, SOMEWHERE AMONG, will take older readers back in time and introduce new readers to an important moment in history: September 11, 2001. Written in poetic form, this middle grade novel takes young readers to Japan and into the life of Ema....

Maybe we all remember someone telling us all good things must come to an end. These words haunted me all throughout my reading of Aaron Starmer's conclusion to The Riverman Trilogy. Once again I had the immense priviledge of reading an ARC, and once again I...

In TRAFFICK, Ellen Hopkins creates yet another compelling story. Filled with five characters many of us already know from TRICKS; Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody try to find their way. Told with as much beauty and grit as all of Hopkins’ work, this novel...

Bill Konigsberg’s new novel THE PORCUPINE OF TRUTH, is the meeting point between all the heart and sentiment David Leviathan has to offer and the crazy fun road trip featured in Libba Bray’s GOING BOVINE. This book is filled with humor, sadness, and truth. Beyond all else, the words are...

Sabaa Tahir’s debut novel, AN EMBER IN THE ASHES, is all at once a fantastical, adventurous, thrill ride that at its core is a story of survival. This book beautifully layers dual points of view with Laia and Elias as our guiding points through the many lands of the Empire:...

Latifah Salom’s novel, THE CAKE HOUSE, is just as delectable as the title suggests. That's not to say that this novel is purely a sugary sweet read. Salom’s debut is a veritable mixture of mystery, ghost-story, and coming of age. From the beginning, the reader is...

Pete Hautman’s newest young adult novel, EDEN WEST, places the reader within the borders of Nodd, a place where many have gathered to wait for the End Times. What Hautman accomplishes in this tale about seventeen year old Jacob both dispels and asserts much of what we think we know...

To say I enjoyed the ARC of Read Between the Lines by Jo Knowles would be an understatement. This beautiful, heartbreaking, and eye-opening read was simply amazing and I feel so blessed that I was able to read it early! By the end, I felt as if...