Reviews written by Kristie Lowry

Tara Brennan struggles to make friends, and we see why as her attempt to fit in with the cool kids falls flat when she is caught trying to steal the school mascot. Tara’s parents are not amused, and as punishment they banish Tara to the tiny town of Willow Falls...

As THE WISH GRANTER begins, the King of Sundraille’s illegitimate children, Thaddeus and Arianna, are trying to escape being murdered by their father’s wife to ensure her children are the ones who will inherit her husband’s throne. As Ari sleeps nearby, Thad’s desperation summons Alistair Teague to his side. Teague...

In LOOT, Jude Watson introduced readers to teens March, Jules, Izzy, and Darius as the four were brought together and forged into a family through various adventures. STING is a follow-up to that book, but it stands on its own quite well. STING begins with a flashback...

With collage-style illustrations, WONDERFALL takes readers on a trip through the season of autumn with its focus on an oak tree—and some squirrels who hang out nearby. Each page spread has the tree and a poem (and the squirrels) and focuses on some aspect of the season with a play...

The Fly Guy series is an interesting and informative series for early elementary students. In FLY GUY PRESENTS: WEATHER, Fly Guy and his friend, Buzz, visit a weather station and gather interesting bits of information about the Earth’s climate along the way. From the types of clouds to different storms,...

The Fly Guy series is an interesting and informative series for early elementary students. In FLY GUY PRESENTS: THE WHITE HOUSE, Fly Guy and his friend, Buzz, visit the home of the President of the United States and gather interesting bits of information along the way. From the White House’s...

Meet Monty, a little frog who is afraid of water—and afraid to tell anyone about his fear. He’s not sure he wants to share his secret with anyone, but it’s been worrying him so much, he finally breaks down and tells the friendly reader of the book. Monty is told...

KIAN AND JC: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME is exactly what fans of the YouTube stars are hoping for: some background story on how Kian Lawley and Jc Caylen grabbed hold of internet fame, and a glimpse into their future plans. Kian and Jc share a bit about their personal...

THE FIXES by Owen Matthews chronicles the summer between senior year of high school and freshman year of college for Eric Connelly. Eric was the Student of the Year at Capilano High School (Cap High), a school attended by the children of some of California’s most rich and famous residents....

FOOTBALL SUPERSTARS 2016 by K.C. Kelley takes an in-depth look at the star players in the NFL at the end of the 2015 season. The photos in the book are great, and the narrative hits the highlights of each player’s season while looking at the challenges they had to overcome...

BASEBALL SUPERSTARS 2016 by K.C. Kelley is exactly what one would expect from the title: a review of the top names in the game after the completion of the 2015 season. With fantastic photography and statistics galore, the book is sure to please baseball fans of all ages. ...

Jack enters the room of a house rumored to be haunted, and he finds twelve people seated around a table. They seem to be expecting him, and Jack is brought his own chair so he can join them. Once you start THIRTEEN CHAIRS by Dave Shelton, you should get comfy...

THE TURNCOAT’S GAMBIT by Andrea Cremer is the conclusion of an alt-history trilogy that examines the what-ifs of a failure of the American Revolution. Without having read the first two books in the series, I was able to dive into TURNCOAT without too much trouble—and reading it made me wish...

In Lorie Langdon’s GILT HOLLOW Ashton Keller has been released early from juvenile detention where he’s been serving time for a murder that happened when he was 14 years old. He returns to his former hometown and hopes to find out what really happened to Daniel, the boy who Ashton...

Similar to Janet Yolen and Mark Teague’s original book in this series, HOW DO DINOSAURS GO TO SLEEP is awesome from the outset. The first page shows the image of a large pachyrhinosaurus trying to hide from bedtime by crawling under his bed while an angry mom looks on. As...