Reviews written by Jacklin Updegraft, Staff Reviewer

I’ve read both Becky and Adam books and What If It’s Us is a combination of the very best of both of them. Filled with so much heart WHAT IF IT’S US follows Ben and Arthur through New York as they spend the summer together. Ben a New York native...

Reading a Laini Taylor book is always such an experience. I fell in love with her Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy but MUSE OF NIGHTMARES far exceed everything I had expected and hoped for. Writing a review for this one is going to be hard because how do you...

DARE YOU TO LIE follows Kylene Danners after her father is framed for murder. After being found guilty Ky must return to the town that she ran from after a photo scandal. Ky’s only care is clearing her fathers' name but no one will let her forget her past and...

When I read the synopsis for this book I was immediately intrigued. I love retellings and this book seemed right up my alley. A TOUCH OF GOLD follows Kora, King Midas’s daughter. When an accident almost results in her death Midas gives up his power and retreats behind the safety...

When I first picked up The Land of Yesterday I thought it was so strange and weird but I was also blown away by how beautiful it was. It’s filled with loss, love, family, and magic. K.A. creates a world where it’s okay to mourn, to cry, but with time...

Abuse is such a difficult topic to write/read and I think that ALWAYS FOREVER MAYBE really does such a beautiful job telling this kind of story. ALWAYS FOREVER MAYBE follows Betts as she meets and falls for Aiden. When that love turns sour Betts finds herself putting distance between her...

INVISIBLE GHOSTS was not what a book that I was expecting but one that I quite enjoyed. Rose has always blamed herself for her brothers' death, so spending the afternoons with him is no sacrifice for her. When their childhood friend, Jamie moves back to town Rose realizes just how...

THE KING OF BONES AND ASHES is a story set around three witches living in New Orleans, as magic fades from the world these three witches find their fate tied to one another. Alice the youngest of the Marin group who has been locked away in an asylum for witches...

I have never heard of this author or these books and I am so amazed that I haven’t. Not only is it a little bit dark, a little bit strange, but the illustrations that come with it are absolutely beautiful. Every picture is done in a blue hue and done...

Honestly, I loved everything about this book. It’s filled to the brim with facts and numbers about the universe we live in. It’s a book all about numbers. How many stars in the sky, how many gallons of what on planet Earth, and how many yous would be ten times...

TOP TEN was an amazing contemporary book that was the perfect blend of adorable and kicks you in the feels. It follows Gabby and Ryan as they graduate high school and look back on the best moments of their friendship. Gabby suffers from anxiety and would much rather stay home...

MABEL OPAL PEAR AND THE RULES FOR SPYING follows Mabel a young girl whose parents are super secret spies called “cleaners”. After stumbling upon their secret Mabel begins her own training to become a super secret spy. When her Aunt and Uncle and their bratty daughter claim to be her...

THE ADVENTURER’S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL ESCAPES follows Anne who has lived in Saint Lupin’s Institute for Perpetually Wicked and Hideously Unattractive Children her entire life. There are only 3 ways to escape the institute. Get adopted, reach the age of 13 and be kicked out, or get chosen for an...

I am so absolutely in love with Sharon Huss Roat. Her books are funny, relatable, and so easily devoured. I read HOW TO DISAPPEAR in a day and a half, I just couldn’t put it down. Everything about this story was so beautiful, from the love interest to Vicky’s mother...

THIS MONSTROUS CHILD is about how Hel, a young teenage girl came to rule the underworld and how she and her brothers will be the ones to destroy the Gods. Right away I knew I would be interested in this book. I love when books take well-known stories and twist...