Reviews written by Elisha Jachetti, Staff Reviewer

NINE LIARS by Maureen Johnson is the fifth book in the Truly Devious series that sends us back into Stevie’s hijinks as she tries to figure out what’s next. Sensing she may have some time, David, who’s across the pond, arranges for Stevie and her friends to come over for...

YOUR MIND MAKES THOUGHTS LIKE YOUR BUTT MAKES FARTS is a non-fiction book in which mindfulness meets Garbage Pail Kids. While the subject itself could seem too complex for young kids, the author Todd Strauss-Schulson breaks it down in such a way that it’s not only understandable but applicable. First,...

YOU ARE YOUR OWN FAIRYTALE is the latest book to be released by amanda lovelace. This particular series kicked off in 2020 with BREAK YOUR GLASS SLIPPERS, then got a new installment in 2021 with SHINE YOUR ICY CROWN, and finished up in 2022 with UNLOCK YOUR STORYBOOK HEART. Each...

TRESPASSERS by Claire McFall is a YA Sci-Fi Fantasy novel and sequel to FERRYMAN. At this point, Dylan and Tristan have successfully crossed into the land of the living, having escaped terrifying creatures and death itself, but those obstacles pale in comparison to Dylan’s mom, Joan. She is more than...

ALL THE COLORS OF LIFE is a beautiful collection of illustrator Lisa Aisato’s best work, some of which has been previously unpublished. Aisato is a popular illustrator in Norway and has created for magazines, books, and even film! As she has a mountain of material to pull from, for this...

THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY by Jenny Han is the novel that kicked off the Amazon Prime show of the same name. Belly, short for Isabel, vacations to Cousins, a Northeastern beach town, with her mom, her brother, and their family friends, Susannah, Jeremiah, and Conrad. This trip has been...

THIS TIME IT’S REAL by Ann Liang is a YA Contemporary Romance set in Beijing, where Eliza attends an international school after moving for the umpteenth time. As usual, she’s having a hard time fitting in, but then an essay of hers goes viral unexpectedly, garnering her media attention and...

EMMIE AND THE TUDOR QUEEN by Natalie Murray is the much-needed follow-up to the first book in this series. As it stands, Emmie has decided to go all-in with Nick, but unfortunately, just because the two of them have chosen each other, doesn’t mean the rest of the court, nobility,...

EMMIE AND THE TUDOR KING by Natalie Murray kicks off the Hearts and Crowns Series with a bang when Emmie, a 21st-century teenager, acquires a mysterious ring in a yard sale that transports her to 16th-century England. On arrival, she’s stripped of the jewelry, making her stranded until she can...

SEVEN PERCENT OF RO DEVEREUX by Ellen O’Clover follows the title character, who created an app for her senior project. The app is called MASH and it predicts users’ future place of residence, occupation, and how many kids they’ll have with 93% accuracy. Never intending for it to go public,...

THE LOVE MATCH by Priyanka Taslim brings readers to Paterson, New Jersey where Zahra Khan is trying to figure out what’s next in her life. After her Baba died, she took a job at a local tea shop to help her mother pay the bills, but now that she’s a...

EMMIE AND THE TUDOR THRONE by Natalie Murray is the third book in the Hearts and Crowns series. The story begins with Emmie and Nick in the present day… and Nick is not adapting so well. He’s basically confined himself to their backyard garden and hasn’t ventured out in the...

A THOUSAND HEARTBEATS by Kiera Cass is a YA fantasy novel told in dual POV from Annika, a princess grappling with a fractured family and obligations to the crown, and Lennox, a young warrior, brutal with his sword and friendless because of it. Seemingly, they are worlds apart, but when...

TOSSED BY THE WAVES by Erin Reilly is a coming-of-age novel about a close-knit friend group as they grapple with going away to college, life’s hardships, romance, and how they want to show up in the world. Though it’s a feel-good contemporary story, the way it’s structured makes it suspenseful...

YOUR HEART MY SKY by Margarita Engle is a lyrical, multi-pov story set in Cuba in 1991. At this time, Cuba was in a “special period in times of peace,” and hunger reigned. There wasn’t enough food to go around for the citizens, but somehow there was enough for foreigners,...