Reviews written by Elisha Jachetti, Staff Reviewer

THE TAKE-OVER FRIEND by Carol Dines is about Frances, a high school student, who has found herself practically friendless until Sonja takes over her world like a storm. Sonja is sophisticated, a borderline genius, and deeply alone. For Frances, it’s perfect. Sonja fills up all the holes in Frances’ life...

LOVE FROM MECCA TO MEDINA by S.K. Ali is a sophomore novel in the world of Adam and Zayneb, a couple, who after their Nikah, are still living apart. Zayneb is in the US for law school and Adam is in Qatar with his family, focusing on his artistic prospects,...

TJ POWAR HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE by Jesmeen Kaur Deo is a YA Contemporary novel in which TJ, a popular soccer player and debater, falls from public grace after reevaluating her relationship with her body hair. When TJ’s cousin is publicly shamed for her facial hair on Instagram, TJ, who’s...

THE HILL WE CLIMB is a physical copy of the heart-stopping poem Amanda Gorman delivered at President Biden’s inauguration on January 20th, 2021. The poem took the country by storm and in the days following, videos of its recitation made their rounds on social media, as did memes and favorite...

AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW by Zoulfa Katouh is an upper-YA novel set amidst the Syrian revolution. Salama, a budding young pharmacy student, has been forced into a role at the hospital she wasn’t prepared for as many medical professionals were killed in the resistance. Salama, no stranger...

THE EDGE OF SUMMER by Erica George is a YA contemporary novel in which Coriander returns to Cape Cod for the season like she’s done for years, only this time she’s without her friend, Ella, who died a year ago in a tragic accident. As a way to prove that...

ALL THE RIGHT REASONS is a YA novel that picks up after Cara’s dad divorces her mom, Julia. To cope with this, Cara vlogs about her feelings, but accidentally posts it online. She doesn’t realize her mistake until the video’s already gone viral, which results in a reality tv producer...

SQUIRE by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas is a beautiful graphic novel that follows young Aiza, who, because she’s an Ornu, is treated unkindly by those currently in power, the Bayt-Sajji. One day, the military comes through and offers Knighthood as a path to citizenship, glory, and acceptance, which makes...

THE MERCILESS ONES by Namina Forna is the much-anticipated sequel to the NYT Bestseller, THE GILDED ONES. Deka begins this book in a very different position than the last. She is the honored Nuru, daughter to the Goddesses, and her mission is simple; liberate all the women in Otera and...

SOMEDAY WE’LL FIND IT by Jennifer Wilson is a YA coming-of-age novel in which Bliss Walker learns what it means to have choices, even when it never seemed like any existed at all. When Bliss’ mom left her for a modeling contract in Japan, Bliss went out of her way...

BRANDED by Joseph T. Humphrey is a YA novel in which Henry starts off with a perfectly normal life, his biggest stressor being whether or not he’ll get a baseball scholarship for college. All of that gets sidelined when one of his fellow students shows up to class in tatters,...

DOUBLE NEGATIVE by Susan Marshall is a YA Contemporary novel that follows Reece after a recent shoulder injury that has upended her world. Not only does she have to take a break from her swimming team, where she was excelling, but she also has to switch high schools. Her fancy...

FAE’S ASCENT by Nicole Kilpatrick is an exciting and jam-packed sequel to CLOVER. The book picks up after the Seelies have temporarily defeated Alistair. To prepare for his next move, Clover is encouraged by Queen Helena and her family to train and develop her magic, which leads to daily lessons...

ALL THE BEST LIARS by Amelia Kahaney is a blaze of a novel that starts off as a slow burn before engulfing you all at once. The book explores the shifting dynamics between three childhood friends, Syd, Rain, and Brie, who, as kids, lived right outside Palm Springs in a...

FLOWER CROWNS & FEARSOME THINGS is the latest poetry book by amanda lovelace. This one is inspired by the Greek goddess, Persephone, who is known for being the Goddess of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld. As such, the author explores the speaker’s capacity to also be both soft...