Reviews written by Beth Rodgers, Staff Reviewer

“The New Girl: First Crush” by Cassandra Calin is a graphic novel that is the sequel to “The New Girl,” and it follows main character Lia’s relationships as she worries about her crush, her friends, her family, and her own personal feelings about growing up. ...

“Roxie in Color” by Diane Debrovner and Stacy Cervenka tells the story of a young girl named Roxie, at the start of seventh grade. While Roxie’s sole goal at her new school is to fit in, she finds herself anxious and worried much of the time that someone will discover...

“The Beckett Effect” by Nashae Jones is a swoon-worthy young adult novel that will grab readers’ attention and keep them invested till the end. When main character Wren gets placed in a film class that she’s been dreaming of taking, she is upset to find...

“The Romance Rewind” by Sarah Everett has a lot of “While You Were Sleeping” in it. When 17-year-old Zadie goes out to dinner with her boyfriend, she expects a promise for the future, in the form of a ring and the future she has been dreaming of with Jason. Instead,...

“My Tokyo Summer” by Abby Denson, illustrations by Utomaru, invites readers to go on a trip to Tokyo with Abby, a girl from the United States who loves reading and writing comics. When a girl from Japan, Yuuko, happens to come to America and sees one of Abby’s comics in...

“Stories Are the Heart of the World” by Laurel Goodluck, with illustrations by Nicole Neidhardt, contains many wonderfully thought-provoking lines, one of which is: “When you are in the world … wishful stories root you to your homeland.” This is exactly what the book aims to do—to instill stories, tradition,...

“Brain Quest: Learn to Write Cursive” encourages readers to take a road trip across America as they learn to read and write cursive. Since cursive is not nearly as often taught in schools nowadays, this is a good book to get started on a useful skill. The book starts out...

“Royal Summer” by Kass Morgan is for older YA readers, as Hannah, the protagonist, has graduated high school and is on her way to college in the fall. She plans to spend the summer in Scotland working as an intern for her favorite author. When her plans are derailed, she...

“Actual Factual Files: Ancient Egypt” by Ali Adams starts off with a contents page detailing at least twenty different topics to be covered throughout the pages. From knowledge of ancient Egypt to information about religion, priests, and temples, pharaohs (including female ones), pyramid building, and King Tut, there is something...

“Meet Me Under the Lights” by Cassie Miller tells the story of Eliza and Reed, two teens from rival families who find themselves drawn to each other during the summer before their senior year of high school. Their lives are intertwined, as their families have been at odds for years...

“The Boring Drawing Book” by Erica Harrison allows readers to think outside the box and delve into a variety of activities that serve to treat the condition of being bored and feeling as though there is nothing to do. The book invites readers to interact with it, completing tasks and...

“Day of Delight: A Jewish Sabbath in Ethiopia” by Maxine Rose Schur, illustrated by Brian Pinkney, shares the simple, yet sweet story of a family preparing for the day of rest by finishing lingering work, cleaning, preparing food, and bathing. The family is content with what they need to do,...

“America As It Happened: A Moment-by-Moment Journey through Time, From Prehistory to the Present Day” by What on Earth!, in collaboration with The Washington Post, is an amazingly detailed account of life from the years before 1600, through the centuries (1600s, 1700s, 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s). ...

“Written in the Stars” by Lee Heart has main character Quinn going away to summer camp not long after her father has passed away. While she thinks her mother wants her out of the house so that her mom can deal with her own grief, all might be quite as...

“Running Back to You” by Sarah Henning follows main character Millie as she struggles to find her way out of a lie and get her first kiss. When a guy in her class, Logan, asks if she’s ever kissed anyone, she doesn’t want to tell the truth, so she goes...