Reviews written by Karen Klein, Staff Reviewer

Seventeen year old Lauren ‘Ren’ Miller has just died. She finds that her spirit lives on inside her own memorial bench. Although the story is called, ‘My Life as a Bench,’ it is really the story of Lauren contemplating her life after her death. Ren can’t...

Franny and Bridget (Jet) along with their brother Vincent are part of the legendary Owen family of witches. Settling in New York city, The Owens kids are far from their Salem roots. Their mother, Susana, sets up rules to keep her children out of trouble and away from magic....

'There's a certain kind of light that I should have been afraid of all along.' Radium was discovered by Marie Sklodowska-Curie and her husband Pierre Curie on December 21, 1898. When radium decays it causes luminescence. With America's entry into WWI came a need...

‘That Night’ is the story of Kayla and her two best friends Sarah, and Cassidy. Kayla is an honors student and a top-level soccer player. One night Kayla tries heroin at a party and abruptly dies. The rest of the novel is Cassidy and Sarah dealing with the aftermath of...

‘A Penny Lost’ is the story of Penelope Grace (Penny) a high school student who can read other’s emotions. Penny feels overshadowed by her identical twin sister, Dinah. She also feels neglected and ignored by her parents. One day Penny sees the sad aura of a home that used to...

Right Where You Left Me’ is the story of Charlotte. Her mother is a Russian immigrate who works in the bakery downstairs from their apartment. Charlotte’s father is a larger than life newspaper reporter who loves to be the first on the ground during natural disasters. At the very begging...

‘Lucky Broken Girl’ is a middle-grade novel about a girl named Ruth. Ruth is growing up in 1960’s NYC. Her family is Jewish and Cuban . It is a semi-autobiographical novel about Ruth Behar’s childhood. ‘Lucky Broken Girl’s focus is on the year Ruth was in a full body cast...

Ivy is desperate to connect with the mother who abandoned Ivy and her dad. The closest connection she has to her mother is their mutual love of the 1980's band 'Chasing Eveline'. Ivy and her friend Matt mount several schemes to raise money for a trip to Ireland. Once in...

Read this review and more on my blog.The Book Return Blog 'The Shadow of a King', tells the story of Uther Pendragon, King Arther's father. The story begins with Uther late in life and near death. The 'The Shadow King' then flashes back to Uther's early reign. ...

Bella is terrified of her step-father. When her mother dies and her sister disappears, Bella knows she must plot her escape. My Thoughts: I am very conflicted about my feelings for this book. I decided to think on ‘The Bright Shawl’ for awhile before writing a review. I...

The Book That Made Me' is an anthology by several authors that tells about a book that influenced their life. 'The Book That Made Me' gives us a chance to look inside the authors' mind and how they first became inspired to write. I am not usually big on...

Sidney Shaw has a terrible home life. Her former best friend now torments her. She covers up the pain by pushing people away. She also cuts herself. Sidney does everything she can to protect her little brothers. When that means Sidney strikes a boy who was bullying...

Sadie is doing all she can to make it through a boring. Her main claim to fame is that her father, Woody, is the local ice cream man. Then one day, while working at the local farmers market, she saves a baby in distress. Sadie then gains local...

Maddie leads a normal teenage life. The only exception is her family's money problems. So when Maddie unexpectedly wins the lottery, she thinks her problems are solved. OMG, I have all of Kasie West's books but this is the first one I actually read. I...

‘The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter’ follows, Mary Jekyll. Mary is Dr. Jekyll’s daughter (of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). She decides to explore her father’s mysterious past. I found this concept totally enthralling. Taking the story of ‘Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ and expanding on it. It ...