Reviews written by Karen Klein, Staff Reviewer

WWII is in full force. Aila and Miles’ mother has just died. When their father is drafted, they have no choice but to stay with their mother’s childhood friend. Once there they realize things in the town of Sterling are different. Magical realism is a genre that is very...

I haven't read any horror novels but have a few on my TBR, so I thought this one would be a good one to start with since it is kind of mix of YA contemporary and horror. What I Loved I loved the character of Finn....

What I Loved 'Em & Em' was a sweet contemporary romance with a twist. There are back and forth POV's with Emily aka Ember. The first POV leads up to her witnessing a crime. The second POV is her life as 'Ember' after she enters into the...

‘If We Were a Movie’ tells the story of ‘Nat’. ‘Nat’ is a triplet and struggles to have individuality from his brothers. Nat applies and is accepted to the NYU music program. The novel begins with Nat’s brothers inadvertently destroying his laptop along with his school project. Soon after this...

'Laerka' is a modern-day retelling of the fairytale 'The Little Mermaid'. Stella is a teenager in modern-day Savannah, Georgia. While working a part-time job in Savannah's port, she sees a women (who she thinks is a mermaid) jump from a Russian container ship into the ocean.

I did find some of the descriptions of ‘Teach’ and ‘Anne’ and ‘Cara’ and ‘Coyle’ a little sanctimonious and the characters’ personalities were a little too black and white, good or evil.

The one thing that kind of threw me off was just how much of a music prodigy Grace was. It seemed to make her somewhat hard to relate to for the average person and I kept thinking of ‘Etta’ from ‘Passenger’. I also became frustrated with how Grace just went...

There was a bit of magical realism that kind of threw me off. It is explained later in the novel but it really confused me and didn’t really add much to the storyline.

What Left Me Wanting More: I was a little confused by the alternating POV. The POV’s are ‘Tea’s’ during her Asha training and an unknown narrator who speaking about ‘Tea . Much of what is mentioned in the second POV is never explained. The second half...

Delany's family has recently fallen apart. Her younger sister has recently passed away from cancer. Her father leaves town. Her mother becomes a walking zombie. Then a picture of Baby Jesus appears on a cheese wheel at the convince store where Del works. It's not long before miracles start popping...

Maggie’s father is a big Hollywood director. He is domineering and loves to have control. Maggie’s father wants her to become an entertainment lawyer. Maggie’s dream is to work in the fashion industry. ‘Everyday Magic’ tells of Maggie’s struggle to be who she wants to be and break free from...

‘I Am Lucille Ball’ tells the story of how little Lucy overcame many obstacles to become the legend that she is today. She lost her father as a young child and she is sent to live with relatives who did not appreciate her sense of humor. She is told over...

What Left Me Wanting More… The biggest issue I had with the story was that although ‘Possum’ was sweet, endearing, and very relatable, she came across as somewhat stereotypical of someone from the deep south or Appalachia. This was especially clear in the number of metaphors used in her...

‘Keys to the Sun’ tells the adventures of two brothers, Lucas and Parker Chase. They are in New Orléans to visit a family friend ‘Aunt Ruby’. While there they and a new friend, Nicole(Cole), find a map that leads them on a treasure hunt around the French Quarter. ....

I was super excited when I found out that I would be part of the ‘The You I’ve Never Known’ blog tour. I have heard so many wonderful things about Ellen Hopkins books. Even though I have several of her books on my TBR shelf, I had yet to read...