Reviews written by Jan Farnworth, Digital Manager/Blog Assistant and Staff Reviewer

What I liked The fun mixture of different stories blended into this book makes for an adventure of catching all of them; they even snuck in a princess bride reference. The story's chaos fits well with the title chaos curse, and the nature of the disorder with...

What I loved When you involve monsters in a story, the sequel following has to have something new to make it compelling enough to pick up and finish the story. In this sequel, the author does just that by multiplying the number of monsters to 5 and...

What I loved: The diversity of the characters in the Kingdom beyond novels makes for a refreshing middle-grade series. Bengali Folktales are incorporated into the book as rhymes and riddles that, in the end, help Kieran complete the tasks laid out before her. I like these books as...

What I loved: I was drawn to this book's premise as it is based in the 1920s in a politically torn world of Shanghai and is also a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. The Scarlet Gang and The White Flowers fight for control of a small piece of the...

What I loved. This Woven Kingdom is written with such detail that you want to keep reading from the first page to the last that you don't put the book down until the final heart-wrenching words. So engaging is the book. I read it in one day, and...

What I loved: Unseen magic contains some truths that anyone at any age struggles with learning to stand up to those things in life that scare us and accepting ourselves. Fin struggles with a lot of fear and anxiety and has developed a crutch in the form of magical tea...

I loved- The Nightsilver Promise is a powerful middle-grade debut novel written by an author who has background knowledge that supports the basis of her magic system. The main elements that pull this story together are action, clockwork, magical electricity, the mystery around jewelry, dragon warriors, sword fighting, and devious...

What I loved: I love that this story is simple because it tackles some of the basic concepts that people who love books feel or do when they have books. One problem is the person who never re-reads, so their collection sits like a treasure. Another problem is the speed...

What I loved: Magic, a bit of steampunk, secret societies, history, and a story rooted in good vs. evil in western Europe at the turn of the 20th century. I appreciated the range of backgrounds in the characters found in this upper young adult novel. The characters come...

What I loved : The bird's serious dissection of racism and classes throughout the book in a kid-friendly way. Our main character is a sparrow, the smallest and lowest of the clans—being so small and the weakest, not expected to fight or do much beyond a meager lifestyle. Ellie is...

What I loved: The characters in this story are so painfully human; it makes it easy to feel their pain as they choose between life and death for one character over another. The world-building and descriptions make it very easy to imagine that you are in the story. We have...

This excellent middle-grade novel was entertaining and perfect for 12-year-olds; as Kiran, our main character is 12 years old. Being raised by culturally different parents than her classmates makes her feel embarrassed and out of place. Her parents dress her as an Indian princess for Halloween and erect...

What I loved: The majority of the story takes place within a book that exists mainly in Oliver Nelson's mind. Oliver has taken solace in books in a world where no one reads anymore, and everyone is engaged in using alternate reality eyewear created by the Pribbles. As...