Reviews written by Rachel Moulden, Staff Reviewer

Hungry Bones is a ghost story that is full of heart and an equally spooky reading experience. Molly story is a coming-of-age narrative as she is a young teen/tween dealing with major changes in her life. Her move from Main to Texas is in her mom’s words “a chance to...

No Filter follows the story of Jinx, a young girl who is coping with the loss of her father and adjusting to her new life with her aunt. Her only solace seems to be photography where she has a skilled technique for capturing memorable snapshots of life’s moments through film....

Nikki Shannon Smith takes readers on an immersive thrill ride from beginning to end in Stranded. This high-action and fast-paced novel follows a young city Black girl named Ava who has a strong love for the outdoors. When she gets the chance to spend time in Adirondack Mountains what seems...

Even though this book is initially geared towards a middle-grade audience I feel that kids older and adults alike will have so much to gain from reading Stealing Little Moon. Through each chapter Jones takes his readers through the history of Native American boarding schools from the beginning up until...

Once Upon a Fever is a novel that reads like part middle-grade as well as part young adult with the topics and themes explored in this dystopian world. The novel follows the story of two sisters, Payton and Ani, who know nothing outside of the world of hospitals. Living within...

Ida, in Love and in Trouble is a riveting historical novel that mixes fact and fiction while telling the life of Ida B. Wells. Wells was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was also one of the founders of the National Association...

Inside the pages of The Rise of Issa Igwe lies an adventure at a boarding school full of spooky creatures, evil villains and a lot of magic. Though the novel is a companion to Miles' previous novel The Fall of the House of Tatterly, I felt that it could be...

This webtoon tells the story of a somewhat ordinary teenager that transfers to a high school of students with super abilities. While this premise sounds similar to other superhero high school stories such as Sky High or My Hero Academia this story creates its own unique niche in this genre...

Portrait of a Shadow weaves together a haunting mystery about an ominous painting and the secrets that lie within it. Readers follow the main protagonist, Mae, who is desperate to find her missing sister as it seems the police as well as her parents have given up. She can’t shake...

Please Be My Star offers a unique retelling of the famous novel/musical, The Phantom of the Opera as a YA romantic comedy. For those unfamiliar with the original source, the story follows the narrative of a disfigured musical genius who haunts the Paris Opera House and falls...

After enjoying the first book in the Theodora Hendrix series I was delighted to dig into its sequel, "Curious Case of the Cursed Beetle". Readers are once again headed back to the Monstrous League of Monsters (MLM) in London where Theodora and her monster friends lot live in a creepy,...

Walk the Web Lightly weaves together a beautiful story about family and heritage with some supernatural elements included. Naya, the main character, is a young girl who is tied between the choices of following her passion of becoming a doctor and her family’s traditions. To prove that she has what...

It’s been a while since I read a book that was as much fun as Theodora Hendrix and the Monstrous League of Monsters. The first book in this spooky illustrated middle-grade mystery starts with a bang. Readers follow Theodora who is adopted by a monster foster family of sorts since...

If you’re looking for a fast-paced mystery filled with twists and turns set in a Caribbean island then readers should add this to their reading list. It Waits in the Forest follows the story of Selina who tries to navigate her grief and regain normalcy after her mother is left...

Brownstone is a gorgeously illustrated graphic novel full of heart and a resonating story of finding where you belong. Following the main character Almudena, readers watch her journey over the Summer of meeting her dad for the first time. She is a whirlwind of emotions as she comes to grips...