

Review of The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
This middle-grade writing collaboration inserts a clever young protagonist into the behind-the-scenes World War II British codebreaking...
Feb 6


Review of All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
Nonie is the young protagonist of this stark climate-change dystopian future, in which her small community fights to survive and to...
Jan 30


Review of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
Cronin's debut novel explores mortality, vulnerability, surprising moments of joy and reflection, an irresistible young protagonist, and...
Sep 21, 2022


Review of Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott
Elliott's book for young readers offers a boy-crazy, truly funny main protagonist in Haylah Swinton. I delighted in watching her come...
Dec 20, 2021


Review of The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
Teenaged April has been dealt a difficult hand in life, and watching her struggle to make her way and connect with others in Allison...
Aug 2, 2021


Review of This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Krueger's writing is lovely, and while the adult characters sometimes feel like caricatures of evil villains, his young characters and...
Jul 8, 2021


Review of The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
Adunni is a tough young woman determined to have a voice and emerge from her oppressive situation, and she's wonderfully dogged,...
May 25, 2021


Six Fantastic Stand-Alone Young Adult Books
Aren't young adult books just the best? Young adult is one of my favorite genres to read for fun and to edit. The main protagonists are...
Mar 19, 2021


Review of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
I loved this. Romy's soaring hopes, her vulnerability and then her growing doubts, her self-reliance and quick thinking, and the shifts...
Feb 15, 2021