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Graphic Novel Review: Lillian Rivera’s Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story
Acclaimed author Lilliam Rivera and artist Steph C. reimagine one of DC's greatest Green Lanterns, Jessica Cruz, to tell a story about immigration, family, and overcoming fear to inspire hope. Jessica Cruz has done everything right. She's a dedicated student, popular among her classmates, and has a loving family that has done everything they can to give her a better life in the United States. While Jessica is a part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, allowing her to go to school and live in the U.S., her parents are undocumented. Jessica usually worries for her parents, but…
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Book Review: Moonlit Bond by Britni Hill
What’s a girl to do when she’s pulled from her bed in the middle of the night and put in a magical coma? My life is boring. Just the way I like it. I happily run my flower shop and keep to myself when I’m not hanging out with my closest friends. Until I’m ripped from my bed and held against my will. Desperate to find a way home, I tap into powers I’ve never used before and lucky for me my good friend, Sierra Cruz, comes to my rescue. All I want is to go back to my life.…
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Book Review: Idol Gossip by Alexandra Leigh Young
An inside look at the K-pop phenomenon, in a wry, punchy young-adult debut that probes cultural differences, sisterhood, and the minefield of fame. Every Friday after school, dressed in their new South Korean prep-school uniforms — sweater vests, knee-highs, pleated skirts, and blazers — seventeen-year old Alice Choy and her little sister, Olivia, head to Myeongdong, brave a dank, basement-level stairwell full of graffiti, and slip into a noreabang. Back in San Francisco, when she still had friends and earthly possessions, Alice took regular singing lessons. But since their diplomat mom moved them to Seoul, she pours herself into karaoke,…
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Book Review: Sisters of Sword & Song by Rebecca Ross
From the author of The Queen’s Rising comes a thrilling YA stand-alone fantasy about the unbreakable bond between sisters. Perfect for fans of Ember in the Ashes, Sky in the Deep, and Court of Fives. After eight long years, Evadne will finally be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been proudly serving in the queen’s army. But when Halcyon appears earlier than expected, Eva knows something has gone terribly wrong. Halcyon is on the run, hunted by her commander and charged with murder. Though Halcyon’s life is spared during her trial, the punishment is heavy. And when Eva…
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Book Review: The Captain’s Daughters by Doreen D. Berger
For most adolescents, growing up is hard enough when one has both feet planted firmly on the ground. But for mischievous, twelve-year-old sisters Diane and Robin, life is complicated further by the fact that their father, Captain William Marsh, is the commander of the Starship Polaris. Living among the stars provides a never-ending realm of creative possibility for the free-spirited girls’ pranks and adventures. When aliens bent on profit and revenge kidnap Diane and Robin, only their indomitable spirit, ingenuity, and a common love of trouble allow the pair to escape the alien vessel. Finding their way home seems assured…
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Book Review: The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis
For readers of VE Schwab and The Witcher, science and magic clash in atmospheric gaslight-era Prague. In the quiet streets of Prague all manner of otherworldly creatures lurk in the shadows. Unbeknownst to its citizens, their only hope against the tide of predators are the dauntless lamplighters - a secret elite of monster hunters whose light staves off the darkness each night. Domek Myska leads a life teeming with fraught encounters with the worst kind of evil: pijavice, bloodthirsty and soulless vampiric creatures. Despite this, Domek find solace in his moments spent in the company of his friend, the clever…
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Book Review: Dare by Christina Bauer
The Details Media Type: ebookTitle: DareSeries: Pixieland DiariesAuthor: Christina BauerPublisher: Monster House BooksPages/Length: paperback; 322Release Date: March 30, 2021Source: Goddess Fish Promotions/PublisherGenre: Young Adult Fantasy Add it on: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Google Play | Kobo ***BEWARE*** If you don’t like pixies, then don’t read this diary. Also, if you don’t like pixies who become Queen of the Summer Fae and stay their sassy selves, then definitely don’t read this. I’ll never genuflect, suck up, or tone down. And I’m totally kicking it as queen. That is, until an evil sorcerer named the Usurper schemes to kill every last thing in Faerie. Whoa.…
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Book Review: The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex, The Self-Proclaimed Greatest Dragon in the Multiverse by K.R.R. Lockhaven
The Details Media Type: ebookTitle: The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex The Self-Proclaimed Greatest Dragon in the MultiverseAuthor: K.R.R. LockhavenPublisher: BookbabyPages/Length: Kindle; 307Release Date: April 1, 2021Source: Goddess Fish Promotions Add it on: Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop | B&N Kept hidden by the United States government for decades, the Site is a place where magic is real. But that doesn’t mean that everything happening there is sparkly. Soul-sucking policies and layers of stifling bureaucracy threaten to take all the fun out of magic. Harris, a newbie Conjurer, starts his first day of work at the Site bursting with excitement: he’s been brought on for an extremely…
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Book Review: Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne
Meet Josephine, the most loveable mischief-maker in Barbados, in a magical, heartfelt adventure inspired by Caribbean mythology. “A heart-wrenching adventure with big laughs and well-earned surprises.” –Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review Eleven-year-old Josephine knows that no one is good enough for her daddy. That's why she makes a habit of scaring his new girlfriends away. She's desperate to make it onto her school's cricket team because she'll get to play her favorite sport AND use the cricket matches to distract Daddy from dating. But when Coach Broomes announces that girls can't try out for the team, the frustrated Josephine cuts into…
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Book Review: Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly deVos
Content Warnings: Fatphobia (challenged), gore and blood Shaun of the Dead meets Dumplin’ in this bitingly funny YA thriller about a kickass group of teens battling a ravenous group of zombies. In the next few hours, one of three things will happen. 1–We’ll be rescued (unlikely) 2–We’ll freeze to death (maybe) 3–We’ll be eaten by thin and athletic zombies (odds: excellent) Vivian Ellenshaw is fat, but she knows she doesn’t need to lose weight, so she’s none too happy to find herself forced into a weight-loss camp’s van with her ex-best friend, Allie, a meathead jock who can barely drive,…
