• Book Reviews

    Book Review: The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

    Media Type: Print Book Title: The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls Author: Claire Legrand Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Pages: Hardcover; 343 Release Date: August 28, 2012 Source: Library —————————————————————– Content Screening: Nothing of note HDB Rating: 5 Keys to My Heart Recommended to: Young readers who love big adventures with a darker side to them. Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster—lazy…

  • Book Reviews

    Book Review: The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons

    Media Type: Print Book Title: The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons Author: Barbara  Mariconda Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books Pages: Hardcover; 224 Release Date: October 2, 2012 Source: Library ————————————————– Content Screening: Nothing of note HDB Rating: 4 Keys to My Heart Recommended to: Those who enjoy a feisty female lead, and a read with ample adventure. Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N An enchanted flute that vibrates when danger is near, sparkling mist that unlocks a drawer of family secrets, and a bookcase that expands to conceal her hiding place—these are the bits of magic Lucy…

  • Book Reviews

    Book Review: Iron Hearted Violet

    Media Type: Print Book Title: Iron Hearted Violet Author: Kelly Barnhill Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Pages: Hardcover; 432 Release Date: October 9, 2012 Source: Library ———————————————————– Intended Reading Group: Middle Grade Content Screening: Nothing of note ———————————————————– HDB Rating: 3 Keys to My Heart Recommended to: Lovers of MG who enjoy a vivid fairy tale story. Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N The end of their world begins with a story. This one. In most fairy tales, princesses are beautiful, dragons are terrifying, and stories are harmless. This isn’t most fairy tales. Princess Violet…

  • Book Reviews

    Book Review: Walk Two Moons

    Media Type: Ebook Title: Walk Two Moons Author: Sharon Creech Publisher: Harper Collins Pages: Paperback; 288 Release Date: July 18, 1996 Source: Amazon ———————————————– Intended Reading Group: Middle Grade Content Screening: Nothing of note ———————————————– HDB Rating: 5 Keys to My Heart Recommended to: Everyone. Seriously. I wish this read by every person of every age. It’s that amazing. Add it: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N / Book Depository Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle’s mother has disappeared. While tracing her steps on a car trip from Ohio to Idaho with her grandparents, Salamanca tells a story to pass the…

  • Book Reviews

    Book Review: Floors

    Media Type: Audio Book Title: Floors Author: Patrick Carman Narrator: Jesse Bernstein Publisher: Scholastic Audio Format: MP3 Digital File Duration: 6 hours and 13 minutes Release Date: September 1, 2011 Source: Library ———————————————- Intended Reading Group: Middle Grade Content Screening: Nothing of note ———————————————- HDB Rating: 4 Keys to My Heart Recommended to: Readers who love quirky adventures! Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N Charlie had his chocolate factory. Stanley Yelnats had his holes. Leo has the wacky, amazing Whippet Hotel. The Whippet Hotel is a strange place full of strange and mysterious people. Each floor…

  • Book Blitzes/Promo Posts

    Adam and Andrew celebrate The Familiars: Circle of Heroes!

    Please welcome to the blog Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson! ********** With the release of the third book in The Familiars series, The Familiars – Circle of Heroes, we are stopping by some of our favorite blogs discussing all things heroes. Jessica asked us who is our favorite unsung book hero! Someone who others don’t acknowledge, but we think is particularly awesome. This was certainly a fitting question given the theme of our books. Familiars are the ultimate unsung heroes, rarely acknowledged and oft times nothing more than sidekick or helper. Andrew: Ron Weasely comes to mind. So does Samwise Gamgee. But I’d have to…

  • Book Reviews

    Audio Book Review: Liesl & Po

    Media Type: Audio Book Title: Liesl & Po Author: Lauren Oliver Narrator: Jim Dale Publisher: Harper Audio Format: MP3 Digital Download Duration: 5 hours and 55 minutes Release Date: October 4, 2011 Source: Audible ——————————————– Intended Reading Group: Middle Grade Content Screening: Nothing of Note ——————————————– HDB Rating: 5 Keys to My Heart Recommended to: Young readers looking for a book with a heaping helping of magic! Add it: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N / Book Depository Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one…

  • Book Blitzes/Promo Posts

    An Interview with Matt Myklusch and your chance to win a book!

    This lovely gentleman is the amazing Matt Myklusch! In case you’ve been living under a rock all week, the latter half of the blog week has been dedicated to him and his Jack Blank Adventure Series. Let me tell you, best series I’ve ever read. Hands down. He’s here today to share an interview with you, and because I love these books so much I’m including a giveaway below! So read on, enjoy and don’t forget to comment! ********** 1) Hello Matt, and welcome to HDB! Let’s start with the basics. What one word would you use to describe yourself?…

  • Book Reviews

    Book Review: The End of Infinity

    Media Type: Print Book Title: The End of Infinity    *Series: Jack Blank Adventure #3 Author: Matt Myklusch Publisher: Aladdin Pages: Hardcover; 416 Release Date: August 7, 2012 Source: Author —————————————— Intended Reading Group: Middle Grade Content Screening: Mild Violence —————————————— HDB Rating: 5 Keys to My Heart Recommended to: If I haven’t said it enough? Everyone. Really. You want to read this series. Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N Jack Blank confronts his destiny in this action-packed conclusion to the trilogy Publishers Weekly calls a “no-holds-barred adventure.” Ever since Jack Blank learned that he came from…

  • Book Reviews

    Book Review: The Secret War

    Media Type: Print Book Title: The Secret War    *Series: Jack Blank Adventure #2 Author: Matt Myklusch Publisher: Aladdin Pages: Hardcover; 525 Release Date: August 9, 2011 Source: Author ——————————————– Intended Reading Group: Middle Grade Content Screening: Mild Violence ——————————————– HDB Rating: 5 Keys to My Heart Recommended to: Everyone! Ages 8 to 80. Seriously, this is a fabulous series. Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N Jack and his fellow students are now well into their School of Thought training and are “sidekicking” for official, card-carrying superheroes. But even though Jack feels more at home in…