Illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller 3 stars A sweet story about friendship, sadness, and listening to others. Ollie has the boos and his best friend, Ellie, will do whatever it takes to chase those sad feelings away. But sometimes we have to slow down and just sit with our sadness in the company of good…
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by Jay Jay Patton with Kiara Valdez Illustrated by Markia Jenai 2.5 stars I was really excited to read this one, but it left me feeling a bit disappointed. A quick read that shares some important events in Patton’s childhood including her father getting out prison, moving to Florida, starting a new school, learning to…
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by Amy Bruni 4 stars A fascinating read that pairs historically-inspired recipes with haunted places around the U.S. I always love a cookbook that you can read all the way through and this one offers plenty of interesting tidbits about paranormal research, history, hauntings, and true crime. A brief history is given for each place…
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Illustrated by Robin James 3 stars A tragic tale that tells the backstory of Morgan the unicorn. Morgan is a curious colt who lives with his mother in the Meadows of Morning. One day, his curiosity gets the better of him and he must make a difficult sacrifice in order to survive. Definitely darker than…
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1 star I was drawn in by the surreal cover art and the promise of fairy tale retellings. Okay poetry. Generally not really my style. Quiet a few weird and downright creepy descriptions of women, which didn’t appeal to me. A few odd poems touching on race, class, and houselessness with messages that don’t feel…
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Translated by Jesse Kirkwood Narrated by Hanako Footman 5 stars I had no idea what I was getting into with this one but was pleasantly surprised. This is my new favorite interpretation of cozy mystery. Father and daughter team, Nagare and Koishi, run the Kamogawa Diner, known for serving delicious meals. But the pair also…
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5 stars An absolutely adorable story about anxiety, bravery, friendship, and doing hard things. Bear would much rather stay home in his bathrobe than spend time outside with his friends. After all, anything can happen to a bear on the ice. But after his friends share what makes them feel safe and brave, Bear just…
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by David Lumsdom Illustrated by Shiei 5 stars A sweet and fun adventure with the Mane 6 manga-style. From magic portals and unintended spells to stage fright and fruit shenanigans, this is a nice variety of stories. Plenty of appearances from other characters such as the Apple Family, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Flim and…
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Illustrated by Tim Probert 2.5 stars At Dungeon Academy the monsters are the students. The only problem is Zelli isn’t a monster. She’s a human adopted by a minotaur couple. When students at the academy mysteriously disappear, Zelli sees her chance to set out beyond the school walls. Accompanied by a group of loveable misfits,…
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Illustrated by Kat Fajardo 5 stars A fun concept for a book series. Each one follows a different student in Mrs. Z’s third grade class. The first book follows Emma McKenna. She’s excited to start at Curiosity Academy, but making new friends is harder than she expected. Not to mention, her ex-best-friend-turned-enemy is in the…
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