Black Canary: Ignite by Meg Cabot, Illustrated by Cara McGee

3 stars A nice updated version of Black Canary suitable for young readers. Dinah Lance has to navigate the world of junior high complete with arguments with friends, that one bully who’s mean for no reason, and a principal that seems to be out to get her… as well as the strange happenings of things…

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Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe

2 stars I’ve come to the conclusion this series just isn’t for me. When the Webtoon was getting a lot of hype, I gave it a try. Even a few episodes in, I just couldn’t get into the story. I was hoping it was just the episodic fashion and this would be alleviated in book…

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Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie, Illustrated by Yuyi Morales

3 stars A sweet story about the link between names and identity, and the love between a father and a son. Love the colorful illustrations. They tell a story of their own, strengthening the story and sometimes adding some humorous details. The words and illustrations blend together at times, making for a fun and engaging…

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Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, Illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

4 stars A wonderful conversation starter for topics of race and understanding other’s perspectives. Latham and Waters use poetry to tell the story of Irene and Charles, fifth-graders based on their own childhood selves, who have to work on a poetry assignment together. Along the way, they learn about each other, how they are the…

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Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

4 stars As far as the fake-dating trope goes, this one was pretty good. I’m not usually a fan of the trope because of the predetermined trajectory of the relationship. Because of that, it took me a bit to get into this book. But there were also enough other things going on to keep me…

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