5 stars What an adventure. It starts with tragedy then blooms into something magnificent. Mystery, adventure, secrets, feuds, and an agency bent on chaos. I want more of this world! Beautiful, imaginative artwork, which I’ve come to expect from Yee by now. She never disappoints. I absolutely loved Walteranne Hakim Whimsy’s character design and Safia…
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3 stars A hilarious collection of interconnected stories, comics, and infographics. Perfect for fans of anything Dav Pilkey and Mo O’Hara‘s My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series. Venture to Creep’s Cove and meet the students of Stubtoe Elementary. From Frankie, the fringe scientist, to Quade, the politest sasquatch you’ll ever meet, to Lizzie the reptilian kaiju with anger problems, and…
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5 stars For more bookish thoughts, see my blog: Craft-Cycle Being a seer sounds easy enough. But even seers can’t always predict where the future will take them. A wonderful romance about so much more than falling in love. Ray, a seer with insight to the present, has wanted to be a Council member since…
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5 stars An absolutely beautiful time capsule of a book that captures both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments of lockdowns, quarantines, and the spread of Covid-19. Pham’s artwork perfectly captures the happiness, stress, hope, sorrow, and frustration of the time. Through empty streets, flourishing wildlife, and homebound scenes, Pham shows some of the changes to the…
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3 stars A cute rendition of Usagi Yojimbo complete with Miyamoto Usagi in chibi form along with Chibi Tomoe and Chibi Gen. The three friends meet a dogu and help save the dogu village from the evil Salamander King. Nice story of friendship and helping others. Also includes some interactive and educational materials at the…
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5 stars A delightful ghost story centered around friendship and growing up. This book is absolutely beautiful! I loved every moment of it. It is sweet, relatable, gut-wrenching, and heartwarming all rolled into one gorgeous package. The artwork is fantastic. I really enjoyed the cozy art style and Yee perfectly captures the emotions of her…
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3 stars A fun epistolary series for young readers. Told entirely through letters, notes, newspaper articles, and reports, this book is full of mischief, humor, and blossoming friendships. A writer who hasn’t written in 20 years, a ghost who wants to be published, a boy whose paranormal-researcher-parents distance themselves from his assertions that ghosts are…
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3 stars Written as part of her Master of Fine Arts project, this book gives glimpses into El Sayed’s life, both from childhood to adolescents and into adulthood. The book tackles many topics including cancer, parental expectations and double standards, racism, bullying, divorce, friendship, religion, and moving to a different country. It deals largely with…
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3 stars A powerful coming-of-age story. This novel-in-verse takes a young poet, a forbidden love interest, a strict, religious mother, an apathetic father, a secretive brother, a supportive best friend, and an encouraging teacher, mixes them together, and presents a story of hardship, hope, and healing. This book tackles so many issues such as mother/daughter…
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5 stars A fantastic follow-up to the first book. Wonderfully written with unforgettable characters. Same charm as the first book with additional characters (along with old favorites), new adventures, and new problems to solve. In this one, the Vanderbeekers forge new friendships, reunite with established friends, make some unexpected discoveries, and band together to beautify…
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