This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Vol. 2 by Sai Naekawa

Translated by Caleb Cook 5 stars As Shiori patiently waits to devour Hinako, the two spend more time together and become closer. But Hinako’s best friend, Miko, isn’t thrilled to share her. Great story development with some fantastic twists and turns. The artwork is hauntingly beautiful. Creep, odd, and gorgeous. Such an interesting series. Really…

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Hidden Strings by K. J. Mist

2 stars After the death of her grandmother, Tessa’s family takes over the Fairy Tale Family Fun Park & RV Campground. They hire a new puppeteer to run the puppet show, but instead of cute stories like her grandmother told, Liza tells spinechilling ones. As strange things start happening on the campground, Tessa wonders if…

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This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Vol. 1 by Sai Naekawa

Translated by Caleb Cook 4 stars Hinako want to die. Shiori wants to eat her. It’s a perfect match. After the traumatic loss of her family, Hinako finds continuing to live a chore. But after she’s attacked by yokai, saved by a beautiful mermaid, then befriended by the mermaid who wants to eat her, her…

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Kwame Crashes the Underworld (Kwame Powell #1) by Craig Kofi Farmer

Narrated by Joshua Quinn 5 stars Jaw-droppingly good. The best of modern mythology retellings. Kwame just wants to have a normal summer. Instead his family is taking him to Ghana for his grandmother’s celebration of life. Still grieving the loss of his grandmother and having never felt Ghanaian enough at family events, Kwame is dreading…

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The Treasure Box by Dave Keane

Illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell 5 stars A beautiful story of grief, loss, and remembering. The narrator and her grandfather have a special box of treasures that is all their own. Together, they add to the collection. But when her grandfather passes away, the narrator doesn’t want to open the box anymore; it will just…

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The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 6

by Nagabe Translated by Adrienne Beck 4 stars Abandoning their previous home, Shiva and Teacher have escaped the soliders for now. They travel far to find a new home in an attempt to escape the past. But it always has a way of catching up to them. Another fascinating read. The mysteries continue to build….

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The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 5

by Nagabe Translated by Adrienne Beck 4 stars Another haunting volume. Piece by piece we learn more about the curse and the strange inhabitants of the Outside. After a terrible loss, Teacher and Shiva face new challenges that seek to draw them apart and Teacher must contemplate what is best for Shiva. Adorable, eerie, and…

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Rose Quartz: Poems by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe

4 stars Gorgeous and haunting. A powerful collection of poems that spin vivid stories and lush imagery. LaPointe pulls from fairy tales, the natural world, the punk scene, and the Lushootseed language. The collection centers around pain, loss, trauma, heritage, resilience, and healing. A fascinating collection that is beautiful, heartbreaking, and fierce. Goodreads

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See You on the Other Side by Rachel Montez Minor

Illustrated by Mariyah Rahman 3 stars A sweet, lyrical book about remembering those you’ve lost and their continuing love. Nice rhymes. The text works well for talking about belief in an afterlife and different ways to connect to loved ones after they’re gone such as writing letters to them or singing their favorite songs. The…

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Cape by Kevin Johnson

Illustrated by Kitt Thomas 5 star A truly beautiful story, well-told. Follow the events of a funeral as seen through the eyes of a child. The story perfectly captures the happy-sadness of remembering loved ones lost. A gorgeous reminder not to block out memories that make you sad, but to embrace them and find the…

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