Teen and Young Adult Fiction Reviews
I’m always good for a compassionate tear-jerker of a story, and Lety Out Loud with its sympathetic characters and focus on abandoned pets blessed me with three separate crying jags.
Lety Muñoz is an ESL student fresh out of fifth grade.… Read the rest
The publishing powers-that-be claim today’s readers are 
impatient. If you don’t hook them on the first page, the first paragraph even, you’re not publishable. Vintage Reads always start a little slower. Teach your children patience for this book. … Read the rest
Yesterday, I reviewed Chip Mattis’s picture book, Under the Dancing Tree. Today, I want to find out the “story behind the 
story.” Chip has graciously answered the questions I often ask authors.
What was the seed of this story?… Read the rest
Under the Dancing Tree is one of those rare picture books that caresses my heartstrings with the same tenderness of a harpist’s fingers creating a gentle glissando.
If you’re a parent or a grandparent, you may want to make this a new, favorite, read-aloud.… Read the rest
Last month I interviewed one of the Scriblerians’ own, Cynthia Toney, 
regarding her Birdface series. Cynthia also has another book out which is historical fiction, and I loved the story. I don’t give five stars all that often, so you know it’s wonderful!… Read the rest
We’re adding a new segment to Scriblerians book reviews–reviews on books written by the Scriblerians! Several of us have been very busy in the publishing world, and it’s time to crow a little over our successes.
Cynthia is one of the original Scriblerians, initiating a small critique group for yet-to-be-published young adult/middle grade authors.… Read the rest
Third in a series of reviews about deaf characters and their siblings, Of Sound Mind zeroes in on the burdens a CODA (child of deaf adults) carries when his parents cannot or will not connect with the hearing world.… Read the rest
The “coming-of-age” story. When a boy becomes a man.
…and now Miguel is a great read for boys ages nine through thirteen. Joseph Krumgold really gets into the head of a kid during that in-between age, wanting to be respected as a man yet child enough that he’s not quite ready for a man’s responsibilities.… Read the rest
Last month I reviewed a Newbery winner which fascinated me with its intricate puzzle mystery. When You Reach Me is based on another complicated mystery, which, if I tell you the type of puzzle it is at its core, I would ruin the ending for you.… Read the rest
The Westing Game is a mystery, or more accurately, a puzzle-mystery as 
described in the author’s own words. With sixteen characters, each with their own point-of-view, the challenge of solving the mystery ranks on par with the difficulty level of a 3000-piece jigsaw puzzle.… Read the rest