Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota, until now. Her Mom’s plan is just to stay for a couple of weeks until her grandfather gets better. But plans change, and as Maizy spends more time in Last Chance (where she and her family are the only Asian-Americans) and at The Golden Palace—the restaurant that’s […]

HAPPY 600th BOOK REVIEW! To celebrate this momentous occasion, I’ve got one HELL of a book for you! CONTENT WARNING: This story includes elements that might not be suitable or palatable for all readers. Blood and gore, violence, battle, serious injury, religious trauma, and terminal illness are all shown on the page, as well as […]

All Pineda Matlage wants is to get through the school year and maybe pull an epic prank or two with his friends Junior, Ernesto, and Patsy. But class is disrupted when a slew of American soldiers descends upon their rural Texan town of Soledad. They’ll be carrying out a training exercise and taking over everything, […]

Hattie Swift is a maid-in-training at Majestica, a resort and nature preserve where visitors come face to face with rare magical flora and fauna. She’s thrilled to be invited along on the park’s famous wilderness train excursion for the first time, but there’s a catch: she has to accompany Evelyn Ridgewell, the hotel owner’s haughty […]

Ruby Emmerson has always felt like the “dumb” twin. Struggling with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, she feels out of place at her competitive charter school, especially as her twin brother Bryce excels both academically and socially. When she fails a math test despite getting extra help, she fears she’ll flunk out of Benton Academy and […]

When a baby gorilla is stolen from an orphanage in Rwanda, Teddy, his parents, and an old family friend find themselves piecing together clues in a race against the clock to save it. At the same time, Teddy is long-distance consulting with his girlfriend, Summer, and best friend, Xavier, to help solve another mystery, this […]

SPOILERS AHEAD! Please read “Meticulous Jones and the Skull Tattoo” before reading this book review.   Meticulous Jones knows the power of her name. Descended from the great Joneses, including the cofounder of New London, Majestic Jones, Metty also inherited the abilities that give them power over life and death. When she is recruited to […]

WARNING: This story contains excessive talk of murder, ruthless leaders, injustice, society ranks, war, and terrorism. Reader discretion is advised.   On her tenth birthday, Meticulous Jones, known to her friends as Metty, receives her fate, as all children do, in the form of a magical tattoo on her hand. She hopes that her ink […]

Mazie wears an eyepatch and a head scarf, and on her first day at a new school, she’s prepared for her classmates to wonder why. And they do, but no one talks to her about it. Instead, wild rumors fly around the classroom that she’s a pirate or a dragon burned off her hair! Mazie […]

Eleven-year-old Oli is spending his spring break at Heroes Club, where autistic kids like him can build friendships and learn about their emotions. Sounds fun, right? No. Nothing like a week of forced socialization and emotional learning to ruin spring break. Oli just wants to be home, where it’s familiar, not so boring, and he […]