Book Review
The Ultimate Guide to the Witch's Wheel of the Year
This brief, detailed introduction to the seasonal calendar that celebrated by many modern pagans describes eight festivals, consisting of two equinoxes, two solstices, and the four midway points between, referred to as the cross-quarter...
Book Review
One Night Two Souls Went Walking
In Ellen Cooney’s thoughtful, beautiful novel "One Night Two Souls Went Walking", the traumas of a hospital’s patients become a way to think about the concept of souls. The book is narrated by an unnamed, third-shift chaplain who...
Book Review
Billy Johnson and His Duck Are Explorers
In Mathew New’s absurdist graphic novel, a teenage boy and his talking duck seek out adventure in an attempt to prove the boy’s worth as an explorer. Billy, a part-time janitor, is really an explorer. With Barrace, a duck who is also...
Book Review
Harvey Holds His Own
Colleen Nelson’s heartwarming novel "Harvey Holds His Own" is about friendship, loyalty, and the importance of staying true to oneself, no matter the obstacles. For twelve-year-old Maggie, seventh grade at St. Ambrose Academy includes...
Book Review
Second Dad Summer
In the thoughtful middle grade novel "Second Dad Summer", a boy spends his vacation with his father and his father’s boyfriend. Jeremiah likes his summers with his dad. This year, their time together includes Michael, his dad’s new...
Book Review
Wishes, Dares, & How to Stand Up to a Bully
In Darlene Beck-Jacobson’s poignant novel in verse, Wishes, Dares, & How to Stand Up to a Bully, a boy copes with the absence of his father, who is missing in action during the Vietnam War. Eleven-year-old Jack, with his mother and...
Book Review
Larkin on the Shore
In Jean Mills’s insightful "Larkin on the Shore", a sixteen-year-old struggles to overcome an assault and the gossip and cyberbullying that follow it. While her father visits her sick mother in Vancouver, Larkin is sent to stay with...
Book Review
Prairie Lotus
In Linda Sue Park’s insightful novel "Prairie Lotus", an Asian American girl and her father face prejudice in the 1880s Midwest. Fourteen-year-old Hanna wants to make a friend, earn her diploma, and make dresses for her father’s...