I learned a lot about social anxiety and selective mutism through this one. It‘s given me food for thought for myself and my kiddos. I appreciated that Mira‘s concerns with friends, speaking in front of class, and interacting with a younger sibling are pretty universal even with everything else she‘s dealing with.

What an adventure! Janey is living a very different life than most kids, but it‘s funny how universal feelings are. Friendships, moving, facing fears, speaking up for yourself, and learning the world is a bigger place than your own narrow point-of-view are things we all, more or less, encounter at one point of another.

I was surprised to learn that I only knew a narrow slice of the history of Ellis Island. My great-great grandmother Sidonie (Volckaert) Gydé came through the island in 1906/1907 with her oldest children from Belgium to join her husband in Illinois. It‘s fascinating to read about what her experience was likely like. I have immense respect for anyone who chooses the daunting path of going somewhere else for a better life.

I related to Nat‘s view of her own athleticism a little too much! I was so glad to see her challenge her own narrative and try something new-without putting expectations on herself. Lots of great advice on friendships in here, too.

The original Tuck Everlasring is one of those books that has stuck with me forever. I always cry when I read it and still feel torn by the ending, though moving through life has brought new perspective. I really enjoyed this graphic novel adaptation. The artwork is gorgeous; I loved the symbology of circles. I didn‘t feel the same emotional pull as when I read the original, but that could be because I‘m already familiar with the story and

An effective memoir of growing up with OCD. I was glad to read that Pan eventually asked for help and received it. I was disappointed that the resolution from his disordered eating wasn‘t discussed. That can be an incredibly difficult battle, but it was never mentioned again.

Gabby‘s not my favorite character, but she does show some growth by the end, so I‘m grateful for that. There are lessons on friendships, looking outside of yourself, and even fiscal responsibility.

I wanted more from this. I just read a whole book on speed cubing and still don‘t have the first clue how to solve a cube. Technique names and combinations are thrown out like the reader is expected to follow, but there‘s no explanation. Also, the awful characters all still got a happy ending without consequences which is just SO annoying.

I grew up watching Michael Jordan dunk all the time (he‘s forever my favorite player), so I had no idea of the history of the move. It was neat to have a book include the history, highlights, and science without feeling disjointed.

I‘ll be honest. I didn‘t realize winds were predictable/patterned/moved in certain ways. This book is fascinating and I have a much better understanding of our atmosphere and how wind shapes (literally) our planet. I also had to do some side research dives, which is always a good sign for me! With a blizzard predicted for this evening, this was a good day to read this one!

January TBR for ✨ reasons ✨. Send help. 😂 (Peep Remie peeking through 🐶)

This is a super fun adventure with puzzles and a kiddo who is grappling with anxiety while trying to fit in. Lucy is very relatable in that she desperately wants to be a part of something, but feels inadequate. Her new increased anxiety and panic attacks make her feel even more “other” when grouped with peers. Watching her feel more comfortable and accepting of the selves and others was a delight, and the adventure did not disappoint!

An exciting adventure story shot through with storylines on living with anxiety, living with a parent with depression & anxiety, and overcoming isolation in your community. I LOVED Addy's friendship with Caleb and how it grew over a short period of time. Addy's growing belief in herself to do things that frighten her was such a joy to see.

Weird, wonderful, disturbing, funny, and so incredibly unique! I loved it.

A whimsical premise leads Oliver and the reader through the dangers of wishes. I was a little disappointed that the consequences of the wishes weren‘t investigated more, especially after seeing through the points-of-view of those nose affected by them. I had low level anxiety the entire book waiting for Oliver me understanding of the situation catch up to the reader‘s. Very unique and magical, but with a few blips that affected my enjoyment.

There‘s a surprising amount of emotion packed into this. I enjoyed that the most. Ilya is so snarky; I cackled out loud over and over again. Will definitely need to finish their story.

With a premise of archaeology, repatriation of artifacts, curses, and family secrets this should‘ve been a slam dunk for me. While I did enjoy it, it fell a little flat, mostly in the characterization of Cincinnati. She is self-centered and a selfish friend. While she had some self realizations by the end, the full extent of that still seemed to be a mystery to her. A fun adventure, but I don‘t want to spend any more time with Cincinnati.

A truly magical composition of poetry for children. I loved the rhyme, the beautiful illustrations, and the whimsical content!

A very (haha) relatable middle school story with friend tension, tricky subjects, and finding your way in the world. Loved that many tropes didn‘t follow the usual molds (nice popular kids, friendship drama that was resolved in healthy ways, and no easy resolution) and found myself rooting for all the kids!

This book is SO COOL! I am so glad Geo Rutherford already had published videos on many of these lakes because I need more information on all of them asap! The illustrations are lovely and the descriptions and history spark an informational deep dive every time.

Man, it would never have occurred to me as a kid (or honestly, as an adult) to even try to do the things Amar Shah walked into already confident. I have a lot of respect for anyone who can pull that off. His childhood experiences interacting with the amazing basketball players of the 90s is nostalgic and fun for me!

I walked out of a childhood friend‘s funeral and into the bookstore and stared at the shelves with no makeup left and the feeling that I existed adjacent to the rest of the world, looking for a distraction. I saw Icarus on the shelf, recognized the cover and bought it without looking much further than the paragraph on the back. Then I devoured it in many different sittings, carrying it around with me for a month and a half like a security blanket.

A unique idea about seeking out and holding onto the feelings we think will make us feel a certain way, and learning that emotions don‘t always work the way we expect them to.

Moving to a new place is such a relatable story to so many people, but it‘s not often I encounter a story where someone moves to the other side of the world! Ruth‘s experience reminded me of making new friends and missing old ones, but I was lucky enough not to also have a language barrier and leaving a sibling behind. Ruth‘s family is right: you need courage, perseverance, and patience in life.

Lost at Windy River is the amazing true story of the nine days the author‘s grandmother was lost by herself in the wilderness of Alberta in the 1940s. Isle was thirteen at the time and it was, of course, winter. She was incredibly resourceful and used Traditional Indigenous Knowledge to survive. This book is also an opportunity for her to reclaim and tell her own story after it became well known and was shared by someone else.

I adore Lando and Bastian and Kara and ***** and this wholly unique world full of magic that is unlike any I‘ve encountered before. I suspected everyone of wrongdoing until the last reveal and I was entirely satisfied with how it resolved. I would love to read their next adventure, but I also think this is a good place to leave them.

A fun, supernatural romp featuring a haunted keyboard, a ghostly pop star from the 80s, and creating for yourself (not anyone else!). Margot‘s desire to gain followers (and therefore attention) is relatable, but her emotional growth was a lesson well learned.

I freaking loved Mila‘s rage towards her mom, towards the sheriff, towards the reverend and the hypocrisy of the church. Give me all the angry women burning down corrupt institutions! Horror isn‘t my usual genre and I struggled with the gory descriptions and with my inability to read at night lest I never sleep again, but I was drawn back again and again by Mila and Roe and Agnes and the need to know what would happen.

My friend wrote a book! And it‘s good! I am not a horror fan, but the story has kept me reading anyway! If you like horror/romance, bogs, religious trauma, or deep sibling bonds then SBtB is for you! 💀

Wow! I haven‘t read a book like this…ever! It takes place in a world that, at first, seems normal, but as time passes becomes more and more strange. I LOVED the twist that dawned on me only immediately before it was revealed, and found the adventure extremely entertaining! I‘ll be thinking about Kess and her Museum of Unnatural History for a long, long time.

While my favorite Goldy books are unhinged off-the-wall masterpieces, this was also really well done and funny! Maya learns some valuable friendship lessons while solving the case and building relationships both in her family and outside of it. I loved how all the pieces came together and how Maya turns a phrase; I legitimately laughed out loud a few times. Thanks to PRH Audio for the audiobook via their librarian/industry program.

I struggled with the first half. I probably could benefit from putting in the work to declutter my mental space, but I feel like I can‘t even begin to think about that until my physical environment is under control. So to me, things were addressed backwards. That changed once I got to the second half. While I didn‘t find anything earth shatteringly new, it is always helpful to hear how others do it and to pluck out the pertinent tidbits.

This is so fun! I need more feminist knights asap!

What a fun little adventure! The story is fun and funny and smart, and the illustrations are adorable and whimsical! I can‘t wait to see what Brume, Hugo, and Hubert get up to in the next volume! 🧙‍♀️

It took me longer than usual to get into, but once I made it to that 50% mark I couldn‘t put it down and reading more was all I could think about. I loved Lucretia‘s experience moving to Candle Island and making her place among the residents there. Her descriptions of the world around her are so beautiful and I appreciated how her perception affected her artwork.

Nothing makes me glad to live in the 21st century like reading about life in medieval times. Yikes. Also sad to see how much has really not changed since then. That being said, I loved Viviana and Rebis‘ story as they built a life together! The artwork is beautiful and the story kept me on the edge of my seat (mostly in fear that something awful was about to happen)!

Our reading of this book was pretty disjointed, but enjoyable nonetheless! Helvetica continues to be my favorite character (with Dolores a close second) and Butterscotch is adorable.

The girls have enjoyed it, too, and we‘re hoping there‘s a fourth book in the future! 🪄

This graphic novel is just the right length and is packed with real facts about a little-known octopus AND heart-felt emotions. I learned so much and was constantly showing people around me the pages. Informative and fun!

Listen, I stalled nearly halfway through just because I wasn‘t in the mood for it. Expected to dnf or at least skim the end, but the joke was on me! As soon as I cracked it open again I was pulled right back. Ended up reading for hours until it was finished. I enjoyed this one!

I really enjoyed this story of a kiddo stuck between two worlds in all sorts of ways (geographically, linguistically, between family members, etc.). I only wish there‘d been more resolution with their younger brother, that storyline ended on a sour note, and the entire story ended rather abruptly for my taste. However, I can still appreciate the growth Ave experienced throughout the book.

Jella‘s story was captivating and she was tenacious! I very much enjoyed her habit of “forgetting” a key part of a process (usually asking permission) and just doing the thing anyway, if it was for the benefit of children. After all, as author Katherine Paterson points out: “Perhaps all accomplished women throughout history have at some point in their lives been labeled ‘difficult to work with.‘l

I loved a lot of things about Trouble. Finn's sarcastic sense of humor (the automatic text message made me laugh every single time), the juxtaposition of an emotional burden with a daunting physical endeavor, and how things came together in unexpected ways were some of my favorites.

Alex‘s POV of a student ready to branch outside of his self-contained classroom isn‘t one I‘ve come across before. Alex suddenly has to navigate the fallout from an old friendship, changing expectations in the classroom, and his parents‘ preconceived notions on what his education & future will look like. The story was a window into Alex‘s life and I found myself cheering for him as he learned to ask for what he wants and to stand up for himself.

Read this while walking around my local library. The colors and story are bleak to begin, though small changes bring positivity to the children‘s existence. I loved that the ending bucked typical expectations. I feel like there‘s a message in here for blended families, as well.

While laugh-out-loud funny in several places and with unique characters I haven‘t met before (a feat in a book of princesses/princes pulled from fairy tales), this story struggles with a predictable storyline.

Yunho and Myunghee‘s escapes from North Korea were harrowing to read! The descriptions of their existences in North Korea and while on the run were horrible and so difficult to read. Stories like these are so important to remind us that kids (people) in this world live lives much different than ours.

(I had an issue with how Christianity was presented as a miracle, but was able to overlook it.)

Aubrey Hartman is quickly equaling Natalie Lloyd in my mind of being an auto-listen because her worlds are so wonderfully, uniquely magical. Clare‘s journey through grief and acceptance was beautiful to witness, and Gingersnipes‘ growing acceptance of what she is capable of was heartwarming and hopeful. I adored their time together and would love to see what comes next, but it‘s also set up in such a way that it isn‘t necessary.

Bad Badger really is a love story: to ourselves, to each other, and to the world. Its slower pace and offbeat characters (with beautiful grayscale illustrations) make for a reading experience that is just different from most others‘. I enjoyed the character growth, lessons learned, and sweetness of the story. 🩵

While a bit slow to start I ended up enjoying this more the further I got. In a lot of ways this felt like Hunger Games with dragons, but with more camaraderie from the beginning. There was definitely more murder than I anticipated, but it upped the stakes in a satisfying way.

I adored the way A.M. Woody wrote the characters in THEO, so I knew I had to get my hands on this one regardless of its plot. And you know what? I was right! Cameron and Mason were not who I expected. Their life experiences were not what I expected. But I love them so much that that honestly doesn‘t even matter. I feel like I can‘t say much because the book won‘t be out until October, but I adore these characters and their sweet relationship. 🩵