For such a short story there is a lot going on here! The slice of story that was shared was captivating and dramatic. I greedily want a fleshed out novel of these characters and circumstances. But my favorite aspect of this novella is the censorship of language. The words chosen to be excised are not always the ones that inflict the most damage. ⬇️

Beating Heart Baby stands out. It has a totally different feel to it than any other book. Its atmosphere has weight. It also breaks tradition with its format, POVs, and timeline. None of those were what I expected going in, but the story is so much better for it! BHB is an homage to music, internet friendships, found family, band nerds, anime, art, and second chances. Santi & Suwa have my whole heart. 💖

I am a sucker for a time loop! While this ended up deviating from what I expected it would be, I couldn‘t stop reading! Clark‘s experiences were captivating, which is impressive since he was literally reliving the same day on repeat. Thanks to Edelweiss for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

You know, this may be over the top, but I loved how it all played out. I am grateful that the author didn‘t belittle the high school relationships, as so often happens. As someone who‘s high school relationship continued into a marriage and family it gets old always reading about how high school romances don‘t last. 🙃

I enjoyed the mystery, the obsession, and the fabulous cast of characters! The audio narration was absolutely perfect.

First book of 2023 is a buddy read with Lily! We had so much fun reading this together! The draugr was seriously scary at first, but the more you read, the more you can‘t keep from trying to guess what‘s going on. We hope this duo will write more Frozen books together in the future!

A beautiful story of families found, made, and lost told in captivating verse. I‘m a sucker for a sibling (especially found siblings) story and this one is so very sweet! 🥺

Favorite parts were the mini-comics and the additional artwork for holidays, seasons, and (my absolute fave): AUs! I neeeeed a longer Regency-era comic of Nick and Charlie after only two panels! 💕

A wonderful novel in verse of family, dogs, and stories! I‘ve been down and out with bronchitis over the last few days and this was the perfect way to ease myself back into reading. Though I never thought I‘d read something set during the height of the pandemic, this felt removed enough that I could handle it.

I really loved that this book looked at topics I haven‘t much come across in middle grade: making mistakes and being okay with not succeeding. The analogy shared for “coming up short” in some areas of our lives is genuinely really helpful to me. I enjoyed seeing Bea work through the process and learn to treat herself and others with grace. Nobody is perfect, but we can give something our all even if the outcome isn‘t guaranteed. ⚾️

Band nerd, my beloved. 🎼

What a fun world to have been dropped into for a while! Awesome creatures, an epic adventure with siblings, family drama, betrayal, and a surprise twist! Enjoyed this one a bunch. 🦄

I‘ve never read anything quite like this for this age group. It tugged at my heartstrings and left me hopeful. 💙

God, this is brutal and beautiful and enraging. How have I never heard of any of this?! I‘m still reeling from the disturbing torture and needless murder of so many. The absolute cruelty of those in charge is inhuman. I cannot comprehend how people could ever commit such atrocities on other people. I am so glad I know even a little about these events now. As usual, Ruta broke my heart. She is the queen of historical fiction! 🇷🇴

Trying something new with a bullet journal. #bookspinbingo Loving the audio to the tagged book! No one writes historical fiction like Ruta Sepetys. 🎧 24%

Being an actor sounds awful; it is definitely not for me! 😂 Kudos to Tom and all the others who do it so well! I enjoyed this behind the scenes glimpse and everything else. ❤️

I asked the kiddo which of these three she wanted to read together next (by reading the backs). She surprised me by picking Charlotte Sometimes (one of my favorites as a kid)! It seems she‘s going to be a sucker for time travel just like me! 😍 🕰

Lily and I enjoyed the wonderful imagery and adventures of Alice! The language is quite old-fashioned and tricky for a young kiddo to understand (honestly I struggled at times), but she rarely asked for clarification, so she seemed to understand enough. 🐇 🕰 🃏 🎩 🐁 🦤 🐢 👑 💭

Cute and fun! I enjoyed the family dynamics (the aunts are my favorites) and the magic. I‘d love more backstory on Effie‘s family in the sequels!

This is SO MUCH FUN!! It makes me want to take apart and rearrange and write my own weird poetry. The girls and I had a great time reading this together! The back matter is just as great; we all took an interest in learning Esperanto. 😉

My mom received a copy of The Real Mother Goose from her parents when she was six. It‘s been a staple of our households ever since! The incorporation of the original illustrations made this all the more special.

A sweet budding romance set against a backdrop of fairly typical werewolves and not-so-typical ghost-seeing abilities. A story of parents and friends, bullies and personal growth, with scary wolves and creepy ghosts. 👻 🐺

The illustrations and the feelings they pull from the viewer are incredibly beautiful. ☀️

I learned an enormous amount from this book! 🐻

I love that this is nearly wordless. What a beautiful message that our stories are universally understandable, even when we don‘t share a language. 💙

Okay, look, I have no idea how to describe this book to anyone, or any idea how to convey how much I adore it. But I love this book. It is weird, and hilarious, and probably a metaphor for our internet-obsessed existences, but most of all, it's cheese "sandwiches" and bronzer. Does that make sense to someone who hasn't read the book? Probably not. But if you have read it: oink oink. I will read and love anything Goldy writes that Barrett narrates.

I am just so impressed that Jon Agee was able to mash 200 palindromes (including some that are super weird lol) into anything that resembles a story! A work of art! (Also, I‘m a child and this palindrome shown in the context of a modern art museum made me giggle.)

I learned so much! Even having a cousin with type 1 diabetes I‘ve never learned the history of the disease. I was absolutely horrified! I didn‘t know that diabetes used to be a death sentence for children! I am so incredibly grateful to Dr. Fred Banting and his crew of stray dogs who discovered insulin and its uses in treating the disease. It also highlights the points of view surrounding animal testing. No easy answers here!

This was a new story to me, and I very much enjoyed it, but even more so I was enthralled with the forward and back matter putting it into context. Fairy tales have always fascinated me!

Weird and wonderful! 🧁 🦄 💀

Attempting 20 books (mostly graphic novels) for the readathon! Read half of one on the first day, so we‘ll see how this goes. 😂 The tagged book is told entirely in palindromes!

#20in4 #readathon

Having no self control is so much fun at the library!#61checkouts #21holds

Just found out (via a parent yelling in my face) that I am circulating “propaganda” in the form of this boardbook at my library! (Steam may literally be pouring from my ears.)

This book is sweet and lovely, for the record.

Lily and I had a wonderful time reading this together! We watched the movie after and she was full of questions about why the story was different between the two. 🦁🪓🦅 🧙‍♂️ 🧺 🧙‍♀️ 🙊 🌪

A super cute adventure trying to break a generations-old curse with a cousin, great-grandma, and the ghost of a great-great-uncle. Oh, and a host of bad luck!

I was surprised by how much I loved this story! Even though Anakin and Obi-Wan spend most of the adventure apart, their connection to each other is clear. I did not anticipate the secondary storyline, but was captivated, and that last line of Obi-Wan's just absolutely cemented these two as favorite characters for me.

At 95% I remembered this was a duology and despaired/rejoiced. Despaired because I neeeeeeeded to know the ending, and rejoiced because I have a whole other BOOK to read! I love books that surprise me, and this one did just that. The end had me holding my breath and flipping pages as fast as I could. I really love Teo‘s relationships with everyone.

I cannot wait to read the rest of this story! ❤️ 🦜

Here‘s my #BookSpinBingo board for September! I‘m currently reading five of these (including the tagged book) and I am flying through Fly Fest (so funny on audio!) and Sunbearer Trials (sooooooooo good!!! 🦜), and I‘m looking forward to the other arcs, especially. Starting to add committee reads; next month I start in earnest! 🏆

Lily requested we start this tonight by reading the American Girl sized reproduction. I made it three chapters before my eyes gave out and switched to ebook. 👓 Loving reading this together (with dolls Crystal & Harmonica looking on 🤣)!

Spent some time in the hammock yesterday reading this one. Loving it very much. Covid has been raking me over the coals; glad to be feeling a bit better today! 🦜

I bought a kindle for the sole purpose of reading ARCs and I love my case! I‘m dragging my feet with the tagged read because I don‘t want it to be overrrrrr 😍😍😍😍

I so love fairy tales; each and every retelling. ❤️

It‘s just not summer without a Natalie Lloyd tale full of magic. And this one includes *gasp* mermaids! 🧜‍♀️ Wild child Eliza and her kooky grandmother are on a quest: to find the secret Siren‘s Harbor on the winter solstice, when the mermaids appear and sing their song. Maybe we‘re all just looking for our “better than forever”. So much love for this beautiful story!

There‘s no entry for Silverswift, Natalie Lloyd‘s mermaid tale, but it‘s delightful!

Progress on #BookSpinBingo shown! 😊

What an original, amazing world to set a story in! The characters are so interesting and the world-building is super creative. I loved this first chapter of the story and I need to read more!

This was hard to read at first in the midst of fielding challenges at my own library. Ultimately, it was joyful and satisfying. I really ought to read more Levithan; I always love what he does with narrators and points-of-view.

I was surprised by how much I LOVED this book! I expected to like it, and to appreciate it, but I LOVE it. I did not experience eir gender journey, but the way e sank into fandom as a way to deal with stress and life and the community e found there made me feel very seen. Memoir is not usually my thing, but I‘m so glad to have had the chance to read eir story. I can already see (in its existence and reception) that it is a needed story for many!

I read most of this today and my head is full. Ultimately, I loved Andrew & Jamie, though Andrew wouldn‘t know a good decision if it stared him in the face. The journey I expected to follow in this book ended about halfway through and then I was just along for the ride. I love that there is still hope for the future (at least most of the time). Their adventure was far from over at the close of the book and I will be thinking of them often!

Ultimately a fun adventure featuring sentient sea creatures operating an antique diving suit, though I didn‘t connect as much emotionally as I‘d hoped I would.

August #BookSpin list!

I ended up enjoying this one, but just not as much as I‘d hoped. It took until halfway through the book for me to be pulled in, and even then Oliver‘s brusqueness just really put me off. There was more humor in the second half, which I liked, and my jaw literally dropped when the boys interacted with the Blackwoods. Entertaining, but not a new favorite. #LittensLoveRomance