A cute Romeo and Juliet style read (without them dying at the end of course!) that really centers on character growth and the themes of being who you are, finding your place, and learning how to love yourself for who you are. Enjoyable and a fast read, I liked the highs and lows we get to see from not just our main characters, but also the interesting side characters. Overall, a good read, especially as a palette cleanser!

Mateo is a young immigrant trying to cross the Mexico-Arizona border. When he’s able to get through the fence one night, border patrol chases him right into the path of Guillermo… a ghost who has spent most of his afterlife helping migrants cross the harsh Sonoran Desert. As Mateo works to trust someone he’s not even sure is there, they both start to open up to each other about their own journeys and the paths they’ve taken to lead them to where they are.

I’ll tell you what, it was really hard to put down this book and go back to work—I was enraptured every page. And both characters are just wonderful as the reader gets to know them. I particularly loved the air of Magical Realism with Guillermo as a ghost and… El Jefe helping out. Though, there were many dramatic moments that felt incredibly true-to-life as well! From both our titular characters facing immigration and deportation (and back), this graphic novel really speaks to the realities happening at the US southern border. 
 
A truly powerful read that is a solid 4 stars, I highly recommend this graphic novel to any and everyone! Dramatic, suspenseful, and full of history both of the past and near-present, Frontera is a wonderful American story about the search for home.

Thank you so much to the HarperCollins team at North Texas Teen Book Festival for giving out ARCs and making it possible for me to review this beautiful books!

Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures is about a young tiny boy who is adopted by a sea turtle and taken to the Island of Lost Creatures in order to go to school and learn about life. While at school, he faces challenges with his classmates, but learns to overcome them with the help of some new (and unusual) friends! A wonderful and wholesome adventure story about learning to be what you want to be.

A fast-paced story that delivers a great lesson to all readers, I thought Ember was just a very fun read. I especially liked the teacher, Mr. Cultivar—he is incredibly pragmatic and will remind many people of those strict teachers you had in school but absolutely adored!

The storyline is sure to capture the attention of many elementary and middle graders wanting to pick up an adventurous graphic novel, but it will definitely surprise even teens and adults with its themes on belonging and confidence of self—I highly recommend!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this adorable graphic novel, and am so thankful to the HarperCollins team at North Texas Teen Book Festival for giving me the chance to read this story!

Lovelace does it yet again. Her words burrow deep into my soul and make a home for themselves so I can revisit them when I need a reminder that I am strong and resilient! These poems were filled with powerful imagery on everything relationships—including SA and SH. Many will find healing words within that resonate. 

I loved listening to this book so much—I know I missed out on some brilliant illustrations, but the verses of the Lay were read beautifully and I can’t help but think that maybe that’s how Tolkien intended it to be translated to the audience. (Like Shakespeare almost!) The story, while quite short, is also a work of art from Middle Earth, per usual.

A great concept, but the beginning was a little much with heavy heavy world building and it was a tad slow going until about 2/3 of the way through. The characters were extremely well-written! I loved them flaws and all! I just think the plot held too much of the story. I’ll definitely read the second book though!

I loved everything about this Count of Monte Cristo retelling! The beginning was just predictable enough to keep up with the time jumps, but the middle to end was just so interesting—I felt like the story never dragged along. The characters were likable, the setting was spectacular, and the plot—The Plot!—was so well done with just enough deviation from the source material to keep it original, moving, and interesting!

A wonderfully lengthy graphic novel set in the—what seems to be—far distant future where everyone is a woman or nonbinary and space is filled with fractals of land. Split into two timelines: Mia in the past falls in love with Grace and then loses her, and Mia of the present must steel herself to find Grace and herself along the way. A beautiful story of friendship, love, and finding your place in the universe.

David Rose (Schitt’s Creek) crossed with A Christmas Carole, this book felt like something I would’ve enjoyed as a Netflix Christmas movie—not Hallmark! It had its clichés, but wasn’t boring in the slightest. While I did guess the climatic problem, it felt more like a “Yes!” than a “Of course…” A delightful holiday story that I will most likely reread during Christmas seasons Yet to Come!

The perfect book to read in winter! I really enjoyed all of the different couples’ stories and the thread connecting them all back to Stevie and Sola. It definitely hits the mark for good, soft romance and TONS of friends-to-lovers, all while giving just the right amount of drama for every story to feel nice and resolved by the end.