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77 reviews by:

kathyellendavis

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What a fun book! Memo is excited about a card game he loves, and a tournament for it coming up. He comes up with a plan to go that includes his abuela, LaLa, but it's a bit tricky, as she doesn't speak much English and he doesn't speak much Spanish. Great themes of family, friendship, kindness, fitting in, being yourself, and more. Give it a read!
adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What a fun start to a new graphic novel series! Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, is bold, brash, and mischievous, so every kid will love him. He's also not willing to let others tell him who he is just because he's a beast, and gives everyone a chance to tell their story and encouragement to be their true self. I loved the mashup of myths and gods/legends from various cultures! And the illustrations are adorable, engaging, and dynamic. Anyone who loves a good story with adventure, mystery, friendships, and depth will love reading this one. Can't wait to read more in the series as they come out! 
adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a great historical fiction read with some magic mixed in. It was slower paced than I'm used to reading, and I didn't mind it! Harriet is a complex character and I cheered for her through all her hardships. I loved her magic and her complicated relationships. Very hard to read at points with the abuse, and ultimately ends on a great note of empowerment for Harriet.
emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Another great book in this series! Poppy is new to Peppermint Falls and is getting used to her classmates, new apartment, and schedule. She loves baking with her Po Po, and eating the special lunches her Grandma makes her. But when Po Po starts getting more forgetful, Poppy starts to worry. I love the kids in these books. They're so kind!
adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

We love Winston; this is his second adventure, and he's on a quest to find someone he only has vague memories of, but knows it's important. He meets up with old friends along the way, and makes new ones. There's a chapter for each day of December, ending on Christmas. The illustrations are gorgeous as well, draw you right in. A beautiful story that you'll want to re-read every year!
challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Everyone needs to read this book; let's get the men to read it first because many women have already heard stories like this. And the writing is so brutally honest and beautiful. It's heartbreaking and important and hearing Chanel rediscover her powerful voice will inspire everyone to figure out how to use their voice in ways that heal. Thank you Chanel for writing this important book.
emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

I really loved this book. I read a lot of personal growth and I really love books that acknowledge privilege, the state of the world we live in, and the fact that some advice won't work for everyone. Amber does a great job of structuring the book around certain topics and sharing stories in each chapter to discuss the topic, the ending with a recap and ideas for moving forward at the end of each chapter. She advocates for real self care, which. Is taking care of your physical, spiritual, and emotional health so you can be the best version of you for yourself and others. I have avoided personal growth books by authors who have presented at MLM conferences or acted as consultants for them, since multilevel marketing companies often result in people losing money and being preyed on. Never fear, she addresses this in here and gently calls out to people in an MLM company to remove themselves from the predatory nature of those companies. This book reads like you're talking to that one friend who is reflective and self aware and wants to share with you what they learned and what's to see what you're thinking about too. She's not meant to have all the answers, just like none of us do. I love her constant reminders that we are worthy and people that don't see that are not our people. This is a great book to get us thinking about how we can indeed take the best care of ourselves.
challenging hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

An excellent account of the work John Lewis did after the civil rights bills were passed. There were many things I learned from this book; I think it's important for everyone to read. We're all taught the laws were passed and everything was okay from then on and that's not true at all. You can see how John struggles to fight against the forces that still want to keep Black people down, and how he has to fight within his own organization for the type of distance he believes in. I'm saddened that he passed away shortly before this book came out; I believe it was meant for be the start of a trilogy. I hope the other two books get made, because we need the rest of the story too. The beauty and detail in the illustrations are unmatched. Read the March Trilogy first, then pick this one up.
adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

This is a sweet little chapter book about two friends, one big, one little. One who is excited to explore, one who is not. Their adventures on the sea bring them to a few interesting islands. I loved their friendship and bravery; they also have a great way of solving physical and emotional/friendship problems. Can't wait to read the rest of the series! I adored the art as well; it's a highly illustrated book with full color illustrations. The characters are super cute and the worlds created on the islands draw you right in.
adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Another one in this series to love! This time there are friendship troubles as Effie feels like she's losing one of her friends to a new girl in town. She gets to meet lots of other witches, and discovers a corner of the city where lots of accidents happen. She works with her aunts to resolve the problem, as well as a new witch in town. The friendship troubles were relatable and some really well; I know some adults would even benefit from the conflict resolution modeled in the book. I like that we learn more about her aunts and the witch community too! Now on to the next ones!