I enjoyed this story about Maggie, a secret hacker, and her new friend Lena. In their tiny town, they stir up a little bit of (good) trouble, even if their principal doesn't agree. One thing I enjoyed about this story was finding out how far Moxie goes. I assumed it was a beverage you only got in Maine. Turns out you can get it many places!

I read this one because it was the only nominee for the Children's Book Award in the middle-grade category that I hadn't read yet. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the first book in the series. Hilo is pretty cool, and the ending is quite a cliffhanger.

When my book club picked this book, I was torn. I had heard it was good, but did I really want to read a book about Hemingway? I don't like Hemingway. I'm biased against him based on what I have read about him as a person. I once tried to read [b:For Whom the Bell Tolls|46170|For Whom the Bell Tolls|Ernest Hemingway|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492591524s/46170.jpg|2252079] and couldn't make it past the first chapter. McLain managed to get past all my doubts and make me care about Hadley, Hemingway's first wife. I could see why she fell for him, and why she left. It made me think a lot about that Lost Generation, and why they were boozy, and yet produced such interesting work.

I'm not a good enough reviewer to have the words to exactly describe this, but I liked McLain's style of writing. I could feel Hadley talking to me, and I wanted her to continue. She felt like a friend. I'm looking forward to reading her other books, and looking at NoveList for a readalikes list to try to figure out what exactly it is about this style that I enjoy.

Honestly, I thought this series was a trilogy so I was disappointed to discover this was a "third installment." I guess we have to keep going! Overall, I thought the story was fine.

Honestly, what happened was that I read this review and I was left uncomfortable that all the queer relationships seem to be by the "bad" side. Am I wrong in this? I mean, there does seem to be some ret-conning of one character to make them a little nicer, but I was uncomfortable noticing that. I have not read the novellas/short stories set in between the books, so maybe there is something in there. I will read the fourth installment, but I'm not as excited about the series as I used to be.

I didn't have a chance to read this during MSBA pre-season, so I read it now. It's funny, because I wasn't a huge fan of Anderson's Sidekicked, but I really enjoyed his two more recent stories. This one is about three boys who want to give their teacher her ideal last day, after she leaves school due to cancer treatments. It's funny and sad all at once, and if you are an educator, it reminds you of the impact you can have on student lives. An excellent choice for the list.

Honestly, this book was good, but I'm hoping King has grown since this book was written, because it would be nice to read a book where the female characters aren't only defined by how sexy they are and how they instantly make our protagonist horny. Also there is a weird gun scene with one of the women which I really didn't like.

Cute story, worked pretty well for storytime.

I really enjoyed this one. As usual, Riordan hits it out of the park. Apollo is still a fantastic character, even if you know that he would drive you nuts in real life. I'm enjoying him slowly learn about the lives of mortals and demigods, and how it is changing him a bit. New characters were pretty awesome, and I love time spent with Calypso and Leo. The book definitely ends in an interesting place, and I can't wait to read the next one!

Apparently I like Ms. Creech a lot better during her poetic narratives than her prose work? Or maybe I'm just a fan of books about Maine that feel true to the setting. Either way, this was an excellent story about that fish-out-of-water experience. I loved Zora the cow so much.