I enjoyed the advice overall, but I kind of wondered--if we always put self happiness ahead of all other things, what does that mean for communal goals/society? Maybe I took it too far, and read it too seriously, but part of it seemed a little, I don't know, white feminist-y to me. There are definitely things to care less about, especially what other people think, but I'm wary of telling people to not care about climate change or politics.

I thought this one was okay. I didn't think it would be particularly for me from the start, when it became clear it was going to be a story that foreshadows some event in the future the entire time. That's not my jam. I also found it slow-going. I read some reviews on here before I finished, and so I was on high alert for certain situations that I didn't notice as much as other people did, but I just...didn't like it.

This book shows why they work, and made me happy for them. True love!

This is a great story about what would happen if the dead rose up during the Civil War and we had to fight them instead of actually formally ending the war. Our narrator, Jane, is fairly reliable, although we find that she tells herself (and others) some lies to survive. I especially loved Katherine, a beautiful girl who is hampered by that beauty in ways. She is never played entirely as the mean girl. And of course, as in most good zombie stories, the humans are far scarier than the dead ever could be.

Sunny is being sent to Florida to spend the summer with her grandfather at his retirement home, instead of at the shore. She seems to be having flashbacks to what happened in May and June to cause her to be sent there, but it isn't until the end of the story that her situation is revealed to the reader.

Ally has been hiding a secret for a long time. It's not until a long-term substitute teacher comes in that her secret is discovered--she has dyslexia. Ally's struggle feels realistic, as do the struggles of her friends. I particularly loved Albert and his obsession with facts. Another fantastic novel from Hunt.

Oooh I loved this one! Corinne lives on an island with her father, hearing the stories about jumbies but not believing them. She follows an agouti in the forest one day, and senses something but can't see it. The jumbies are real...and they found her.

I was especially a fan of the alternating perspectives in this story. It's not always a device I enjoy, but I think it worked well here. I also appreciated learning more about what kinds of stories are native to the Caribbean, and enjoyed this fairy tale based on one.

It will pair well with Little Man for you Maine Student Book Award readers.

I expected this to be much more about Pedro Martinez, but it's really about Pedro's relationship with his brother. An excellent offering from Tavares.

Far and away my favorite Stead book, and one of my favorites from this year. Such a good capture of the middle school experience. I can feel my heart wringing.