The illustrations in this one are stunning. It is a good first look at Douglass's life for kids. Myers didn't disappoint. Coopers illustrations are incredible.

The illustrations in this one are 5 stars for me. The problem comes from the fact that, unless you are a poetry fanatic yourself, you don't know what the poets are referencing. That brought it way down for me.

I really liked this one. David Da-Wei Horowitz is Chinese and Jewish. His grandmothers seem to fight over which he is every day. As his bar mitzvah approaches, he feels torn between listening to them and doing what he wants. On top of this, he somehow made a new friend, Scott, who doesn't like his old friend Hector very much, but they are all on the same trivia team! And will he ever be able to say normal words to Kelli Ann?

I giggled out lout a lot at this book. It takes place in late 1983, and David worries about nuclear war the way kids today worry about a school shooting. I am finding that I love reading books where religion is a part of life. I liked how David and his family tried to integrate both parts into his life, even if it was difficult at times (that Thanksgiving dinner!) I enjoyed it a lot.

I laughed when Alec thought a book club would be way too popular. I can relate to his love of reading (although I never did it instead of school work) and I like the way he changed over the course of the book. The little possibility of romance is well done. Lots of great books referenced.

I enjoyed this one. It took me a little while to get used to the writing style, as it's a little bit colloquial. It follows two teens as their lives intersect in Dobbs Ferry due to a necklace, graffiti tags, and the possibility of diamonds. It wraps up a little neatly, but if you're looking for a mystery for middle grade with non-white characters, this is a good choice.

I liked this one, but when the series is over, it's definitely one I'm going to read from beginning to end in one fell swoop. Or, at least when the next book comes out.

Thank goodness I ordered all 4 trades so I can keep going with this series. I haven't read the original (this is a spin-off) but you don't need to in order to understand the story. I'm glad I have that to discover as well.

I liked this one more than I thought I would. I like a magical circus story. I wasn't sold on the romance plot, but I am intrigued on the sequel.

This one covers anxiety really well and makes one anxious to read it. It's not my favorite Green novel but not my least favorite. It's important and hard but not perfect. The whole romance could have been left out (in my opinion).

I'll be honest: I have loved every single thing Jason Reynolds has ever written. I even think he has the best author bio on his books. I adore him, and his mission, and then he has amazing writing skills on top of that. It's incredible.

This is a novel in verse, and it's the story of Will, whose brother Shawn was just murdered. He knows the rules: 1. Don't cry. 2. Don't snitch 3. Revenge. So he takes his brother's gun and goes into the elevator, convinced he knows who shot Shawn. Over the course of the minute-long elevator ride, ghosts visit him, talking about how they died. Can they have any influence over how he thinks, or will the Rules override all?

Just so good.