You can tell from my past reviews (Under Pressure, Mya’s Strategy to Save the World and When the Worst Happens) that I’m a big fan of Tanya Lloyd Kyi. Now, in addition to middle grade nonfiction and fiction, she’s done something I’ve contemplated doing too–a collaborative book with her daughter (only in my case it […]
Category: Books
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
I love a story within a story! At the start of Maizy Chen’s Last Chance, 11-year-old Maizy and her mom travel from their home in Los Angeles to Last Chance, Minnesota where her Oma and Opa run The Golden Palace–a restaurant that’s been in the family for generations.. Although her mom has a strained relationship […]
Eight Days
On the surface, Eight Days is a road trip from Toronto to Chicago with a diverse characters and an unfortunate set of circumstances. Underneath the surface, it’s a story about judgement, racism, addiction, forgiveness, guilt, shame and feeling “haram”–an Arabic term that means forbidden or unwanted. For Sami (the 14-year-old main character) it’s about finding […]
The Words in my Hands
This is my first book review (well, actually it’s more of a recommendation) in over a year! And it comes with a bit of a warning: The Words in my Hands is Young Adult (recommended for 13 to 16-year-olds) and not Middle Grade, like most of the books on my website. It’s also dystopian and […]
The Whaler’s Daughter
Full disclosure: this wonderful book was written by my equally wonderful friend and writing partner, Jerry Mikorenda. There’s no way I can objectively review The Whaler’s Daughter so I’m not even going to try. The cover speaks for itself (isn’t it beautiful?) and Jerry’s writing skill shines from the very first page. Instead, here’s the […]