The friendships in this book brought back some middle school memories! 😬 I really enjoyed and appreciated the OCD rep. This fills a void in kids books and I‘m glad it exists!

Adorable! Turns out my aversion to anthropomorphized food doesn‘t extend to foods with a logical creation story. 😜 A sweet tale of bravery, friendship, and the perils of making assumptions. Oh, and gardening. 💚

Super late on the #bookspinbingo board this month, but here it is. I‘ve already read six; currently reading four, including the tagged book.

This was pitched as “Starfish” with a male protagonist and I can see where the comparison comes from. Will‘s story is very introspective, being written entirely as journal entries with doodles throughout. It was very effective to illustrate exactly what was going on in his head, and what was going on was so painful. My heart hurts for Will and all the kids who feel like him. This will be an important one for every person (kid and adult) to read.

It‘s been less than a week and I‘ve read all three books, found #4 on ao3 (though I‘m trying hard to refrain from reading until it‘s complete for my own sanity), and fallen in love approximately 27 times with the most adorable characters. I love how Rome and Damien just kind of fit together before they even figured anything out, and I love how both sets of main characters are obsessed with each other and with forever. 😍😍

Nothing like reading outside! 😎 Loving this so far!

So much happened in the second half of Eli and Alex‘s story. I feel like I‘ve just been along for the ride through injuries, Alex being outed, the most amazing team response to harassment, management‘s response to harassment (the montage was brilliant), and so much of our sweet, adorable, besotted boys! I‘m both sad for their story to close and excited to read what happens next in this universe!

You do it
by being brave enough
to lift your voice,

by holding
history
in one hand

and clenching
hope
in the other.

This was so adorable! Knowing that it originated as “Check, Please” fanfic made the little nods to it feel like a scavenger hunt, but it was never so close that I felt like the characters were anyone other than themselves. Alex and Eli are wholly original and work together in the best way. 🩵 I inhaled this book and I am immediately starting the next one!

The combination of Ramon de Ocampo‘s narration with James L. Sutter‘s character voices is ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!!! This book is so freaking funny. I nearly injured myself multiple times trying to listen while doing other things, laughed out loud/giggled/blushed/snorted more times then I can count, and absolutely fell in love with these two idiots. Thanks to Libro.fm and Macmillan Audio for the ALC for an honest review. Honestly, I loved it. 🖤🎶🖤

Rereading these, binging the show, and consuming massive amounts of fanfic make my heart happy! 🍃💕

I love a good nerd love story! I learned a lot about cosplay and loved the beautiful second chance love story. Eli never gives up and fights for what they want-even against someone they love. 🩵 Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lily (age 7) says: “I love this! Especially the chapters with Al.” I also quite enjoyed the story! Maybe in life things don‘t always come together perfectly, but it is so satisfying when they do in a book. Wonderful! We listened to the audiobook and having multiple narrators was very helpful for the kiddos to distinguish characters. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and the Libro.fm ALC program for an early audio copy in exchange for an honest review!

Otilla is pretty badass. I definitely like Klassen‘s version better than the original. Also, secretly glad that librarians were part of re-finding the original tale. 💀

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers, fake dating story! (I‘m all about the tropes) Once I started I found myself unable to stop reading, sneaking in a few minutes here and there until I could find a long stretch. I really loved how Jonah and Dylan were able to recognize each others‘ anxiety and help each other through it. 🩵 Thanks to Edelweiss and Viking for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Okay, this was adorable. You‘ve got summer camp, making new friends, parental betrayal, and new experiences, BUT then you add in vampires! What a fun adventure this was! I loved how all the abstract things came together and how Maggie came into her own. Audio narration by Katie Ladner was spot on with several accents represented well. Thanks to Libro.fm and Balzer + Bray for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book is amazing! I expected it to be heavy, given Simon‘s past, but it isn‘t. It is so funny and heartwarming and smart, and, yes, sometimes devastating, but balanced with new friendships, puppies, and small-town-life shenanigans. I think this will be my favorite middle grade book of the year! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this story just as much as the first! And the way everything came together at the end was *chef‘s kiss* perfection! I‘m going to be thinking of this alternate history that could‘ve been for a long, long time. 🦛

FIVE GLITTERY STARS FOR OLIVE! Nobody writes magic like Natalie Lloyd.

I was never a Shakespeare fan until I read Twelfth Night in high school and then saw She‘s The Man. If I didn‘t already love the insanity and confusion of characters in the story, I would have after Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum made me cry tears of laughter (comedy GOLD). This graphic novel iteration is fun! I enjoyed the fantasy adjacent setting and the 21st century spin on the events. 🧚‍♀️

This was SO MUCH FUN! A great caper, some may say. I absolutely cannot wait to read the sequel. 🦛 What wonderful characters and twists to the plot!

#BuddyRead with Lily! We loved this book! It was so fun to read new twists on the events of the movie; dialogue switched to different characters, events out of order, new dynamics between characters. We just never get tired of the world of Frozen. 💙

WOW. This is one of the best books I‘ve read in a long time! I was absolutely captivated throughout and still didn‘t guess the ending until it was actually unfolding. Learning about repatriation has sparked a new research interest in me, while also finally naming that weird dread I get when I see human remains in a museum. I loved the friendships, the sisterhood, the devastation, the “plan”, and how it all came together. ❤️

What a unique adventure! Plum is learning what it takes to be a Guardian…if she can pass the first test! This adventure has mashup creatures, a lush setting, and friendship. I am looking forward to seeing what else Plum gets up to! 🧘‍♀️

Four books into my #bookspinbingo this month. It doesn‘t look like much, but I‘ve been in a slump, so I‘m excited by my progress!

#currentlyreading
🎧 Warrior Girl Unearthed 38%
📱 Wheels Up 11%
📖 Conceal, Don‘t Feel 28%
📖 The Guardian Test 1%

This is the best book I have read in a LONG time! I think this will be my favorite book of the year. It is SO MUCH FUN! A villain who turns children into adults, the descriptions of childhood chaos, and the word smithing. THE WORD SMITHING. 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

I fell in love with the show and had to find out more about this alternate present day! Seeing a world where ghosts are real and can hurt you, with only young people to defend the people is such a fun experience! I was genuinely afraid during the Combe Carey Hall portion; the first-person point-of-view really drove home the terror. The characters are unique and funny, and I cannot wait to read and watch more in this world! 👻⚔️👻⚔️👻

I ended up liking this book. I struggled HARD in the middle with Tommy‘s choices and general selfishness. But once he became more self-aware it was nice to see how everything fell out. I really liked the character of Brad and wish we‘d seen more of him. I‘d say this was less comedy and less romance than drama, but still enjoyable. Thanks to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳

Fabulous, as always! What a wonderful message (and I found myself quite taken with the W.S. Merwin poem at the end). I gasped at the introduction of the Giants and the description of the creation of Earth and the moon. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Haven‘t don‘t one of these in a while! This list doubles as #BookSpin and #BookSpinBingo this month. Also have my #roll100 on here; working my way through all past Newbery winners.

I hit 365 days of reading! I‘ve read a lot of books books, too, but I could not function as a human being without fanfic. ❤️ Anyone want to be my friend on Beanstack? You can track minutes, pages, and/or books read. My friend code is 7YS5GHA. ❤️

Revisited this one after a parent challenged it in the library today because the main character has two dads. It‘s a silly and fun adventure highlighting problem solving when plans fail, and super cute penguins. 🐧 🌈 🥳

For such a short story there is a lot going on here! The slice of story that was shared was captivating and dramatic. I greedily want a fleshed out novel of these characters and circumstances. But my favorite aspect of this novella is the censorship of language. The words chosen to be excised are not always the ones that inflict the most damage. ⬇️

Beating Heart Baby stands out. It has a totally different feel to it than any other book. Its atmosphere has weight. It also breaks tradition with its format, POVs, and timeline. None of those were what I expected going in, but the story is so much better for it! BHB is an homage to music, internet friendships, found family, band nerds, anime, art, and second chances. Santi & Suwa have my whole heart. 💖

I am a sucker for a time loop! While this ended up deviating from what I expected it would be, I couldn‘t stop reading! Clark‘s experiences were captivating, which is impressive since he was literally reliving the same day on repeat. Thanks to Edelweiss for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

You know, this may be over the top, but I loved how it all played out. I am grateful that the author didn‘t belittle the high school relationships, as so often happens. As someone who‘s high school relationship continued into a marriage and family it gets old always reading about how high school romances don‘t last. 🙃

I enjoyed the mystery, the obsession, and the fabulous cast of characters! The audio narration was absolutely perfect.

First book of 2023 is a buddy read with Lily! We had so much fun reading this together! The draugr was seriously scary at first, but the more you read, the more you can‘t keep from trying to guess what‘s going on. We hope this duo will write more Frozen books together in the future!

A beautiful story of families found, made, and lost told in captivating verse. I‘m a sucker for a sibling (especially found siblings) story and this one is so very sweet! 🥺

Favorite parts were the mini-comics and the additional artwork for holidays, seasons, and (my absolute fave): AUs! I neeeeed a longer Regency-era comic of Nick and Charlie after only two panels! 💕

A wonderful novel in verse of family, dogs, and stories! I‘ve been down and out with bronchitis over the last few days and this was the perfect way to ease myself back into reading. Though I never thought I‘d read something set during the height of the pandemic, this felt removed enough that I could handle it.

I really loved that this book looked at topics I haven‘t much come across in middle grade: making mistakes and being okay with not succeeding. The analogy shared for “coming up short” in some areas of our lives is genuinely really helpful to me. I enjoyed seeing Bea work through the process and learn to treat herself and others with grace. Nobody is perfect, but we can give something our all even if the outcome isn‘t guaranteed. ⚾️

Band nerd, my beloved. 🎼

What a fun world to have been dropped into for a while! Awesome creatures, an epic adventure with siblings, family drama, betrayal, and a surprise twist! Enjoyed this one a bunch. 🦄

I‘ve never read anything quite like this for this age group. It tugged at my heartstrings and left me hopeful. 💙

God, this is brutal and beautiful and enraging. How have I never heard of any of this?! I‘m still reeling from the disturbing torture and needless murder of so many. The absolute cruelty of those in charge is inhuman. I cannot comprehend how people could ever commit such atrocities on other people. I am so glad I know even a little about these events now. As usual, Ruta broke my heart. She is the queen of historical fiction! 🇷🇴

Trying something new with a bullet journal. #bookspinbingo Loving the audio to the tagged book! No one writes historical fiction like Ruta Sepetys. 🎧 24%

Being an actor sounds awful; it is definitely not for me! 😂 Kudos to Tom and all the others who do it so well! I enjoyed this behind the scenes glimpse and everything else. ❤️

I asked the kiddo which of these three she wanted to read together next (by reading the backs). She surprised me by picking Charlotte Sometimes (one of my favorites as a kid)! It seems she‘s going to be a sucker for time travel just like me! 😍 🕰

Lily and I enjoyed the wonderful imagery and adventures of Alice! The language is quite old-fashioned and tricky for a young kiddo to understand (honestly I struggled at times), but she rarely asked for clarification, so she seemed to understand enough. 🐇 🕰 🃏 🎩 🐁 🦤 🐢 👑 💭

Cute and fun! I enjoyed the family dynamics (the aunts are my favorites) and the magic. I‘d love more backstory on Effie‘s family in the sequels!