

#2022Book47
This was my least favorite book in this series. I‘m glad all of the various plot lines were wrapped up nicely, but I didn‘t like the introduction of a new narrator in the 8th book.
#2022Book47
This was my least favorite book in this series. I‘m glad all of the various plot lines were wrapped up nicely, but I didn‘t like the introduction of a new narrator in the 8th book.
#2022Book46
I‘ve lost count of how many times I‘ve read this book. It got me in trouble and helped me leave a horrible teaching job a few years ago. But I was finally able to teach it in my current job and it sparked the best discussions that class has had all year. I will never be able to thank Laurie Halse Anderson enough for giving the world the gift of this book.
#2022Book45
It took me awhile to piece together all of the different storylines to figure out how everything fit together, which is always a plus for me when reading a thriller. The ending, however, I‘m still not sure if I loved or hated it.
#2022Book44
I enjoyed the first half of this book, especially all of the parts related to the Lindbergh baby. But the second half just kept packing in more and more twists, which made it a little confusing at times.
#2022Book43
This was my third time reading this and it still made me just as angry, yet hopeful, as the first time. And my students really loved it as well.
#2022Book42
I liked that this book focused on the mystery around Anastasia Romanov, because I‘m obsessed with that. But that also made this a little less interesting than other books in the series, because I wasn‘t learning anything new.
#2022Book41
This was my second time teaching this book, and I was glad to see how much my 8th graders enjoyed it.
#2022Book40
This is my favorite so far in the series. I didn't know anything about Einstein's first wife or their daughter, so everything the characters learned was also new to me (even though the circumstances were obviously fictionalized). What I like most about this series is that Haddix allows the content to mature with the readers.
#2022Book39
The historical part of this story was interesting, as I didn't know much about Henry Hudson and his explorations. Haddix also did a much better job making the villain convincing this time, as he actually had to work a little harder to carry out his plans instead of always knowing what would happen before anyone did anything.
#2022Book38
I enjoyed reading about the kids' adventures time-traveling to 1600, and the problems they ran into made for a good story. But the new teen character, introduced as a love interest for the main character, was incredibly annoying. The new villain started as a solid character, but then became kind of omniscient, and if the villain knows everything people are going to do and say before it actually happens, it kind of makes them less fun.
#2022Book37
I read this for the first time while teaching it to my sophomores. We all loved it! The main characters are flawed, but so well-written that you want them to succeed. The side characters help move the story along and there‘s so much tension throughout that it was hard to put it down at the end of class every day. This was my first time reading either of these authors, but I hope they continue to write together for years to come.
#2022Book36
I liked this book more than the first in the series. Since we were introduced to all of the background information in the first book, we got to focus on a few of the main characters in this one. Throwing the characters back into the 15th century for the majority of the book was a great plot point, as it gave the characters more to do and forced them to work with what they could access in that time period.
#2022Book35
I read this as a young teenager and really liked it. Upon rereading it, I still enjoyed it for the most part. Reading it as an adult, though, I noticed that a lot of the plot points' resolutions were just a little too convenient.
#2022Book34
This book follows a young orphan boy who wants to learn more about his past and the parrot who just might be able to tell him what he needs to know. It's a cute coming-of-age novel that would be perfect for upper elementary or junior high students.
#2022Book33
When I started this book, it felt like one of those where all of the characters are just a little too eccentric to be believable. But as the story went on, it became clear that their awkwardness and unusual behavior is due to their past and current traumas. Also, this book includes one of the most relatable descriptions of grief I've read in a long time.
#2022Book32
I have to admit, I find the controversy surrounding this story more interesting than the story itself. Krakauer is a good writer, but he frequently lets the story get bogged down in repetitive details and spends too much time jumping around instead of just telling what happened from start to end.
#2022Book31
This might end up as one of my new favorite books. The characters are entertaining and feel incredibly real. Their relationships with each other make you want to root for them, and the end is absolutely heartbreaking.
#2022Book30
You never know what you're going to get with short story collections, but it's usually a mix of really good stories and pretty bad stories. With this collection, however, I loved almost every single story. And even the ones I didn't love, I still really liked. They're all slightly unsettling and it's frequently unclear if the story is grounded in reality or in a more fantastical setting.
#2022Book29
This was my least favorite of the series so far, but I still really enjoyed it. I liked the new characters that were introduced, but the actual mystery felt too thrown together instead of carefully plotted like the mysteries from the first three books.
#2022Book28
This is my favorite so far from this series. There was a lot more action and a few new characters to both love and hate. My only complaint is that one of the romantic plotlines felt a little forced.
#2022Book27
I liked this book even more than the first in the series. My favorite side character from the first book was given way more to do in this one and we got to meet the fantastic new character of Detective Riley's former boss. A few of the solves seemed a little unrealistic, but overall, it was a great and suspenseful read.
#2022Book26
This was a fairly standard suspense novel for the majority of the story. The main character was great, but a few of the side characters were a little one-dimensional. The ending of the story, however, made the whole book worth it. I could see the ending making some people mad, but I thought it was the best part.
#2022Book25
Even after all the times I've read it, this remains one of my favorite books to read and teach.
#2022Book24
Just like the first two books in the Flavia de Luce series, I absolutely loved this one. All of the characters are wonderful, the mystery is compelling, and if I have a daughter who isn't exactly like Flavia, then I'm sending her back!
#2022Book23
This was my second time teaching this book and my students loved it just as much as I do!
#2022Book22
For the most part, I enjoyed this book and was glad to get more insight into parts of history that we usually just see from an American perspective. However, I definitely should have read it instead of listening to the audiobook, because there were way too many parts (especially the characters' names) that didn't stick with me as well because I was only hearing them instead of seeing them.
#2022Book21
Considering how "anti-spoiler" I am, I didn't think I was going to enjoy a book that gives away the ending with the title. However, Silvera managed to make me care about these characters and the people around them so much that it didn't even matter that I already knew they couldn't survive to the last page.
#2022Book20
I first read this book 12 years ago and fell in love with the characters. A few weeks ago, I decided it had been awhile since I'd had my heart ripped out and stomped on, so I decided to read it again. I ended up loving it even more this time around and will definitely be rereading it again in the future.
#2022Book19
If you had told me that a book about a basketball player would make me cry like a baby, I would have said you were crazy. This novel, written in verse, is now one of my favorite books, and my students loved it just as much as I do.
#2022Book18
Out of all the books I teach, this one tends to be a favorite of all my students. I'm glad they get as much out of it as I do.
#2022Book17
I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. Romance isn't usually my genre, but all of the characters were so fun. And, it didn't include my least favorite "all of our problems could be solved if we just had a 5-minute conversation with each other" trope.
#2022Book16
Every time I read this book, I enjoy it a little bit more. While I'm not sure my students got much out of it, I still find myself surprised by the lengths the boys in this book go to in order to survive and assert their dominance over the others.
#2022Book15
This book was well-written and included a lot of information that wasn't really covered throughout the 2016 election. However, as with most political books, a lot of the information is no longer as relevant several years later.
#2022Book14
This is my third time reading this book, and my second time teaching it. I'm so glad my students loved it just as much as I did.
#2022Book13
I wish I could have read this as a teenager so I could see if I had different feelings about one of the relationships in the book. Because reading it as an adult, I was 100% opposed to it. That being said, I loved the writing style and I wish I could have a whole book just focusing on the mother's teen years, because just the flashbacks weren't enough for me.
#2022Book12
I enjoyed most of this book. The apothecary from the title was definitely my favorite character, and I wish we'd gotten even more of her story. I also liked the protagonist from the "present day" chapters. The third narrator, though, wasn't as interesting and I would have preferred to have all of the focus on the other two narrators. The ending also seemed a bit rushed, especially considering how much buildup there was leading to it.
#2022Book11
I've been a fan of Gabrielle Union since her 7th Heaven days. I always knew she was a great actress, but I didn't realize how truly funny she is. She writes with warmth, honesty, and humor, taking on the toughest events she's experienced. If you enjoy her movies, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this. And if you have no idea who she is, I highly recommend you watch everything she's been in and then pick up a copy of this.
#2022Book10
This is one of my favorite books and I love getting to teach it every year.
#2022Book9
I usually like stories that have multiple plot lines all moving toward each other. In this case, though, there might have been a few too many ideas all trying to make sense together. I really liked the flashbacks into the main characters' pasts, but some of their interactions in the present seemed a bit too forced.
#2022Book8
I didn't really like this book when I read it in high school. Re-reading it as an adult, though, I have a new appreciation for the relationship between George and Lennie. And, while I usually find Steinbeck a bit too long-winded, I actually wish he'd made this story longer.
#2022Book7
Because this novel is made up of short stories that share characters, some of the stories are better than others. I enjoyed most of the stories, but a couple drifted into "is this necessary" territory (content warnings for pedophilia and a woman falling in love with her rapist). Despite those couple of stories, Allende's writing throughout the whole book is absolutely gorgeous and I‘ll definitely read more of her books in the future.
#2022Book6
I have loved Anne of Green Gables since I first watched the Megan Follows mini-series when I was five. I also binge-watched Anne with an E on Netflix and loved every minute of it. So to say I was excited to read this book about Anne Shirley's early life is an understatement. Wilson did an amazing job of capturing Anne's spirit and giving readers insight into everything she experienced before finding a home with the Cuthberts.
#2022Book5
This book fell into the same problem as the first book in the series: characters who should definitely know better making really stupid mistakes. And while I liked certain aspects of the mystery in this story, it bothered me that the author decided to go in the direction of letting a couple of real-life murderers slightly off the hook by including a fictional killer who "really" committed many of their crimes.
#2022Book4
This one was better than the first in the series and pretty much on the same level as the second. One of the more interesting characters from the first book was back and featured prominently, but one of the best characters from the second book was missing completely. The story itself was pretty solid, though predictable. The best part wasn't even the mystery, though, it was the side plot featuring Brigid's parents and their history.
#2022Book3
This book was so much better than the first in the series. The characters' actions are more believable and Masterman throws in enough red herrings that it's not always easy to know who to trust at any given moment.
#2022Book2
The mystery part of this novel was pretty good and the identity of the killer wasn't revealed (or obvious) too early. But some of the decisions made by the main character were so stupid that I found it difficult to believe she was a former FBI special agent.
#2022Book1
I was a kid in the 90s, so I heard only sanitized versions of the stories in this book. As an adult, I've learned so much more about how horribly famous (and infamous) women were treated throughout the decade. If I taught journalism at the college level, I would absolutely have my students read this as an example of how the media affects the way certain people are perceived by the public.
#2021Book135
I didn't know what to expect going into this book, but I loved every single page. The characters are so real and their stories are both heartbreaking and inspiring. The story itself is wonderfully written, but Zentner is amazing at characterization.
#2021Book134
The female narrator in this book was great. We follow her through her childhood on a whaling ship to her college days and on her various journeys back to the frozen north. The male narrator was just okay. His storyline focused more on all of the women he slept with than on his own arctic exploration. The best parts of the book, however, were the sections where the two characters were finally together.
#2021Book133
I liked this book better than the second in the series, but not as much as the first. It was a surprisingly good depiction of PTSD for a middle-grade fairy tale, and I enjoyed getting to see more of one of the side characters from the second book.