#BookReview: The Inmate by @Freida_McFadden @lexilikestoread @Sourcebooks

Synopsis: There are three rules Brooke Sullivan must follow as a new nurse practitioner at a men's maximum-security 1) Treat all prisoners with respect. 2) Never reveal any personal information. 3) Never EVER become too friendly with the inmates. But none of the staff at the prison knows Brooke has already broken the rules. Nobody knows about her intimate connection to Shane Nelson, one of the penitentiary's most notorious and dangerous inmates. And they certainly don't know that Shane was Brooke's high school sweetheart―the star quarterback who is now spending the rest of his life in prison for a series of grisly murders. Or that Brooke's testimony was what put him there. But Shane knows. And he will never forget.

#BookReview: The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle by @TarynSouders @SourcebooksKids

Synopsis: When Grady and his dad learn that the town oddball, Eudora "Kooky" Klinch left something for them in her will, they can only imagine what it might be. When it turns out it's an old 300-year-old piece of cloth, they are bitterly disappointed. But the cloth comes with a note saying, "This is no ordinary piece of needlework. It's a treasure map. Riddles and Clues. To the victor go the riches." Grady's dad dismisses it, but Grady thinks this could be the chance of a lifetime. With the help of his friends Thad, Clemmie, and the town dog Ophelia, Grady is determined to crack the clues and find the treasure.

But when someone tries to break into Grady's house one night, and then the local antiques expert who examined the tapestry is found unconscious, Grady realizes that he's not the only one who knows about the treasure map. There's more at risk than he bargained for, and solving this mystery just got a lot more dangerous.

This title will be released on July 11, 2023.

#BookReview: The Hayley Mysteries: The Haunted Studio (Hayley Mysteries #1) by Hayley LeBlanc

Synopsis: The start to an exciting new middle grade mystery series from Youtube sensation Hayley LeBlanc! When Hayley is cast as the lead in a Nancy Drew like kids TV show, strange things start happening around the studio and she becomes a real life sleuth.

When Hayely LeBlanc is cast as the lead of a new Nancy Drew-like TV show, she's so excited...even if there are rumors of hauntings surrounding the Silver Screen Studios. It's LA, she thinks—there are ghost stories everywhere!

But to her surprise, strange things actually start happening as production ramps up. Lights flicker, cold blasts of air come out of nowhere, and one day the electricity is cut to the studio entirely with no clear cause. Can Hayley and her two best friends solve the mystery of the haunted studio...before it means curtains for their show?

#BookReview: The Girl in White by Lindsay Currie

Synopsis: Sweet Molly once lived in Eastport
Sweet Molly once loved the sea
Sweet Molly lost Liam to the shadows
Now Sweet Molly is coming for ye …

Mallory hasn't quite adapted to life in her new town of Eastport yet. Maybe it's because everyone is obsessed with keeping the town's reputation as one of the most haunted places to visit.

And thanks to the nightmares she's had since arriving, Mallory is having a hard time sleeping. Combined with the unsettling sensation of being watched and losing chunks of time, she’s worried that maybe the ghost stories she’s been quick to dismiss might actually be real.

When Mallory has a terrifying encounter with the same old woman from her dreams, she's not sure what to do. With Eastport gearing up to celebrate the anniversary of their first recorded legend Mallory is forced to investigate the one legend she's always secretly been afraid of . . . Sweet Molly.

#BookReview: The Haunted Studio (The Hayley Mysteries, #1) by Hayley LeBlanc

Synopsis: The start to an exciting new middle grade mystery series from Youtube sensation Hayley LeBlanc! When Hayley is cast as the lead in a Nancy Drew like kids TV show, strange things start happening around the studio and she becomes a real life sleuth.

When Hayely LeBlanc is cast as the lead of a new Nancy Drew-like TV show, she's so excited...even if there are rumors of hauntings surrounding the Silver Screen Studios. It's LA, she thinks—there are ghost stories everywhere!

But to her surprise, strange things actually start happening as production ramps up. Lights flicker, cold blasts of air come out of nowhere, and one day the electricity is cut to the studio entirely with no clear cause. Can Hayley and her two best friends solve the mystery of the haunted studio...before it means curtains for their show?

#BookReview: The Pants Project by @cat_clarke

Synopsis: Whoever wrote the uniform policy decided (whyyy?) that girls had to wear skirts, while boys were allowed to wear pants.

Sexist. Dumb. Unfair.

“Girls must wear a black, pleated, knee-length skirt.”

I bet I read those words a hundred times during summer vacation. The problem wasn’t the last word in that sentence. Skirt wasn’t really the issue, not for me. 
The issue was the first word. Girls.

Here’s the thing:
I may seem like a girl, but on the inside, I’m a boy.

#BookReview: Black Boy, Black Boy by Ali Kamanda, Jorge Redmond, Ken Daley (Illustrator) @SourcebooksKids

Synopsis: Inspire Black boys to imagine all the great things they can do while celebrating remarkable moments from Black history!

Dear boy, Black boy, I believe in you so.

Let's start your story—ready, set, go.

From athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick to musician Sam Cooke, inventor Elijah McCoy and writer Chinua Achebe, there are so many inspirational men in Black history. This lyrical, rhythmic text encourages boys to imagine everything they can be and the great things they can do, drawing on the strength of people throughout history that paved the way for Black boys today.

Black Boy, Black Boy tells today's boys: you have the courage, you are the light. It's a new day! Be inspired and motivated by drawing on the history of the role models that came before you.

Black Boy, Black Boy is perfect for those looking for:

-inspirational books for kids

-joyful Black childrens' books

-Black history books for kids

#BookReview: You Are Not Alone by Alphabet Rockers, Ashley Evans (Illustrator), Kaitlin McGaw, Tommy Shepherd @SourcebooksKids

Synopsis: From the Grammy award-nominated hip-hop group Alphabet Rockers comes an empowering picture book that invites kids to to love themselves, stand up to hate, and foster inclusivity among their peers!

When I say something is unfair to me, but it's fair for you, what does that make it?
When I meditate, it all gets clear.
And if you listen, you will really hear.
I am not alone. I am enough.

It can be scary to feel like you're all on your own, especially in the face of prejudice. But always remember: you are not alone. Inspired by the Alphabet Rockers' empowering song "Not Alone," this uplifting picture book reassures kids that they belong and encourages them to love their beautiful selves and their identities, use their voices against hate, and step up for one another and have one another's backs no matter what.

#BookReview: 100 African Americans Who Shaped American History @duopressbooks and @sourcebookskids

Synopsis: Amazing stories of 100 Black Americans who everyone should know—for kids eight and up

Discover artists, activists, icons, and legends throughout American history! 100 African Americans Who Shaped American History introduces kids of all ages to some of the most influential Black Americans from the very beginning of the country all the way up to present day. Learn all about the incredible lives and lasting legacies of figures like Harriet Tubman, Duke Ellington, Malcolm X, Mae Jemison, and many more!

This biography book for kids features

• 100 easy-to-read one-page biographies: Find out how these Black Americans changed the course of history!
• Illustrated portraits: Each biography includes an illustration to help bring history to life!
• A timeline, trivia questions, project ideas and more: Boost your learning and test your knowledge with fun activities and resources!

Engaging and packed with facts, 100 African Americans Who Shaped American History is the perfect history gift for curious kids!

#BookReview: The Young Activist’s Dictionary of Social Justice @SourcebooksKids

Synopsis: A Is for Ally, Advocate, Anti-Racist, Ancestors, and Assembly 

Using simple explanations and appealing illustrations in a familiar A-to-Z format, The Young Activist's Dictionary of Social Justice will teach kids the new vocabulary of change. 

Vetted by an anti-bias, anti-racism educator, this essential new resource is packed with easily understandable definitions of timely concepts. Each beautifully designed spread represents a letter and provides concise, age-appropriate definitions for 10 or more terms, with subject matter spanning issues like racial justice, climate change, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, income disparity, voter engagement, and immigration. In addition to information, the pages are also full of inspiration: Bite-sized bios accompany key terms, illuminating the stories of justice advocates who got involved with a cause at a young age. Infographics and sidebars bring complementary concepts to life. And with the rich resource section in the back, kids can read more about how to take action on the cause that’s meaningful to them.

Read on, and let’s work together for a more equal world for all.

Featuring:
Audrey Faye Hendricks (arrest)
Claudette Colvin (boycott)
Iqbal Masih (child labor) 
Greta Thunberg (climate justice)
Malala Yousafzai (education)
Mari Copeny (environmental racism)
Parkland Survivors (gun control)
Ruby Bridges (integration)
Frederick Douglass (literacy)
John Lewis (nonviolence)
Clara Lemlich (organize)
Marley Dias (representation)
Dolores Huerta (strike)
Jazz Jennings (transition) 
Autumn Peltier (water protector)

#BookReview @Sourcebooks: The Storyteller's Death by @anndcardinal

Synopsis: From International Latino Book Award-winning author Ann Dávila Cardinal comes a gorgeously written family saga about a Puerto Rican teenager who finds herself gifted (or cursed?) with a strange ability.

There was always an old woman dying in the back room of her family’s house when Isla was a child... 

Isla Larsen Sanchez’s life begins to unravel when her father passes away. Instead of being comforted at home in New Jersey, her mother starts leaving her in Puerto Rico with her grandmother and great-aunt each summer like a piece of forgotten luggage.

When Isla turns eighteen, her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies. It is then that Isla discovers she has a gift passed down through her family’s cuentistas. The tales of dead family storytellers are brought back to life, replaying themselves over and over in front of her.

At first, Isla is enchanted by this connection to the Sanchez cuentistas. But when Isla has a vision of an old murder mystery, she realizes that if she can't solve it to make the loop end, these seemingly harmless stories could cost Isla her life.

This title will be released on October 4, 2022.

#BookReview: They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe

Synopsis: For fans of Jennifer McMahon and Silvia Moreno-Garcia comes a haunting and atmospheric new novel from debut author Katrina Monroe.

They say Cape Disappointment is haunted.
That if you can hear the call of the water
It's already too late...

Tourists used to flock to Cape Disappointment in droves to visit the rocky shoreline and the creaky old lighthouse. But the tourists are gone now, and when Meredith Strand returns to her childhood home on the eve of her divorce, young daughter in tow, the Cape seems more haunted by regret than any malevolent force.

But her mother, suffering from Alzheimer's, is convinced the stories are real. Not only is there something in the water, but it's watching them. Waiting for them. Reaching out to Meredith's daughter the way it has to every woman in their line for generations—ready to reclaim what once was stolen.

This title will be released on July 12, 2022.

#BookReview: Alone in the Woods by @rebeccabehrens @SourcebooksKids

Synopsis: From the author of The Disaster Days comes a thrilling survival story about two former best friends who must work together to stay alive after getting lost in a remote national forest.

Jocelyn and Alex have always been best friends...until they aren't. Jocelyn's not sure what happened, but she hopes the annual joint-family vacation in the isolated north woods will be the perfect spot to rekindle their friendship.

But Alex still isn't herself when they get to the cabin. And Jocelyn reaches a breaking point during a rafting trip that goes horribly wrong. When the girls' tube tears it leaves them stranded and alone. And before they know it, the two are hopelessly lost.

Wearing swimsuits and water shoes and with only the contents of their wet backpack, the girls face threats from the elements. And as they spend days and nights lost in the wilderness, they'll have to overcome their fractured friendship to make it out of the woods alive.

#BookReview: COOP Knows the Scoop by @TarynSouders @SourcebooksKids

Synopsis: "An engrossing, good-humored page-turner. " - Kirkus Reviews 

"Artfully composed and offering several genuine surprises, this mystery will have young readers speeding through it in a quest to uncover the truth." - Booklist 

The whole town is talking about what's buried beneath the playground...

Windy Bottom, Georgia is usually a peaceful place. Coop helps his mom at her café and bookstore, hangs out with his grandpa, and bikes around with his friends Justice and Liberty. The town is full of all kinds of interesting people, but no one has ever caused a problem. Until now.

And somehow, Gramps is taking all the blame! It seems like there are a lot of secrets that were buried in their small town after all...

Will Coop and his friends get to the bottom of the mystery and clear Gramps's name before it's too late? 

#BookReview: The Kidnap Years by David Stout

Synopsis: The astonishing true history of the kidnapping open-season that terrorized America

The Great Depression was a time of desperation in America--parents struggled to feed their children and unemployment was at a record high. Adding to the lawlessness of the decade, thugs with submachine guns and corrupt law-enforcement officers ran rampant. But amidst this panic, there was one sure-fire way to make money, one used by criminals and resourceful civilians alike: kidnapping.

Jump into this forgotten history with Edgar Award-winning author David Stout as he explores the reports of missing people that inundated newspapers at the time. Learn the horrifying details of these abduction cases, from the methods used and the investigative processes to the personal histories of the culprits and victims. All of this culminates with the most infamous kidnapping in American history, the one that targeted an international celebrity and changed legislation forever: the Lindbergh kidnapping.

The Kidnap Years is a gritty, visceral, thoughtfully reported page-turner that chronicles the sweep of abductions that afflicted all corners of the country as desperate people were pushed to do the unthinkable.

#BookReview: Alice in Zombieland by Nickolas Cook and Lewis Carroll with @thelitcoffaerie

Reviewed By: Jaiden K. 

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Number of Pages: 108
Recommended Age Group: Adult

Fiction Genre: Horror, Retelling, Fantasy

How I Acquired this book: Book Depository

Overall rating: ★★★★
Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book:
"They were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank-the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, and all dripping wet, cross, and uncomfortable. All of them were covered in Alice's now cold and congealed blood, which made them even tastier looking to poor hungry Alice."

When little Alice follows the Black Rat down into the gaping darkness of an open grave, she falls and falls. And soon finds herself in an undead nightmare of rotting flesh and insanity. Venturing further into this land of zombies and monsters, she encounters characters both creepy and madcap along the way. But there's something else troubling poor Alice: her skin is rotting and her hair is falling out. She's cold. And she has the haunting feeling that if she remains in Zombieland any longer, she might never leave.

Can Alice escape Zombieland before the Dead Red Queen catches up to her?

#BookReview: Chasing Red (Red #1) by Isabelle Ronin

  They said she was going to be my ruin...
Then let her ruin me.

Caleb Lockhart has everything—wealth, adoration, a brilliant future. Until a chance encounter with a siren in a red dress changes everything. Until he meets the woman he dubs Red.

Veronica Strafford's past makes it hard for her to trust anyone. Now, kicked out of her apartment, she reluctantly accepts Caleb's offer for a place to stay.

Caleb feels intensely drawn to Veronica. And, for the first time in his life, he really wants something—someone. Too bad Veronica's heart might just be the one thing Caleb can't win.

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict #BookReview

  A vivid and mesmerizing novel about the extraordinary woman who married and worked with one of the greatest scientists in history.

What secrets may have lurked in the shadows of Albert Einstein’s fame? His first wife, Mileva “Mitza” Marić, was more than the devoted mother of their three children—she was also a brilliant physicist in her own right, and her contributions to the special theory of relativity have been hotly debated for more than a century.

In 1896, the extraordinarily gifted Mileva is the only woman studying physics at an elite school in Zürich. There, she falls for charismatic fellow student Albert Einstein, who promises to treat her as an equal in both love and science. But as Albert’s fame grows, so too does Mileva’s worry that her light will be lost in her husband’s shadow forever.

A literary historical in the tradition of The Paris Wife and Mrs. Poe, The Other Einstein reveals a complicated partnership that is as fascinating as it is troubling.

The Homecoming by @stacieramey @Sourcebooks #BookReview

  Forced to return to his estranged family, John discovers how hard it is to truly go home.

It's been a year since John lost his girlfriend, Leah, to suicide. Living with his uncle keeps his mind from the tragedy and his screwed up family-until he gets into trouble and a judge sends him back home. With a neglectful mother and abusive brother, John's homecoming is far from happy.

As he tries to navigate and repair the relationships he abandoned years ago, Emily, the girl next door, is the only bright spot. She's sweet and smart and makes him think his heart may finally be healing. But tragedy isn't far away, and John must soon face an impossible decision: save his family or save himself.

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict #BookPromo

    A vivid and mesmerizing novel about the extraordinary woman who married and worked with one of the greatest scientists in history.

What secrets may have lurked in the shadows of Albert Einstein’s fame? His first wife, Mileva “Mitza” Marić, was more than the devoted mother of their three children—she was also a brilliant physicist in her own right, and her contributions to the special theory of relativity have been hotly debated for more than a century.

In 1896, the extraordinarily gifted Mileva is the only woman studying physics at an elite school in Zürich. There, she falls for charismatic fellow student Albert Einstein, who promises to treat her as an equal in both love and science. But as Albert’s fame grows, so too does Mileva’s worry that her light will be lost in her husband’s shadow forever.

A literary historical in the tradition of The Paris Wife and Mrs. Poe, The Other Einstein reveals a complicated partnership that is as fascinating as it is troubling.