![Dominican Spirits and Caribbean Jumbies: A Dual Review [MG Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ghost-squad.jpg?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1)
Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega 🍂 Interview @ Spooky Middle Grade 🍂 Review by Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense 🍂 Review by Cande @ Latinx Book Magic 📝 Plot summary: 12 year old Lucely lives with her papi Simon, who runs ghost tours in St. Augustine, Florida. Lucely can see the ghosts of her family. These ghosts live with her and Simon and take the form of firefly spirits (cocuyos, based on […]
![#RamadanReadathon Wrap-up [MG and YA Reviews]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ramadan-readathon-twitter-icon.jpg?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1&resize=245%2C150){kind=icon}
Amal Unbound by Aisha SaeedFormat/source: ebook/LibraryPublished: May 2018Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House)Length: 240 pages Genre: Contemporary fictionTarget Age: 9+#OwnVoices: Author is Muslim and of Pakistani descent 🍂 Q&A @ PW 🍂 Review by Sara @ Hijabi Librarians 🍂 Review by Fadwa @ Word Wonders 12 years old Amal, growing up in a Pakistani village, has just begun to realize that society places less value on girls than boys. She is the standard contemporary middle grade character with […]
![Riordan Presents: Tristan Strong and Sal & Gabi [MG Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/MGLit-52.png?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=245%2C150)
Preamble I read these two books as part of my role as a 2019 Cybils judge for middle grade speculative fiction. In these ‘brief thoughts’ reviews, I aim to highlight these books’ strengths while acknowledging my personal preferences. I toyed around while writing these (Do I need to write more from my more professional ‘children’s librarian’ perspective? Is it okay to write from a wholly personal perspective?) and ended up […]
![Two #OwnVoices Indigenous Novels [MG Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ghost-collector.jpg?fit=293%2C400&ssl=1&resize=245%2C150)
Biref thoughts on two debut #ownvoices Indigenous middle grade novels – I Can Make This Promise (contemporary) and The Ghost Collector (speculative fiction).
![Cybils 2018 Finalists: Sweep and Stone Girl [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sweep-auxier-1.jpg?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1)
Yup, I’m finally clearing this post out of my drafts… Sweep by Jonathan Auxier For nearly a century, Victorian London relied on “climbing boys”–orphans owned by chimney sweeps–to clean flues and protect homes from fire. The work was hard, thankless and brutally dangerous. Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is quite possibly the best climber who ever lived–and a girl. With her wits and will, she’s managed to beat the deadly odds time […]