Category: review

A Properly Unhaunted Place Offers A Creative Twist on Ghost Stories [Review]

26 April 2018 / review / 0 Comments
A Properly Unhaunted Place Offers A Creative Twist on Ghost Stories [Review]

A Properly Unhaunted Place by William Alexander Illustrator: Kelly Murphy Format/Source: Hardcover/library Published: August 2017 Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books Length: 192 pages Genre: Middle grade speculative Cybils 2017 finalist ★★★★½       At the start of A Properly Unhaunted Place, Rosa and her mother, a talented appeasement librarian, have just moved to Ingot. Rosa feels frustrated with the movie because Ingot is “the only unhaunted place that Rosa had ever […]

Continue reading »

Oji-Cree Elder Ma-Nee Chacaby’s Extraordinary Life Story [Review]

23 April 2018 / review / 2 Comments
Oji-Cree Elder Ma-Nee Chacaby’s Extraordinary Life Story [Review]

A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer Format/Source: Paperback/Purchased Published: May 2016 Publisher: University of Manitoba Press Length: 264 pages Genre: Memoir ★★★★     The subtitle of this aptly describes its content. Born in 1950 in a tuberculosis sanatorium, Chacaby was raised in a remote Ojibwa-Cree community in Ontario by her extraordinary grandmother, who was estimated to have been born in the 1860s.  […]

Continue reading »

Learning About Identity with Ash Hardell’s The ABC’s of LGBT+ [Review]

23 March 2018 / review / 0 Comments
Learning About Identity with Ash Hardell’s The ABC’s of LGBT+ [Review]

The ABC’s of LGBT+ by Ash Hardell* *In the time since this book was published, Ash both changed their name and got married, hence why I say this book is by Ash Hardell but the print version says otherwise. Format/Source: Paperback/Library (Also available for legitimate free download!) Published: October 2016 Publisher: Mango Media Length: 170 pages Genre: Non-fiction ★★★★★ The ABC’s of LGBT+ introduces over 100 terms to describe gender, sexual, and romantic identities. The book consists […]

Continue reading »

A Graphic Novel Review?! Yup, and it’s a Stunning One!

15 March 2018 / review / 0 Comments
A Graphic Novel Review?! Yup, and it’s a Stunning One!

Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez Format/Source: Hardcover/library Published: 2017 Publisher: Nobrow Press Length: 70 pages Genre: Middle grade spec fic (spooky) ★★★★½  Lorena Alvarez’s debut graphic novel for middle grade readers, Nightlights, tells the story of Sandy, a young girl who loves to draw. Sandy’s focus on her talent makes her an outcast among her peers at school. At night, Sandy catches the little lights that float around her bedroom. As she explains, “I catch the […]

Continue reading »

Review + Discussion Questions for Laura Lam’s Pantomime

28 February 2018 / review / 0 Comments
Review + Discussion Questions for Laura Lam’s Pantomime

Pantomime by Laura Lam Series: Micah Grey #1 Format/Source: Paperback/library Published: 2016 Publisher: Pan Macmillan (Angry Robot originally published this book in 2013.) Length: 386 pages Genre: Fantasy/speculative fiction ★★★★   Pantomime, the first book in a trilogy, follows Micah Grey as they learn what it means to be themself in terms of gender, sexual, and personal identity. Set in a steampunk world of forgotten magic and varied cultures, Pantomime tells a fantastical story featuring an […]

Continue reading »