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In: Middle Grade Reviews, Sports, Sports (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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Readers of Carl Deuker’s sports stories will likely enjoy T. Glen Coughlin’s latest book.  One Shot Away: A Wrestling Story follows the narratives of three wrestlers in Molly Pitcher, New Jersey, during their senior year: Jimmy O’Shea, Diggy Masters, and Trevor Crow. Although not the typical wrestler’s build at 6’2”, Jimmy is ranked best 160 pounder in the county and slated for the Wall of Champions if he can avoid the distraction of his dad’s dastardly deeds.  Mr. O’Shea’s PhD in post hole digging, predilection for thievery, and passion for alcohol threaten to jeopardize Jimmy’s goals. At 152 pounds, Diggy is living in the shadowRead More →

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Some things change, some things stay the same… that’s what they say, right?  Keeps life interesting, that’s for sure. I’ve been absent from the blog for a couple weeks now partly because it’s our regular end of the school year busy season, but also because here at PBC we’re embarking on a journey into what’s really a whole new world for us.  It’s taken some time to learn the what and the how (all the little details!), but now that we’ve got all the components in place and our “assembly line” figured out, we’re motoring through our inaugural orders. Curious? We’ll share our exciting newRead More →

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In: Mystery & Suspense (YA), Sci-Fi & Fantasy (YA), Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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Anna Waggener’s debut, Grim,  is an oddly befuddling, somewhat incomprehensible story that didn’t “come together” until about 150 pages into the book.  Switching between multiple points of view, jumping through time and space, and not giving any real explanation for much of anything, it took a lot of patience on my part to wait for that crucial “oh, now I understand” moment.  Erika, a mid-thirties divorced mother of 3 who’s unhappy with her life, is killed driving home from work on a dark stretch of highway; Rebecca, her reckless 18 year old daughter and Shawn, her straightlaced 16 year old son,  are wracked with griefRead More →

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In: Romance (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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The Right and the Real by Joëlle Anthony contains the typical adolescent girl themes: romance, friendship, and finding one’s own voice or identity, but it transcends those themes to explore the impact of poverty, addictive personalities, and religious organizations that border on cultish behavior.  Seventeen-year-old, Jamie Lexington-Cross fears being sent back to her drug addicted mom when her alcoholic dad stops attending therapy and trades one addiction for another, the Right and the Real church. Brainwashed by the petite Mira whom he takes as his bride and by the loud and certain preacher who considers himself Jesus, Robert Lexington-Cross evicts his pragmatic daughter from theirRead More →