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Everything We Never Said by Sloan Harlow tells a poignant story about domestic violence and the impacts of unmanaged anger. Harlow’s novel features Ella Graham, a senior at North Davis High School in Georgia. She is a living ghost girl after losing her best friend, Hayley Miller, in a car accident. Because Ella had been driving and had consumed a single beer, she blames herself for the accident and the loss of her friend. As Ella struggles to go on with her life, she finds solace in Hayley’s former boyfriend, Sawyer Hawkins, who is similarly suffering. Having also loved Hayley, Sawyer knows Ella’s pain. AsRead More →

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Basketball defines Barclay Elliot. As captain of the Chitwood High School basketball team in Georgia, Barclay dreams of eventually putting his talent to the test at a big-city D1 school with his best friend Zack Ito. The protagonist in Time Out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald, Barclay believes that a team is a family who shares everything and supports one another; it is a place where talent, strength, and fortitude mix to hold one another up, no matter the burden. However, when his biggest fan and the father figure in his life, his grandpa Scratch dies before seeing the Wildcats win anotherRead More →

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In her novel The Weight of Blood, Tiffany D. Jackson tackles a tough topic: segregated proms and their underlying societal racism. She also unpacks light-skin privilege and explores telekinesis so that she can effectively paint a picture of her protagonist, Madison Washington (Maddy). Under the thumb of an abusive father, Maddy is unaware that she’s strong, brave, and powerful. She dreams of someday being part of a movie crew and sharing a Hollywood set with famous superstars. She envisions working in the design department, sewing elaborate costumes or maybe creating in the kitchen, cooking gourmet meals. But more than anything, she “wants someone to loveRead More →

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In: General Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Mystery & Suspense
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Justina Ireland explores the notion of unfairness in her novel for middle grade readers, Ophie’s Ghosts.  Readers will accompany Ireland on this justice-seeking journey as she asks important questions: How do we live, survive, and thrive in a system that is unjust? How do we remain strong and unbent, willing to do the right thing, even when it puts our own comfort and lives at risk? What are we willing to put on the line in the name of justice that is denied to us? How do we grieve when the ghosts of our loss appear in the everyday suffering of those around us? AsRead More →