Reviews written by Alanna Shaw

Let me start by saying that this cover sucked me in. It's gorgeous! Then I read the summary and realized it was a retelling of Hamlet. I am a sucker for retellings of the classics. I love the fresh spins they bring when they are done correctly. ...

I picked Wither for my YA book club pick in September. Since I'm off on summer break, I thought I would get a head start on the reading before going back to work in a few weeks. I have heard many positive things about this series, but I really had...

Imagine that The Hunger Games and Divergent series got together and had a baby. That was what The Testing was like. It was a smashup of everything you enjoyed from Tris/Four and Katniss/Peeta with a bit of newness to keep things fresh. Right away...

I am a big fan of nonfiction for kids. I always buy informational/nonfiction books for my kids to read. I figure, reading is important on its own, so why not get a 2-for-1 deal in the process? On a good day, they might learn something from that book! ...

This was such a fun book! There is something to be said about a nonfiction book that can read like a narrative. What kid wouldn't like hearing a fascinating story, only to find out that it's true! In Hey, Charleston!...

Stinkerific. The end. Ok, I'll explain. This book managed to hit some of my bookish pet peeves, which ruined it for me. First off, I really get annoyed when books create words. I understand that sometimes this is needed to help create a setting...

Attention all Llama Llama Red Pajama fans: There is another adorable Anna Dewdney book for you! Fans of Llama Llama will instantly fall in love with Roly Poly Pangolin. This little Roly Poly reminded me so much of my beloved Llama. You will notice...

Marjane is back and older in Persepolis 2. Now that she is living and attending school in Austria, she has a whole new set of problems to deal with. I have to admit that I realized how selfish I could be when I read her story this time around. It...

In one word: Poignant. For anyone that does not like to approach nonfiction should give Persepolis a chance. It's an interesting look into Iranian culture during the Iranian Revolution. In this edition of Persepolis, the young Marji learns many lessons about life and her...

Arise is the second book in the Hereafter series by Tara Hudson. The first book, Hereafter, was amazing. I loved it. The story of a living boy falling in love with a ghost was so fresh (at the time) that I found myself completely caught up by their romance. ...

This book is a must read. Period. I loved everything about it! Everything. Ann is hilarious. She is so real, it will be hard not to relate to her. The opening scene begins with her bathing suit shopping while her mom picks up a...

Arlo Needs Glasses has to be one of the cutest picture books I have ever seen. I'm not just saying that because the fuzzy dog is wearing some pretty rad glasses, or because my 5 year-old son came home from VPK talking about this book and insisting that I get...

Chester the raccoon is back! If you enjoyed The Kissing Hand, you will enjoy Chester's lessons in A Kiss Goodbye. Chester has to move, and he is not happy about it! In fact, he does not want to go. But mama raccoon explains in...

Things that make you go hmm... That's pretty much SYLO in a nutshell. This is going to be very hard to explain without giving away everything. Here is what I can tell you right now:...

Cute. I hate to say this one didn't leave a huge lasting impression on me, but I did enjoy reading it. The writing style was probably my favorite part. The author used great imagery throughout the book. I could imagine...