Reviews written by Olivia Farr, Assistant Blog Manager & Staff Reviewer

THE DOOR OF NO RETURN is a powerful and sweeping middle grade read written in verse. Using the lyrical form, the reader is transported to the life of the 11-year-old Kofi, who loves to swim and has a crush on a girl named Ama. He attends school where his teacher...

A LITTLE FERRY TALE is a sweet picture book about embracing yourself as you are. Little Ferry wishes she could be like Tugboat, who was rough and fearless, Speedboat who is so fast, or Sailboat, who is carefree and graceful. She tries to be like them, but she just is...

CAN'T GET ENOUGH SPACE STUFF is a delightful non-fiction read with all sorts of fun facts, photographs, and activities about space. The book is written almost like a magazine with short articles, jokes, quizzes, games, and more. There is so much to learn about space, planets, galaxies, and nebulas that...

LARK & KASIM START A REVOLUTION is an intriguing YA contemporary about making mistakes, honesty, and neurodivergence. Lark is nonbinary and dreams of being a writer. They are currently working on a novel that they are shopping around with agents, while their main character manifests in a way that they...

WHERE'S THE DIGGER? is an adorable lift-the-flap board book featuring construction vehicles. Each page asks where a construction vehicle is with a felt flap on the opposite page for children to lift and find it. The final page asks where you are with a mirror hidden under the flap. ...

S'MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE is a cute early reading graphic novel. The book begins by teaching children how to read graphic novels (from left to right and then up and down, as well as the order within a panel). It then launches into the story of Nugget and Dog's...

SO MANY KISSES! is a cute board book about many type of kisses. The book features animals alongside questions about which type of kisses the reader would like, such as sloppy kisses, a shower of kisses, or a big, hairy, squeezy kiss. What I loved:...

GET TOGETHER is a cute book about shapes. The book gives a specific number shapes and asks what they make together. The next page puts them together to create an animal, such as a fish, bird, tiger, and rhino. The animals then join each other on one side of the...

SECRETS SO DEEP is an intriguing YA thriller. Avril has been selected to join a prestigious theatre camp on the beach in Connecticut. This particular place is one she has wanted to return to, as it was the place where her mother died when she was 5 - and where...

SPELLS FOR LOST THINGS is a lovely YA contemporary about finding a place to belong and family. Willow has always felt a fire to travel and see the world, but her mother has other ideas. Since the divorce and moving across the country, her mother's business has flourished, but Willow...

HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE is a charming push-pull-slide board book of the famous nursery rhyme. The book conveys the rhyme along with animals who are at a carnival. Each page has an interactive element that children can move themselves to participate in the story. The back has a QR code to...

MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS is a cute, interactive board book with a Christmas theme. The book features a Christmas-related character on each page with holes for fingers to go through and be the legs. It includes reindeer, Santa, a tree topper, elf, and more. The text includes a brief sentence about...

THIS LITTLE WONDER: A NO-LIMITS PRIMER is a cute board book that features famous people who have disabilities. The book speaks to recognizable stars accomplished great things, such as Stevie Wonder, Claudia Gordon, and April Holmes. The story is told in quick rhymes on one side with a brief paragraph...

DIREWOOD is an intriguing YA fantasy/horror about sisterhood and emotion. Aja is a younger sister to the completely perfect Fiona. She has a lot of feelings about it, quite complicated at heart, but she does care for Fiona deeply. Shortly after her birthday, Fiona disappears, and when Aja is approached...

THE GIRL IN THE CASTLE is an intriguing suspense read that follows Hannah and Jordan. The reader first meets Hannah while she is having a breakdown in a store, accosted by the police, and then taken to a mental institution. She has been in and out of there for years,...