Kerry

I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Phillips. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. (There will be minor spoilers for the ending of book one.) In Revenge of … Read more

In A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan, Sara is nervous to start middle school. She’s used to going to the Muslim school, but this is public school where she will be the minority. Not to mention her mother’s catering business is struggling, and she still hasn’t gotten her citizenship. Meanwhile, … Read more

I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of The Ice House by Monica Sherwood. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. So while I’ve been avoiding fiction books about pandemics like… well, like the plague (sorry), I thought I’d give … Read more

I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. In The Keeper of Night, Ren Scarborough has been trying to prove herself as a Reaper in 1890s … Read more

I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. In A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, Robin Blyth finds himself pushed into a desk job as he tries to make … Read more

In A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, Sibling Dex has been a tea monk for a couple of years, traveling from village to village and serving tea, listening to people’s troubles and triumphs, and spreading some happiness where possible. But Dex is feeling dissatisfied, though it’s unclear what the source is. But perhaps the answers … Read more

In Well Matched, we return to Willow Creek, where April is facing several changes. She’s just turned forty, she’s about to become an empty nester, and is planning to leave this small town at last. However, then her friend Mitch asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming gathering to get his family … Read more

I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. In Frankie & Bug, Bug’s summer isn’t going so well. Her brother now feels too old to hang out with his … Read more

I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of Dust & Grim by Chuck Wendig. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. In Dust & Grim by Chuck Wendig, Molly Grim has grown up with her father, who hasn’t been much support for … Read more

In The Dictionary of Lost Things by Pip Williams, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a small building where lexicographers—including her father—spend their days researching and defining words for the upcoming publication of the Oxford English Dictionary’s first edition. As Esme watches, she learns all about the power of words, but cannot help noticing how certain … Read more