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In The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Harlem teen Xiomara has a lot to deal with. She is just starting to notice boys, beginning to have serious questions about her Catholic faith, and suspecting that her twin brother is gay. She also writes poetry, but hides it from everyone—especially her intensely strict mother. However, when a…
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Rick Riordan’s debut novel, Big Red Tequila, tells the story of Jackson “Tres” Navarre, who has just returned to San Antonio from San Francisco. He spent ten years there, following the murder of his father, Jackson Navarre the Second. Now, he intends to solve this most personal case, long gone cold. However, when he starts to…
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The final book of the Percy Jackson series, The Last Olympian, strangely reminds me of an Avengers movie—a major battle, most of the important characters in one place, lots of danger and a fast-paced plot. But instead of superheroes, purple aliens with gold gloves, and so-called figures from Norse mythology, we have the ever-sarcastic Percy Jackson…
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I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of Stargazing by Jen Wang. Therefore, the version I read is just a proof and not the final version, so I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. Stargazing is Jen Wang’s first middle grade graphic novel about two young girls, Christine and Moon, who become unlikely friends.…
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The third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Titan’s Curse, begins during winter break of Percy’s seventh grade year. He, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia are trying to help two newly discovered demigods get to Camp Half-Blood. However, in the attempt, a monster takes Annabeth captive. Desperate, Percy and his friends team…
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The Sea of Monsters picks up several months after the first book, The Lightning Thief, ends. On Percy’s last day of seventh grade, a group of creatures attack him in gym class. He and his new friend, Tyson, flee after reuniting with Annabeth, fellow demigod. They return to Camp Half-Blood to find the tree that protects…
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If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know I’ve been a fan of Rick Riordan for over a decade, and still follow his mythology-themed books. However, it’s been years since I read some of them, so I thought I’d revisit them now, starting with Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The first book in this series, The…
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I read this a while back, but wanted to revisit it and finally write a review for it! The Martian by Andy Weir is one of the most impressive debut novels out there. It’s also one of the best modern sci-fi books I’ve read. Mark Watney, along with five other astronauts, is caught in a dust…
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I’ve rarely been so grateful I didn’t have to wait for a sequel. The last time concerned A Conjuring of Light, also by V. E. Schwab. I guess it’s lucky I joined her fanbase recently. Too bad I’m catching up now… *tears hair out* So Vengeful begins five years after Vicious (therefore beware: minor spoilers for the first book…
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The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang tells the story of Sebastian, prince of Belgium, who travels to Paris for a summer with his parents. There, he hears of a rather scandalous but fabulous dress a lady wore to a dance, and he decides to seek out the person who made it—because Sebastian secretly loves…