"I always thought the biggest problem in my life was my name, Naomi Soledad León Outlaw, but little did I know that it was the least of my troubles, or that someday I would live up to it." So opens Pam Muñoz Ryan’s swiftly moving coming-of-age...
Let the weekend games continue: if yesterday's basketball story was a (mostly) feel-good, rah-rah fest, today's post is definitely more somber. The kids in this game are older, harder, more cynical ...
If it's Saturday, it must be time to head to a court, field, gym, pool, or some sort of athletic facility ...
Her name is Clara Lee .. "first and last. It just sounds better that way. Like peanut butter and jelly, like trick-or-treat, or fairy and princess, those words just go together. Just like me, Clara Lee." She's the newest – and first Korean American! – heroine from...
What better way to get over a broken heart than moving into a unique, welcoming bookstore, filled not only with fabulous books but a few wise (less than living) writers, too? As long as they can spin a convincing yarn, why quibble with such minor...
I admit it: Reading this put me in freak-out mode. Do NOT leave it lying around for your young kiddies to find ...
Sometimes even the saddest tragedies can eventually lead to happy new beginnings ...
Long, long ago, the Eight Noble Sages helped a noble warrior found the ancient great nation of Saiunkoku, "the country of the coloured clouds," and eventually "brought about the dawning of the Age of Man." Therein lies the problem, of course ...
Sometimes my inability to process dialects actually has an upside ...
It's New Year's Eve 2014 ...
Talk about testosterone gone awry: The Chocolate War is a disturbing look at how boys – and the men from whom they are supposed to learn – mistreat, outmaneuver, and abuse one another.
Jerry...
Martha Boyle opens her front door one day to find the mother of her dead classmate, Olive Barstow, with what seems to be almost a message from beyond. Olive, a girl too new in...
The title of this diverse anthology is taken from the opening line of Afghan fairy tales, not unlike 'once upon a time.' In this case, afsanah, seesanah – one story, thirty stories...
If Gregory Maguire is not exactly a household name, his signature work, Wicked, certainly is known throughout the world, living an everlasting life on stages everywhere in its Tony...
As my children get more tech-savvy which means I become more of a Luddite, their favorite exasperated phrase seems to be "Maaaah-ahm, you just do this!" So in one of my son's 'just' moments, I...
If you had any expectations from seeing Mark Haddon's name on the cover that this might be a deeply thoughtful novel about family relations, you'd be rather surprised. This is not Haddon's 2003 breakout title, A...
This time of the year, in spite of my higher-than-usual crank factor with all the commercial hubbub, I do enjoy escaping into mushy, happy books. Here's one to add to the holiday list,...
From China to Nepal, boutique press Satya House Publications offers the second title in their I See the Sun series in which a young girl shares her day...
*STARRED REVIEW
The Korean title of this indelible novel, Omma rul put’ak hae, contains a sense of commanding trust that is missing in its English translation: “I entrust Mommy [to you].” That trust...
Living in the "Village of Orphans," Utsuho is constantly in trouble. He doesn't do his chores, he disappears when needed, but worst of all, he lies. "Lying is the worst thing ...
