This piece was originally published in SparkLife in February 2009.With Valentine's Day around the corner, love is definitely in the air - and on the page! Over the next few weeks, I'll be publishing a series of Valentine-ish blogs spotlighting books for the hopeful romantics out there as well as for the cynics and the skeptics. Books for girls, ( Read more... )

This piece was originally published in SparkLife in February 2009.

Valentine's Day is less than a week away now! Last week, I posted about books dealing with first crushes and then some fun series from the eighties and nineties. Today, I'm talking about four memorable books that tackle romantic plotlines in very different ways.

Have a Heart, ( Read more... )

Natasha Friend tackles some big questions in her books: What if you finally became friends with someone popular - but the friendship hurt you? What if your best friend encouraged your eating disorder? What if your parent got remarried to someone with half a dozen other kids? What if you had to move? What if your parent was an alcoholic? Yet her ( Read more... )

Need a good book for your book group? Whether you've just launched a new book club for the new year or you're searching for next month's pick for an existing group, I hope you'll consider my recommendations. I ran multiple in-person book groups for different ages and genres on a monthly basis for years, and I've been involved in the online book ( Read more... )

Are your parents uber strict? Jamie's father is, so she never, ever has her friends come over to her house, and she rarely gets the chance to go out with them after school. Her dad changed when her mom died, writing up a charter of curfew rights for Jamie and telling her all sorts of things she can and can't do. Meanwhile, he lets her older brother ( Read more... )

Ghosts, Shapeshifters, and Vampires, Oh My!
by Little Willow

Trick or treat: Which do you prefer? I’ll take a treat myself. If you’re looking for a spooky story to read on Halloween, you’ve come to the right place, because all of the following books are definitely treats. Get ready to sink your teeth into these spooky supernatural stories.

A ( Read more... )

This article was originally written for SparkNotes and is related to my booklist Shakespeare Spinoffs.Shakespeare spoke another language. At least, that's how it might seem the first time you crack open one of his plays and see a lot of lines peppered with thee, thou, and thy. The who with the what and why? Let me tell you a not-so-secret trick: it ( Read more... )

This article was published as a feature article for SparkNotes Literature online. Click the linked titles for my full-length reviews of individual books.Looking for something to read during the flight or long car ride to your grandmother's house this holiday weekend? Maybe you want to devour a romance or escape to a fantasy land after you've eaten ( Read more... )

This article was featured at SparkNotes Literature.

Trick or treat: Which do you prefer? I’ll take a treat myself. If you’re looking for a spooky story to read on Halloween, you’ve come to the right place, because all of the following books are definitely treats. Get ready to sink your teeth into these spooky supernatural stories.

A Certain Slant ( Read more... )

( Read more... )