by Hamish Steele 5 stars A fantastic adventure featuring demon-possessed pugs, ghost collectors, spells gone awry, a celebrity-themed amusement park, and a cast of unforgettable characters. A little bit of romance, some mystery, and a whole lot of creepiness make for a very fun reading experience. I’ll admit, I watched the Netflix adaptation first. While…
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5 stars What an adventure. It starts with tragedy then blooms into something magnificent. Mystery, adventure, secrets, feuds, and an agency bent on chaos. I want more of this world! Beautiful, imaginative artwork, which I’ve come to expect from Yee by now. She never disappoints. I absolutely loved Walteranne Hakim Whimsy’s character design and Safia…
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5 stars For more bookish thoughts, see my blog: Craft-Cycle A delightful picture book depicting a family’s Day of the Dead celebration. There is so much joy packed into each page. It goes through various traditions such as making alters, decorating sugar skulls, writing poems, and sharing stories. With each task, the connection to family…
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5 stars A wonderful story to celebrate Holi. At first, Gauri is excited to celebrate with her family and welcome spring with colorful gulal. But when she doesn’t get her favorite color, her excitement turns to anger. A great story with an emphasis on forgiveness, acceptance, new beginnings, and love. The book shares various aspects…
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5 stars For more bookish thoughts, see my blog: Craft-Cycle Being a seer sounds easy enough. But even seers can’t always predict where the future will take them. A wonderful romance about so much more than falling in love. Ray, a seer with insight to the present, has wanted to be a Council member since…
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5 stars An absolutely beautiful time capsule of a book that captures both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments of lockdowns, quarantines, and the spread of Covid-19. Pham’s artwork perfectly captures the happiness, stress, hope, sorrow, and frustration of the time. Through empty streets, flourishing wildlife, and homebound scenes, Pham shows some of the changes to the…
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5 stars A fantastic memoir dealing with issues of gender, identity, acceptance, and perception. The story follows Kobabe as ey learn about and explore eir self-identity. This includes coming out to family and dealing with their reactions; navigating crushes, sexual relationships, and doctor visits; discovering eir pronouns; and finding eirself in music and books. Through…
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5 stars A gorgeous picture book with a powerful message. When the people in her life question where she’s really from, a little girl starts to question whether she belongs. She asks her wise abuelo for an answer. In beautifully illustrated spreads, he answers perfectly, asserting her belonging while also teaching her about various aspects of her…
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4 stars Delightfully spooky and surprisingly heartwarming. I never read Mary Downing Hahn’s novels growing up, but I just might after finishing this graphic novel adaptation. An interesting way to revive an older tale and make it more appealing to a modern audience. A new house, a blended family, and sinister secrets. This story had…
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3 stars Written as part of her Master of Fine Arts project, this book gives glimpses into El Sayed’s life, both from childhood to adolescents and into adulthood. The book tackles many topics including cancer, parental expectations and double standards, racism, bullying, divorce, friendship, religion, and moving to a different country. It deals largely with…
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