In her new standalone poetry collection, flower crowns & fearsome things, bestselling & award-winning poetess Amanda Lovelace explores the complexity of femininity through alternating wildflower & wildfire poems.
Within these pages, you will find that each of us has the ability to be both soft & fierce at the same time. there is no need to choose one or the other.
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
I was excited when I saw that Amanda Lovelace was coming out with a new collection, and seeing the theme of it – the duality of Persephone/women, really got me interested. I really enjoyed the back and forth play between the two voices as the collection progressed. The illustrated pages of the two perspectives also had an impact. There are definitely trigger warnings for domestic abuse, rape, sexism and more, but there is a page in the beginning that gives a list. All in all this is another solid collection to add to your library if you are a fan of Amanda Lovelace’s poetry.
Questions for Rebel Girls sparks lively discussions with more than 500 kid-friendly questions inspired by real rebel women from the best-selling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.
Jane Goodall devoted her life to studying chimpanzees. If you dedicated your life to one type of animal, what would it be?
When cyclist Alfonsina Strada began racing, she was so unstoppable that newspapers nicknamed her “the devil in a dress.” What would your cycling nickname be?
Celia Cruz is the Queen of Salsa music. Beyoncé is a pop superstar. Roxanne Shante is an amazing rapper. And Joan Jett is all about rock and roll. If you could be a singing sensation, what type of music would you sing? If you could perform a duet with anyone in the world, who would you pick?
If you could meet any woman from any country and any time in history, who would it be? What would you ask her?
Would you rather ask questions or answer them? Luckily, with Questions for Rebel Girls, you can do both!
Girls love to explore their feelings, uncover their personality, and decode the world around them. One way to do that is to explore their answers to provocative questions about anything and everything. Questions for Rebel Girls introduces readers to extraordinary women throughout history and asks them to imagine themselves in similar scenarios. Designed to ignite exciting discussions between little rebels and their siblings, friends, and grown-ups, Questions for Rebel Girls is packed with more than 500 entertaining and thought-provoking questions—including some questions submitted by young fans of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
This addition to the Rebel Girls series is a little different, it still includes snippets about many different women/girls and what they are known for, but the main aspect of this one is asking questions of girls who are reading it. Some of them are very deep and introspective questions, some are questions that are simpler such as ‘this or that’ questions and there are even questions sent in by readers! The colors are bright and fun, and as in the other books the artwork is done by different artists that showcase their individual styles. This is a great addition to the series as a whole.
The fourth book in the enormously popular graphic novel series, the latest collection of Sarah’s Scribbles comics explores the evils of procrastination, the trials of the creative process, the cuteness of kittens, and the beauty of not caring about your appearance as much as you did when you were younger. When it comes to humorous illustrations of the awkwardness and hilarity of millennial life, Sarah’s Scribbles is without peer.
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
As someone who has followed Sarah’s work for a long time, I was excited to see she has another collection coming out. In it we have a collection of Sarah’s webcomics covering a range of topics from being an introvert, living in the time we live in, being artistic and more. I especially love her comics that highlight awkwardness and of course cats. This collection also highlights a few that are references to how hard the last couple years have been. Sarah does not disappoint with this collection and it is a great addition to the series.
Karen is just an average thirteen-year-old from New Jersey who loves to play video games with her friends and watch movies with her mom. But when she moves to Greece to live with her eccentric, mysterious father, Zed, suddenly everything she thought about herself—about life—is up in the air.
Starting a new school can be difficult, but starting school at Mt. Olympus Junior High, where students are gods and goddesses, just might take the cake. Especially when fellow classmates start getting turned to stone. Greek mythology . . . a little less myth, a little more eek! And if Karen’s classmates are immortal beings, who does that make her?
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Rating: 3 out of 5.
This graphic novel was a cute take on the Greek gods and what would happen if Zeus had a daughter that knew nothing about the gods and suddenly has to move in with him in Mt. Olympus. It was a fun modern story of Karen suddenly being among the gods and goddesses in a high school setting with a mystery that they band together to solve. I really liked Karen’s developing relationship with her father and how she bonded with some of the gods she met. It was an adorable story all in all.
Powerful and universal retellings of seventy-eight divine stories, legends, and myths from around the world, each accompanied by a gorgeous illustration from acclaimed artist Yoshi Yoshitani.
Many of the lessons we learn are shared stories passed among cultures and generations. In this riveting collection of fables and folktales from cultures across the globe, characters from beloved fairytales, cultural fables, ancient mythologies, and inspirational deities are brought to life, including Sleeping Beauty (Italy), Rapunzel (Germany), Jack and the Beanstalk (England), Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico), Sun God Ra (Egypt), the Crane Wife (Japan), and dozens more.
Lesser-known stories introduce characters such as the volcano goddess Pele from Hawaii; Mwindo, the wise and powerful king of the Nyanga people; and the strong and resilient Yennenga, mother of the Mossi people in Burkina Faso. The recurring themes of conquering evil, overcoming adversity, and finding love and companionship are woven throughout this collection.
Yoshi Yoshitani’s art style is fresh and unique, featuring diverse and multicultural characters. Each story will be featured opposite a correlating illustration, both lush and vibrant.
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
This book is a collection of fairy tales, legends and divine stories from cultures all over the world. Each one is condensed to one page, so it’s a good taste of a wide range of stories. Each story also has an accompanying illustration, which is absolutely stunning. I really enjoyed the mix of cultures and regions that the stories come from, some that I had already heard of and many that I had never heard. Though some could argue that the stories needed more detail or fleshing out, I think this was a great way to share as many stories as possible, give a good foundation and make these stories accessible to a wider audience.
After Kiran Noorani’s mom died, Kiran vowed to keep her dad and sister, Amira, close. Then out of the blue, Amira announces that she’s dating someone and might move cross-country with him. Kiran is thrown.
Deen Malik is thrilled that his older brother, Faisal, has found a great girlfriend, even if it’s getting serious quickly. Maybe now their parents’ focus will shift off Deen, who feels intense pressure to be the perfect son.
When Deen and Kiran come fact to face, they silently agree to keep their past a secret. Four years ago–before Amira and Faisal met–Kiran and Deen dated. But Deen ghosted Kiran with no explanation. Kiran will stop at nothing to find out what happened, and Deen will do anything, even if it means sabotaging his brother’s relationship, to keep her from reaching the truth. Though the chemistry between Kiran and Deen is undeniable, can either of them take down their walls?
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
From the premise of this book I thought I would definitely enjoy it, but I didn’t know just how much I would enjoy it. I would definitely label this one as coming of age in a way, as Deen and Kiran grapple with each other in present day while also dealing with their own issues. The flashbacks to their past relationship definitely flesh out the background of their story and lays a foundation for their characters in general. I especially loved the way the ‘I hate you in person but we’re best friends online without knowing’ trope was used. It’s always fun when it’s done the right way and in this story I felt it really was done the right way. Definite trigger warnings in here for drug use, death of a parent and grief. Also, the writing style was so easy to read and made the book just fly by as we follow Deen and Kiran through their hijinks and journey.
It All Comes Back to You comes out tomorrow, September 14th – so make sure to pick up a copy. Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book for review!
Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes celebrates the stories of 25 phenomenal women in sports all written in fairy tale form. It is part of the award-winning Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.
This paperback collection showcases some of the most beloved stories from the first three volumes of the New York Times best-selling series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. It also features brand new tales of game-changing athletes and their drive, resilience, and sportsmanship. In Rebel Girls Champions, young readers can win the World Cup with Megan Rapinoe, flip and tumble with Simone Biles, and land breathtaking snowboard tricks with Chloe Kim.
Coming out directly after the Tokyo Olympics, Rebel Girls Champions will include the most thrilling anecdotes from the 2021 Games.
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
This book followed the same format as the other Rebel Girls books, highlighting different girls who excel in their field, in this case athletes. While most of those featured in this volume are contemporary athletes, it was nice to see a few from the past who acted as pioneers either for their sport or for women in their sport. The variety of sports was really broad, as well as the nationality of the athletes. This is a great addition to the series and I think perfect for any aspiring athletes to take inspiration from.
With this “Extras” offshoot of his acclaimed “Dead Men Do Tell Tales Series,” author Troy Taylor expands on his more than three decades of research into American crime with a true, unsolved mystery from Atlanta in the early 1910s. During the decade that followed the first murder, more than 25 women became victims of a serial killer that would earn the name of the “Atlanta Ripper.” It became one of the most prolific murder sprees in American history and yet few people have heard about it. These savage crimes not only remain unsolved, but they are largely unknown more than a century later.
Why? That answer is both simple and tragic – because all the women were black.
At first, when young black and mixed-race women began showing up brutally slain, it wasn’t cause for much concern in the local newspapers. Circulated largely among white readers, and staffed exclusively by white reporters and editors, the three city newspapers were far more concerned about other things. Neither the press nor the police paid much attention, at least not as first.
But after one mutilated body after the next began to be found along streets and railroad tracks in the poor sections of Atlanta, they began to take notice. The press called the killer “Jack the Ripper,” ignoring the fact that the body count was four times higher than the original “Jack” who had wreaked havoc in the squalid alleys of Whitechapel in London in 1888.
As the body count continued to rise, terror rippled through the local black community. For years, young women were afraid to leave their homes after dark, and some feared to even walk the streets during the daytime. Black community leaders began to unite in their insistence that the Atlanta Police Department commit as many resources as possible to tracking down the killer – or killers – and bring an end to the murders.
But they were helpless to stop the slaughter. As months turned to years, the murders continued, although with less frequency as time passed. By the time it was over, two dozen women were dead, and their killer had vanished into history, leaving a mystery behind.
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
If you’re a fan of true crime shows, podcasts or stories (especially historical) I would recommend picking this one up. Taylor’s writing style is easy to read and follow, while delivering carefully researched accounts of what happened in Atlanta in the early 1900s. This book is not just about the brutal murders that were committed in Atlanta at the time (at least a number of them by the “Ripper”) but also about the ripple effects of the systemic and constant racism at the time, which really played a part in how these murders were handled by the press, those in authority positions and the differing reactions from the white and black communities respectively.
When conflict photographer Jackson Swann dies, he leaves behind a conflict of his own making when his three daughters, each born from a different mother and unknown to each other, discover that they’re now part owners of Maison de Madelaine, the family’s Oregon vineyard—a once famous business struggling to recover from a worldwide economic collapse.
After a successful career as a child TV star, a disastrous time as a teen pop star, and now a successful author, Tess is, for the first time in her life, suffering from a serious case of writer’s block and identity crisis.
Charlotte, brought up to be a proper Southern wife, has given up her own career goals to support her husband while having spent the past year struggling to conceive a child to create a more perfect marriage. On the worst day of her life, she discovers her beloved father has died, she has two sisters she’d never been told about, and her husband has fallen in love with another woman.
Natalie, daughter of Jack’s long-time mistress, has always known about both half-sisters. Still mourning the loss of her mother, the death of her father a year later is a devastating blow. And she can’t help feeling that both her sisters may resent her for being the daughter their father decided to keep.
As the sisters reluctantly gather at the family vineyard, they’re enchanted by the legacy they’ve inherited, and by their grandmother’s rich stories of life in WWII France and the love she found with a wounded American soldier who brought her to Oregon where they started Maison de Madelaine.
This book was a good mix of women’s fiction, historical fiction and a little bit of romance. It was interesting to get to know the sisters in the wake of their father’s passing and all of their different personalities and struggles. It was a good story as it unfolded, especially with the historical fiction aspect with their grandmother. I really enjoyed JoAnn Ross’ writing, as I have before, which made the read fly by – but in some aspects it did feel like things were a little rushed or not fully fleshed out. I did enjoy a lot of the character development that happens and where everyone ended up but would have liked a little more depths to some parts.
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author JoAnn Ross has been published in twenty-seven countries. The author of over 100 novels, JoAnn lives with her husband and many rescue pets — who pretty much rule the house — in the Pacific Northwest.
“Welcome to Bell, proud home of Bell Firearms for two hundred years, and where five months ago, the teen heir to the Bell fortune took his father’s guns to school and killed his ex-girlfriend, Cassandra Queen.” —WE CAN BE HEROES PODCAST
Beck and Vivian never could stand each other, but they always tried their best for their mutual friend, Cassie. After the town moves on from Cassie’s murder too fast, Beck and Vivian finally find common ground: vengeance. They memorialize Cassie by secretly painting murals of her around town, a message to the world that Cassie won’t be forgotten. But Beck and Vivian are keeping secrets, like the third passenger riding in Beck’s VW bus with them—Cassie’s ghost.
When their murals catch the attention of a podcaster covering Cassie’s case, they become the catalyst for a debate that Bell Firearms can no longer ignore. With law enforcement closing in on them, Beck and Vivian hurry to give Cassie the closure she needs—by delivering justice to those responsible for her death.
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
This book was a very emotionally hard read, but also such an important one. There were so many conversations happening in this book that are happening today, but also still need to happen regarding subjects such as gun violence, domestic abuse, grief, victim blaming and more (trigger warnings for all of these subjects). The story begins in the wake of a school shooting where a jilted abusive ex-boyfriend had entered the school and murdered his ex and then also killed himself. The community at large, which is a community built on guns (the largest employer being the shooter’s family, which manufacturers the very firearms he used), has essentially forgotten the victim and thinks of the shooter as a “good kid who made a bad decision.” Cassie’s friends are trying to pick up the pieces of their own lives (one of them also having been shot by the shooter) when they discover that Cassie herself is haunting them – so they decide that they must have vengeance, or at least hold those who were in some ways just as responsible for Cassie’s death as her ex, accountable.
I really enjoyed the fact that not only do we get Beck and Vivian’s perspectives (Cassie’s friends), but also a perspective from Cassie that slowly reveals some of the things that happened in the past, and the perspective of a podcast that is covering all the events happening surrounding Cassie’s death once things kick into motion. This book goes deep into the subjects I mentioned as well as nuances we often see in the media surrounding these types of events (such as those in positions of authority not wanting to follow protocol because they don’t want to damage the accused’ future). It also really shows the journey of Beck and Vivian as they try to process their grief and find a way to live without Cassie. The way McCauley wove this book and brought all the different threads together was done so well and I believe this books contains an important conversation that needs to keep being had.
We Can Be Heroes is out today! Make sure to pick up a copy and give this amazing book a read.
The Wandering Wordsmith 