YA/Teen

Indie Corner – Barbara Newman

Back to the Indie Corner series This month’s Indie Corner explores Barbara Newman’s The Dreamcatcher Codes. Barbara Newman always wanted to be a cowgirl. Growing up in New York didn’t stop her. She took that can-do spirit and became an award-winning global creative director, leaving an indelible mark on brand culture. […]

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The China Garden, Liz Berry

When Clare moves with her mother from London to Ravensmere, an historic English estate, she can’t shake the feeling that the residents already know her, especially Mark, a maddeningly attractive biker. Clare also feels compelled to take midnight walks in Ravensmere’s abandoned China Garden. Then her mother reveals that their […]

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Indie Corner – Sonia Myers

Back to the Indie Corner series It was great to talk with Sonia Meyers about her first novel, We Have Something to Say!, a children’s book. Sonia Myers started her writing career at the Half Moon Bay Review newspaper, contributing articles and reporting on sports. She is currently a middle-school […]

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Love After the End, Joshua Whitehead

Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction a young adult anthology edited by Joshua Whitehead (Lambda Literary Award winner, Jonny Appleseed) featuring short stories by Indigenous authors with Two-Spirit & Queer heroes, in utopian and dystopian settings. It’s a sequel to the popular anthology, Love […]

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Darklands, Arnav Das Sharma

India is reeling from an environmental catastrophe, water has replaced oil as the most valuable commodity, and our cities have become nightmarish places infested with gangs, secretive corporations, and powerful religious figures. Arnav Das Sharma’s coming-of-age novel in an all-too-real Indian dystopia falters But the promise of being a dystopic […]

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The Girl and the Grove, Eric Smith

Young Adult Fiction Reviewed by Kimberly Christensen High school junior Leila has bounced between group homes and foster homes for her whole life—until her recent adoption. Whenever things felt chaotic in her personal life, Leila found solace in nature. Environmentalism became her passion—so much so that she and her best […]

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Indie Corner – Emma Reynolds

Back to the Indie Corner series I was thrilled to talk with Emma Reynolds, author of the just-out children’s book Amara and the Bats, a beautifully written and illustrated story that reminds us of the determination of youth and the importance of bats. Emma Reynolds is an illustrator and author […]

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Tree Magic Series, Harriet Springbett

Thanks to the author for sending in information about her series. The following comes from her Bookshop info: Tree Magic (Book 1): A life fractured into parallel worlds. A quiet magic to accept or ignore. A decision to make. Escape from difficult family dynamics is teenager Rainbow’s desire. When she […]

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The Ones We’re Meant to Find, Joan He

In a world apart, 16-year-old STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara lives in an eco-city built for people who protected the planet―and now need protecting from it. With natural disasters on the rise due to climate change, eco-cities provide clean air, water, and shelter. Their residents, in exchange, must spend at least […]

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Depart, Depart, Sim Kern

Depart, Depart by Sim Kern Young Adult Fiction Reviewed by Kimberly Christensen The boy first appears to Noah in the moments before Noah’s Houston neighborhood is engulfed by catastrophic flooding. He leads Noah to the relative safety of a parking garage, then disappears. In the wake of the flooding, Noah […]

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Indie Corner – Claire Datnow

Back to the Indie Corner series I’m delighted to present Claire Datnow as this month’s Indie Corner author. Claire was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, which ignited her love for the natural world and diverse cultures. Claire taught creative writing to gifted and talented students in the Birmingham, […]

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Daylight Come, Diana McCaulay

It is 2084. Climate change has made life on the Caribbean island of Bajacu a gruelling trial. The sun is so hot that people must sleep in the day and live and work at night. In a world of desperate scarcity, people who reach forty are expendable. Those who still […]

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Countdown, Carol Fiore

All three books in the Skye Van Bloem trilogy are out now out! Book 1. Countdown Polar ice caps are melting. Whole ecosystems are being destroyed. Wildlife is being carelessly slaughtered. Eighteen-year-old Skye Van Bloem didn’t create the environmental crisis facing our planet, but she’s angry about it. What upsets […]

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Strange Birds, Celia C. Perez

Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers, Celia C. Perez Middle Grade Fiction Reviewed by Kimberly Christensen In Sabal Palms, Florida, many girls join the Floras, a service organization begun in the early 1900s by some of the founders of the city. Even though her grandmother was a proud […]

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