Completely Full Bookshelf

Why, hello there! It's been a busy few weeks for me, but I'm mostly getting accustomed to grad school. On one hand, I feel like I'm less anxious than I've ever been at the start of a semester—on the other hand, that certainly doesn't mean I'm not anxious! Anyway, I'm glad to poke my head out to share a few random thoughts with you, as well as a review of a book that nothing was going to prevent me from reading... Let's dive in! Middle Grade: The Lost Library Written by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass 2023 Add it on Goodreads · · · The publisher says: · · · When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.  Evan and his best friend Rafe quickly discover a link between one of the old books and a long-ago event that none of the grown-ups want to talk about. The two boys star

The time of me posting weekly and commenting on everyone's blogs is most likely coming to an end, seeing as how I'm starting grad school today (if you're reading this on Monday). It's an exciting and also daunting time, and my hope is to preserve my free time as best I can—but I also know myself, and I know that blogging tends to be the first thing to fall off my to-do list, mostly to preserve my own sanity! But I do have one last post to wrap up the summer. And y'all, I have to say, this was the Summer of Graphic Novels for me, because I read... 33 graphic novels this summer, plus 3 re-reads! Bringing me to a total of... 128 graphic novels read in my lifetime! That feels like a huge  success to me, especially considering that not all of my other my summer goals came to fruition amidst the unanticipated chaos and exhaustion that is Life™. So what I'd like to do now is share one last graphic novel from the summer, and then highlight my favorite graphic novels tha

Why, hello, hello! I've successfully shared all 10 graphic novels I read on my recent trip (see here and here ), so now it's time to catch you up on what I've read since my return. Which isn't much—there was about a week in there where I didn't touch a book at all—but I'm hopefully getting back into a reading rhythm. I've got four warm, inclusive, and thoughtful stories to share with you today, so no more dillydallying—let's get right to it! Picture Books: Bodies Are Cool Written and illustrated by Tyler Feder 2021 Add it on Goodreads · Preview the illustrations · · · The publisher says: · · · From the acclaimed creator of Dancing at the Pity Party and Roaring Softly, this picture book is a pure celebration of all the different human bodies that exist in the world. Highlighting the various skin tones, body shapes, and hair types is just the beginning in this truly inclusive book. With its joyful illustrations and encouraging refrain, it will instill b

My grandfather passed away this week—he was a voracious reader of books and a loyal follower of this blog since its beginning, so I wanted to take a moment to honor and remember him here. He will be missed. ❤️ If you're reading this on Monday, this also happens to be the seven-year anniversary of this blog, and I think this is a good time for me to remember (and share!) how this blog has been a source of joy and connection for such a big chunk of my life. I'm grateful to all of you, whether I regularly comment on your blog or don't know yet who you are, for supporting me on this journey of thinking about the stories I love so deeply! You might recall from last week that I was recently out of town and read 10 graphic novels, and I still have 5 reviews remaining that I'd like to share today. Then next week, I'll catch you up on what I've been reading during the time that this backlog of vacation reviews has been going up. Let's dive in! Middle Grade: Bad Sist

So remember last week when I said I had a plan to read so many  books? Well, what happened was that I went out of town with 10 graphic novels in tow, and— I read all 10 graphic novels!!! It was wild! I don't think I've ever actually read all  the books I packed for a trip in my entire  life—this is genuinely bizarre. And I'm kind of beat—I might give my brain a rest and stream some TV for a few days instead! Because I read so voraciously, I'm actually going to split my reviews across two weeks! This week, I'm going to share the first five books I read—and I'm going to get right to it, except  that I wanted to rank my favorite books from my travels, so let's do that first! My favorites of the 10: Skim My Last Summer with Cass  (review coming next week!) Isla to Island Scout Is Not a Band Kid Freestyle  (review coming next week!) OK, now for the reviews! Middle Grade: Isla to Island Written and illustrated by Alexis Castellanos Graphic novel · 2022 Add it on