Completely Full Bookshelf

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...

OK, before we get to today's review, I have to vent. Today, in our house, we kept hearing a smoke alarm chirping as if the battery was low. Normally, smoke alarms chirp every few seconds, but this one was really irregular. Sometimes it would chirp, and then it would go silent. So my family and I ran around the house, trying to find this alarm every time we heard it. But it was absolutely bizarre: every time we ran toward the sound, it sounded like it was coming from a different place. We went upstairs, but then it was downstairs. We went downstairs, and then it was on the other side of the house. We went to the other side of the house, and then it was upstairs again. We. Could. Not. Find. It. We spent hours  running around, pulling batteries out of five smoke alarms, putting them back in, testing them, wondering if our whole interconnected system was broken, Googling articles about how to find a chirping smoke alarm, and generally agonizing. And then—this is what really kills me—my...

Happy Labor Day! For #IMWAYR, I am recommending the stunning graphic novel Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me , written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell. A word of caution to any young readers: this is a YA (young adult) book, not an MG (middle grade) book, and it contains mature content.           This book absolutely blew me away, and I am SO excited to tell you all about it! Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me  chronicles the life of Frederica "Freddy" Riley. Freddy is a high schooler who spends her time Frankensteining old stuffed animals together with her best friend Doodle, hanging out at school with Doodle and fellow friends Eric and Buddy, or working at a lesbian-owned sandwich shop called Gertrude's. Freddy is dating a girl named Laura Dean, and some days, their relationship is picture-perfect. Other days...not so much. Laura Dean has broken up with Freddy 3 times, and she is far from good to Freddy. Yet Freddy gets...