When Loose Ends Meet

Better than the Best Plan by Lauren Morrill

12 Jul 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Gr. 9-12 Ritzy’s life drastically changes when her impulsive mother leaves to take a self-discovery journey alone, and social services shows up in her stead. Ritzy is shocked to discover that she’s going into foster care with the same woman who cared for her as an infant. The woman lives in an exclusive island town, which, on top of living under someone else’s roof and rules, is another adjustment for Ritzy. [Read More]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Young Adult Readers • Tags: foster care, social services

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Emperor of the Universe (Book One) by David Lubar

24 Jun 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

SHOUT OUT! Emperor of the Universe. (Book One of a Trilogy) David Lubar, Author. July 2, 2019 Macmillan Starscape Tor/Forge. 368 pages. $13.99 hardcover; also available in digital format. Grades 4-7. A boy, his gerbil, and two pounds of ground beef find themselves at the center of David Lubar’s loopy and witty intergalactic funfest! Seventh grader Nicholas V. Landrew of Yelm, Washington, is no ordinary kid, but it’s not his fault (if it were, he’d take responsibility – he’s that […]

Categories: Book Reviews, Brief Book Shout-Out, Middle Grade Readers • Tags: intergalactic, sci-fi

The Library of Ever (Book One) by Zeno Alexander

17 Jun 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Shout Out! The Library of Ever. Zeno Alexander, Author. April 30, 2019. Macmillan. 208 pages. $16.99 hardcover; also available in digital format. Grades 3-6. A library, a focused and strong female protagonist, and a series of unusual events … what’s not to love? We’ve all been there: bored out of our minds as a kid. However, how many of us has had the good fortune to have that ennui turn into a life-changing experience? Despite being eleven years old and […]

Categories: Book Reviews, Brief Book Shout-Out, Young Readers • Tags: adventure, library

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Teeny Weenies 2 - Freestyle Frenzy and Other Stories by David Lubar

Teeny Weenies #1 and #2 by David Lubar

16 Jun 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Shout Out! Teeny Weenies #1: The Intergalactic Petting Zoo and Other Stories (126 pages) Teeny Weenies #2: Freestyle Frenzy and Other Stories (122 pages) David Lubar, Author. Illustrated by Bill Mayer. April 16, 2019. Macmillan Tor/Forge. $12.99 each hardcover; also available in digital format. Grades 2-5. Warning: These stories made me laugh out loud over my morning coffee, and spit takes were never so much fun! David Lubar is the master of […]

Categories: Book Reviews, Brief Book Shout-Out, Reluctant Readers, Young Readers • Tags: short story collection, Weenies

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The Undoing of Thistle Tate by Katelyn Detweiler

13 Jun 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Gr. 9-12 Thistle Tate is seventeen and a big-name YA author with the final installment of her Lemonade Skies trilogy due very soon. Only Thistle, her dad, and her best and only friend, Liam, know her secret: Thistle’s dad wrote the books based on her ideas. She can’t wait until the final book publishes so she can bury the lie and get on with her life. [Read More]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Young Adult Readers • Tags: friendships, secrets, writing

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Kissing Ezra Holtz (And Other Things I Did for Science) by Brianna R. Shrum

12 Jun 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Gr. 9-12 Just because you’ve grown up together doesn’t mean you have to like each other. Such is the case with Amalia Yaabez and Ezra Holtz. She’s convinced he’s a total nerd (he is), and he believes she’s wild (she is). The one thing they have in common besides attending the same temple is that they’re smart. When paired for a lengthy AP Psych project, they dig up an old study, update it, and set out to prove that dissimilar […]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Young Adult Readers

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Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan by Soniah Kamal

11 Jun 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

I admit it: I’m a sucker for Pride and Prejudice (Austen’s original and all filmed versions, even if a scene or two is thrown in for, um, effect), and my wildest dreams included a novel like Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan by Sonial Kamal. I’ve been around South Asian communities for two decades, I’ve written for an Indian magazine for nearly as long, and I love the spectacle and unabashedly larger-than-life qualities of Hindi films. So, when I learned […]

Categories: Adult Readers, Book Reviews, Brief Book Shout-Out • Tags: Jane Austen, life choices, Pakistan, sisterhood

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The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You by Amulya Malladi

10 Jun 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Not all of us are in high-profile, cutthroat work environments that fling a person all over the world, leading to an intimacy with worldwide airports, fine hotels, and finer restaurants. However, Asmi Verma is that corporate woman in Amulya Malladi’s eigthth novel, The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You (publishing July 1, 2019). The novel doubles as a working woman’s workbook/pep rally and love story to the strength of women everywhere. Asmi, single and nearly 40 (much to the dismay […]

Categories: Adult Readers, Book Reviews • Tags: corporate, leadership, work-life

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Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith

30 May 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Gr. 9-12 Separately, Chris and Maia are two teens consumed by deep personal problems. When Chris spends the summer at his aunt’s in small-town North Carolina to escape his parents’ arguments about his being transgender, the two teens meet and gradually become more than friends. Nevertheless, it takes time for Chris to reveal he’s trans, and he doesn’t want to talk about the brutal gendered assault he suffered a year ago. Maia’s reluctance to talk about her sister’s death continues […]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Young Adult Readers • Tags: assault, death, transgender

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