What will it take to convince a reluctant reader to embrace the power of books?

The little boy isn’t so sure that anything can…he is very firm in his convictions that he will not be reading this book, thank you very much.  Not even a little bit.  Not even if you force him to.  Not even, in fact, if you hung him upside down by one toe over a cliff with sharks below and dragons above.  That’s how much he is not going to read this book.

Or…is he?

Read the rest of my review on A Book and a Hug!

For Olivia Bean, the trivia game show Jeopardy is one of the only stable things in her life. Even in the midst of her parents’ divorce and her own troubles at school, she can always count on Alex Trebek to cheer her up from 7:30-8 every night. It helps that she, like her recently-divorced dad, is a complete whiz at trivia (except for pesky geography) and can even beat some of the adults who appear on the show.

In the midst of geography tests, missing her dad, and getting used to her mom’s new boyfriend, Olivia’s life suddenly takes a turn for the absolute awesome. Her nemesis-turned-friend Tucker has informed her that Jeopardy is having a Kid’s Week. And that she is exactly the right age to register for the online test to see if she qualifies.

Will she prove her trivia prowess (even geography) and get to compete on the show?

Read the rest of my review on A Book and a Hug!

Dark of the Moon, by Tracy Barrett

Everybody knows the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur…or do they? In Dark of the Moon, Tracy Barrett flips the story on its head and lends the tale a new perspective. The main players are all in place, but their motivations and roles in the story are quite different from the tale taught in schools.

In this version, Ariadne is She Who Will Be Goddess, a priestess of the moon as her mother was before her. She lives a lonely and isolated life in Krete, a revered and avoided figure who spends most of her days in the company of her monstrously deformed brother Asterion, who lives as a captive beneath the palace for safety reasons. Despite her esteemed holy status, Ariadne is not a happy girl and might trade everything away for the chance to be different.

Might her wishes come true in the form of Theseus, the handsome prince who arrives as part of the Athenian tribute to Krete?

Read the rest of my review here on A Book and a Hug!

Ceejay McDermott has always worshipped her big brother Bobby, idolizing his recklessness and daring sense of fun. Bobby is b-a-d-d in every sense of the word, and Ceejay is proud that she takes after him. The fun is soon over when Bobby gets into a little too much trouble and finds himself enlisted in the army to avoid jail time. Ceejay can’t wait for her hero to come home from Iraq to rejoin the family, but their reunion isn’t quite what she had in mind.

Read the rest of my review here on A Book and a Hug!

Eileen Spinelli is at it again with a poignant and charming new tale! Written in gentle verse, The Dancing Pancake is told from the point of view of spunky Bindi, only child and reader extraordinaire. Her comfy normal life is quickly turned askew when her parents separate and her mother moves them into a small apartment building above the restaurant that she and Bindi’s aunt have just purchased together. Bindi soon learns that life above The Dancing Pancake can be filled with joy, however much she might miss her father and her old house and old life and however mad and sad she might feel about all of the changes thrust upon her.

Read the rest of my review at A Book and a Hug!

Misty Gordon isn’t what you’d call a typical girl. Living in the creaky old New England town of Ashcrumb, she sticks out like a sore thumb at school because of her eccentric family’s D.E.A.D. (Deceased’s Estate and Antique Dealer) shop and her hand-me-down clothes. Strange as Misty’s life is, it gets a whole lot weirder when she steps into a mystery that holds the fate of the entire town in the balance.

Read the rest of my review on A Book and a Hug!

I have another review up on A Book and a Hug—a sweet tale of a girl who can talk to animals.

I’m on a fairy kick over at A Book and a Hug—this one is the first of a brand new magical series.