On the Waterfront by Mike McCoy is the coming-of-age story of thirteen-year-old Danny Novak, a child of divorced parents in the early 70s who was eager to get away from his unhappy family by getting a job as a summer camp staffer. He first saw...

Molly and her best friend Nicole have been inseparable since the day that they met back in kindergarten. Now entering fifth grade, the two girls are accepted into a new school in a better neighborhood because of how gifted and smart they are. Molly soon...

On the Way to Birdland by Frank Morelli is an enjoyable coming-of-age story that is deftly written. Cordell Wheaton feels like living in a shell after his brother Travis goes off without warning. He has had one of his habitual quarrels with his father. Now,...

Alexandra is a free young woman of color who lives a luxurious lifestyle and is anticipating her debutante ball and coming into her inheritance. One of a few families of mixed color, she enjoys many of the pleasures of upper-class life. She also faces hardships...

Our Friendship Matters is a coming of age/social issues novel for young adults written by Kimberley B. Jones. Sasha and Leah have been besties ever since they were little girls in kindergarten. Their final days as students at Chester Christian Academy have been both exciting...

Off Target: The Path You Choose #1 is an interactive social issues book for young adults and preteens written by Jill Ammon Vanderwood and illustrated by Kerah Diez and Trevor Brown. Being the new kid in the neighborhood is never very easy, but the boy...

Over the Rainbow by Mohsen Sharifi is inspirational against all the odds that conflict showers on ordinary people. When Saddam Hussein’s chemical warfare against the civilian masses within his own country decimates the population, leaving many traumatized and burned folk in its wake, Hiwa philosophically...

In Once Upon a Road Trip by Angela N. Blount, Angeli is about to graduate high school and she couldn’t be happier about it. Sure, she’s smart, taking college courses already and has a best friend, but she’s never really fitted in among her peers....

Regina Puckett’s Once Upon a Modern Time is a collection of five short stories based on well-known fairy tales. First, the story of Phillip and Rose. I thought the story was sweet, and an innovative take on the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. The second...

Oceanswept, the first in the Oceanswept trilogy, by Lara Hays follows 17-year-old Tessa, daughter of a newly appointed admiral in the British Navy. Because of this promotion, Tessa and her father must relocate. As they are traveling by sea, they run into a hurricane, which...