Set in London’s East End, The Kiss of Karma by Vimal Vaz is the dark story of a fourteen-year-old boy. Ashok Choudhary is in a struggle not only for his own life and the peace of his soul, but for the lives and souls of...

Annabelle Sullivan and the Restless Spirit Society by Ivy K. Tyler is about Annabelle, Chloe, Bradley, and the ghost whom only Annabelle can see. No one believes Annabelle when she tells them about the ghost except her friend Chloe. Though she believes Annabelle, Chloe is...

Sleeper by Sophia Frazier is really a rather unique book. As written, a young woman awakes to find the power had gone off overnight, so her alarm clock failed to wake her. Jumping out of bed, she ran to the shower, only to discover there...

Simple and sweet, that is neat. A young girl looks out her window and what does she see? Flowers and rain and a bird in a tree. Outside Your Window, written by Terri Kelley and illustrated by Josefina Tecson, is a sweet treat. The story...

In The Gift of Misfortune, Haitian siblings, Armand and Deborah Etienne, live in fear of an unpredictable future in their hometown of Port-au-Prince and the rest of Haiti. The young Etiennes are not rich, but they have a comfortable life compared to most people who...

Birthday Surprise is a sweet story that deals with an issue that many children go through: adding a sibling to the family dynamic. Terri Kelley hits another home run with this one, creating a lovely story about a girl, her birthday, and a little surprise....

In Alibis of the Heart, Will Woods, a newly divorced lawyer from Chicago, leaves his career and broken marriage behind and goes to Okefenokee County, Georgia. A southern small town sunk deep into the loam and rot of its namesake swamp, Will sees it as...

Clean Your Plate – America’s Grand Obesity Plan by John Bressler is a cleverly written satire of the AMA, the food and drug corporations, and even the U.S. Government. While the author states that he loves his country, his claims throughout the book are shocking...

In Love Crazy, author Selby Fleming McPhee recalls the first time she read her father’s letter. She was 41 years old then. The letter evokes many emotions towards her father and her mother, who was angered by her father's decision to join the army during...

What is a Friend is Terri Kelley’s attempt to expose children to the idea of friendship and community, which can be confusing to children when they are very young. I, for one, think that Terri hit another home run with this book. Kids may understand...

Isabella's Special Wish is a children's story written by Deborah Belica and illustrated by Elizabeth Karsch. Isabella goes on a journey to have a wished granted by the king. Each page in the book describes her journey and her wish in a series of humorous...

The story begins with a wish for a 'Happy Seventh Birthday.' Told like Terri Kelley’s other books in a beautiful and sing-song rhyme scheme, the stories are definitely something kids will recognize and sit still for. We get to see into the past of the...

In Sabien’s Quest: The Light, Zatella, daughter of Father Ryos, and her infant son Kriz-tien, barely escaped from being captured by a Kaynai soldier, General Kolim, when she succeeded in seeking sanctuary at the Temple of the Creator. Unfortunately, Zatella’s survival is not meant to...

As a teacher for 50 years, I found Teaching in Elementary Schools by Regina Long Southall a well written and informative book. The author correctly points out that those who have never taught in a public school or those who quickly moved from the classroom...

Most kids love monsters, and I really like that Mark Adam Kaplan’s Monsters Do Ugly Things not only tells about the bad things monsters do, it tells about the good things too. Each page in this little book has a picture of a monster in...

Author Vimal Vaz tells us at the outset that his main character, Ashok Choudhary, has changed his destiny by choosing a very different path than the one he chose in The Kiss of Karma. As a result, he finds himself in a future that is...

After a dragon destroyed his village and killed his grandfather, Ragg swears that he will hunt the beasts down throughout the land until every last one of them is dead. He inadvertently worked together with another dragon slayer, Trallian, whilst hunting a young dragon. Trallian...

I thoroughly enjoyed this British story although it brought many deep issues to the surface. In Holding On, Mel Morton writes about the village of Heatherton, with a woman named Beth who is holding on to a secret. I wanted to know what happened next...

Fox and Rabbit's Garden: A Tale of Rabbit-Less Stew written by Laurel Heger and illustrated by Monette Pangan is for young children, but could be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Although the characters are fictitious, the references to gardening and cooking are realistic. The...

For Rent Mystery Series Book 1: Dangerous Paradise by Eric James Miller is a thrilling story. Residents of an apartment building in Venice Beach, California find out that there is something strange about the place. Journalist Dana Santoyo investigates the eerie happenings there. She tries...