I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with Alexandra Bracken — author of the gripping and adventurous Darkest Minds trilogy — on May 1st at the YALLWEST book festival in Santa Monica, California. Her newest novel, Passenger, is the first in a duology about time travelers. Have you been sorted into your Harry […]
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“A sibling represents a person’s past, present, and future.” –John Corey Whaley, Where Things Come Back To simply describe John Corey Whaley’s debut novel as an original, contemporary coming-of-age story about growing up in a small town would not even begin to cover things. It is a heartbreaking read and a hopeful read at the […]
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This year marked the second annual YALLWEST Book Festival. YALLWEST is a gigantic festival of books that took place in sunny Santa Monica, April 29th—May 1st. It was last year at YALLWEST where I met author/Germ Founder Jennifer Niven for the first time, and we talked about how much I loved reading Germ Magazine. She encouraged me […]
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On April 30th at the YALLWEST book festival in Santa Monica, California, I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with John Corey Whaley — author of the contemporary young adult novel Where Things Come Back (winner of the 2012 Printz and Morris awards) and the sci-fi/contemporary young adult novel Noggin. His newest novel, Highly Illogical Behavior, is […]
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Oh boy, have I got an audiobook recommendation for you! Beauty Queens, written and narrated by Libba Bray, is a hilarious concoction of feminism, anti-consumerism, and pirates! The satire, a rarity in the young adult genre, tells the story of a plane full of diverse beauty queens — who are set to compete in the […]
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Don’t let the title 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl scare you. Mona Awad’s debut novel is wonderfully nuanced, examining both our weight-obsessed culture and our often warped sense of self. Awad delicately pairs sharp humor with painfully devastating moments that will linger with you long after you finish the book. 13 Ways of Looking […]
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Survivors can not be the only people concerned with this issue. Last year a documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival about the rampant occurrence of sexual assault on US college campuses and the covering up of these sexual crimes by college administrators. The subject matter of The Hunting Ground may be difficult to examine and […]
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This month’s book, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, tells the story of an orphaned girl’s coming-of-age and her quest for a home. Throughout the novel, Jane develops a strong sense of self-worth and struggles to find a balance between love and freedom. Perhaps the universal relatability of the novel lies in its strong feminist, moral, […]
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Have you ever thought to give someone a flower crown for their birthday? Flower crowns make great birthday presents. Why buy a normal plastic crown when you can make a unique, one-of-a-kind, handmade crown of flowers? They are fun, adorable, thoughtful, and customizable. They are also great for festivals, fairs, or just because. I recently […]
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