by Carolyn | Highschool, Historical Fiction, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Middle-grade, Recommendations
The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams is a story about storytelling. And who better to write such a book but master storyteller Daniel Nayeri, author of the award-winning Everything Sad is Untrue? I enjoyed the audiobook version, read by the author,...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Character Training, Cultural Diversity, Fantasy, Highschool, Recommendations, Young Adult
The Sunlit Lands Series by Matt Mikalatos is my top pick for kids who have grown up reading The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wingfeather Saga, and The Green Ember Series and are now ready to dive into young adult. These books contain the same kind of deeply true and...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Fantasy, Highschool, Spiritual Allegory, Young Adult
Young Adult fiction can be a hard category to navigate as a parent. YA often contains dark themes and content that young teens especially may not be ready to read. That’s why I’m so pleased when I find books like The Winter King that both my teens and I...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Fantasy, Highschool, Magical Realism, Mystery, Young Adult
When I found out a friend I had met at Hutchmoot–a conference about faith in the arts–had written a book, I was curious to read it. I didn’t expect to get swept away in a compelling, beautiful written story. But that’s exactly what happened...
by Carolyn | Animal books, Book Lists, Chapter Books, Cultural Diversity, Early Readers, Fantasy, For fun, Girls, Highschool, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Read Alouds, Recommendations
It’s always fun for me to make this list, because I get to look back on all the great books I’ve read this past year. Some of these I’ve reviewed, and some I haven’t. But I think any one of these would make a great gift for your loved ones....
by Carolyn | Adventure, Character Training, Fantasy, Highschool, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Middle-grade, Young Adult
I almost didn’t read Beyonders by Brandon Mull. After I had read several recommendations for his book Fablehaven and found I didn’t care for it, I hadn’t planned to pick up another book by the same author. However, one of my readers encouraged me to...
by Carolyn | Cultural Diversity, Fantasy, Girls, Highschool, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Newbery, Young Adult
I’ve been on a bit of a Shannon Hale kick recently. I listened to three of her books in a row this past month: Goose Girl, Princess Academy, and Book of 1,000 Days. I love reinvented fairy tales (so long as good versus evil isn’t turned on its head). And...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Discussion Guide, Dystopian Future, Girls, Highschool, Movies, Young Adult
The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth is a thrilling narrative of a 16 year-old girl and her battle for self-identity. Told in a first-person present-tense voice, the character Beatrice Prior is reminiscent of Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. However, unlike...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Book Lists, Highschool, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Reading, Recommendations, Wordless Books, Young Adult
Ok, let’s be honest, almost any book can (and should) inspire the imagination. But some are just better at it than others. In my opinion, there are three basic kinds of books that inspire imagination: 1) Books in which the main character(s) are playing...
