Confessions of a Bibliovore

Title : This Darkness Mine Author : Mindy McGinnis Copy Obtained:  Bought About the Book From Goodreads Sasha Stone knows her place—first-chair clarinet, top of her class, and at the side of her oxford-wearing boyfriend. She’s worked her entire life to ensure that her path to Oberlin Conservatory as a star musician is perfectly paved. But suddenly there’s a fork in the road, in the shape of Isaac Harver. Her body shifts toward him when he walks by, her skin misses his touch even though she’s never known it, and she relishes the smell of him—smoke, beer, and trouble—all the things she’s avoided to get where she is. Even worse, every time he’s near Sasha, her heart stops, literally. Why does he know her so well—too well—and she doesn’t know him at all? Sasha discovers that her by-the-book life began by ending another’s: the twin sister she absorbed in the womb. But that doesn’t explain the gaps of missing time in her practice schedule or the memories she has of things she certainl...

Do you like suspense? Do you like to be kept guessing?  Check out the trailer for HIDDEN PIECES! Doesn't it look fantastic!!???!! SYNOPSIS Embry Woods has secrets. Small ones about her past. Bigger ones about her relationship with town hero Luke and her feelings for someone new. But the biggest secret she carries with her is about what happened that night at the Sea Cliff Inn. The fire. The homeless guy. Everyone thinks Embry is a hero, too, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Embry thinks she’ll have to take the secret to her grave, until she receives an anonymous note—someone else knows the truth. Next comes a series of threatening messages, asking Embry to make impossible choices, forcing her to put her loved ones at risk. Someone is playing a high stakes game where no one in Embry’s life is safe. And their last move...is murder. AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY Praise for HIDDEN PIECES “Stokes makes the landscape an integral part of the story. Charact...

Super excited to be a part of the book blast for  Shadow House: The Missing by Dan Poblocki! For any of you that know me, you know I love spooky books, so this series falls right into that.  I have so many students that get reading because of these books! To find out more about the tour check out the link:  http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/2018/07/nerd-blast-shadow-house-book-4-missing.html  SYNOPSIS Shadow House never sleeps . . . Five children have been lured into Shadow House, all for different reasons. None of them knows the others. And none of them knows what do to when they can’t find a way back out. But something is different inside the house. Someone – or something – there knows a little bit more than they should. Only how are the kids supposed to decide if that someone is trying to help them . . . or trap them there forever? Enter Shadow House . . . if you dare. Don’t just read about Shadow House—step inside with the free SHADOW HOUSE app. Each image in the book...

Excited to be a part of the blog tour for A Room Away From Wolves blog tour hosted by Fantastic Flying Book Club! TOUR SCHEDULE ABOUT THE BOOK A Room Away From the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Release Date: September 4, 2018 Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism, Mystery Synopsis: Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—a bond Bina thought was unbreakable. Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her. She has an old suitcase, a fresh black eye, and a room waiting for her at Catherine House, a young women’s residence in Greenwich Village with a tragic history...

I love book covers! I love walking around bookstores just looking at all the different covers.   A good cover will make me pull the book off the shelf!   It's almost like I have a crush on them :) Today I'm crushin' on: Image from Goodreads About the Book from Goodreads: Alyce's mother has just been burnt at the stake for practicing witchcraft. With only a thin set of instructions and a witch's mommet for guidance, Alyce must face the world that she's been sealed off from -- a world of fear and superstition. With a witch hunter fast on her trail, she'll need the help of an innkeeper and a boy looking to discover the truth behind his own mother's past. But as her journey continues, another war rages: a hidden war of the supernatural, of the living and the dead. Good and evil are blurred, and nobody's motives can be trusted. And Alyce finds herself thrown unwillingly into the conflict. Struggling to understand her own powers, she is quickly drawn into ...

Title : Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth Author : Sheila O'Connor Copy Obtained: From publisher for an honest review Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, one young girl is determined to save her brother from the draft--and gets help from an unlikely source--in this middle-grade tale, perfect for fans of  The Wednesday Wars  When eleven-year-old Reenie Kelly's mother passes away, she and her brothers are shipped off to live with their grandmother. Adjusting to life in her parents' Midwestern hometown isn't easy, but once Reenie takes up a paper route with her older brother Dare, she has something she can look forward to. As they introduce themselves to every home on their route, Reenie's stumped by just one--the house belonging to Mr. Marsworth, the town recluse. When he doesn't answer his doorbell, Reenie begins to leave him letters. Slowly, the two become pen pals, striking up the most unlikely of friendships. Through their letters, Reenie tells of her old...

I LOVE Lois Duncan's Books.  I have since I was in middle school!   My favorite book of her's: Down a Dark Hall!  LOVE IT! I did a search for all my posts mentioning Lois Duncan.  You can see them HERE .   And more specifically HERE is my review of Down a Dark Hall. So a few months ago I found out they had made a movie of this book.  I was soooooooo excited.  Yes, yes I know - they've changed it from the book, but I can handle that.  I go into every movie from a book knowing it will be different.  In my opinion, it looks like they did a good job though.  So this weekend I will be getting it from Amazon Prime and settling in to enjoy!  Here is the poster for the movie: A clip from the movie: And the trailer: A bit about the movie DOWN A DARK HALL In Theaters, On Demand, and On iTunes Today! Kit (AnnaSophia Robb), a difficult young girl, is sent to the mysterious Blackwood Boarding School when her heated temper be...

Title : The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story Author : Mary Downing Hahn Copy Obtained : From publisher About the Book from Goodreads A family moves into an old, abandoned house. Jules's parents love the house, but Jules is frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she sees a pale face in an upstairs window, though, she can't stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor—in a room with a locked door. Could it be someone who lived in the house a century earlier? Her fear replaced by fascination, Jules is determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and help unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover—and change—the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago. Two sentence review: Great new addition to Downing Hahn's collection of scary stories for the tween set.  It has a bit of a twist on the traditional ghost story, so that was cool.  Best for readers who: Like a bit of a scare a...

There are some books I just can't wait for.   Here's where I share!  Due Out: October 9th Van has always been an outsider. Most people don’t notice him. But he notices them. And he notices the small trinkets they drop, or lose, or throw away—that’s why his collection is full of treasures. Then one day, Van notices a girl stealing pennies from a fountain, and everything changes. He follows the girl, Pebble, and uncovers an underground world full of wishes and the people who collect them. Apparently not all wishes are good and even good wishes often have unintended consequences—and the Collectors have made it their duty to protect us. But they aren't the only ones who have their eyes on the world’s wishes—and they may not be the good guys, after all .   Why I'm waiting: I just love the concept of this! Haven't you always wondered about those coin wishes you make???

As a media specialist in a middle school, I'm always looking for new high-interest nonfiction.   My mission is to get and keep middle school student reading, and one way is to hook them into nonfiction.   So when I was offered this series for review I jumped at the chance!  Series Title: Absolute Expert Publisher: National Geographic Kids Copies Obtained: From the publisher Short Version: LOVED them.    Why I'd recommend it:  As usual with National Geographic Kids books, these books are jammed packed with awesome full-color pictures.  I know that I can use that to get a kid to at least look at the book.  And once I have it in their hands that's half the battle! I'd also recommend any of the books in this series because they are NOT just pictures.  There are large sections of text, so they get kids readings as well.  And the text is about interesting things.  I was very interested in the section in the volcano book a...

A few Wednesdays a month I like to feature books that show the strength and diversity of women.  These may be works of fiction or nonfiction. Today I have a book review. Title : Amal Unbound Author : Aisha Saeed Copy Obtained: Bought Life is quiet and ordinary in Amal's Pakistani village, but she had no complaints, and besides, she's busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Her dreams are temporarily dashed when—as the eldest daughter—she must stay home from school to take care of her siblings. Amal is upset, but she doesn't lose hope and finds ways to continue learning. Then the unimaginable happens—after an accidental run-in with the son of her village's corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family's servant to pay off her own family's debt. Life at the opulent Khan estate is full of heartbreak and struggle for Amal—especially when she inadvertently makes an enemy of a girl named Nabila. Most troubling, though, is Amal's growing awareness...

I love book covers! I love walking around Barnes and Noble just looking at all the different covers.  A good cover will make me pull the book off the shelf!   It's almost like I have a crush on them :) Today I'm crushin' on: About the Book: For as long as Evie can remember, she and Emma have been best friends. They’ve gone through everything together—only Evie understood what it was like for Emma to lose her older brother in a car accident. And though they couldn’t be more different—Emma is the life of the party while Evie is shy—the dynamic has always worked for them. But then Evie makes a careless mistake that ends up having serious consequences for Emma. They’ve had their squabbles before, but this is different. When Evie tries to apologize, Emma ignores her texts, gets a new best friend, and completely freezes her out. Evie didn’t mean to betray Emma in the way that she did, and she’s desperate to get back in Emma’s good graces. Who is Evie without Emma? Then Evie mee...