Between the Pages

 Hello everyone! Here's the review for a sequel I have been awaiting for a long time: The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. SPOILER - this series is a confirmed TRILOGY. The third book is called The Final Gambit.  SUMMARY First a little recap of the first book in this Hawthorne series presented by September Hallie's review of the first one -  "One day Avery is barely making ends meet, the next she is on a plane to the Hawthorne House, the mansion and estate of Tobias Hawthorne the Texas billionaire. One day Avery doesn't have a house, the next she is the beneficiary of the late Tobias Hawthorne's fortune. The list of questions/'catches' is long. (1) Avery doesn't know and has never known a Tobias Hawthorne in her life. (2) Hawthorne's extended family is vast and each member was close to the late billionaire. Why didn't he leave his fortune to them?" Avery is back at it again with another mystery. Or, rather, the same mystery, differ...

Hello everyone on this lovely day! I hope you all enjoyed my halfway recap. I have since finished three more books Just Mercy , It Ends With Us, and The Inheritance Games . That makes 26 books on the year! Sorry I have been MIA lately. Things are getting BUSY. Now, for the review of the first audiobook that I listened to on my recently acquired library card. (Yes, I know I know, I should have gotten a library card sooner. BUT, I have one now!) SUMMARY Charlotte and Jamie are back! (And I have never been happier!) Charlotte thought she was finished. She thought she could leave the Holmes family behind. The "Holmes Way" of sleuthing and hyper-attention is still as stuck to Charlotte as it was at Sherringford.  Charlotte and Jamie are both taking Oxford Summer Pre-college courses to get ready for their upcoming first semester in college. Just when their shot for a "normal" experience arrives, Charlotte (and by extension Jamie) gets asked to investigate a mystery in the...

 The Minerva House gang is back! This is NOT a drill. I repeat this is NOT a drill! SUMMARY Stevie Bell is back and better than ever (literally) in The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson, but this time, with another mystery. For three books, we have been riveted by the Ellingham Academy murders. Now that Stevie has solved those, she begins the summer before her senior year working in a deli - not exactly the perfect job for a mystery-solving teenager but it is a safe job (unless you count the deli-slicer as a dangerous weapon...).  In 1978, four prominent teenagers at summer camp in Barlow Corners went into the woods together to smoke after camp curfew. Sabrina, Todd, Diane, and Eric were never seen alive again. They were seen, however, stabbed to death in the woods. 43 years later, still, no one knows why. Cold. Case. When Stevie gets an offer to solve the Box in the Woods murders, she takes it - posing to everyone (even her parents) except her friends and the camp owner as ...

Hello friends!! It has been a WEEK. Sorry for the delay. I started my literary jobs this week! Here is a new review for you! SUMMARY    Josie Pie peaked in high school. And it is the WORST. Josie was a rising star. Sent to Broadway when she was barely seventeen. Josie moved to New York expecting greatness. She was confronted was the opposite. After her first audition (aka her first rejection), Josie's massive ego took a massive hit.     Rejection after rejection, Josie finds herself in Montana. Josie's time on the stage is traded for being a full-time nanny for a new-ish mother who is ALWAYS gone leaving her daughter, Mia, behind with Josie. Josie is not happy. Sure, Mia makes her laugh and Josie makes fairly good money but she misses the stage. Mises her friend, Nina. Mises her boyfriend, Justin (or not...? This is complicated, especially because Justin lives back in Arizona and attends high school whereas Josie left early and now lives elsewhere.).  ...

   If you have not read the American Royals series by Katharine McGee - GO NO FURTHER! This post is chocked FULL of spoilers (the 's' word is very taboo in the book community - my apologies for using it so willy-nilly in the past couple of posts). This post will include three sections. (1) The section where I unpack all the relationships I love and why I raced through other chapters to get to details about them. (2) The section where I discuss a relationship I HATE (hot take) and why it simply does not work. (3) My frustrations with the ending (in more detail and with specific reasons from the text also known as SPOILERS).  Welcome to episode #2 of the American Royals series on BTP: the spoiler-filled, dramatic episode (the probably more fun one though!).  Section 1: The BEST relationships Beatrice + Teddy    You've got a HUGE Beddy or Teatrice fan on your hands. While their relationship was painful at best in the first book (this was McGee's point), the se...

   I have a very complicated opinion of Katharine McGee's American Royals series (which consists of two books: American Royals  & Majesty ). As a reviewer, I have to keep my opinions objective and spoiler-free; however, I don't always want to. I have some STRONG statements to make about these books' contents that cannot be expressed without spoiling large plot details. With this in mind, I am doing two posts for American Royals . One, being a spoiler-free review of the great aspects and issues of the books with a fairly detailed summary - just like normal. And two, the spoiler-filled rant on the frustrating parts / potential fixes / rave about relationships I loved.  Without further adieu, the review.     Welcome to episode #1 of the American Royals series on BTP: the review. I'm your host, Hallie. The audience for this "episode" are those that have and HAVE NOT read Katharine McGee's two Royals books .  SUMMARY    The United States ...

This one is really, really good.  SUMMARY After a tragic start to her high school career, Jill Newman is *finally* a senior. Walking into Gold Coast Prep, Jill's friend group since freshman year sits in the front row of each year's opening assembly. For the third year in a row since the death of Jill's dearest friend and most daring Player, Shaila Arnold is honored for her dazzling life before she was murdered by her boyfriend and former Player, Graham Calloway.  At this point, you should probably know what a 'Player' is. A Player is the name for a member of the most elite social group at Gold Coast Prep. Senior Players choose the fittest and coolest freshman candidates for Players every year in the fall. The freshman candidates must prove their worth by performing 'pops' - near impossible challenges issued by the seniors to freshmen. The Players are an elite and tight-knit friend group (which is why the murder of Shaila Arnnold still rings in the group'...

OK cheesy, YA romance lovers - boy, have I got the book for you. Are you perhaps a dancer? Do you speak French? Do you love Paris? What about hot French guys? Yes to one or more of those questions? This one is for you. That's it. Now you can actually read the review.  Sorry - another thing - the book cover matched my smoothie. I was entirely too proud of that.  SUMMARY    Mia Jenrow knows exactly what she wants. Despite her mother's constant dismissal of her dreams, Mia wants to be, no scratch that, will be a professional ballerina. Accepting the chance of a lifetime to study under ballet-master Monsieur Dabrowski, Mia Jenrow is in Paris for the summer. Good things only come with hard work, and in Mia's case, it is very VERY hard work. Eat, sleep, dance, repeat - Mia's days become routine, but get harder and harder.     Soon, Mia meets (you guessed it) a devastatingly handsome and charming French guy that's....whaaaaat...her age! He drives a vespa and ...

     I'm back again with another Holly Jackson (LOVE) mystery! Good Girl, Bad Blood is an amazing novel. Often, sequels are worse than the original book; however, Holly Jackson's newest book is JUST as good as her original: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.       Pippa Fitz-Amobi is back suddenly jarred back into the crime-solving world when her friend's brother goes missing. She and her boyfriend, Ravi Singh (brother to the famously framed teenager, Sal Singh, whose name Pippa's discovery in Jackson's first novel cleared), start a podcast with the sole purpose of only having ONE season. One season to cover the Sal Singh. AGGGTM (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: the podcast) is suddenly back for round two. Unhappy for the new mystery and much to her parents' disapproval, Pip takes the case. Follow Pippa through yet another mystery.      When I tell you that I LOVE Holly Jackson, I mean it. Her books are surprisingly relatable (mystery is not ...

SUMMARY Jamie Watson. An accidental rugby star. Attractive, British high-schooler. A new student at a scenic Connecticut boarding school. The same school becomes the site of a series of crimes. Enter the dynamic, crime-solving duo - Holmes and Watson. But not Sherlock and John. Charlotte and Jamie.  Jamie Watson has always been fascinated by Charlotte Holmes. Their great-great-great grandfathers being part of the famous duo, Jamie has always hoped to recreate and rekindle the crime-solving spirit; however, Charlotte has other ideas. Charlotte Holmes doesn't need help. No vulnerability. No failure. Don't fathom weakness. Don't fathom emotion. But when Jamie Watson starts to get her to open up, what will she do? She's always been good at solving crimes because of her ability to shut down all other parts of her brain besides the analytical part. Now...she might need to listen to her...heart? Has she ever used her heart? Once...that won't happen again. Her heart...that...

SUMMARY  Ellingham Academy is a private boarding school in Vermont where the United States' brightest thinkers, inventors, artists, and creators come to play. Founded by one of America's richest, from-the-ground-up benefactors in the early 20th century, Ellingham Academy, while a center of learning and talent, has a storied, infamous, and twisted past. Albert Ellingham's wife, Iris, and daughter, Alice, were kidnapped soon after his school's opening. Neither returned. A taunting riddle was left for Mr. Ellingham written by the assumed criminal who used the pseudonym Truly Devious.  Decades later, Stephanie Bell steps onto Ellingham's campus with one goal: to solve the case, the crime of a lifetime. Much to her parents' chagrin, Stevie spends more time with the crime and real documents and evidence than with her anatomy class subject matter. Along the way, she enlists the help of her housemates: a novelist, Nate, an actor, Hunter, an artist with a French fetish, ...

Summer is winding down for the school that I attend. Since summer reading is a great source of stress when the summer quickly (seemingly) closes, I thought I would make this blog one of resources for summer reading. This will be organized by MS grade. These books are specific to the required reads at my school. If you have read these books or happen to have these books assigned to you now or in the future, feel absolutely free to use these at your disposal. Please use the tips from my previous posts about summer reading linked here.  RISING 5TH GRADERS Hello fifth graders! I am so glad you are beginning your journey in middle school. As I understand it, your summer read is Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Use these resources to prepare and review for your class beginning in only one and a half short weeks.  Synopsis and review . Book Summary given very in-depth and by chapter. Again, fabulous summaries with an included study guide . Kid-friendly Review video that may be ...

Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder  is the summer thriller you NEED! Summary Pippa, or Pip, Fitz-Amobi is good at school. She has always been, but she doesn't know who she truly is when she isn't working on a project, doing homework, or studying for a test. For her senior capstone project, Pip decides she will solve a murder. Drastic, I know, but she has to find out what really happened five years ago. She has to find out what happened to her friend Sal. When Sal Singh was a senior in highschool, his girlfriend, Andie Bell, disappeared. Sal Singh was found a couple days later, after texting his father that he kidnapped and killed Andie, dead - suicide with sleeping pills. Pippa knows that's not the whole story.  The only condition on her capstone project is that she does not interview any members of the Bell or Singh families. This is the first rule Pippa breaks, a concept that she is not used to. Pip enlists the help of Ravi Singh (Sal's younger brot...

Laurie Halse Anderson's novel Speak  is truly moving and brings up taboo topics like sexual assault and bullying in a classy, but distinct manner.  Summary Melinda Sordino has been ostracized by her entire school. She called the cops on an end-of-summer party where she was sexually assaulted, scared, and didn't know what to do. There was illegal alcohol use at the party, so a lot of kids got arrested. Would she tell the cops and the kids at her school why she called the cops? Never. Melinda decides to keep her rape a secret, as the boy who sexually assaulted her is one of the most popular guys in school. Even her closest friends she attended the party with do not speak to her anymore.  When her academic performance begins to fail, her counselor and parents try to step in. Melinda spends most of her time in an abandoned janitor's closet that she makes her 'home' while at school. The only other place in which she feels comfortable is her art class and with her art tea...

While 13 Little Blue Envelopes  is a bit cheesy, it makes a great summer read if you are looking to travel to Europe from your couch.  Summary Ginny Blackstone's Aunt Peg took off to Europe three years ago without a word. Aunt Peg brought humor and intrigue to Ginny's otherwise boring, run-of-the-mill life. Besides a few measly postcards, Ginny hasn't received anything from her otherwise booming, outgoing Aunt. Ginny gets a phone call that changes her life, and shortly after, receives the first little blue envelope. The envelope contains $1,000 and a set of instructions. Just when Ginny thought she lost the person who made her life interesting and worthwhile, she is sent on an amazing adventure through Europe, following her Aunt's footsteps. After she picks up the package with the 12 other letters, she commences her crazy journey. The once shy, timid Ginny has now broken out of her shell. One month ago, she couldn't envision herself leaving New Jersey much less runn...

PLOT SUMMARY Bronwyn is Yale bound. Hardworking and dedicated, she never breaks the rules. Maybe not never, but almost never…I guess. She did what she had to do. She got it done. Chemistry was hard, what can she say? What was she supposed to do: fail? And put her Yale acceptance in jeopardy? No way. Addy is beautiful. Tethered since freshman year to Jake, the football star and Addy make the picture perfect, popular high school couple. She would never do anything to tear that picture because that is who she is, her identity. No, she would never. Maybe not intentionally. Nate is a criminal. He’s on parole, he’s sells drugs: he’s literally done it all. His mother left and came back, then left and came back again. His father is an alcoholic. Nate is mysterious, but he’s into Bronwyn…what? Cooper is an athlete. A southern boy at heart, he’s popular too, but all he does is baseball. Driven by his helicopter father, Cooper is pushed to be the best. Keely, his girlfriend...

by Sandra Cisneros PLOT SUMMARY Esperanza, the protagonist, is about twelve years old at the novel’s opening. She lives in a small Chicago community where most inhabitants are of Latin descent. Her house is situated on Mango Street; however, Esperanza would hardly call her abode a house. While the house is much better than her previous place, the dwelling is a small flat with crumbling brick and mismatched materials. In this small apartment, Esperanza has no space specifically dedicated to her. Cisneros’s dreamt-up neighborhood creates the perfect, cramped lifestyle in which Esperanza is forced to turn to her neighbors for experiences, new thoughts, and inputs: good and bad. Esperanza quickly makes friends with Rachel and Lucy who enter puberty right along-side her during this year in Esperanza’s life. The group of friends, plus Esperanza’s tag-along kid sister, Nenny, explore the neighborhood and have many adventures including wearing high-heels around town, buying a bike...

Love & Gelato Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch is a sweet take on summer love, family’s true meaning, and being out of one’s comfort zone.  Summary: Since her mother died of cancer, Carolina (that’s pronounced Caroleena) finds herself wishing for everything ordinary; however, her mother’s dying wish is that she gets to know her father...in Tuscany. All Lina wants to be is back home in Seattle with her best friend Addie.  When Lina arrives at the cemetery where her father, Howard, lives, she receives her mother’s journal she kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly, Lina is discovering her mother’s past one difficult day at a time. With the help of charming, half Italian Ren, Lina uncovers her mother’s past step by step. Carolina discovers an identity altering secret kept from her for far too long.  Tourists come to Italy for gorgeous landscapes, stracciatella , and infamous sunshine, but lucky people find delicious gelato and love. Author Praise/C...