Summary: Tillie is ashamed and embarrassed of herself, so she hides behind her camera, which she uses to help her classmates find lost objects. However, when her classmate comes asking for help finding not something but someone, she begins getting a bit in over her head and learning more about herself than she ever knew.  Review: This book made me cry. That right there makes it an automatic winner! Admittedly, though, I did go into this book quite hesitantly… like VERY hesitantly. I forced myself to read it basically, and it was only because there was such a high rating for it on GoodRead ..read more

Summary: Shane really likes his new school, his friends, and his baseball team. However, what he hasn’t told anyone is that he’s transgender. The secret isn’t kept for long, though. One of his classmates finds out Shane’s truth and doesn’t hesitate to tell people, leaving Shane with no option but to deal with the reactions.  Review: This was a really good story! It is definitely one of the better trans-narratives that I’ve read (and it really isn’t close). The story wasn’t overly medical and complicated with a lot of surgical jargon (which, to me, never makes for an interesting story). It ..read more

Summary: Theo is dead. It was a freak accident, but that doesn’t change the fact that Theo is never coming back, and now Griffin is left alone to pick up the pieces of his life. Even though Theo and him had broken up, Griffin still feels like he lost the one true love of his life, and getting over this feels impossible. Review: Womp womp. This was a bit of a letdown. (A lot of a letdown.) I had some pretty high hopes for this book, expecting a gay romance story. That, however, was very much not what I got. Perhaps that’s my fault for having incorrect expectations, but I was disappointed, not s ..read more

Summary: Melody is ready for a new adventure: summer camp! She’s both scared and excited, but she’s ready for it. The camp is a specialty camp for kids with disabilities, like Melody. She’s going to swim, make new friends, get a crush, and even ride a horse — and she cannot wait! Review: “Is this book necessary?” That was my initial thought when I first heard of this book’s publication. I didn’t think Melody needed more to her story. I read this book because I’m a completionist, but I went in incredibly reluctantly. However, I found myself really appreciating the happiness and closure that thi ..read more

Summary: Macy’s entire life is changing. Her mom is getting remarried to a man with two daughters already, her house is up for sale, her friend is mad at her, and now she has to help out the elderly woman next door! However, Macy isn’t going to let these things happen without a fight. Review: Macy’s Deaf. Did you notice that my summary didn’t mention that Macy was Deaf? That’s because Green did a miraculous thing here: She wrote a story about a Deaf character who’s entire personality and conflict is NOT their Deafness! That almost never happens! Most authors rely so heavily on their character ..read more

Summary: Mav is torn: Be a gang member or go straight. He wants to leave the life of crime behind, but it isn’t that easy. However, when he finds out he’s a father unexpectedly at the age of 17, he becomes more motivated than ever to put his life on the straight and narrow. When one of the closest people in his life dies from gang violence, though, Mav’s resolve is tested more than he could’ve imagined. Review: I will admit that it took me a minute to get fully invested in this book. However, at about page 50 to 75, I became really invested. I stopped feeling like I was reading a book, and I s ..read more

Summary: It’s almost the end of the year, and Charlie Joe Jackson is nowhere NEAR the grades his parents want him to have. If he can’t make straight A’s, they’re sending him to an academic summer camp: Camp Rituhbbukkee! Charlie Joe now must concoct his biggest plan ever in order to avoid LEARNING over the summer. Review: I was nervous to read this sequel because the first book was… meh. It was okay, but nothing spectacular. However, this book had much more substance than the first one. With that being said, I would still like a bitttt more depth to the series moving forward from this.  I ..read more

Summary: There are two things that Miles loves most in his life: bowling and his grandpa. However, when a new girl, Amy, shows up in his life, everything he knows begins to change. He loses focus on bowling, he starts paying more attention to girls, and he has some serious family issues to handle. Review: I don’t think I’ve ever read a book about bowling, so I was a bit curious going into the book about how I’d feel. As it turns out, I found the entire bowling plot line to be really fun and cute! Actually, I was enjoying it so much that I became frustrated when the author decided to turn the b ..read more

Summary: It’s time for eighth grade, and Mr. Terupt’s crew has a whole new set of problems for their last year of middle school. As they each work to solve their problems, alone and with each other’s help, their bonds become closer than ever before. It isn’t until Mr. Terupt’s big announcement that everything really begins to change.   Review: This was a pretty strong ending to the Terupt series. The characters were clearly older in this story, which was nice to see. They have lost a lot of their childhood senses of wonder and naivety from the first book. There was some cussing, roma ..read more

Summary: Sam Abernathy was trapped (accidentally) in a well at age four, and ever since then, he’s been a local celebrity. Now, at eleven, he’s facing some residual trauma in the form of a talking armadillo, Bartleby, while pursuing his dreams of becoming a chef. Through all of this, he must deal with disapproval from his father and bullies at his every turn.  Review: This was an incredible book. It felt like such a good exploration of PTSD and trauma through the eyes of the protagonist, Sam. I also really loved the genuine friendships that had seemed to form in the story between Sam and ..read more