Category: Young Adult

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Today’s book recommendation: A BRILLIANT NIGHT OF STARS AND ICE by Rebecca Connolly – Adult/YA Historical Fiction

This book was heart-wrenching and beautiful! Rebecca’s research was impeccable, and although I’ve long been fascinated with the story of the Titanic, I was mesmerized and inspired by Captain Rostram’s heroic rescue of the 706 survivors.

As I read of the rescue, I was reminded of the Titanic artifact exhibit in Las Vegas. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend going through it, especially after reading this book! It has a fun, interactive (but also sobering) element to it where you are assigned a passenger profile and given a ticket, and then at the end you see if you survived!

The crazy thing is that my profile passenger was a woman named Kate and one of the main point of view characters in Rebecca’s book is also Kate, who is traveling with her sister!

I’m so grateful to know of the bravery and selflessness that went into saving those who were lucky enough to secure a spot in the lifeboats. If you want to know the untold story of the Titanic disaster, I highly recommend this book! It’s perfect for both teenagers and adults.

Happy reading!

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Today’s book recommendations: An Improbable Season by Rosalyn Eves – YA Regency Romance and A Captain for Caroline Gray by Julie Wright – Adult/YA Regency Romance

When AN IMPROBABLE SEASON came out last year, I had the opportunity to go to my local bookstore and get a signed copy from Rosalyn Eves!

Julie Wright was there as well, leading a a fun book discussion and Q&A with Rosalyn. These women are such extraordinary authors! I admire them so much! I ended coming away with 2 signed books to add to my TBR, plus a couple of door prizes! 🎉

Regency romance is a genre I only dip my toes in occasionally, but I truly enjoyed both books. I especially loved how Rosalyn kept me guessing till the very end who the main love interest was!

Thanks to Tanya’s Book Bungalow for hosting such a great event!

Happy Reading!

P.S. There’s now a stand-alone companion to AN IMPROBABLY SEASON that is called AN UNLIKELY PROPOSITION! If you or your teenagers like Bridgerton, this may be just the thing!

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Today’s double whammy book recommendations: SHIELDED and UNTETHERED by KayLynn Flanders – Young Adult Fantasy

One of my favorite people and one of my favorite book series, all wrapped in one! KayLynn is the loveliest of lovely and her stories have the coolest vibe!! I had to wrestle these books away from my teenagers (both boys and girls!), so I could read them, too–in their final form, that is. I had the distinct privilege of being one of KayLynn’s critique partners for a time, so I got to read a number of different versions!

These books are full of swordplay, villains, clean, fun romance, and daring, magical adventures. Watch out for ulterior motives and a wilderness with its own agenda. I highly recommend!

Happy Reading!

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Today’s book recommendation: BENEATH THE WIDE SILK SKY by Emily Inouye Huey – Young Adult Historical Fiction

I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of time travel and until scientists figure that out, historical fiction is as close as it gets! This genre is an awesome way for adults and curious kids alike to not only learn about real events in history, but to fully immerse themselves in the experiences and emotions of the time.

The moment I started reading Beneath the Wide Silk Sky by Emily Inouye Huey, my newly minted goal to get more sleep flew right out the window! I absolutely could not put it down! This book immediately transports you back in time to WWII America and into the lives of the future victims of the Japanese internment camps.

Huey’s evocative prose is stunning, and she handles the delicate topics of race, prejudice, and aggression with care and sensitivity. Her characters and their relationships are complex and fully-developed.

This book is a definite must-read for teenagers and adults. When my daughter read it, it instantly became her very favorite book!