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Athena Protocol

Description: Jessie Archer is a member of the Athena Protocol, an elite organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice around the world. Athena operatives are never supposed to shoot to kill—so when Jessie can’t stop herself from pulling the trigger, she gets kicked out of the organization, right before a huge mission to take down a human trafficker in Belgrade.   Jessie needs to right her wrong and prove herself, so she starts her own investigation into the trafficking. But going rogue means she has no one to watch her back as she delves into the horrors she uncovers. Meanwhile, her former teammates have been ordered to bring her down. Jessie must face danger from all sides if she’s to complete her mission—and survive. Review: I have always been frustrated with the James Bond and Mission Impossible movie franchises especially with their reductive treatment of women who are either the femme fatale caricuture or an "agent" who is suppose to be capable an...
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The Secret

The Secret

Favorite Books of 2019


Here are my favorite books of 2019. As a quick disclaimer, these books may not all be 2019 releases but I did read them in 2019. These books are  ranked according to the interest level. 

Favorite Adult Books


I read a quite a few adult titles that I enjoyed in 2019 and I am happy to report that I enjoyed quite a few titles.

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin: A smart and witty homage to the Jane Austen classic featuring Muslim characters set in Toronto, Canada.

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty:  An amazing sequel that completely had me at the edge of my seat and for once I have absolutely no idea how this wonderful series will end. If you are looking for a great fantasy with a complex, multilayered story that centers on the kingdom's deeply divisive religious, political, and racial tensions.

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia: A  genre-bending, highly entertaining, and enthralling mystery with lovable and quirky characters that dips into the supernatural but without losing sight to real life problems.


Favorite Children Book


I always try to fit in some children and middle grade reads into my yearly reading challenge. I loved three books this year.

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal: I’ve had a love/hate relationship with my name ever since I was little. This picture book reminds me of the story my dad always told me whenever I complained about my name to him.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang: A wonderful debut middle grade novel that explores a multitude of themes that are nicely woven into a story of activism.

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson: Timely, important, and beautifully written. *Review coming soon


Favorite YA Books

Young Adult books dominate my reading pile because I work for teens as a high school librarian. I had a hard time keeping up with all the new releases for 2019. I avoided most of the hyped books because they almost always lead me to disappointment. Surprisingly a reread made it on to this list.  

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) and The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking #2) by Patrick Ness: I had dystopia fatigue for quite sometime, but this series is thought provoking, horrifying, exceptionally well written, and completely underrated. I hope to finish this series next year.

The Lovely War by Julie Berry: Incredibly well written and multilayered story of two pairs of lovers over the course of World War I and World War II narrated by the Greek Gods. *Review coming soon

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson: Timely, important, and beautifully written memoir in verse. *Review coming soon


There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon: A contemporary romance that is full of heart while also tackling fat shaming, identity, privilege, and self confidence

Favorite Graphic Novels/Manga

I read several fantastic graphic novels in 2019. I still have to review a few of them.


New Kid by Jerry Craft: New Kid may seem like another title about being the new kid in school, but this graphic novel is so much more. It is a candid and accessible story about race, class, microagressions, and the quest of self identity when you clearly do not fit into clean boxes.
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks: Rowell can make a simple story magical and Hick’s drawings make the graphic novel come to life.

Runaways Volumes 1-7 by Brian K. Vaughan: A teen centered superhero comic in which their parents are the villains. Smart, fun, and highly entertaining. 


Honorable Mentions

The following books are the ones that left a lasting impression on me that I would also highly recommend reading:

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason
If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali
The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg 

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Look Both Ways

Description: This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy— Talking about boogers. Stealing pocket change. Skateboarding. Wiping out. Braving up. Executing complicated handshakes. Planning an escape. Making jokes. Lotioning up. Finding comfort. But mostly, too busy walking home. Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life. Review:   Writing short stories is hard, but writing ten different stories that feature ten blocks in one neighborhood that takes place all at the same time is unimaginable yet Jason Reynolds make it very easy. On these ten blocks, Jasmine and TJ wonder what they are made of-dust and water. Four friends hustle for change all day and maneuver their capital into buying an ur...
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Description:  In 1940, eighteen-year old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past forever. Ten years later, now a radio producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, on a different battleground, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat. A bill of reckoning is due, and she finally begins to realize that there is no action without consequence. Review:  There are a plethora of fiction titles that are written about World War II and after a while all the books seem formulaic. I wanted to learn more of the inner workings of those who worked for spy agencies during the war so when I read the descrip...
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Blog Tour: Review and Excerpt 'Biggest Flirts' by Jennifer Echols

  Hello everyone. Like always I am absolutely thrilled to be spot-lighting another book by one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Echols. Check out my review,  mini-excerpt and then enter the giveaway for copies of her books (!)   Title: Biggest Flirts  Author: Jennifer Echols Expected publication: May 20th 2014 by Simon Pulse Genre: YA contemporary Goodreads | Amazon | ________________________________________ Biggest Flirts is everything it promises to be. Light and quick and yes, a bit naughty. I was incredibly excited to start this Superlatives series by Jennifer because I have had such a great time reading her comedy novels before. This time it was not the exception. You read the title and you have to expect that this book is going to be fun. And it certainly is a wild ride. Our main characters are Tia and Will. They are voted the school's biggest flirts, and this title is perfect for Tia, who is fun and playful and the kind of girl that c...
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