You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but you can’t take the August anxiety out of the teacher. The anticipation of school, work, and multiple family birthdays always gets me a bit worked up, so I decided to take a break from any chance of explicit content (violence, gore, romps in the hay). It was an almost exclusive PG-13/YA/MiddleGrade list this month, and I have to admit it was a fun reading detour.

Total Books: 10
Physical: 3
Audio: 3
Mix: 4
DNF: 4

Genre: YA Dystopian
Format: Physical
Rating: 3.5/5

This was a solid ending to the Inhuman duology, but it was evident the books were written years apart. Apparently the author had a major block and trouble finishing this one (as told in the acknowledgements). It showed through character changes in the love triangle, and some plot points seemed pretty forced. However, this still stands as a solid YA Dystopian tale with great world building, the right amount of angst, suspense, and memorable characters.

Genre: Nonfiction
Format: Audio
Rating: 2.5/5

I usually loathe parenting books of any kind, but desperate times call for desperate measures – especially since my attitude with one of my children usually comes out like this:

In a quest to be more empathetic, this book helped me remember that eating uses all the senses and it can be a big mental block for a lot of kids. While there is nothing earth-shattering awesome in these tips and most suggestions make me fight my inner beast, I will TRY some of the advice here. Operation: Eat Noodles 2025 is a go.

Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: Mix of Audio/Physical (The narrator was good but it was a bit over the top. Ha!)
Rating: 5/5

Sometimes there are books that are just TREATS. This was a treat. A friend recommended this, and I had no idea what I was getting into. Take 1500s British history, but make it set in a world where people can turn into animals. Just don’t ask questions. It’s a tale of found family and quests and humor. Just roll with it and enjoy, okay??

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Format: Physical
Rating: 4/5

A seventh grader navigates peers, teachers, and family, while learning more about her neurodivergent brain. This was an interesting free verse novel on about autism and accommodations and friendship. I read it with my incoming seventh grader and would highly recommend it, as this book provided great talking points on a variety of issues. (He gave it a full 5/5, by the way.)

Genre: YA
Format: Audio
Rating: 2.5/5

This was a generous rounded-up-“3”. Somehow, a pop star/secret agent/bodyguard book with car chases, concerts, shootings, and espionage was…..boring? I’m all about suspending disbelief, but these trauma-bonded teens had zero chemistry and needed to move on from each other immediately. Hence, I shall not continue on with the sequel. (I just didn’t have the heart to DNF a fourth book in a row.)

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Format: Mix Audio/Physical
Rating: 3/5

The cast of characters on a Mars settlement was built of interesting people and realistic kids. However, there were some MAJOR plot holes (why mention conflict on Earth if you’re going to never resolve it?) and some convenient closure (it all could have been fixed by reading an email from years prior). Overall, solid middle grade fiction, annoying at times. And huge trigger warnings for kids that have ever feared for the lives of parental/grandparent figures. Eek.

Genre: YA (slight magical realism)
Format: Mix of Audio/Physical
Rating: 4.25/5

Coming of age tales are not my favorite, but I got over myself enough to finally pick up the traveling pants. The feelings and angst and interwoven tales were just lovely – even though I was constantly laughing that a book from 2001 seemed like an ancient historical text. Could you even imagine 4 teen best friends that wrote letters to each other and didn’t have constant updates? That was almost more unbelievable than size-shifting pants. The characters were honest but hard to read at times (because girls are complicated!). While somewhat dated, teen angst is as current as ever. My only complaint is: YOU HAVE MAGICAL PANTS TO WORK WITH AND IT’S MOSTLY JUST A SYMBOL OF THEIR CONNECTION. BUT YOU HAVE MAGICAL PANTS!? AND EVERYONE IS JUST COOL WITH IT? NO NOTES? WHAT IS THE STORY ABOUT THE MAGIC IN THE PANTS!?

Genre: YA
Format: Audio
Rating: 1/5

Yes, it is always harsh to give a “1”. While I was expecting Aladdin with a twist, I was not expecting a retelling to suck all the romance, humor, and FUN away. The first 25% is exactly like the movie. Then it diverges with the idea that Jafar gets the lamp/genie first. So, remember the most depressing 5 minutes of the movie where Jafar is Sultan? It’s 70% that. With some gore? Ew. Anyway, NEXT!

Genre: Middle Grade
Format: Physical
Rating: 5/5 (Fight me)

Solid pacing, great (British) humor, solid twists, dumb fun. It was a thrift store find and the most pleasant surprise. (Pairs well with KPop Demon Hunters!)

Genre: YA
Format: Audio/Physical Mix
Rating: 4.25/5

This is what fairy tale retellings should be – hitting all the main points of the original plot but adding fun twists. This mash-up involves Cinderella and a Star-Trek-like TV series. It’s got all the characters of the original tale, but this time you have to get the food truck home from the cosplay convention on time. I’m a sucker for Ashley Poston and was charmed by trying one of her YA books.

The Quit List

These lovely YA reads fell victim to “PLEASE STOP EXPLAINING THINGS – IF YOU CAN’T START ANY REAL ACTION BY 12%, I’M OUT”. Cool covers, interesting premises, slow starts. Next!

Weyward is a “DNF for now”. I have trouble engaging with jumping timelines and parallel stories (even though it’s clever story telling and very popular). It’s a me thing. I know this one is on all the lists, so if I need to give it more of a try, please let me know.

I’m in the middle of two FUN books right now, so happy September reading!