foster kids – Reading While Fat

And Then, BOOM!

In 2022, I read and reviewed Lisa Fipps’ award-winning first book, Starfish, a fat-positive middle-grade novel-in-verse, so I was happy to find out that she published a second middle-grade novel-in-verse in 2024, And Then, BOOM! And Then, BOOM! tells the story of Joe Oak, a tween who lives with his grandmother, because his Mom oftenContinue reading “And Then, BOOM!”

Firekeeper’s Daughter, Warrior Girl Unearthed, and Sisters in the Wind

Book cover for Warrior Girl Unearthed, by Angeline Boulley, featuring an orange background and the face of a dark-skinned, dark-haired woman in the center, with the background of another face silhouetted behind her. A glowing bear and an otter are just below, and the phases of the moon are above.

So I read Warrior Girl Unearthed (2023) by Angeline Boulley in September, and immediately had to read Boulley’s first book Firekeeper’s Daughter (2021, Goodreads Choice Award for YA), and was thrilled to find out she’s just published a third book, Sisters in the Wind (September 2, 2025), which I also devoured. They are each amazingContinue reading “Firekeeper’s Daughter, Warrior Girl Unearthed, and Sisters in the Wind”

Demon Copperhead

I don’t know if I can say anything about the 2023 Pulitzer-winning Demon Copperhead (2022) by Barbara Kingsolver that hasn’t already been written. Just Google it for several excellent reviews. It’s a modern retelling of David Copperfield by Dickens. Although I have been a Kingsolver fan for many, many years, I was a little apprehensive,Continue reading “Demon Copperhead”

Forever This Summer

Forever This Summer (2021) by Leslie C. Youngblood is a bittersweet and heartwarming middle-grade novel set in Bogalusa, Louisiana, and starring 11-year old Georgie, who is visiting with her Mama and baby sister Peaches to help take care of Mama’s Aunt Vie, who has Alzheimer’s. Georgie misses her best friend back in Atlanta, Nikki, andContinue reading “Forever This Summer”