Description

A middle schooler’s plan to fit in with her new friends by writing herself a fake love letter backfires spectacularly in this funny and all-too-relatable graphic novel perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and the Berrybrook Middle School series.

Jackie and Milo have been best friends since they were born. Whether they’re reading comic books in their tree house hideout, playing video games, or spying on their neighbors using walkie talkies and code names, it’s always been the two of them versus the world. But in middle school, things are changing. Milo joins the soccer team and starts hanging out with a new crew. Jackie gets taken under the wing of Adelle, who wants to give her a total makeover and find her a crush. Suddenly, it seems like there are certain acceptable ways to be a girl or a boy, and Jackie starts to feel like everything about her is wrong.

In an effort to get Adelle and her new friends off her back, Jackie sends herself an anonymous love letter. But her plan backfires, and soon Jackie’s secret admirer is all anybody at school can talk about. Now she’s wondering: Dear Jackie, how are you going to get out of this?

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

This charming coming-of-age graphic novel features a variety of twists and turns that brought me back to writing letters when I was in middle school. Middle school antics ensue as two tweens, Milo and Jackie, navigate the halls of a new school. Milo and Jackie have been friends since they were little and have grown up together. Will the woes of middle school tear them apart or bring them closer? Dive into this thoughtful coming-of-age story that explores the challenges that middle schoolers face.

Author Jessixa Bagley does a wonderful job diving into the challenges tweens face while navigating middle school. This novel brought me back to when I was in middle school without a phone and unable to text my friends. We used to write letters to crushes in hopes they would notice us. Once, in middle school, I wrote a letter to my crush and was mortified when I realized he’d rejected me in front of his friends. As a tween, it is so hard to navigate those new feelings and emotions. Author Jessixa Bagley does a great job of allowing the reader to explore new feelings with Jackie. Jackie must learn to navigate new territory both at home and school. She must learn how to handle her new emotions and learn to open up to her parents about the challenges she is facing. The author is sensitive to recognizing that not all tweens are comfortable talking with their parents and teaches youth how to navigate those difficult conversations.

Great graphic novel read for tweens entering middle school! Highly Recommend!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This book releases SEPTEMBER 9, 2025.

PREORDER COPIES HERE: AMAZON BARNES AND NOBLE TARGET

North of Tomboy is an inviting novel that takes you on the journey of a young girl struggling to find her identity in an era where women aren’t seen as members of the public but members of the household only. Jess is stuck in a household that won’t accept her for who she is and in a society that is trying to force her to become girly. Girly is seen as someone who wears dresses, plays with dolls, and has friends who are girls. In the 1970s, it was common for women to be forced into stereotypical heteronormative roles and men the same. The mom is a housewife and a school teacher by day, and the dad works in construction. Jess just wants to be herself, and she wants everyone in her life to accept her for who she is without trying to force her into a role she does not want to be in. Will the people in Jess’s life finally accept her for who she is, or will she be met with more pushback?

Julie Swanson does a phenomenal job with the writing of this book by diving into the typical heteronormative roles displayed in the 1970s households. The typical mom who works part-time as a teacher to try to make ends meet, and the dad who is upset with the lack of money he is making. Jess is one of the main characters in a house with three other siblings, Matt, Lucy, and Chip. Lucy likes to play with dolls, and the boys enjoy outdoor sports like basketball and hockey. Unfortunately for Jess, she always gets paired up with Lucy instead of getting the chance to play with the boys like she wants to. Throughout the novel, we get to see each character start to develop and learn to step outside of their comfort zone in an era where that isn’t normal. Everyone struggles, especially Jess, with the roles she is being forced into. Jess just wants to play with the boys, wear pants, and cut her hair short. The author does a great job of diving into Jess’s head and explaining the feelings and emotions that she is struggling with. We also get to see her relationship with her parents and siblings change in a way that is conducive to the growth of her mental health. Her parents must either learn to accept Jess for who she is or lose her entirely.

Throughout this novel, I felt for Jess and the challenges she continued to face. Especially when Jess was given a female doll at the beginning of the novel, she immediately cut the doll’s hair and changed the doll into the boy she always wanted to be. Jess struggled with her identity so much so that she started projecting onto the doll, and the family started getting annoyed by how obsessed she was with the doll instead of trying to understand the why behind her changing the doll’s appearance. The whole doll itself was a great addition to the overall plot and theme of the story. Imagine spending your entire life feeling trapped in your body, telling others who you are, and no one believing you. Mickey, the doll, becomes a pivotal moment in the story and a major milestone in Jess’s life and development.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in a well-developed coming-of-age story about a young girl who truly develops into someone she can stand to look at in the mirror. This book is intended for middle grade aged youth and older.

Disclaimer: this review reflects my own opinions and not the opinions of the author or publisher. I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

“Keep On Glowing is my way of saying: your glow is not behind
you. It’s not tied to age or approval. It’s within you—waiting to be
reclaimed, protected, and celebrated.”

What is your glow as a woman? The author describes it as a radiant fire within you that tells a story of your resilience, wisdom, and feminine power. Throughout the novel, the author explores different ways for you, as a woman, to reclaim your power with intention, and build the life you deserve. In a world dominated by men, women can utilize the skills in this book to harness their feminine energy and reclaim the life they deserve, while being assertive in all aspects of their lives. Some topics include self-confidence, self-forgiveness, wellness, joy, resilience, pushback, and the power of saying no.

The author does a great job providing detailed explanations in each chapter, breaking down each topic in a digestible manner that makes it easier to follow. The tangible step-by-step guides are beneficial and add to the depth the author uses to explain each topic in detail. She provides practical steps on how to attain the lifestyle you deserve while enhancing your overall confidence/glow. At the end of each chapter, there is a glow action, one small action that you can commit to on a weekly or daily basis, and a glow affirmation, a positive phrase that you can repeat to yourself to change your mindset.  This book is such a practical tool guide that allows you to check in with yourself throughout the chapters to ensure you are truly being intentional with your growth and self-discovery. The author does a great job with the self-reflection questions, end-of-chapter reflections, and the practical tools and examples sprinkled in every chapter. You can tell that the author was intentional with the writing of this novel in an attempt to ensure that women had all the tools necessary to unlock their full potential.

And, as a bonus to finish the book, the author provides a seven-day glow challenge, encouraging the reader to put the tools they learned into practice for seven days. What are you willing to do to reach your full potential and enhance/ reignite your glow?

*Disclaimer, the opinions in this review are solely my own and do not reflect the opinions of others. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Book Review: The Little Liar

Synopsis: 
Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis has never told a lie. His schoolmate, Fannie, loves him because of it. Nico’s older brother Sebastian resents him for both these facts. When their young lives are torn apart during the war, it will take them decades to find each other again. 

Nico’s innocence and goodness is used against his tightly knit community when a German officer barters Nico’s reputation for honesty into a promise to save his loved ones. When Nico realizes the consequences of the betrayal, he can never tell the truth again. He will spend the rest of this life changing names, changing locations and identities, desperate to find a way to forgiveness—for himself and from the people he loves most.

Albom’s extraordinary storytelling is at its powerful best in his first novel to confront the destruction that lying can wreak both on the world stage as well as on the individual lives that get caught up in it. As The Stranger in the Lifeboat spoke to belief, The Little Liar speaks to hope, in a breathless page-turner that will break your heart open and fill it with the power of the human spirit and the goodness that lies within us all.

Narrated by the voice of Truth itself, The Little Liar is a timeless story about the power of love to ultimately redeem us, no matter how deeply we blame ourselves for our mistakes.

About the Author

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Mitch Albom does it again with this historical fiction novel, The Little Liar. Told from the perspective of truth, the novel journeys through the life of Nico Krispis, a boy bound by honesty unfortunately tells a lie that had huge consequences. Nico was considered to be a honest boy in the town, always telling the truth. This character trait of his will be used as a weapon during the Nazi invasion. Nico’s home gets taken over by Nazi soldiers and he hides during the takeover. Eventually, he was found by a Nazi soldier and his gift of telling the truth spared his life but cost the lives of others. During the final lie he told, the truth was revealed and Nico spends his life living under new identities as his brother seeks revenge. In the end, the truth is revealed and both get the redemption they were seeking.

Overall, this is such a great book that had me tears crying at what occurred. It reminds me of “The Book Thief,” which is my favorite book. Mitch does a wonderful job expressing the emotions of each character allowing me to be transported into the story. His descriptive text allows for a clearer picture of the settings and scenes. He meticulously develops each main character and supporting character, turning them into real relatable people. This book is phenomenal and I highly recommend it!

The Stranger in the Lifeboat

Synopsis:

In Mitch Albom’s profound new novel of hope and faith, a group of shipwrecked passengers pull a strange man from the sea. He claims to be “the Lord.” And he says he can only save them if they all believe in him.

Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The First Phone Call from Heaven. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? What might the Lord look, sound and act like?

In The Stranger in the Lifeboat, Albom keeps us guessing until the end: Is this strange and quiet man really who he claims to be? What actually happened to cause the explosion? Are the survivors already in heaven, or are they in hell?

The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is later discovered—a year later—when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat.

It falls to the island’s chief inspector, Jarty LeFleur, a man battling his own demons, to solve the mystery of what really happened.

A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.

About the Author

Mitch Albom is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold 42 million copies worldwide; have been published in 51 territories and in 48 languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies. In 2006, he founded the nonprofit SAY Detroit, which provides pathways to success for Detroiters in need through major health, housing and education initiatives. He also founded a dessert shop and a gourmet popcorn line to help fund it. Albom operates Have Faith Haiti, a home and school for impoverished children and orphans in Port-au-Prince, which he visits monthly. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom is a phenomenally written book that takes the reader on twists and turns from the beginning. Each character intertwining with each other as they navigate each passing day. Benji is the main character and the narrator. We journey through the book from his perspective and the perspective of a detective and present day news. Throughout the reading of the book you wrestle with what is reality and what is in his head the same way the main character does. In the end you question if Benji was on the boat alone the entire time or not.

I cried at the end of this book. The author is a talented writer who has the capability to capture the reader at every page. Albom left me hanging on every word he wrote, anticipating what would happen next. I love the overall premise and plot of the book. I also, loved how we got a chance to get to know Benji’s past and understand why Benji was on the yacht. Throughout his journey on the boat Benji wrestles with God, physically and spiritually. Is God really the stranger in the lifeboat and is anyone on the boat with him? Read the book to find out. Highly recommend this quick read!

Romans 8:33 says “If God is for us, who can be against us?”