Windows & Mirrors: DREAM COUNTRY by Shannon Gibney

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. This week we are featuring Dream Country by Shannon Gibney. DREAM COUNTRY begins with the incredible and gut-wrenching story of a seventeen-year-old Liberian refugee. Kollie, who is both too black and not black enough for his African-American peers, is … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: DREAM COUNTRY by Shannon Gibney

Windows & Mirrors: BRAVE ENOUGH

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. This week we are featuring BRAVE ENOUGH by Kati Gardner! Cason is the youngest ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory. But she’s been hiding an injury. Unfortunately, it’s not a typical dancer’s injury that will get better with ice, … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: BRAVE ENOUGH

SEAFIRE by Natalie C. Parker

Caledonia Styx’s family was killed by the bloodthirsty warlord Aric Athair and his viscous army, the Bullets. She and her best friend Pisces are left to fend for themselves. Caledonia becomes the captain of her own ship, the Mors Navis, and acquires a crew of girls like her and Pisces, those who have lost everything because of Aric and the Bullets. The crew’s mission: stay alive … Continue reading SEAFIRE by Natalie C. Parker

Let’s Meet the Pitch Wars Mentors!

Pitch Wars is here! The excitement is spreading through social media as hopeful mentees ignore their laundry, home-cooked meals, and the clock as they get their manuscripts ready. Mentors are also getting ready by putting on their reading glasses, grabbing their red pens, and stocking up on coffee and tea. The lucky mentor-mentee pairs will work together to get the full manuscript ready for the … Continue reading Let’s Meet the Pitch Wars Mentors!

Windows & Mirrors: CHILDREN OF BLOOD & BONE

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we are featuring Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi! The book has been described as Black Panther plus magic or an African Last Airbender. It’s received enormous press due to its reported seven-figure advance and movie deal … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: CHILDREN OF BLOOD & BONE

I AM STILL ALIVE by Kate Alice Marshall

Jess’ plan: build shelter, find water, make fire, seek revenge. It all sounds so simple…unless you’re stuck in the middle-of-nowhere Canada, your dad (that you just became reacquainted with a few days ago) was murdered while you watched unbeknownst to his murderers, his remote only-reachable-by-plane cabin was burned to the ground with all your possible life provisions, AND you have few survival skills. Oh, I … Continue reading I AM STILL ALIVE by Kate Alice Marshall

Linda Vigen Phillips talks about BEHIND THESE HANDS

In Behind These Hands, a teenage piano prodigy’s life is upended when her two younger brothers are diagnosed with Batten, a rare neurodegenerative disease. In its *starred* review, Kirkus says, “Free verse evokes the myriad emotions brought up by the story’s numerous well-balanced themes. The result is a richly woven, unforgettable symphony of feelings and words.” Kirkus perfectly sums up the effect this book has had on me. Weeks … Continue reading Linda Vigen Phillips talks about BEHIND THESE HANDS

Windows and Mirrors: Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now

  Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we’re featuring TIFFANY SLY LIVES HERE NOW by Dana L. Davis TIFFANY SLY LIVES HERE NOW encompasses many different issues that make it a perfect book for our Windows and Mirrors series. Tiffany Sly lost her mom … Continue reading Windows and Mirrors: Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now

Book Recommendation: How I Resist: Activism and Hope For the Next Generation

No matter who you are and where you live, you have to admit there are problems in every country and the world. They are individual and global issues, and each one affects us differently. You may be passionate about gun violence, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, Black Lives Matter, poverty, war, global warming, or hundreds of other issues. Even looking at just one and what it … Continue reading Book Recommendation: How I Resist: Activism and Hope For the Next Generation

Book Recommendation: Lizzie

There are specific types of books I’m drawn to, and because of my long career with police departments (as an employee, not a criminal!) murder mysteries are at the top of my list. When I saw this book about Lizzie Borden, I knew this was a must read. The fictional tale of Lizzie by Dawn Ius was just what I hoped it would be. Seventeen-year-old … Continue reading Book Recommendation: Lizzie

Book Recommendation: Nothing But Sky

This story is as beautiful as it’s cover. It sends the reader soaring through the clouds, takes us back down to Earth, and through the trauma of heartache. It is as much a love story about flying as it is about relationships. Grace Lafferty only feels alive when she’s dangling 500 feet above ground. As a post-World War I wing walker, Grace is determined to … Continue reading Book Recommendation: Nothing But Sky

Windows & Mirrors: The Astonishing Color of After

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences.   Today we’re featuring The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan. When fifteen-year-old Leigh’s Taiwanese mother commits suicide, she is visited by a great red bird who delivers a package to her from her mother with a … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: The Astonishing Color of After