After Joselito and Julius scurried off—ever the helpful brothers—Virgil’s parents presented him like a rare exhibit they didn’t quite understand.
“This is Turtle,” his mother said.
That was their name for him: Turtle. Because he wouldn’t “come out of his shell.” Every time they said it, a piece of him broke.
Virgil Salinas is the youngest person in his family. He’s quiet, shy, and introspective; spends most of his time with ...
The trouble was, sometimes she couldn’t help giving people a Look. Because sometimes, people deserved it.
And she thought things. More and more often, as she got older, she wanted to say them. Sometimes she barely managed to stop herself.
Thinking things and having a Look were not good deportment. Good deportment, as one learned at Miss Ellicott’s School, meant being shamefast and biddable.
Miss Ellicott’s School—where Surplus ...
There are HEAPS of books coming out this month, and I want to read a LOT of them.
Let’s take a look!
A Boy Called Bat, by Elana K. Arnold
I’ve already written about this treasure at length, but my love is such that I can’t let a single opportunity to recommend it pass me by. Buy it, read it, love it, gift it to others.
Amina’s Voice, by Hena Khan
I’ve already read this one as well, and it ...
Later this week, I’m headed to New York to finally, finally see Hamilton.
Which has me more than a little excited.
So, of course, it made me wonder: what’s out there for recent musical theater YA? It seems like something that we’d see a lot of, right? High potential for drama, because backstage shenanigans and close quarters and heightened emotion. Tailor made literary parallels, since the story would be centered around a play. And, on the purely commercial side of ...
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
—First Amendment to the United States Constitution
As I’m sure we’ve all noticed, certain high-profile people have had a lot of negative things to say about journalists and the state of modern journalism. And ...
“I love him,” Bat said. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud. Mom laughed. “Careful, or you might make me jealous,” she said.
“But it’s true,” Bat said. “I love him.” Mom said they’d have to hand the kit over to the rescue center in a month. But Bat, holding the tiny animal in his arms, made a silent promise that he’d figure out a way to keep him.
—A Boy Called Bat ...
Is it too late to put together a short list of the February books I’m looking forward to? Ah well, I’m sorry—that question was clearly disingenuous, because obviously I’ve made the list regardless. There are so, so many new releases to be excited about, and the fact that I have a big pile of them on hand makes the sixteen inches of snow we just got last night feel like a good excuse to hunker down and read, read, read ...
Basically, I’m the last saving grace for the Sanchez family. There’s some unwritten family commandment that states that I will graduate from Somerset, attend an Ivy League school, and major in some moneymaking profession. The pressure is on to excel. They don’t call me Princesa for nothing. I’m being groomed for bigger and better things.
Fifteen-year-old Margot Sanchez has just finished up her first year at Somerset Prep. Somerset is ...
