Review: On Guard - Cassidy Wasserman - June 2025 Middle school – or intermediate as we call it here in New Zealand – can feel like a battlefield. Those years are filled with shifting friendships, family upheavals, and trying to figure out where you belong. This heartfelt and sharp-witted graphic novel captures all of that through the eyes of Grace, a girl who’s just trying to find her footing. Grace is not looking forward to the new school year. Her best friend Ava has dropped her for the popular crowd , leaving her to face the playground politics alone. On top of that, things at home aren’t much better – her parents’ divorce has left a deep crack, and Grace and her mum can’t seem to see eye to eye.  But then, Grace stumbles across something unexpected: the school’s fencing club. She watches the students moving with confidence, their blades clashing like a dance of strength and precision. There’s something magnetic about it – the calm focus, the discipline, the promise of belongi...

Review: 1,2,3,4 I Declare a Thumb War - Book #1 Graveyard Girls - Lisi Harrison and Daniel Kraus - September 2022 Now and again, I do like to give children's books a read and this junior chapter book captured my attention because when I was in my mid to late teens, I first discovered Lisi Harrison with her series The Clique and enjoyed it. It was like a tween version of Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars without the suspense side. Then a few years later Lisi Harrison released a series called Monster High which I also enjoyed reading and so when I saw Graveyard Girls - it was a no-brainer choice for me. Graveyard Girls reminded me of a series I used to read when I was younger - 10-11 years old called The Sleepover Club by Rose Impey mixed with Ann Brashares's series Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.  This group of friends Whisper, Frannie, Sophie, Gemma, and newest recruit Zuzu are five friends who love scary stories and take turns whoever is hosting to share a scary tale an...

Review: What Happened to Rachel Riley? - Claire Swinarski - January 2023 This book was an amazing read and I found myself enjoying it more than I thought for a few reasons. What Happened to Rachel Riley? is a tween read and set in 7th Grade/8th Grade. Anna has just started a new school and at the school, on everyone's birthday - it is read over the intercom and people cheer. One day, she hears a girl's birthday read and nobody cheers at all. This strikes her as odd as the girl isn't ugly by beauty standards and even the freaks and geeks get cheers. This girl got utter silence. The book then jumps to Anna's new social sciences class and the class has been asked to do an un-essay topic on something that they are passionate about or a topic that interests them. Anna wants to know What Happened to Rachel Riley and uncover the reason she was ostracised and no one cheered. The school isn't happy about her project and forces her to change it. Anna does but continues in ...

#VBT - You Won't Know Her Name - Shanti Hershenson - November 2021 I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but as I opened it, it was written in verse format - poetry and it had a lot of trigger warnings as it touched on bullying in various ways from physical and verbal abuse. Reading this book brought back memories of another author who set the bar for writing the edgy taboo topics in poetry format - Ellen Hopkins.  Unlike Ellen's books which are thick and average to be often quite long, You Won't Know Her Name by Shanti Hershenson was a quick read as it only took me 30 mins to read on my lunch break at work today. I also have a major cover crush on this title too. As someone who has bullied me and feels like I never really fit in, I loved this book as also I took to writing and reading like this main character. I also really felt for her as the girl in this book is only eleven going on twelve and that was about the same years as I was bullied as I was a poor gir...