Author: Alisha Helms

Reasons to Look at the Night Sky / Danielle Daniel

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Reasons to Look at the Night Sky
By: Danielle Daniel
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 328
Published: October 29, 2024
Publisher: Tundra Books
Dates Read: July 12, 2025 - July 13, 2025
Format: Hardcover

Luna is eleven-years-old and knows everything about the night sky and space. She dreams of being an astronaut one day. The first step to her dream is acing the space unit in her science class so she can add it to her NASA summer space camp application.

But when Luna’s teacher suddenly has to take a leave of absence, substitute teacher, Ms. Manitowabi comes in and shakes up the entire science class unit by bringing art into science. But on top of science class changing, Luna is also dealing with changes not only at home, but within her relationship with her best friend. What on Earth is happening?

This is an adorable novel in verse middle grade read. Luna is easily identifiable as an eleven-year-old (beside the fact that she’s very proud of being as old as she is) and this story is definitely written with that audience in mind.

I enjoyed this read of Luna’s journey, especially her excitement and fascination with the sky stories from the First Nations people. Like Luna, I also agree those are important and need to be included in the history and knowledge of sky and space.

Overall, this novel in verse is an enjoyable read that is aimed towards middle grade readers, especially those who enjoy space – but also those who don’t because I feel like Luna does an excellent job at getting others excited for space too.

*Thanks Tundra Books and LibraryThing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Hope Ablaze / Sarah Mughal Rana

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Hope Ablaze
By: Sarah Mughal Rana, Farah Kidwai (Narrator)
Genre: YA, Magical Realism
Number of Pages: 384
Published: February 27, 2024
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Dates Read: July 10, 2025 - July 11, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

Trigger Warnings: Islamophobia, racism 

Nida is known as Mamou Abdul-Hafeedh’s niece – the poet who was wrongfully incarcerated during the war on terror. Nida’s poetry letters are her heart and sharing them with the world is not an option.

When Nida is illegally frisked at a Democratic Senatorial candidate’s political rally – a rally she wasn’t even trying to go to, she was heading to the mosque to pray – she writes a heated poem about the politician, never expecting the letter to go viral weeks later. Nida is shocked to find out the poem has won first place in a national contest, a contest she didn’t even enter. After her quiet life is upheaved Nida loses her ability to write poetry. She also struggles with the balance of the expectations of her mother, her uncle, and her Muslim community with who she truly wants to be.

As a white woman, this gave me an opportunity to see not only what hijabi wearing women go through on a daily basis, but also what they had to go through especially after 9/11. This book was also a passionate and emotional journey – Nida had anger she was carrying as well as the feeling of hopelessness, her story was both moving and eye-opening.

I was a little shocked about the magical realism of the novel, but it wasn’t anything offputting to me or anything, just wasn’t expecting it.

Overall, this is an important read that gives the perspective of what it was like to be a hijab-wearing Muslim teen in post 9/11.

*Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Grumpy Ghost Upstairs / Mamiko Shiotani

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The Grumpy Ghost Upstairs
By: Mamiko Shiotani
Genre: Children’s
Number of Pages: 36 
Published: August 5, 2025
Publisher: Floria Books
Dates Read: July 10, 2025
Format: ARC / eBook

A little ghost lives in the attic of a big house. He’s alone, but that’s just how he likes it. One day, a curious young girl begins hanging out in the attic, disturbing the ghost’s peace and quiet. Since she won’t leave the ghost alone, he decides to do what ghosts do best: haunt.

What a great book to talk about the importance of change and embracing new friendships 

With artwork reminiscent of Brian Selznick, readers of all ages are bound to giggle at this grumpy ghost’s antics.

Feral (Volume 2): Cat Lady / Tony Fleecs (Writer), Trish Forstner (Illustrator), Tone Rodriguez (Illustrator), Brad Simpson (Colorist)

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Feral (Volume 2): Cat Lady
By: Tony Fleecs (Writer), Trish Forstner (Illustrator), Tone Rodriguez (Illustrator), Brad Simpson (Colorist)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Horror
Number of Pages: 136
Published: March 12, 2025
Publisher: Image Comics
Dates Read: July 9, 2025
Format: eBook

Volume Two opens where Volume One left off: Patch is infected, Lord is missing, and Elsie is with cats she barely knows. After having to run from the safety of their abandoned barn due to rabid rats, Elsie, Gigi, and Gigi’s kittens find themselves captured by a crazy cat lady whose house is definitely high on the creepy scale.

I again loved the story of this collection and cursed the cliff hanger (one of the many reasons I wait until volume collections come out because reading as individual issues come out would be the death of me).

The art of this is still superb – childlike, but filled with horror; makes some of the scary parts even more terrifying.

Overall, this series is something I’m going to count the days down to for every volume release. This is perfect for those who love horror and aren’t afraid of some gore.

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) / Suzanne Collins

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Mockingjay
By: Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA, Dystopia
Number of Pages: 390
Published: August 24, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Dates Read: June 24, 2025 - July 8, 2025
Format: Hardcover

Katniss has been rescued after electrifying the arena during the Quarter Quell, but Peeta was captured by the Capitol. District 12 no longer exists, but District 13 does, and has always existed. Now, District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol, but they need Katniss to be their rebels’ Mockingjay. To do this, she must put aside her feelings, no matter the personal cost.

And I have finished the reading of the original Hunger Game trilogy (don’t ask me why it took me over two weeks to read this, I had weird personal stuff!)

I forgot how much softer Katniss is in this final installment of her story; she’s gone through not one, but two Hunger Games back to back, her home has been wiped off the map, and people keep using her as a pawn in their war games. The girl is seventeen-years-old and hasn’t been able to stop and breathe in two years. Unlike many characters in dystopian books I’ve read, Katniss actually is severely affected by the events she either has been a part of or has witnessed. She’s traumatized! 

I did love the fact she talks about Haymitch taking care of geese, but failed to mention she was the one who gave them to him to take care of. Oh – and at the end, she talks about her children playing on the graveyard of her district in the meadow – I know a lot of people have been connecting that to just the Covey but it’s actually her whole district that is buried there!

Overall, a bitter sweet ending to the original trilogy for sure. Still glad I reread the series.

Stoked for This: July 2025

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This month has a few witches and a lot of mysteries/thriller vibes. For someone who loves true crime, you would think I would read more mystery/thrillers in my day to day reading… maybe this is my call to do so; when most of my books are hitting that genre. Some published authors have some new titles, including Holly Jackson with her first novel for adults, and a couple of debut releases.

July 1, 2025

This is said to be “Clap When You Land” meets “Monday’s Not Coming”. Told between two timelines, 2024 and 2006 as one teen searches for her biological mother and the other copes with giving up her baby.

This Book Might Be About Zinnia

By: Brittney Morris

After a student is killed in the fire that consumed the high school, five teens hold a piece of the truth as to what happened to Eden.

After We Burned

By: Marieke Nijkamp

July 15, 2025

A historical fiction with a witch on a journey to find a book of unspeakable powers before it can land in the hands of Nazis.

A Resistance of Witches

By: Morgan Ryan

A cozy fantasy romance about a witch who was turned into a wooden statue after breaking the law, but yet one day wakes in the dead of winter on a nearly-deserted island. She meets the gardener who maintains the greenhouses, but finds out the greenhouses magic keeping them alive is failing and she must help. (also there’s a cat with wings on the cover and I’m a sucker for cats on covers)

The Enchanted Greenhouse

By: Sarah Beth Durst

July 22, 2025

Three Jewish sisters navigate dating, ambition, and young womanhood in their Brooklyn community as they seek to find their place within not only their neighborhood, but with themselves.

Sisters of Fortune

By: Ester Chehebar

In seven days Jet Mason will be dead from a brain aneurysm brought on by a violent attack. As her condition deteriorates, she only has her best friend Billy for help but she is determined to solve her own murder.

Not Quite Dead Yet

By: Holly Jackson

July 29, 2025

First off – this was marketing for fans of “Under the Whispering Door” by TJ Klune and we all know I love him… but this one is about a lighthouse for the dead of Chicago to go to, reckon with their lives, and then step on the boat to go beyond. One day, the lighthouse starts flickering and a living person has found her way onto the boat after she followed a song. Nera, the daughter of the ferryman, tries to help Charlie find the person she lost.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World

By: J.R. Dawson

A collection of witty, imaginative stories that blend humor and reflections on everyday life’s absurdities.

An Oral History of Atlantis: Stories

By: Ed Park

The Lost Sunday / Iléana Surducan

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The Lost Sunday
By: Iléana Surducan
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 64
Published: June 17, 2025 (1st Published January 1, 2021)
Publisher: Oni Press
Dates Read: June 24, 2025
Format: eBook

Nina lives in a town haunted by the six angry wolves of the week – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Each day brings new chores that need to be done. There’s rumors of a seventh day of the week, Sunday, but everyone knows an evil witch stole it and keeps it locked away with her in the well she was banished to. When Nina has had enough of constantly working, she sets out on a quest to find the witch so that she may rest.

First off, the art in this graphic novel is fantastic and beautifully detailed. The cover alone made me want to read this. The colors matched the themes of the day and the whereabouts of Nina in the witch’s world.

Secondly, this novel shines a light on the importance of leisure and finding time, even in a busy week, to relax and enjoy life. I wasn’t familiar with the folklore or fairy tales that this story inspired until after I read it, but I could surely relate to the need for leisure time, especially in today’s society.

Overall, I would highly recommend this to both kids and adults alike, especially those who just want to have some fun and relaxing times.

*Thank you Oni Press and Edelweiss+ for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Wild Robot Protects (The Wild Robot #3) / Peter Brown

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The Wild Robot Protects (The Wild Robot #3)
By: Peter Brown
Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 304
Published: May 6, 2025 (1st Published September 26, 2023)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: June 17, 2025 - June 23, 2025
Format: Paperback

Roz has fought hard to get back to her island with her friends and her son Brightbill, all seems to be going well until one day an injured seal washes ashore and warns of a dangerous, dust poison tide that’s in the water and heading the island’s way. Once the poison tide is at the island’s edge, the animals are forced inland and resources begin running scarce.

Roz helps the island as much as she can but understands the toll everyone is under. When Roz discovers she’s waterproof, she sets out across the ocean to find out what’s causing the poison tide.

During her underwater journey, Roz meets amazing creatures and sees fantastical geological formations. Friends she makes along the way direct her to the north, to find the giant Ancient Shark. When she finally meets the Ancient Shark, they explain where the poison tide is coming from and that they want to prepare an attack with an army of sea creatures. Roz however, hopes for a peaceful interaction. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island?

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first or second of the series, mainly because it focused on taking care of the environment, especially with the choices that we make and the consequences that could happen. It kind of made humans to be the bad guys – even if we did clean up after basically getting caught.

Readers who fell in love with Roz the first two books will also enjoy this book, especially because Roz is learning and experiencing something new, but just note it focuses heavily on the message of environment protection, especially within the oceans.

Soundtrack: A Listening Library Audiobook Original / Jason Reynolds

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Soundtrack: A Listening Library Audiobook Original
By: Jason Reynolds, Full Cast (Narrators)
Genre: Young Adult
Number of Pages: 6 hours, 29 minutes
Published: June 3, 2025
Publisher: Listening Library
Dates Read: June 19, 2025 - June 22, 2025
Format: Audiobook

Full Cast: Nile Bullock (Stuy), Mekhi Hawling (Dunks), Jade Williams (Keith), Brandon Miles (Alexis), Ryan Vincent Anderson (Uncle Lucky), Amir Royale (Frankie), Jasmin Richardson (Stuy’s Mom), Christopher Grant (Dom), Khaya Fraites (Ashley), Nadine Simmons (Mrs. Dyson), Robb Moreira (Mr. Garcia), Wé Ani (Lisa), Rocky Anicette (Dylan), Brandiss Seward (Frankie’s Mom), with Siho Ellsmore, Tyrell Buckner, Gina Daniels, Karen Murray, Jonathan Beville, Karla Moore, and Ronald Peet

Stuy has been learning the drums since he was a little boy, all thanks to his mom, a founding member of the punk band The Bed-Stuy Magic Dusters. After high school, Stuy knows he wants to start a band, so when he meets his Uncle Lucky’s cosmos loving landlord, Dunk, the duo set out to find the rest of their members. Stuy, Dunks, Alexis, Keith, and Frankie then form SOUNDTRACK, and to everyone’s surprise, they become an underground sensation

I have been highly anticipating this audiobook since I found out about it! But of course, even once I got my hands on it finally, I waited for a trip back to my hometown so I could have as much of an undisturbed listening as I could (2.5 hours each way) and boy did this book make the time fly!

Everything about this was amazing: the voice actors, the sound effects, the music, the storyline itself! All fantastic! I even jump scared myself a few times with the sound effects from the speaker feedback!

This audiobook is an experience that I can see winning an Audie or two in the future. I can also see people who don’t like audiobooks greatly enjoying this as well (though it will set a pretty high standard for audiobooks they listen to afterwards!)

*Thank you Listening Library and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Under the Same Stars / Libba Bray

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Under the Same Stars
By: Libba Bray, January LaVoy (Narrator), Jeremy Carlisle Park (Narrator), Major Curda (Narrator)
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 480
Published: February 4, 2025
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Dates Read: June 13, 2025 - June 16, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook / eBook

The Bridegroom Oak is a magical tree where if you leave a note for the love of your life in its knot, your love will answer back.

In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message in the Bridegroom Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is also sending messages, but not to leave in the Oak’s knot. As WWII rolls into their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may very well be a key to resistance against the Nazis.

In 1980s West Germany, American teen Jenny feels out of place until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl who hates the government. She also befriends Frau Hermann, an old lady downstairs who most people call her a witch, but Jenny finds her to be kind.

In Spring 2020 New York City, Miles and Chloe are struggling with virtual senior year when an unexpected package from Chloe’s grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom Oak over eighty years ago.

I love how connected everything was in this book with how Libba Bray was able to highlight both current and past forms of fascism in history and oppressive governments while also showing characters trying to do the right thing, even under dangerous circumstances.

I wasn’t as into the Covid storyline as the others, but I honestly think it’s because that’s probably still, “too soon” for me – maybe in another ten (or twenty) years I would be more invested. The historical narratives were a lot stronger for me, and I cared about the characters a lot more. All three of the narratives were connected of course, but I really really enjoyed the WWII storyline the most.

Overall, though this is marketed as being Young Adult, I can see adults enjoying it as well (even with the teenage angst a bit). Bray has amazingly strong prose that she showcases in all three narratives.

*Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review