Ann Braden

Stoked for This: September 2026 (and a small life update)

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment

So, as I’m sure you have noticed and/or have seen here on my website – I am behind on my reviews and posting. I’ve been through a couple of life changes recently and I feel like I may just now be getting on slightly more stable ground to be standing on. There was a separation, a move, school starting (I’m going back for my Masters in Library Science), and my oldest cat has been diagnosed with Kidney Disease – there’s been a lot of changes! I’m slowly put surely getting my reviews written and posted so hopefully you will see those shortly.

Thank you all those who have stuck around with me. I greatly appreciate it and hopefully I can get this website back up and running properly here soon.

Now, one of the things that has fallen so horribly into wayside is my Stoked for This, so without further ado…

September 1, 2026

When a late night at the office leads to witnessing an exorcism Brie’s life takes a very drastic turn.

I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell

By: Mackenzie Reed

Three kids join together to game the Make-A-Wish foundation to get three epic adventures.

Wish You Well

By: Jamie Sumner

The follow-up to Titan of the Stars is here and I’m so excited to see where Dominic and Ren’s story go from here.

Demon in the Sand

By: E.K. Johnston

To read my review of the book before this you, you can find it here.

In this companion graphic memoir, Pedro MartĂ­n talks about family hijinks, immigration patrols, and musical daydreams in his year of youth.

Mexikid Dreams: A Graphic Memoir

By: Pedro MartĂ­n

September 8, 2026

A middle grade novel about a 12-year-old girl with OCD who finally gets the help she needs to push back.

Hijacked by Goats

By: Ann Braden

A historical fiction novel inspired by the life of Grace O’Malley, an infamous Irish sea captain and folk heroine who risked everything to protect her people against the powerful Elizabethan regime?! Yes please!!

The Pirate Queen

By: Ariel Lawhon

A middle grade novel in verse about two sisters caught in a blizzard alone.

Sisters Alone

By: Shifa Saltagi Safadi

Sooo, I probably won’t read this one anytime soon because written from a cat in heaven’s perspective to their owner about always being there even after death. but I will absolutely be purchasing my own copy.

I’m Still Here: A Cat’s Purpose Forever

By: Cathryn Michon

September 15, 2026

A new Emily St. John Mandel you say?!

Exit Party

By: Emily St. John Mandel

AND a new novel in verse from Elizabeth Acevedo?!

Anger Is Only a Shadow

By: Elizabeth Acevedo

AND a new novel in verse from Megan E. Freeman?! What a blessed week we shall have!!

The Secret to Belonging

By: Megan E. Freeman

September 22, 2026

This is a really fun sounding YA about the teen daughter of an infamous serial killer must prove she isn’t the one behind recent copycat murders.

Dead Girls

By: Beck Kubrick

This novel is an exploration of grief, mothers and daughters, and the beautiful complexity of women’s lives and identities.

Female Life on Planet Earth

By: Laleh Kahadivi

John Green’s first adult novel?! Say less!!

Hollywood, Ending

By: John Green

September 29. 2026

A new book by Lois Lowry where the power of books will save the day.

Building 903

By: Lois Lowry

Tales from my favorite cozy fantasy series Legends & Lattes?!

Tales from the Territory

By: Travis Baldree

Into the Rapids / Ann Braden, Candace Fitzgerald (Narrator), Ann Braden (Narrator)

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
Into the Rapids
By: Ann Braden, Candace Fitzgerald (Narrator)
Genre: Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 176
Published: May 13, 2025
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Dates Read: August 5, 2025 - August 7, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

When a storm knocks out of the bridge in her remote mountain town, Addy and her mom are cut off from the main road. Now, Addy is worried she won’t be able to make it to the survival camp she’s been looking forward to; it’s the camp where her parents met, and where her late dad set a record for making a fire – she needs to hone her skills and honor their legacy. But now that there’s no power, the light in her mom has also seemed to turn off after being triggered by the ragging river and memoir of Addy’s dad who was killed in a similar storm years ago.

Addy and her mom have always prided themselves in being self-reliant, to the point where they’ve never bothered making friends with the neighbors. But now Addy keeps running into her classmate, Caleb, on the hill above her house where they both get cell service. Caleb’s frantic about a missing neighbor, and Addy is amazed at how well connected he is to get help. When Caleb offers to help her get to camp, can she trust him?

This was a beautifully written middle grade novel that explored the complexities of humans and human emotion. Addy’s mom essentially goes through PTSD after the storm and flash flood because her husband passed in a storm very similar. Addy realizes that what she always thought was her and her mom being independent, was actually being pretty standoffish and learns that trusting people and asking for help aren’t bad things – I loved seeing her growth throughout.

I also enjoy her friendship that blossoms with Caleb and how they both help each other. 

Overall, this middle grade novel takes readers on an action packed journey filled with survival, friendship, and personal growth that readers will easily get immersed in.

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

Stoked for This: May

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment

May 6, 2025

All I really needed to know about this myself was the author: Fredrik Backman. No other author has been able to write the way he does about the human experience that has yet to hit as hard as his word do (at least to me). Even the most mundane things forms a connection and makes me feel seen. Anywho, this is his latest book.

My Friends

By: Fredrik Backman

A graphic novel filled with magic, hidden truths, and self-discovery.

Espada: The Will of the Blade

By: Anabel Colazo

I’m honestly not sure if I’m as excited for this one or more curious to see where it goes. The first book in the series was just “okay” for me, but other readers have given it high praise. I’m just wondering what in the world is going to happen.

Snowglobe 2

By: Soyoung Park

Translated By: Joungmin Lee Comfort

May 13. 2025

Yet another water world apocalyptic novel, this time in flooded San Francisco with a caregiver and her 130-year-old woman she cares for.

Awake in the Floating City

By: Susanna Kwan

Middle grade ghost story set in the 1960’s during summer camp with creepy woods and mysterious music.

The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall

By: Charis Cotter

A young readers adaptation of “An Immense World” that I read for a gust book group facilitator last year. That book took me some time to read, but I enjoyed all the connections I made with it. I mostly want to flip through this and see the photos 🙂

An Immense World (Young Readers Edition)

By: Ed Yong

After a super storm wipes out an important bridge from her remote town, Addy must ask for help from others (something she hasn’t done in a long time) in order to get to her summer camp she’s been waiting to go to.

Into the Rapids

By: Ann Braden

May 20, 2025

This one teased that it combines “Under the Whispering Door” (TJ Klune) with the high-stakes culinary world of “Sweetbitter” (Stephanie Danler). You all know I love me some TJ Klune, so of course I want to check this one out. This also has a premise of eating a meal one last time with someone you lost, and like, I may cry?!

After Taste

By: Daria Lavelle

Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy team up in this New Adult novel about a gender-nonconforming eighteen-year-old testing their wings in the big city with a ghost of a drag performer from the fifties.

Let Them Stare

By: Jonathan Van Ness & Julie Murphy

May 27, 202

In this upper middle grade novel, Leta struggles with food insecurity. Her mom is already working two jobs and has a hard enough time keeping food on the table, so they end up with a lot of fast food. Leta works hard to keep her top spot on the track team, but when she gets sidelined with an injury, she refuses to admit just how much pain she is in as she fights to not be forgettable.

The Unforgettable Leta “Lightning” Laurel

By: R.L. Toalson

This one may be a little out there but stick with me here. Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philly vanish without a trace, leaving behind a twelve-year-old girl wandering around alone. When a stranger shows up at Lee’s door all these years later with “answers”, she must decide if the truth is worth shattering her life.

The Ascent

By: Allison Buccola

This is just a fun historical novel about a young woman writer defying societal norms in 1880s with not only her fictional worlds but her journalism. When on a job covering a brewing civil war in Chile Emilia finds herself in danger and at a crossroads, questioning both her identity and her destiny.

My Name is Emilia del Valle

By: Isabel Allende