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READ IT AND REAP
Book Reviews and Recommendations

WHAT I'M READING NOW
Twelve Classic Christmas Stories
Timothy Larsen
The Edge of Normal
Hana Schank
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For Letter or Worse by Esther Hatch - Review
Book Synopsis: Every word in his letter spells mortification. There was only one reason young Harrison Chase moved away from his idyllic country upbringing to the long dark hours of working in a London factory—he was bound and determined to make his fortune and deserve a chance to court Christine Stone. But as years passed and his dream of making a fortune came closer into view, he realized there were a lot more important things in life than young, unrequited love. In the mid
Lyra Thompson
3 days ago2 min read


This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda - Review
Book Synopsis: A story of World War II about the unlikeliest of pen pals--a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl--as they fight to maintain hope in a time of war. In 1935, ten-year-old Alex Maki from Bainbridge Island, Washington is disgusted when he's forced to become pen pals with Charlie Levy of Paris, France--a girl. He thought she was a boy. In spite of Alex's reluctance, their letters continue to fly across the Atlantic--and along with them the shared hopes an
Lyra Thompson
Dec 53 min read


(SPOILERS) Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate - Review
Book Synopsis: Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s...
Lyra Thompson
Sep 133 min read


Go The Distance by Jen Calonita - Review
Book Synopsis: What if Meg had to become a god? After Hercules proves he's a true hero and regains his godship, all seems right in the...
Lyra Thompson
Aug 253 min read


Fate Be Changed by Farrah Rochon - Review
Book Synopsis: What if the witch gave Merida a different spell? If you could change your fate, would you? Merida understands that as...
Lyra Thompson
Jun 173 min read


Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill
Book Synopsis: Evalina Cassano’s life in an Italian-American family in 1941 is everything it “should be” until she falls in love with...
Lyra Thompson
Jun 32 min read
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys - Review
Book Synopsis: A portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship. Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of...
Lyra Thompson
Feb 272 min read
The Socialite by J'Nell Ciesielsky - Review
Book Synopsis: As the daughter of Sir Alfred Whitford, Kat has a certain set of responsibilities. But chasing her wayward sister, Ellie,...
Lyra Thompson
Feb 93 min read
Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb - Review
Book Synopsis: August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for...
Lyra Thompson
Dec 29, 20243 min read
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - Review
Book Synopsis: Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys....
Lyra Thompson
Oct 24, 20242 min read
The Traitor's Wife by Allison Pataki - Review
Book Synopsis: Everyone knows Benedict Arnold--the Revolutionary War general who betrayed America and fled to the British--as history's...
Lyra Thompson
Sep 11, 20243 min read
The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart - Review
Book Synopsis: Nine-year-old Nicholas Benedict has more problems than most children his age. Not only is he an orphan with an unfortunate...
Lyra Thompson
Jul 25, 20243 min read
Walls by L. M. Elliott - Review
Book Synopsis: Drew is an army brat, a hotshot athlete poised to be his high school’s star pitcher, when he has to move for the sixth...
Lyra Thompson
Jul 16, 20243 min read
Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris - Review
Book Synopsis: 2 CHILDREN FOR SALE The scrawled sign, peddling young siblings on a farmhouse porch, captures the desperation sweeping the...
Lyra Thompson
Jun 4, 20243 min read
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Book Synopsis: During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie...
Lyra Thompson
May 8, 20243 min read
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys - Review
Book Synopsis: Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a...
Lyra Thompson
Apr 25, 20242 min read
(SPOILERS) Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy - Review
Book Synopsis: For Marit Olsen, magic is all about strategy: it flows freely through her blood, but every use leaves behind a deadly,...
Lyra Thompson
Mar 24, 20244 min read
Always Emily by Michaela MacColl - Review
Book Synopsis: Emily and Charlotte Brontë are about as opposite as two sisters can be. Charlotte is practical and cautious; Emily is...
Lyra Thompson
Mar 13, 20243 min read
(SPOILERS) Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - Review
Book Synopsis: While the Titanic and Lusitania are both well-documented disasters, the single greatest tragedy in maritime history is the...
Lyra Thompson
Feb 22, 20243 min read
(SPOILERS) All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - Review
Book Synopsis: Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis...
Lyra Thompson
Jan 13, 20243 min read
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