YA author and illustrator Anita Valle has created a very dysfunctional family in her Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series. The novels begin with Sinful Cinderella, who turns out to be a not very pleasant young woman living with an even more unpleasant stepmother and two stepsisters—Lunilla and Melodie. Cinderella does end up marrying a prince,…
Dear Pop, What is this with Jews? First you celebrate the New Year with Rosh Hashanah. Fine. Then you ask God and your family, friends, and colleagues to forgive your sins on Yom Kippur. That’s cool. Now I’m told there’s another holiday after that. Don’t you guys ever work? Please tell me about this Sukkoth….
Chris Grafil, a graduate of DeVry University, Pomona and a field engineer at Retina Institute of California by day, has an interesting dream. He wants to be a funny man like George Carlin, Eddie Murphy, or Chris Tucker. Grafil says, “When I was a tween and teen I seemed to always make my friends laugh…
Dear Pop, I work at the Mirman School on Mulholland Road in Los Angeles. Today our Jewish teachers wished each other a Happy New Year. One even came to me and asked that I forgive him for the stupid prank he played last winter. What’s all this about? Curious Christian. Dear Curious Christian, Tonight begins…
Dear Pop, I was a grad student at California State University Northridge (CSUN) when passenger planes collided into the Twin Towers. Now, a mom of twins, and the sixteenth anniversary of 9/11 drawing near, how do I teach my children about that infamous day? Concerned Mom. Dear Concerned Mom, Unfortunately, many children rely on rumors…
How to Steal a Dog is a heart wrenching novel about homelessness and its affects on two young children. Georgina Hayes is forced to live in a car with her mother and little brother Toby. Her father abandoned them, they were soon evicted from their home, and Mrs. Hayes had to scramble to find two…
Lost and Found by Sharon Ledwith is an excellent read for YA readers on several levels. It teaches kids about leadership and responsibility, and it sets a fine example for us humans to care better for the animals around us Whiskey, a fifteen-year-old calico cat, is the only link of communication between the cat floor…
Daniel Solomon Kaplan wrote his YA science fiction novel, Elevated: A YA Sci-Fi Fantasy Superhero Series (Elevated Book #1), based on a premise: If you could have a super power, what would it be? Since life isn’t that simple, and not all of us will fly, the characters in this book only hope for the…
Eighteen-year-old Lucy Channing has the responsibility of marrying Dashel Rothchild, the Earl of Westington, so her soon to be impoverished father can maintain his position in 1815 London society. Unfortunately, Lucy doesn’t love Dashel, a young man she’s known most of her life, even though he is a nice enough chap. Lucy’s grandmother, Agatha, the…
Lois Lane: Triple Threat is the third installment of the Lois Lane Series by Gwenda Bond. The first book in the series, Lois Lane: Fallout, introduces us to sixteen year-old Lois Lane starting a new life at a Metropolis high school. Her maybe-more-than-a-friend is met on line with the screen name SmallvilleGuy. Fallout is a…