Pop’s Blog - Michael Thal

Pop’s Picks for 2015

ByMichael Thal January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

In 2015 Pop’s Blog erupted on the Net reviewing over 30 YA novels and short stories. We decided to focus our attention on books published by independent publishers and authors because too many review sites tend to ignore these amazing books. Yes, we’ve read and reviewed popular books like Paper Towns by John Green, but…

Wishing Fantasy

ByMichael Thal January 6, 2016

Will Crockett is tired of being rejected at school and home. He wishes for a new life not realizing he should be careful what he wishes for.

Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja

ByMichael Thal December 24, 2015December 25, 2015

If you are a student in fifth grade through high school and would like to review a book for Pop’s Blog, feel free to submit it to Pop at [email protected]. Today’s guest reviewer is Martik Arakelyan, who will review Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja. About the Reviewer Martik Arakelyan is a 5th grade student…

Animal fiction | Pre-Teen Boys | YA fiction | YA short stories

Birtle the Turtle

ByMichael Thal December 18, 2015

A website is like a living organism. If it is going to thrive and flourish it needs to grow. Pop’s Blog is no different. Since the blog is about to turn one years old, I’ve decided to include YA short stories written by myself or guest writers. So if you have a story you’d like to…

The Ornament

ByMichael Thal December 17, 2015

Annie Rustle raised her grandson, Jimmy Rustle after he lost his parents in a car accident. He and his best friend and neighbor, Lisa Parker spend a lot of time together. One Christmas Annie has an idea. Why not create a Christmas time-capsule ornament out of paper mache and insert a list of things the…

Kindle books | science fiction | YA Books

The Ark: A New Beginning

ByMichael Thal December 17, 2015

Coined by Gibor Basri, a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, a planemo is a rogue planet between the stars. Author Colin Edwards developed this concept as the premise for his novel, The Ark: A New Beginning. What would happen if a planemo named Ronin headed for Earth and collided with our…

BeSwitched Witch

ByMichael Thal December 11, 2015December 11, 2015

The beauty about the BeSwitched Series is how seamlessly the books are connected yet each is very independent of the other. Readers can easily read book two without worrying about missing something from book 1. However, the books are so good, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by missing any of them. In BeSwitched, Surla,…

Riches to Rags

ByMichael Thal December 5, 2015

Seventh grader Dylan Jones knew all about the good life. His family had lots of money so Dylan got what he wanted. Even so, everyone liked the boy because he was a carefree and happy child. Miss Wickware, Dylan’s history teacher saw potential in the youth, too. He just needed a bit of education from…

Do we really need the death penalty?

ByMichael Thal December 2, 2015

After 1861, if a British subject committed piracy, arson, or murder, that individual could have been sentenced to death in the United Kingdom. Public opinion gradually turned against capital punishment when Timothy Evans was hanged in 1950 for killing his wife and baby. It was later uncovered that Reginald Christie was the murderer. By 1965…

BeSwitched

ByMichael Thal November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

Molly Snow has authored a funtastic series—BeSwitched. In book one, Surla, a witch’s black cat, has escaped the tyranny of the wicked Idis for the serenity of Cathy’s comfortable home. Only one problem: Surla has invoked the Black Cat’s Curse. She crossed a human’s path and switched into the body of a local high school…