series books

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…

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…

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…

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…

Resurrection: A Col Sec Novel

ByMichael Thal October 23, 2015

In the world of Col Sec, the security arm of the Confederation, there is discord within their rival camp, the Elysium Alliance. The military, led by General Solon has plans that could throw the two galactic adversaries into another war, a war the Alliance is unprepared for. Senator Mikal Tovaric is well aware of this…

Mystery at Baird’s Den

ByMichael Thal October 17, 2015October 18, 2015

Emily Sanders, age 14, spends her summer vacation working at a bed and breakfast along the Appalachian Trail in Winton, North Carolina. Gigi Baird, an elderly woman dependent on her guests for sustenance, runs Baird’s Den. Emily was referred to the job by her best friend, Mary Carnell, Ms. Gigi’s granddaughter. From day one, Emily…

Laugh-Out-Loud Mystery

ByMichael Thal October 2, 2015

Bet you don’t know the meaning of fastard. In Darcy-speak it’s a boy that moves fast, tells a girl he loves her, takes her out on a date, and then, through the high school grapevine, she uncovers the boy has a steady on the sly. That’s a fastard. Darcy Walker, a fifteen-year old Cincinnati sophomore…

Why read a YA novel?

ByMichael Thal September 28, 2015September 28, 2015

Time columnist, Joel Stein had this to say in a New York Times opinion piece about adults reading YA books: “The only thing more embarrassing than catching a guy on the plane looking at pornography on his computer is seeing a guy on the plane reading The Hunger Games. Or a Twilight book. Or Harry…

Bridge Through Time

ByMichael Thal August 14, 2015

Kyle Thorning is a brilliant young physicist working as a researcher at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research where scientists probe the fundamental structure of the universe. Kyle’s secret project is to create a time travel machine. Why the interest? Kyle’s dad, Max Thorning discovered a book, Account of Time Travel on Earth Using…