John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Imagination, friendship, and compassion join forces in Medieval Mashup by Charlene McIver, an entertaining book for children with vitally important messages. While preparing for a medieval costume contest, Leigh and his two friends run headlong into ideas of identity, personal limitations, courage, and creativity in their joint effort to win first place. Relying on vivid pictures by Caroline Keys to fill the narrative gaps, this is a charming story of perseverance and emotional management that is relevant for children of all ages. Featuring a child with a disability as a protagonist, this series increases representation among children’s books, and allows […]

Author Zachary Aneiress delivers another attitude-laced adventure of mythology, magic, and self-discovery in The Partitioner, the eighth installment of his Athens Ophelia series. Taking their ever-expanding powers to a strange new world, meeting long-lost relatives, and learning more about their reincarnation as a timeless hero, Athens Ophelia faces more identity challenges and existential crises than ever before in this new chapter of the saga. Celebrating gender fluidity, modern ideas of heroism, unexpected brotherhood, and compassionate acceptance of those we don’t yet understand, this novel may be somewhat meandering, but it offers touching wisdom in bursts and sparks. The prose […]

An inspiring story of fearless belief in the face of impossible odds, A Ball With No Points by Stephen D. Reddy is a decade-spanning trip through the author’s deep love of basketball, specifically during one legendary season in 1971. Written with a remarkable level of detail, from pickup games on Gumbert Court 1 to the play-by-play recall of nail-biters during Westfield High School’s historic run, this memoir is both exciting and heartwarming. Watching the rust fall off the author’s memories, as well as his basketball skills, will be a pleasure for readers prone to nostalgia over their own long-buried passions.[…]