While sitting through a boring class it’s fun to doodle or draw in my notebook and then imagine the little characters and waves that I sketched come to life and put on a little play for me. Now, as cool as that would be if it actually happened I would be a little freaked out if one day the murals around downtown began to weep or change while my doodles cowered in a corner of my notebooks. But I guess in Brooklyn, New York that’s the case and it’s up to Sierra to get to the bottom of this mystery. A mystery which answers a lot of questions but creates countless more.

So its modern day Brooklyn and school has just let out for the summer when Sierra is given the task to paint a mural all over an abandoned tower which obviously an artist would be happy to do. And in teenager fashion makes the mural a great dragon! Yet as Sierra works on her mural she notices another across the way begin to fade and weep so she goes to her Grandfather who has been speaking in tongues until this occasion when he instructs her to find someone and gives her a part of a poem. So Sierra finds this person a fellow artist named Robbie and he explains everything to her and just in the nick of time since they need to ban together in order to save the world! Which I won’t go into since that would be spoiling the book and that’s cruel. But what I will say is that the story is utterly captivating and on more than one occasion throws out a plot twist. Which was unexpected, but very appreciated.

Sierra Maria Santiago is what she is; enough. She’s casual with a touch of cute and is a freaking badass. She is an amazing narrator who takes everything in stride after tripping a few times, literally. But what I appreciated most about Sierra was a few unimportant scenes where she perfectly describes body image issues and how she interacts with her family and friends. I loved how Sierra went to or attempted to get help from adults which is something so seldom seen in novels and movies, especially when the adults in her life listened and did help her. Now on to Robbie! An inked up artist who isn’t really intimidating but is pretty quirky and absolutely the most loveable person in the book. He isn’t very smooth and has a track record for ditching his dates, but he is always well prepared to fight and draw. Robbie is essential to Sierra’s induction to shadow shaping and he teaches her most of what she knows as well as support Sierra as all the craziness catches up to her. Alright time for a few quick honorable mentions to Sierra’s other friends who were truly loyal and hilarious as they adventure together. And even for the friends who didn’t stick around, my hat goes to them for leaving and not forcing themselves into a situation they didn’t want to be in. Then there was Nadiya and Sierra’s godfather who were very present and amazing adults that every teenager should know.

Another thing worth mentioning is that most of the dialogue is in spanish and are a number of other things since most of the characters are Puerto Rican, Mexican or Black. I do not know spanish so I chose to keep a dictionary with me just in case I found a word that could have a deeper meaning say something more than the english equivalent. Although I didn’t find anything so that isn’t really necessary and most of the words are common phrases and many can be inferred if you know a latin rooted language like Portuguese or French.

Shadowshaper is the perfect read right now during this season of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos when everything is a little bit more creepy and the unreal is more real. The suspension is comparable to that of a Guillermo Del Toro horror movie and builds beautifully as the story progresses misleading the reader like the Winchester Mystery House. Overall a stunning read! I absolutely love the characters, setting and mixing of languages and cultures.

There are poets. There are muses. There are revolutionaries. But is there one who captures all of those traits? What would they look like? What would they be like? Who would the be? Well, I beg your pardon, she is a mountain tiger. And her name is Ginevra De Benci a woman of the Renaissance whose gaze and portrait has entranced people for centuries. Now her story between the portrait and it’s back.

This historical novel explores the exquisite and splendor of Florence, Italy where the sixteen-year-old Ginevra De Benci is wading through life. Recently a graduate of a convent school and newly wed woman to a wool dyer, Ginevra is rather uninspired and unprovoked. Until she is invited to the Medici’s family residence for a dinner where she meets two compelling men; ambassador Bernardo Bembo and artist Leonardo Da Vinci. That night Ginevra enchants the ambassador who then pursues Ginevra as his Platonic Love. A platonic love in Florence is a relationship between a man and woman where a man is inspired by a woman to become closer to God and kept strictly to emotional and mental intimacy. Not physical. The platonic love is entertained by the rich and well-to-do who have the money to pay for gorgeous portraits of stone, oil or any other medium to capture the women in her chaste beauty. So when Leonardo Da Vinci is commissioned by ambassador Bembo to capture Ginevra De Benci and a different love blossoms between them.

Love in all its forms is explored in Da Vinci’s Tiger and does beg the question of what is love and can love be platonic? Readers will see familiar lover between brothers and sisters, marital love, devotional love, platonic love and scandalous love. Which really reminds me of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina with how people experience many different loves and not just one. Love is a spectrum and felt on many varying levels. That is especially apparent in Da Vinci and Ginevra’s relationship where Da Vinci is a Florenzer or gay, but he and Ginevra still have this very intimate adoration for each other.

Alright, now onto the characters. Obviously beginning with Ginevra who is an excellent woman. A woman who is not particularly upset with her position in life because she is comfortable and her relationship with her husband is cordile. Yet she still has a mind of her own that provokes her to write poetry inspired by ancient texts, the teachings of Abbess Scholastica  and of her own heart. Which is why she is a mountain tiger whose gaze enchants all. Ginevra De Benci is a poet, inspiration to Da Vinci and readily encourages Da Vinci to break tradition and societal norm with her drab garb and being place in a landscape when women were not compared to the forces of nature. On to Leonardo Da Vinci the wild, inspired and rash artist. Who has just finished his apprenticeship with the great Varricchio who is helping him find work and establish Leonardo in Florence. Da Vinci is so progressive and thoughtful with how he works conversing with Ginevra on an academic and philosophical level that Ginevra is very unused to being a woman. He gives Ginevra a lot of freedom and security over the months they spend together creating a portrait to astound audiences for year and years to come, Da Vinci may have physically painted the portrait, but Ginevra was just as present in the creation of the piece. The final person I would like to give the spotlight to is Luigi, Ginevra’s husband whom we spend little time with. Although he is still worth mentioning because of how kind and supportive he is, he isn’t cold or cruel unlike most other husbands depicted in italian historical fiction. Luigi is very supportive of Ginevra for more reasons than practical advantages he wants to see her happy and understands that them together won’t produce that. And that’s just amazes me.

Da Vinci’s Tiger is a excellent italian historical romance. Elliott masterfully captures Florentine culture and weaves a new story. Since Italian historical fiction is by far my favorite genre that I am always on the quest for more of and it’s aggravating when I read novels telling very similar stories of the same family -typically Medici-  so nothing is very surprising, but here there is a novel that is fresh and new. Definitely something for any renaissance or historical fiction fan to pick up. Since I came, I read and I was conquered.

Dumplin’ all I gotta say is this novel is fantastic and absolutely hilarious a masterpiece that went big and struck a home run! Willodean is an infectious character who is down to earth, selfish, naive, sarcastic and the biggest Dolly Parton fan known to man or at least Clover City. Her journey through the summer of her sophomore year and junior year of high school is raw and relatable for many teenagers.

Now, the premise around Dumplin’: Go Big or Go Home surrounds Willodean over the summer while she works at a local fast food joint and then her participation in the Clover City Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant. Willodean is an unprecedented contestant for she is a fat girl, always has been and always will be and that’s how she likes herself. Although to Willodean’s surprise her entry sparks the participation of other outcasted not traditionally pretty girls of another fat girl, a lesbian, one with buck teeth and a girl with uneven legs who all flaunt what they got. Which is amazing and inspiring. There is also a subplot between Willodean and her best friend Ellen as their friendship is strained and tested by secrets, boyfriends and the pageant. And another featuring Willodean learning how to love herself enough to let more than one person in. Alright, on to the characters! Beginning with good ol Willodean who, as previously stated, is a big girl who works at a fast food stop. On the outside she appears to be very sure of herself and secure in her body, but on the inside is very anxious and embarrassed of her thighs. Yet she still has the gall to sign herself up for a pageant which puts her body on display and pastes her unsmiling face all over the newspaper. Although Willodean’s decision to enter the pageant was rash and ultimately she did question her own motives and sees them as the wrong reasons to have entered. Now, what is really awesome and amazing about Willodean is the incredible changes she goes through throughout the entire novel from super secure too lovestruck to being extremely jealous to being very stubborn (the most frustrating phase, but necessary) to getting stage fright and then finding herself in a mixture of all the sensations. Willodean is a melting pot of many different people and influences that matures throughout the novel into an amazing young woman. As for Ellen, Will’s best friend, she is a very considerate and kind friend who has everything; a hot boyfriend, bikini bombshell body, smart, sweet and approachable and funny. Which is the cause of so jealousy on Will’s part, overall is a rather quirky girl with a pet snake. Ok, onto Bo who is Will’s coworker at Harpy’s and he goes to catholic school, loves locks and plays basketball. Bo likes giving red suckers to people when they appear trouble and doesn’t give a dang if his peers prefer if he didn’t like Willodean, he likes her and that’s all that matters, but will Willodean accept that? Alright the last person I will shine the spotlight on is Willodean’s mother. Who was a winner of Miss Teen Blue Bonnet and now runs the committee that organizes it. And every year since her crowning she has worn her formal dress as she announces the winner. Making her go on many diets and maintain a pretty strict workout plan. Which has been the cause of a lot of tension between Willodean and her mother especially in the wake of her Aunt’s passing the winter before. So watching their relationship grow and fluctuate throughout the preparation and during the pageant is something to see since it’s just like how most kids get at it with their parent at that age where there are the fights and the little moments where you are best friends. There are other awesome characters, but these four deserve the most mention.
So I have a few gripes with this book , but they are rather minor. First, at the beginning of chapter 36 there is mention of two telepathic second cousins but when individually referred two are called a twin. Not a big thing, but it is there. Also at times it was difficult to figure out how old everyone was since most characters were driving sophomore year of high school and Ellen was in a serious relationship. But after some math I was able to conclude that because Will’s mom won Miss Blue Bonnet at 16 in 1997, had will at about 18 so in 1998 then Will and Ellen could probably have been about 16 to have also competed and already have a license. It was a bit confusing, but made more and more sense as the book went on and we go more dates and specifics.
Overall, I loved this novel. It was hilarious and so unconventional by begging the question of who can compete in a beauty pageant? The answer: Anyone! Also a shout out to the very accurate representation of stage technicians (sound, lighting, etc) it was on point! This book is body positive, great for teenagers, young and old people. The plot is captivating and the characters rock all the way through. Definitely going to be getting this and recommending it to my friends!

This novel made me smile, not even sort of. Orbiting Jupiter is quite a deceiving novel. Its short, sweet and written from the perspective of a twelve year old who can make everything sound a bit more fluffy and lighthearted than it actually is. So do not people fooled by the large print and childish annotations, for there is a slew of adult themes and mature content. Its merely misunderstood like the primary character.
The setting of this story is that of a midwestern farm where Jack and his family collect sap and milk cows. A routine that is not disturbed once Joseph enters the family and learns the ropes of farm maintenance from Jack. Now, Joseph is on parole and being fostered by Jack’s family. So the story surrounds Jack and Joseph as they go through middle school and watch Joseph open up to Jack and his family.
Now, there is so much more to Orbiting Jupiter than I have said, but as to avoid spoilers those details will be avoided. Also, most of the story heavily relies on the characters and their growth that it’s very difficult to separate the plot from characters. But because characters make a story let’s give them more time to shine. First, there is Jack a twelve year old sixth grader who lives on a farm and can tell if someone is good or bad based on how a cow reacts to meeting them. He is our narrator and is a very good one. Jack’s narration reminds me of a sophomore history project where students attempt to make children’s novels explaining historical events such as civilians in World War Two and a common method used by the class was to take the story and put it into a child’s perspective who doesn’t fully understand everything, but is very aware that they don’t know everything. Which doesn’t fully capture Jack since he is a very smart and perceptive in his observations. Jack was also very kind hearted and never cared that he was being judged for associating with a criminal, he had a lover greater than friendship with Joseph; he had his back. Alright, on to Joseph who is only fourteen and already is a father of a girl named Jupiter. Joseph has known love and hate and fear, although he isn’t jaded considering how mature he acts and is. A lot about Joseph’s time at Stonewall is kept a mystery and it’s never explicitly stated what happens to him, but little is left to the imagination. Although the mystery of why Joseph attacked that teacher is never fully addressed, the overarching plot line out weighs that little detail. But watching Joseph blossom in school and become less reserved around his teacher’s and Jack’s family was beautifully and spectacular. There are more characters, but Jack and Joseph are definitely the most important to talk about.
Overall, Orbiting Jupiter is a phenomenal book and utterly astounding. I loved every page! A definite recommendation! But when you read it please consider what makes someone a good father since you will meet many.

Breakfast Served Anytime captured my attention from the beginning. Combs’ writing style is unique; Through the characters’ inner and outer dialogue, and actions, we see that the events they witness or experience themselves do change their insight. The progression of the characters’ relationships and personalities is what was really intriguing and contributed the most to making this novel hard to put down.
This novel is written from the viewpoint of the main character, Gloria, or Glo for short. She is naturally curious, yet stubborn. Glo is accepted into Geek Camp, which proves to be the catalyst for making new friendships, and finding a great old restaurant that serves breakfast, anytime. X is her teacher at Geek Camp, and assigns the kids a project to tell why they love a novel of choice. Luckily, Glo has the perfect one. She is constantly followed by strange blue butterflies, and a not so far away college future. But she meets people who are all new in their thoughts and ambitions. Glo learns that opening her eyes further to see people beyond their surfaces will gain her valuable friendships and help her see the world anew. All around, this book was fantastic, and is definitely one of my new favorites.

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby captured my attention from the start. The story starts with Finn, a spacey high-school boy who is constantly picked on, and largely a topic of gossip in his small town, named Bone Gap. The chapters alternate between Finn and another key character, Rosa. Rosa is a beautiful young woman who mysteriously appears in Finn’s barn, then vanishes a couple months later. Finn is the only one who saw this happen, but whenever he explains what he saw, his portrayal lacks one huge clue.

Finn tries to rescue Rosa, and also struggles to rectify his relationship with his older brother. He longs to be accepted and understand he can’t see as clearly as others. The connections of the intertwined story-lines and characters’ viewpoints make it interesting to uncover the magical secrets kept by Finn, the bees, and the town. The novel explores the idea of what hides beyond the surface, fitting in, and relationships. This book is wonderfully written and very captivating!

Eternity’s Wheel by Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, and Mallory Reaves, is the last book of the InterWorld series. Chased by HEX, a magical force, 16 year old Joey Harker finds his own first recruit, Josephine. He shows her how to Walk, and tells her of the small but spirited group of Walkers’ current mission; to save the InterWorld. They are determined to prevent a new program named Frostnight from wiping out all the planets to remake the universe. Together they train, fight, and come across surprising enemies and allies in every timeline. Joey starts to feel the pressure of being a leader, but realizes he just may have what it takes to be one.
This is a captivating novel! It’s full of action, excitement, and just a hint of romance. It’s a pleasing ending to a series. Readers will be drawn into the story by the author’s good natured characters, and awry plot line. Overall, I definitely enjoyed reading this excellent story.

Off The Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
Reviewed by Natalie Silva

You know, I know a lot of words. Potato. Thermos. Pencil. Communism. But I don’t think that I know the words to describe Off The Page a very refreshing and adorable romance that beautifully weaves together fairy tales and modern life. Where literally every fan girl and boys’ dream comes true because their most beloved fictional character is not fictional and madly in love with you! So this novel is something to be envied. With its layering like a tiered cake to create a tasty masterpiece featuring a prince, a princess, a bookworm, a video gamer and two best friends — who are all hilarious and are given a moment to shine as bright as a dog star.
Although I have not read the companion novel Between The Lines, I don’t think that it is entirely necessary. There isn’t a prologue or “what’s happened so far” page, but there is an exceptional amount of exposition that sets the stage of the current circumstances, but ultimately thrusts the reader into this world where books talk back and where wishes can come true. This novel is a very well done and very through with the world that entrances the reader in a way where no counterpart would be pivotal to fully experiencing this tale. But that’s not too say that I haven’t ordered a copy because I am quite interested in seeing the beginning of Oliver and Delilah’s relationship. Since if the beginning of their relationship is anything like where Off The Page picks off from Between The Lines surely will be full of impassioned speeches and Shakespearean quotations and let’s be real the most adorably cliched thing ever.
Now before I launch into the phenomenal characters and fantastic storytelling, let me first comment on the style of this novel -since it’s a bit different than most styles that have seen- There are three character perspectives given and one anonymous scribbler (I dare you to take a guess of who it is!) all which have their own font color that really helps one keep everything in line who is speaking. And let me just say that I was quite refreshing to not read black font, but to instead see green, blue, brown and teal. So to say the least I greatly appreciated that along with all the full color illustrations and little black and white chapter heading drawings would be an understatement. It was a very creative and pleasing idea. So, bravo there!
Alright, alright, on to the story as I said is as layered as a scrumptious tiered cake! Where upon reading the back of the book some potential readers, myself included, may think that this is an awesome concept, but may not be great in practice. Since the tale of star crossed lovers may only be about, well, star crossed lovers attempting to make their relationship perfect, but then there is so much more there than this. Yeah, there is a bit of jealousy and a dramatic flair, but Oliver is literally a prince from a children’s novel so you know that’s just his character, but then there are these other stories featuring lovers destined to be apart, the relationship between a mother and son and also some crazy adventures of people experiencing the three dimensional world. Now, something that I found to be quite provocative and appealing in this novel was considered to be “reality” and wasn’t discounted as a fantasy. Which made the characters and realm so much more realistic and gave it for depth (even if it was two dimensional!) since no character’s experiences or feeling were discounted because they were considered less real. There is actually a point in the story )no spoilers, I swear) where a character something along the lines that says “we all have authors.” And that string of words has really resonated with me since it is true that you and I have authors, people who have contributed to our stories, character development and provides a new take on fate where something’s cannot be controlled more because of your character/personality then because the world (or book) is against you. Off The Page actually poses the question if our lives’ are written for us and by whom? So that’s something for readers to keep in mind.
Ok, now on to the fun part; characters! As stated prior there are three perspectives taken on with this novel so let’s begin with the in chronological order! So Delilah’s up first and she is our bookish, quite, well organized and strong willed heroine who so enviable with how she  gets to date her favorite fictional character. Although she is so admirable with how well she prepared for Oliver when he transferred into the three dimensional world, she definitely made sure her Prince Charming wouldn’t stand out for his lack of twenty-first century technology and culture (but she couldn’t control that he would be popular because he was hot and charismatic). I admired Delilah’s optimism for when she needed to be an anchor of hope, but realistic at all other times. She is very mature and collected even for someone who is infatuated with Disney princesses and children’s fairy tales. And that mix of attributes stirred together created an astounding woman who thrusts herself wholeheartedly into whatever she is doing and is stubborn enough to never be told otherwise. Now for our Prince Charming Oliver the boy who has been sixteen his whole life, but recently has discovered the wonders of the world like rain, the SATs and drama club! He is charismatic and enthralling, but very naive about this new world which is a recipe for disaster, but for a reader can be quite entertaining. Oliver reminded me of how many simple everyday things like showers, Betty Crocker cake boxes and rain I take for granted (except for rain, I live in California and would also dance out in the street if the sky began crying again). Even for such an adorable character there were times when be blunders and caused some scenes that out Delilah under a lot of stress, but always remained the perfect and most endearing boyfriend ever! Also his observations of the three dimensional world were quite astounding and thoughtful, made me start thinking of things in new lights. Alrighty, now onto Edgar our awkward sci-fi video game addicted teenager who switches places with Oliver. He looks almost exactly like him although he is a lot less social and probably experiences the most change throughout the book. He craved adventure and didn’t really have any friends in the beginning, but by the end he has so many and he becomes a true and valiant hero. Edgar becomes such an amazing person who I cannot properly describe without spoiling this novel, but just watching him befriend the other characters and evolve into such a considerate and empathetic character is awe inspiring. Ok, there are many many more characters that I could fawn over, but won’t because this review would end up being one million pages long. So my few honorable mentions are; Jules, Seraphima, and Chris who were all very solid and fun characters who I wish that I got to know a bit better since they we all so cool. Seriously some of the most touching and hilarious moments surround these characters.
I guess this is the end of my review where I scraped the surface of this touching romance. It was fun and I congratulate you, Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer, for creating such a sweet story that took me on an amazing adventure, you both make quite the dynamic duo.

Reviewed by Natalie Silva

I will remember Aaron, I will remember Aaron! Since I love him in a non-weird way. And it is impossible to not fall head over heels in love with this character in this neo-science fiction LGBTQ+ novel More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera. Which tells a very complicated and deep story of this teenager named Aaron who lives in the Bronx with his Mother and Brother who have all been greatly shaken from the recent suicide of Aaron’s father. Something that everyone is trying to cope with and they do it in different ways which creates an absolute masterpiece.
Now, More Happy Than Not is not a self proclaimed neo-sci fi novel, but I have labeled it as one. This is because of the presence of an amazing new technology in the form of the Leteo Institute which helps people forget things that will improve a person’s quality of life and this technology is available in the very near future/now. A trend which a lot of neo-sci fi films such as Her, Ex Machina and Interstellar have also followed. Creating a magnificent setting where everything is familiar and available to a reader except for the one major piece of technology like A.I. systems, warpspeed or in this case Leteo. Although the way that Leteo lurks mostly in the background until it finally takes center stage is very well paced and allows for the reader to become very acquainted with the technology as if it were a character itself.
Typing of characters, let’s talk about Aaron. What a character, he is so deep and so complicated and just masterfully brought to life. Watching Aaron cope with depression, have his first time, meet Thomas and sift through his emotions about his sort of best friend and overall situation. Its breath taking and earth shaking how powerful his character is, reading his narration is just astounding how mature and naive a teenager truly is, especially one who grew up in a rough neighborhood. Now, a quick shout out to Aaron’s Mother and his brother Eric for being present yet forgotten, but still around in the hardest of times, making them the unsung heros of every confused teenager. Alright, on to Genevieve who is simply a doll. The best girlfriend anyone could ever ask for an artist cursed to never finish a painting. Her relationship with Aaron is something so seldom found in youthful relationships, they are more than just lovers, but best friends who support and inspire each other. Genevieve stuck around through his hardest moments, knew absolutely everything about him and loved so unconditionally. Then there is Thomas who loves Aaron a bit differently, although is very accepting of him. Thomas is a pretty energetic and imaginative person destined for greatness in whatever he chooses to pursue, he is just so passionate, especially when he finally becomes a real friend of Aaron. A friendship that rapidly deepens and confuses both youths of their sexualality causing a disturbance in Aaron’s sort of best friend and friends who you can’t really hate, but can’t like either.
So many of life’s great questions are posed in this story that its difficult to consider them all. Although the ones that stuck out most to me were; What makes someone an adult? Are there signals that indicate if someone is gay or not? And if you could forget something, no matter how terrible, would you? Exploring these questions was amazing and made the journey of reading this book all the more rewarding. Watching everything so beautifully unfold and be sewn into a phenomenal piece of literature. Although my favorite moments tended to surround the awkward moments between friends that seem so stupid and childish, but are the most cherished memories, and that one part where Shakespeare is considered to be made up like Jesus and Santa Claus. Now, all I am left wondering if there is more to the name of Aaron’s imaginary child Faust then what is being let on… possibly having to do with a German legend?
Finally the ending is bittersweet and left open to interpretation making it all the more awe-inspiring. I wish that I could forget ever reading this novel so that I could read this again, just so I could relive reading it for the first time. This novel is so raw and authentic with the representation of LGBTQ+ violence, young love and depression that the reader is also experiencing everything to the point where even I traced my own wrist right to left and left to right. Bravo Adam Silvera, bravo!