IMWAYR

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Kellee

I hope everyone enjoyed their end of November! The ALAN workshop was as amazing as always, though the icing on the cake is seeing my friends, including Ricki!

It has been almost a month since I have shared my reading, so I have a lot to share!

Middle Grade

 

• The Sun and the Star: A Nico DiAngelo Adventure by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro: Nico and Will must face Tartarus to rescue a friend that Nico left behind the last time he was there. I loved getting to know Nico more in this book; he truly gets fleshed out and becomes his own person. And Mark Oshiro’s voice is a lovely addition! (I can’t wait to tell you on Wednesday all about Mark’s visit to my school.)
• Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas: Doug wants to prove that being him and all that he loves is just as important as being an athlete, so when his school puts on a team competition for his school, he knows he has to win (even if his team is full of outcasts). Mixed with STEAM competition and family dynamics, Control Freaks is a story about underdogs taking on a challenge.
• Alone by Megan E. Freeman: After sneaking out to stay at her grandmother’s apartment alone, Maddie wakes up to an abandoned town–everyone is gone. What follows is a story of Maddie learning to survive as she faces this terrifying new world alone.
• Away by Megan E. Freeman: This is the companion to Alone where readers get to learn about why everyone left town. These companion books combine together to make such a fascinating dystopian story that I am so glad I read–such wonderful reads!
• Abby in Neverland and Mirror, Mirror by Sarah Mlynowski: When I went to go read the last of the Whatever After series, I realized that I’d never read one of the special editions, so I started with it then read the series finale. I truly love this series: twisted fairy tales with extra adventures!

Young Adult

• The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson: Like all of Tiffany Jackson’s books, this one is inspired by a real life event, but Tiffany adds to it in a way only she can. This one really creeped me out, but in a different way than her other books. The scam in the book is true manipulation and shows you how easily young people can be convinced of idiocracy.
• Tell Me What Really Happened by Chealsea Sedoti: During the camping trip, Maylee, who planned the whole trip, disappears and is found dead. The police are interviewing her friends who were on the trip and it takes all of their points of view to find out what really happened, and it is so messed up!
• Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson: This was a perfect romance book to read during autumn. It had so many fall vibes and a friends to enemies to lovers trope in a quaint Connecticut town–just a truly fun rom com read!
• I Don’t Wish You Well by Jumata Emill: Five years after the a serial killer terrorized the football players in a town, a teen investigator believes that the individual who was blamed for the deaths was actually framed, so he starts a podcast to dig back into this case even though it is definitely not what anyone in the town wants. This intense read proves that sometimes you should trust your gut and push the norms because the truth is worth figuring out.
• Red As Royal Blood by Elizabeth Hart: This is one of my favorite recent reads–it will probably end up on my favorite reads of 2025! The king dies after a long illness and leaves the kingdom to Ruby, a castle maid. When she enters his room (her room now), she finds a note sharing that if she was reading the note, the king had been murdered and she shouldn’t trust anyone! This begins an adventure filled with secrets, love, lies, and, of course, ball gowns!

And you can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

See you next week!

Kellee

 

• Reading: The Curse Breaker: An Isle of Ever Novel by Jen Calonita
• Listening: Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley

Wednesday: Student Voices: Mark Oshiro’s Visit to Kellee’s School

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

We are taking this Monday off from IMWAYR since last week was a break for us.

We hope everyone enjoyed their time with family and friends last week and, if you are an educator, today is a smooth transition back into work.

We’ll see you back on December 8th for an IMWAYR from Kellee.

Happy reading!

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

We are taking today and next Monday off from IMWAYR.

The ALAN Workshop starts today!!! Then we’ll spend some time with family.

We’ll see you back on December 8th for an IMWAYR from Kellee.

Happy reading this week!

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Wednesday: Looking Back on ALAN 2024

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

I am off this week! You can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

Middle Grade

I’ve been wanting to read Janae Marks’ From the Desk of Zoe Washington for a long time, and I am so glad I did! It is well worth the hype and a fantastic middle grade book!

Whew. Louder than Hunger by John Schu is an emotional one. My son and I listened to parts of it together, and it prompted some awesome conversations. I am so glad that a book like this exists for middle grade students.

I had been hearing a lot about Not Nothing by Gayle Forman, and I really enjoyed it. It has the narration of an elderly man, which is not typical for middle grade book. I really enjoyed the audio book. I would have loved this book when I was a student, and I am so glad it exists.

Young Adult

I absolutely loved this book!!! Sunshine by Jarrett Krosoczka is the sequel to Hey, Kiddo, although it is quite a different book—even though it is a memoir. It tells about a one-week experience that Jarrett had when he worked at a summer camp for chronically ill children and their families (and some of the relevant years afterwards). I am going to use this one to talk about disability theory in class next semester.

Everything Amber McBride writes is magic, and We Are All So Good at Smiling and The Leaving Room were no exception. The first is about mental health and the second is about death. If you have to read one of them first, I would recommend The Leaving Room. I loved both books and their beautiful verse, but I have found myself thinking about this one constantly!

Lesa Cline-Ransome’s For Lamb is like a punch to the gut. It ripped me to shreds and put me back together again. I loved this book with my whole heart. Highly recommend.

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian is just as magnificent as his other books. I love the way that Nazemian builds character and story. His books always feel nonfiction to me because I feel like the characters are so alive!

Yessss! I am really glad that Sonora Reyes’ The Luis Ortega Survival Club exists in the world! It reminded me a tiny bit of Moxie, but the story is more about sexual assault (whereas Moxie is about sexism). This book rocks so much, and I plan to use it as a novel in my disability theory unit as it the main character is autistic.

Hannah V. Sawyerr‘s All the Fighting Parts is also about sexual assault, but it is quite different from the book above. This one is in prose and the sexual assault is committed by a beloved pastor. It’s a phenomenal book that teaches so many important lessons to readers.

I have recommended this book to about ten people this week. Ahhh—it’s so different and well-conceived and thoughtful and amazing! The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag is a graphic novel about an LGBTQ character who has to feed a monster with his blood in the basement. There’s so much symbolism in this stunning book.

I saw that Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldívar was a Walden Award finalist, so I immediately found a copy. It’s a powerful story set in the 2017 presidential protests in Honduras. I learned so much from reading this book. I’ll be assigning it in my class next semester, for sure!

There is no one who writes like Andrew Joseph White. His books are always captivating, even though they are a genre I don’t typically read (horror and fantasy combined). I really appreciated the historical knowledge in this book about coal mining!

The story and art in Dan in Green Gables by Rey Terciero and Claudia Aguirre are an absolutely magical combination. I fell in love with the main character and his quirky personality. This is a fantastic rural text, too, and we could absolutely use more rural books in schools! This book is like a big hug.

Ricki

Reading with my Ears: This Thing of Ours Frederick Joseph

Reading with my Eyes: Heart the Lover by Lily King

We are taking two weeks off for the NCTE convention, ALAN Workshop, and fall break! We can’t wait to learn about all of the new books coming out!

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Thursday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: The Other Side of Tomorrow by Tina Cho

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

• The Ruling Class by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: This book was published in 2015 as the title The Fixer and rereleased in 2025 with a new title, new cover, and now has an audiobook, too! I hadn’t heard of it as The Fixer, so was excited to find a new Jennifer Lynn Barnes book to read, and I was not disappointed! This is a book filled with great suspense, characters, and relationships all with the background of Washington D.C., politics, and power. There is a sequel already out, but I am going to wait for it to be rereleased and put out as an audiobook–this first book did leave things open for book 2 but the main conflict from book 1 is complete.
• Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign by Sara Shacter: I am always happy when a character in a book actually acts like their age and Georgia truly represents what it is like to be a 6th grade student learning how to fit in at a school she’s returning to after moving so much. My heart really felt for her as she worked through everything but she was also VERY frustrating because, like a true 6th grader, she makes some terrible decisions. But thankfully her goodness rises to the surface, and the reader, and all her classmates, get to see who she truly is.

And you can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

This is my week off; see you next week!

Kellee

• Reading: The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro
  • MARK OSHIRO CAME TO MY SCHOOL LAST WEEK!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO SHARE PHOTOS AND REFLECTIONS FROM THEIR VISIT WITH YOU IN DECEMBER!
• Listening: Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas

Wednesday: Looking Back on ALAN 2024

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Wednesday: Educators’ Guide for A Universe of Wishes Edited by Dhonielle Clayton

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

It’s my week off! You can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I am overextended this week, so I am going to hold off on posting books! Enjoy your week of reading!

Thursday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: The Other Side of Tomorrow by Tina Cho

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

  and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Thursday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: Sequels and Prequels Worth Reading

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “My Hope” by Frank W. Baker, Author of Risk, Resilience, and Redemption: A Miraculous Holocaust Survival Story

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

Middle Grade

• The Trials of Apollo #4 (The Tyrant’s Tomb) and #5 (The Tower of Nero) by Rick Riordan: I cannot really review these because of how far they are into the series, but I will say that reading this series was truly a pleasure. I loved the narrator, characters, plot, quests, adventures… everything. I really enjoyed every book and every chance I had to read.
• Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams: This book is on the 6th-8th grade Sunshine State Young Reader Award list, so when I was deciding what to listen to next, I picked it because SSYRA books are usually good, and man, am I happy I chose this one! Isaiah is feeling lost the summer before high school and then a tragedy strikes sending his world into shambles; he soon realizes he may need a change to truly get over this tough time. This book is heartbreaking at times but ends with so much hope and speaks to those of us who may not always be the coolest or the may be a little weird–we have the right to joy also.
• Where There Be Monsters by Alby C. Williams: Glory is so tired of her quiet life at home and wants an adventure more than anything, but when she finds herself in an adventure that puts her and others’ lives in danger and shows how dangerous her world can be, she wonders if she made the right choice. In a fantastical world full of monsters, fantastical characters, other worlds, and magic, I enjoyed learning about the mythology of the world and following Glory on her journeys.

Young Adult

• Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro: Since Mark Oshiro is coming to my school (in less than 2 weeks!), I am still reading their books in preparation. Anger is a Gift was a Schneider Book Award Winner and was Mark’s debut. I read it in 2018 and it really made me feel and think, so I wanted to reread it before their visit. I am glad I did. This book is very different than their middle grade books and the messages within Anger is a Gift are ones that are so important. Moss’s story is heartwrenching and brutal, and the book takes the reader through so many emotions, including the fear around one of Moss’s panic attacks, anger at the violence that took his father, love when Moss looks at Javier… and that is just at the beginning of the book. A very tough read but one I am glad I read.

And you can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

This is my week off; see you next week!

Kellee

• Reading: The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro
• Listening: The Ruling Class by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Wednesday: Educators’ Guide for A Universe of Wishes Edited by Dhonielle Clayton

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

  and