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 were on break, so no posts last week.
Kellee
What I’ve read since 12/8:
Middle Grade
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- The Curse Breaker (Isle of Ever #2) by Jen Calonita: I cannot really say much because it is a continuation of the story in book 1, but I can say that this is another book filled with mystery, clues, secrets, suspense, and villainy. But also another brutal cliffhanger! I’m ready for the 3rd book already!
- A Risky Game (The Liars Society #2) & A Secret Escape (The Liars Society #3): This series just keeps getting better and better! Weatherby and Jack are still trying to figure out all that The Liars Society holds, including secrets, advantages, and more, and the reader gets to go along with them as they figure out more and more in these two books. And all books in this series are great, but the third one–SO GOOD!
- Trapped in a Video Game by Dustin Brady: I listened to this when I needed a quick audiobook, and I am so glad I did because it is as fun as it looks and sounds. Lots of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle vibes but also unique in its own way. A humorous adventure.
- I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, 79 A.D. by Lauren Tarshis: Though formulaic, I love how this series has grown interest in historical fiction books. This one tells the story of Marcus as he lives through the day that Pompeii is covered by Vesuvius. I’ve been wanting to read this since I visited Pompeii this summer, and I’m glad I did it after because I could picture much of what the book talked about.
- Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan Vols 6, 7, & 8 by Sasami Nitori: This series is adorable. Kyuu-chan is one of my favorite manga cats!
- The Taylors (#0.5) by Jen Calonita: Disclaimer: this series is obviously written for Swifties but can be enjoyed by anyone! The four protagonists are all named Taylor and all love Taylor Swift. What starts as bonding over their name and namesake leads to true friendship and hopefully tickets to the Eras tour.
- Secrets of the Broken House by Taryn Souders: So many middle schoolers want to read murder mysteries, and Taryn Souders writes the perfect ones for them! In Secrets of the Broken House, Miss Geraldine is discovered dead by Tucker and he, with the help of his friends, want to figure out what happened. Since Miss Geraldine was mean to everyone, the suspect list is really long, but Tucker can’t let what he knows is a murder be ignored. (Published January 6th! Happy Book Birthday!!!)
- The Case of the Scarlet Snakebite by Christyne Morrell: Amber is always looking for crimes to solve, even when there is no true crime, but when she overhears a phone conversation about a crime by someone staying at her bed and breakfast, she knows this time there is truly a crime, and she is going to be the one that solves it. But this crime is different than she guessed but still full of twists & turns. Another fun middle school mystery!
Young Adult
- Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley: Angeline Boulley has a way of telling stories that just are exceptional. She is truly an expert storyteller and writer. Like her other two books, which are companions to this one, the reader finds themselves within a mystery full of suspense. However, what I fall in love with while reading her books is her characters and their stories. Another brilliant book.
- The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard: This story has so much going on in it: rivalry, pranks, romance, curses, legends, suspense, and murder all with the background of the late 1999s. If you’d told me that all of this could be in a book and it would work, I probably wouldn’t believe you, but this book is proof.
- Powerless by Lauren Roberts: Hunger Games + a romantasy book + tropes we all know and love = an enjoyable read. I will definitely be reading more of the series because I have to see what happens.
- A Story of Seven Lives by Gin Shirakawa: This is a cat manga that is not one of the funny and cute ones–it is full of trials and tribulations for our cats. Trent read this one and recommended it to me because he said it was emotional, and man, he was right.
- Spy X Family Vols 12 & 13 by Tatsuya Endo: The main mission continues in the background, but these two volumes are about a spy threatening to expose Loid–will Twilight be able to stop him?!
- The Taylors: Love Stories (#1) and The Taylors: Cruel Summer (#2) by Elizabeth Eulberg: These books are sequels to the middle grade book about the Taylors by Jen Calonita. While that book takes place in 5th grade, these take place during their first year of high school and look at friendships, relationships, and identity.
Adult
- Meant to Be #3 (Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova), #4 (Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren), and #5 (Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto): I love this series for so many reasons but mainly I love how the author takes the Disney story and twists it to make a realistic, contemporary romance. It is so much fun to find the allusions to the original movies, and it is really interesting to see how the author makes it work. I loved reading these during break.
- The Deserving: What the Lives of the Condemned Reveal About American Justice by Elizabeth Vartkessian: I devoured this book. It made me think so much and, I think, changed me forever.
And you can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
Happy New Year! I’ll catch you up on what I’ve been reading next week.
Kellee
Reading: The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff
Listening: The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel
Wednesday: Kellee’s 2025 Reading Recap & Stats and 2025 5 ⭐ Reads
Sunday: Author’s Guest Post: “Teaching Dual Perspectives Through Adventure Stories”
by Sarah Branson, Author of For the Love of Glitter & A Pirates’ Pact
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!
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