Ricki – Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 3/2/26

March 2, 2026March 2, 2026 by Ricki

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: Q&A with Nadine Presley, Author of A Ramadan Night

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “What Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Can Teach Us about Humanity, Resilience, and Critical Thinking” by Magda Mizzi, Author of Tyranny of Tomorrow and Dawn in Ruins

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Kellee

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

Ricki

I’ve been reading a lot of adult books recently. I think it’s allowing me a bit of escapism. I’ll return to YA soon. 🙂

Picture Book

Goldfinches by Mary Oliver has received a lot of starred reviews. I loved it and immediately pre-ordered a copy for some relatives.

Young Adult

I read What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally with Kellee and two of our other ALAN friends. We had a lot of fun reading this one. It is a page-turner about four teens trying to survive on a boat in the middle of a storm.

Adult

I saw Foster by Claire Keegan on a few lists, so I decided to check it out. I was blown away by the author’s ability to draw me so intensely into the story with such a short text (it is 101 pages). The emotions I felt at the end of the novel were powerful.

Several of my students listed There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib as their favorite book, so I decided to read it. This nonfiction text is incredibly well-written. It is about basketball and life.

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson was a local brewery’s book club text, so I read it (even though I knew I couldn’t attend the book club meeting—ha ha!). This one is well-deserving of all of the praise it has received. The storytelling is stunning.

No Matter What by Cara Bastone is the story of a husband and wife who are struggling in their relationship because of a traumatic accident. It’s a bit of a romance, but it is more about trauma’s effects. I absolutely loved that the narrator was learning to be a figure artist. I asked my art teacher if we could do figure drawing after I read this book. 🙂

Adult Romance

And I consumed adult romances, which are the biggest escape for me, lately, in this world! Highlights about each are below.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren: Enemies to lovers. The brother of the groom and identical sister of the bride go on their sibling’s honeymoon when the bride and groom get sick.

The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros. Part historical fiction, part fiction, both stories romance. The narrator is recently divorced and taking care of her great-grandmother’s estate. Her great grandmother is a popular romance writer who never finished her romance story of her own life. Noah, a best-selling tragedy/romance writer is hired to write the ending. Enemies to lovers.

Tessa Bailey’s It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line, and Sinker are stories of fishermen who work in very dangerous work conditions. In book one, a rich influencer is sent to the fishing town because her stepfather thinks she doesn’t understand the value of hard work. Her sister goes with her. Book two is about her sister. I really adored the setting of these two books.

Ana Huang’s Twisted Love and Twisted Games are both spicier romances (books 1 and 2 out of 4). I really enjoyed reading them, but the possessiveness of the men was a little bit off-putting for me.

The Book Tour by Emily Ohanjanians is an enemies to lovers romance. I liked that the main character is Armenian. Too many romances are about all-white characters! It’s about an author who is on tour with her grumpy book publicist.

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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Sofia’s YA Book Nook: Books I Read for My 9th Grade Honors English Class

February 19, 2026 by Ricki

Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select weeks, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

I have never imagined writing a review about books I read for school but the novels we discussed in my 9th grade Honors English class were some of the most thought-provoking pieces of literature that I have ever read. These books questioned my views of the world in such an eye-opening way that I feel like I must recommend them. For that reason, I would like to present to you, Educated by Tara Westover, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

Educated by Tara Westover

This transformative and awe-inspiring novel was our summer assignment and I was truly blown away by how it challenged my views on American childhood and parental influence. Educated is a moving autobiography that follows main character Tara through her journey as she grows up in a family that is isolated from most of the world and its culture. Her father doesn’t believe in public schools or the government so Tara mostly stays in her house and blindly follows what her parents say. When Tyler, one of her older brothers, sneaks out to go to college against their parents’ wishes, Tara starts to see that there are opportunities beyond the mountain where her family lives. When family members get injured at her dad’s junkyard, she no longer thinks it is a coincidence or tragic accident, but looks deeper, realizing how careless and dangerous her father is. But when she raises her concerns to her mother, including how her brother Shane is abusing her, her mom calls her crazy, making Tara struggle to trust herself and her memories. Educated is truly a story of resilience and Tara paving her own path, even when it seems impossible. I found her story incredibly inspiring and a definite must read if you are looking for a shocking and thought-provoking book! I often found myself wondering about the impact of childhood on one’s future self and other deep questions. While this was a book that I had to read for my freshman year of high school, which usually dampens my enjoyment, I still loved it and can confidently say that Educated is by far the best book I have ever read for school! It is also important to note that Educated is an adult book and has difficult topics including domestic abuse, traumatic injuries and grieving the death of a loved one.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird touches on topics of systemic racism, making assumptions based on false information, code switching to fit in, and how young people’s views are shaped by what their parents believe. Scout Finch is eight years old when the novel begins and lives in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Her father Atticus is a lawyer and believes in civil justice and equality, which is why he takes up Tom Robinson’s case. Tom Robinson is being put on trial for attacking and raping Mayella Ewell, a white young lady. Being a black man in the 30’s meant that he was ready for his case not to be taken seriously but Atticus made it his mission to represent Tom fairly. The events of the court case challenge Scout and her brother’s views on the court system and open their eyes to the injustices of the world. A side plot that continues this transformation is Scout and her brother’s fascination with Boo Radley, a mysterious man who never leaves his house. Based on the little information they know about him, they taunt and mock him, which makes them feel ashamed when they grow up and realize most of Boo Radley’s character was a myth. To Kill a Mockingbird pleasantly surprised me by showing the issues of racism in the segregated South while still being a fun and entertaining read!

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This was our final book of the semester and we actually did a project comparing this novel to To Kill a Mockingbird which I found quite interesting. The Hate U Give portrays the racial injustices viewed in To Kill a Mockingbird in a more modern and fast-paced novel. Starr lives in Garden Heights, a black community riddled with gang violence while she goes to school at Williamson, a white private high school. The different nature of these environments forces Starr into code switching, acting more polite and guarded at school and laid back at home. Starr tries very hard to keep her two personalities separate, meaning that her best friends at school never hear that she was in the car the night Khalil died. Starr and Khalil hadn’t seen each other in a long time when they met at a party to catch up. Shots started firing and they escaped in Khalil’s car, but not for long as they were soon pulled over by a white cop. As soon as Khalil made one sudden, nonaggressive move, he was shot dead. All Starr could do was stare in shock and stay still as the officer’s gun was now pointed at her. This moment brought her back to when she was ten years old and her friend Natasha had just been killed in a drive-by shooting while they were playing together. As news spreads about Khalil’s death, it becomes harder and harder to hide the truth about her involvement, but doing so would make her peers at school pity her, and she would never be the same. Her white boyfriend Chris becomes increasingly worried about her distant behavior but Starr can’t bear to tell him what she has faced. All these storylines weave together to create a powerful story about identity and racism, making for a compelling read!

Thank you so much for reading, enjoy!

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/16/26

February 16, 2026February 16, 2026 by Ricki

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

Happy reading!

Wednesday: Educators’ Guide for Dream by Barbara O’Connor

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Kellee

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

Ricki

I just spent four hours culminating resources for book censorship for the graduate course that I am teaching. Needless to say, I ran out of time to share the books I read this week, but I’ll share them next time! 🙂

Ricki

I am currently reading Sashimi by Dan Santat!

Thursday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: Books I Read for My 9th Grade Honors English Class

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Sofia’s YA Book Nook: The Heart of Everything by Marc Levy

February 5, 2026 by Ricki

Dear readers,

Hi and welcome to another book review! Today I would like to introduce The Heart of Everything by Marc Levy! This shorter story detailing what it means to lose someone was originally published in French, but this translated copy is still written beautifully. Thomas, the main character, feels like he is being delusional when his father who has been dead for five years comes knocking at his door. This moment turns out to be the beginning of a journey, physical and emotional, that this father and son duo embarks on. Raymond, Thomas’s father has such a funny personality that it lightens the sadder themes of the book and definitely made me laugh out loud a few times!

Goodreads Summary

Even death can’t break the bond between father and son in an uncannily funny and poignant novel about love, loss, memory, and family by Marc Levy, the bestselling author of P.S. from Paris. There’s nothing too unusual about a father asking his son for a favor—unless, of course, the father in question has been dead for five years. Thomas, a young virtuoso pianist living a quiet, carefully structured life in France, is stunned when his late father, Raymond, suddenly appears in his home. He’s not a ghost in the traditional sense-he’s real enough to ask for help. His request? That Thomas travel with him to San Francisco to find Camille, the long-lost love of his life. For Thomas, it’s as surreal as it sounds. And yet…it might be his last-in-a-lifetime chance to know his father as a man and to square the regrets of the past. Together they embark on a five-thousand-mile journey that questions the very nature of existence, proves that love never fades, and rekindles the curious, heart-tugging bond between a parent and child that somehow endures beyond death.

My Thoughts

This book had an unsuspecting hold on me while I was reading it, and I was always thinking about when I could read the next bit! The interesting boundary this book sits between makes it feel realistic while also having fantastical elements. I highly recommend picking this book up, not just because of the valuable insight it offers, but because it is such a funny and exciting novel. If you have any traveling coming up soon, I feel like this book is perfect for a flight, or even to read while on vacation. The entire book took me about 4.5 hours to read, which entertained me throughout my four day winter break trip! The chapters are on the shorter side, meaning that you can pick this book up anytime, even if you only have 15 minutes! The Heart of Everything is a sweet and impactful novel about the father-son bond, and how it overcomes death.

While The Heart of Everything is an adult novel, I believe it is perfectly readable for anyone who enjoys YA books. Some mature themes to keep in mind though are death, loss of a loved one, and drugs. Enjoy your reading!

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/2/26

February 2, 2026February 2, 2026 by Ricki

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

Happy reading!

Wednesday: The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff

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Kellee

This is 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

Middle Grade

My 9-year-old son and I listened to Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan. We really liked it. It tells the story of a girl who is visiting her family, and her grandfather is an Indian boarding schools survivor. While she is there, she keeps dreaming of a girl who is running from an Indian boarding school. There aren’t many books available at the middle grade level about Indian boarding schools, so I am really glad this book exists. It was well-written and engaging.

Young Adult

On Starlit Shores by Bex Glendining is a graphic novel about a girl who is packing up her grandmother’s house after her death. There is a bit of magical realism/fantasy in this book, which I really enjoyed as a reader.

Adult

I love Lucy Score’s romance novels and enjoyed Maggie Moves On. She does a great job building characters.

Overruled by Lana Ferguson is an adorable romance about divorce attorneys. This one had some depth to it, which I always enjoy in a romance!

Love is a War Song by Danica Nava is an Indigenous love story about a popular singer who makes some racist mistakes. She decides to visit her reservation to wait out the media fallout. It’s a wonderful romance that I highly recommend.

I was blown away by Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent. I listened to this one on audio and loved it. It is well worth the hype–very well-written and thought-provoking.

I am rereading Mexikid by Pedro Martín for my class this week! I love this book!

Thursday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: The Heart of Everything by Marc Levy

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Teaching Activities Related to James Baldwin’s Extraordinary Life” by Michelle Meadows, Author of Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues

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Sofia’s YA Book Nook: Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus

January 22, 2026 by Ricki

Dear readers,

Let me introduce you to, Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus, a thrilling YA mystery told from two perspectives! You follow Brynn as she investigates the murder of her former teacher while being an intern at an up and coming true-crime podcast called Motive. You also get to see the story from Tripp’s eyes, one of the people who found the teacher’s body four years prior. As Brynn and Tripp work together, overcoming their past, they uncover secrets that will change them forever. This book was such an amazing read, and I feel that anyone who enjoyed A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder would absolutely love it!

Goodreads Summary

Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favorite teacher—a story that made headlines after the teacher’s body was found by three Saint Ambrose students in the woods behind their school. The case was never solved. Now that Brynn is moving home and starting her dream internship at a true-crime show, she’s determined to find out what really happened. The kids who found Mr. Larkin are her way in, and her ex-best friend, Tripp Talbot, was one of them. Without his account of events, the other two kids might have gone down for Mr. Larkin’s murder – but instead, thanks to Tripp, they’re now at the top of the Saint Ambrose social pyramid. Tripp’s friends have never forgotten what Tripp did for them that day, and neither has he.

Just like he hasn’t forgotten that everything he told the police was a lie. Digging into the past is bound to shake up the present, and when Brynn begins to investigate what happened in the woods that day, she uncovers secrets that might change everything – about Saint Ambrose, about Mr. Larkin, and about her ex-best friend, Tripp Talbot. Four years ago someone got away with murder. More terrifying is that they might be closer than anyone thinks.

My Thoughts

Nothing More to Tell is a riveting story that kept me on the edge of my seat! It is so exciting to see Mr. Larkin’s murder unravel, clue by clue, while Brynn and Tripp investigate. I loved the occasional flashback that Tripp had about the day Mr. Larkin was murdered, which allowed me to combine the information I already knew about the case with small details from when it actually happened. During the story, Brynn is also struggling with her friends, who she has barely talked to in the four years she was in another school. I liked the depth that Brynn’s friend struggles added to this book, making it more relatable than just a murder. Brynn and Tripp’s relationship is also fun to watch, as they decide how they feel about one another. The character dynamic plus the murder makes Nothing More to Tell a fixating read!

I would recommend this book for ages 12+ because of murder and many instances of underage drinking. All in all, Nothing More to Tell is an exciting book that is a must-read for lovers of murder and mystery! Enjoy!

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/19/26

February 1, 2026January 19, 2026 by Ricki

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

Happy reading!

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

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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

All right, y’all. I have a lot of books to share since the break! Full disclosure: Every time I am sad from the news, I read a romance, so there’s a lot of romance lately. I have some pretty awesome books to share!

Middle Grade

I’d never read Front Desk by Kelly Yang, so I grabbed a copy! I love the life lessons in this book. It teaches about immigration, and there are a lot of connections between the economy and activism. I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it!

Young Adult

First, three wonderful Lynn Painter YA romances, Better than the Movies, Nothing Like the Movies, and Fake Skating. I recommend all three. I read all of them in a row because I enjoyed her writing so much.

I had read about Deb J. J. Lee’s graphic memoir in many places, and I decided to find it in my stacks. This is another book I recommend highly. I can see why it gets so much praise. I also appreciated the ways it incorporated understandings of the eye fold.

Sacha Lamb’s The Forbidden Book won a regional award, so I downloaded it. I really appreciate this Jewish fantasy. I also appreciate that publishers are printing books that extend beyond Holocaust novels for Jewish characters. I am not sure why this one has such a low rating on GoodReads because I thought it was very well done.

Hayley Chewins’ I Am the Swarm has many starred reviews, so I snagged a copy. I liked reading this one in print over listening to it–in case you are thinking about giving it a try. There is powerful symbolism of bugs in this book.

Candace Fleming’s Death in the Jungle is a nonfiction account of Jonestown—the cult, murders, and mass suicide. Candace Fleming is a fantastic writer, and this book hooked me from beginning to end.

I added Frederick Joseph’s This Thing of Ours to my syllabus next semester because I really liked the incorporation of basketball, creative writing, and activism in this book. It is very well-written, as with all of Joseph’s books.

I adored Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In. It’s a fantastic collection of short stories. Each story was interesting and thoughtful, and I am so glad this collection exists!

Whew–This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux takes readers through quite a rollercoaster. This graphic novel is almost like a murder mystery and a thriller. I really appreciated its tackling of difficult topics.

Adult

I had never read Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, and given its praise (and the fact it is going to be a movie), I decided to give it a go. I really appreciated this well-written story and am glad I went back to read it!

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson is a fantastic nonfiction text. A few friends read it at the same time as me, and we all really appreciated Dr. Gibson’s knowledge.

My son read Michale Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein Holinstat’s nonfiction book: The Survivors Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz. This is a tough, tough read about a child’s experience in Auschwitz. I felt absolutely gutted as I read it, but I am very glad that I did.

Jacqueline Harpman’s I Who Have Never Known Men is a translation. It’s a dystopian story about 30 women locked in a cage underground. I really, really enjoyed reading this book and immediately wanted to talk about it with other people. Highly recommend. It’s not new, but it went viral recently, so a bunch of folks are reading it.

I really enjoyed Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. It’s incredibly well-written—a story about a woman who washes ashore a very remote island. She is searching for her husband, and instead, she finds a family on the island.

Fredrik Backman’s My Friends is truly one of the best books I’ve ever read about friendship. This one is also very well-written. My book club read it, and everyone loved it. It’s hard to get all of us to agree because we have different book tastes, but this one was a winner.

I’ve attended two book clubs that read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This historical fiction is a must-read. I learned a lot about women in NASA (a topic I didn’t think I could find to be so fascinating!)

Catherine Newman’s Wreck is another book club book. I liked it okay—it’s send on Cape Cod, so I enjoyed reading it while I was visiting family there. But it was a bit slower in pace (which some people like!).

I will never forget Jennette McCurdy’s Half His Age. It’s about a teacher-student relationship, and I found it incredibly disturbing. It’s vulgar and raw, and it holds no punches.

Adult Romance

I am going to share a very brief comment about each romance!

Alison Cochrun’s The Charm Offensive is a queer romance set on a television reality show set that is very similar to the Bachelor series.

Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After and One Golden Summer are a celebration of summer in romance form.

I love every book in Sarah Adam’s When In Rome and In Your Dreams are a part of a series set in Rome, Kentucky, and I enjoyed every book in this series.

I will also read anything Ali Hazelwood writes, and Two Can Play is about two video game designers.

I loved Lynn Painter’s YA texts, so I snagged Maid for Each Other. I laughed out loud a lot while reading this one. The female narrator is very funny. This is like a rendition of Pretty Woman, but don’t we all love that movie?

Jodi McAlister’s An Academic Affair is about two grad students who become professors and have to compete for the same job.

Lily King’s Heart the Lover is very literary and not quite a romance in its prime focus (but it is a romance). I couldn’t decide whether to put this in my adult or adult romance section. I recommend reading this one with your eyes rather than listening. I don’t think its literary strength is as appreciated on audio (I read it both ways).

Zakiya N. Jamal’s Sparks Fly is a really fun romance that offers some great commentary about AI. I really enjoyed this one.

Julie Olivia’s If It Makes You Happy is about a woman who is post divorce and whose mom just died. She is taking care of an inn that her mom started.

Ricki

Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

Tuesday: The Case of the Scarlet Snakebite by Christyne Morrell

Thursday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus

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