Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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Book Review: This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham

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book review this delicious death kayla cottingham

This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham is about four friends going on a road trip to attend a music festival in the desert.  What no one else realizes is that they were infected during the pandemic and are now ghouls.  On the first night at the festival, Valeria goes feral and ends up killing someone and eating them.  Soon after, the girls discover that ghouls are being poisoned with a drug that will cause them all to feral.  The expected publication date is April 25, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the Advanced Readers Copy of This Delicious Death.  The synopsis was intriguing, so I was happy when I was approved to read this book.  I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

Just as an FYI, there were several content warnings at the beginning of this book, including but limited to alcohol consumption by minors, cannibalism, drug use and drugging, gun violence, murder, parental neglect, suicidal ideation, and transphobia.  According to the publishers and NetGalley, this book is considered to be in the following genres:  Young Adult, Horror, and LGBTQIAP+.

At first, this book was a bit slow to start, but it did start to pick up pace, and I ended up enjoying the storyline for the most part.  When I first started reading This Delicious Death, it reminded me a little of the television show Santa Clarita Diet starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. Although there was quite a bit of mystery and horror in the book, it did include some lighter scenes and romance.  I don't really have any complaints about this book.

Even though horror is one of my favorite genres, This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham wasn't my cup of tea.  Well written, I think many teens will enjoy the storyline, and I'm glad there is a book that is inclusive of the LGBTQIAP+ community.  Children need books that represent a variety of things and people who might be like them.  Four out of five stars.

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