The Running Bibliophile

The International House of Dereliction by Jacqueline Davies opens with Alice Cannoli-Potchnik finding out that she's moving for the eleventh time due to her mother's job at the local university.  Upon arriving at her new house, she notices the condemned house next door and decides to restore it to it's previous splendor.  Little does she know that it's haunted. I'd like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The International House of Dereliction by Jacqueline Davies.  Upon seeing the cover and reading the synopsis of this kid's book, my interest was piqued.  When I was approved to receive a copy for free in exchange for my honest review, I was delighted. At first, I found this book to be a bit slow, and it reminded me ever so slightly of Leeva At Last by Sara Pennypacker because both of the main characters were kept home from school by their parents and were approximately the same age.  Both of the ma...

The Secret Sisters by Newberry Medal-Winning Author Avi opens with Ida Bidson on her way to live her biggest dream thus far in her life . . . to go to high school so she can eventually become a teacher.  The Roaring Twenties is in it's hey day, and Ida is learning a lot of new things from using a telephone for the first time to seeing her first moving picture to learning how to speak "flapper".  But, when she corrects the principal in front of her class, she worries that she may not last long at the high school. A huge thank you to Net Galley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Secret Sisters by Avi.  Having heard of the author, but having never reading any of his books, I was intrigued by the synopsis of his latest middle grade book and requested to read it.  When I was approved, I was absolutely delighted. Although I'm not the target audience, I found The Secret Sisters to be fun and engaging . . . and even education...

All The Lovely Bad Ones, A Graphic Novel by Mary Downing Hahn is a graphic novel adaption of the book of the same name.  Travis and Corey are spending the summer at their grandmother's inn.  The children love a good prank, but one of the pranks goes wrong when they awaken ghosts that wreak havoc at the inn.  Can Travis and Corey stop these ghosts? I'd like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of All The Lovely Bad Ones, A Graphic Novel by Mary Downing Hahn.  I loved this author growing up and hadn't read this particular book.  When I saw that this book was being turned into a graphic novel, I knew I had to read it.  I was ecstatic that my request to read it was approved. The storyline is an intriguing one and perfect to read around Halloween.  It's spooky, not scary.  It was engaging and held my interest.  Since I'm not the target audience, the story was a little young for me.  I'd r...

Leeva at Last written by Sara Pennypacker and illustrated by Matthew Cordell is a children's fiction book that was published on March 7, 2023 by HarperCollins Children's Books.  This story about a girl named Leeva Spayce Thornblossom who is the daughter of the mayor and the town treasurer.  Her parents are obsessed with fame and fortune and have little to do with Leeva.  With the help of the town librarian, Leeva goes on a quest to find out what people are for. Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Balzer + Bray for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Leeva at Last .  I was delighted to be approved to receive this book in exchange for my honest review. This middle grade book was an interesting read, and I wasn't really sure how I felt about it at first.  It seems like it has similar situations to the book Matilda by Roald Dahl . . . I haven't read Matilda or seen the movie, so I am basing this on the synopsis and movie trailers I've seen....

My Sister's Boyfriend (Changes, #9) by Katherine Applegate is part of the HarperCollins Changes Romance series that was published in the early 1990's. Even though it is part of a series, it is a stand alone book that has nothing to do with any of the other books in the series. As a teenager, I discovered another book in the series before this one, On My Own (Changes, #10) by Janet Quin-Harkin, and it led me to purchasing this particular book. The genre is romance, but I would classify it as romantic comedy. Rereading this as an adult, I still found myself laughing at some of the same parts that I did as a teenager. Mainly those parts having to do with the little brother and the best friend Lucas. Even though this is a relatively short book geared towards tweens and teens, you still get a fairly good sense of character development. It was a well written book that still keeps my attention as an adult. With that being said, there were a few things that I didn't...