Author: Amy the Librarian

Violets Are Blue is about Wren, a sixth grader who lives with her mom. Wren watches Cat FX, an internet celebrity who teaches how to do special effects makeup to escape from reality. During Wren’s spring break, Wren flies to Brooklyn to see her dad who is getting remarried. However, when Wren moves to a new town with her mom, Wren is given the opportunity to do the makeup for her new school’s Wicked play. When Wren makes a new friend, Poppy, she is able to open up and share her thoughts with her. However, Wren starts noticing her mom’s unusual behavior. As she deals with these challenges, Wren finds out that her mom has a serious condition which cannot be cured.

I think that Violets Are Blue was overall a great book. I feel that the author, Barbara Dee, did a great job creating a character that is passionate about special effects makeup. Also, as I was reading this book, I felt that Wren’s challenges felt realistic and understandable. However, I was not a huge fan of the writing style of this book. I think that the book felt disconnected at points because of the writing style. My favorite character was Wren because she cared for her mom a lot. Usually in many young adult books, the main character is always opposed to their parents, but in this book, Barbara Dee did a spectacular job not implying that.

A memorable thing about this book is the part when Wren goes to visit her dad in Brooklyn. I think this is memorable because this was the starting of the plot and it was the beginning of a lot of the realistic events which take place in the book. If Wren hadn’t gone to Brooklyn, she also wouldn’t have realized that she was going through many life challenges.

Reviewed by Radhika, Twin Hickory Library

Iron Heart, the sequel to Crier’s War, follows the story of Crier and Ayla; a powerful and inhuman Automae princess, and a human girl sworn to kill her for revenge. Ayla had taken the role of Crier’s handmaiden as a ploy to get closer to the royal family and kill the princess. However, she is thwarted by the realization that she started to develop feelings for the girl she swore to destroy. Ayla discovers the Iron Heart, the source of the Automae’s power, and is faced with the choice of whether to destroy it. Destroying it would mean destroying every Automae, including the girl she loves. In Iron Heart, Ayla comes to a head with the ultimate decision: love or revenge?

The character development in this book was beyond rich, and it was an extremely satisfying conclusion to a compelling duology. I really enjoyed the medium, easy to follow pace of this book. I genuinely couldn’t put the book down until I was finished. The characters were loveable, and Varela had you rooting for Crier and Ayla despite all odds by the end of the story. The plot was a tad cliché, but I could easily overlook that because I honestly loved the story.

The tenseness of the book stuck with me long after I was finished, but in the best possible way. The ending was incredibly satisfying, and it was a heartfelt sapphic story I couldn’t stop reading for a second.

This book contains a lot of useful knowledge. It talks about the causes of depression as well as the signs of it. In addition, it explains its impacts and the different types of depression. All of these topics are discussed in detail within the book and it can help anyone suffering from depression. Overall, the book talks about this topic in a calm way to help readers acknowledge the situations better.

I liked how the book helps people get out of depression by talking about various strategies like coping ahead. Furthermore, it uses real-life stories to explain the diverse amount of information covered in the book. I liked this because it allowed me to relate to the book. However, the book would’ve done a better job at conveying the information if it had been more concise. This would have allowed readers to quickly get a grasp on the topic.

One very memorable thing within the book were the numerous images used to support the stories. These image were important since they allow the reader to gain a better understanding of the scenario. This helps in understanding how the situation can be resolved also. This element of the book was the most helpful thing in the book for me since I wouldn’t have been able to properly understand the book without the images.