Jennifer Hubert's Blog

Reading Rants Redux!

Hello, RR readers. You’ve probably noticed that Reading Rants hasn’t been updated since November 2023. After Amazon abruptly decided to stop supporting book cover links in December 2023 and finding it a lot easier to post on Goodreads than on WordPress, I’ve decided that Reading Rants needs yet another new incarnation. RR launched as a […]

Bones and All by Camille DeAngelis

Maren just turned sixteen when her mother suddenly abandons her. Scared and alone, she hitchhikes around the Midwest searching for a place to call home while hiding a deep, dark secret. When she meets Lee in a Walmart parking lot, she is instantly relieved, because it is clear that they are cut from the same […]

Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

It’s Spring Break 2009, and college freshman besties Dani and Zoe have made plans to meet up in New York City. Dani invites new friend Fiona along, and at first all is well. But if two is company, then three’s a crowd and soon Fiona’s worldly cynicism and snarky impatience begins to drive a wedge […]

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

Ahhh, thirteen! It is the best of ages (Finally a teenager! Finally some independence!) and the worst of ages (“What the heck is going on with my body?” “Why are my friends acting so weird?”) Author/illustrator Dan Santat sweetly and hilariously examines the ups and downs of thirteen in this graphic memoir of his first […]

Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park

“I wish I had a normal name, like Jane or Chetna or Soo-hee. A name that at least looks like what I’m supposed to be.” Alejandra Kim (“Ale”) feels like she has spent her entire existence stuck between two worlds: between her “super-Korean face” and “super-Spanish first name”; between her Korean ethnicity and Argentinian culture; […]

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson

Thank the gods of mystery and mayhem, Stevie Bell is back! Spoiler alert: If you have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Stevie, she is the shining detective star of four previous mysteries: Truly Devious, The Vanishing Stair, The Hand on the Wall and The Box in the Woods. While you CAN read Nine […]

2022 Top Five

Like in 2021: same old story. I haven’t read nearly as much YA as I wanted to/should have, so here is a leaner, meaner list of my top five best YA reads of 2021. Please note that there has been absolutely no attempt to balance this list by age, gender or genre. These are just […]

Lore Olympus, Vol. 1 by Rachel Smythe

With candy-colored hues and deconstructed panels, creator Rachel Smythe brings the first part of her popular webtoon Lore Olympus to the full-color print page. In a modern metropolis where the Greek gods run high power businesses, drive cool cars and party in slick nightclubs, young goddess Persephone is a cotton-candy colored country mouse. Sheltered by her […]

M is for Monster by Talia Dutton

Have you ever felt like you woke up in the wrong body? That’s how M feels, except she KNOWS it’s the wrong body: suddenly she exists when only a moment before she felt nothing at all. When she opens her eyes for the first time, she is told by her creator, Dr. Frances Ai, that […]

A Furry Faux Paw by Jessica Kara

Maeve is about to turn 18, and her greatest wish is to attend Furlympia, a furcon where she can finally fully realize her inner fursona–MauveCat, “a cozy warm pink and fuchsia striped” cat “with shining amethyst eyes,” and connect with her dozens of online furry friends IRL. There’s only one thing standing in her way: […]