First review attempt got error message?! Very much a where the heck was this book when I needed it book. I think it'll be great for the nervous kids out there. Plus, might make the quiet struggles more understandable to the rest of her myriad fans too. I think she's at her best when working from personal experience. Also curious if the emphasis on bodily functions here will make it more popular with boys than her previous titles!

Fun, snarky cookbook of "Indian-ish" recipes, with commentary from the author and her parents. A good gateway cookbook to the complexity and wonder of Indian cuisine, also highlighting how recipes and cooking morph and change over time because of circumstance, available ingredients, and other cultural influences.

Based on a Sufi folktale, a silly version of the don't be scared of something just because it's unfamiliar. Messagey, but silly and colorful, and that's always a good message to emphasize.

Torn on this one. It's very sweet, but despite being based on her life, I feel like it really shouldn't be in non-fiction. Even in kid's books I'm not big on non-fiction books putting specific thoughts in people's heads unless those people have written or spoken along those lines. So I'm suuuuper not big on non-fiction books showing animals thinking like people. I'm also iffy on how she turned herself into a tween/teen and glossed entirely over her injuries. It's lovely to have a thoughtful and positive portrayal, and first hand, view, I just wish it had emphasized more on the training and working together and less on an imaginary dog's POV and a quasi-fictional view on her. Two separate books-maybe a more real non-fiction and then a picture book might have been more appropriate here?

Another great introduction to a batch of badass women. Not a be all and end all, but an amazing starting place with a highly readable pace. Also greatly appreciate the broader approach to the use of mother and matriarch. (I feel like the casual style would do better in teen with the first book, but I think the use of mother in the title is why the few libraries that have it put it in adult...)

I had a lot of trouble getting into this one. Both busy and long. Interesting though confusing magic system. Nice to see different types of friend and family relationships. Seems like often the main siblings are brother and sister, so two quite different sisters was a good dynamic.

I thought it was awfully cute. The pace is a little off, sometimes slow and sometimes galloping, but overall it's charming with a nice message of being yourself with a dash of reclaiming and acknowledging the brokenness of the past. The mayor's heel turn from basically one panel to the next was sudden, I mean, closure is good, but still could have used a bit more there. (I also kind of wish there'd be some kind of acknowledgement of the role of patriarchy in the prosecution of witches beyond the obvious of it being male descendants, but yeah...)

Attractive enough, but so vague as to be nearly useless. More a stilted but dreamy picture book than anything actually informative. (And as much as I like the idea of nods to the artists style, seriously, can we have some actual examples of his art, more than two small photos in the end material?! I'm really not digging this narrative nonfiction trend where bios of artists don't actually include much of the artists work.)

I'll have to chat with younger readers when I can, missing the appeal on this one. (And the whole mouths being in the wrong place drove me nuts to the point of interrupting the flow of the story.)

It was okay. I feel like there was too much tell when it came to plot (exposition is still exposition, even if it's a talking cat that's somehow also a Titan), and any characterization was sacrificed to speed and fighting. Also, all the easily identifiable villains are female? All the male monsters in Greek mythology and they cherry-pick the female ones and imply Zeus is a good guy?! (What the heck is the Jabberwocky doing in here? Just saying...)