Maw Books

Maw Books – book reviews, book recommendations, book lists, author interviews and more!

In addition to this archive of all of my book reviews, my Reading List is searchable by title, author, and tag of all of the books that I have reviewed as well as books I’d like to read.   There will you find book details, book cover, a short synopsis, and links to my book reviews.

FICTION

Adult

• Standing Still by Kelly Simmons
• The Next Thing On My List by Jill Smolinksi (Come Share Your Life List!)
• Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal
• Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas
• A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman
• Wife of the Gods, An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery by Kwei Quartey
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - Review and Giveaway
• Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross Review (And How You Can Be Flown Out to the Movie Premiere!)
• The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale (and Shannon Singing . . . Karaoke?!)
• The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine
• Losing Kei by Suzanne Kamata
• The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris
• The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
• Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese
• The Mechanics of Falling and Other Stories by Catherine Brady
• Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center (and a Giveaway!)
• Matrimony by Joshua Henkin (And a Giveaway!)
• The Only True Genius in the Family by Jennie Nash (And a Giveaway!)
• Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
• Ruby Among Us by Tina Ann Forkner
• Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West
• The Handmaid and the Carpenter by Elizabeth Berg
• Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
• Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt
• The Romantics by Galt Niederhoffer
• The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
• The Last Beach Bungalow by Jennie Nash
• Capote in Kansas, A Ghost Story by Kim Powers
• The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
• Janeology by Karen Harrington
• The Best Place to Be by Lesley Dormen
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Saturday by Ian McEwan
• The First Hurt, Stories by Rachel Sherman
• The Leper Compound by Paula Nangle
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
• Quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
• Quotes from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and a Confession
• The Smart One by Ellen Meister
• The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
• The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center
• The Host by Stephenie Meyer
• Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
• Keeper and Kid by Edward Hardy and a Giveaway
• Sky Burial by Xinran
• The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
• Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
• The Fiction Class by Susan Breen
• Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
• The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
• The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards and a GIVEWAY
• Austenland by Shannon Hale
• Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee
• If You Read Only One Book This Year, Let it Be This One
• Slow Man by J.M. Coetzee
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• How Come Good Literature Has to be Ruined by Bad Sex?
• Christmas Books by Richard Paul Evans
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Young Adult

• Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis
• Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
• Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
• Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr (Including Video from Launch Party)
• Hush by Jacqueline Woodson
• Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick
• I Hadn't Mean to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Again Not Really a Review - But Rather Me Geeking Out On Release Day!) & Where You Can Win a Copy with Much Swag
• Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson
• Feathered by Laura Kasischke
• I Know It's Over by C.K Kelly Martin
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (a preview of sorts)
• The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams: A Review, a Reading, and a Signed ARC Giveaway!
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki, Illustrated by Steve Rolston
• Chiggers by Hope Larson
• Fade by Lisa McMann
• Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott
• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Letters from a Slave Girl, The Story of Harriet Jacobs by Mary E. Lyons
• The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith
• The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
• Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen
• The Lightning Thief, Book One of Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan
• Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka
• Wake by Lisa McMann
• Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller
• Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
• The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante
• Identical by Ellen Hopkins
• Lessons From a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles
• The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
• I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
• Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
• Abandoned Book, X-Indian Chronicles by Thomas Yeahpau
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
• Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
• Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale
• Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (But Not Really Anonymous)
• Messenger by Lois Lowry
• Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
• This is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis
• The Debs by Susan McBride
• Katarina by Kathryn Winter
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
• Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
• Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson
• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
• If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
• The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
• Madapple by Christina Meldrum
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
• The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
• Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
• I Am The Messenger by Marcus Zusak
• Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
• Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
• Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• Cut & My Brother's Keeper by Patricia McCormick
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Sold by Patricia McCormick

Middle Readers

• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
• The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
• Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf
• Ghost in the Machine by Patrick Carman (Skeleton Creek Series)
• Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
• Chess Rumble by G. Neri, Illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson
• Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
• Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look
• Dork Diaries: Tales from a NOT-SO-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell
• Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
• Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
• Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
• On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
• The Sisters Grimm, The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley
• Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
• Lunch with Lenin and Other Stories by Deborah Ellis
• Jellaby by Kean Soo
• Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
• Longhorns and Outlaws by Linda Aksomitis
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney
• The 13th Reality: The Hunt for Dark Infinity by James Dashner
• Holbrook: A Lizards Tale by Bonny Becker
• My Brother, The Robot by Bonny Becker
• The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• The Well by Mildred D. Taylor
• Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
• The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
• Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
• On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
• Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
• Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
• Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell
• Savvy by Ingrid Law
• Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman
• The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
• A Midnight Clear, Selected Family Christmas Stories by Katherine Paterson
• The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis
• Quake by Joe Cottonwood
• The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill (and a giveaway!)
• Journey to Topaz by Yoshicko Uchida
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Collected from Folklore and Retold by Alvin Schwartz (and a Scary Story of My Own!)
• The Witches by Roald Dahl
• The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
• As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President by Donna Gephart
• A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg
• T4 by Ann Clare LeZotte
• How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• The 13th Reality, A Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
• Second-Grade Pig Pals by Kirby Larson
• Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman
• A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
• A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
• Clementine Series by Sara Pennypacker
• Did You Know My Husband Published a Book?
• Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli
• What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman
• Far World, Water Keep by J. Scott Savage and a Giveaway
• Jimmy's Stars by Mary Ann Rodman
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
• The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
• Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
• Libertad by Alma Fullerton
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: A Novel in Cartoons by Jeff Kinney
• The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
• The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
• Horns & Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson
• Torn Thread by Anne Isaacs
• Sirens and Spies by Janet Taylor Lisle
• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
• Good Masters! Sweet Ladies by Laura Amy Schlitz
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
• Mud City by Deborah Ellis
• Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
• Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis
• Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
• Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
• The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
• The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
• Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
• Penny from Heaven by Jennifer Holm
• Rules by Cynthia Lord
• Cut & My Brother's Keeper by Patricia McCormick
• The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

Picture Books

• Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
• The Book That Eats People by John Perry, Illustrated by Mark Fearing
• A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis
• Always My Brother by Jean Reagan and Illustrated by Phyllis Pollema-Cahill (with a giveaway)
• The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
• All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, Illustrated by Marla Frazee
• Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty
• Goodnight Goon, A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex
• Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
• Where's My Mummy by Carolyn Crimi, Illustrated by John Manders
• A Very Hairy Scary Story by Rick Walton and Illustrated by David Clark
• Dear Vampa by Ross Collins
• Benny the Baffled Behemoth by Melissa Leembruggen, Illustrated by Trish McKinney
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Heroes by Ken Mochizuki, Illustrated by Dom Lee
• Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully by Julianne Moore, Illustrated by LeUyen Pham (And a GIVEAWAY!)
• Crocodaddy by Kim Norman, Illustrated by David Walker
• Chicken Butt! by Erica S. Perl, Illustrated by Henry Cole
• All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant, Illustrated by Nikki McClure
• Always by Ann Stott, Illustrated by Matt Phelan
• There's a Wolf at the Door: Five Classic Tales Retold by Zoe B. Alley, Illustrated by R.W. Alley
• Mary Veronica's Egg by Mary Nethery, Illustrated by Paul Yalowtiz
• A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
• An Ant's Day Off by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by Nina Laden
• The Christmas Crocodile by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by David Small
• Ella the Elegant Elephant, Ella Sets the Stage, Ella Takes the Cake and Ella Sets Sail by Carmelia and Steven D'Amico
• Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, Illustrated by Dom Lee
• Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine, Illustrations by Kadir Nelson
• Consider Love, It's Moods and Many Ways by Sandra Boynton
• Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, Illustrated by Hudson Talbott
• Snow by Cynthia Rylant, Illustrated by Lauren Stringer
• A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe
• The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket
• Room for a Little One, A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell
• The Light of Christmas by Richard Paul Evans
• Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo
• Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt
• A Very Marley Christmas by John Grogan
• Santa Claus the World's Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee
• Mrs. Claus Explains It All: (At Last) Answers to the Questions Real Kids Ask! by Elsbeth Claus
• Amadi's Snowman by Katia Novet Saint-Lot
• There's No Such Thing as Ghosts by Emmanuelle Eeckhout
• My Favorite Baby Board Books by Leslie Patricelli
• The Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery
• The Magic Kerchief by Kirby Larson
• Walk On! A Guide for Babies of All Ages

NON-FICTION

Memoir/Biography

• I Am a Star, Child of the Holocaust by Inge Auerbacher
• First Comes Loves, Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown-Waite
• That Went Well, Adventures in Caring for My Sister by Terrell Harris Dougan
• Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller
• Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez
• An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
• Surviving Ben's Suicide, A Woman's Journey of Self-Discovery by C. Comfort Shields
• Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs by Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer
• Apples and Oranges, My Brother and Me, Lost and Found by Marie Brenner
• The Road of Lost Innocence, The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine by Somaly Mam
• Tears of the Desert, A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir with Damien Lewis
• Of Beetles & Angels, A Boy's Remarkable Journey From a Refugee Camp to Harvard by Mawi Asgedom
• Escape by Carolyn Jessop
• Shattered Dreams, My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer
• The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
• Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway
• Admit One: A Journey into Film by Emmett James
• We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin
• I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson
• Slave: My True Story by Mende Nazer & Damien Lewis
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
• The Translator, A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
• Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat
• Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza
• Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

History/World Events

• Zlata's Diary, A Child's Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
• Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
• The Voice That Challenged A Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman
• The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, Illustrated by George Ford
• Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grime, Illustrated by Bryan Collier
• Freedom Walkers, The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
• Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
• Genocide in Darfur by Janey Levy
• Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival by Jen Marlowe
• The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace
• We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
• Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine
• Not On Our Watch by Don Cheadle & John Prendergast, What You Can Do to Help End the Genocide in Darfur
• The Sudan Project by Melissa Leembruggen and an Interview with the Author
• Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Picture Books

• The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria
• Let's Talk Elephants Today! Travels with Tarra and Just for Elephants by Carol Buckley
• Zlata's Diary, A Child's Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
• Giveaway - 14 Cows For America and Thomas Gonzalez Shares the Illustration Process for this Beautiful Picture Book
• 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy in Collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez
• Unite or Die, How Thirteen States Became a Nation by Jacqueline Jules, Illustrated by Jef Czekaj
• Passage to Freedom, The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki, Illustrated by Dom Lee
• Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
• The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, Illustrated by George Ford
• Frogs by Nic Bishop
• Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grime, Illustrated by Bryan Collier
• The Raucous Royals by Carlyn Beccia
• This is the Feast by Diane Z. Shore

Parenting

• The Baby Owner's Manual - A Must Have for Any Dad!
• I Am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson
• Cheap Psychological Tricks for Parents
• Today We Colored the Snow Thanks to the Toddler's Busy Book

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