October 2025 Reading & Writing Wrap-Up

Book News/Progress:

So You Want to Write a Kids’ Book Presentation – I presented at my library about the basics of kidlit writing and publishing. It felt like a great success, and I got really positive feedback on the presentation!

How Now Booking Company – I signed up with How Now Booking Company to help me coordinate school visits! If you know of any teachers or librarians looking for author visits for the 2025/2026 school year, let me know!

Book launch event for Sara F. Shacter – I attended the launch event for my friend Sara, whose book GEORGIA WATSON AND THE 99 PERCENT CAMPAIGN released on Oct. 14th.

AISLE Conference – I really enjoyed attending this conference for IL School librarians. Hopeful that I made some good connections there!

What I Read:

• I read Tidesong by Wendy Xu, a witchy MG fantasy graphic novel!
• I listened to Chloe Vega and the Agents of Magic by Leslie Adame, one of the Middle Grade Escapades authors. This contemporary fantasy is full of excitement and twists and turns, and I highly recommend the audiobook version!
• Next I read Truly Tyler by Terri Libenson, book 5 in the Emmie & Friends Series. I’ve been so much more invested in this series than I expected to be!
• I also read Better Ways to Read the Bible by Zach W. Lambert. This book really spoke to me and echoed many of the thoughts I’ve had about faith and the ways we should be exhibiting love.
• Then I read Spark by Chris Baron, a verse novel about wildfires and hope and rebuilding. So good!!
• I listened to The Supernatural Society by Rex Ogle.  Love the fun voice of the monster narrator of this one.
• Then I listened to The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead. I have a book that I’m probably going out on submission with at the beginning of next year, and I thought this one might be a good fit as a comp title. I definitely think it works, and it’s an incredible book, so I’m so glad I read it!!
• Next I listened to Final Word by Janet Sumner Johnson. I’m going to be doing an NCTE panel with Janet, and I like to try to read panel author’s books if I can! This puzzle-mystery book is so incredible – both the mystery aspect and the themes of family and forgiveness.
• I also read Comics Experience Guide to Writing Comics by Andy Schmidt. I’ve been doing some experimenting with writing in a hybrid format, but I need guidance on writing a graphic novel script. This is the first book I picked up, but I’m also going to read some more!
• Finally, I read Vampirita and the Angry Mob by Mariana Llanos, illustrated by Laura Brenlla. Again, this chapter book is written by one of my fellow NCTE panelists, and it’s so super-cute!!

• I listened to Babel by R.F. Kuang. I had heard amazing things about this book, so I decided to give it a try. I was a little nervous it was going to be too academic for me at first, but I ended up finding it fascinating, and the second half of the book was much more plot-driven, which I appreciated.
• I read The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang by my fellow Middle Grade Escapades author Stan Yan. Love the storyline behind this spooky MG graphic novel, and Stan’s art is amazing!
• Next, I listened to Coyote Queen by Jessica Vitalis. This is another book that I’d heard was amazing. I own it, but I just hadn’t managed to pick it up, so I got the audiobook from my library. This one is a heartwrenching story about a girl living in an abusive home, and it’s every bit as good as I was told!
• Vanya and the Wild Hunt by Sangu Mandanna was chosen as B&N’s MG Best Book of the Year, and I can definitely see why. Loved this enchanting fantasy!
• Next I read Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign by Sara F. Shacter (and I went to the launch event for this one too!). This book is incredibly wonderful – it made me feel so much for Georgia, and I hope it inspires kids to see their similarities instead of their differences!
• I’d had my eye on Outside by Jennifer L. Holm, so when I read a review of it over at Always in the Middle…, I decided it was time to give it a listen. This book is fascinating, and even though it went exactly where I was expecting it to, I still found myself very wrapped up in the story.
• Finally, I listened to Half Bad by Sally Green, and let me tell you, I was riveted by this book. It was the first time in a while I can remember getting out of the car (where I usually listen to audiobooks) and not being able to stop listening. I finished it in less than 24 hours!