Emmie & Friends by Terri Libenson - Tween Nook

Helloooooo everybody! 

Back at it again with a another Tween review. 

Or 3 rolled into 1.... 

I’m going to start off this review with two words: graphic novels. 

Now, if you’re like me; when you hear the words “graphic novel”, you might think of comic books or comic strips; the “funnies” in the Sunday morning paper.   Up until I started working in the library, I didn’t count graphic novels as being books. I thought, well, that they were ONLY graphic novels. That the lack of words in them and the plethora of pictures made them less like books. That’s so not the case! I also found comic books to be a little too busy with all of the pictures and thus, made me feel nauseous :/ 

Do you know someone who isn’t into reading or maybe they’re reluctant? Have them try a graphic novel! The story is told through pictures, and not as many words. The imagery might be better than a book because of the visual detail that’s shown right then and there. 

Link to cover art on Amazon

In 2017, Terri Libenson released the graphic novel, Invisible Emmie. Emmie is a middle schooler who feels as if no one notices her. She keeps to herself and draws a lot in class. She’s not the best at paying attention in class; you could say that she’s flying under the radar. Emmie has one friend, a girl named Bri.  Since Bri is so smart, she’s placed into honors classes, so Emmie doesn’t get to see her outside of lunch. 

The lunch table. Queue where our scene is about to happen!

Emmie and Bri decide to write letters to their crushes. One little note is the catalyst for embarrassment for Emmie. 

While the story focuses on Emmie and what’s going on during that day, the reader also learns about a girl named Katie. Libenson uses two different ways to tell their stories. Emmie’s story is told differently from Katie’s- Katie’s was in true comic form; while Emmie’s story involved sentences and some pictures. 


Positively Izzy is the 2nd book in the Emmie & Friends series.  Positively Izzy flips the way the characters are presented.  Meaning: the comic featuring Brianna is first and then the more wordy story with the little drawings about Izzy is second. (Yes, this Brianna is the same Bri from the first book).

Link to cover art on Amazon

This one was showing the contrast between Brianna and this Izzy girl.  It's not until the end of the story do you learn who Izzy is.  

NOW.  I haven't been in high school in a little over 10 years, let alone middle school in waaaay over 10 years. 

I thought that Libenson's books were realistic and therefore, relatable.  They were also presented in a way that would keep any young reader interested.  The messages held in both books were important too.

For anyone wondering, Emmie was definitely my favorite character. 

Definitely giving these two graphic novels 5 coffee beans out of 5!

- Jillian

Jessica's Top 5 of 2019

Jillian posted her top 5 of 2019 book choices yesterday.  If you haven’t read her post, make sure you do! She had some great suggestions.  Below are my top 5 choices for 2019. Not all have a stand alone For the Love of Dewey Review, but since not all of Jillian's do either, I don’t feel as guilty. 

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler: I just finished this novel yesterday! Whoo hoo!!  It’s my 142nd book read this year! This book is to be published in February of 2020, so make sure you write this title down on your to-read list!  It is about first love, race, and family secrets, and is extremely well done.   

The novel is about a new Caucasian family who is the new backyard neighbor of an African American mother and her mixed son.  The Caucasian family is rich. They have not only knocked down their house and rebuilt it but also put in a large pool and fence, which has disturbed the roots of an old tree in their neighbor’s yard.  A lawsuit begins, followed by a forbidden romance between the son and the neighbor’s eldest daughter that has no chance of ending well.  

The narrator makes the reader feel like they are looking in on these two suburban families and getting a special view of secrets they're not supposed to see but that go on around us everyday.

Verity by Colleen Hoover:  I don’t know why I didn’t write a review for Hoover’s first thriller, but I should have.  Verity is absolutely gripping and entirely different from what Hoover normally writes.  This novel is about a novelist named Verity who was permanently injured in a car accident.  She can’t continue writing her series, so her husband picks a lesser known author named Lowen to stay in the home amongst Verity’s notes and continue the series for her.  But Lowen begins to suspect that Verity wasn’t who she claimed to be and that EVERYTHING including the present may be a lie. 

Stargazing at Noon by Amanda Torroni: Stargazing at Noon is an amazing poetry collection by Amanda Torroni. It made me cry on my lunch break at work. 

I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella:  If you’re searching for a book that will make you literally LOL and look crazy in front of strangers this book is for you! It was hilarious and is also the one book here that I actually wrote a real For the Love of Dewey Review for that you can view here. 

Educated by Tara Westover: I decided I wanted to read Educated after I watched a clip of Westover speaking on Ellen.  I decided to opt for the audiobook and was so glad I did.  Westover’s narration of her own story is everything I hoped for and more.  I did not want to get out of my car and it left me with an audiobook hangover. 

Now as for the new year, I’m starting 2020 with The Wives by Tarryn Fischer, a thriller about a woman who knows her husband has two additional wives hse has never met before. Creepy, right?

 What are you reading?

~Jessica

Jillian's Top Five 5 Coffee Bean Books for 2019

I hope this post finds everyone in good health!

There is a new year about to begin- 2020! Hopefully this year holds the same outlook that 20/20 vision hold. 

This is going to be a quick post but I wanted to highlight the five books that I've read this year that I will happily recommend to anyone who asks!

This says a lot  considering most of the books that I've read this year haven't done anything for me. 

These five books are listed in no particular order...

1. One Day in December by Josie Silver (review here) - This book was the first book that I reviewed this year incidentally and I want to say that I think it was the first book I read that was part of Reese Witherspoon's book club.   Why did I like this book? 
Well.  I liked the story line.  I liked that these two characters felt instantly drawn to one another but that the timing was never right.  It showed that even after all of life's even happen, the universe can still pull two people together.  

2. Bad Blood by John Carreyrou (no review posted) - This was book that I did the review for in APRIL but I just realized today that I never posted it! What the heck! With that, I must say that I'm sorry!  This book was really quite awesome.  I'm not for non-fiction books but this one was something that was really VERY interesting!  The events that transpired with Theranos were rather unbelievable.  It was hard to think that someone could dupe everyone for that long and almost nearly get away with it.  I would highly highly recommend this book.

3. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (review here) -  This book was one of the most requested books at the library this year by far.  Up until a few months ago, there were easily still 300 people waiting for a copy of it. (And I work in a smaller library system; ideally, the wait time wouldn't that bad because of how copies are available).  The book came out in 2018, which make the hype surrounding it even more crazy.  This book is a mystery with an ending that you might find surprising.  I like that the story took a turn in a way that I didn't think it would.  I've heard from a patron that the audiobook was very very good because of the way it was told.  

4. The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros (review here) -  It's not often that a book makes me cry but this book made me cry.  It was that good.  It was a book that was packed with a lot of emotions.  It flips between letters between Chaos and Ella; and then interactions between Ella and Beckett.  It takes time but as a reader, you hope that Beckett doesn't tell Ella that he's Chaos because of amount of distrust that it would cause.  I, personally, was pulling for Beckett the whole time!

5. What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (review here) -  I feel like this book might have some mixed reviews behind it.  I enjoyed it but I know that Jessica liked it enough but it wasn't her favorite.  I think that my favorite part about this book were the journal entries from Rosie's diaries.  I liked hearing about her times with Russ.  I didn't care for Baker- I thought that he was annoying and selfish but all in all, this is a book that I would recommend.  I know that it's the second book in the series but it's one that can be read without having read the first. 


What were some of your favorite books from the last year? 
Did you find this year to be hard pressed for good books or did you feel that most of what released was great? 

See ya in 2020!

- Jillian

**All book cover photos are from the Amazon.  You can find the images that were copied when you click on the book title in this post**