Blog Archives
Color Me Skye
Color Me Skye follows twelve-year-old Skye as she navigates the aftermath of a terrifying car accident that leaves her mother in a coma. Stuck with her emotionally distant stepfather, Dim Tim, Skye battles fear, loneliness, guilt, and grief all while slowly learning to open her heart again. Through days spent at a hospital daycare called the “Fun-ny Bone,” she meets Star, a larger-than-life friend who helps Skye rediscover joy, hope, and strength in unexpected ways.
The writing is lyrical but raw. Adams paints Skye’s emotions with texture and depth, layering them like strokes on a canvas. It doesn’t pull punches. The pacing is fast, the chapters short and sharp, often written in free verse that mirrors the chaos and swirl of grief. Skye’s voice is crystal clear, funny, moody, honest, and incredibly relatable. There were pages that made me laugh and others that cracked my heart wide open. What moved me most, though, was how the story treated pain not as something to run from but something to live through. And how beautifully it shows that healing doesn’t always look like you think it will.
I also really appreciated how the book handles relationships. Skye and Dim Tim’s dynamic is awkward and strained at first, which feels true. He’s no superhero. But he tries. That matters. Watching them slowly fumble toward understanding was as satisfying as it was believable. And Star? What a sparkplug. She bursts into the story like a firework and stays lit the whole time. I wanted to bottle her energy. Their friendship gave the story warmth and color just when it needed it most.
If you’ve ever lost someone or felt like your world was tilting sideways and couldn’t seem to right itself, this book will feel like a soft place to land. It’s ideal for middle-grade readers and anyone who’s dealt with grief, change, or feeling like the odd one out. I’d recommend it to parents, teachers, and counselors, too. It’s the kind of story that starts conversations.
Pages: 184 | ASIN : B0FBKYS69R
The Philly Phenoms
The Philly Phenoms is a heartfelt coming-of-age novel centered around Lee Lomax, a golf-obsessed fifth grader who leads his neighborhood friends in forming a makeshift golf tour on their elementary school grounds. What starts as a fun summer pastime quickly morphs into a deeper tale about friendship, family, courage, and grief. Through the eyes of Lee, we watch these kids battle broken windows, dig for softballs in overgrown woods, and wrestle with real-life events like 9/11 and a parent’s failing health. Author Nate Oxman captures all the chaotic beauty of growing up with humor and a whole lot of heart.
What really grabbed me about this book was how natural and funny the writing felt. Oxman writes the way kids actually think and speak, with a little bit of mischief and a lot of imagination. I felt like I was back on my own elementary school playground, sweating through a July afternoon and getting in just the right amount of trouble. The characters weren’t polished or perfect, which made them feel real. Latterman made me laugh, even while I was shaking my head at him. Lee’s voice is smart, tender, and stubborn in the best way. I found myself rooting for him, not just to sink his putts, but to figure out the messiness of life, even when it gets heavy.
The emotional core of the story hits hard, especially as Lee confronts his mother’s illness. Oxman handles grief in a way that’s quiet and gutting at the same time. There’s a chapter late in the book that completely broke me. The writing didn’t beg for sympathy; it just told the truth. That’s the power of this book. One minute you’re laughing about a kid trying to sneak a golf ball out of a broken school window, and the next, you’re blinking back tears as Lee tries to hold his world together. The pacing slows a little in the middle, and sometimes the golf lingo slowed me down, but overall, the story never lost me.
I’d recommend The Philly Phenoms to anyone who loves a good story about growing up, especially if you’ve got a soft spot for golf, tight-knit neighborhoods, or father-son bonds. It’s perfect for middle schoolers, parents reading with their kids, or adults looking to revisit the simpler, more complicated days of being a kid. If you’ve ever had a summer you didn’t want to end, this book will take you right back.
Pages: 272 | ASIN : B0F7NSDD78
UNSPOKEN
Jann Alexander’s Unspoken transports readers to the bleak and unrelenting dust storms of the 1930s Texas Panhandle, blending a vivid historical backdrop with heart-wrenching family drama. The novel opens with Ruby Lee, a young girl, grappling with the twin tragedies of her grandmother’s and baby sister’s deaths. Through her eyes, we witness the despair of her family as they fight for survival in a time and place where hope is as scarce as rain. The story spans Ruby’s journey from her dust-laden home to Waco and beyond, interweaving themes of resilience, sacrifice, and belonging.
Alexander’s prose is breathtakingly visceral. Her descriptions of the black blizzards felt suffocating. The moment in the opening chapter where Ruby witnesses birds panicking inside the church while a dust storm barrels toward them was especially haunting. The interplay of nature’s fury and human helplessness sets a tone of impending doom that lingers throughout the novel. This strong, sensory writing was a highlight.
The story shines brightest in its quieter, emotional moments. Ruby’s internal struggle after being sent to live with Cousin Bess in Waco adds depth to her character. I felt her rage and heartbreak as she battled feelings of abandonment and alienation. Her mute defiance, coupled with her obsession over colors and rain, was both poignant and relatable. However, some of the flashbacks, particularly those involving her mother’s mental deterioration, left me craving more development to fully understand their fractured bond.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Unspoken is its exploration of human resilience. Despite their desperate circumstances, Ruby’s family clings to slivers of hope. Her father’s quiet determination to rebuild their farm and Ruby’s eventual journey toward self-discovery remind us that even in the harshest conditions, life persists.
Unspoken is an evocative story best suited for readers who appreciate historical fiction steeped in grit and emotional intensity. Fans of novels like The Grapes of Wrath or The Nightingale will likely feel at home here. I recommend it for anyone ready to weather an emotional storm in exchange for a beautifully written tale of survival and hope.
Pages: 426 | ASIN : B0F2GMQF75
A Magical World
Emily Swan and the Dream Pillow follows an eleven-year-old girl who is uprooted from her tech-filled suburban life and dropped into a quiet, unplugged farmhouse in rural Kansas. What was the inspiration for the story?
I have been concerned with children’s increased use of cell phone texting etc., and its negative effect on them. I wanted to write a story that focused on the importance of the imagination, how it can open up a magical world, and that a measure of silence is needed for us to listen to it.
In many contemporary coming-of-age fiction novels, authors often add their own life experiences to the story. Are there any bits of you in this story?
Yes. I am a believer in the importance of dreams and the imagination.
The writing in your story is very artful and creative. Was it a conscious effort to create a story in this fashion, or is this style of writing reflective of your writing style in general?
It is. I like to blend a measure of fantasy with reality and show how they are in truth present at all times.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
I would like it to be, but at the moment, I am focused on getting this one up and running.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Emily is miserable in their new home, plopped down in the middle of nothing but wheat fields, far away from her former city life and friends. There’s no internet and they don’t even have a television or a phone!
But one night Emily’s world changes when a star zooms out of the sky and into her room, appearing as a Star Lady. She tells Emily that even though she’s unhappy, a magical world lives inside her — she just doesn’t know how to find it. The Star Lady says she can help and gives Emily a Dream Pillow to use so they can stay in touch through dreams.
When Emily decides to take a chance and use the Dream Pillow, her world opens up. Magical characters appear and guide her on an adventure of self-discovery. After Emily discovers a Swan Feather pen, she’s transformed from Emily Webster, a normal girl, into Emily Swan, a super-hero of words.
Of Love and Peace
Of Love & Peace is a heartfelt and fast-paced novella that continues the story from the Light Passers Chronicles series, weaving a powerful tale of friendship, spiritual strength, and hope amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Set primarily in Gaza and Jerusalem, the book follows young characters like Liyah, Esty, and Ahmad—teenagers from opposing sides of the conflict—who work together, sometimes mystically, to resist violence and spread compassion. Through shifting perspectives and emotional journeys, Campelia blends fantasy with the grim realities of war, anchored in a deep desire for healing and peace in one of the world’s most fraught regions.
Campelia doesn’t write from a distance—this feels lived-in and relatable. You can sense his pain, especially in the preface and author’s note. He lays bare his admiration for caregivers and his disdain for cruelty, threading these values through his young characters. The writing style is direct and intimate, sometimes lyrical, often urgent. The dialogue feels natural, even when it’s brushing up against heavy ideas like generational trauma, betrayal, and moral courage. There’s an aching truth in Liyah’s disillusionment and Esty’s fierce love for her friend Hanna, especially as both girls struggle to find light in the darkness. At times, the mystical elements—like the being Ooray—felt a bit out of place, but they also served as a poetic escape, a needed counterbalance to the brutal real-world setting.
There were moments when the pace raced ahead. Events can happen suddenly, characters jump into danger or revelations, and then the story resets. It gave the book an episodic feel, which occasionally pulled me out of the emotional core. Still, there’s something refreshingly honest about this book. It doesn’t pretend to have easy answers, and it never demonizes one side or another. Instead, Campelia calls out extremists, regardless of background, and invites readers to imagine a world where love and peace aren’t slogans but real, hard-won possibilities.
I would recommend Of Love & Peace to anyone who wants a story with heart, especially young adult readers or educators who are looking for literature that humanizes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If you’re drawn to novels that mix grit with grace, or if you believe that stories can be weapons for peace, this one’s for you. It won’t fix the world, but it might make you believe we still have a shot at something better.
Pages: 236 | ASIN : B0D84DKQ44
Choice, Redemption, Love and Sacrifice
Zodak: The Last Shielder follows a teenage orphan who grows up in a cruel household where he’s treated like a curse, his life is bleak and miserable, till a water sprite calls his name and beckons him toward a greater purpose.
In many contemporary coming-of-age fiction novels, authors often add their own life experiences to the story. Are there any bits of you in this story?
This book is about relationships. While the dynamic between Zodak and his bully of a step-brother Ergis is drawn from childhood experience, thankfully, most of the horrible hardships, loss and abuse are not drawn from my story, but my life experience definitely fills gaps and let’s me juxtapose healthy relationships against unhealthy ones. My personal family is 100% the opposite of Zodak’s (again, thankfully), but the redemption in the story is drawn from truth I see and have experienced.
Also, since I was a boy, I was always enthralled with adventure.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Choice, redemption, love and sacrifice were all themes I wanted to explore in the book.
Choice was one theme. Life happens to us all, sometimes in unusual and unexpected ways, but we’re the sum of the thousands of choices we make every day. Zodak made choices (and failed to choose at times) that made the difference.
Redemption is another theme I wanted to explore here, both redemption of a seemingly worthless and insignificant life, but also redemption of broken relationships. Alana is one of the characters who experienced a life-changing about-face in her character arc.
Love – I hoped that the love found in the tuk family, in Ardon and in Daen would shine through the slog of trouble and trial Zodak faces.
Sacrifice – like the focus on choice, the emphasis on sacrifice was an important element in the book. The culmination of Book 1 sees lots of hard choices demanding sacrifice from characters, some intentionally and some not.
Can you tell us a little about where the story goes in book two and when the novel will be available?
I’m really excited about book 2. We will continue to follow Zodak’s journey, but book two weaves in the primary POV storylines of Alana and Daen. I can’t wait to share it. The expected release is in the first half of 2026.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website
In the village of Laan, Zodak endures a bleak life of misery at the hands of his hateful cousins and aunt. His steadfast uncle Ardon is his only anchor. When a water sprite arrives, speaking of destiny and an epic journey that awaits, Zodak struggles to grasp how an adventure with goblins, krikkis, and dwarves could ever be his story.
But when his uncle falls in a kidnapping plot and entrusts Zodak with a mysterious medallion, Zodak flees into a vast, unknown world. Seeking answers about his past and the medallion he carries, Zodak finds himself drawn to the magnificent city Uth Becca. In his journey, he unearths a clandestine order, a corrupt Magistrate, and a sinister plot that threatens humanity’s very existence.
A great evil awakens. Dark hordes are on the march. In a world desperate for a hero, can an outcast be enough?
Get swept away in an epic fantasy adventure with an unlikely hero on the edge of manhood, world-building reminiscent of Brandon Sanderson, and a protagonist who must decide whether to fight for truth, even if it costs him everything.
The Son of Poetry
The Son of Poetry is a contemporary coming-of-age novel wrapped in folklore and urban grit. At its core, it follows Louis Song, a high-achieving and emotionally frayed teenager navigating high school in Edinburgh while being unwittingly drawn into a mysterious, supernatural conflict. The story spirals out from a single unsettling encounter with a trio of schoolyard bullies and unfurls into something deeper and stranger—intertwining ancient Celtic myth, school rivalries, emotional trauma, and questions of identity, fate, and power. With alternating character perspectives and a keen focus on inner conflict, Gill weaves together the ordinary and the uncanny until they’re nearly inseparable.
I didn’t expect this book to affect me the way it did. It starts like a gritty YA drama with sharp edges and painful truths. Gill doesn’t flinch from the ugliness of teen angst, class tension, or casual cruelty. But then something slips into the cracks of the real world—an invisible force, a memory that doesn’t belong, a tug of fate—and that’s when I couldn’t look away. The prose can be raw and jagged. But it’s also lyrical in strange, surprising bursts. I found myself drawn to Louis not because he was brave or brilliant, but because he was painfully human. His quiet ache, his confusion, the moments he second-guesses himself all felt real. His voice, at times, hit me in the gut. And Collin Gannet is one of the most sharply drawn, unforgettable characters I’ve read in a long time.
That said, part of the book’s charm is how it doesn’t rush to explain everything. The pacing takes its time, often drifting into rich layers of lore and dreamy, metaphysical turns that feel more like an immersive experience than a straight path. Some of the fantasy elements are elusive. It adds mystery and atmosphere, inviting the reader to lean in and wonder. A few of the side characters appear just briefly, like passing spirits, and it left me curious and hungry for more. These unexpected textures gave the story a raw, unfiltered energy. It didn’t feel like a polished fairy tale—it felt alive, and brimming with pain, wonder, and a quiet kind of magic.
I’d recommend The Son of Poetry to readers who love literary fiction with a supernatural bent—people who can sit with mystery and don’t mind feeling a bit off-kilter. Fans of The Secret History, Skellig, or The Ocean at the End of the Lane will find something here to love. It’s a story that haunts, confuses, and occasionally sings, just like poetry should.
Pages: 526 | ASIN : B0DBV9XM4J
Emily Swan and the Dream PIllow
Emily Swan and the Dream Pillow is a whimsical and heartfelt journey that follows eleven-year-old Emily as she’s uprooted from her tech-filled suburban life and dropped into a quiet, unplugged farmhouse in rural Kansas. What starts as a family’s quest for simplicity quickly unfolds into a magical exploration of dreams, self-discovery, and imagination. Emily, struggling with loneliness and loss of connection, receives an enchanted “Dream Pillow” from a cosmic being known as the Star Lady, launching her into a series of dream-fueled adventures that blur the lines between the waking world and the unseen mysteries of the soul.
I found myself genuinely touched by how Peers captures the inner life of a child grappling with change. The writing is gentle, sometimes whimsical, and peppered with charm, without ever feeling overly sweet. The way Emily’s discontent gradually gives way to wonder felt real. Her skepticism, frustration, and loneliness are treated with such honesty that I couldn’t help but root for her. The dream sequences are vivid and strange in the best way—like stepping into a lucid dream you didn’t know you needed. Some of the metaphors are beautifully subtle (a barn full of memories, a bird bearing secrets, a pillow woven from stars).
There were moments where descriptions or exposition went a little long, and the plot risked getting lost in its own stardust. Still, the emotional core is strong. I appreciated that the magic wasn’t flashy—it was internal, quiet, the kind of magic that speaks to kids (and adults) who lie awake at night wondering if they matter. The messages about screen time, listening to your spirit, and reconnecting with nature and imagination are powerful, though at times delivered a bit too directly.
Emily Swan and the Dream Pillow made me feel a kind of nostalgic hope. It reminded me of being a kid and wondering if the stars were looking back at me. This book would be perfect for middle-grade readers who love a touch of the surreal, dreamers who feel a little out of place, or anyone wanting to unplug and remember what it feels like to sit in silence and really listen.
Pages: 190 | ASIN : B0DTX956MX
LITERARY TITAN 