Kirkus Review of CAMO GIRL

...and it's STARRED! I'm so excited to share this blurb from Kirkus on Camo Girl: "This elegantly crafted story features strong writing and solid characterizations of both main and secondary characters. Ella and Bailey’s racial identity is one element in a full and richly textured narrative." To read the full review, CLICK HERE.

Review at Color Online

Susan at ColorOnline has posted a discussion of some of her favorite books of the year so far, including The Rock and the River! She gives it a nice review, too. Yay!

Susan also lists and reviews some other great titles, and she talks about why historical fiction is growing on her. See, there are plenty of excellent reasons why you should check it out HERE.

Spicy Reads Review

An awesome new review of The Rock and the River is up at My Road Trip (SpicyReads.org). The reviewer, Ed Spicer, put in some great reflections about how the book affected him and sparked memories of his own experiences in 1968. Excellent commentary! And it's not just about the book, so even if you already read The Rock and the River, it's totally worth checking out.

Sneak Peek:

"In the late sixties and early seventies the United States saw the rise of the Black Panther Party in Chicago. In my neighborhood, the Black Panther Party was imbued with a certain amount of awe mixed with terror. We saw Blacks on the street and we locked our car doors. We took an exceptionally long time to really look at a Black like Huey Newton and really try to understand what he is saying and why he is saying it."

Sneak Peek 2:

"Magoon’s book is an excellent fictional depiction that captures the fierce debate within the black community about how to end the systematic degradation and humiliation of black people in America. What I like about this book is that it gives readers, even old white readers like me, an insight into the human cost of protesting."

Wanna read the rest? (Yeah, you know you do.) CHECK IT OUT HERE.

Richie's Picks Review!

I'm pleased to report that The Rock and the River was reviewed on Richie's Picks today! Richie says of the book...

"In the course of Sam Childs' coming of age story, amidst the American history I thought I knew so well, author Kekla Magoon has radically altered my understanding of the Black Panther Party. In her debut novel, Magoon, who studied history as an undergraduate, does an exceptional job of integrating many sides of very complex racial and political issues into this tense tale of an adolescent who has grown up in the Civil Rights Movement."

Cool, huh? Take a peek at the full review HERE.

Fuse #8 Blog Review

I'm pleased to report that a new review was posted about The Rock and the River on A Fuse #8 Production, a blog on School Library Journal, in which kidlit blogger/reviewer Elizabeth Bird refers to the book as "a smart, sensible, deeply layered title."

The in-depth review highlights the books strengths and uniqueness in the children's book market.

Click here to read the review in full.