#jen calonita

[ireadyabooks]

Pre-order The Taylors books — coming 10/7 💘✨

Four Girls . . . All Named Taylor.

The Taylors (Middle Grade for ages 8-12) brings four friends named Taylor, all with different nicknames, starting middle school and The Taylors Version #1: Love Stories (Young Adult for ages 12 and up) continues their story as they start high school, with a little bit romance and school drama added in.

The Taylors by Jen Calonita

Taylor (aka Teffy to her famliy) is terrified to start middle school.

She wishes she could fade into the background, unnoticed. But on the first day of school, she finds herself in the spotlight when it's revealed that her homeroom class has four girls all named Taylor! There's a couple of things they can agree on: Taylor Swift is the greatest singer-songwriter of all time . . . and they are definitely going to need nicknames.

Soon, Teffy's outside her comfort zone, going out for cheerleading and starting a friendship bracelet-making business. And when the Eras tour comes to town, the four friends will do whatever it takes to get tickets.

But then, a surprise betrayal changes everything. Teffy's learning to speak up for herself, but it's hard. Can she say what's on her mind and keep her new friends for good?

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon

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Bookshop.org

Love Stories (The Taylors Version #1) by Elizabeth Eulberg

Not all friendships are forever and always . . .

Teffy, Tay, Taylor, and TS have been best friends since middle school. As they enter their high school freshmen era, relationships bring on the drama.

Teffy is crushing on the boy next door who belongs to someone else. Tay finds herself down bad for a tortured poet. Things get treacherous as an older boy starts flirting with Taylor. And TS is definitely focused only on soccer and doesn't fancy her new teammate, a cute London girl . . . right?

Suddenly, it feels like everything has changed. Pulled in different directions between navigating high school and new relationships, will their friendship be long lived or is it so long, Taylors?

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Bookshop.org

[slaughter-books]

Day 1: JOMPBPC: Reading Goals

All the beautiful books on my TBR shelf, that I plan to read throughout 2025! 💙💜🩷

[tenshichan1013]

all is found a frozen anthology 

[bookaddict24-7]

(New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (September 3rd, 2024)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Releases:

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic

When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

Second Chance On Earth by Juan Vidal

The Ghost of You by Michael Gray Bulla

Guava & Grudges by Alexis Castellanos

The Loss of the Burying Ground by J. Anderson Coats

Luminous Beings by David Arnold & José Pimienta (illustrator)

Girlmode by Magdalene Visaggio & Paulina Ganucheau (Illustrator)

Fairy Godmother by Jen Calonita

Us in Ruins by Rachel Moore

Please Be My Star by Victoria Grace Elliott

The Dagger & the Flame by Catherine Doyle

Songlight by Moira Buffini

Mismatched by Anne Camlin

Welcome to Fear City by Sarah Dvojack

This Book Kills by Ravena Guron

Repeat After Me by Jessica Warman

I'm Not Really Here by Gary Lonesborough

A Wreck of Seabirds by Karleah Olson

New Sequels:

Celestial Monsters (The Sunbearer Duology #2) by Aiden Thomas

Shadows of Perl (House of Marionne #2) by J. Elle

Rebel Fire (Rebel Skies #2) by Ann Sei Lin

The Mongol Ascension (A Jump in Time #3) by Andrew Varga

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Happy reading!

[fericita-s]

When does this sweater go on sale, I need it!

[books-in-a-storm]

More books!!

[slashingdisneypasta]

"I found a letter from Father!" Anastasia exclaimed, and she saw her mother's eyes flicker. "It was addressed to Drizella and me."

"Francis?" Mother whispered. A look of sorrow mixed with longing crosses her face for a moment. These were emotions her mother didn't usually express. Then, just as quickly, her face went hollow once more. "Drizella and me," Mother corrected.

- Jen Calonita in A Twisted Tale Anthology (The Envelope; What if Anastasia had a change of heart?).

[qualitymoonsuit]

This afternoon, I finished reading The Wild Robot Protects, by Peter Brown. Yesterday, I went to Ollie's and bought 4 books. Three of them made up a boxed set of the Twisted Tales series. The book I'm reading now is the 1st of those books. It is called Go the Distance: A Twisted Tale, by Jen Calonita. If that name sounds familiar to you guys, it's because I just read 3 books in her Lost Legends series.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Twisted Tales: Suddenly Super Review

What if Violet was an Agent of Syndrome?

This was another solid addition to the Twisted Tales series. It’s unfortunate this tale is only available out of the U.S. because Calonita does a great job on the first Pixar-based tale.

All from Violet’s POV, Calonita explores the girl’s negative feelings about her powers. Since being Super is illegal, it’s been ingrained into her to never show her powers to others. Problem is, she can’t quite control it when she turns invisible from anxiety, embarrassment or any high emotion. I mean, it’s teenage hell amplified. Add in the fact that they’re constantly moving when Mr. Parr blows their cover, chasing his glory days, Violet wishes she was never born super. She wants to be normal.

What’s more normal than getting grounded for sneaking to a party without her mom’s permission. And almost getting exposed. But that brief bout of normality is all Violet’s gonna get. When her parents don’t return from their vague conference, Violet has an inkling that her mom’s paranoid attitude the day before might have something to it. She certainly knows it when goons break into their house to kidnap them! With no one else to turn to, she accepts the help of Mirage, a woman she only knows from her dad’s mess of business cards, and her boss, Syndrome. Syndrome offers Violet a chance to rescue her parents with a special bonus. To ensure that they won’t be targeted by supervillains again, he’ll help get rid of their powers. Dun dun dun!!!

Calonita has been writing YA for decades so she does a good job in portraying Violet’s hormonal mood swings, and readers can see the clear arc of Violet’s insecurity and shyness in the beginning to her learning to master her powers and take charge herself. I particularly applaud Calonita’s portrayal of Violet’s anxiety attacks in relation to her powers and generally describing the physical toll of her powers on her body as heat and electricity. There’s a good balance of Violet’s panic-stricken reactions to a world she doesn’t really know and proactive in trying to protect her family. This alongside her conflict with her negative feelings about her powers and supers in general that it s not a curse but a gift. Her anger fueled into her control into control out of defense of her family.

There was a surprise in Mirage and Syndrome having two-three chapters to themselves. Mirage in particular gets more depth as an aspiring actress drawn into Syndrome’s promise of an equal world plus money. Primarily the money, until she realizes what an egomaniac he is. It is also quite funny how unprepared she is for when her job unexpectedly puts her in the role of babysitter. Syndrome is also drawn in-character as Calonita captures his affable cool-bro exterior with the underlying obsessive bitterness.

Calonita also gets to add her own characters into the world like the Incredibles’ big nemesis, Mastermind who reminds me of a cross of Edna Mode and Yzma as well as Frozone’s non-super niece, Lucy who provides a sounding board to Violet in the eleventh hour.

Calonita improved the story by having the infamous babysitter, Kari, be Violet’s only friend. It fits as her chattiness allows Violet to blend in at school as well as provide a bunch of comedic moments. Like when she babysits Jack-Jack. That will always be funny. Calonita adds other references fans will enjoy like Bomb Voyage, Brad Bird and so on.

The only one negative would have to be the lack of Edna Mode. Absolutely none darling and it’s a shame!

A well done tale full of action, humor, and family. So go onto eBay and try to snag a copy.

[emachinescat]

A Year in (Book) Review: My 2024 Reading Journey 📚

#22 - Go the Distance by Jen Calonita

Fantasy / Twisted Tales #11 / 257 pages / published 2021 / Finished Feb. 13

One Sentence Review: A great twist on Disney's Hercules, full of adventure and deep emotion, this book draws on Greek mythology and develops Meg as a character in a realistic, satisfying way - a thoroughly enjoyable, beautiful read!

Favorite Quotes

"We imprint the lost on our hearts."

*

"Let this be a lesson, child. Don't ever let a man dim your light. In this world, you can't count on anyone except yourself."

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"I need to see you understand love is a strength, not a weakness. That putting your trust in someone you love doesn't mean you can't stand on your own two feet. It means you know how to share responsibility and accept help when it is needed."

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"All this feelings stuff is exhausting."

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"But don't you see? When you find someone worthy of your love, letting them help you is also powerful."

*

"Hera, it seemed, was poised to be the mother-in-law from hell."

My rating: 4/5

A Few More Thoughts (Spoilers):

I was wary going into this one after the Frozen book by the same author, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was emotional, heartfelt, and action-packed, and it drastically changed the story while leaning into Greek mythology. I do wish the relationship between Hades and Persephone was more fleshed out.

I loved the fact that Meg's story wasn't what she thought - that her love didn't actually leave her for someone else. I found it refreshing that once she knew the truth, that she was happy - even desperate - to help Katrina, and that she was secure enough in her relationship with Hercules to be happy for her ex and his new family.

This book shows that you can be independent while still accepting help from those who love you. I really appreciated how flawed Meg was as a character, how fierce and strong and brave but also how proud and stubborn she was. It was so satisfying to watch her develop into someone who didn't have to do everything by herself.

[quotelr]

Home isn't these four walls. Home is wherever we are together.

Jen Calonita, There's No Place Like Home

[slaughter-books]

Day 31: JOMPBPC: Read In January

My wonderful January, 2024 reading wrap-up!

💛💚💙

[tenshichan1013]

lost legends the fixer upper

[mysticalenclave]

Heroes by Jen Calonita (REVIEW)

Princess Devin Nile didn't come to Royal Academy for fame, glory, or a crown. All she's ever wanted is to be a magical creature caretaker. Just when Devin gets up the courage to ask about following her passion, disaster strikes. ~From Heroes bio

As you can tell, again, Devinaria Nile (yes, that is her full name!) of Cobblestone Creek is saving the day once more. Sadly to her. Great for our entertainment though! She meets Anna, a former villain who doesn't start out as a nice person. Anna is the sister to Gilly (Aka Gillian if we're going by her real name) who is in the series Fairytale Reform School. Gilly is a thief but only because she is trying to help her family, who do not approve of her ways. Gilly goes to Fairytale Reform School once she gets caught for the third time. I have yet to read the series but I got book 1 of the series for free with my Kindle subscription. So far it is very interesting and Heroes makes Gilly meet Devinaria Nile. Apparently, the two met once. But Gilly was the thief, and Devin was the princess. In the start of Fairytale Reform School book 1, Gilly meets a princess and steals from her. And apparently, turns out, Devinaria Nile was THAT princess! Really shocking for me (not really). Anyway, Heroes is a great book. It combines the other series and makes Devin have a happy ending: She can go to a different school but to learn about magical creatures! Her mother at first didn't approve but learned to accept it. I hope you like this review, no I will not have a link here sadly because I am currently very busy and I will update y'all with a link soon! Have a great week!

Love, Mystical Enclave

P.S: We will be reviewing a new series that connects to this series: Fairytale Reform School. Also by Jen Calonita. Anyway, we'll review each book soon!

[puddlereads]

Conceal, Don't Feel, by Jen Calonita

⭐️⭐️⭐️_ _

I was a big fan of Frozen when the movie came out and I was 14. I have a younger sister with the same age gap as Elsa and Anna, so it all hit especially close to home with the sister love. This book was pretty interesting with the way it dealt with Elsa's powers. It was a fun read, but it felt a little like the author was taking a lot of quotes and story points from the original movie. Rather than a twisted version of what originally happened, not much changed other than some more characters being introduced and adding some lore. Still entertaining, a good before-bed-book.

[This is a shorter review because I read this a while ago. Soon I'll have more in-depth reviews from books I've just finished!]

[books-in-a-storm]

September 2024 FDBPC: Day 22 Hobbit Day