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Cindy M
An accountant and CPA by profession, I found myself a book reviewer for Squeaky Clean Reads by happenstance. When the opportunity came to transform that website into Compass Book Ratings, I was excited to seize it and meld my business background with my love of books. As the mother of three teenage sons, I have read a large number of children and young adult books and I believe that there is great value in a content review service. As much as we would love to read everything our children read, there just isn’t enough time. I also appreciate being able to select books for myself that are really worth my precious and limited reading time. I believe there is a book out there for everyone–they just have to find it!
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker was originally written in German.  Primarily set in Burma, it tells the story of Tin Win and Mi Mi.  The jacket cover might lead one…
We know that it is a crazy time of year so we have once again done some of your legwork for you.  Books are the perfect gift from one book lover to, well, just about anyone.  However, there are so man…
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was written in 1971 and has been charming readers ever since.  It is a humorous first-person account of a Christmas pageant that has been hijacked by the town…
Luckily, author Jennifer E. Smith appears to be an incurable romantic--and that is extraordinarily good news for young adult readers.  Smith's novel, This Is What Happy Looks Like, starts with a stran…
Author Brandon Sanderson is just having a good year and this time around young adult readers are the lucky recipients.  In addition to The Rithmatist (see the Compass Book Ratings' revi…
The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley is hard to categorize.  The author's says on her Amazon page, "I write modern gothic novels that blend historical adventure and modern-day suspense wit…
Say hello to the end of the world via aliens in Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave.  Mr. Yancey takes a little bit of everything from all things alien and currently popular, throws it in the mixer, …
If you have ever looked at the young adult section of a bookstore and felt discouraged by the fad-driven genres, plots, and characters that currently dominate that market, then you will find On Little…
Poison by Bridget Zinn follows sixteen-year-old Kyra, a potions master on the run after a failed assassination attempt.  A resourceful and independent young lady, Kyra is not only skilled in…
Containing several lifetimes' worth of sorrow and tragedy, The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom will compel the reader to continue to its ending; it is virtually impossible to deny completi…
Author Stuart Gibbs gives a mash-up of James Bond and Maxwell Smart in his middle grade action novel Spy School.  Twelve year old Ben Ripley doesn't get what he bargained for when he is recruited into…
Christopher Healy is back with The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle, the second book in his fairy tale twisting series.  Almost all the characters from the first book return, with a few evil additi…