Can identical twins possibly survive their first year of middle school when they’re only alike on the outside? Nerdy Emma is all about winning the GeoBee, spelling bee, and becoming a super Mathlete, while Payton just wants to have the cutest clothes and be in the “popular” clique at their school. How can each of them be an individual when no one can even tell them apart? An enjoyable, funny, and honest book about finding yourself and being yourself, no matter what!

Reviewed by Maddie

Becoming an almost teenager is a good thing, right? Well,
that’s what eleven-year-old Rory thinks. But on the actual day
of her twelfth-birthday (finally!) things really start taking a
turn for the worst. First, her little brother Sawyer just won’t
leave her alone and never understands why she needs her
space. Second, things start to get ugly with friends when they
join the popular group, and she doesn’t! Add in a few more
parent troubles, and middle-school drama, and she’s got the
most wild, annoying, drama-filled year of her life!

Dear West Side Bookies,

‘Tis the season for festivities with family and friends, the season where personal warmth helps us get through the cold outside our doors. But sometimes, seeing how the season is described in various media outlets, one may get the impression that what we’ve really entered is the season for strange mass marketing campaigns and designated shopping holidays. We encourage you to shop whenever you want! We also encourage you to think about where you want to shop. Whether your Fridays be Black and your Christmases be White, and however your Hanukkahs and Kwanzaas and Festivii may arrive in between, we hope your individuality shows in where you spend your time and money, and what kind of gifts you share with your loved ones. Many alternatives to big box-store mania have been proffered by different groups; there’s Plaid Friday, Small Business Saturday, Buy Local Week and Buy Nothing Day, just to name a few. We appreciate the sentiments of all of these alternatives for various reasons, but we think that you should shop whenever you want, and call it whatever you want. You don’t have to call it anything at all! Gift giving is an intimate act, and the experience of selecting that perfect gift can be made easy and enjoyable by locating a smaller business with specialized knowledge and inventory and a staff who share a  passion with the person you are shopping for.

We’re shopping at small, local businesses this year, because it’s a lot more fun, a lot more personal and rewarding, and the gifts we end up giving are much more personally tailored than they would be in a box store or chain outlet.  We look forward to seeing you out there on the streets, and we look forward to seeing you here in the store!

Happy Holidays,

West Side Books

Come and get ‘em!

We’ll stay open until 8 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Christmas, and until 9 on December 10, when 32^nd Avenue Decks the Halls: specials, events and everyone open late all up and down the avenue.

She can’t go outside. She can’t go to school. Living with Grandmother, Maya is forced to stay inside the house and go through old photo albums. That is, until Maya is whisked away from life as she knows it to the Wyoming countryside. At first, Maya feels as if she is living in a daydream, but then she meets Artemisia, a gorgeous American Paint horse that her mother used to ride. Can one horse hold the key to Maya’s freedom?

Butter Pecan ice-cream, baseball, and swimming. This is Penny’s idea of Heaven. In the year 1953, Penny is not having the summer of her dreams. First off, she can’t go swimming because of the chance that she might catch polio, her favorite uncle lives in his car, and to make matters even worse, the two sides of her family won’t talk to each other! Ever since her  father’s death, Penny’s world comes tumbling down. Her Nonny cries every time someone talks about her dad, her mother won’t let her talk about him, and then, she starts dating the milkman! This is a touching, funny and warm read.

Reviewed by Maddie

A person’s eye color sure can say a lot about them. Well, at least that’s what Turtle says. This book is a summer tale about one girl growing up in the Great Depression. Dropped off at her aunt’s house in Key West Florida, Turtle meets an eclectic group of boys who, together, teach her the meaning of family and friendship. Turtle in Paradise is a book I could not put down. A great story.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Another Shel Silverstein – A Light in the Attic

Fifteen by Beverly Cleary (Why do these teens look so much older than 15?)

What a classic this one is… The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You by Barthe Declements  (Something tells us that no, actually, it can’t kill you)

Little Miss Bossy by Roger Hargreaves

The Giant Golden Book of Elves and Fairies