“Creating something worthwhile takes time, effort, and patience... expressive Kiara is portrayed determinedly pursuing her passion; she’s also an exemplar of self-confident persistence. The colorful digital illustrations are by turns delicate and lively and incorporate examples of creative typesetting; those intricate webs are spectacular.”

“A spider comes to embrace the iterative nature of making in this tightly written story by Wall. Encountering an ‘extraordinary’ web, arachnid Kiara attempts her own, quickly finding that ‘heart-filling webs were not as simple as belly-filling ones.’ Various initial efforts leave the protagonist feeling ‘flat,’ ‘small,’ and ‘gray,’ until persistence allows her to push past negativity. But greatness remains elusive as a series of oblivious passersby wreak destructive havoc, resulting in the title’s exclamatory refrain. A partnership with weaver Orb seems ideal, until the latter’s appetite damages their collaboration. Epiphany arrives through discussion with a fellow creator who articulates how discoveries can be made through repeated effort. Leaning on dusty sages and candy reds, Kang’s digital artwork has paperlike textures, giving scenes an appealing dimensionality as this picture of creaturely creativity delivers winning insight about process.”

“Shiver your way across the United States of fear in this collection of paranormal stories by a diverse range of authors, including Dusti Bowling, Ellen Hopkins, and Padma Venkatraman.

It’s dark. Maybe it’s Halloween. Something isn’t right. Are those glowing lights? Strange sounds—screams, moans, whimpers, or more subtly ominous noises—float on the air. Your cellphone is useless. You’re impelled to do something you know you shouldn’t. Finally, the dramatic climax arrives, and you’re saved—or perhaps not. Variations on these elements with fearsome flavorings from every state, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., confirm that whatever the setting, humans can find scares. Camping is risky, whether you’re in Washington state or in Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, or Wyoming. Readers will certainly want to avoid haunted Seven Bridges, Wisconsin, and after reading the Arizona entry, they’ll never look at a cactus the same way again. The entries offer frights for a variety of tastes: Many of the stories are good for a mild frisson; a few are truly creepy and chilling.”