Category Archives: Young (and New) Adult

All the Young Adult genre book reviews, with some New Adult thrown in.

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Review: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Title: Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Pages: 419 pages hardcover,442 paperback, 437 ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

Jellicoe Road is one of those books that has been on my radar for a while, but I just never got around to reading it. So many people had fallen in love with this book that I was a little worried to read it. I didn’t want to be disappointed. Finally, I decided this book needed to be read.

For the first 100 or so pages, I didn’t get it. I was confused by the two viewpoints and the focus on the wars between the schools. It wasn’t this heartbreaking story I had been told about. I didn’t really care about the war or the boundaries or the negotiations. They were interesting, sure, but that wasn’t the story I thought I was going to read.

And then it changed. Suddenly, things made sense. Taylor’s story and Narnie’s story were tied together somehow and I needed to find out how. Taylor’s need to know who her father was and to know what happened to her mother becomes the only thing she is concerned with. Everyone seems to know something that she doesn’t, but no one will tell her the secrets.

I figured out quickly what the ties were between the present and the past, but I still wasn’t prepared for how much my heart would hurt when Taylor’s life caught up to her. Her reluctance to rely on other people and to lean on them when she needed help made it all the more apparent how much she cares for Jonah Griggs and I was immensely happy Taylor had someone be there for her.

Jellicoe Road is an amazing novel that tells two different heartbreaking stories coming together. As the stories get closer and closer, you know something is about to break and when it happens, no amount of preparation can help. But then Marchetta heals you enough to fall hopeless in love with the story she wove. Jellicoe Road is definitely a must read novel and I can’t wait to read more of what Marchetta has to offer.

If Jellicoe Road sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Amazon
IndieBound
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Review: Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Redemption
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Series: Castor Chronicles series
Pages: 451 pages hardcover, 576 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

When I was in 9th grade, my English teach spent an extraordinary amount of time teaching us about the Hero’s Journey. We read books, wrote essays, and watched the Star Wars movies all so we could better understand this pivotal part of so many stories all around the world.

Beautiful Redemption is the conclusion to the Castor Chronicles series. It ties everything together. As I was reading, I noticed something. There was a Hero’s Journey inside a Hero’s Journey. Ethan must complete his own journey in order to get back to the person he loves most. More importantly, Beautiful Redemption is the final leg of the Hero’s Journey of Ethan and Lena together. That 9th grade English class made me appreciate this even more.

I don’t really want to talk much about how the story unfolds; I feel anything I say might give away a secret. I will say that my earlier complaint, about there being some filler instead of moving the story along, wasn’t even a minor issue in this novel. Something was always happening and each little thing was important. Every step Ethan takes leads him somewhere and every plan Lena forms gets them closer to the end.

Both Ethan and Lena grow in this novel. They have to face their demons in order to continue along their journey. They have to face a world where they aren’t together and find a way to get back to each other. They each learn that they are strong individually, but together there is nothing that can stop them. And they do all of this without having whiny teen moments.

Beautiful Redemption is exactly what I wanted from the end of this series. Loose ends are tied up, personal demons are faced, and Ethan and Lena learn to be the people they need to be going forward. Everything wasn’t happy, but it was amazing. Stunning conclusion that makes closing that last page wonderfully bittersweet.

If Beautiful Redemption sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Amazon
IndieBound
Audible

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Review: Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Chaos
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Series: Castor Chronicles series
Pages: 518 pages hardcover/paperback, 566 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

The thing I enjoy most about these books is also the thing that I like least. I like that mixed in with all the doom and gloom and supernatural, we get to see Ethan and Lena living their lives. There’s a bit of normal mixed in. However, this adds a lot of extra material that is somewhat filer and that’s the part I don’t like. I’m not sure which side will eventually win out.

Beautiful Chaos is the culmination of everything that happened in the previous two books and the price that must be paid. Everything that went wrong in the past two books comes to a head and Ethan and Lena have to figure out how to save the Mortal and Caster world. I did figure out the ending fairly early in the book, but that didn’t take me out of the story any. I wanted to see how the characters ended up, even if I wanted to let them all in on the secret.

Ethan and Lena are still the wonderful couple that can make it through everything. They’ve both changed though and that affect their relationship. They have to learn to trust each other again and to not jump to conclusions. They had to stop being teens in love and start dealing with being in love while in the Mortal and Castor worlds. I enjoyed reading how they grew as individuals and as a couple. Their challenges are only making them work better together.

The subplots were really something else in this book. I would love a Link and Ridley story all their own. With everything going on, getting this other little stories to focus on for a little while was a nice break from the bad things you know are about to come.

Beautiful Chaos was a fantastic book that ended on quite the cliffhanger. I can’t wait to get started on Beautiful Redemption and see how this series concludes.

If Beautiful Chaos sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
IndieBound
Audible

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Review: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Darkness
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Series: Castor Chronicles series
Pages: 503 pages hardcover/paperback, 508 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

Beautiful Creatures was on my meh list. It wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t horrible. It was a nice read, but it wasn’t one of my best. Beautiful Darkness was able to expand on the world created in the first novel and make the characters do things and grow in ways I didn’t see coming. I found myself losing sleep in order to read just a little bit more, rationing that decision with the power of caffeine. It takes quite a book to make me consider losing sleep.

The story of Ethan and Lena continues on shortly after the events of Beautiful Creatures. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not going to do much of a recap. I will say, however, that the events of the first book make everything that happens in this book make sense.

Lena is pulling away from Ethan and he doesn’t know why or what to do. She isn’t sure who she is or what she can do and that makes her worry about losing herself and hurting the people she loves. It’s more than the typically supernatural teen “I love you, but I can hurt you, so I’m going to leave” plotline. It doesn’t feel drawn-out or like the authors were trying to force something that wasn’t there.

I like that the story is told from Ethan’s point of view. It gives the complexity of the story just a touch of simplicity because we aren’t trying to figure out the Castor world as we try to figure out the problems the novel puts in front of us. We learn about the Castor world as Ethan does and as it ties into the story instead of trying to add more layers to an already complex story.

Beautiful Darkness makes up for what Beautiful Creatures lacked. There was a fantastic plotline, plus we got to explore Ethan and Lena as people. They grew and discovered things about themselves and the world that makes for a promising future in the next novels. I’m looking forward to getting started on the next book.

If Beautiful Darkness sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
IndieBound
Audible

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Review: Beta by Rachel Cohn

Title: Beta
Author: Rachel Cohn
Series: Annex series
Pages: 331 pages hardcover, 424 paperback, 304 ebook
Rating: ★★★

After reading the reviews for Beta my expectations weren’t all too great. I have a bad habit of wanting to know what is coming before I reach it, so I tend to read spoilers for books, TV shows, even movies. I tried to limit myself on spoilers for Beta, but I still went in with some knowledge.

Elysia is a teenage clone, one of the earliest models–a Beta. She is not supposed to feel human emotion or sensation, but she does. She’s also a Defect. It was interesting reading how she comes to terms with what she is told to be truth and what she experiences as truth. That dynamic is what kept me reading. To be told one thing yet experience something that goes against that “truth” and have to figure out what is real creates a great internal struggle to read about.

Cohn did an amazing job with the descriptions of Demesne. The way she could paint a picture of the world was superb; I felt like I was there. I could see the ocean; feel the sun and the breezes. Unfortunately, for as beautifully as Cohn described the world, she didn’t match it in world building. There is some background given, but not enough for my tastes. I want to know why the Water Wars happened and how the world of today morphed into the world of the novel. Hopefully there is more of that in the net book.

I know I praised the internal struggle of being told one thing and experiencing another, but it is this same struggle that also bothers me about the novel. Elysia is a clone and at the beginning of the novel, she fits that description perfectly. However, once she starts to realize she can feel, she does a complete 180 and feels everything to an amazing degree. There is “insta-love” that feels horribly unrealistic. How can you be sure you love someone when you barely even understand what feeling emotions is like? I’m not sure if this is intentional or if I was really supposed to believe these two love each other.

The end of the novel had so many twists and turns that some felt a little too far out of left field. It seemed like every few pages, a new twist was thrown in. I’m not sure how Cohn will manage to work will all these new elements, but it might be interesting to find out.

Beta is a novel with an interesting premise. It is basically a set up for the Civil War of the future. It debates what makes a person and person. Does a person need a soul in order to be considered whole or does living and breathing give them the title? Unfortunately, Beta has a few flaws that keep it from reaching its full potential. I will probably pick up the next book, just to see how Cohn handles things, but I won’t be rushing out to get it at first release.

If Beta sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
IndieBound

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Review: Crash by Nicole Williams

Title: Crash
Author: Nicole Williams
Series: Crash series
Pages: 484 pages paperpack, 323 ebook
Rating: ★★★

I didn’t expect to enjoy Crash as much as I did. It was an easy quick read that did have a few issues, but it wasn’t horrible.

Lucy’s life changed drastically five years ago and her family still hasn’t recovered. Her father shuts out reality to cope, her mother freezes the rest of the world to cope, and Lucy tries to save things that don’t have much hope of being saved.

I think that reason is why Jude’s anger issues didn’t bother me as much as they usually would. Normally, if I read about a guy as angry and violent as Jude, I am immediately turned off. I wouldn’t put up with it in my own life and I don’t want to read about some girl putting up with it because the guy’s hotness cancels out his issues. But in Crash, Lucy knows he has issues. She doesn’t put up with it much and makes Jude start to change. Yes, he still has anger issues at the end of the book. But he isn’t the boy who needs saving anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, the violence still bothered me. If I met someone like that in my own life, I’d probably walk away. But in Crash I think it works a little better because Lucy knows and acknowledges Jude’s issues. Lucy’s main problem is feeling the need to fix everything, leading her to stick with Jude longer than she should have. In the end, though, they both grow from where they began in the story and I did like that.

As for the rest of the story, some things are a little far-fetched, but I can forgive because they don’t really add or take away anything from the novel. They could have been removed and the novel still would have read basically the same.

Crash wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. It has its issues, yes, but it also has its silver linings. I’ll probably read the next books eventually, since I’d like to know how Jude and Lucy’s story continues, but for now, it was a decent read that I enjoyed.

If Crash sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Ten Tiny Breaths by K. A. Tucker

Title: Ten Tiny Breaths
Author: K. A. Tucker
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths series
Pages: 304 paperback, 262 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

I had this book figured out before I even started it. I knew what the twist would be; I knew how it would end. It was the little pieces; the little bits that I couldn’t quite figure out, that made me enjoy this novel.

Kacey’s life hasn’t been the same since she lost her parents, best friend, and boyfriend in a crash caused by a drunk driver. She still has her sister to live for, but to Kacey, her life feels shattered so much she doesn’t think it can ever be put together again. She runs off to Miami with her sister to start fresh. It’s a place no one knows them and no one knows her story.

Their next door neighbor is Trent. He’s practically perfect, except he’s not. He and Kacey begin a relationship and he manages to break down the defense walls Kacey has built up. He’s completely swoon-worthy and says the right things at the right times.

My favorite character, though, was Storm. She and her daughter are the real reason Kacey begins to change. They are the first to break down a piece of her wall and from there on pieces continually fall. She’s a contradiction, but one of the best characters I’ve read. This novel wouldn’t be the same without her.

I can’t really say what I wish was different about the novel without giving a major spoiler, but it did take me a little bit out of the novel. Things were forgiven just a little too easily and I wish there had been more time devoted to working through that problem.

Ten Tiny Breaths is about learning from tragedy and finding a way to move on with life. It’s about forgiveness and living for yourself. Second chances and love; it’s all important. Ten tiny breaths is a way to slow the world down and give you the perspective you need to tackle life’s problems, and Ten Tiny Breaths is just that. There are tough times, but it’s like taking those ten tiny breaths and finding yourself thinking clearer and feeling better.

If Ten Tiny Breaths sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Title: What’s Left of Me
Author: Kat Zhang
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles series
Pages: 434 pages hardcover, 352 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

Addie and Eva share one body. They are two souls living in the same body and that shouldn’t happen. One soul is supposed to fade away and one soul is supposed to stay. Instead, Eva stays in the background, letting Addie live their life. While Addie gets to talk and be around other people, Eva’s only true companion is Addie.

It’s an interesting premise and I wasn’t sure how Zhang would pull it off. It could either be fantastic or completely confusing. Luckily, What’s Left of Me falls into the fantastic side of things.

I am amazed at how well Zhang managed to write two completely different characters and yet they are in the same body. It was easy to tell the difference between Addie and Eva. Their personalities are different and their growth as people is different. Even though they share the same body, they each experience everything in a slightly different way. It was fascinating.

Not only does Zhang manage to write one person with two souls well, she took on the challenge of making other characters the same way. At first, I wasn’t sure which soul was which; however, the more I read, the more I picked up on each soul’s different personalities. For Zhang to have done this is amazing. I wasn’t confused by the warring souls, but found myself drawn in and loving them.

This isn’t an action-packed novel, but it also isn’t a light read, either. There’s not a lot of fighting or other typical dystopian characteristics, but it never feels like things are moving slow. Something is always happening, even if it isn’t happening in big, elaborate fight scenes.

The only thing that had me a little confused was the time frame this story takes place in. Wars are referenced, but I was never really clear on when this story actually takes place. I’m hoping that was deliberate and in the novels to come, it becomes clearer.

What’s Left of Me is a novel that doesn’t disappoint. It’s different and thought-provoking and definitely worth a read. I’m looking forward to reading what comes next in this series.

If What’s Left of Me sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Title: Breathe
Author: Sarah Crossan
Series: Breathe series
Pages: 373 hardcover, 384 paperback, 484 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

The concept of Breath isn’t all that new. Oppressive government keeping secrets, while a group of rebels who know the truth work to set the people free. But Breathe takes it a step further. In the world Crossan created, it is not fear of the unknown that keeps people from revolting; it is fear of suffocating to death. The people in Crossan’s world are ruled by their need for oxygen. The government doesn’t control the people using material items; they control the people by controlling a basic need. That’s that makes Breathe different.

The story is told from the perspective of three different people. Bea, Quinn, and Alina start out without an alliance, but facing the outside world quickly makes them rethink their relationships. Bea and Quinn are best friends, but Bea is just waiting for Quinn to see her the same way she sees him. Quinn is attracted to Alina, but she doesn’t even entertain the thought. When the lives of these three people start moving forward together, everything they thought they knew is put to the test.

Bea and Alina are considered part of what would be called the poor class. Life is tough for them, but they each make it work in their own way. Bea works hard in school, hoping to work her way up the ladder, even though she knows it’s a difficult road. Alina takes the rebel road, working against the government because she knows there is more to life than living inside the bubble.

Quinn is one of the lucky ones, born into fortune, not really having to worry about getting enough oxygen. Even his life isn’t perfect, though, living under the shadow of his father. He never knows if he actually earns his praise, or if it only given because of his father.

I was worried there would be an awkward love triangle when I first started reading, but I’m happy with how Crossan worked with having the three main characters. There’s a bit of a love triangle, but it doesn’t feel drawn out or forced. It’s flimsy and you know how things will end up. I liked how it was done.

Breathe is a unique take on the dystopian story. It has high stakes that bring the intensity level up. I’m looking forward to seeing how Crossan takes the story forward.

If Breathe sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Review: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Title: Dreamland
Author: Sarah Dessen
Pages: 250 pages hardcover/paperback, 256 ebook
Rating: ★★★

When I started reading Dreamland, I felt like it was going to be a book I struggled to finish. I just couldn’t get connected to Caitlin and I felt like I was reading from a distance instead of being right there. About halfway through, that changed.

Caitlin has always lived in the shadow of her older sister, Cass. So when Cass leaves one night without warning, Caitlin feels like it is her responsibility to step up and fill in that “perfect child” role. At the same time, she doesn’t want to be Cass. She doesn’t want to have to be perfect. She’s confused and doesn’t know which way to go. Her confusion ends up leading her down the wrong road, sending her life spiraling down a hole she never thought she’d end up in.

In the attempt to step out of her sister’s shadow, she falls into Rogerson’s. The relationship between these two is heartbreaking, horrific, and realistic. Caitlin’s confusion over how she feels about Rogerson is what makes it all worse because I can understand her thinking. Reading about her struggles made my heart ache for her. He met her when she was already down and only brought her lower.

I think the reasons I didn’t find myself completely loving this book are because of that initial disconnect between me and Caitlin, as well as how blind those closest to Caitlin were. Out of everyone that knew and loved her, not one took enough notice of her downward spiral. I understand why it was done that way, but I still wish one of them had shown something more.

Dreamland is a quick read, but a powerful one. It shows that sometimes the weak are actually the strongest and that what we see on the outside my only be an illusion.

If Dreamland sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Audible
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