Tag Archives: Young Adult

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Review: Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Title: Torn
Author: Jennifer Brown
Rating: ★★★★★

This is the second book of Brown’s that I’ve read. Hate List was the first. That was like a gut punch, in a good way. Torn Away left me with the same feeling. It’s about how a girl struggles to find her place after everything she loves is taken away from her in an instant.

Jersey is a typical teen. She fights with her mom, she rolls her eyes at chores, and she finds her little sister annoying. Her father’s not in the picture, but she has a stepfather. When a tornado sweeps through her town one night, her mother and sister are killed. Her stepfather doesn’t know how to live without them. She’s sent to her biological father’s home, and then her mother’s parents. Nothing in her life is stable anymore and she doesn’t know how to deal with everything she’s been handed. The one person she knows could help her is the one person she can’t talk to, her mom.

Her friends can’t understand. One friend lost his house, but still has his family. Another friend’s house and family are fine. Jersey can’t find a way to grieve for her family because she doesn’t know how she’s supposed to let go and handle her feelings. I felt so much for her. Even though she’s still alive, nothing about her life is the same. The stepfather she had come to rely on doesn’t know how to live life without her mom and sister. He doesn’t know how to handle life without them, but with a daughter that’s not his. He contacts her father’s family and send here there, not wanting to try and salvage the family he had before.

Her father’s family is clear about their feelings on her. She’s not one of them. She’s an obligation. The one person who she starts having a relationship with can’t fill the gap in her life. She’s on the outside with no chances of changing that. When she is sent to her grandparents, her mother’s parents, she is holding on to the resentment her mother passed to her. She still doesn’t feel like she’s found a place to belong.

Jersey is such a strong character in this novel. I had tears in my eyes as I read her struggles. The tornado destroying her house was bad enough. Then her mom and sister are gone. Her stepfather doesn’t know how to live with her. Her father’s family resents her very existence. Her grandparents were always the bad guys as she grew up and now she has to live with them. Any on of these would be tough to handle, but having to work her way through every single one was nearly impossible. I was waiting for her to break.

In the end, this novel is about Jersey finding a way to move forward with her life while not losing touch with where she came from. It’s about finding the strength to live for those who can’t and for letting go of the past in order to face the future. Brown is an exceptional writer and Torn Away only adds to her ability to yank at my heart and cry in my favorite way possible. She’s a must read author.

If Torn Away sounds like you kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
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IndieBound

Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike

Title: Sleep No More
Author: Aprilynne Pike
Rating: ★★★

I’m sure there will be some people who have issues with this book. It’s a snapshot of Charlotte’s life as an Oracle, not her life story. Because of that, it only details the events that have such a huge impact on her as a teen, that the rest of her life will always feel the effects. I’m glad it’s a standalone novel. It was entertaining, but dark.

Charlotte is an Oracle. She gets visions of the future. After she changes the future to save her aunt, her father dies. From that moment on, she works hard to keep her Oracle side pushed away, resisting visions anytime they start to come. She’s seen how altering with the future can backfire and she never wants to risk that again. Then, she starts getting visions of her classmates’ murders. She feels guilty she can’t save them. To her, what good are visions when she can’t do anything about them? So when someone new comes into her life, claiming to know what she is and how she can use her visions to change the future, she jumps at the chance.

There were moments I wanted to shake some sense into Charlotte. From the outside, I could see how her choices could end up backfiring. I could sense that things weren’t right. But I also felt for Charlotte. She wants to know all she can about being an Oracle. She finds comfort in in knowledge. The unknowns are what make her question everything. Her aunt, the one in change of teaching her how to be an Oracle, holds back information, claiming she doesn’t need to know it yet. It’s because of this that she jumps on the change to learn more, even if it’s from someone she doesn’t really know.

The mystery and suspense in this novel were fantastic. I never really knew what would happen next. It’s clear that there is a serial killer, but the identity is hidden. Even in her visions, Charlotte is unable to find out any clues on who she is fighting against. The entire novel had this feeling of darkness, but it wasn’t heavy with it. There were light moments when Charlotte could just be a teenager before having to try and fight an evil she doesn’t know again. The pace of the novel is perfect, giving just enough information for one question to be answered before throwing in even more questions. This kept me on the edge of my seat, unable to put the novel down.

Sleep No More was a fantastic novel. It was fast-paced, but it never felt like things were moving too quickly. Pike would slow the novel down for a few moments before throwing something new in. It created a novel that ad me engaged and wondering with every page. I’m looking forward to reading more from Pike.

If Sleep No More sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Taking by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Taking
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Taking Trilogy
Rating: ★★★

After reading Derting’s other novels, I knew The Taking was going to be a book I wanted to read. It was different from her other novels, and after starting to read, I could tell it was either going to really pull me in, or I was going to struggle to finish it. Books that are connected to the science fiction genre are not usually my thing. They have to be done really well for me to enjoy them.

Kyra was in the car, having an argument with her father about colleges, when she demands he pulls over so she can walk to her team’s championship celebration. Once out of the car, she vanishes. All she remembers is a flash of light, and then nothing. The next thing she is aware of is her being by a dumpster with no recollection of how she got there. When she returns to her home, she finds a man and a child she doesn’t know there. Across the street, where her boyfriend lives, she finds he is gone and his younger brother has grown up. 5 years have passed since she vanished and nothing is the same.

Kyra is thrown into a new world where she doesn’t know what is going on. People want things from her; they want to know where she went and why she’s been gone for years. She’s become obsessed with time, not wanting to lose anymore of it. Her best friend and her boyfriend have moved on. Her family has been torn apart. She doesn’t recognize anything about her life now. She’s still 16 and trying to cope with everything. I find I was forgiving her for things I’d usually find annoying in a character. To me, her choices were understandable. She’s trying to fall back into a life that vanished. Her decisions wouldn’t always be the best, but she showed a maturity I was grateful for.

The relationship between Kyra and Tyler seemed to develop just a little too fast for my taste. Yes, they had great chemistry and Tyler was a wonderfully sweet boy, it felt a little odd for Kyra tog o from viewing him as the kid brother of her boyfriend to imagining a relationship with him. I would have liked a little more development of the relationship between the two before it turned romantic. At times, despite being great boyfriend material, it felt like Tyler’s attempts to make Kyra happy felt more like a little kid with a crush instead of two equal people finding their way together.

I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot because this is a book that needs to unfold at just the right pace. In all honesty, if I had known what one of the major plot points would be, I probably wouldn’t have read it. But Derting wrote the novel in such a way that it didn’t feel cheesy or wrong. It felt like it was a perfect piece of the puzzle. I’m really looking forward to what comes next. The cliffhanger has me anxious.

Despite a few flaws, The Taking was a good book that definitely pulled me in and has me ready and anxious for the next piece of the story. Derting has another great series on her hands.

If The Taking sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
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Thank you to HarperTeen and Edelweiss for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik

Title: The Last Best Kiss
Author: Claire LaZebnik
Rating: ★★★

The Last Best Kiss is not my usual type of novel. I went through high school, I dealt with high school drama, and it’s just not my favorite thing to read about. I gave The Last Best Kiss a change, though, because I felt like LaZebnik had the potential to write a novel with a lot of character growth. In the end, I liked the novel and found the character growth to be really well done.

Anna first meets Finn in 9th grade, when Finn is part of her carpool. He’s the nerdy boy who always has an interesting picture to share with her. She’s more on the popular side of things and is in that awkward stage of life where she wants her friends to like her, but she’s unsure if they’ll like the person she’s becoming. It’s an awkward age to be and her nerves are really well written. Anna and Finn develop a relationship, but she’s always a little shy of introducing Finn to her friends as the guy she likes. Her wariness costs her the relationship with Finn, one of the best things to happen to her. He moves away, but she can’t stop thinking about him. When he moves back their senior year of high school, she’s given the chance to make things right.

I actually really enjoyed Anna as a character, more than I thought I would. Her 9th grade self is exactly who I thought she’d be. She concerned with how others view her and wants to make people like her, even if it’s not her they actually like. Four years later, as a senior, she’s a lot more comfortable in who she is. She’s found her talent in drawing and doesn’t put as much stock in how others view her. She’s found a peace with who she is and has friends who accept her, quirks and all.

Finn, while adorable, wasn’t really my thing. He’s fine as a character, maybe just a touch too perfect, but he’s really the catalyst for Anna’s change. He’s sweet and provides a bit of levity and teen romance to the novel. He fits in nicely with the story, but in the end, I felt as though he’s a replaceable character. He helped with character development, but he wasn’t a fully developed character in his own right, in my opinion.

I found the plot of the novel really did a good job of showing Anna’s growth. It was easy to see her unease with herself as a newcomer in high school. Her priorities were fitting in and trying to keep from sticking out in a wrong way. It cost her a relationship she found happiness in, and that forced her to change. Her priorities have changed by the time she’s a senior. Reading as she tries to reconcile her actions in the past with the person she is now was a very real portrayal of how people grow and change with time. In that respect, it was a wonderful novel.

I did have problems with Finn becoming dateable only because he didn’t fit the “nerd” image stereotype anymore, as well as a few other issues with the book, but overall it was a nice read. This definitely has to be you “type” of book, but if a sweet high school romance is your kind of novel, this is a book to pick up.

If The Last Best Kiss sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

Title: Prisoner of Night and Fog
Author: Anne Blankman
Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog Series
Rating: ★★★★

The time period between the First World War and the second has always fascinated me. The environment that Hitler had in order to make his rise to power had to be just right. Prisoner of Night and Fog looks at pre-World War II Germany through the life of one of the Nazi Party’s girls. She’s held in high regard because her father died for Hitler. She’s never questioned what her father was fighting for. That all changes when she learns that the story of her father’s death might not be the truth.

Gretchen has always believed in Hitler and his ideals. Her father died to protect him, so she sees no reason to think Hitler’s wrong. She’s not quite like other Nazi’s though. She still has compassion, and that gets her in trouble one evening. When a Jewish reporter sees her try to stop her brother from beating a Jew, he begins to reach out to her. He claims the story she’s been told about her father’s death is wrong. She doesn’t want to believe him, but when things start pointing her towards the truth, she questions all the beliefs she’s grown up with.

I enjoyed Gretchen’s character. I’ll admit that I was worried. How can you take a person who so strongly believes in what Hitler talks about and make her likable? Or if she’s really that ignorant, why should we think she’s trustworthy? But Blankman pulled it off. She made Gretchen just ignorant enough, just compassionate enough, that her transformation from Hitler’s pet to Hitler’s despised felt real. It was clear that she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about Daniel. In the beginning, it was clear that she believed Hitler’s statements about the Jews. She had grown up being told they were horrible and subhuman. But when she sees that’s not really true, she has to reexamine everything she’s thought.

Daniel was fantastic. It’s clear that he knows Gretchen’s thoughts can’t change overnight, but his belief that she needs to know the truth makes him stick with her. He starts to change her mind about the Jewish population, proving that Hitler is wrong. When he exposes just how deep Hitler’s hatred goes, it’s a shock to Gretchen, but Daniel waits until she can come to terms with everything she’s learning about. He’s strong and wants to fight what’s coming in the best way he knows how.

I was fully engaged in the plot. There was history mixed with new characters. Seeing Germany struggle and how Hitler took advantage of that was really interesting. Not only that, but to see Gretchen have her dreams and goals, yet also see them fall apart right in front of her broke my heart.

I’m incredibly happy the story isn’t over yet. Gretchen and Daniel still have so much to do and so many stories left. This series will definitely be one I watch. The history was what made me pick Prisoner of Night and Fog up, but the characters are what kept me reading.

If Prisoner of Night and Fog sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
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Audible
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IndieBound

Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner’s Curse
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Series: The Winner’s Trilogy
Rating: ★★★★★

Okay. I had to sleep on this review. I couldn’t pull my thoughts together enough after finishing the novel. My jaw was on the floor and my head was a mess. In the best way, of course. The Winner’s Curse is a book I never thought I needed to read. I wasn’t sure Rutkoski could make me feel the relationship between slave and owner was a real one. There’s so many ways it could have felt wrong, but it never did.

Kestrel is the daughter of the general’s daughter. She’s part of the town’s elite, but that doesn’t mean she is treated differently than other people. She must either join the military or marry. She doesn’t want to do either. On a whim, she purchases a slave one day. This goes against everything she feels is right, as she’s one of the few people in the city that feels like owning people isn’t right. But Arin, called Smith in the beginning, comes to her home and the two form an odd relationship. Arin is not what he seems and in him, Kestrel finds someone she doesn’t have to hide from.

Kestrel was an amazing character. She’s not a fighter. She’s a strategist. Her abilities with weapons go about as far as protection, but she’s able to strategize and analyze situations better than most people. She’s not a boy-crazy teen. She sees through flirtations and knows her feelings on the people she’s grown up with. She begins to doubt herself when Arin challenges her feelings and beliefs. Despite not being as confident in herself as she was in the beginning, she never loses the belief that she can accomplish whatever she needs to. She is constantly strategizing and figuring out her next best move.

Arin is just as amazing. He’s definitely not what he seems, but it provides his character the ability to change. He’s a slave, a resident of the city from before the people were conquered and either killed or sold. He has harbored an anger and resentment towards the people who reduced his people to slaves for 10 years. I did have a hunch about his role in the novel, but that didn’t make me love him any less. His growth from the time Kestrel buys him to the end of the novel is fantastic. I really can’t say much about why I love his character so much without giving away events of the novel, but I can’t wait to read more about him.

This novel has twists and turns all the time. Just when I thought I had things figured out, something new was thrown in the mix that left me reeling or picking my jaw off the floor. Like my hunch with Arin, I had thought I knew how the story would go. I was right about some things, but Rutkoski threw me for a loop at times. I was on the edge of my seat. I didn’t want the novel to end, but when it did, I was shocked and needing more.

The Winner’s Curse is one of the best world-building books I’ve read. You’re thrown right into the action, but never feel like an outsider. The characters are fantastic and the growth from the beginning of the novel to the end was superb. Rutkoski has an amazing series on her hands and I’m really looking forward to reading what comes next for Kestrel and Arin.

If The Winner’s Curse sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
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Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Review: The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Title: The Here and Now
Author: Ann Brashares
Rating: ★★★

Full disclosure: I think well-written time travel novels are few and far between. I expect a level of explanation and detail that makes it hard to impress me. That said, The Here and Now wasn’t too bad. There were some small things I wish had more explanation or more depth, but overall, it was good and enjoyable.

Prenna is part of a select group of people who travel from the year 2098 to 2010 because of a plague transmitted by mosquitoes. Ethan becomes her friend, a couple years later, and she finds herself questioning the rules of the community and the tight restrictions they have placed upon everyone who travelled. When a homeless man tells her there’s more she needs to do, it sets off the story of two kids working to change the future as they realize the depth of their feelings towards each other.

Prenna has some strengths as a character, but also falls a little flat at times. She starts out as a confused girl, unsure of her place in the world. She follows the rules, but she questions them. Some makes sense, but others leave her wondering. Ethan, a boy at her school, has become her friend. She finds herself enjoying the time they spend together. This only confuses her more. She’s not supposed to have “intimate” relationships with the native people. But she blurs the lines between friends and more at times. However, as the book progressed, I felt that instead of gaining strength, she was stagnant. There was a moment at the end that I cheered for her, though.

Ethan is a little hot and cold for me. There’s moments when he’s really sweet and kind, then a few pages later he’s a little clueless. He’s still sweet, but I was occasionally left wondering how he was supposed to be the one to help Prenna with her mission. That being said, their relationship was a sweet, first love kind of thing. It didn’t try to be more. It was refreshing to read a book with a relationship like that.

The plot itself is so-so to me. The idea is interested, but things just seemed to be pulled together a little disjointedly and occasionally lacked explanation. Things would happen and the characters would point out the logic, but I’d be left confused and thinking that there was no logic involved. The time travel aspect was handled well, but I just wish there had been more attention to detail.

The Here and Now is a young adult book that attempts to tie time travel, love, and high stakes together. It doesn’t fall apart, but it could have been so much more. It was a nice read, but nothing spectacular. It wasn’t the “epic romantic thriller” described in the synopsis, but it was good.

If The Here and Now sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Childrens for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Salvage by Alexandra Duncan

Title: Salvage
Author: Alexandra Duncan
Rating: ★★★

I had really high hopes for this book. I’m not usually into science fiction novels, but the idea behind this one had me really interested. A girl forced to give up everything she knows to have a chance at life in a place that might kill her? I really wanted to read that. Unfortunately, there were just pieces that took me out of the novel.

Ava is the captain’s daughter on the merchant ship Parastrata. Even with her high connections, life for females isn’t great on the ship. They are expected to be quiet, demure, unquestioning girls who do what they are told and don’t hope for anything more. They aren’t taught to read, write, or do math. They are to tend the animals, take care of clothing, and have babies. The men are the only ones who can fix things, who can navigate a ship, or visit Earth. When Ava finds herself facing death, she decides to fight as hard as she can. She ends up coming to Earth and discovering that sharing blood doesn’t always mean family.

Ava tries hard, I’ll give her that. She makes mistakes, but instead of letting them shut her down, she finds a way to deal with the consequences. She’s been prepared for 17 years for a fate of babies and marriage, with little hope for anything else. It’s completely understandable that she has a hard time adjusting to life on Earth, where females aren’t controlled to the same degree, where they can learn and express themselves. She did have some growth when it came to this, but I wish there was a little more shown of her progression. She questions herself so much through the novel and at the very end, she’s changed. I would have liked to see a little more of the in-between moments that made her realize that the life she had before was not for her.

There’s a little romance in this novel, but it’s not the main point. It’s about Ava discovering family, both blood and chosen, and learning how she fits into the world. She leaves behind every person she knows, the people she thought were her family, and she discovers several people who actually care for her. I loved this angle of the story. It highlighted the importance of having people who care, who want to help, instead of people who simply share blood. Family is not completely genetic; it’s the people who love and care for every piece of you, not only the parts them deem acceptable.

I wish there was a little more explanation of the world. There’s a new way of speaking introduced, new worlds created, different cultures everywhere. It took me out of the novel a bit to try and figure all of this out. A little more background would have done wonders, in my opinion, and would have allowed me to enjoy the novel even more.

Salvage is a unique, female-driven science fiction novel. It’s something that can be difficult to find, but when it’s done right, it’s amazing. Salvage comes close to being amazing, but there are a few places where it falls a little flat. A little background and explanation would have made this book near perfection. If you’re a fan of science fiction, you’ll likely enjoy this book. If the genre isn’t usually your cup of tea, Salvage probably won’t be able to change your mind.

If Salvage sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

Thank you to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Elusion by Claudia Gabel

Title: Elusion
Author: Claudia Gabel
Rating: ★★★

Elusion had me interested as soon as I read the description. This is a future world that I can picture. One where the world is a mess and people are looking to escape. Elusion gives people the ability to leave the real world and enter a place where everything feels good. It’s a great science fiction story that falls a little flat in some areas.

Regan’s father is the creator of Elusion, a collection of devices that take the user to a world where nothing hurts and everything is good. Her best friend Patrick is her father’s protégé, working together to create the devices and programs. Even though Regan should be close to the project, her father never included her much in the process, and now that he’s died, she is even less knowledgeable about the program. So when allegations are made against Elusion and its possible addictive side effects come to light, all Regan knows is she needs to defend her father since he can’t defend himself.

Regan has possibility. She wasn’t the strongest character in the beginning, but I can see her growing. She’s no longer taking a backseat; she’s fighting for a voice. She loses her mind around Josh a bit, but she’s also a teenager. Teens tend to do that. She’s not my favorite heroine I’ve read, but she does hold promise to grow.

I have some of the same issues with Josh. I feel like we know him on the surface, but there’s so much more we could know. He’s interesting and obviously good-looking, but I feel like we could dig so much deeper into his character. There’s nothing really wrong with him, but his character was missing some pieces.

The storyline itself drew me right in. It’s something different. I would have liked a little bit more world building, but it wasn’t vital to understand the story. The environment was secondary to the Elusion program. The state of the world was only important because it explained why people were so eager to escape.

Elusion has promise, but it didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was good, but it had the potential to be great. I’ll definitely read whatever comes next. This is a good read, but don’t expect to be absolutely blown away. Gabel’s writing gets stronger as the book goes on, so I have hopes for the next piece of the story.

If Elusion sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

Thank you to Edelwiess and Katherine Tegen Books for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen

Title: Lady Thief
Author: A.C. Gaughen
Series: The Scarlet Trilogy
Rating: ★★★★★

Sometimes I get really angry when I finish a book. So angry I can’t speak for a while. When I get this kind of anger, it’s not because I didn’t like a book. It’s because I liked it so much I’m mad I finished the book. And in the case of Lady Thief, I’m mad I didn’t make myself wait because now I have another break between books.

Scarlet’s secrets are out. She’s not Will Scarlet, boy thief. She’s Lady Marian, Lord Gisbourne’s betrothed. He’s hunted her down and she was forced to marry him to save Robin. She refuses to play wife, though, and returns to her band, knowing that she loves Robin and he loves her. But when Lord Gisbourne returns and makes a deal with Scarlet, she knows better than to trust him; she just can’t see what he’s planning. And with Nottingham in need of a new sheriff, there’s even more at stake.

Scarlet is forced to fight in a different way in Lady Thief. She can’t rely on her experience on the streets. She’s expected to play the part of noblewoman and there’s no place for knives and fighting there. She must think of different ways to fight back and give Robin the best chance she can. The court of Prince John can’t think of her as a noblewoman, but as nothing better than a commoner, someone not worth their time or respect. She finds an ally where she least expects it and uncovers a secret that makes her question everything about her.

The moments between Scarlet and Robin are, for the most part, wonderfully sweet. They love and respect each other, something difficult to find in that time period. Robin is fighting his demons, though, and not every moment is sweet. He has problems that are unknowingly taken out on Scarlet, something he can’t forgive himself for, nor should he. The struggle between them is real and it’s going to be difficult to find their perfect happiness. I have hope that they will continue to fight for each other and the life they want to create together.

Scarlet blew me away. I’ve been anxiously waiting for Lady Thief to be released and it didn’t disappoint. I finished and felt that wonderful anger, the kind that lets me know I just finished an amazing book that I didn’t want to end. Gaughen has a fantastic series on her hands and I’ll be not so patiently waiting for the conclusion. This is a must read novel and series.

If Lady Thief sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound