Category: Fiction

Fiction · Young Adult

Belly Up

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35128563

Title: Belly Up

Author: Eva Darrows

Page Count: 384

Series: Unknown

Publishing Date/Publisher: April 30, 2019 by Inkyard Press

Format: eBook

Review: There are so many things I love about this book.  Most importantly, there are the characters.  Darrows’ characters are full of personality and spunk and the dialogue between them sometimes had me snickering out loud.  Bottom-line, I want all of them in my life for reals.

Teen pregnancy books often fall into the realm of “issue” fiction, but this is so much more than just a cautionary tale.  Certainly the main character, Sara, has to come to terms with the repercussions of a single night of indiscretion, but she finds strength in herself and the people in her life as she navigates through some tough choices.

There is a whole lot of representation in this book.  The main character is biracial and bisexual/questioning.  Her best friend is asexual, another friend is transgender, and her boyfriend is demisexual.  I have to admit that I had to look up several of the terms and identifiers used in this novel because I had no idea what they meant.  The story really covers a wide spectrum of gender and sexuality, and it is rare to see that kind of fluidity represented in YA fiction.

I highly recommend this book.  It is smart, it is funny, and it really shows how important it is to surround yourself with supportive and loving people…people who will be with you through thick and thin (pun intended).

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold

Fiction · Young Adult

Letters to the Lost

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Title: Letters to the Lost

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Page Count: 391

Series: Letters to the Lost, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: April 4, 2017 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Format: Hardcover

Review: I actually really enjoyed this book.  The premise reminded me of the movie You’ve Got Mail in that the two main characters connect anonymously through letters.  In actual life, they are initially at odds but slowly start to fall for each other.

This type of book can be infuriating due to all the near misses of “AHA” moments between the two characters, however, I never found myself feeling that way.  It takes predictably long for the characters to realize that they are writing to each other, but I nevertheless found myself really liking the story.

There are a some twists in the plot.  Some I saw coming from a mile away, but others caught me by surprise.  I would definitely recommend this book to young readers because it is a very sweet story that handles topics like grief, trauma, and betrayal in a sensitive and relatable way.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold

Fiction · Young Adult

My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life

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38491757

Title: My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life

Author: Rachel Cohn

Page Count: 352

Series: Unknown

Publishing Date/Publisher: December 18, 2018 by Disney-Hyperion

Format: eBook

Review: This is a cutesy Cinderella-esqe story about a girl who is lifted out of an American foster care system and whisked away to a faraway land by her absent until now, incredibly rich father.

It goes about how you would imagine, with Elle acclimating to a new life in a new place where she does not speak the language.  Conveniently she is enrolled in an expat private school where classes are taught in English, but she still has to learn how to navigate through a nuanced culture that is vastly different from what she is accustomed to.

I like that fact that the author made Elle a multiethnic character, and it adds some conflict to the story as her “otherness” initially makes it challenging for her to ingratiate herself with her very traditional Japanese family members.  It is also interesting to see how she adapts to a mostly homogenous world where customs and etiquette are a very important part of everyday interactions.

I felt like I learned a lot about Japanese culture (I am trusting that the author did her research), and I thought that overall it was an enjoyable read.  I will be recommending this to readers who enjoy loose fairytale adaptations and gossipy teen dramas.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold

 

Fiction

Madly Truly Guilty

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26247008

Title: Madly Truly Guilty

Author: Liane Moriarty

Performer: Caroline Lee

Length: 17 hr, 20 min, 31 sec

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2016 by MacMillan Audio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: Moriarty’s writing is on another level.  I am always stunned by her rare ability to write many layered characters.  By the end, you truly feel like you know them on a deeply personal level.  All of their flaws and quirks are laid bare and you can’t help but love them.

This book is arguably one of Moriarty’s best.  The relationships she creates are so wonderfully complicated and there is a lot of depth to each of her characters.  Even minor details prove to have larger significance as the story progresses.  Each big reveal is not only surprising, but adds increased depth to the story.

I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story, and I felt the characters emotions as if they were my own.  I was so caught up in each moment that I felt like I was actually living the experience through the perspective of each character.

The performer of this book, Caroline Lee, does all of Moriarty’s audiobooks.  Her voice infuses the story with just the right amount of snark and truly captures the seriousness, the wit, and the humor that is signature to Moriarty’s novels.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold

Fantasy · Fiction · Young Adult

The Girl King

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35105833

Title: The Girl King

Author: Mimi Yu

Page Count: 432

Series: Unknown

Publishing Date/Publisher: January 8, 2019 by Bloomsbury YA

Format: eBook

Review: This book falls in the category of  well-written with a decent plot, but not as good as I wanted it to be.  I should have loved this book.  It is a tale of two sisters battling it out for a throne, which in this case means a lot of political intrigue and ancient magic.  However, I just could not make myself feel invested in the story or the characters.  Though I liked it for the most part, there are a couple things that I found to be problematic.

First, the characters and setting were not nearly as developed as the plot.  Although we get some glimpses of the motivation that drives the two sisters, I did not feel like I really got to know either of them beyond a superficial level.  This is especially true with the character of Minyi.  Although she seemed to have had the greatest character arc, it all still felt very shallow to me and her naivety was annoying rather than endearing.

Second, Lu’s romance was poorly constructed.  It did not feel authentic and I personally prefer a slow build over instant love.  I think the author attempted to do this by making the characters initially at odds (for a very short period of time), but it just fell flat.

It is unlikely that I will continue reading if this book turns into a series (it most likely will), but there are some positive attributes that made this an enjoyable read.  Although I would have liked more from this story, it nevertheless featured strong female leads and closed with some pretty awesome magic.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold

Fantasy · Fiction · Young Adult

SERIES REVIEW: The Cage, Books 1-3

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Image result for the cage by megan shepherdImage result for the hunt by megan shepherd18298581

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Series: The Cage

Titles: The Cage (Book 1), The Hunt (Book 2), The Gauntlet (Book 3)

Author: Megan Shepherd

Page Counts: 405 (Book 1), 368 (Book 2),  393 (Book 3)

Publishing Dates/Publishers: May 26, 2015 by Balzer + Bray, May 24, 2016 by Balzer + Bray, May 23, 2017 by HarperCollins

Format: eBook and Hardcover

Review: I decided to review these books as a series because my general feelings about all three are the same.  To sum it up, this series was bizarre.  I know, I know, you are probably thinking that science fiction in general is bizarre, but this series is on another level.

The first thing that bothered me is the explanation for how these teens end up locked up in an extraterrestrial cage.  It makes absolutely no sense, and the reasons why they were chosen for abduction make no sense either.

The other thing that I found supremely annoying was the romance between Cora and her abductor.  Why?  Because it was extremely anticlimactic (Spoiler alert: so is the ending).

Even with all this weirdness going on, I still liked the series.  If you can get past all the absurdity of the backstory, it is an amusing read.  I will also say that it is hard to predict where the story will go because the author keeps throwing in new elements that shake up what you know about the universe she has created.  I kind of enjoyed the fact that humans, who consider themselves intellectually superior to other species on Earth, are considered primitive by all the other beings in the story.  It really makes you ponder how extraterrestrials might view us should we ever cross paths with them in the future.

Reader: Bekah

Overall Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold

 

Fantasy · Fiction · Young Adult

What’s Left of Me

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Title: What’s Left of Me

Author: Kat Zhang

Page Count: 343

Series: The Hybrid Chronicles, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: September 18, 2012 by HarperCollins

Format: eBook

Review: Readers who enjoyed The Host by Stephenie Meyer will probably enjoy this book.  It takes the same concept (two souls inhabiting one body, with one soul being more dominant) and adds a different spin to it.

I found the story interesting and I enjoyed the inner dialogue between the two characters, but the book lost me towards the end.  The world building was not the best, and I was not convinced as to why the lack of “settling” was such a taboo thing in their society, especially because it seems to be more common than people are led to believe.  I suppose this is probably fleshed out more in the next two books of the trilogy, but I did not find the story compelling enough to continue forward with this series.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold

Fantasy · Fiction · Young Adult

Hero at the Fall

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29739428

Title: Hero at the Fall

Author: Alwyn Hamilton

Performer: Soneela Nankani

Length: 13 hr, 21 min

Series: Rebel of the Sands, Book 3

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2018 by Recorded Books

Format: eAudiobook

Review: This was a gripping conclusion to a fantastic trilogy.  I highly recommend this series to fantasy readers, and really anyone who enjoys YA fiction.  It is a clever, action-packed adventure with just the right amount of romance (whew that final love scene was steamy).  The author does an excellent job building characters and setting in her first two books, so this final book was deeply satisfying and thrilling as it wraps up the series.  I really like the way Hamilton incorporates legend throughout the story because it really highlights the importance of oral tradition and the way that heroes are remembered.

For people who enjoy the audiobook format, I think that you will find this performance enthralling.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold

Fantasy · Fiction · Young Adult

Bloodleaf

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35707080

Title: Bloodleaf

Author: Crystal Smith

Page Count: Unknown

Series: Bloodleaf, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 5, 2019 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Format: eBook

Review: I found this book to be an enjoyable and quick read.  The main character is likeable, and the plot keeps a steady pace.

I did not know prior to reading this book that it is a retelling of a Grimm’s fairytale.  After reading the book, I looked up The Goose Girl and read a brief synopsis of the plot and primary characters.  My opinion of the book actually went up half a star after doing so, because I thought that the author was very clever in how she incorporated the elements of the fairytale throughout the story.  I also liked that the witch hunts and persecution of accused witches was pretty accurate to historical events.  This made the story more believable, and gave it an interesting twist.

The reason this book was not quite four stars for me is because I think that the setting and some of the characters, namely Kellan, really needed to be fleshed out more.  The plot was well-developed, but it was hard for me to picture events because descriptions of the cities and other locations were not very vivid.  As for Kellan, I did not really understand the relationship between him and the main character, Aurelia.  I assume his character will get more page time in the next two books, as this is slotted to be a trilogy, but I honestly felt that this book should have been a standalone.  The ending provided a lot of closure; so much so that I was actually surprised to find out that the story is going to be extended into two more books.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Goldhalf star

Fantasy · Fiction · Young Adult

The Traitor’s Game

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Title: The Traitor’s Game

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Page Count: 388

Series: The Traitor’s Game, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: February 27, 2018 by Scholastic

Format: Hardcover

Review: This book was good, but for some reason I could not fully invest in the characters and I can’t really pinpoint why.  I suppose it may be because I have read a lot of YA fantasy series, and this one just didn’t wow me with anything incredibly new or original.  For me to give a high rating in this genre, the book has to really impress me.  This book reminded me vaguely of The Winner’s Curse trilogy by Marie Rutkoski, maybe because the names of the heroines are so similar (Kestra and Kestrel).  As mentioned previously, however, this is not a bad book.  Some people will really enjoy it, but it just was not for me.  I do not think I will be reading the next two books when they are released.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 

All_Star_GoldAll_Star_GoldAll_Star_Gold