Blood and Sand

June 8, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: Blood and Sand

Author: C.V. Wyk

Performer: Brittany Pressley

Length: 8 hr, 58 min, 58 sec

Series: Blood and Sand, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2018 by MacMillan Young Listeners

Format: eAudiobook

Review: I really enjoyed the first half of this book because I thought the author did a great job introducing the time period, setting, and characters. The second half of the book is where she started to lose me. I would say that this book is more strongly categorized as historical fiction rather than fantasy. I typically enjoy both genres immensely, but I hesitate to even call this fantasy. It’s more like unrealistic historical fiction. The only thing that could qualify this series as fantasy was how preposterous the fight scenes were in the second half of the book. One scene in particular, the most pivotal in terms of driving the direction of the story, was a monumental disappointment because quite frankly it made no sense. The fallout of this particular scene was equally disappointing. A lot gets thrown at you at the end, and the puzzle pieces just fit together too perfectly to be realistic.

All criticisms aside, I think that Wyk is a talented writer and I enjoyed enough things about this book to continue with the series when the next book is published.

Finally, I thought the reader for this eAudiobook had a nice voice, but in my opinion wasn’t well suited for this particular book. I’ve heard her narrate other books and liked those performances far more than I did this one. Perhaps this is because I did not care for the character voices and accents she chose for some of the main characters, particularly Attia.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Romance · Young Adult

Throne of Glass

May 28, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: Throne of Glass

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Page Count: 404

Series: Throne of Glass, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: May 7, 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Format: Paperback

Review: Well I finally read it, and it did not disappoint. I don’t know how this book stayed off my radar for so long. It really had all the elements of everything I love in YA fantasy. Admittedly, the storyline was predictable, but for the first book in a series, it had a surprising amount of action and I remained engaged the whole way through. The main character of the story, Celaena, serves as both a heroine and an anti-heroine. She manages to be both a total badass and a relatable young woman. This is a difficult mix to achieve in YA fiction and I have rarely seen it done so well.

As I noted above, this book was relatively predictable, so I knocked a star off of my rating; however, after perusing reviews for the second book in the series, it seems that Maas’ character building and plot development improves dramatically in the next installment. I am really looking forward to continuing with this series!

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Science Fiction · Young Adult

Internment

May 23, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: Internment

Author: Samira Ahmed

Page Count: 386

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 19, 2019 by Atom

Format: Hardcover

Review: This is one of those books that readers seem to either love or hate, but I actually fall somewhere in the middle. It is a speculative novel that heavily draws on current events (more than a few jabs directed at the current administration) and links it with the Japanese-American Internment camps of the 1940s. In this imagining, Muslim-Americans are targeted as enemies of state and relocated to internment camps on American soil.

I thought the concept for this book was interesting, and I could appreciate the historical tie-ins, but I think it fell short of being great. My biggest issue with this book was the villain. “The Director” is portrayed as a cruel man who easily loses his cool and throws violent tantrums. He was incredibly one-dimensional, and was really a caricature of the “racist middle-age white man” that has become so vilified by our culture. Of course, all the prison guards were also white men, because apparently there is no diversity in the National Guard.

The cover art for this book is gorgeous, and that really drew me to the book more than anything. I think it appropriately captures the essence of the story and I imagine it has drawn in a lot of other readers as well. I think that this book will really appeal to teens and it would be a great discussion book for teachers to assign when studying World War II and the Japanese-American internment camps because it offers a fresh setting that they may better relate to.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Young Adult

How to Build a Heart

May 15, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustme1 Comment

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Title: How to Build a Heart

Author: Maria Padian

Page Count: 352

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: January 28, 2020 by Algonquin Young Readers

Format: eBook

Review: There are so many things about this book that I love. It is a very thoughtfully written book and it feels very authentic. I have very little in common with the main character, but I could totally relate to her. There was a lot about her that reminded me of myself at her age.

I recently reviewed another book that had very similar themes to this one; a biracial girl navigating grief and struggling to define herself. I personally felt that this book did a much better job of tackling these topics and I was honestly disappointed when it ended. This is not to say I wasn’t happy with the ending, I just wanted to follow her life longer! I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Young Adult

I’m Not Dying With You Tonight

May 8, 2019May 8, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustme1 Comment

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Title: I’m Not Dying With You Tonight

Author: Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

Page Count: 272

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: October 1, 2019 by Sourcebooks Fire

Format: eBook

Review: I was eager to read this book because the two authors have done something that Kym and I have talked about at great length, and that is co-authoring a book from two different character perspectives. It worked well for this story, and I thought it was appropriate that the two characters were written with very distinct voices.

This book isn’t very long, so it was a quick read. In fact, the whole story takes place over the course of a single night. The conflict is established quickly, and the “action” is pretty consistent throughout the story. I was never bored and I would say this is a pretty timely novel considering our current political climate.

My biggest criticism is that I had hoped for a stronger character arc with both characters, so when the end came, my first thought was, that’s it? After undergoing such a traumatic experience, I had expected there to be more discussion of the aftermath and what it meant for each of the characters. I really think this story would have a greater impact on readers if this aspect was more thoroughly explored.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Romance · Young Adult

The Distance Between Us

May 3, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: The Distance Between Us

Author: Kasie West

Performer: Jorjeana Marie

Length: 6 hr, 42 min, 13 sec

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2014 by Tantor

Format: eAudiobook

Review: This is a classic tale of opposites attract. Caymen is poor, and Xander is rich, so what could they possibly have in common??? Is it possible that Caymen is unfairly judging Xander because of his nice clothes and fancy cars?? Read the book and find out! Sarcasm aside though (sarcasm is a theme in the novel by the way), this was a wholesome romance that follows a tried and true formula. I really enjoy books like this when my life gets stressful because it does not take a lot of brainpower to follow the storyline and the outcome is predictable. Sometimes you just want a feel good romance, and for me this did the trick.

I personally thought that the reader of this book sounded a bit too old for the character, but she did a good job and had a pleasant and consistent tone.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Young Adult

Six Goodbyes We Never Said

May 2, 2019May 31, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: Six Goodbyes We Never Said

Author: Candace Ganger

Page Count: 416

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: September 24, 2019 by Wednesday Books

Format: eBook

Review: Loved the cover, loved the title, even loved a couple of the characters *cough Dew and Violet cough cough*, but did not love this book. The writing felt very disjointed to me, I did not care for one of the main characters (Naima), and the ending just didn’t carry the weight that I thought it should given the subject matter. There was a lot about this book that confused me, and I am not sure that I liked the way that mental illness is portrayed. I got the impression that Naima is supposed to be this prickly and guarded, yet lovable individual, but for the most part, I thought she was cruel and hurtful and incredibly selfish. I tried to like her, I really did, it just didn’t happen. Maybe this book will really resonate with someone, but that someone wasn’t me.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Young Adult

The Belles

April 26, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustme1 Comment

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Title: The Belles

Author: Dhonielle Clayton

Performer: Rosie Jones

Length: 13 hr, 2 min, 45 sec

Series: The Belles, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2018 by Blackstone Audio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: This book knocked my socks off. I have been eyeing it for some time due to the beautiful cover art, but kept passing it over in favor of other fantasy novels. That was my mistake, because this book blew me away with it’s originality and spectacular character development. Camellia is not by any means a perfect heroine, and this makes her all the more relatable. The antagonist of the story made my skin crawl, and was a total psychopath. This made for a very interesting story chock full of political intrigue, manipulation, and mystery.

What I find truly fascinating about this book, and what really sets it apart in my mind, is the author’s commentary on beauty through the story. Beauty standards are fickle and ever changing in today’s world, and it is no different here. All over the world people are obsessed with achieving impossible standards of beauty, and are never satisfied because beauty is perceived differently by everyone. This is reflected in the world Clayton has created, where physical appearance can be changed in a matter of minutes, but at great personal and financial cost. People are constantly changing their appearance to match changing beauty trends and endure a great deal of physical pain to make it happen. The parallels this draws to real life make this a wholly believable story despite its fantastical elements.

I deducted a half star from my rating because there were a couple things that I did not feel were fully explained, but these minor plot hiccups may very well be ironed out in the second book in the series. I have already requested it from the library and look forward to listening to it.

The performer for this story was perfection. She easily ranks as one of my top favorite readers after listening to this performance. I can’t wait to hear her in other works.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Romance · Young Adult

We Set the Dark on Fire

April 13, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: We Set the Dark on Fire

Author: Tehlor Kay Mejia

Page Count: 384

Series: We Set the Dark on Fire, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: February 26, 2019 by Katherine Tegen Books

Format: Hardcover

Review: I enjoyed this book and I can see a lot of potential in this series. This book was mainly setting the stage and the characters for the overarching storyline, so it doesn’t feel like a lot happens, but it is clear that there is a lot more action yet to come.

This book draws a lot of interesting parallels with current events, and I thought that the mythology aspect was very expertly woven into the threads of the story. The author did an excellent job establishing the conflict, and I am excited to see where the story goes from here. Also worthy of note is that all the characters are Latinx and there is an LGBT romance that is central to the story.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Memoir · Non-fiction · Young Adult

Shout

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

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Title: Shout

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Page Count: 304

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 12, 2019 by Penguin Young Readers Group

Format: Hardcover

Review: Laurie Halse Anderson has been a powerhouse in the realm of Young Adult Fiction, so it was interesting to learn a little bit more about her through this poetry memoir. I like the format in verse because I think it will make the book seem less daunting to reluctant readers. I was able to breeze through it in a couple hours, and despite it’s brevity, there is still a lot to unpack.

I think this is an important book because it reveals the gap in education regarding consent, and really just sex in general. Because sex is still such a taboo topic, society is failing to educate youth about their own bodies and the importance of respecting others.

One of the most tragic aspects of sexual abuse/assault is that the victims often do not fully understand what has happened/is happening to them. They push down their shame and internalize their trauma, which often manifests itself in destructive ways. Because of this, it is so important that we talk through these issues with our youth, and let them know that it is ok to speak out if someone is doing something that doesn’t feel right.

I personally think this should be required reading in middle schools, because it is important to start this conversation early. It is not graphic, but it absolutely gets it’s point across, which I think makes it appropriate for both middle school and high school students.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: