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In: Action & Adventure, Action & Adventure (YA), Middle Grade Reviews, Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense (YA), Romance (YA), Sci Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy (YA), Supernatural & Horror, Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater has created something wonderful, enchanting, thrilling, and unique in her latest, The Scorpio Races.  It’s hard to say what I like most about this book – its breathtaking scenery and visceral sense of place; the pulse-pounding thrill of the wild horses racing on the beach; the lovingly crafted, superbly detailed characters (human and horse); the fact that it’s a unique blend of romance, action, coming of age, and fantasy that feels so different from most everything else out on the YA market right now; or maybe, simply, the powerful honesty of a book well written, carefully edited, and lovinglyRead More →

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Dandi Daley Mackall’s latest book for young adults, The Silence of Murder, takes the reader along on a slowly unraveling mystery about a beloved coach, murdered in cold blood; a mute, autistic teen, on trial for the crime; and a strong-willed young woman, determined to prove her older brother isn’t a killer.  Sixteen year old Hope is her 18 year old brother Jeremy’s protector, the only person who truly understands him and appreciates his unique way of being in the world.  Since  Jeremy stopped speaking at the age of 9, Hope has made it her mission in life to be the bridge between reserved, autistic, creative Jeremy andRead More →

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In: On the Edge, Realistic Fiction (YA), Romance (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin deliver a hilarious, heartfelt concoction in Notes From the Blender.  I can’t count how many times I laughed out loud, smirked with understanding, and cringed with embarrassment throughout this book.    16 year old Declan (named after Elivs Costello, thank you very much) loves death metal, violent video games, and Neilly Foster.  He’s an outsider for sure, cloaking himself in black clothes, combat boots and an attitude that lets people know to keep their distance.  He’s learned to live with the pain and grief he’s carried since his mom was killed in a car accident when he was 9.  He and his dadRead More →

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Can you ever really know someone? Is it possible to understand every side of another person? Do you even really know all the parts of yourself? Evan doesn’t know anymore. He thought he knew his best friend and soul mate, Ariel, but now that’s she’s gone, ripped from his life, he questions if he ever really knew her.  There’s the gaping hole her absence has left and it’s filling up with questions, worries, and desperate loneliness.  All the things he thought he understood about her, about their friendship, and about who he was because of her, have been turned upside down and he’s reeling inRead More →

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I am in love with this book. Gorgeously detailed, complexly plotted, riveting, sensuous, mysterious and smoldering – and I could go on and on.  Laini Taylor’s 2009 National Book Award finalist Lips Touch, was well-crafted, consuming, and oh-so-delicious, making me very eager to immerse myself in her latest, Daughter of Smoke & Bone.   And I was not disappointed.  Taylor draws her characters with the grace of a painter, flushing them out with shadow and light, giving vivid detail to even the minor ones so that its easy to visualize, empathize, and fall in love with them.  The settings – Prague, Paris, Morocco, and Elsewhere – are luminous with detail and beguiling inRead More →

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In a world where everyone looks like everyone else, no one questions the status quo, technology and all consumer goods are being recycled since there’s nothing new anymore, and the government controls every aspect of its citizens’ lives, there’s virtually no room left for personal expression, uniqueness, or individual freedoms.  Basically, this is the formula for just about every dystopia in recent memory: The Handmaid’s Tale,  The Giver,  1984,  The City of Ember, Maze Runner, Birthmarked,  The Forest of Hands and Teeth,  Matched,  The Hunger Games,  Grace, and the list goes on and on…  The newest entry into this genre is Sara Grant’s Dark Parties, Read More →

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In: Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction (YA), Middle Grade Reviews, Romance (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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Drew’s a bit of a loner. She has a pet rat, her dead dad’s Book of Lists, an encyclopedic knowledge of cheese from working at her mom’s cheese shop, and a crush on Nick, the surf bum who works behind the counter. It’s the summer before eighth grade and Drew’s days seem like business as usual, until one night after closing time, when she meets a strange boy in the alley named Emmett Crane. Who he is, why he’s there, where the cut on his cheek came from, and his bottomless knowledge of rats are all mysteries Drew will untangle as they are drawn closerRead More →

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Bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater did it again with Forever, the continuing story of Grace and Sam’s love for each other and the sequel to Shiver and Linger.  In Forever, Grace and Sam continue to face hardship and obstacles to their love and Cole and Isabel are also still trying to sort out their feelings for each other.  In this final book of the series, Cole tries to find a cure to stop being a wolf, which causes him to make a big mistake by contacting a friend.  As for Grace, she is still trying to control herself by controlling her wolf.  There’s still a lotRead More →

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In: Action & Adventure (YA), Romance (YA), Sci-Fi & Fantasy (YA), This is interesting, Young Adult Book Reviews
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Tris & Izzie, a love story by the bestselling author Mette Ivie Harrison, is about a girl named Izzie who accidentally falls in love with this guy named Tris, a new student at school.  Izzie  has a boyfriend but her best friend doesn’t and Izzie worries that her friend feels like a third wheel sometimes.  So Izzie gets it in her head that she should fix her friend up with Tris.   Her plan to get Tris and her best friend to fall in love is by making a love potion.  But, as you can imagine, the plan backfires and Izzie falls in love withRead More →