If ever a story was designed to be read amidst a worldwide pandemic and lockdown, it would be Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale. Without mentioning the pandemic at all, it manages to perfectly capture the feeling of being cut off from the world and in need of an escape – a feeling…
Nothing will make you relate to the heroine of Girl, Serpent, Thorn more than months of life lived during an unceasing quarantine. Soraya, too, is forever stuck in her own palace on the pain of death – and the deaths of those around her. But the tale Bashardoust weaves for the reader is enchanting and…
Stellar prose, a fascinating hero and a deep dive into contemporary issues make The Voting Booth an intriguing young adult read. Political enthusiast Marva Sheridan has been looking forward to this election day – the first one she can vote in – almost her whole life. She gets up extra early and is the first…
Imagine you could jump into your favorite book world and hang out with your number one book boyfriend. That’s what happens to Edie in Emily McKay’s creative Storybound. It’s a fun premise, nicely executed and will appeal to fans of YA Fantasy. Edie Keller has moved nine times in the past six years for her…
Race the Sands is a sweet, mythical tale of friendship and family which celebrates the joy of finding your place – and your people – in the world. In the kingdom of Becar how you conduct yourself in this life determines who – or what – you come back as in your next. The worthy…
There are plenty of books about teens discovering that they have supernatural powers, and even a strong subset of those involving gods and demon-slayers. What Genie Lo brings to the table to make The Epic Crush of Genie Lo stand out from the crowd is the infusion of Chinese and Chinese-American elements, stellar prose, and…
The problem with Suzanne Park’s The Perfect Escape is that it’s two different books weirdly glued together. The first half is a rich girl-poor boy YA across-the-tracks story which I was really starting to get into, when WHAM! The rich girl and the poor boy are suddenly in a Hunger Games-style survivalist zombie competition. There’s…
Classic literature takes center stage in Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, the story of one girl’s search for the woman who inspired several of Lord Byron’s epic poems. Khayyam Macquet believes she has just tanked her university career – and in typical teenage hyperbole can’t help wondering if that means she has tanked her…
This title was originally self-published in 2012. Intisar Khanani’s Thorn is a beautiful fairytale for young adults (but may honestly be read by people of all ages) about an outspoken princess touched by magic who must remake her life as a goose girl when a sorceress swaps her body with that of a servant. Alyrra,…
Mayra Cuevas’ Salty, Bitter, Sweet is a sharply etched and unforgettable tale of an expat American teenager trying to find her way in France. It’s a beautifully done life study that knows what it’s talking about when it speaks of food, family and love alike, with a heroine who’s unforgettable. Isabella Field’s life revolves around…
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