My Life Next Door is a romance book about a girl named Samantha who is explicitly told by her mother not to associate herself with the Garrett’s, a family with a great number of children next door. Despite the warnings, Sam falls in love with one of the Garrett boys, Jase, and he ends up being an essential part of her life when things get wild with her mother’s political career. I really enjoyed this book, and it had an involved storyline with many twists and turns. The one reason I wouldn’t give it 5 stars is because the characters weren’t very relatable (at least for me), but it’s definitely worth a read! I would recommend it for teen girls looking for a good love story about kids their own age. It is also the first book in a series, so if you enjoy it there’s more where it came from!
After having recovered all three pieces of a map leading to legendary treasure, Alosa and her crew are leading a fleet and bringing the pirates that kept her captive to justice. But when her previous captor, Vordan, reveals a secret, Alosa and her crew find themselves in a deadly race against her father, the feared Pirate King. Calling upon her siren sisters of the sea, and her loyal pirates above on land, Alosa promises to end the tyranny of her father and become the Pirate Queen. Without a doubt, she knows that she will take her father down...she is, after all, the daughter of the Siren Queen.
This sequel to Daughter of the Pirate King didn't disappoint! It's very refreshing reading about a female pirate with a female crew that the best on the sea. Alosa is iconic for her wit, selflessness, and fierceness when defending her crew and those she loves. Her blooming relationship with Riden is neither too fast or too slow, and I liked how Alosa grew as a person more after meeting him. In the end, Alosa gets to keep both parts of herself--her siren side and her human nature--and it's the perfect ending to a new beginning.
After unknowingly betraying her new homeland of Ithicana to her father, Lara has been thrown into exile by Aren, the king of Ithicana, and her husband. When she hears that Aren has been captured and imprisoned by her father, Lara knows that she has to get him back. Both because Ithicana is doomed to fall without Aren in command, and because she needs his forgiveness, even if that means he won't take her back. Rallying her sisters together, Lara sets out to free Aren and ultimately kill her tyrannical father. She will die a hundred times over if it means protecting Ithicana and Aren.
I was so excited to read this sequel to The Bridge Kingdom, and it didn't disappoint! I was hooked from the very beginning and kept on edge with every page. I especially enjoyed the development of Lara and Aren's relationship, and the important lesson it taught about forgiveness and focusing on the future rather than the past. Although the third and final book of the trilogy shifts away from Lara and Aren, I'm still very excited to read it!
This book is cute. We follow Natasha, a science and fact-based person, trying to do everything she can to prevent her family from being deported. And Daniel, a creative, hopeless romantic, is doing everything he can to please his parents by going to a Yale alumni interview. While on their own ways, their paths intersect. Daniel becomes determined to prove to Natasha that love is more than chemicals and is a real thing. While Natasha is determined to not fall in love with Daniel and stop her family from being deported.
As said before, this book is cute and explores what life is and what it can be. It does have a form of insta love, but it works with the setup and plot and is well used. I loved Natasha, she was relatable because of her fact-based ways. Then, Daniel was the kind of person that people are drawn to, funny, creative, and peotic. This book explores how much one person can affect so many other people's lives. It shows so many people besides the main character, and we learn so much about them. It is such a hopeful book and it's sp refreshing. Natasha and Daniel's relationship is rushed especially in the beginning. The social and racial aspects of this book are amazing, it was so well explained. There was history so that you could deeply understand why it was the way it was. This book makes you ponder about life, the universe, and fate. The chapters are so short that is it an easy and quick read. Overall it's a cute book that makes you think about life.
City of Bones follows Clary Fray as she discovers a dangerous world that has been hidden in plain sight from her. Clary's mother gets violently kidnapped, and not to mention that she saw something that only she could see at the teen club Pandemonium, three strange teen warriors that were supposedly dispatching a demon when she saw them. Clary gets swooped up into their world with many questions; why is her mother gone, why can she see them, and most of all, what is the truth? She discovers a world with demons, warlocks, vampires, faeries, werewolves, and of course, the glorious(ish) shadowhunters that are all fighting invisible fights, especially with the rumor that an old shadowhunter enemy is rising up again. Come along on the ride with Clary as she brings her friend Simon along on the journey for answers and learns much more than she bargained for.
City of Bones has good world-building and is an excellent gateway into the Shadow world. It is definitely not the best book by Cassandra Clare but it was her first and an entrance to an entire universe. The book has many twists and not all are huge but they are there and bring you back into the book. It can seem like it was dragging on and like not much was happening but the twists bring your attention back in. The relationships between characters were well written and Magnus Bane needs no discussion (amazing character, would die for him). The action scenes are there and plentiful, they can get cluttered but let's be honest has anyone read a perfect action scene, they are hard to write. The action scene can cause you to lose focus and it can feel a little repetitive with the setting and what happens with the character but like I said there are twists that bring your focus back in. Overall it's a good book but not the best but still a vital read for understanding the Shadow world/ chronicles. This book is a worthwhile read and a great entrance to Cassandra Clare's work.
Aurora Rising is a gripping and exciting action/science-fiction/fantasy novel by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Starring a misfit group of cadets on a quest to help a stowaway from a different time, Aurora Rising provides action, lovable characters, and an exciting mystery element unraveling throughout.
Being the first book in a trilogy, some elements of the series aren't fleshed out to their fullest, but this is fixed in both of the next entries in the series. Some characters; especially the "Brain" of the crew, Zila; are left without much of a personality beyond one or two basic traits. The use of certain futuristic slang can be a detractor for some readers as well.
These drawbacks are more than made up for the wealth of strong relationships and a driving plot throughout. The main characters all have strong motivations and complement each others strengths and weaknesses. The plot moves forward through setpieces both large and small, providing each new world a chance to shine in its own way.
Overall, Aurora Rising is a must-read for young adult fans of science-fiction and/or fantasy and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas is such a heart felt novel. This is the 5th book in A Court of Thrones and Roses series. Yet, this book strays away from Feyre as the main character and we follow her sister, Nesta. Nesta shows us that even in the darkest of times, you always have to fight to find that light. That hope is possible, and everybody is worthy of love, even when you don’t deem it. This book is one that will stick with you and possibly change your outlook on life. I highly recommend this book for anybody that loves romance, adventure, and wants to completely forget about life.
Grade 11
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is a fantasy novel about Grisha people with magical powers called the small science. It follows Alina Starkov and her childhood friend Mal as they make their way through this world, just trying to survive. The novel is well thought through. The plot makes sense and is complex enough to keep interested in the book. The characters are complex with their backstories, making them more relatable. The author does a great job illustrating the world and the magic system. Overall I would rate the book with a four out of five stars.
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo is the second book in the Grisha trilogy. The book follows Alina and Mal as they are hunted across the world by their past and people who want Alina’s power. They may try to escape this responsibility, but Alina can’t outrun her fate forever. The plot has many twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing. Although most characters have engaging and refreshing personalities, I found the main character, Alina, annoying. Her personality didn’t change much, and she became whiny. Even with the annoying main character, the plot was engaging and complex, which made up for it. Overall, I would rate the book with three out of five stars because the main character was hard to relate to.
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo is the final book in the Grisha trilogy. After the capital of Ravka falls, Alina is in hiding. She desperately tries to find the third amplifier as it is the only way to reclaim the capital. Alina makes new alliances, keeps the old, and puts aside her differences for her goal, finding the firebird and reclaiming Ravka. The final book is suspenseful and unravels all the secrets of the past two books. The characters' backstories fall into place, and all the clues throughout the book lead you to discover a horrific secret. It is a beautiful end to the Grisha trilogy and satisfied me with the series. Overall, I would rate this book with a five out of five stars—what a fantastic end to the series.
Alosa is the daughter of the infamous Pirate King. She's also half-siren, a secret she wants desperately to be kept hidden. After staging her kidnap by a rivalry pirate crew, Alosa is tasked with finding a map that will lead her father to a legendary island full of treasures untold. It should be easy: she's one of the best pirates on the sea, and being half-siren has its perks. But cleverly and annoyingly attractive first mate Riden makes her task much more difficult, and for the first time in her life, she has something to fight for...or rather someone.
My favorite part of the entire book was Alosa herself. She's smart, witty, and defies the odds given that she's a female pirate (and the only woman on the ship for most of the novel). Her budding relationship with Riden is amusing, and it's the typical enemies to lovers trope. The novel was full of some nice surprises, and I'm anticipating what's going to happen in the sequel!
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is about two young magicians who have been trained since childhood to engage in a duel against each other. However, the two said magicians, Celia and Marco, although being raised to fight each other, both fall into an unexpected love.
I have to admit, the plot sounds pretty promising. However, when I read this novel I found that it was incredibly difficult for me to actually push through and finish it.
The writing is beautiful, but I think it was too beautiful in a way. Everything was written in a very flowery way, in which the whole story was made up of very gorgeous-sounding lines, but nothing really past that. To put it straight, there was no substance in the plot. The majority of the novel was just long pretty sentences describing what was happening, but not exactly drawing us into what the sentences were trying to describe. It was like the author was telling us about everything and how everything looked to the eye, but I felt no spark. It was all descriptions and no action. I didn't feel or read any emotional lines or even felt much of a fondness towards the two protagonists. Celia and Marco kind of just seemed like two mannequins placed in the story for show, but there wasn't really anything that built up their characters to make them seem real or three-dimensional. The characters were all flat, and I couldn't see myself rooting for them, or really caring about anything they did.
Overall, while Morgenstern has a beautifully poetic way with words, I didn't see myself being pulled into the plot she was attempting to conceive.
Reviewer Grade: 11
”Why do we smile? Why do we laugh? Why do we feel alone? Why are we sad and confused? Why do we read poetry? Why do we cry when we see a painting? Why is there a riot in the heart when we love? Why do we feel shame? What is that thing in the pit of your stomach called desire?”
A quote from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Saenz has truly mastered the art of poetic prose. This novel is filled with countless more beautiful lines, and I have to say that this story exceeded my expectations.
Aristotle (Ari) is a Mexican-American boy who lives with his PTSD racked Father and loving Mother. Dante is the opposite of Ari. Instead of being a "traditionally" boyish boy, Dante enjoys art and poetry. Dante is emotional and sensitive, while Ari tends to deflect the same feelings.
I really enjoyed this book for countless reasons.
For one, the POC main characters and LGBT romance. I consider diversity to be an important factor in novels, and the author of this story did a good job of illustrating these topics.
Secondly, I liked the pacing of this story. It was pretty relaxed and slow. Reading this story felt mellow and personal, like we were just watching Ari and Dante discover themselves and each other, all in the slow hum of everyday life.
Last, the realism of this novel was something I appreciated. We saw Ari and Dante act like the teenagers they are, and tackle common everyday problems most teenagers face. I liked how nothing was overly dramatized, and while that may seem "boring," I thought this calm, slow, and realistic take on a typical Coming of Age novel was very enjoyable.
Overall, although Aristotle and Dante don't follow much of a plot, I enjoyed watching the novel unfold at its own pace.
Reviewer Grade: 11
Two fraternal twins named Megumu and Mitsuru Kobayashi decide to swap places for a week (Mitsuru is bad at studies and Megumu is good at them). Megumu otherwise known as Mego is a shy sweet girl who loves the feudal ages. Mitsuru meanwhile is a tough boy who goes to an all boy school full of delinquents. Mego gets saved by and accidentally kisses the top delinquent of Mitsuru's school; Aoi Sanada. When she next meets him in the guise of her brother, he luckily does not recognize her, and she finds out that he has a severe phobia of girls... which does not currently apply to her as she is dressed like a boy and he does not know she is female. Mego is somewhat saddened by this because she has a crush on him, but decides she is happy with just being around him. Aoi meanwhile starts to develop feelings for Mego, and is very confused by this, because Mego is currently his best friend... so he thinks he has homosexual feelings for his best friend. Mitsuru meanwhile has encountered Aoi's half sister Shino Takenaka and has fallen in love with her but she doesnt know he is male or that he has any feelings for her beyond best friends. The School bully Azusa Tokugawa meanwhile has found out that he is a boy and is in love with him, but he thinks she hates him. Aoi also finds out that Mego is a girl and she switches back with her brother thinking that he hates her. Aoi however really does love her and goes looking for her. Altogether a very good if confusing read.
In this final book to the Rebel of the Sands trilogy, seventeen-year-old Amani is the leader of a rebellion to overthrow the Sultan. With all her friends captured and imprisoned, she's forced to step into the role of the temporary leader of the Rebellion and find a way to rescue her friends and put an end to the Sultan's tyranny. Tired, scared, and doubtful, Amani tries to keep together what's left of the rebellion without dying, when it seems like death is all that is around her.
This book was amazing! It kept me on the edge of my seat with every chapter. Reading it was a turbulent rollercoaster of laughter, crying, hope, dread, and everything emotion in between. The writing of the book itself was beautiful, and I loved that it was a combination of magic, action, romance, and was full of diverse characters. I wish there was more to the series to read!
Beach Read by Emily Henry is a feel good book that will leave you rooting for January and Augustus. These two famous authors have nothing in common except that they are neighbors. One night, they make deal. Augustus will write something happy with the help of January’s expertise in romance and January will interview surviving members of a cult to write the next Great American novel. Whoever writes the bestselling book wins. Nothing else will happen, right? Beach Read reveals how being opposite in every way could quite possibly be the best thing. I highly recommend this book to anybody who needs a feel good book.
A sequel to Rebel of the Sands, Amani continues her fight for the Rebellion after being captured and sent to the palace. Thrust into the center of the regime, she's determined to bring the tyrant down. Acting as a spy, she tries to uncover the Sultan's secrets, but the longer she stays, the harder it becomes to forget that Jin's disappeared, and the more she questions whether the Sultan is really the villain she'd been told he is and who the real traitor is to her beloved homeland.
I like this series because it's action-packed, has elements of fantasy, and romance. Each chapter never disappoints, and I felt like I was being sucked into the heart of the Rebellion just from reading about it. Amani quick-witted passionate personality makes her an admirable character, and her closest friends have stories that make it really hard not to love them too. I can't wait to read the last book!
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry tells a story everybody can relate to: what to do when a friendship becomes something more. Alex and Poppy have been best friends since college and as a tradition, go on a spectacular one week vacation every summer. Until two years ago, when everything collapsed and neither have spoken to each other since. Now, Poppy hopes to rekindle this friendship by convincing Alex to go on a final vacation. Will this week long vacation be enough to fix the past or was this “friendship” never meant to be? People We Meet on Vacation will have you rooting for Poppy and Alex as they maneuver through love, life, and lies. I highly recommend this book to anybody who craves unpredictability.
Reviewer Grade: 11
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a historical fiction novel that you won’t be able to put down. Amateur journalist, Monique Grant, is requested to do a private interview with one of the most mysterious Old Hollywood stars, Evelyn Hugo. We follow Evelyn as she retells her elegant and scandalous life as a movie icon. But why does Evelyn want to do an interview now and why did she choose an unknown journalist, Monique Grant? The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo will lead you through the twists and turns of Old Hollywood life and how a single mistake can change a persons life in an instant. I highly recommend this book to anybody that wants a captivating book that will leave you guessing until the very end.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune is a must read, feel good book unlike any other. We follow Linus in his journey to make sure Marasyas Island Orphanage abides by the rules for housing magical youth. Although he is on an highly classified assignment for his job, Linus starts to blossom into his true potential and sees the world for what it could be. Yet, Linus faces a hard decision, do what’s right for the children or what society wants him to do. The House in the Cerulean Sea will leave you feeling refreshed and wanting more. I would highly recommend this book to anybody who is in a reading slump or needs a pick me up.