It’s hard to grade a book that tries to be several things and has very different outcomes in each. The romance isn’t great. The world building is interesting. Most characters are well-developed. The ethical questions are salient. Ultimately, I think, Landry Park tells us more about ourselves than it does about its own world. About…
I love superheroes. Always have. And one thing I have loved about the last couple of decades is the collection of absolutely amazing movies that have come out in the superhero genre. All the X-Men films, the amazing Batman movies and of course the Toby Maguire Spiderman films. Relatively few books have cashed in on…
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert There are some books I just know I’m going to love. I read the synopsis, and something clicks in my brain. Such was the case when I stumbled upon Amy Harmon’s A Different Blue. Meet Blue Echohawk. Well, that’s what’s she’s been called since she was around the age of two….
Recently I pulled up to a three-way stop at the same time as another driver. Feeling generous I waved to her to go ahead of me and followed her sedately down the road. Minutes later a car that missed their stop sign plowed in to her. She was fine, the other driver was fine but…
Lighthearted and cheerful, Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me To You stars an awkward high schooler named Sawako Kuronuma whose resemblance to a creepy horror movie character has derailed her social career. (It’s hard to make friends when rumor states that eye contact with you can curse a person with diarrhea). But golden boy Shota Kazehaya’s…
On the front and back covers of Red Rising, the book is compared to The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game and Game of Thrones. Any fan of those novels will easily recognize elements of each in this story. They will also see aspects of Divergent and bits of the Percy Jackson novels. So the story is…
This book was a hard one for me to grade. The story – a Beauty and the Beast retelling – held so much potential, and I stayed up late to finish it, which always means something positive. But a convoluted mythology, a weak insta-love-triangle and a multiple-personality heroine left me frustrated for what could have…
The apocalypse is upon us and the world’s only hope is sixteen-year-old Lorelei McAlister. Can a sweet teenager from Arizona stop the doom that awaits us? The conclusion to the Darklight answers this question and the ending may surprise you. Due to events in prior books, Lorelei has changed her name and relocated to a…
If I had a penny for every time a book series boasted about being designed for fans of Downton Abbey I would be a rich reader. Or at least a moderately well off one. At Somerton is a series which actually succeeds at being that rare breed, a book that actually reads a lot like…
I love stories about aliens. I have ever since childhood when I discovered authors like Andre Norton and Isaac Asimov. While sci-fi novels have been out of style and fantasy and paranormal books have reached ascendancy recent publishing trends have me hoping we are about to see that change. Senior Cara Sweeney hasn’t reached Valedictorian…