Category: young adult

Book Review: The Thrashers, by Julie Soto

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: The Thrashers
Author: Julie Soto         
Genre: YA, mystery/thriller  
Rating: 4 out of 5

Either you’re in or you’re out.

Welcome to the Thrashers, the elite friend group at New Helvetia High.

They’re everything everyone wants to be.

Jodi Dillon was never meant to be one of them. Julian, Lucy, Paige, and the infamous Zack Thrasher are rich, sophisticated, and love attention. Jodi feels out of place, but Zack’s her childhood best friend, so she’s in.

Then Emily Mills, who desperately wanted to be a Thrasher, dies—and the whispers about the Thrashers begin. As Emily’s journal surfaces, detectives close in, and Jodi faces an impossible choice: betray her friends or protect herself.

But as eerie messages and strange occurrences escalate, it becomes clear—Emily isn’t done with them yet.

Zack wasn’t my favorite, but I actually enjoyed all the other characters. Even surly Julian grew on me pretty quickly. The seemingly supernatural bits of this were more or less believable—or were they mere coincidence—and there were some interesting dynamics at play in the friend group. Man, the people at this high school were the worst. Four out of five of the Thrashers seemed to learn from their experiences—but I’m not sure Zack did, which was too bad. This was a solid YA read that I really enjoyed.

Julie Soto is from California. The Thrashers is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: It’s You Every Time, by Charlene Thomas  

Image belongs to Scholastic.

Title: It’s You Every Time   
Author: Charlene Thomas     
Genre: YA    
Rating: 4.5  

In a twist of fate, Sydney Michaels bumps into cute boy stranger Marcus Burke in the heart of midtown NYC during an impromptu trip to Dunkin’. But what had initially been an effort to soften the blow of failing her impending pre-calc exam, turns into a day-long, unforgettable adventure—when Marcus asks her to have breakfast with him instead. In just a few hours, Sydney’s already starting to fall, and there’s just something about Marcus that makes it feel like she’s known him forever.

As the night comes to an end, Sydney can’t believe that after all the loss she’s faced in the past two years, “the good part” is finally here and this perfect day gets to be hers—until an accident at the end of the night, quite literally, leaves her stuck in it.

This did not end like I expected it to—but that isn’t a bad thing. I loved how Sydney and Marcus both learn and grow during their time loop. They truly become themselves, and that was fun to watch amidst their missteps and wobbles. I like both of these characters equally and wanted things to work out for them, so it was fun to watch everything unfold—over and over again.

Charlene Thomas is also a marketer. It’s You Every Time is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Night Swimming, by Aaron Starmer 

Image belongs to Penguin Workshop.

Title: Night Swimming
Author: Aaron Starmer         
Genre: YA   
Rating: 3 out of 5

It was just one swim… How could they know it would never end?

It’s the summer of 1994 and Trevor can barely wrap his mind around the fact that he and his friends have graduated high school. The future is a murky thing, filled with a college experience he feels neutral about at best, endless mixtape relistens, and the growing realization that his crush on the enigmatic Sarah isn’t going anywhere.

That is, until Sarah approaches him with a mission: they’re going to swim in all the pools in the neighborhood. Soon, their quest leads to them sneaking into backyard pools every night and continuing to get closer. But not close enough for Trevor, who yearns for Sarah despite her college boyfriend, despite her “not yet”s, despite the way she keeps pulling away the moment things feel real.

So when they learn about a natural pool hidden deep in the woods, it starts off as just another spot to check off their summer bucket list. But once they get there, they soon realize the natural pool has a curious hold on them, and something very strange is happening…

Okay, I’m not going to lie: this book seemed really pointless. The pacing was slow, and I felt like nothing happened. Nothing. The only reason I even finished it was because it was a quick read. The characters felt hazy and indistinct. There was basically no action. And I didn’t feel like the characters grew or changed.

Aaron Starmer was born in Northern California. Night Swimming is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin Workshop in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Boys with Sharp Teeth, by Jenni Howell

Image belongs to Macmillan’s Children’s.

Title: Boys with Sharp Teeth  
Author: Jenni Howell         
Genre: YA   
Rating: 3 out of 5

Seventeen-year-old Marin James has spent her entire life living in the shadow of the exclusive Huntsworth Academy. And when her cousin’s dead body is found in a creek on school property, Marin knows exactly who’s to blame: Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, the enigmatic yet dangerously alluring leaders of the school’s social elite.

Swapping her ripped jeans for a crisp prep school skirt, Marin infiltrates Huntsworth to seek justice. But her quest is quickly muddied by a confusing attraction to her new life, and to the two dysfunctional and depraved boys who somehow understand her better than anyone ever has.

When Marin uncovers an otherworldly secret the boys are hiding within Huntsworth’s ivied gates, the lines between right and wrong, love and hate, and nightmare and reality begin to crumble — and nothing is as it seems.

Welcome to Huntsworth Academy.

It requires a rather large suspension of belief to accept that Marin was able to get herself into Huntsworth Academy so easily—and that absolutely no one from her old life (right down the street) bothered to look for her. I liked Baz a lot, but she, Henry, and Adrian seem like they’re the only people who even go to this school. And the entire novel happens within the space of a few weeks, but felt like it was spread out over months, so that didn’t really line up. The writing was excellent and I loved the feel of this book, but it just didn’t make sense to me.

Jenni Howell was a middle school teacher. Boys with Sharp Teeth is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan Children’s in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: All the Stars Align, by Gretchen Schreiber

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: All the Stars Align  
Author: Gretchen Schreiber          
Genre: YA  
Rating: 4 out of 5

All the women in Piper’s family know their true love at first sight, complete with butterflies, heart eyes, and a gut instinct. The kind of fated love that lasts forever. Piper grew up with her ancestors’ epic love stories repeated like fairy tales, and yearns for the day she’ll start her own. Already singled out in her family due to her physical disability, Piper collects a second strike against her when her parents announce their divorce, which convinces her family that she’s doomed.

When she finally finds her true love at a party, she’s more determined than ever to attain her love story and earn a spot in her family. But after completely botching their first meeting, she realizes that she’ll need help from her best friend Leo, who is sort of a love expert. The catch—he and Piper haven’t talked in six months, since he needed a “break” from their friendship.

To win over the love of her life and a place in her family, Piper must convince Leo to teach her his ways. And it’s all going as planned…until Leo confesses his own love for Piper. Now, she must decide which fate to follow.

I thought this was a cute read. Did it hold anything unexpected? Nope. But it was still a cute read. I liked Piper and her friends a lot—and her parents, for that matter. Her aunts kind of made me want to smack them several times, and their incessant meddling and “predictions” were annoying. I kind of wished the epilogue had been ten years in the future so I could see how everything played out, but this was a quick, fun read.

Gretchen Schreiber lives in Los Angeles. All the Stars Align is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Holy Terrors, by Margaret Owen

Image belongs to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

Title: Holy Terrors
Author: Margaret Owen
Genre: Fantasy, YA   
Rating: 5 out of 5

It’s been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire—and no matter what, she works alone.

But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja’s signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire’s seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks, or risk the collapse of reality itself… even though it puts every house in the killer’s sights.

Vanja tells herself she’s wading into the royalty’s vicious games only to save the name she made, and the loved ones also in jeopardy. But the Order of Prefects has also put their sharpest official on the case, the one who swore he’d always find Vanja—until she broke his heart. Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad may no longer be the boy Vanja knew, but they’ll have to work together one last time to have any chance of surviving the deadly catastrophe coming for them all.

With bloody conspiracy, sinister magic, and old adversaries closing in, it will take everything Vanja has to save not just the people she loves, but the future she’s fought for.

I really loved this! Vanja’s voice, her wry sarcasm, is just so on point it had me laughing all through the book. She’s a great character: she can see her flaws, but she just goes ahead anyway—and somehow it works out for the best (mostly). Emeric is so uptight it makes me laugh—and Vanja’s descriptions of him are even funnier. Junior and the sausages probably made me laugh the most.

As far as the murder mystery…I never had a clue what was going on, who was going to die next, or who the murderer was—much less how Vanja was going to figure out the whole mess. I enjoyed all of this book immensely!

Margaret Owen has a degree in Japanese. Holy Terrors is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Deathly Grimm, by Kathryn Purdie

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: The Deathly Grimm   
Author: Kathryn Purdie        
Genre: YA, Fantasy   
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

The story hasn’t ended yet.

After surviving the Forest Grimm and defeating the Wolf, Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, the one place they can be safe behind the forest’s borders. But when the forest itself begins luring in more villagers, it’s clear that Clara and Axel have only treated the symptoms of the forest’s curse, not the cause—and it’s getting worse.

Burdened with visions of the past and learning to navigate her fragile new relationship with Axel, Clara finds herself entering the forest with Axel yet again to discover the truth once and for all: the identity of the murderer who caused the curse. As they fight murderous woodsmen with incomprehensible riddles, ladies who will drag you into an eternal dance, and ghosts with the power to wield the forest against them, Clara and Axel realize the stakes are higher than ever. If they don’t survive the dark, deadly twists of the forest once more, not only will they never escape, they may also no longer have a home to escape to.

I enjoyed this second book in The Forest Grimm duology. It was good seeing more of these familiar characters, and the quaint village they call home. I like the creepy fairy tale characters, too. The answer to who the murderer really was didn’t really come as a surprise to me, but I still enjoyed the story a lot and read the whole thing in one day.

Kathryn Purdie is a bestselling author. The Deathly Grimm is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: While We’re Young, by K. L. Walther

Image belongs to Random House/Delacorte

Title: While We’re Young
Author: K. L. Walther      
Genre: YA    
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Grace, Isa, and Everett used to be an inseparable trio before their love lives became a tangled mess. For starters, Grace is secretly in love with Everett, who used to go out with Isa before breaking her heart in the infamous Freshman Year Fracture. And, oh yeah, no one knows that Isa has been hanging out with James, Grace’s brother—and if Grace finds out, it could ruin their friendship.

With graduation fast approaching, Grace decides an unsanctioned senior skip day in Philadelphia might be just what they need to fix things. All she has to do is convince Isa to help her kidnap Everett and outmaneuver James, who’s certain his sister is up to something.

In an epic day that includes racing up the famous Rocky steps, taste-testing Philly’s finest cheesesteaks, and even crashing a wedding, their secrets are bound to collide. But can their hearts withstand the wreckage?

This was a cute, fun book. Grace and Isa were both a lot of fun and I enjoyed their viewpoints a lot. The adventures in Philadelphia were fun and I enjoyed reading those parts a lot. I liked James and Everett and enjoyed their viewpoints, but I liked the girls better. This was a cute—and quick—read, perfect for a weekend binge.

K. L. Walther is from Pennsylvania. While We’re Young is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/Delacorte in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  All Better Now, by Neal Shusterman

Image belongs to Simon and Schuster.


Title:   All Better Now
Author:  Neal Shusterman
Genre:   YA    
Rating: 4 out of 5

An unprecedented condition is on the rise. It behaves like a virus, with the first symptom being a fever, but those who contract it experience long-term effects no one has ever seen utter contentment. Soon after infection, people find the stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings that used to weigh them down are gone.

Almost everyone revels in this mass unburdening. But people in power—who depend on malcontents tuning into their broadcasts, prey on the insecure to sell their products, and convince people they need more, new, faster, better everything—know this new state of being is bad for business. Soon, campaigns start up convincing people that being happy all the time is dangerous. There’s even a vaccine developed to rid people of their inner peace and get them back to normal because, surely, without anger or jealousy as motivators, productivity will grind to a halt and the world will be thrown into chaos.

It’s nearly impossible to determine the truth when everyone with a platform is pushing their own agendas, and two teens from very different backgrounds who’ve had their lives upended in different ways by the virus find themselves enmeshed in the center of a dangerous power play. Can they reveal the truth?

I found this to be an unsettling read. Not just the whole pandemic thing, but the people fighting so hard against people trying to help other people, people being positive, and against people just being content. That doesn’t say anything good about us as human beings, does it? This was an entertaining enough read, and the little vignettes of different people in the short chapters reminded me a bit of The Stand, which I always enjoyed.

Neal Shusterman is a bestselling author. All Better Now is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Capitana, by Cassandra James

Image belongs to HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books.

Title:  Capitana  
Author:  Cassandra James       
Genre: YA        
Rating:  4 out of 5

Ximena Reale has spent most of her life training at La Academia to join the Cazadores, seafaring hunters who track down pirates. But her future is uncertain, thanks to her parents’ questionable reputation. They were traitorous pirates, and though they were executed when Ximena and her sister were young, they permanently damaged the Reale name in the eyes of the Luzan Empire.

Ability alone won’t make Ximena a Cazadoro—or earn her the coveted Cazadoro cloak. So, when the legendary pirate Gasparilla returns and captures the Empire’s queen, Ximena offers to bring back the queen and the notorious pirate in exchange for a cloak. But there’s a catch: Only one cloak is available, and Ximena’s competition is Dante, an infuriating yet handsome classmate with mysterious motives.

With their futures on the line, Ximena and Dante set out on a dangerous quest across the high seas. But no matter how far Ximena sails, her family’s legacy haunts her, and her exposure to a world outside of la academia leads her to question the very laws she’s always fought to uphold. Is it possible she’s been on the wrong side all along?

I have mixed feelings about Ximena. She is so single/narrow-minded about pirates, the Law, and the Empire that she refuses to see anything that doesn’t agree with her worldview—to an extent that’s a little ridiculous. I like her determination, but her willing blindness, not so much. Despite this being billed as historical fiction, women seem to have full rights and opportunities, and they hold positions of power, so that’s a positive. I’d like to know more about the Empire and its oppression of people, as the generalities given in the story were a bit vague, but on the whole, I enjoyed this read. I couldn’t buy the Dante/love angle, though, because that came out of absolutely nowhere.

Cassandra James lives in Florida. Capitana is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books in exchange for an honest review.)