All posts in Young Adult

Pumpkinheads

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Pumpkinheads cover

I recently read Pumpkinheads, a graphic novel by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks. To be honest, I initially didn’t have interest in reading this book. I don’t really care for the title and I don’t read too many graphic novels. However, I’m really glad that I read it because it is cute and funny. It’s definitely worth five stars.

Josiah and Deja have worked at the pumpkin patch together for the past few years. Now they’re seniors in high school, and it’s their last night working together. They’re a little sad about it. Josiah is additionally sad because there’s a girl that works here that he has a crush on. The only thing is, he hasn’t been able to work up the nerve to talk to her for the past three years. Deja is about to make him change that.

The two spend the evening tracking down the girl of his dreams. Hilarity ensues, because this girl is not easy to find. Eventually, he does find her, but I won’t say what happens.

Pumpkinheads is appropriate for YA readers of all ages. Older middle grade readers might enjoy it also. I loved the two main characters. They have such a sweet friendship. The pumpkin patch setting is really cute too. There’s a map in the front of the book where you can follow their journey as they look for Josiah’s dream girl.

I loved the illustrations. I haven’t read a lot of graphic novels yet, but I enjoyed Faith Erin Hick’s style and would be interested in reading more books illustrated by her.

Pumpkinheads is the perfect October read if you’re looking for something that makes you think of Halloween but isn’t scary. I borrowed this book from the library, and there was a waiting list for this book. Happily, I got to borrow it before the Thanksgiving and Christmas season is upon us. I often read books several weeks (or more) before I get around to posting my review, but I wanted to make sure that I shared this excellent graphic novel with you while it’s still the season to read it. This is a quick read that I highly recommend. I’m passing it along to my boy to read before it’s due back at the library.

Across a Broken Shore

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Across a Broken Shore cover

If you like historical novels set in the 20th century, I highly recommend Across a Broken Shore. I recently had the opportunity to read it (thank you to Netgalley and North Star Editions for the Advanced Reader Copy) and I thought it was fantastic.

Willa is an 18 year old girl in an Irish Catholic family in 1937. She has four older brothers, but since she’s the only girl, her parents expect her to become a nun (it’s tradition). The only problem is, she’s drawn to medicine instead. Her life changes after she meets a female doctor and she’s invited to become her medial assistant.

I love the setting in this book, which occurs in San Francisco during the Great Depression. Workers are building the Golden Gate Bridge; even then, men are clamoring to work there (even though the job is dangerous). Poverty is rampant; some people aren’t getting enough to eat. Although Willa’s family owns a tavern, she faces her own hardships. People don’t take women in medicine seriously. Parents feel like they can direct their children’s lives.

Willa is a great main character. She is torn between her family’s expectations and her own desires. On top of that, she feels guilt over an event that happened when she was twelve. She’s selfless and heedless of danger. Over the course of Across a Broken Shore, Willa learns to stand up for herself. She gains courage. I won’t tell you what her ultimate decision is, but for a while, I didn’t know which path she would take.

There is a little romance in this book. This is the 1930s, and Willa expects to go into a convent, so the book stays family-friendly. Across a Broken Shore is a YA book, although younger YA readers might not find the subject matter to be all that interesting.

Across a Broken Shore comes out on November 5th, but you can pre-order it now. If you enjoy books set in the Great Depression, books dealing with families and the pressures that they can put on you, or books about young ladies learning how to stand up for themselves in the world, this might be the book for you. I thought it was great.

War Girls

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War Girls cover

I recently read War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi. An advanced reader copy was provided to me by Bookish First and Razorbill in exchange for an honest review (thank you!). Bookish first has a great program for getting physical ARCs. If you join and use referral code 56cf541090ca608b4 then you’ll help me get free books (and start earning free books for yourself too). Anyway, I liked this book, although the beginning was a little difficult for me.

Onyii and Ify are girls living in 2172 in Biafra, which is located in Africa near Nigeria. They are part of a group of girls hiding out from the Nigerians in a country that’s at war. Most of these girls have seen combat before, and Onyii has already lost her arm. When their camp is discovered, their lives are changed forever. Onyii and Ify, who were like sisters at the beginning of the book, spend the next several years apart.

What I Really Liked

War Girls is a compelling story. It’s actually inspired by an actual war that happened in Nigeria in the 1960s, which makes it even more interesting. I liked the characters of Onyii and Ify, and thought what happened to them was pretty tragic. They’re pretty strong characters, which draws me to them. The setting is unique, and it gives us a glimpse into the future which I hope won’t come to pass (although it’s unlikely that even the youngest of us will live to see it). The ending of the book was especially good, and makes me want to read the sequel when it comes out.

What I Liked Less

Familiarity tends to make a book easier to read. This is why I really enjoy books where I have things in common with the characters, whether it’s music, computers, or even snippets of a language I’m learning. Unique settings are cool too, but when things are too unfamiliar, it can be difficult getting into the book. The first couple of chapters of Carve the Mark were difficult for me the first time I read it because their society was so different (although with the vocabulary used).

I don’t know much about the Nigerian civil war. When the characters started throwing around terms like Biafra, Fulani, Igbo, and oyinbo, I get a little lost. I’m actually still not sure about all of these terms. While I’m trying to learn these new terms, there are a lot of characters I need to meet. It was a little overwhelming. Once everything became more familiar to me, the book picked up speed, but there was a little bit of a learning curve to this book.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a book with badass girls in a unique setting (just look at the cover!), then you might want to pick up a copy of War Girls. However, because the setting is truly unique (unless you know a lot about Nigeria and/or it’s history) it may take a while to really get into the book. War Girls will be released on October 15th, but you can pre-order it at Amazon.com now.

Rebel: The Legend Finale

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Rebel cover

At 10 PM my time, the stunning conclusion to Marie Lu’s Legend tetralogy, Rebel, came out. I stayed up all night to read it, and I wasn’t disappointed.

This review contains spoilers for the rest of the series.

When we last left Day and June, it was July 11, 2142. It had been ten years since Daniel (going by Day at the time) had nearly died and woke up with amnesia. After ten years living in Ross City, Antarctica, Eden was interviewing for an internship back in the Republic. At a train station, Daniel “met” June for the second time.

Rebel starts a month later. Daniel and June hadn’t talked much since that night, but June and the elector were going to visit Ross City. Despite their years apart and the amnesia thing, deep down, Daniel never stopped loving June. But are they too different now?

Eden

Rebel begins with Eden. I just want to give him a hug. He’s been living in his brother’s shadow his whole life. He’s hella smart, and shares the Wing boys’ compassion for the little guy. Even though Antarctica’s gamified level system is supposed to create a meritocracy, the way it’s implemented is unfair. Eden is bothered by this and is drawn to the dark side. Is he going down the path to self-destruction? Can his brother save him, or will their relationship be irreparably harmed? There’s some really great brother moments in this story.

Worldbuilding

I loved the worldbuilding in Rebel and how this book ties into the other books in the Luniverse. The Antarctican level system was obviously built on programming developed by Hideo Tanaka for the Warcross game. The book subtly mentions this game that once took the world by storm. The characters return to Los Angeles, which beautifully illustrates what the world might be like if it was recovering from a backwards dictatorship.

Daniel + June

If you read Champion (which you probably should before reading Rebel) then you’ve probably wondered whether Day and June really get back together.

So what happens? Daniel has never forgotten about her. There are some really cute moments in this book. Daniel, who has probably never had an awkward moment with a girl in his life, doesn’t know how to react around his former love. It’s absolutely adorable. They still have feelings for each other, but has too much changed? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Conclusion

If you didn’t pre-order this book (and have already read the other three books in this series) then run to your nearest bookseller and buy it. I’m definitely going to read this book again sometime after my hardcover edition has arrived. Rebel has the satisfying finale that we’ve all been waiting for. I loved it.  How much did I love it?  It’s a contender for my favorite book this year.  I stayed up past 7 AM to read it.  To quote page 376, after reading this book, “the final puzzle piece of my heart has fallen into place.”

Allegedly – Not What I Expected

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Allegedly Cover

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson was not quite what I expected. It was a twisty ride with high stakes, moral ambiguity and a (perhaps) unreliable narrator. I recently read it and thought it was great.

Mary is sixteen years old, but she’s already a criminal in the eyes of the justice system. At age 9, she killed a baby. Allegedly. If the baby hadn’t been white, and she hadn’t been black, her story probably would have turned out differently.

We don’t find out the entirety of what happened until the very end, but we are slowly given details about the night baby Alyssa died as the story unfolds. Mary is neither the demon that the press makes her out to be, nor is she the perfect saint she thinks she is. And her upbringing, prior to baby Alyssa’s death, was certainly lacking, to say the least.

Allegedly is a great story and Mary makes an interesting narrator. In addition to being an engaging story, it raises questions about the criminal justice system in general. How do the courts treat people of color compared to white people? What about when people age out of the foster care system? What about the way teens in group homes are treated? The story has several levels of depth.

The ending… well. I wasn’t expecting that. I can’t really say much about it without giving away spoilers, but it certainly made me think.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. It’s not a feel-good beach read or a happily ever after, but if you’re in the mood for something a little dark, then perhaps you’ll want to check out this book. The main character is both sympathetic and a little disturbed at the same time, the supporting characters are mostly disturbed, but it’s a book you won’t want to put down.

Shadow Frost

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Shadow Frost cover

I recently finished reading Shadow Frost by Coco Ma. Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with an Advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. It was really good… for a book that was written when the author was fifteen years old. While I enjoyed it overall, it wasn’t on the same level as a lot of my favorite books are.

The concept of this book is great. Asterin is a princess with a bit of fiestiness to her. When it’s discovered that a demon is running rampant through the kingdom, she volunteers to go, along with her best friend and four other guards. While out there, they discover that someone is trying to kill them. Asterin is a fairly powerful magic user and excellent swordswoman.

The biggest problem I had with this book was believability. Yes, I realize this is a fantasy book, so obviously you have to suspend reality on a bunch of things, but there are still universal elements we share in the human condition.

When Asterin’s mother, the queen, provides her with guards from another country, Asterin doesn’t seem to be suspicious. At all. I certainly would be. I did a foreign exchange with the Australian Navy once, but I certainly wasn’t guarding the Prime Minister’s daughter. Who lets new guards from a far-away country guard the princess? Furthermore, one of the guards decided to call the princess “brat” almost from the beginning. I think it’s meant to be witty banter, but could you imagine a foreign guard coming to protect Prince William when he was 17 or so and having the guard call him “brat” to his face? I can’t.

The love relationships didn’t seem believable either. The characters seemed to be sending mixed signals to each other. Is there a love triangle developing? Are they jealous of each other? Does she like him? Wait, what, he likes him? The characters that were supposed to be into each other didn’t seem to have a lot of chemistry between each other at the start. I couldn’t believe the depth of love that the characters were supposed to have for each other so quickly either. I’m not an opponent of instalove or insta-infatuation, but I just didn’t feel it here.

In Shadow Frost, a group of adventurers travel to attack the bad guy. It reminded me a bit of the Dragonlance books in that respect (which I loved). The plot had a bit of mystery to it, although I felt the author revealed some things a bit too early. The book had some plot twists, and I wasn’t sure who was who until we were almost at the end.

Overall, Shadow Frost was a solid debut for a teenage author. I didn’t dislike the book, but I’m not going to include it among my favorites either. I’m not sure if I will continue reading this series (so many books, so little time), but I would consider reading more books by Coco Ma in the future.

Who Put This Song On?

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Who Put this Song On cover

Who Put this Song On? is a memoir-type book about a girl who lives with depression at the time Barack Obama was elected president. I have to thank Netgalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy. While overall, I enjoyed this book, there were a few things that I found a little distracting.

The themes in this book had a lot of promise. Depression rep? I have a family member dealing with depression. Music? Hey, the girl on the cover is listening to music! There’s a lot to be excited about with this book.

What I Liked

Who Put This Song On? was well-written. I liked the main character, Morgan, who has been having difficulty with depression. Everybody experiences depression in different ways (my family member’s experience is different than Morgan’s) but Morgan’s experience seems realistic. I would expect that, considering that the author went through it herself.

I like how Morgan’s friends stick by her as she goes through this difficult semester. They seem to have a typical teenage friendship, hanging out in school, talking about their experiences with boys, and passing around a notebook where they all write down their thoughts. Morgan experiences setbacks in life, but that happens.

The community where Morgan lives seems to be full of ignorant people. While they probably aren’t actually as stupid as the author portrays them, since we are seeing them through her eyes, her perspective of them seems realistic. The world she lives in is well-described and thought out.

The book goes a little into racism and the lack of knowledge that a lot of people (of all races) that a lot of people have about the Civil Rights movement and about groups like the Black Panthers. Who Put This Song On? does a good job about making race a part of Morgan’s experience without making the book an issue book. Not that there would have been a problem if it had been an issue book, but that would have detracted from Morgan’s main struggle, which was depression.

What I Didn’t Like

While overall I liked Who Put This Song On?, there were a couple things that I didn’t like. The story doesn’t seem to have an overarching plot. Morgan does one thing, then she does another thing, then she does another thing. The story didn’t seem to have a climax or inciting incident or anything that most stories have. I think I would have liked it better if it didn’t seem like Morgan was always waiting for her life to begin.

The other thing that I didn’t like was the anachronisms in the story. It takes place in the fall of 2008 when Barack Obama gets elected. The high school students make mix CDs and reference a specific Saved By the Bell episode. Who was making mix CDs in 2008? ITunes came out in 2001, and from what I remember, nearly everybody was listening to their music via MP3s at this time. Saved By the Bell ended in 1993; assuming the characters were 17, they would have been two years old when that show ended. There was nothing, other than this reference, to indicate that they were ’90s television aficionados.

While Who Put this Song On? does mention a lot of songs, music didn’t have as much of a role in the book as I thought it would.

Conclusion

Who Put This Song On? was an entertaining book, but I did have a few issues with it (most of them were minor though). It’s a book that deals with the important topics of depression and racism through characters that are realistic and relatable. It’s not going to make the list of my favorite books of the year, however, it’s a book that might be really helpful to some people. If not, it does provide entertainment.

On the Come Up

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On the Come Up cover

On the Come Up is a book by Angie Thomas about a girl that wants to be a rapper and whose prospects are looking good. I recently had the opportunity to read this book on audiobook. I highly recommend this book on audiobook because of the lyrical nature of this book. This book is musically oriented, which was probably one of the things that drew me to it.

Bri is a girl living in a poor neighborhood that is bussed to a school in a nicer part of town. Her mom is having difficulty making ends meet; her brother helps to provide for the family. Her dad was killed several years ago; prior to his death, he was an up-and-coming rapper.

Bri has skills and is compared to her dad all the time. When she gets the opportunity to battle in the ring, everybody else finds out she’s good too. It gives her opportunities which draw her into a world that might be a little too much for her. She has to decide whether to follow her heart… or fame.

There was a lot I liked about this book. One thing I liked was the immersion into the rap world. Bri’s lyrics are pretty good (especially on audiobook). I used to listen to a lot of rap, so all the references to the old-school rappers was pretty enjoyable.

Bri herself is an interesting character. Ms. Thomas makes her well-rounded, with a little bit of a temper but a heart for her family. The world is also populated by a struggling single mom, an aunt with some questionable ties, and friends that provide us with realism and tension. I also enjoyed the setting.

I definitely recommend On the Come Up. It is an issue book that deals with topics like poverty, racism, violence, and being true to yourself when you’re pressured to be someone else, so I’d skip it if you’re looking for something light and fun. If you are looking for something with a little substance, then you might want to pick this up. Especially on audiobook!

The Lady Rogue

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The Lady Rogue cover

Jenn Bennett’s The Lady Rogue is a historical adventure/romance set in the late 1930s. I have to thank Netgalley and Simon Pulse for providing me with an advanced reader copy. I enjoyed the other book I read by Ms. Bennett, Alex, Approximately (link is to my review), and I liked this book as well. This is definitely a different kind of book, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Theodora is a spirited girl who gets into trouble and loves crossword puzzles. Her dad left her in Turkey while he goes and traipses around Romania in search of Count Dracula’s magical ring. When he disappears and Huck, a boy she has a history with, shows up, they have to go on a trip to try to find him and rescue him. All while their funds are dwindling, they’re being chased by bad guys, and people around them are dying.

I loved the characters in this book. This book is set in 1937, so the mindset of people was a little different back then than it is now, but Theodora is adventurous and smart. I really liked her character. She and Huck obviously have a lingering attraction to each other, and their interactions are fun to watch. It’s also fun to find out exactly what happened and watching them work through their conflict. If you like enemies to lover’s books, this has got a little bit of that going on (also a twist on there’s only one bed).

The Lady Rogue has a great setting. Reading the book, you get to experience a little bit of old Turkey, the countryside of Romania, a haunted forest… it’s a lot of fun. The descriptions are great and well done. I enjoyed the historical context to this story as well. It was fun to learn about Dracula and Romania.

If you’re looking for an adventure story with a spirited heroine, evil magic, bad guys, and magical artifacts, then The Lady Rogue might be for you. It has a hint of romance to it (probably less than many of her books), but the other exciting elements of the book make up for it. I highly recommend it. It won’t be released until September 3rd, but you can pre-order it now.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea

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A Very Large Expanse of Sea cover

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi deals with a teenage girl in the year following the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. It is a story that can act as a warning of what can happen when we don’t treat people like… people. I thought it was a good book.

I purchased the special Target edition with bonus chapters, so I’ll comment about that as well.

Shirin is a sophomore in high school who grew up in America, but whose parents had immigrated from Iran. She chose to wear a headscarf, even though it caused trouble for her with her classmates. She also seems to have a huge chip on her shoulder, although she doesn’t realize it. You can’t particularly blame her, not when people give her one glance and assume she’s a terrorist or is weird. When Ocean James, a boy who is assigned as her biology partner, befriends her and later becomes something more, they both develop as people, and eventually, the community starts to come around as well.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea was entertaining. Shirin has a distinctive voice and you have to feel for her. Over time, you also start to see where she’s going wrong (although to be fair, the people around her aren’t saints either). I thought she was well done and realistic.

Themes

A huge theme in this story is how hatred can hurt yourself and the people that you care about. People looked at Shirin and automatically assumed that she hated America, or was a terrorist, or there was something wrong with her. As a result, they hurt their community when they tried to intimidate Ocean in an attempt to get him to break up with her. I guess I can’t say how because I don’t want to give away spoilers.

At the same time, Shirin hurt herself when she defaulted to hate for the people around her. Sure, a lot of the people in the school were jerks. Still, she hurt herself by shutting herself off. She said herself:

I could no longer distinguish people from monsters.

p. 110

It eventually worked itself out, but both she and the community had a lot to learn before they got to that point.

The Romance Aspect

While this is a story about teen romance, it’s really more about other things. Shirin pushes Ocean away for most of the story, even though she likes him. Even though he tells her repeatedly that he doesn’t care what other people think, she worries about how people will react to them being together. There is some kissing, but as the majority of the book is spent with Shirin trying to stay out of a relationship, there’s not too much of it. Still, first love is definitely one of the subplots of the story.

Bonus Chapters

The special edition that I bought came with bonus chapters told about Ocean’s reaction to meeting Shirin. It was interesting to see things from his point of view: his thoughts about his home life, sports, and what he thought of her for the first time. As of this writing, you can still buy it on Target’s web site. I thought the bonus chapters were interesting, but they don’t really provide more information than you already know after reading the book.

Final Thoughts

While I liked the book overall, I did think that the people’s hatred seemed exaggerated for that era. To be fair, I lived in Italy during the time that this story would have taken place, so I wasn’t really in the middle of American life at the time, but it didn’t feel like this from my perspective. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t pockets of places like this school where the people were jerks, I just don’t think it was the norm. At any rate, if people were only mildly bigoted, it wouldn’t have made such an entertaining story.

If you’re interested in a sweet love story between two people of different cultures, where they have to deal with a lot of bigotry, you might want to try A Very Large Expanse of Sea. I thought it was pretty good.