Category: Teen/YA Fiction Review

REVIEW: Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace

REVIEW: Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Swoon Reads in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Once the semester is over, Edie is off for Paris. She’s planning to stay for first semester next year, too. She’s studying fashion. Paris is where she NEEDS to be. She also needs to pass FR102, not only for the grade but also to function in Paris for the next several months. The problem is her auditory processing disorder (APD or CAPD). Problematic enough with English in the “right” circumstances – crowded, loud places with lots of distractions, etc. Even worse in a foreign language.

Enter Hudson, the TA in Edie’s FR102 class. When her professor refuses to let her record his classes as an accommodation, Hudson volunteers to tutor her.

After a few false starts, they begin to work together. And things start to heat up between them. But Edie is only focused on passing the class and getting to Paris. She already broke off one relationship rather than take the chance of it distracting her from her goals. She will NOT be giving into these feelings for Hudson, either. Paris…. Paris…. Paris….

Review

I was hooked from the start when Edie was explaining her CAPD to her advisor – who did NOT get it. By the time we meet adorable Hudson, and the relationship between them starts to warm, I didn’t want to put the book down.

The chemistry between Edie and Hudson is delightful. Even in all of Edie’s resistance, you can feel them being drawn together. The other characters are mostly there to move Edie and Hudson forward or round out some of the story. The focus, though, is on this relationship. I liked that this YA story is about college students instead of high school students. It made for a nice change of pace for me.

There’s not a lot else to the plot. This is 80% will-they-or-won’t-they give into their feelings and commit to seeing where the relationship goes. The French class, the roommates and friends, and the CAPD swirl around the couple, but they are not the focus.

My only complaint is the abruptness of the ending. It wasn’t so much “I want more” but “Wait, that’s it?” It felt like a momentary scene rather than a definitive statement on where things were going from there. I guess readers will get to decide for themselves how things wrap up in the end.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills

REVIEW: Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Sophie is the president of the Marching Pride of Acadia Student Fundraising Committee. And this year they will be trying to raise funds to go to the Rose Parade. Sophie’s idea is to track down Acadia’s most famous resident, country singer Megan Pleasant and have her sing at a benefit concert. On Megan’s first album she sang all about how much she loved Acadia. But now that her third album is out, Megan has moved on to singing that she’s “never going back.”

As Sophie cajoles her friends into helping her track down Megan, their group also starts making space for August. Sophie babysits for August’s brother and his wife every week. But she didn’t know August existed before he arrived at the start of the summer. Apparently his brother and sister-in-law didn’t know he existed either.

Sophie and August fall into a comfortable banter, but he’s hiding things. No matter what chemistry there may be tween them, he seems determined to keep her at arm’s length. But maybe the search for Megan Pleasant will change all that.

Review

I am a sucker for a book with witty banter and laugh-out-loud moments. So Famous in a Small Town was a perfect fit for me as a reader. I’m sure my family was getting tired of my sudden barks of laughter (and they were worried when I started choking rather than do a spit take at one line). I couldn’t help it. I got such a kick out of these characters!

While the story is billed as one centered around the search for Megan Pleasant, for me it’s really about the six teens in this friend group. While they are – to varying degrees – trying to help Sophie with her fundraising idea, there’s a TON going on between the characters. And I loved all of it.

There were some great surprises in the story and some heart-tugging moments to balance out the laughter. The whole package was terrific. I loved every moment of this story. I would enjoy even more stories with this group of teens. They were a treat! I highly recommend this for fans of funny contemporary YA with great characters. (Language, drinking, innuendo, LGBTQ)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Kingdom Cold by Brittni Chenelle

REVIEW: Kingdom Cold by Brittni Chenelle

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Princess Charlotte of Besmium is horrified that her parents have arranged her marriage already. She’s only 16. But the armies of Drethen have been pressing in. A marriage alliance with Vires, with their vast armies, would help strengthen Besmium.

When Prince Young and his older brother Prince Minseo arrive, Charlotte catches the eye of a prince. Unfortunately it isn’t Young, her betrothed, but Minseo. Young knows it might take some time for warm feelings to grow between them, but he is committed to this match. Before they have a chance to see how things might go between them, though, the armies of Drethen are sending cannonballs at the castle walls.

Before long, Charlotte and Young are on the run, there are rumors that Charlotte’s father the king has been killed, and Minseo is missing.

Review

Wow! This was a twisty one! I didn’t go looking for this book; it was offered to me. And my luck with such books has been mixed, so I always approach them with some trepidation. It didn’t take long for me to leave that skepticism behind, though, on this one, and I was pulled into the story.

This book runs on two levels. First there’s the romantic level. Charlotte and Minseo have sparks, but Young is the intended groom. When Minseo goes missing, Charlotte and Young get to spend more time together. But they are still strangers. They don’t know how to “read” one another very well. And in the world of princes and princesses, there are always new alliances that can be made between various kingdoms, and this adds some extra twists to this level of the story.

The second layer, which is strongly connected to the first, is the political. Besmium is a kingdom at war before the story even begins. Alliances are made and broken. Spies sneak and lie. Assassins and would-be assassins lurk. The cycle of security and danger, then security and more danger, runs right to the last page. I was captivated by the whole thing.

I enjoyed the political maneuvering more so than the romantic twists. Charlotte and Young’s “other options” never appealed to me in a way that would make a love triangle truly angsty for me as the reader. I had my clear preferences from the start, and in some ways I resented how the other characters tried to mess with my preferences!

I loved watching Charlotte and Young grow as individuals through the course of the story. They were young, but they represented their kingdoms and families well when it mattered. Clever reveals in the end made this a satisfying read. Don’t miss this one!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Way to the Stars (Star Trek Discovery) by Una McCormack

REVIEW: The Way to the Stars (Star Trek Discovery) by Una McCormack

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

On the eve of her start in the Command Training Program, Tilly shares her personal story with her Discovery roommate Michael Burnham.

When Sylvia Tilly was 16, she lived with her maternal grandmother in Paris and went to school every day in New York. Her parents were divorced. Her dad was on a starship, The Dorothy Garrod, and her mom was a bigwig with the Federation Security Council. Frankly, her mom was a force to be reckoned with. She often left Sylvia feeling small and trapped – like she felt when her mom announced she was sending her to a boarding school on Talaris IV. Sylvia’s mom was determined to give her daughter every opportunity to develop the skills she would need to join the diplomatic corps. She didn’t see Sylvia’s love of math and science as anything to cultivate when there were languages to learn and political scenarios to understand.

The ups and downs of boarding school life set Sylvia/”Tilly” on a path she never could have imagined when she first stepped foot onto Talaris IV.

Review

This book’s intended audience is adults, but Tilly’s story is so solidly in the YA range, too, that I wanted to review it as a YA coming-of-age tale.

Tilly is my favorite character on the show Star Trek Discovery. So when I saw she was getting a book, it immediately went on my “must read” list. And now that I’ve read it, it’s on my “must buy list.” This was outstanding! A perfect-fit book for me.

The Star Trek pieces were comfortable and familiar, as was the general story of a teen seeking her identity while under the thumb of a controlling parent. And I loved all those pieces. But Tilly really made this story for me. She’s wicked smart and funny. She’s also endearing and awkward. I wanted to rescue her from her mother’s controlling ways. But it was so much more satisfying to watch her rescue herself. Her journey wasn’t flawless, but it was delightful! I am a sucker for a book with a kid or a teen who finds his/her place/gift/identity and then thrives in it. And this was that sort of story.

The Star Trek Discovery connections are minimal, mostly just the prologue and epilogue which anchor the character to the TV series. But if you know that Michael Burnham is a woman, and she’s Tilly’s roommate on the ship – older, with more life and Star Fleet experience, maybe a reluctant mentor – you probably have everything you need to know to enjoy the book.

I highly recommend this book. In fact, after typing up this review, I want to go read it again! (Some language, minor consumption of alcohol)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton

REVIEW: Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Blink in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Andie’s family moves to Punxsutawney, PA the summer before her senior year. And Andie spends her summer break at the movie theater. At first it’s because she’s a huge movie fanatic. But then she meets Colton there. And she manages to return each time he’s at work so she can spend more time with him.

Andie’s first day of school finds her asleep on her mom’s new stunningly pink couch in a pink polka dotted dress, while the theme music from Pretty in Pink plays from the DVD she was watching when she fell asleep. Colton is supposed to be picking her up. This is her chance to make some more inroads with him. But she’s running so late she has to wear the awful polka dotted dress to school. And that’s only the FIRST disaster of the day. Nothing goes the way Andie hopes, least of all her plans for connecting more with Colton.

When Andie wakes up for the second day of school, everything is the same. Pink couch. Polka dotted dress. Pretty in Pink. What is going on?! Once she warms up to the idea of getting a do over for her awful first day, Andie’s feeling optimistic. But as the do overs stretch out over weeks and weeks, Andie wonders just what she has to do to break out of this time loop.

Review

This was delightful! The voice is fantastic. I loved Andie. And there are so many laugh-out-loud moments. The movie references are also a lot of fun. This was a treat to read – from start to finish. Yes, there were awkward moments as Andie tries to find the “perfect” day. But they weren’t any more painful than any other teen rom-com. And the awesome moments – for Andie and for a lot of the other terrific characters – made it all worthwhile.

I loved the Groundhog Day story line. There are several references to the movie itself as well as some other more subtle nods that I enjoyed. But the story was really an original, even with the other movie tie ins.

I’ve read a few books from this publisher, Blink, before, but this is my favorite of the bunch. I could hand this book to any tween or teen – from upper elementary/middle school students to college students – without reservation. The characters are three-dimensional and fascinating – and so fun! The story is engaging. This hits all the right notes for me. I would have loved another couple chapters to see how things play out for Andie and her friends. Highly recommend!!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

REVIEW: Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Twins, Ellery and Ezra, are living in Echo Ridge, Vermont, while their mother is in rehab. While it was their mother’s home town, and their grandmother still lives there, the twins had never been there before.

Twenty-three years earlier, their mother Sadie’s twin sister, Sarah, had gone missing. She was never heard from again, and Sadie left town as soon as she could to try to escape the memories and grief.

Echo Ridge has a tough reputation for dead and missing girls. Five years before Ellery and Ezra arrived, another high school girl, Lacey, was found dead at the local amusement park. While no one was ever arrested, Lacey’s boyfriend was the prime suspect. Declan also left Echo Ridge, but for him it was to avoid the whispers and suspicious looks everywhere he went.

Ellery is a true crime fanatic. While she’s in Echo Ridge, she’d love to piece together what happened to Lacey and whatever happened with her Aunt Sarah. But before she can really get settled in her new home, Ellery and two other girls are targeted by a vandal whose actions indicate that another girl could suffer a similar fate as Lacey and Sarah.

Review

This was a terrific, twisty mystery! I loved the author’s first book, One of Us is Lying. This is just as good – clever, and meticulously plotted. There are several mysteries spanning the entire book – not just the two girls from the past and the current threats. Add to the actual cases Ellery’s many theories of what could have happened, and it feels like there’s a new wrinkle to consider every couple pages. I loved it! I never wanted to set the book down for very long because I had to find out what happened.

The main characters are Ellery, Ezra, Mia and Malcolm. They’re a great core group. Mia and Malcolm have the Echo Ridge background that Ellery and Ezra don’t, and they both have connections to Lacey who died 5 years before. Those connections layer really well on top of the deaths and disappearances.

I am writing this about an hour or so after I finished the book, and the solution keeps rolling around in my head. I can’t shake it. And I had the same reaction to the ending of One of Us Is Lying. Karen McManus is now a must-read author for me. If you love a good, twisty mystery, check this one out!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey

REVIEW: Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Imogene Chively knew her father had invited Ernest Steeple and his brother Ben for a visit. Mr. Chively was eager to set Imogene and Ernest together, and Imogene was willing to give the match a try. But she wasn’t at all prepared for their next meeting to occur right after her dog, Jasper, jumped off a high crumbling wall as Ben dove to save the reckless canine. And almost immediately after that, Jasper was trapped in a dreadful, life threatening situation. Once again, Ben to the rescue! It was good fortune to have him around.

As Imogene and Ernest tested the waters of a possible match, and Imogene’s best friend Emily spent time with Ben, it soon became clear that Ben was in trouble. Either he was the unluckiest man alive, or someone had it out for him!

It’s hard enough to entertain a new suitor and wait for feelings to warm. But it’s doubly hard when his brother’s frequent peril leads Imogene and Ben to spend more time together than they probably should. Her feelings are starting to warm, but maybe for the wrong brother.

Review

I picked this up because I so enjoyed another book by this author, Duels and Deception. This one was a little slow for my taste. Historical fiction is a stretch for me as a reader in the first place. I gravitate more to fantasy and science fiction instead. Readers who enjoy historical fiction (this takes place in 1817) and the customs and intricacies of the times might have a stronger connection to this than I did. The mystery element – who was targeting Ben and why – propelled me to keep reading until the end.  I was thrilled to discover I was right about the mystery elements in the end.

I enjoyed the characters in this, although I didn’t really have a favorite. The four main characters were good, and by the end I had a great appreciation for Emily and her family.

The author works hard to cover the relationship pieces of the story with the four main characters while also spacing out the mystery sections. Early on the spacing lent to questions of whether the incidents were bad luck or deliberate. Then she also filled in details about the supporting cast, a thread about art, and some architecture and travels for the characters. For me, this moved the story slowly along where I tend to prefer a faster pace. Readers who enjoy the time period or a slower pace in their reading material may be a better audience for this than I was.

Rating: ♥♥♥½

 

REVIEW: Phantom Wheel by Tracy Deebs

REVIEW: Phantom Wheel by Tracy Deebs

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Six teens are invited to LA to compete for a scholarship through a CIA college program. All of them are excellent hackers. And the CIA has a special task for each of them as their “audition.”

Except nothing about this program is what it appears to be. Soon the kids find themselves trying to figure out who they can trust – even among the six of them. Car chases and flying bullets weren’t what they were expecting either. While their hacking skills are top notch, and several of them have immense family resources, it may not be enough to get them out of the dangerous situation they find themselves in.

Review

I feel like there’s so much going on in this story, I can’t give a full summary for fear that it will give something away. And this was TOO fun to spoil for another reader. I loved this! I’m not a techy person, but there were only a few spots where the tech was over my head, but that was never an issue for my enjoyment of the book.

The characters are terrific. I loved watching them move from strangers to teammates to friends. Their interplay was so fun! The individual backstories were fascinating, too. I would love for this to kick off a series. When the book ended, I wanted to know what happened next for these characters.

The story was a treat! The pacing was excellent. The tension builds throughout the whole book, and the finale was perfectly satisfying. I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know if the kids were going to solve the problems they were fighting – and if they were all going to survive.

There are a few swear words and some innuendo and teasing between the characters. But otherwise I feel like I could hand this to any teen who wants a story that is full of action, some humor, and lots of technology and hacking. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Even If I Fall by Abigail Johnson

REVIEW: Even If I Fall by Abigail Johnson

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

It was raining, and he was walking. His truck seemed broken down at the side of the road. Brooke could have ignored it. There was too much history there. It would probably be easier if she kept driving. But she stopped and offered Heath a ride.

Cal, Heath’s older brother was dead. Jason, Brooke’s older brother, was in prison for Cal’s murder. When Jason was arrested, Brooke was absolutely convinced of his innocence. But when Jason confessed, every aspect of her life crumbled. Her mom lost her job and had become almost manic in her efforts to keep the family together. Brooke’s dad withdrew into his work, and her younger sister became a shadow of her former self. Brooke’s boyfriend at the time sold her out to the tabloids. They had to leave their church. Everyone treats them as if the whole family is guilty.

And Heath actually has an idea of what that’s all like. While his family gets pity where Brooke’s gets suspicion, they, too, are living every day with the fall out of whatever happened that night between Jason and Cal. And while both Brooke and Heath know no one would understand how they could even look at each other much less be friends, there’s something between them they just can’t let go.

Review

This was stunning. This is an emotionally messy, complicated story. And it’s told remarkably well. I loved Brooke and Heath. The ups and downs in their relationship are completely believable, but there’s also tremendous chemistry between them. The emotional fall out for Brooke’s family is raw and painful. How do you balance the love you have for your family with the guilt and shame from the crime? Each family member takes a role – and Brooke’s is that of the caretaker. She can only let her guard down with Heath, and even that is dangerous. The emotional complexity of this is excellent.

There’s a suspense element to this, too, as Brooke tries to figure out what really happened the night of the murder. This part of the book was also especially well done. And all the pieces of the story were tied up in a satisfying way without a perfect – and unbelievable – happily ever after.

Other than the dark subject matter with the murder, this is a “clean” book for teens. No language or other mature content other than the emotional complexity of the story and the murder case. I highly recommend this one for teens who want to dig into a rich story with great characters in complicated scenarios.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst

REVIEW: Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley  and Crown Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Sky is a wyvern – as are her brothers and her parents. Wyverns are were-dragons – humans who can shape shift into dragons. Although modern wyverns have lost the ability to shift, they can still breath fire. And they are crazy about gold!

On the night someone tried to steal her mother’s 24-karat gold piano, Sky was supposed to be at the movies, drowning her sorrows in buttered popcorn. Her mother had disappeared while on some sort of job, and Sky’s boyfriend, Ryan, and the entire wyvern community had shunned Sky’s family. But Sky wasn’t feeling up to a movie and burning the mementos of her broken relationship, so she went home early. And stumbled into a heist in her own home.

Then, she ruined the heist (yay!) only to later discover it was her brothers, trying to prove to their father that they were up to the task of a major heist (oops!). But all of that made Sky realize how tired she was of trying to live as though her mother’s disappearance was no big deal. So when she finds out what her mom was trying to do, Sky puts together a crew for a heist of her own.

Review

I loved every bit of this! It was the perfect book for me – a smart and sassy protagonist, a fantasy world, and a heist/mystery. I read it in one sitting and as soon as I finished, I ordered my own copy of the book. This was fantastic!

I loved the “voice” of this from the first page. It begs to be read out loud (as my family discovered because I kept reading passages to them). And Sky is a huge part of that voice/tone. She’s smart and funny – sarcastically honest. But she was only the first character I fell in love with. Gabriela and Sky’s brothers and “Worm”  were some of my other favorites – so many great personalities in this one!!

The fantasy world for this really worked well for me. It feels 75% normal with 25% dragons. And I love dragon books. The heist was fairly simple. Once Sky and her crew had it planned, they just had to execute it several times flawlessly for things to work. The issues in the story had little to do with the planning and more to do with self-confidence and determination during execution. Well, that and traps.

Another great selling point for this book is it is “clean” teen. I can recommend this to any kid who enjoys fantasy without having to worry about mature content. And I adore finding terrific stories for teens that will appeal to all audiences. I highly recommend this one!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥