Tag Archives: young adult

January 29, 2014 · 8:47 pm

Touch of Power

Touch of PowerTitle: Touch of Power
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: Although this dragged a bit for me, the writing was practically perfect and the world building was fascinating.

Avry is the last of the healers. After a plague the healers couldn’t cure decimated the Fifteen Territories, all of the healers were hunted down and killed. On the run, Avry is eventually captured by a band of men who, surprisingly, value her healing skills over the bounty for turning her in. Unfortunately, they want her to heal the man Avry blames for the healer’s demise. The decision she has to make is a tough one, since he might also be her land’s best chance at peace. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult

Tagged as , , , , , maria v snyder, touch of power, ,

January 27, 2014 · 9:08 pm

Defy

17406847Title: Defy
Author: Sara B. Larson
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: The author included all the things I love in YA fantasy – gripping action, relatable protagonist, fascinating world-building – but she lost me with the annoying love triangle and pointlessly unhappy ending.

Only by disguising herself as a boy is Alexa safe from a fate worse than death. Fortunately, her impressive fighting skills quickly earn her a place in the elite prince’s guard. In that position, she’ll have to decide where her loyalties lie, with her prince or her kingdom. Her decision will influence the fate of her world. Also, there is a love triangle. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult

Tagged as , , epic, , , love triangle, , ,

December 21, 2013 · 8:06 am

Soundbites About Divergent

17466044Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Narrators: Emma Galvin
Rating (Story): ★★☆☆☆
Rating (Narration):★★★★★

In the world of Divergent, society is divided into five factions, each of which prize a particular virtue (intelligence, bravery, etc.). At age 16, children must choose which faction to belong to and changing factions means leaving all friends and family behind. Tris’s choice to leave the selfless faction for Dauntless is brutally hard and she has a secret to hide which will make things even harder. Continue reading →

12 Comments

Filed under Dystopian, Fiction, Young Adult

Tagged as , , , , , dystopian, ,

November 15, 2013 · 8:20 pm

The Dream Thieves

17347389Title: The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Source: bought at Oblong Books/from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: Amazing! Included everything I love about Maggie’s writing- well-rounded characters; believable relationship development; writing that can be beautiful or hilarious; and an epic ending.

The Dream Thieves is the sequel to The Raven Boys. It continues the story of Blue and the boy who is her true love, but who will die if she kisses him. The focus of the book, however, is on one of the other boys. Ronan is a complete punk at first glance, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Not only can he be nicer than you might expect, he also the ability to dream things into reality. And some very bad people would love to make use of that ability if they find out who he is… Continue reading →

12 Comments

Filed under Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism, Young Adult

Tagged as , , , , , Maggie Stiefvater, , myth, sequels, ,

November 1, 2013 · 6:00 am

Hollow’s End

18478892Title: Hollow’s End
Author: Marianne Morea
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: This book had some of the most believable YA characters I’ve encountered and with a new ending the author wrote, I loved it.

Hollow’s End is inspired by both the legend of Sleepy Hollow and the history of the town where the legend is set. Events from the Revolutionary War  pitted the town’s inhabitants against each other, leaving lingering animosity that leads to paranormal activities as Halloween approaches. Although Rowen is from a family of witches, she’s never wanted to do anything with such things. Unfortunately, her relationships and her powers leave her little choice but to deal with visions sparked by ancestors of the towns current inhabitants… Continue reading →

8 Comments

Filed under Fiction, Gothic, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

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October 24, 2013 · 11:01 pm

Finnikin of the Rock

4932435Title: Finnikin of the Rock
Author: Melina Marchetta
Source: library
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: It has all the elements a great epic fantasy should have without feeling cliched and the characters are impressively well developed.

Ten years ago the entire royal family of Lumatere was slain and the kingdom fell under a curse. Surrounded by an impenetrable magic barrier, half of her people remain trapped inside with an evil king and half wander the land outside as exiles. On the outside, Finnikin and his guardian Sir Topher have struggled to find a home for the Lumateren exiles, but when they meet an exile named Evanjalin who claims the heir to the throne is alive, they have to consider the possibility that they have a hope of returning home. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult

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August 30, 2013 · 7:47 am

The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love

147866Title: The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love
Author: Rosie Rushton
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: Although nothing to write home about, this modernization of Sense and Sensibility was a cute, fun read.

Like the book, this review is going to be a quick, easy read. The plot is almost exactly that of Sense and Sensibility, just a modernized version. My first reaction was disappointment that the author didn’t even try to copy Austen’s beautiful prose or understated humor. Once I got past that, I was better able to enjoy the book for what it was. Elinor and Marianne were both updated very nicely. Like the actions of Austen’s characters, the update wasn’t predictable but just felt right. Of course Elinor would be good at academics! Of course Marianne would act! I was also impressed by the way the update translated events with no modern equivalent. For instance, some of the social constraints on the original characters’ actions have no longer exist, but the author managed to come up with suitable substitutes. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under Fiction, Re-telling, Young Adult

Tagged as , , , contemporary, , , , , , , ,

August 17, 2013 · 9:18 am

Bookends About Awaken

13061500Title: Awaken
Editor: Meg Cabot
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★☆
Series: Abandon|Underworld|Awaken
Review Summary: As usual, Meg Cabot has written a fun, light read about an admirable and unique protagonist.

Earlier in this Persephone/Hades myth based trilogy, John (Hades) and Peirce (Persephone) made a decision that has imbalanced the forces ruling the underworld. Having finally (mostly) worked out their relationship, Peirce is suddenly faced with the possibility of losing John because of this imbalance. As she tries to rescue him and restore balance to the underworld, she’ll have to take advantage of all the connections and cool powers that come with being the queen of the underworld. And it will be awesome. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Fiction, Re-telling, Young Adult

Tagged as , , , female author, greek mythology, hades, Meg Cabot, , persephone, re-telling, ,

July 15, 2013 · 10:15 pm

Thorn – A Fairy Tale Re-telling

14059999Title: Thorn
Author: Intisar Khanani
Source: from author for review
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: This book was darker and more violent than I expected from the pretty cover, but I was pleasantly surprised when the main character turned out to be a strong heroine you could really root for.

As I mentioned in my previous review of a Goose Girl retelling, the basic gist of both this book and the original fairy tale is as follows. A princess is sent to marry a prince in a foreign land and on the journey, her maid uses some form of magic to take on the princess’s identity. Once they reach the foreign capital, the princess becomes a goose girl and must decide if and how she wants to regain her place as a princess.

Continue reading →

7 Comments

Filed under Fiction, Re-telling

Tagged as , books book review, fairy tale, fairy tale retelling, fairy tale retellings, , Intisar Khanani, , , the goose girl, thorn, , , young adult fiction

July 14, 2013 · 9:48 pm

Bookends About The Goose Girl

179064Title: The Goose Girl
Author: Shannon Hale
Source: library
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: I really liked how true this book was to the style of a fairy tale and how well it fleshed out the original story.

I picked up this version of The Goose Girl planning on using it as an original to read before another re-telling. Further research suggests you’d need a children’s book (or the wikipedia page) to get the most original story, since the original is far too short for a book. The basic gist of both this book and the original fairy tale is as follows. A princess is sent to marry a prince in a foreign land and on the journey, her maid uses some form of magic to take on the princess’s identity. Once they reach the foreign capital, the princess becomes a goose girl and must decide if and how she wants to regain her place as a princess. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Fiction, Re-telling, Young Adult

Tagged as , books book review, fairy tale, fairy tale retelling, fairy tale retellings, , middle grade, , , shannon hale, the goose girl, , , young adult fiction