Genre: Young Adult

The Book We’ve All Been Waiting For: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo | ARC Review

Posted September 28, 2015 in Reviews / 7 Comments

My Review “Greed may do your bidding, but death serves no man.” Have you ever read a book that totally and completely changes your opinion of an author? For me, Six of Crows was that book. Sure, I enjoyed the Grisha Trilogy well enough. It had some elements I liked, but it didn’t set itself apart, didn’t situate itself as an out-liar in my mind among the copious amounts of other YA fantasy that I read. So I admit to being nervous and more than a bit skeptical when I started Six of Crows (although my excitement was peaked after […]

When Tragedy Becomes Incredibly Important: Violent Ends by Shaun David Hutchinson | ARC Review

Posted September 14, 2015 in Five Star Reads, Reviews / 4 Comments

My Review When I was at ALA this summer, I was pitched this book by an editor at Simon & Schuster when I asked specifically for heavier contemporary recommendations. The editor had worked on the collection himself and was SO excited about it, and it’s one of those instances in which I’m seriously glad that I asked for recommendations because it may not have been a title I would have picked up myself. I’m so glad that I spoke with that editor at ALA because this book is so intense and so bold in what it does: it doesn’t essentialize […]

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy | ARC Review

Posted September 9, 2015 in Reviews / 7 Comments

My Review I guess sometimes the perfection we perceive in others is made up of a whole bunch of tiny imperfections, because some days the damn dress just won’t zip. Dumplin’ is a book that completely took me by surprise this summer. I found out it was being signed at ALA and, despite the fact that YA contemporary isn’t always what I reach for first, found myself drawn to it. The simple cover, the tongue in cheek tagline (Go Big or Go Home)…I had a feeling Dumplin’ was going to be a hot mess or utter YA perfection. I need […]

Book Buddies Review: Nantucket Blue

Posted September 3, 2015 in Book Buddies Reviews, Reviews / 3 Comments

Cristina and Lauren Read: Book Buddies is a discussion style review I participate in every other month with my friend Lauren who runs the blog Bookmarklit. We choose a themed book for the month, read it, and the have a discussion where we both discuss themes and aspects that really stood out to us. Book Buddy Reviews are posted during the last week of the month.You can see our review in a Q&A format with half posted here, and half on Lauren’s blog! 1) How big of an impact did the romance aspect of the book have one you? […]

Firewalker (Worldwalker Trilogy #2) by Josephine Angelini | ARC Review

Posted September 1, 2015 in Reviews / 4 Comments

My Review It’s no secret that Firewalker was my most anticipated ARC of the year. I raved about Trial By Fire this January, and I adored the unique world that Angelini created that was a mixture of paranormal and science, with a dash of steam punk thrown in for good measure. It was different and complex and featured one of my favorite, and seemingly underrepresented, paranormal creatures: witches. You can imagine my immense emotional upheaval upon finishing this book and not deeming it worthy of 5 stars, or even 4 stars, but rather relegating it to the rather mediocre side […]

From Plot to Personal: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between by Jennifer E Smith

Posted August 26, 2015 in Features, Plot to Personal, Reviews / 2 Comments

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between deals with the dilemma that so many young couples face upon graduating from high school: to break up or not to break up. Over the course of one evening, Jennifer E. Smith’s novel explores Aiden and Clare’s last night in their hometown before they embark on their journeys to colleges on opposite coasts. The premise of this novel really struck me because I was in the exact same position when I was there age. I was in a happy relationship and had been for about two years, was going away to school a significant […]

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon | ARC Review

Posted August 17, 2015 in Reviews / 14 Comments

My Review “You’re not living if you’re not regretting.”-pg 186 Everything, Everything was quiet in its execution but deafening in its impact. It’s the story of Madeline Whittier, who lives in her white room with her white furniture in her white clothes and eats her white food. She’s trapped due to the fragile nature of her own body, struck with an auto-immune disorder that makes the outside world one giant disease. Madeline’s story is one of what ifs: What if she wasn’t sick? What if she could go outside? What if she could go to school like a normal kid? […]

Mini Reviews: My Life Next Door and What Happened to Goodbye

Posted August 12, 2015 in Reviews / 9 Comments

Feeling like one of the only bloggers who had yet to read and love Huntley Fitzpatrick’s debut novel, I eagerly started it while on my vacation this summer. I expected a light, fluffy read with perhaps some slight shades of dysfunction, similar to a Sarah Dessen novel. However, I found My Life Next Door to be much more nuanced than I anticipated and found it really lived up to the hype and expectations I had for it. While the book is often primarily seen as a romance, and the romance is very present and very well done, this book managed […]

Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly | ARC Review

Posted August 10, 2015 in Reviews / 6 Comments

My Review When I was pitched Trouble is a Friend of Mine at ALA, I was pleasantly surprised to learn in was a YA mystery. I am a HUGE Nancy Drew fan, and when I began the book and it took place in a town called River Heights (that’s Nancy Drew’s iconic neighborhood from the famous series) my expectations were set high. Instead, I found this book to be ridiculous and zany, full of plot holes and irritating characterization. Let’s start with the obvious thing that needs to be addressed: Digby. Digby is supposed to be the enigma of the […]

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle | ARC Review

Posted August 5, 2015 in ARCs, Reviews / 16 Comments

So let’s raise our glasses to the accident season, To the river beneath us where we sink our souls, To the bruises and secrets, to the ghosts in the ceiling, One more drink for the watery road. If there’s one word to describe The Accident Season, it’s atmospheric. Set in Ireland, it follows a family that suffers unfortunate events (everything from scrapes and bruises to deaths) every October, despite their best precautions. It’s a refreshingly unique premise for a YA novel, and while I was anticipating horror, what the storyline evokes instead is a unique sort of whimsical eeriness. The […]