Category Archives: By Age Range

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

Their Vicious Games
Joelle Wellington
Simon & Schuster
Published July 25, 2023

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About Their Vicious Games

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this searing thriller that’s Ace of Spades meets Squid Game with a sprinkling of The Bachelor .

You must work twice as hard to get half as much.

Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter what she must force beneath the surface. Even one slip can cost you everything.

And it does. One fight, one moment of lost control, leaves Adina blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college and any other. Her only chance to regain the future she’s sacrificed everything for is the Finish, a high-stakes contest sponsored by Edgewater’s founding family in which twelve young, ambitious women with exceptional promise are selected to compete in three mysterious the Ride, the Raid, and the Royale. The winner will be granted entry into the fold of the Remington family, whose wealth and power can open any door.

But when she arrives at the Finish, Adina quickly gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right with both the Remingtons and her competition, and soon it becomes clear that this larger-than-life prize can only come at an even greater cost. Because the Finish’s stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death.

Adina knows the deck is stacked against her—it always has been—so maybe the only way to survive their vicious games is for her to change the rules.

My Review

This book reads something like an upper-class LORD OF THE FLIES. At first, the girls committed to the game called the Finish believe it’s a week of puzzles and games. At the end, a powerful, well-connected, wealthy family grants the winner’s wish. Once the game begins, they learn they’ll be expected to play hard, sabotage one another, and even kill the other competitors.

At first, they seem reluctant. But as the game progresses and the stakes ratchet higher, it seems that Adina, who is determined to survive without killing anyone, maybe the only one unwilling to shed blood.

The pacing is quick, with challenges and social games often happening in back-to-back scenes. At times, the characters seemed a bit caricature-like. However, that exaggerated style lent itself well to the kind of twisted, psychologically on-edge story told here.

I liked Adina’s character and her determination to stay true to herself despite the chaos and danger around her. I also liked the way the romantic elements were handled in the book. If things had wrapped up neatly, I think it would have been unbelievable or too easy.

On the whole, I think readers looking for a dark, twisty game with a commentary on classism will find a lot to like in this book. Readers who enjoyed THE MARVELOUS by Claire Kann or TO BEST THE BOYS by Mary Weber will also want to check out THEIR VICIOUS GAMES.

Content Notes for Their Vicious Games

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Adina is Black. Her best friend is biracial. Another friend is Chinese and lives in Europe. Two minor characters (girls) are maybe in a secret relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene, a boy and girl sleep in the same bed.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Several scenes show characters violently attacking one another. In one scene, a game of Simon Says turns torturous. The caller asks the players to slap each other and stab themselves with a fork.

Drug Content
Some characters (including Adina) drink alcohol. One character is rumored to drink too much and use recreational drugs. Adina finds a bag of weed on someone’s dresser.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THEIR VICIOUS GAMES in exchange for my honest review.

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu by Erika Lewis

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , ,

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu (Academy for the Unbreakable Arts #2)
Erika Lewis
Starscape
Published July 25, 2023

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About Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu

Kelcie Murphy is back in another action-packed middle grade adventure, Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu, the second book in Erika Lewis’s magical series infused with Celtic mythology, The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts.

It’s hard having a father who’s an infamous traitor. It’s even harder having a mother who’s an omen of doom.

After a summer away, Kelcie Murphy is excited to be back at the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts. But she and her friends have barely settled in when they receive a visit from her mother―the war goddess, Nemain―with a warning of coming calamity.

The Heart of Danu, the legendary source of all light and warmth in the Lands of Summer, is going to be stolen. And only Kelcie and her mates can stop it. As they travel with the rest of the students to Summer City to take part in the glorious Ascension Ceremony, Kelcie has no time for the military parade, the lavish ball, or even to visit her she’s determined to protect the Heart and her new home.

But the Lands of Summer are still not a welcoming place for Kelcie. When disaster strikes, the Queen, the High Guard, and even some of her schoolmates suspect Kelcie is to blame.

As the world is plunged into darkness, Kelcie will have to does she keep fighting for a place that may always see her as a traitor’s daughter, or for a future greater than the war to come.

My Review

I’ve been curious about this book since I first heard about it earlier this year. Books about a magical school can be a lot of fun to read, so it was exciting getting to read a new one. I liked the playfulness of some of the magic elements and tricky weapons.

The story is told from two points of view. First, there’s Kelcie, who recently saved her people from a cursed eye. She returns to school for another term only to learn of a new threat to the Land of Summer. Alternately, the story follows Lexis, the leader of a warrior group from the Land of Winter, whose group is tasked with infiltrating Summer as spies.

Of course, the two sides meet and discover that not all the terrible things they’ve believed about one another are true. But with their people caught in a war without a known cause, peace seems impossible. I liked the way that Kelcie and Lexis’s relationships develop and change through the course of the story.

Though it’s a story about war, there are lots of lighthearted, cute, or silly moments between the characters. At over 400 pages, it’s a bigger book. Lots of things happen in each chapter, but some readers might find the length challenging. Fans of books about magical schools or fantasy inspired by Irish folklore will want to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Kelcie and some other characters are white. Lexis is described as having dark brown skin and curly hair. Niall has only one hand. Many of the magical elements or lore are inspired by Irish or Welsh folklore. Two minor characters, both men, are married.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to a first kiss. A boy and girl hold hands briefly.

Spiritual Content
Kelcie, Brona, and Jack are cousins on their mothers’ sides. Their mothers are sister goddesses. Most characters have the ability to perform magic.

Violent Content
Battle scenes and references to torture. Kelcie’s clan is required to live in a restricted area filled with dangerous monsters and experiences prejudice in the rest of the realm.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of KELCIE MURPHY AND THE HUNT FOR THE HEART OF DANU in exchange for my honest review.

All Alone With You by Amelia Diane Coombs

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

All Alone with You
Amelia Diane Coombs
Simon & Schuster
Published July 25, 2023

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About All Alone with You

HBO Max’s Hacks gets a romantic twist in the vein of Jenn Bennett in this swoon-worthy novel about a standoffish teen girl whose loner status gets challenged by a dynamic elderly woman and a perpetually cheerful boy.

Eloise Deane is the worst and doesn’t care who knows it. She’s grumpy, prefers to be alone, and is just slogging through senior year with one goal: get accepted to USC and move to California. So when her guidance counselor drops the bombshell that to score a scholarship she’ll desperately need, her applications require volunteer hours, Eloise is up for the challenge. Until she’s paired with LifeCare, a volunteer agency that offers social support to lonely seniors through phone calls and visits. Basically, it’s a total nightmare for Eloise’s anxiety.

Eloise realizes she’s made a huge mistake—especially when she’s paired with Austin, the fellow volunteer who’s the sunshine to her cloudy day. But as Eloise and Austin work together to keep Marianne Landis—the mysterious former frontwoman of the 1970s band the Laundromats—company, something strange happens. She actually…likes Marianne and Austin? Eloise isn’t sure what to do with that, especially when her feelings toward Austin begin to blur into more-than-friends territory.

And when ex-girlfriends, long-buried wounds, and insecurities reappear, Eloise will have a choice to make: go all in with Marianne and Austin or get out before she gets hurt.

My Review

I can see the comparison to Jenn Bennett in the marketing copy– I felt like the vibes between Eloise and Austin were a little like the relationship between Bailey and Alex in ALEX, APPROXIMATELY. There’s not a rivalry, but there’s definitely a vested interest in dislike on Eloise’s part, especially at the beginning of the book. The romance blooms slowly, and everyone sees it coming before Eloise herself. In fact, sometimes she’s willfully blind to the signs that it’s there.

I really liked the exploration of friendship in the book, too. Eloise was burned pretty badly by her former friends during a personal crisis, so she’s got her defenses up sky-high when she’s introduced to Austin and Marianne. Her prickliness and Marianne’s take-no-prisoners attitude make for some really fun banter.

Between Marianne’s past and Austin’s present role as bass player in a local band, there’s quite a bit of focus on music in the book, too. Each chapter begins with a quote from a song by the Laundromats. One scene shows Austin’s band rehearsing for a gig. Another shows them playing the gig. I enjoyed the way those scenes played out and how they added a lot to Austin’s character beyond the goofy, Mr. Sunshine character we’d gotten to know.

All in all, I think if you’re looking for a prickly, slow-burn romance, with cross-generational friendship, ALL ALONE WITH YOU is a perfect fit and definitely worth checking out for Jenn Bennett or Jennifer E. Smith fans.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Eloise has depression and anxiety. Austin is Korean American and lost his dad. Marianne is a lesbian and struggles with alcoholism.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Very brief reference to the fact that Eloise struggled with suicidal ideation. She refers to Austin’s white van without windows as a “murder van”.

Drug Content
Marianne smokes cigarettes and drinks vodka in several scenes. Eloise notices a bong among Marianne’s things.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of ALL ALONE WITH YOU in exchange for my honest review.

Review: All That’s Left to Say by Emery Lord

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18,

All That’s Left to Say
Emery Lord
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 18, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About All That’s Left to Say

A poignant and powerful story of a grieving girl willing to risk everything, perfect for fans of Robin Benway and Jandy Nelson.

On prom night, Hannah MacLaren sits in the headmaster’s office in her fanciest dress, soaked to the bone. She is in huge trouble after pulling the fire alarm right as the prom queen was about to be crowned. But Hannah had her reasons . . .

One year ago, her cousin Sophie, who was also her best friend and the person she loved most in the world, died of an overdose. Drowning in grief, Hannah became obsessed with one Who gave Sophie those pills? Who is refusing to give her family the closure they deserve?

Then she concocted a plan to enroll at her cousin’s fancy private school with a new look and a mouthful of lies, and finally uncover the truth.

But Hannah didn’t expect all the lines to blur. She didn’t expect Sophie’s friends to be so complicated. She didn’t expect to fall for her longtime enemy. Now, she must choose to either let herself really mourn Sophie and move on, or see her search through to its explosive end–even if it means destroying herself.

My Review

I haven’t read anything by Robin Benway or Jandy Nelson (terrible, I know!), so I can’t compare this book to those. I did read YOU’D BE HOME NOW by Kathleen Glasgow, and I definitely feel like there are some similarities, though the plots are completely different.

Hannah’s dogged determination to do something useful, to make her cousin’s death mean something or make sense, or to hold someone responsible drives this story forward. She’s smart and pretty single-minded, which could make her kind of a bummer as a narrator. What makes her great, though, is the authenticity with which her grief is written. I cried multiple times while reading this book. The emotions and the actions of grief were described so well in ALL THAT’S LEFT TO SAY.

I also really enjoyed the side characters. They felt very well-developed, like each one could have been a main character had the story chosen to center them instead. Not only did that make the scenes with multiple characters in them feel very real, but it also created this sense that when the characters were off-scene, they were still busy doing things that impacted the story.

All in all, this book tells a story of profound, unexpected loss in an unforgettable way. I think fans of YOU’D BE HOME NOW by Kathleen Glasgow should definitely check out ALL THAT’S LEFT TO SAY.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Some minor characters are queer and/or POC. Hannah’s cousin died of an accidental drug overdose. Her dad had an alcohol abuse disorder.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Hannah hears Sophie’s voice in her head in hard times. She knows the voice is in her mind, but it often tells her what she needs to hear at the moment.

Violent Content
Hannah pulls a fire alarm during a school dance and faces consequences for it.

A man follows a girl in his car. Someone taps the bumper of the guy’s car with their car.

Hannah asks the girl who found her cousin and called 911 to describe to her exactly what happened. The description is not included in the text, but it’s hinted that it’s pretty awful.

Drug Content
Hannah’s dad had alcohol abuse disorder and attended rehab and AA meetings. Hannah tries to figure out who else at school might be using or selling drugs, so she can figure out who sold the pills her cousin took the night she died.

A boy shares a rumor that another boy sells pills or maybe pot. Teens drink alcohol at a party. A girl finds pills in her purse.

In one scene, Hannah thinks about the stigma surrounding the term “addiction” and why she chooses to use the term “drug abuse disorder” instead.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of ALL THAT’S LEFT TO SAY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Descendant of the Crane
Joan He

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Descendant of the Crane

In New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He’s debut novel, Descendant of the Crane, a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggles to do right in a world brimming with deception. This gorgeous, Chinese-inspired fantasy is packed with dizzying twists, complex characters, and intricate politics.

TREASON

For princess Hesina of Yan, the palace is her home, but her father is her world. He taught her how to defend against the corruption and excesses of the old kings, before revolutionaries purged them and their seers and established the dynasty anew.

Before he died, he was supposed to teach her how to rule.

TRIAL

The imperial doctors say the king died a natural death, but Hesina has reason to believe he was murdered. She is determined to uncover the truth and bring the assassin to justice.

TRUTH

But in a broken system, ideals can kill. As the investigation quickly spins out of Hesina’s control, she realizes that no one is innocent. Not the heroes in history, or the father she thought she knew. More blood will spill if she doesn’t rein in the trial soon—her people’s, her family’s, and even her own.

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for SO. LONG. I’m so glad I finally had the chance to read it.

DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE is about 400 pages, which is pretty near the high side in terms of my preferred page count. However. I devoured the story in two days. Every time I picked up the book, I couldn’t stop reading it.

The pace of the story moves quickly– right away, we know there’s been a murder, and Hesina, the new queen, is committed to discovering who killed her father, even risking her own death to ensure the truth is revealed in a trial.

She’s also just become queen of a country on the brink of war with a fierce neighbor. And queen of a country internally torn apart by fear and prejudice against people called sooths, who have the ability to perform magic or read the future.

Add to that all the usual new, young ruler court machinations, and you’ve got a pretty good idea where the story begins. And the stakes only get higher.

One of my favorite characters is Akira, a prisoner that Hesina has been told she needs as her representative in the trial to convict her father’s murderer. He’s mysterious, sardonic, and sometimes turns out to have inside information that Hesina needs to survive. There’s a very, very slow burn romance happening between them, so of course I was all in on that.

Conclusion

I feel like this was a really ambitious story to craft. It’s partly a history-inspired fantasy, partly a murder mystery, and partly a commentary on prejudice and the way that we shape people’s views and values through our telling of history. Which is a lot to tell in just 400 pages!

Not only do I feel like Joan He succeeded in her storytelling, but she also crafted a cast of engaging characters caught up in this compelling drama that I couldn’t stop reading. I think readers who love Elizabeth Lim absolutely need to check out DESENDANT OF THE CRANE.

Content Notes for Descendant of the Crane

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Chinese-coded.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. Brief references to sex (A man hastily summoned to court complains that he hates to leave a partner unsatisfied.).

Spiritual Content
Some characters, called Sooths, have the ability to do magic that has to do with time. Some can see the future. Others can influence an object’s state by making its future state present. For example, sooth could turn a rock to sand by changing the rock’s current state to its state in the future after it’s been crushed.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. The court investigates the murder of the king. A couple scenes include battle violence. A violent mob attacks citizens, cutting them and executing more than one. A bomb explodes, injuring several people.

Drug Content
The king died by poison (before the story begins). A man drinks poisoned wine and becomes violently ill.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Clementine and Danny Save the World (and Each Other) by Livia Blackburne

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

Clementine and Danny Save the World (and Each Other)
Livia Blackburne
Quill Tree Books
Published July 18, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Clementine and Danny Save the World (and Each Other)

You’ve Got Mail gets a YA twist in this rom-com that spotlights the power of activism and community organizing in the face of gentrification.

Clementine Chan believes in the power of the written word. Under the pseudonym Hibiscus, she runs a popular blog reviewing tea shops and discussing larger issues within her Chinatown community. She has a loyal, kind following, save for this one sour grape named BobaBoy888.

Danny Mok is allergic to change, and the gentrification seeping into Chinatown breaks his heart. He channels his frustration into his internet alter ego, BobaBoy888, bickering with local blogger Hibiscus over all things Chinatown and tea.

When a major corporation reveals plans that threaten to shut down the Mok’s beloved tea shop, Clementine and Danny find themselves working together in real life to save this community they both love. But as they fall hard for this cause—and each other—they have no clue that their online personas have been fighting for years.

When the truth comes to light, can Danny and Clementine still find their happily-ever-after?

My Review

This is such a cute story, and yet, I’m hesitating to call it cute because I feel like that undersells the deeper, more thought-provoking parts of the story. The internet-enemies-to-lovers part of the story is super cute. The exploration of what it means to celebrate Chinatown, Chinese heritage, and how to do that in an authentic yet modern way was very cool. I loved that we got to see both Clementine’s heart as a blogger writing about tea shops in Chinatown and also how some of the thoughts in those posts made Danny, the son of tea shop owners, feel.

Having both Clementine’s and Danny’s perspectives added complexity and nuance. It allowed us to see both the good in their intentions and the harm in their flaws. I’m sure that was not easy to write in such a natural, genuine way, but Livia Blackburne really succeeded at that.

The descriptions of tea and all that Danny and his dad would do in order to find the right suppliers, to store, prepare and serve tea in a traditional way… I loved learning about that. And the descriptions of the tea also made me really want to try things. (Okay, maybe not the Mocha Iced Oolong Cinnamon Latte, but some of the other things!)

I think readers who enjoyed THE CHARMED LIST by Julie Abe or middle graders who liked IT’S BOBA TIME FOR PEARL LI and are ready to age up into young adult books should add this one to their lists!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Clementine and Danny are Chinese American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some references to internet trolls saying cruel, racist, and hurtful things.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of CLEMENTINE AND DANNY SAVE THE WORLD (AND EACH OTHER) in exchange for my honest review.