Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Review: Shatter City by Scott Westerfeld

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Shatter City by Scott Westerfeld

Shatter City (Imposters #2)
Scott Westerfeld
Scholastic
Published September 17, 2019

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About Shatter City

When the world sees Frey, they think they see her twin sister Rafi. Frey was raised to be Rafi’s double, and now she’s taken on the role . . . without anyone else knowing.

Her goal? To destroy the forces that created her.

But with the world watching and a rebellion rising, Frey is forced into a detour. Suddenly she is stranded on her own in Paz, a city where many of the citizens attempt to regulate their emotions through an interface on their arms. Paz is an easy place to get lost . . . and also an easy place to lose yourself.

As the city comes under a catastrophic attack, Frey must leave the shadows and enter the chaos of warfare – because there is no other way for her to find her missing sister and have her revenge against her murderous father.

My Review

It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything by Scott Westerfeld, and SHATTER CITY made me realize how silly that is. I LOVE his books! It’s so easy to connect with the characters and the internal struggle that Frey faced in wanting to be herself but continually finding herself stuck impersonating her sister.

I also really enjoyed the references to the Uglies series, which I also loved reading. It felt like sharing inside knowledge with Frey. (You can read this series without ever reading UGLIES. The references aren’t critical to the story.)

One interesting element in the story happens when Frey visits a city called Paz. While she’s mistaken for her sister, she undergoes surgery to have “feels” installed. These are buttons on her inner forearm that trigger different emotions when she presses them.

At first, Frey thinks they’re weird and stupid and that she’d never use them. But as she experiences difficult and traumatic situations, her thoughts about the Feels experience a shift. When she finds herself again surrounded by people without the Feels, she experiences another shift. I found that process interesting. It reminded me of the way we tend to judge people– perhaps especially people with mental health issues who take medication– who make choices we can’t imagine making for ourselves. But then when we find ourselves in the same situation, we make the very choice that seemed to unimaginable before.

I don’t think the Feels are supposed to represent medication or be a metaphor for that, though the topic of Feels as a remedy for depression does come up in the story. It just made me think of the way we sometimes judge others who live a different way than we do.

I really liked this book, and definitely recommend it. I think fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and MATCHED by Ally Condie will love it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
One minor character is nonbinary. Another minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and some battle violence.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Girls with Razor Hearts by Suzanne Young

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Girls with Razor Hearts (Girls with Sharp Sticks #2)
Suzanne Young
Simon Pulse
Published March 17, 2020

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About Girls with Razor Hearts

It’s time to fight back in this second novel in a thrilling, subversive near future series from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young about a girls-only private high school that is far more than it appears to be.

Make me a girl with a razor heart…

It’s been weeks since Mena and the other girls of Innovations Academy escaped their elite boarding school. Although traumatized by the violence and experimentations that occurred there, Mena quickly discovers that the outside world can be just as unwelcoming and cruel. With no one else to turn to, the girls only have each other—and the revenge-fueled desire to shut down the corporation that imprisoned them.

The girls enroll in Stoneridge Prep, a private school with suspect connections to Innovations, to identify the son of an investor and take down the corporation from the inside. But with pressure from Leandra, who revealed herself to be a double-agent, and Winston Weeks, an academy investor gone rogue, Mena wonders if she and her friends are simply trading one form of control for another. Not to mention the woman who is quite literally invading Mena’s thoughts—a woman with extreme ideas that both frighten and intrigue Mena.

And as the girls fight for freedom from their past—and freedom for the girls still at Innovations—they must also face new questions about their existence…and what it means to be girls with razor hearts.

My Review

This book kind of blew me away. I’m honestly having trouble even figuring out how to structure my review, because I feel like I just want to babble about how many things I liked. So here I go…

First, the relationships. Mena remains always 100% committed to the girls she escaped with and the girls she left behind. She respects their autonomy, but isn’t afraid to challenge them when she thinks they’re wrong. She struggles with being open, not wanting to burden them with her worries and fears, but they challenge her in that and expect her to be as open with them as she wants them to be with her.

And then there’s Jackson. Faithful, loyal, protective, but not overbearing. He’s a good guy. I think it took me a long time to like him in the first book, but I really liked him by the end of this one.

In my review of GIRLS WITH SHARP STICKS, the first book in the series, I talked about some concern I felt that the story might embrace revenge, particularly on the men who ran Mena’s school.

Throughout this story, Mena continues to be faced with situations that force her to choose between revenge and justice. Sometimes the choice is whether to trust the system of society and government versus taking justice or revenge into her own hands. I loved how deeply she considers each choice and how she explores the problem of evil in her experience. I found it deep and thought-provoking.

One of the most mind-blowing things to me, though, was watching the way girls were treated through Mena’s eyes, as someone new to the broader world.

The story has a dystopian/sci-fi/not-so-distant-future feel to it, so it’s not trying to say that our culture matches what the characters experience at the hands of men right now. But those experiences are pretty ugly. And many of them DO happen to girls.

I was alarmed, shocked, and angry at the things some of the boys at school said to Mena, and yet, when I stopped to think about it, so many of those things have happened to me. And I’m not sure I ever felt permission to be angry (not that I needed permission from anyone but myself) about those experiences. It just felt like no one would listen, no one would really do anything except tell me to get over it and expect boys to continue to act that way.

In the books, the girls find a book of poems that make them “wake up” and realize that things that are happening to them are wrong. That they’re stronger than their captors want them to believe. And that they have greater value than they can imagine.

For me, GIRLS WITH RAZOR HEARTS, has been that poem, waking me up. Giving me permission to be angry and to expect better. For all of us.

Fans of WRECKED by Maria Padian and WATCH US RISE by Renee Watson and Ellen Hagen definitely need to add this series to their shelves.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Mena is white. Her best friend Sydney is black. Two of the girls she escaped with are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
References to sex. In one scene, a boy assaults a girl, forcing her to pantomime a sexual act (both are fully clothed) in front of a cafeteria full of people. Some bullying and sexual bullying.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
See Sexual Content. The girls discover a man who has been murdered and later witness a woman being murdered by a sharp stake to her head.

Drug Content
One scene shows teens drinking alcohol. Mena pretends to drink.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of GIRLS WITH RAZOR HEARTS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Porch Swing Girl by Taylor Bennett

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Porch Swing Girl
Taylor Bennett
Mountain Brook Ink
Published May 1, 2018

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About Porch Swing Girl

What if friendship cost you everything?

Stranded in Hawaii after the death of her mother, sixteen-year-old Olive Galloway is desperate to escape. She has to get back to Boston before her dad loses all common sense and sells the family house. But plane tickets cost money—something Olive gravely lacks.

With the help of Brander, the fussy youth group worship leader, and Jazz, a mysterious girl with a passion for all things Hawaiian, Olive lands a summer job at the Shave Ice Shack and launches a scheme to buy a plane ticket home before the end of the summer.

But when Jazz reveals a painful secret, Olive’s plans are challenged. Jazz needs money. A lot of it. Olive and Brander are determined to help their friend but, when their fundraising efforts are thwarted, Olive is caught in the middle. To help Jazz means giving up her ticket home. And time is running out.

My Review

I really liked that PORCH SWING GIRL follows a girl dealing with grief and shows her progressing through some of those emotions and finding her way through. She struggles, for sure. At times she’s blind to other people’s feelings. But she’s really trying to figure things out. I definitely identified with her in that way.

The spiritual themes are really strong here. It’s definitely a story about a faith journey, so if that isn’t what you’re looking for, this may not be the right book for you.

For the most part, I thought her faith journey rang true and felt real. There was a moment when she has a misunderstanding with a friend and he makes a comment that was kind of… I’d call it “Christianese”. Sort of stilted and steeped in spiritual metaphor basically telling her he couldn’t date her because she’s not committed to her faith at that point.

I got what he was saying, but it did make me realize how hurtful and dismissive that type of comment can be. (Which may have been part of the author’s point.)

The themes about grief and the way everyone grieves differently, and the fact that we don’t know someone’s life just by looking at them really stuck with me in reading PORCH SWING GIRL. I loved her grandma and of course Jazz so much, too.

PORCH SWING GIRL is a really sweet book that would appeal to fans of Christian fiction and authors Diana Sharples and Stephanie Morrill.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
Olive’s mom is Hawaiian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
List.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing on face.

Spiritual Content
Most of the characters in the story are Christians and open about their faith. In the wake of her mom’s death, Olive is struggling with what she believes. Characters pray openly and attend church meetings. A boy tells Olive he can’t date her because she’s not a committed Christian. (His explanation is a little weird, but that’s his meaning.)

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of PORCH SWING GIRL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Killing Fog by Jeff Wheeler

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The Killing Fog
Jeff Wheeler
47North
Published March 1, 2020

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About The Killing Fog

The Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain series conjures an epic, adventurous world of ancient myth and magic as a young woman’s battle with infinite evil begins.

Survivor of a combat school, the orphaned Bingmei belongs to a band of mercenaries employed by a local ruler. Now the nobleman, and collector of rare artifacts, has entrusted Bingmei and the skilled team with a treacherous assignment: brave the wilderness’s dangers to retrieve the treasures of a lost palace buried in a glacier valley. But upsetting its tombs has a price.

Echion, emperor of the Grave Kingdom, ruler of darkness, Dragon of Night, has long been entombed. Now Bingmei has unwittingly awakened him and is answerable to a legendary prophecy. Destroying the dark lord before he reclaims the kingdoms of the living is her inherited mission. Killing Bingmei before she fulfills it is Echion’s.

Thrust unprepared into the role of savior, urged on by a renegade prince, and possessing a magic that is her destiny, Bingmei knows what she must do. But what must she risk to honor her ancestors? Bingmei’s fateful choice is one that neither her friends nor her enemies can foretell, as Echion’s dark war for control unfolds.

My Review

One of the things that drew me into this story is Bingmei’s ability to smell someone’s intentions. It’s sort of like synesthesia, but with smells and emotions instead of taste and color. I liked that it gave her an edge but that it didn’t always function like a superpower– in fact it made it difficult for her to have relationships and she was still fooled or outwitted a few times, too.

On the other hand, one of the things I found interesting was that she spent so much time parsing other people’s emotions but didn’t often clue the reader in to hers. Lots of times I knew what she was thinking, but not so much what she was feeling, and sometimes that made it harder for me to connect with her as a character. Overall I enjoyed the book, though.

The plot seemed well-constructed and moved at a steady pace, constantly increasing the stakes. I really wanted to know what would happen.

Though the ending set some serious hooks for the next book, it also made so many things make sense and had its own sort of satisfying moments, too. (Sorry… trying not to give anything away!)

I’ve only read one other of Wheeler’s books – THE QUEEN’S POISONER – and I thought the writing was pretty similar in this book to that one. So I think if you’re a fan of his other books, you’ll want to check out this series, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Chinese (actually, I don’t know that that’s true… the story is inspired by Chinese history and mythology, but I don’t think it’s actually set in China.). Bingmei and a couple other characters have pale skin and white hair, which others refer to as the Winter Sickness.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Bingmei and others use magic artifacts and weapons. The weapons can cause a killing fog to form, which kills anyone it touches.

A ritual raises a powerful king from death. He has incredible magical power.

Violent Content
Lots of descriptions of battle and some graphic descriptions of injuries and fighting.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Havenfall by Sara Holland

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Havenfall (Havenfall #1)
Sara Holland
Bloomsbury YA
Published March 3, 2020

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About Havenfall

A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it — at any cost.

Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds — each with their own magic — together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.

For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie’s brother. It’s where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it’s where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.

But this summer, the impossible happens–a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She’ll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she’s letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie–no one can be trusted, and no one is safe…

My Review

After reading both EVERLESS AND EVERMORE by Sara Holland, I was eager to get back into a world she’d created. HAVENFALL is super different than her previous books in that it takes place in this world, but adds other worlds and magic that are connected to this one through portals.

I liked all the politics between the different groups and the different characters with their own goals and secrets piled on top of those political rifts. It created a sense of complexity and made the world feel bigger.

I guessed some of the plot elements pretty early on, but others were a complete surprise to me, so I felt like it had a good mix of predictability and unpredictability. There were a couple of things I thought should have been clarified sooner– for instance, the shape-shifting race can’t just impersonate anyone. They have a really limited number of specific forms they can take.

Maddie and her allies don’t know this early in the story, though. But when someone behaves very strangely, it never seems to occur to Maddie that the person could have been a shapeshifter in disguise (even though she doesn’t know at that point what the limits of shifting are). It does eventually get explained, but not until much later.

That’s a pretty minor point in the story, though. Overall, I liked Maddie’s character and the way she navigates tricky relationships with the people around her. The ending leaves a lot open for a sequel, so I’m really interested to see what happens next.

I think readers who enjoyed THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa or ANGELFALL by Susan Ee should check out HAVENFALL.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Maddie’s uncle is gay and married to a man from Fiorden.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and reference to sex. (Maddie hopes to have her first time with a boy she’s in love with.)

Spiritual Content
Characters have magic abilities.

Violent Content
Some descriptions of battle and attacks. Some brief gory descriptions of injuries. One scene shows an enslaved child who has obviously experienced a lot of trauma.

Drug Content
References to teens (and adults) drinkng alcohol.

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

Review: The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

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The Sound of Stars
Alechia Dow
Inkyard Press
Published February 25, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Sound of Stars

Can a girl who risks her life for books and an alien who loves forbidden pop music work together to save humanity?

Two years ago, a misunderstanding between the leaders of Earth and the invading Ilori resulted in the deaths of one-third of the world’s population.

Seventeen-year-old Janelle “Ellie” Baker survives in an Ilori-controlled center in New York City. Deemed dangerously volatile because of their initial reaction to the invasion, humanity’s emotional transgressions are now grounds for execution. All art, books and creative expression are illegal, but Ellie breaks the rules by keeping a secret library. When a book goes missing, Ellie is terrified that the Ilori will track it back to her and kill her.

Born in a lab, M0Rr1S (Morris) was raised to be emotionless. When he finds Ellie’s illegal library, he’s duty-bound to deliver her for execution. The trouble is, he finds himself drawn to human music and in desperate need of more. They’re both breaking the rules for love of art—and Ellie inspires the same feelings in him that music does.

Ellie’s—and humanity’s—fate rests in the hands of an alien she should fear. M0Rr1S has a lot of secrets, but also a potential solution—thousands of miles away. The two embark on a wild and dangerous road trip with a bag of books and their favorite albums, all the while making a story and a song of their own that just might save them both.

My Review

Somewhere between requesting an advance copy of this book and actually reading it, I forgot what this story was about. (This is the only thing I don’t like much about e-books– it’s harder to flip to the back cover copy and read the summary again if you want to refresh on the premise of the book.)

Right away, though, I loved the idea of the secret library. And the references to some of the social situations and how they morphed after the alien invasion felt pretty realistic. I also think it’s really fun when a book creates its own fandom, whether that’s a famous book or movie or in this case, a famous band. I loved all the snippets about the Starry Eyed– interviews, lyrics, news spots, everything that made them seem real.

It took me a little while to get into Ellie. She’s a little prickly, which I grew to understand and love once I understood why. At first I think I worried she would be too judgy– but it becomes obvious fairly quickly that she’s just guarded and for good reasons.

I really liked the way Ellie and Morris’s relationship developed. I also loved that the story followed Ellie’s feelings about physical affection. I feel like that can be a really alienating thing to feel, especially as a teenager when there’s so much emphasis on dating and attraction. So I loved that this story models someone who’s different, and a relationship in which that’s okay.

Plot-wise, I feel like some people are going to argue that the end is kind of too easy. I don’t want to give anything away. For me, I enjoyed the end– there were some elements of it that I could see coming, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of it. This is one of those books that sets up the second book in the last few pages of the first, so I’m sure there will be a sequel. Right now I plan to read it. I’m interested enough in Ellie and Morris’s story to invest in another book for sure!

Fans of THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey or DEFY THE STARS by Claudia Gray will definitely want THE SOUND OF STARS on their reading lists!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Ellie describes herself as on the spectrum of asexuality (gender isn’t important to her with regard to romantic love) and isn’t generally interested in romantic physical intimacy. She’s also black. There are a couple minor characters that identify with they/them pronouns.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some references to sex and kissing. Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Ellie and her friends witness human executions (someone hanged to death) and trauma caused by experimentation. Some situations of peril and battle situations. Nothing grossly graphic, but the kinds of things you’d expect in a post-apocalyptic world.

Drug Content
Ellie’s mother is an alcoholic.

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