Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Review: The Gifted, the Talented, and Me by William Sutcliffe

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The Gifted, the Talented, and Me by William Sutcliffe

The Gifted, the Talented, and Me
William Sutcliffe
Bloomsbury YA
Published October 13, 2020

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About The Gifted, the Talented, and Me

Fifteen-year-old Sam isn’t special. He’s not a famous vlogger, he’s never gone viral, and he doesn’t want to be the Next Big Thing. What he likes most is chatting to his friends and having a bit of a kick about.

None of which was a problem until Dad got rich and Mum made the whole family move to London. Now Sam is being made to go to the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented, where every student is too busy planning Hollywood domination or starting alt-metal psychedelica crossover bands or making clothes out of bathmats to give someone as normal as him the time of day. Can Sam navigate his way through the weirdness and find a way to be himself?

Laugh-out-loud funny and instantly recognisable – not since The Inbetweeners has a coming of age story been so irreverent and relatable.

My Review

I really, really struggled with this book. Some of it is super funny. I laughed out loud more than once. There are a lot of references to penises, and I get that it’s a thing that does occupy the mind. It was just a lot, sort of the same joke over and over.

If you’ve read many other reviews of this book, you’ve probably come across some discussion of the queerbaiting content, so I want to talk about that first. Basically, what happens is this: Sam’s brother, Ethan, joins a queer band (every band has to have a “thing,” he tells Sam), so he tells everyone he’s bisexual in order to be in the band. It becomes increasingly clear that Ethan is not bisexual, but he continues to use the label so he can continue with the band. Which is pretty clearly queerbaiting, and totally wrong.

In the story, Sam continually tells Ethan that what he’s doing is wrong and is going to catch up with him. Ethan does eventually face some consequences for his actions, though we don’t get a firsthand response from any queer characters. He does eventually have to own up to his identity and is pretty miserable about how things end up. It’s not great, and I would still say that there isn’t really a moment when he gets called out on the behavior by queer characters or anyone putting into perspective how harmful the behavior can be. But it is strongly condemned in the story as wrong and deceitful.

During Sam’s callback for the school play audition, he relates the performances of other students in a pretty derogatory way. I felt gross reading that section because he was both unkind in the way he described the other actors competing for the part he wanted, but he was also kind of superior and snobby, and none of that was ever called out as wrong.

For the most part, I really liked the dynamics of Sam’s family, especially in the scenes where they’re kind of all having snappy conversations that kind of run over each other. That felt really true to the experience of a big family with lots of funny people in it. I wish that his mom hadn’t been quite so over-the-top and such a largely negative portrayal of feminism.

On the whole, there were lots of funny things in this book, but readers may find the constant penis joke/awareness to be too much and may be troubled by the presence of queerbaiting, even though it’s condemned.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most characters are white. A couple minor characters identify as queer. Sam’s brother falsely identifies as queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently. Crude humor used frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Two references to sexual touching. Some vague references to hoping not to be a virgin until age 30.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Two boys appear to be about to have a fight.

Drug Content
One student has a house party with alcohol.

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

Review: A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe

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A Golden Fury
Samantha Cohoe
Wednesday Books
Published October 13, 2020

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About A Golden Fury

Thea Hope longs to be an alchemist out of the shadow of her famous mother. The two of them are close to creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone—whose properties include immortality and can turn any metal into gold—but just when the promise of the Stone’s riches is in their grasp, Thea’s mother destroys the Stone in a sudden fit of violent madness.

While combing through her mother’s notes, Thea learns that there’s a curse on the Stone that causes anyone who tries to make it to lose their sanity. With the threat of the French Revolution looming, Thea is sent to Oxford for her safety, to live with the father who doesn’t know she exists.

But in Oxford, there are alchemists after the Stone who don’t believe Thea’s warning about the curse—instead, they’ll stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone. But Thea can only run for so long, and soon she will have to choose: create the Stone and sacrifice her sanity, or let the people she loves die.

My Review

I loved all the twisty, turning elements of this story. The quest to create the Stone. The evolving relationships, especially between Thea and her parents and Will and Valentin. I love that she faces things her mother taught her about relationships, and about men in particular and has to decide for herself if they are true. There’s a lot of exploration on trust and how much someone deserves, and some about what forgiveness looks like, and the nature of power.

Thea is a complicated character who struggles with a desire to please her mother and also resents her mother’s control over her. She desperately wants to find her own way, but also desperately wants to save her mother, too. I felt like she was so relatable in all of that, and I felt her anxiety about being on her own and her butterflies about meeting her father for the first time.

The tone in the story has an older feel to it (as in centuries, not the age of the characters), which fits the historical genre. It reads a little bit like a scientist’s journal, in that there are a lot of observations and internal thoughts and long stretches where there isn’t much dialogue.

This didn’t really bother me at all once I got into the story. By about chapter four or five, I felt pretty hooked, and even before that I was enjoying the story and really interested in what happened. But for me, my reading seemed to take off once I was a few chapters in.

I think readers who enjoyed TO BEST THE BOYS by Mary Weber, or GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE by Beth Revis will really enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. There are some clashes of class, rich versus poor.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One curse in German.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some clear attraction between a man and woman. References to others having had sex.

Spiritual Content
One character is Catholic and visits a priest to confess sins. The Philosopher’s Stone gives its bearer a great amount of power, but also carries a curse that destroys the sanity of anyone who tries to make it.

Violent Content
Several violent altercations with some brief graphic violence. Some reference to and events leading to torture. Multiple characters are restrained with chains once they’ve gone mad.

Drug Content
Some historically appropriate social drinking.

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

About Samantha Cohoe

Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter

Samantha Cohoe writes historically-inspired young adult fantasy. She was raised in San Luis Obispo, California, where she enjoyed an idyllic childhood of beach trips, omnivorous reading, and writing stories brimming with adverbs. She currently lives in Denver with her family and divides her time among teaching Latin, mothering, writing, reading, and deleting adverbs. A Golden Fury is her debut novel.

Review: Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Blazewrath Games
Amparo Ortiz
Page Street Kids
Published October 6, 2020

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

About Blazewrath Games

Lana Torres has always preferred dragons to people. In a few weeks, sixteen countries will compete in the Blazewrath World Cup, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. Lana longs to represent her native Puerto Rico in their first ever World Cup appearance, and when Puerto Rico’s Runner—the only player without a dragon steed—is kicked off the team, she’s given the chance.

But when she discovers that a former Blazewrath superstar has teamed up with the Sire—a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form—the safety of the Cup is jeopardized. The pair are burning down dragon sanctuaries around the world and refuse to stop unless the Cup gets cancelled. All Lana wanted was to represent her country. Now, to do that, she’ll have to navigate an international conspiracy that’s deadlier than her beloved sport.

How to Train Your Dragon meets Quidditch through the Ages in this debut fantasy, set in an alternate contemporary world, in which dragons and their riders compete in an international sports tournament.

My Review

The comparison to HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and Quidditch definitely fits this book. Once Lana joins the Blazewrath team, lots of chapters take place on the field, describing the game and her team’s efforts to win.

Because Lana isn’t a dragon rider with a shared bond and closeness to any of the dragons, they are all pretty minor characters. I thought it was cool that different regions had different types of dragons, and that the dragons themselves had lots of varying abilities and behaviors.

I liked Lana– she’s smart and determined. She pursues the truth about the Sire no matter the risk to herself, and she stays bold and committed even in the face of danger.

I liked a LOT of things about the book. It’s a wild adventure, and full of Puerto Rican pride and the love of found family. I think fans of DRAGON WARRIOR by Katie Zhao will like the high adventure and alternate contemporary setting. Readers who are interested in but not quite ready for LOBIZONA by Romina Garber should add THE BLAZEWRATH GAMES to their bookshelves.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Lana and her teammates are Puerto Rican. A couple minor characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Moderate profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some flirting, but nothing beyond that.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some scenes show brief but graphic violence, including a throat being cut. References to torture and execution. The Blazewrath game includes combat-style play which can result in serious injury.

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.

Review: The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

The Code for Love and Heartbreak
Jillian Cantor
Inkyard Press
Published October 6, 2020

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About The Code for Love and Heartbreak

From bestselling author Jillian Cantor comes a smart, edgy update of Jane Austen’s beloved classic Emma.

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma’s sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers…those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

My Review

As a contemporary romance, I really enjoyed CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK. I tend to like smart heroines, so it was a pretty strong possibility that I’d love Emma going into the book. And it turns out, I totally loved her.

I’m also a pretty big fan of sister relationships, so I loved the relationship between Emma and Izzy. I loved that they were so different from each other and that sometimes that caused sparks to fly and other times, they needed each other in ways that only sisters truly do.

As an update of Jane Austen’s EMMA, though, I have much more mixed feelings. I missed some of the dynamics in some of the relationships. I missed the Miss Bates of Austen’s version, in all her sweet, trying chattiness. I missed the connection between characters– the Westons and Frank (Sam) Churchill, and between Jane and Miss Bates.

In fairness, I don’t know how someone could bring all those relationships and the complexities they add AND tell CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK without adding like 100 more pages. Which I probably wouldn’t have minded once I was into the story, but I imagine the average reader might not feel quite the same! Ha.

All in all, I think this is a super cute romance with smart characters and interesting relationships. Fans of friends to lovers or of sister stories will find lots to love here. I think the story will appeal to fans of WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU by Marisa Kanter and TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Some minor characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Couples hold hands. A group of senior class boys who make a bet on who can have sex with an underclass girl first. This behavior is pretty strongly condemned. Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Emma remembers a party her sister threw that someone brought alcohol to. She hid upstairs and didn’t participate in the party.

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

About Jillian Cantor

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Jillian Cantor is the author of award-winning and bestselling novels for adults and teens, including In Another Time, The Hours Count, Margot, and The Lost Letter, which was a USA Today bestseller. She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Cantor lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

10 Most-Anticipated YA Books Out in October 2020

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10 Most Anticipated YA Books Coming October 2020

One of the few good things about this year has been that I’ve ended up with a bit more time to read– and thank goodness, because this year has been an incredible one for finding new favorite books.

This month brings even more fabulous titles packed with romance, humor, explorations on social justice and racial issues, and lush fantasy landscapes. Here are a few of the titles I’m most excited about coming out October 2020.

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole

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

What you need to know: If you liked NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman, you need to read this. Super different story world; I’m on the edge of my seat.

Available October 6, 2020 | My Review

Hush (Hush #1) by Dylan Farrow

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

What you need to know: A feminist fairytale story in a world where words have power and magic is limited to those in control.

Available October 6, 2020

Blazewrath Games by Amparo Oritz

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

What you need to know: Hailed as HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON meets QUIDDITCH THROUGH THE AGES. Dragon games. Deadly conspiracies. Sounds amazing!

Available October 6, 2020 | My Review

The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

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

What you need to know: A contemporary EMMA retelling with a lady math genius and app developer. I can’t wait to read this.

Available October 6, 2020 | My Review

The Silver Box by Margi Preus

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

What you need to know: Francie Frye, a reluctant northwoods Nancy Drew tackles her third mystery and hopes to uncover the truth about her mother. Loved it!

Available October 6, 2020 | My Review

Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore

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

What you need to know: Mad Max: Fury Road meets Frozen. (I’m intrigued!) A quest for her missing best friend pairs a girl with a team of unconventional allies.

Available October 13, 2020

This is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi

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

What you need to know: Set over the course of a single day. Follows three women determined to save an indie bookstore.

Available October 13, 2020

The Gifted, the Talented, and Me by William Sutcliffe

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

What you need to know: Irreverent and hilarious. A story about fitting in and staying true to yourself. Sounds like the perfect pick-me-up read!

Available October 13, 2020 | My Review

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe

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

What you need to know: A girl faces a terrible curse in order to save the lives of those she loves. Magic and alchemy. Sounds perfect for fans of GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE and TO BEST THE BOYS.

Available October 13, 2020 | My Review

Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston

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

What you need to know: A cursed wood encroaching on a peaceful kingdom. A girl who can save it with the help of a pesky fox, a powerful bear, and the magic in her veins. Poston is on my auto-buy list, so I MUST have this one!

Available October 20, 2020

What’s on your October reading list?

Have you read any of the books on my list already? Which books are you looking forward to reading this month?

Review: Girl of Hawthorn and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Girl of Hawthorn and Glass
Adan Jerreat-Poole
Dundurn Press
Published October 6, 2020

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

About Girl of Hawthorn and Glass

Eli isn’t just a teenage girl — she’s a made-thing the witches created to hunt down ghosts in the human world. Trained to kill with her seven magical blades, Eli is a flawless machine, a deadly assassin. But when an assignment goes wrong, Eli starts to question everything she was taught about both worlds, the Coven, and her tyrannical witch-mother.

Worried that she’ll be unmade for her mistake, Eli gets caught up with a group of human and witch renegades, and is given the most difficult and dangerous task in the worlds: capture the Heart of the Coven. With the help of two humans, one motorcycle, and a girl who smells like the sea, Eli is going to get answers — and earn her freedom.

My Review

The story world in GIRL OF HAWTHORN AND GLASS is unlike anything else I’ve ever read. It’s both contemporary and fanciful, charming and full of teeth. A tiny coffee shop to a forest of awake trees to a walled compound of violent witch children to a library where the books might attack. It kind of has everything.

From the first page I found Eli likeable. Right away I wanted to follow her down the path of solving the mysteries of her existence and to learn more about the mysterious motorcycle rider who befriends her. I loved the banter between Cam and Tav, too. Those two were fantastic.

The story is a bit dark. The magic has that eye-for-an-eye feel to it, where the rules are unbreakable, and it’s all about figuring out how to make what you need conform to the rules of the magic. And Eli is, after all, an assassin, so she thinks a lot about killing, and, until things start to go sideways, she never questions her assignments.

I think readers who liked NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman or THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER by Leslye J. Walton will definitely want to check out this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Tav is Black and nonbinary. Cam is Asian-American and gay. Eli is pansexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. Kissing between a girl and nonbinary character.

Spiritual Content
Witches, who live in a connected but separate world, created Eli to kill ghosts in the human world. Eli is made from stone and blood and other materials. Witches have rituals– sometimes about giving gifts or accepting favors.

Violent Content
One scene describes Eli killing someone she believes to be a ghost. Other situations of peril. In the witch world, there are children who are fixated on violence. Eli can transform into a toothy crocodile girl and does so to bite an opponent.

Drug Content
None.

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