Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Review: Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

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Once Was Lost by Sara ZarrOnce Was Lost
Sara Zarr
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published on October 1, 2009

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About Once Was Lost
Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. But her mother is in rehab, and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. And when a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, her already-worn thread of faith begins to unravel.

Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. She used to believe in a lot of things. As a pastor’s kid, it’s hard not to buy in to the idea of the perfect family, a loving God, and amazing grace. But lately, Sam has a lot of reason to doubt. Her mother lands in rehab after a DUI and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. When a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, the local tragedy overlaps with Sam’s personal one, and the already-worn thread of faith holding her together begins to unravel.

In her third novel, acclaimed author Sara Zarr examines the coexistence of affliction and hope, and what happens when everything you thought you believed—about God, about your family, about yourself—is transformed.

My Review
Once Was Lost has been on my reading list for years. I kind of have no excuse for taking so long to get to it, because it’s not a long book, and it’s exactly the kind of story I love—someone in a difficult place desperately trying to do the right thing anyway. I loved that about Sam. She makes some choices that get her into trouble, but I never doubted that her heart was good and never wavered in wanting to know how her story ended.

Perhaps it’s a little unexpected to find a book in mainstream literature with such strong spiritual themes. I loved the way Zarr handled the descriptions of the small town and the church people. She made them real and gave them real problems without vilifying them. I also loved the way she let us into Sam’s struggles about her faith and her disappointment about what youth group was like. Sam expected this joyous, close-knit community, and instead, she felt distant from the other participants. That war between appearances and genuine connection totally resonated with me thinking back to my own youth group days. It felt so very right on.

All in all, I loved this book. I think it’s a great read for Christian kids who may be facing the same kinds of struggles Sam is but also for kids who don’t share Sam’s upbringing or faith. It’s a great window into what church life can be like with its ups and downs. And ultimately, this story is about self-discovery and personal growth and healing. You don’t need to have faith for those messages to matter. I highly recommend this one.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white. The story takes place in a small California town.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
As pastor’s daughter, Sam and her family feel a lot of pressure to behave in certain ways. Sam feels like she can’t be honest about doubts she’s having, and when others have significant spiritual experiences, they expect her to be as thrilled about them as they are. Sam wrestles with her faith in a genuine, sensitive way. The church is depicted as a group of well-meaning, even if sometimes hurtful, people. While Sam’s faith isn’t the focal point of the story, her wrestling with doubts does have a meaningful resolution.

Violent Content
While Jody is missing, people speculate about what may have happened to her. The story doesn’t give any details about what goes on during her captivity, but it obviously traumatized her.

Drug Content
Sam’s mom spends much of the book in a rehab program for alcoholics. Sam remembers different events where her mom’s alcoholism interfered with family life or caused other problems. Sam knows her two best friends have gone out with other kids to have a beer at a party, but she’s never invited along, and they don’t tell her about it directly.

 

Review: Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist

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

Love and First Sight
Josh Sundquist
Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Published January 3rd, 2017

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About Love and First Sight

Love is more than meets the eye.

On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right?

As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a sweet but shy girl named Cecily. And despite his fear that having a girlfriend will make him inherently dependent on someone sighted, the two of them grow closer and closer. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn’t meet traditional definitions of beauty—in fact, everything he’d heard about her appearance was a lie engineered by their so-called friends to get the two of them together. Does it matter what Cecily looks like? No, not really. But then why does Will feel so betrayed?

My Review

Love and First Sight was a fast read for me. I loved getting to view the world through Will’s senses, and get a feeling for what it might be like to be blind from birth. It was amazing how the author described Will’s surroundings and how his day went without ever using sight vocabulary. And when Will eventually gains eyesight, it blew my mind to discover how much of sight we take for granted–for example, learning depth perception and perspective, or what colors are. It was such a unique perspective to read from, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Another aspect of the book I liked was how Will viewed concepts like racism, or beauty. When Will finally gets to see his African-American friend for the first time, he comments that “for all the attention race gets, for all the wars that have been fought over it, all the atrocities committed and hatred based on differences in skin tone over the centuries of human history, I would honestly have expected something…more. The contrast is obvious, yes, but the difference is marginal….What’s the fuss about?” He had similar views about beauty, commenting on how silly it is we base our idea of beauty on the changeable opinion of society.

All in all, I thought Love and First Sight was a great read. While I felt like it did lack a bit of character development, it tackled some issues that are especially relevant to YA readers, and carried them off beautifully. I’m rating this book 4 out of 5 stars (minus 1 for some inappropriate jokes), and recommending it to fans of Kasie West and Amy Clipston.


Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Most of the characters are described as white. Whitford is African-American. Cecily has a birthmark on her face that most consider to be disfiguring. Will is blind for the first part of the book.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A character curses once, but the actual words are not given. Characters say “Oh my God!”

Romance/Sexual Content
One kiss, not described in depth. Jokes about homosexuality, and both male and female body parts. Some pictures the characters run across are described as being X-rated. Will accidentally gropes a girl. 

Spiritual Content
Brief joke about a chicken nugget resembling Jesus.

Violent Content
Will tries to defend someone by beating up a bully, but ends up hurting himself instead. Will breaks stuff and punches things in his bedroom in a fit of a despair.

Drug Content
Anesthesia and immunosuppressant drugs are used.

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Review: Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill

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

Here Lies Daniel Tate
Cristin Terrill
Simon & Schuster
Published on June 6, 2017

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About Here Lies Daniel Tate
When ten-year-old Daniel Tate went missing from one of California’s most elite communities, he left no trace. He simply vanished.

Six years later, when he resurfaces on a snowy street in Vancouver, he’s no longer the same boy. His sandy hair is darker, the freckles are gone, and he’s initially too traumatized to speak, but he’s alive. His overjoyed family brings him home to a world of luxury and comfort he can barely remember. In time, they assure him, he’ll recover his memories; all that matters now is they’re together again.

It’s perfect. A miracle. Except for one thing.

He isn’t Daniel Tate.

He’s a petty con artist who accidentally stumbled into the scam of a lifetime, and he soon learns he’s not the only one in the Tate household with something to hide. The family has as many secrets as they have millions in the bank, and one of them might be ready to kill to keep the worst one buried.

My Review
The premise of this book pretty much hooked me before I even had a chance to read a word. I’d read another book a little bit like this, but not from the point-of-view of the kidnapping victim, so I was really interested to see a story told from inside that person’s mind, as Daniel’s is.

Daniel warns us right off the bat that he’s a liar, and yet I kept getting sucked into believing everything he said. I felt like the tug-of-war balance between those two ideas made this one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. I love unreliable narrators, but I’m not sure I’ve ever read anything where the narrator leads so point-blank with the fact that he’s a liar.

I liked the way the story messed with his emotions, too. In the beginning, he only wants to survive, but as he gets to know the family, he finds himself invested in relationships with them and even contemplating staying long-term and living as Daniel.

The end was strange. I won’t give it away, and I feel like considering the premise, I shouldn’t have been as surprised by it. I don’t know. I liked that it left a lot of questions unanswered—Daniel’s character seemed incapable of anything else—but it also confused me. Did the family ever get any kind of justice? It seemed like the party most responsible kind of got off without consequence.

On the whole, I’m really glad I read the book. I loved Terrill’s debut, All Our Yesterdays, and was really excited about another suspenseful story from her. I got a lot of what I hoped for, even if the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I wished for.

If you liked The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride or Lost and Found by Cat Clarke, you will want to grab a copy of Here Lies Daniel Tate.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Daniel and his family are a white, upper class group. He meets and is attracted to an Asian girl at school named Ren. Daniel’s brother Nicholas is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used frequently. I think because of the emotional intensity of some of the scenes, the swearing feels a little more prevalent than it actually is.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple instances of kissing between a boy and girl. In one scene it’s unclear how far the romance progresses—it begins with kissing and jumps to later, when the couple is curled in bed watching a movie (apparently still clothed).

A couple scenes show Nicholas and his boyfriend briefly kiss on the mouth.

A reference to an incest relationship.

Spiritual Content
The closest instance is the fact that the protagonist, who poses as Daniel, sometimes feels guilty thinking about how the actual Daniel, who is likely dead, might feel about the imposter taking over his life.

Violent Content
Daniel learns that one member of his family has a violent past. He ends up in a violent altercation with one family member. Someone is shot, perhaps fatally.

Drug Content
Jessica Tate is an alcoholic who sometimes drives drunk. Lex drinks wine and has a history of addiction to pills. Ren tells Daniel about her cousin’s pot-smoking habit. He also hears rumors that Patrick used to sell pot at school.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: The Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerson

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Historical, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The Silent Songbird (Hagenheim #7)
Melanie Dickerson
Thomas Nelson
Published on November 8, 2016

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About The Silent Songbird
Evangeline is the ward and cousin of King Richard II, and yet she dreams of a life outside of Berkhamsted Castle, where she might be free to marry for love and not politics. But the young king betroths her to his closest advisor, Lord Shiveley, a man twice as old as Evangeline. Desperate to escape a life married to a man she finds revolting, Evangeline runs away from the king and joins a small band of servants on their way back to their home village.

To keep her identity a secret, Evangeline pretends to be mute. Evangeline soon regrets the charade as she gets to know Westley, the handsome young leader of the servants, whom she later discovers is the son of a wealthy lord. But she cannot reveal her true identity for fear she will be forced to return to King Richard and her arranged marriage.

My Review
This is off the usual path of books I tend to read, but it’s a series my daughter absolutely adores. The Hagenheim series loosely retells fairytales (minus the magical elements) as light medieval romance novels. This one is a loose retelling of the Little Mermaid, with Eva pretending to be mute as she pursues Westley, which prevents him from realizing she’s the maid with the lovely voice he felt so drawn to.

The romance elements definitely kept me turning pages. I liked Westley’s character and his sense of honor and curiosity about Eva a lot.

I felt like Eva was much shallower than other heroines in this series. She felt bad about lying, but didn’t really take a lot of responsibility for it. She sort of had tunnel-vision on things she wanted, which blinds her to some of the hurts she causes in people around her, especially her friend who escapes with her.

Eva definitely grows as the story progresses, and I liked that she does eventually come clean about her past. I wanted the backstory or conflict between her and Lord Shively to develop more—like maybe for her to find actual evidence that he’d murdered his wife and flee because she feared he would kill her to silence her. But that’s probably because I’m addicted to angsty stories. Ha!

The Silent Songbird is a great pick especially for younger readers looking for light romance. It has all the tension and satisfaction of romance without being sexual or graphic. My daughter is twelve, and this is probably her favorite series.

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Cultural Elements
All the characters appear to be Western European.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a man and woman.

Spiritual Content
References to prayer.

Violent Content
A woman accidentally injures a man with a scythe. A woman sustains injury to her hands from her work as a servant. A man tries to kill another man by pushing him into a river.

Drug Content
References to drinking ale.

 

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Review: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

A Snicker of Magic
Natalie Lloyd
Scholastic
Published February 25, 2014

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About A Snicker of Magic
Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck’s about to change. A “word collector,” Felicity sees words everywhere—shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog’s floppy ears—but Midnight Gulch is the first place she’s ever seen the word “home.” And then there’s Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity’s never seen before, words that make Felicity’s heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she’ll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that’s been cast over the town . . . and her mother’s broken heart.

My Review
A Snicker of Magic has been on my to-be-read list for a super long time, and I’m so glad I finally made time to read it. I loved the way the author used words and the description of how Felicity sees them to add to the story. Also loved her friendship with Jonah and the Beedle, who performs anonymous good deeds for others.

Felicity wrestles with her parents’ separation on her own, often feeling like her mom is too sad to approach about her dad’s absence. She worries about her mom a lot and feels torn between her loyalty to her family and her desire to put down roots and have a real friend someplace. Those feelings made it so easy to love her and root for her throughout the story.

Be warned—this story will probably leave you with a fierce craving for ice cream, especially for one of Dr. Zook’s famous ice cream flavors. Yum!

Some elements of A Snicker of Magic reminded me of Be Light Like a Bird in terms of a girl wrestling with family issues and mom with wanderlust who takes on a town crisis.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Cultural Elements
Characters appear to be white. Jonah is in a motorized wheelchair. The story takes place in a small Tennessee town.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A couple references to Felicity’s aunt saying some “unsavory words.”

Romance/Sexual Content
Felicity’s mom asks if she has a crush on a boy from school. A girl kisses a boy on the cheek.

Spiritual Content
In the story, some members of the town once had magic that could do amazing things. One woman could sing up a storm. Another could turn invisible. Some could play music that set the whole town dancing. Two brothers used their magic against each other and left the town cursed. The story follows Felicity’s research into understanding the curse (some characters believe there’s no such thing) and whether it can be broken.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Felicity’s aunt smokes cigarettes.

Review: Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

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

Blood for Blood
Ryan Graudin
Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Published November 1st, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Blood for Blood

There would be blood. Blood for blood. Blood to pay. An entire world of it.

For the resistance in the Third Reich, the war may be over, but the fight has just begun. Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against Hitler’s army, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost.

But in the midst of the chaos, Yael’s past and future collide when she comes face to face with a ghost from her past, and a spark with a fellow rider begins to grow into something more. Dark secrets reveal dark truths and one question hangs over them all—how far can you go for the ones you love?

My Review

Since Wolf by Wolf was such an amazing novel, I was very curious to see how the sequel compared. Though still being a very engaging book, I found it to be much darker than its predecessor (which is saying something, considering the content and plot of the first). Graphic and disturbing violence–along with more and more deaths–lead me to recommend this book to more mature teens (though those on the sensitive side will want to skip this one).

In the first book, the narrative switched between Yael’s past and present. This style of story telling was a bit confusing at times, and becomes more so in the sequel, as we are no longer firmly rooted in Yael’s point of view. Several of the other main characters share the stage and we witness several scenes from inside their head instead of Yael’s. While I did appreciate getting to learn more about the other characters, I felt like it disconnected the reader from Yael. It was harder to engage with her character in this book than it was in the first.

Something I again appreciated in this book was how the author kept Yael’s humanity intact. Yael experiences horrific things in the course of her journey, and yet still retains her sensitivity and conscience. Yael is not a heartless assassin, as is becoming more common in YA literature. Instead, she is a human being that has lived through and been forced to commit atrocities without letting her light go out. She still has a heart, and that was beautiful–if sometimes painful–to see.

Overall, I’m rating Blood for Blood 4 stars out 5. After reading Wolf by Wolf, I couldn’t wait to see what happened to Yael and her friends as they sifted through the aftermath of the conflict in the first book, and Blood for Blood did a great job of keeping that tension going. However, it contains considerably more graphic/disturbing violence than the first book, causing me to deduct one star from my rating. If you love reading high-stakes action books or thrilling revolution novels, then consider picking up Blood for Blood and its precursor for one wild, heart-breaking story from beginning to end.


Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
The main characters are from Germania. Several characters are of Jewish descent. Some of the side characters are from Soviet Russia. Those of Aryan race (pale skin, blue eyes, blond hair) are given special status under the Third Reich. Non-Aryans are often considered less than human. One mention that the victims of concentration camps include homosexuals.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Frequent cursing in German.

Romance/Sexual Content
One kiss, not described in depth.  

Spiritual Content
One character prays in Yiddish to God. Memories of observing the Passover. Mentions of Norse mythology. God’s name is used for emphasis in phrases (“God knows,” “act of God,” “For God’s sake,” etc). Attempts at remembering how to observe Shabbat and other Jewish practices.

Violent Content
Death again plays a big part in this story, and the author doesn’t pull any punches. Another assassination, victims of concentration camps, and other deaths hit close to home for Yael. Disturbing medical procedures are also performed, and their aftereffects are not pleasant. Graphic torture (and mangling of limbs) is also included.

Drug Content
Characters use morphine for pain relief. Some characters smoke, though this is presented in a negative light.

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