Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Upcoming Reviews: June 2016

Lists, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18,

upcomingreviews

June 2016

It’s summer time again, and here in FL, kids are already out of school. (We’ll be crying the second week of August when we have to go back and all you northerners have weeks left of summer fun.) We’ve got lots of things planned, including the obligatory beach days, and hopefully a bit of butterfly gardening. Plus, of course, lots of reading time.

Here’s a list of books you can expect to see reviewed on The Story Sanctuary over the next several weeks. Some of these have been on my list for quite some time, and I’m excited to have a chance to finally read them. I’ve been trying to work in more of the Christian young adult authors out there, so you’ll see a few listed here along with some big names flying off bookshelves in the general market. See one you’re excited about? Leave a comment!

The Crowd by Alleece Balts

Amazon | Goodreads

When seventeen year-old Ella is accepted to a prestigious school, she’d prepared for the attention that comes of being the new girl. What she’s not prepared for is the relentless torment that comes at the hands of The Crowd. What will it take to make them stop? I think what I’m hoping for here is a cleaner version of Some Girls Are, in which the message that revenge is the solution to teen bullying left me unsatisfied. The description on Goodreads promises a journey of faith, so I’m also curious to see how that’s integrated into the story.

Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard

Amazon | Goodreads

Apparently I’m going through a Depression-era literature binge. Fourteen year-old Amelia suddenly finds herself responsible for her siblings and the family gas station after her mother dies. Amelia will do whatever it takes to keep her family out of foster care, even if she has to convince a hobo to pose as her father.

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

Amazon | Goodreads

Imagine a dystopian world in which the Library is the evil, oppressive force. Fascinating, right? History can only be accessed through the organization called The Great Library. Owning books is a crime. I’m stoked.

Into the Free by Julie Cantrell

Amazon | Goodreads

This one has actually been on my list for a long time. I love historical fiction, so I’m excited about the Depression-era setting. Millie journeys to break the cycle of abuse in her family, find love and reconcile her broken faith. Super keen to read this novel.

When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell

Amazon | Goodreads

This is actually the sequel to Into the Free and the continuation of Millie’s story as she explores her new marriage and wrestles with some unresolved secrets from her past. Again, I’m looking forward to the historical setting and the strong spiritual themes of this novel.

Grayling’s Song by Karen Cushman

Amazon | Goodreads

Grayling and a team of magical misfits embark on a quest to save her mother from a spell which turns her into a tree. As Grayling earns her independence, she soon finds her former life at home too confining and sets out on another journey of her own. I love the oddness of the group who helps Grayling.

The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone

Amazon | Goodreads

Maddie and her family set sail on a “death with dignity” cruise to honor her terminally ill Gram’s wishes. Losing my grandmothers was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through, so I knew as soon as I saw the blurb that I wanted to read this book.

Ophelia Adrift by Helen Goltz

Amazon | Goodreads

I think this book had me at Ophelia Montague. As I read the description, the names really jumped out at me. If the story is as intriguing as its characters’ names, it’ll be one of my favorites this year.

Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Amazon | Goodreads

I get chills when I read the description of this book. I remember watching the footage of the Twin Towers falling on September 11, 2001. As my daughter grows up, I imagine her experience to be a little bit like the characters in these books, exploring what this event means to our country without having been alive to witness the towers falling herself. I think we need strong narratives that explore these issues of who we are as a country and how that fits into our culture today.

10 Steps to Girlfriend Status by Cynthia Toney

Amazon | Goodreads

I reviewed the first book in this series, which, at the time was called Bird Face (it’s now called 8 Notes to a Nobody) and really enjoyed the story about a girl who struggles to love how she looks and learn what it is to be a real friend. In this second book, Wendy uncovers a secret in the old photo album of a family friend with Alzheimer’s.

The Queen’s Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler

Amazon | Goodreads

When I asked author Jeff Wheeler what inspired him to write The Queen’s Poisoner, he named this question: if a parent had to choose one of their children to die, whom would they pick? I was pretty intrigued by the story already, but that really got me. I loved The Scorpion Rules, another novel that explores a world in which children are kept as political prisoners. I’m definitely anticipating a great read here.

Review: Rebel by R J Anderson

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

Rebel
R J Anderson
Enclave

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

A disciplinary issue at boarding school sends Timothy Sinclair to live with his aunt and uncle. While there, he meets a bizarre creature he never would have believed existed: a tiny, winged girl named Linden who desperately needs his help.

As Timothy becomes caught in Linden’s grave mission, he draws the attention of dark faeries. Soon, hunters close in on their trail. The only hope lies in a myth about a white stone that could secure the freedom of Linden’s people, faeries living in the Oak on Timothy’s aunt and uncle’s property. Timothy and Linden must find the stone before the deadly hunters catch them.

Yet again author R J Anderson brings us a unique tale about faeries in modern England and the humans who vow to protect them. I loved that this time the faery world expanded to include other faery kingdoms, each with their own myths and beliefs about how to interact with humans.

While I wasn’t as captivated by Timothy as I had been with Paul in Knife, the first book in the series, he definitely grew on me. I enjoyed the references to his life in Uganda, and the descriptions of his spiritual journey throughout the story. I missed the Oak and its inhabitants, so I hope to see more of them in the next book in the series, called Arrow. I loved the addition of the male faeries, too. I can’t wait to see where those stories go.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Timothy grew up with missionary parents in Uganda. He’s been attending a Christian boarding school in England, but he’s really struggling with whether or not he believes in Christian doctrine. Along his journey, he meets some very kind, very authentic Believers and while their faith doesn’t immediately reinstate Timothy’s he does find himself energized to search and ask deeper questions of the beliefs he’s been raised with, and he feels much more confident about pursuing faith.

As with the first book in this series, Rebel contains faeries who possess magic. The faeries make references to the Great Gardener, whom we understand to mean God. Some faeries believe in living lives invisible to humans while others form friendships or relationships with them. Some evil faeries use their magic to take advantage of humans.

Violent Content
Some brief battle scenes. Nothing gory.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: An Uncertain Choice by Jodi Hedlund

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

An Uncertain Choice
Jodi Hedlund
Zondervan

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

As Rosemarie’s eighteenth birthday nears, she prepares to fulfill the sacred vow her parents made and become a nun. She struggles to accept this role even as her kingdom is in turmoil at the hands of a sheriff who enforces cruel punishment and unexplained plagues that ravage the poorest citizens. Then, one month before her birthday, an old family friend rides into her kingdom with news: Rosemarie may have another option. If she can find and marry her true love before midnight on her eighteenth birthday, she will not have to enter the convent. Three knights accompany Rosemarie’s advisor. She must find out if one of them is her true love.

I felt like this story was kind of like the Ever After retelling of Cinderella, but with the Prince and Cinderella’s character kind of reversed? I really liked the concept of having this really short timeline to find out which man is Rosemarie’s true love and what is love and that sort of thing, with the clock counting down in the background.

One of the things I always struggle with in reading medieval stories is the way the writing, especially in dialogue, can be extremely stilted. I shall see what may be done about this unfortunate circumstance, etc. I tend not to enjoy that sort of thing because it’s just not how I imagine the characters talking and it sounds really forced to me. But that’s a personal preference. If you prefer that style, this is definitely a book to check out.

There were a couple of plot issues that I kind of hiccuped over, too. The largest was the idea that Rosemarie would become a nun and still also rule her kingdom. I guess I thought that you had to forsake worldly goods when you join a convent. I’m not sure if that’s a faulty perception on my part, or if I was supposed to willingly suspend my disbelief in the reading of this story. Either way, I understand why the stakes were set up that way, but it confused me. I kept wanting someone in the story to be like, yeah, but remember how King What’s-His-Beard was a monk and still ruled? Something to kind of let me off the hook for wondering. But alas.

The romance element of the story was very sweet. I liked that she had to kind of work out what was important to her in terms of choosing a husband and that her chosen knight shared her values. There were definitely some things that happened I didn’t expect, so that was good, too. The plot definitely wasn’t as simple as I expected it to be. I liked that.

The cover art and some of the way the story is told reminded me a bit of Melanie Dickerson’s novels. I’ve reviewed The Princess Spy here if you want to check it out.

Because of some brief graphic description of torture, this might not be a great pick for tweens, though the other parts of the story are certainly light enough. See below for more information on content.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
There’s some sexual tension between Rosemarie and the three knights. She wonders repeatedly what it will be like to kiss them. There is one kiss in the book.

Spiritual Content
Rosemarie has grown up believing that when she turns eighteen, she’ll have to become a nun because of a vow her parents made when they received help from a holy artifact to conceive her. When Rosemarie feels troubled, she spends time in prayer and seeks council from a trusted advisor within the church.

Violent Content
Rosemarie is passionately opposed to the use of torture to punish her people for even serious crimes. The local sheriff disregards her wishes and tortures several criminals by various methods which are described briefly. Torture comes up several more times throughout the story. The most graphic description, I thought was when a woman’s head is placed in some kind of restraining device so that her tongue can be removed. That scene lasts a bit longer than the others, and had more painful descriptions.

Drug Content
A goblet of ale is poisoned at a feast.

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Review: I Woke Up Dead at the Mall by Judy Sheehan

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

I Woke Up Dead at the Mall
Judy Sheehan
Delacorte Press

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When Sarah wakes up, still wearing the mango-colored monstrosity of a bridesmaid dress, she is surprised by two things: she’s far from her New York home in the Mall of America, and she’s dead. Murdered. Sarah’s mentor encourages her (and the other teen ghosts who’ve taken up residence in the mall) to let go of her past, but Sarah can’t let go, especially when she learns what happened and realizes someone she loves is still in terrible danger. Now she can’t rest in peace until her murderer has been stopped and her family saved.

The concept of this story might be a bit dark, but the playful, frank voice definitely adds some spunk to the tale. As Sarah’s tale unfolds, she relates to the reader as if recounting an adventure to her closest friends. At the mall, she’s surrounded by a colorful group of teens, each with different pasts and baggage. Sarah’s relationship with them is dynamic and challenges her to go beyond her limits. By contrast, Sarah’s relationships with her family feel a bit cliché and underdeveloped. The story centers around Sarah and her friends, kind of a contemporary teen version of the 1990s film Heart and Souls. Readers looking for a warm-and-fuzzy story about unexpected love and second chances will enjoy the humor and romance of this tale.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used with moderate frequency. One character in particular is a bit mouthy.

Romance/Sexual Content
Mouthy girl relates that she loves sex and the others (who all died as virgins) totally missed out. Not much detail about her particular experiences other than that she had a much more pleasurable experience with one boyfriend over another. She humiliates the latter about his lack of ability and he becomes angry.

Sarah shares kisses and sleeps next to a boy. At one point, she removes her clothes in front of him, but they are interrupted before much happens between them.

Spiritual Content
The central characters are all ghosts, teens who were murdered. They are strongly discouraged from trying to craft revenge or haunt their murderers and instead instructed to resolve lingering feelings from their lives and move on to be reincarnated. Or, if the person has died saving someone else, they will have the option to become and angel. Two children rule over the ghostly community, known collectively as the BOY, or Boss of You.

Both Sarah and her mother experienced a kind of premonition during their lifetimes, a warning sense that things were about to happen. Once, Sarah used her gift to save a woman’s life.

One of the boys Sarah meets has died through an assisted suicide. The other teens defends his choice and the actions of the family member who helped him.

Violent Content
One girl recounts her death at the hands of an employer whose advances she refused. It’s brief and not gory, but violent. Another girl is pushed off a bridge and crash lands on top of a car. (That’s about all the detail we get in the story, too.)

Drug Content
References to teen drinking.

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

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Review: The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by Lily Anderson

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The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You
Lily Anderson
St. Martin’s Griffin

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Trixie’s rivalry with Ben goes all the way back to first grade. Now in senior year, there’s no undoing those long-standing battle lines. Until Trixie’s best friend starts dating Ben’s and the group forces them to call a truce. But letting go of her dislike is easier said than done, even when it turns out Ben might possibly be hiding surprisingly pleasant qualities beneath his ridiculous mustache. But when a cheating scandal leaves Trixie’s BFF expelled, Trixie’s determined to rally the troops and prove her bestie innocent. The investigation may shatter her newfound alliance with Ben.

Trixie and her friends attend a school for geniuses, so their classes are far more advanced than the usual high school fare, and each month the entire class list is posted according to GPA ranking, fueling some pretty competitive tension. The social world within the school is really well-developed. I wanted to take some of the courses mentioned. I felt like I could picture the hallways and cafeteria and understand the complex relationships between the characters. B. Calistero = super awesome. I loved the way he turned out to be a pretty crucial part of the story and a link between Trixie and Ben.

Trixie and Ben definitely had great chemistry. Even when they hated each other, it was absolutely electric. Even when the hate shifted, the tension never slipped. I loved their geeky banter. Some of the references I followed pretty easily (Firefly Forever!!!) and others were not hard to decipher (Marvel vs. DC… I’ve been on the periphery of enough of those battle lines.) The enthusiasm and rivalry really sucked me into the story.

Trixie’s two best girl friends were a little harder for me to grasp. I liked Harper, but I felt like I never really got Meg. I loved enough of the other characters that it didn’t matter. I worried about the cast size as I’m often overwhelmed and confused by stories with tons of named characters, but I think I was able to keep everyone straight because they each had pretty specific roles or identities.

Other than the use of strong language, the story is pretty clean. The quick banter and geek chat made it a really fun read. The romance is definitely swoon-worthy.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Meg references some social experimenting with boys, but no details on what precisely her experiments entail.

Spiritual Content
Trixie and her friends celebrate Halloween by attending a Harvest party and Haunted House.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

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Review: Traitor’s Masque by Kenley Davidson

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Traitor’s Masque
Kenley Davidson
Page Nine Press

Amazon | Goodreads | Author’s Web Site

When Trystan’s secret horse rides are interrupted by a handsome, intelligent stranger, she has no idea she’s just met the crown prince of Andari. To her, he’s just a lonely nobleman, seeking the same healing solitude as she is. So when her stepmother’s tyranny reaches new heights, Trystan leaps at an offer from a friend of her late father’s. The lady offers Trystan the freedom she desperately craves for one tiny favor: deliver a message. Not until she’s agreed does Trystan realize she’s just committed to betray the friend she met in the woods, the man she may be falling in love with. The Prince of Andari.

This is not a simple retelling of Cinderella. Don’t get me wrong – it’s got all the right fairytale moments. This is like Cinderella plus political intrigue. The story is told from alternating point-of-view with some sections from Trystan’s viewpoint and others from Prince Ramsey’s (as well as a few from various other characters.) I loved that this gave a lot of insight into the characters and really showed their strengths and weaknesses. Both characters were well-balanced and developed, and immediately I cared about what happened to them and wanted them to get together and fall in love.

In this story, there’s not one but two handsome princes. This was another great unexpected element to the plot. The tension between the princes over the crown kept me guessing what was going to happen next.

While I’m always up for a good fairytale retelling, not all those are created equal. Traitor’s Masque will definitely stay in my top favorites. Fans of Melanie Dickerson’s Hagenheim books or fairytale-type stories in general definitely need to add this one to their summer reading lists!

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple of kisses.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Two girls are kidnapped and bound. No description of further violence happening to them.

Drug Content
References to drinking alcoholic beverages.

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

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