Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Review: Karate Prom by Kyle Starks

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Karate Prom by Kyle Starks

Karate Prom
Kyle Starks
First Second
Published May 7, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Karate Prom

Don “TheDragonWilson” Jones is the finest fighter Benjamin Harrison High School has ever produced. But when he enters the ring against Lincoln High’s Sam Steadman, it’s love at first knockout.

Unfortunately, Sam has a jerky ex-boyfriend…and Don has a seriously terrifying ex-girlfriend. Like, “global crime cartel” terrifying. From prom to the after-party to graduation, Don and Sam―and an increasingly eclectic cast of supporting oddballs―will have to fight their way through a gauntlet of opponents, all in the name of love (and punching). Did we mention the punching?

My Review

This goofy graphic novel packs a punch of pure silliness. The story follows Don and Sam from their first encounter at a martial arts tournament to prom, an after-party, and graduation, at which wilder and wilder events unfold.

The romance between the two stays sweet and absolutely adorable, a perfect contrast to the posturing, bullying, and fist-flying of other characters and scenes. Though there’s a lot of martial arts-style combat, the illustrations stay cartoonish, showing reddened skin after a hit connects, and blue shadows for bruises.

Though the story doesn’t center around a moral value, the ending does impart a positive lesson about teamwork and working together to fight even in the face of overwhelming odds. This is a joyful, hilarious summer read perfect for fans of martial arts and classic high school moments.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Don is Black. One minor character doesn’t speak. Cast includes additional BIPOC characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Cartoon violence. Many scenes show fighting between characters.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Death’s Country by R. M. Romero

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

Death’s Country
R. M. Romero
PeachTree Teen
Published May 7, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Death’s Country

Hadestown meets “Orpheus and Eurydice” when two Miami teens travel to the underworld to retrieve their girlfriend’s soul.

Andres Santos of São Paulo was all swinging fists and firecracker fury, a foot soldier in the war between his parents. Until he drowned in the Tietê River… and made a bargain with Death for a new life. A year later, his parents have relocated the family to Miami, but their promises of a fresh start quickly dissolve in the summer heat. 

Instead of fists, Andres now uses music to escape his parents’ battles. While wandering Miami Beach, he meets two photographer Renee, a blaze of fire, and dancer Liora, a ray of sunshine. The three become a polyamorous triad, happy, despite how no one understands their relationship. But when a car accident leaves Liora in a coma, Andres and Renee are shattered. 

Then Renee proposes a radical She and Andres must go into the underworld to retrieve their girlfriend’s spirit and reunite it with her body—before it’s too late. Their search takes them to the City of the dead, where painters bleed color, songs grow flowers, and regretful souls will do anything to forget their lives on earth. But finding Liora’s spirit is only the first step in returning to the living world. Because when Andres drowned, he left a part of himself in the underworld—a part he’s in no hurry to meet again. But it is eager to be reunited with him… 

In verse as vibrant as the Miami skyline, critically acclaimed author R.M. Romero has crafted a masterpiece of magical realism and an openhearted ode to the nature of healing.

My Review

I’ve read two other novels in verse by R. M. Romero before, and I love the way she brings scenes to life with such spare, haunting words. The same powerful storytelling fills the pages of Death’s Country as well.

I felt like the story was a little slow to begin, maybe because so much of the beginning feels like a setup for the real conflict in the book. The story drew me in for sure, especially the descriptions of the City filled with the souls of the dead. I love the boy who calls himself Virgil whom Andres and Renee meet there.

The story centers around three people who are in a polyamorous romantic relationship. Andres joins the relationship that already exists between Liora and Renee, and the three discuss what it means to be in a relationship, explaining that love can’t be limited and offering each other the chance to try loving one another this way.

The story reminded me a lot of Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera, which I really enjoyed. If you’re looking for another “Orpheus and Eurydice” story reimagined, I recommend that one as well.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Andres is Brazilian and Cuban. Renee and Liora are in a romantic relationship with each other and then with Andres.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. Kissing between a boy and girl. Representation of a polyamorous relationship.

Spiritual Content
Andres meets Death after drowning. She gives him his life back, removes his debilitating anger, and warns him that in fairness, because she took something he hates, she’ll return to take something he loves.

Renee and Andres journey to the Underworld hoping to find Liora and return her to the land of the living. They meet other departed souls.

Violent Content
Andres fights another boy, breaking his jaw.

Brief reference to a possible eating disorder.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

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

This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom #1)
Tahereh Mafi
HarperCollins
Published February 1, 2022

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About This Woven Kingdom

New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller! Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology.

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.

Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Tomi Adeyemi, and Sabaa Tahir, this is the explosive first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-nominated author Tahereh Mafi.

“In a tale as exquisitely crafted as one of Alizeh’s own garments, Mafi weaves a spell of destiny and danger, forbidden love and courtly intrigue, magic and revolution.”—Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Hours

“This Woven Kingdom is an exquisite fantasy. Rich with clever prose, delicious twists, and breathtaking world building. Prepare to be destroyed—this one will wrench at your heart and make it pound, and in the end it will leave you entirely speechless.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

My Review

I started reading this book because a friend recommended it, and I’m really glad I did. I read the first book in the Shatter Me series by Mafi before but didn’t continue with the series. It’s been so long since that happened that I honestly couldn’t remember anything about her writing style or storytelling, so I pretty much went into this book without real expectations.

From the first page, the writing impressed me. It has this very rich, deep fantasy feel to it, the kind that won’t let you forget you’re reading about another world. I loved that. I also loved the characters. The narrative alternates between Alizeh and Kamron’s perspectives. The first few chapters follow Alizeh only, so I was a little surprised at Kamron’s first chapter, but very quickly, it becomes obvious how the two stories connect, and by then, I was completely hooked on the story.

I couldn’t read this book fast enough, honestly. The tension between Alizeh and Kamron was so intense. His relationship with his grandfather and her relationships with the apothecary and the young woman she sews dresses for all had me desperately wanting to know more.

As soon as I finished this book, I immediately started reading the second one. I have a feeling this is a series I’ll follow all the way to its end.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Based on Persian folklore.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
There are two types of people in the world: humans, or those made of clay, and Jinn, or those with magic ability. There’s some lore about the devil being cast down to earth by the other gods and him producing the Jinn, though they’ve distanced themselves from him since then. The devil, called Iblees, appears to Alizeh periodically, and she ignores his riddles and messages.

Violent Content
A boy attacks a girl on the street with a knife. She fights back, injuring him enough to escape. References to war. A boy describes seeing his father’s partial remains and being told he must not show any pain at the sight.

A supervisor strikes a servant girl. Assassins attack an unarmed person who fights back. A man threatens to kill a young woman after she learns too much about his plans. A young man remembers a time he jumped from a bridge, trying to end his life. A man stabs another with a sword. Two young men fight with swords, one also using magic. A young woman strikes a man in the face hard enough to make him stumble back.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Nimona by ND Stevenson

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Nimona
ND Stevenson
Quiltree Books
Published May 12, 2015

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Nimona

The graphic novel debut from rising star Noelle Stevenson, based on her beloved and critically acclaimed web comic, which Slate awarded its Cartoonist Studio Prize, calling it “a deadpan epic.”

Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson. Featuring an exclusive epilogue not seen in the web comic, along with bonus conceptual sketches and revised pages throughout, this gorgeous full-color graphic novel is perfect for the legions of fans of the web comic and is sure to win Noelle many new ones.

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable, wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

My Review

I see this book everywhere, and I know there’s now a movie version on Netflix, but I hadn’t read it until now. It reminds me a little bit of a slightly more sophisticated Dr. Horrible?

The main character, Ballister Blackthorn, has become a villain after his former lover and fellow knight-in-training sabotaged his final test. A powerful institution with some very shady practices governs the people, and Blackthorn spends his days obstructing their goals and doing other villainy.

Then Nimona, who appears to be a teenage girl, shows up and demands to be his sidekick. She takes things up quite a few notches, wanting Blackthorn’s plans to include more chaos, fire, and murder, which doesn’t sound hilarious, but as the two banter back and forth, it really is.

It’s definitely a wild superhero adventure that explores hero-villain connections in some interesting ways. I love the banter between Nimona and Ballister.

The text appears in a handwriting-style font that I sometimes had trouble reading, especially when it was placed really near to the inside edge of the pages, but other than that, I loved everything about this book. It’s definitely one I’ll be glad to have on my shelves, and one I’m happy to recommend.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Ballister and Ambrosius (two men) were once in a romantic relationship with one another. Ballister has a prosthetic arm.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a past romantic relationship.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle violence and some cartoon gore.

Drug Content
Two adult characters meet at a tavern for drinks and a chat.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

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

Not Like Other Girls
Meredith Adamo
Bloomsbury YA
Published April 30, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Not Like Other Girls

A girl risks everything to find her former best friend in this powerful debut mystery about trauma, girlhood, and what we deserve.

When Jo-Lynn Kirby’s former best friend—pretty, nice Maddie Price—comes to her claiming to be in trouble, Jo assumes it’s some kind of joke. After all, Jo has been an outcast ever since her nude photos were leaked—and since everyone decided she deserved it. There’s no way Maddie would actually come to her for help.

But then Maddie is gone.

Everyone is quick to write off Maddie as a runaway, but Jo can’t shake the feeling there’s more to the story. To find out the truth, Jo needs to get back in with the people who left her behind—and the only way back in is through Hudson Harper-Moore. An old fling of Jo’s with his own reasons for wanting to find Maddie, Hudson hatches a fake dating scheme to get Jo back into their clique. But being back on the inside means Jo must confront everything she’d rather forget: the boys who betrayed her, the whispers that she had it coming, and the secrets that tore her and Maddie apart. As Jo digs deeper into Maddie’s disappearance, she’s left to wonder who she’s really searching for: Maddie, or the girl she used to be.

Not Like Other Girls is a stunning debut that takes a hard look at how we treat young women and their trauma, through the lens of a missing girl and a girl trying to find herself again.

My Review

This is the kind of book that stirs up complicated feelings, and it really succeeded at that for me. The writing is really well done. It’s got a great voice that transitions expertly between serious and silly moments. The characters are all flawed or imperfect in some way, and that makes them both very real and sometimes very disappointing.

There’s so much packed into the 400+ pages of this book. Jo deals with the fallout of her photos being stolen and leaked. Her former best friend goes missing. She fake dates a boy, hoping to get information about her missing friend. She uncovers a scandal at school, joins an internship program, and befriends the mean girls in her class.

All the pieces fit together really well, and the story balances each element of the plot so that none of the elements get lost or confusing. It’s a long book, though, and the number of issues to resolve demands a long book. I couldn’t help wondering as I read, though, what the story would have been like if it had been pared down a little bit to focus on fewer things. Does its length and the number of issues in the book dilute its power?

I’m not sure what the answer is. I tend to struggle with longer books these days, so some of that could be a personal preference. I think stories that explore the aftermath of sexual bullying and trauma are so important to discuss, because things like this do happen, and much like the parents of the girl who was attacked, we often don’t know how to respond. Sometimes fiction gives us a safe space to think through trauma and hardship. This is definitely a book that will make you think.

Conclusion

Overall, Not Like Other Girls is powerfully written, important, and packed with complex characters. I wish it had been a little shorter, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Content Notes

Content warning for sexual assault.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Jo is white. One friend is Black and another is a lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to nude photos shared (by someone else) among a group of students. Kissing between boy and girl. References to oral sex. In a couple of scenes, a boy and girl prepare to have sex. References to sexual touching.

A girl shares splintered memories of a sexual assault.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Several people use slut-shaming terms/words about Jo.

A boy punches another boy in the face. Someone attacks a girl. Someone is held for several days against their will. A person threatens to kill someone. A girl attacks a captor who later falls through a dock, injuring their leg.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a party. Jo and a friend smoke weed that belongs to her dad.

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

Review: Pillow Talk by Stephanie Cooke and Mel Valentine Vargas

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Pillow Talk
Stephanie Cooke
Illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas
HarperAlley
Published April 30, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Pillow Talk

Grace Mendes a.k.a. Cinderhella is a fierce competitor in the PFF, a pillow fight federation that’s part roller derby, part professional wrestling. But in this fresh, coming-of-age YA graphic novel, Grace needs to learn to overcome her biggest enemy: herself. For fans of Check, Please and Bloom.

When college freshman Grace Mendes reluctantly attends her first pillow fight match, she falls in love with the surprisingly gritty sport. Despite her usually shy, introverted, and reserved nature, Grace decides to try out for the Pillow Fight Federation (PFF), a locally famous league of fighters with larger-than-life personas like Pain Eyre, Miss Fortune, and champion Kat Atonic. They may battle with pillows, but there is nothing soft about these fighters. The first and only rule to pillow fighting is that the pillow needs to be the first point of contact; after that, everything else goes.

Grace struggles with deep-seated body image issues, so she is especially shocked when she makes the competitive league and is welcomed into the fold of close knit, confident fighters. As her first official fight performing as newly crafted alter-ego/ring persona Cinderhella looms on the horizon, the real battle taking place is between Grace and her growing insecurities. What if people laugh or make fun of her? Why did she think she could pillow fight in the first place when she doesn’t look like your “typical” athlete? Turns out, no one is laughing when Cinderhella dominates her first match in the ring. And as her alter-ego rises through the ranks of the PFF, gaining traction and online fame (and online trolls), can Grace use the spotlight to become an icon for not just others, but most importantly, for herself?

Pillow Talk is an inclusive, high-octane, outrageously fun graphic novel that aims a punch at the impossibly high standards set for women in sports (and otherwise) and champions the power of finding a team that will, quite literally, fight for you. A knock-out! 

My Review

This was such a fun read! I was a little nervous at the very beginning that Callie, Grace’s best friend, was going to turn out to be a mean girl that Grace worked really hard to stay friends with. She comes off as selfish and self-serving in the first few scenes, but gradually, I started to see more sides of her. From there, it pretty quickly became clear why Grace likes her and why their friendship works. She has flaws, for sure, but she cares about Grace a lot, which was awesome.

I love the way this book celebrates female friendship. From Grace’s relationship with her roommate Callie to her connections to the other PFF fighters, Pillow Talk showcases the power that comes from people, especially women, lifting one another up. (One major character is nonbinary, and they do a lot of lifting up, too.) I really liked the way the book highlighted that without making it the point of the story.

Grace is also just awesome. I loved seeing her come alive in her fights and embrace being Cinderhella, the persona she created. She faces fear and doubt because she’s a plus-sized girl in a judgy world. The scenes that explored those feelings showed her vulnerability and hurt in ways that were so easy to connect with and made me root for her even more.

Readers looking for a fun story about friendships and wrestling or girls in sports will really enjoy this graphic novel.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Grace is Latina and plus-sized. Callie has had relationships with boys and girls. One nonbinary character is in a relationship with a girl. The rest of the PFF team is a pretty racially diverse group.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very rarely.

Romance/Sexual Content
One kiss between two girls. One kiss between a nonbinary person and a girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Pillow fight matches show characters swinging pillows at one another as part of wrestling moves. One fighter appears to get injured at one point, but a medical staff member checks her out, and she’s okay.

Drug Content
The PFF team go out for drinks and karaoke. (Grace and Callie are in their first year of college, but some of the other team members are older.)

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