Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: The Phantom of the Fortress by Aaron M. Zook, Jr.

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

The Phantom of the Fortress by Aaron M. Zook, Jr.The Phantom of the Fortress (Thunder and Lightning #3)
Aaron M. Zook, Jr.
Bold Vision Books
Published November 8, 2016

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About The Phantom of the Fortress
A psychologically disturbed Austrian, who believes he is the reincarnation of Mozart, will hold all of Salzburg, Austria under his spell unless Gabe, Alex, and Thunder and Lightning can unravel the clues, solve the mystery, and capture the master of deception. Along the way, tricks and traps become more complex as townspeople pay the price for each error made by the boys. Thunder and Lightning, along with a team of the boy’s friends, work to save the town, but a surprise twist puts the fare of Salzburg on the shoulders of Gabe. Will he crumple under the weight? Will he overcome the madman’s menace?

My Review
I liked the balance in the amount of dialogue and the way it’s used to communicate action to the reader. It made the book a much quicker read and kept scenes from getting bogged down with too many details. On the flip side, though, at times I felt like the description was a little thin. For instance, I had a hard time visualizing the actual size of the dogs and sometimes had a hard time with some of the unfamiliar settings.

You’ll want to limber up your suspension of disbelief before picking up this book. Early in the story Alex and Gabe receive permission from the police captain to work with their cousin on an open case pursuing a murderer. As the chase continues, at one point a bomb injures one boy. No one at the police department seems terribly concerned that perhaps the kids shouldn’t be exposed to this kind of danger. I found that a bit hard to believe.

The plot moves pretty quickly, with the Phantom always a step ahead. The fast-paced action kept things interesting, but I felt like I never really understood what was going on with the Phantom. What did he actually want? Money? Fame? Why was he so obsessed with Mozart? Though the setting tied the story together with facts about Mozart’s life, I didn’t feel like the Phantom himself really connected those dots. He thought he was Mozart perhaps reincarnated, but why? I also wanted him to have more of a character. I also felt like the repeated references to his “horrible birthmark” were insensitive and unkind. I get it that he’s the bad guy, but wanted a little more compassion from the good guys on that point.

Despite the farfetched plot, this story may appeal to readers who enjoy overseas settings with historical significance or tales about kid detectives.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Cultural Elements
Gabe (15) and Alex (13) are Americans in Austria, where their father is stationed with the military. Their close friends, Pete and Jenna are Austrian. Gabe and Alex work with their cousin Willie, an Australian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Gabe and Jenna discuss the status of their dating relationship, which has no real physical component. Gabe feels he’s too young to get serious with a girl, but Jenna’s feelings are strong and she wants a greater commitment from him.

Spiritual Content
In a few scenes one of the boys talks with an older mentor about prayer and depending on God to help solve problems. He asks the group to pray before beginning one part of their mission.

Violent Content
Gabe and Alex find a gravely injured man. A bomb destroys a train car and injures several passengers, including children. At one point it appears both dogs have been killed, possibly by gunshots. Burning oil injures several people. A wall closes in, nearly crushing two people.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

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

Little & Lion
Brandy Colbert
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published August 8, 2017

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About Little & Lion

When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.

But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new…the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel’s disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself–or worse.

My Review

My favorite thing about this book has to be the relationship between Suzette and her stepbrother, Lionel. My household is a blended family, and we spend a lot of time talking about how family isn’t always only people related to you by blood. Sometimes life puts other people into your path and they become part of your family, too. I’ve read lots of young adult and middle grade books about the difficulty of transitioning to a blended family home and how hard it can be to develop those relationships. Those stories are important, too, but it’s nice to see books that present other parts of the family journey. So reading a book in which the family had already forged those complex bonds with step-members was awesome.

I liked and appreciated the diversity in the story. Little & Lion creates a community with members across varied orientations and has characters with physical and mental health issues. It could be said that perhaps some of the handling of Lionel’s illness gets a little stereotypical in that he decides to throw out his medication at one point. (I’m not sure I can think of a story about someone with bipolar disorder which doesn’t involve throwing out meds.) But it’s not the focus of the story, and Lionel never felt defined by his illness, especially not to Suzette, who longs for the kind of close relationship they had before she left for boarding school.

On the whole, I thought the storytelling and the writing were strong. I found it easy to connect with the characters emotionally. I struggled with some of the casual attitudes about teen drinking and some of the sexual content. See the content notes below for more specifics.

Readers who liked Jess, Chunk and the Road Trip to Infinity will enjoy Suzette’s journey toward self-understanding and the diverse cast of characters.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Very diverse cast of characters. Suzette is bisexual. Her best friend is a lesbian. Her brother has bipolar disorder. Her mom is black, her stepdad and brother white. They are also Jewish. Suzette begins dating a boy who’s black and Korean and diagnosed with Meniere’s disease.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some references and brief descriptions of sexual situations—making out and touching. In one scene a boy and girl have sex. Other scenes reference two girls in a sexual exchange.

Spiritual Content
Suzette meets a girl whose mother kicked her out of her home for religious reasons when she got an abortion.

Violent Content
A couple of boys get into a fist fight.

Drug Content
Teens drinking alcohol. Suzette worries about her brother drinking because she feels he doesn’t know his limits. Both are underage.

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

Review: You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Simon Pulse
Published on January 2, 2018

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About You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone

Eighteen-year-old twins Adina and Tovah have little in common besides their ambitious nature. Viola prodigy Adina yearns to become a soloist—and to convince her music teacher he wants her the way she wants him. Overachiever Tovah awaits her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, the first step on her path toward med school and a career as a surgeon.

But one thing could wreck their carefully planned futures: a genetic test for Huntington’s, a rare degenerative disease that slowly steals control of the body and mind. It’s turned their Israeli mother into a near stranger and fractured the sisters’ own bond in ways they’ll never admit. While Tovah finds comfort in their Jewish religion, Adina rebels against its rules.

When the results come in, one twin tests negative for Huntington’s. The other tests positive.

These opposite outcomes push them farther apart as they wrestle with guilt, betrayal, and the unexpected thrill of first love. How can they repair their relationship, and is it even worth saving?

My Review

I read this book over my hospital stay in December, and it was a really great distraction from everything else going on before my daughter was born. (Everything’s good—we’re both healthy and doing well now.) I found it super easy to get lost in the story of two sisters waiting for the results of a genetic test and dealing with their anxiety over the results in vastly different ways. Both girls felt real and individual. I could tell whose point-of-view I was in just from reading a single paragraph.

While Adina has some mixed feelings about some casual sexual encounters in her past, she clearly feels empowered by her desirability. She comes across confident and eager for sex, but frustrated that she’s not able to trigger a transfer from lust to love in her partners. I found that complexity moving and believable. For me personally, I wish it had less explicit sexual content, but I liked the writing and the way the author showed a lot more about Adina’s character through her perceptions of herself and the way she related to men.

The tug-of-war between Adina and Tovah to rebuild or sabotage their relationship felt like a train wreck I couldn’t look away from (in a good way). The tension only increases when one sister receives a positive test result for Huntington’s.

I don’t know much about Huntington’s apart from the descriptions in this book, so I’m not a good resource for how accurately it’s represented. But many scenes showed Adina and Tovah’s mom and her changing moods and behavior in stark, raw ways that made it clear how much a positive result would impact each girl’s life plans and made it impossible not to empathize both with the girls and their family.

Readers who enjoyed Dana Reinhardt’s We Are the Goldens will find similar focus on sister relationships and strong writing.

Content

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Adina and Tovah have been raised in a practicing Jewish family. Tovah embraces her faith in part because of her mom’s diagnosis. Adina rejects her faith wholly, even to the extent that she doesn’t believe in God. For her, Mom’s diagnosis is evidence that there is no God.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently. One sister uses much more profanity than the other.

Romance/Sexual Content
An eighteen-year-old girl begins a sexual relationship with her teacher. Some exchanges between them contain explicit details. She also reflects on other casual sex encounters from her past—some of which she has very mixed feelings about now. In one scene, she masturbates, thinking about her new lover.

One girl begins a dating relationship and describes some of the progression of the physical side of it—kissing, cuddling inside a sleeping bag together, and approaching having sex. She learns her best friend has been having sex with a boyfriend.

Spiritual Content
Adina and Tovah celebrate Sabbath with their family and attend weekly services. They speak Hebrew. One sister talks about how frustrated she feels around the winter holidays when people wish her a Merry Christmas because it assumes she’s part of something she isn’t.

Violent Content
One girl wrestles with anxiety and depression, at one point planning to die by suicide.

Drug Content
Some scenes show teens drinking alcohol.

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

Review: Life Just Got Real by Sadie Robertson with Cindy Coloma

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

Life Just Got Real
Sadie Robertson with Cindy Coloma
Howard Books / Simon & Schuster
Published on June 7, 2016

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About Life Just Got Real
Sixteen-year-old A.J. Smith grew up in backwoods Louisiana, repairing cars with her dad and hunting with her brothers. But when her dad dies, her mom drags the whole family to Nashville where everything is different—except A.J. And A.J. knows it will take everything she has to live original.

Kate Kelly grew up in Nashville’s best schools, jetting around the world with glamorous people and wearing clothes from her mom’s trendy boutique. But when A.J. Smith―a new girl from the sticks—shows up, suddenly she’s all the rage: her unusual sense of style, her accent, and especially her dumb converse high tops. Even Kate’s brother, Kaden, seems to be under the new girl’s spell. But Kate has bigger things to think about, including the reality show Real Life. Everyone says the show is her chance to make it big. But then the producers decide to bring A.J. into the show.

Because these girls are so different, the producers of Real Life know that their conflict will be television gold. So the cameras start to roll. Then Kaden asks A.J. to prom, Kate flips out, and things with Kate’s (almost) boyfriend Alex start unraveling fast—all on camera. As the producers try to stir up the drama, Kate’s idea of the perfect prom spins out of control. When Kate’s life goes disastrously wrong, it is A.J. who steps up to help—no questions asked. A friendship between the two girls just might grow—but only if they both live original and stay true to who God made them to be.

My Review
As a girl who also grew up peeking at engines with her dad, I loved that this is a book about a girl with mechanical tendencies! How fun. I loved AJ’s genuine character and her vulnerability. Both those things made it so easy to root for her as the story progressed.

I also identified with Kate’s driven, high-achiever nature. I liked how both girls were juxtaposed against each other not just within the frame of a reality show but also in their alternating points of view in the story.

In a couple of scenes, Kaden gets a bit pushy with AJ. While as a reader I believed in Kaden’s goodness and his good intentions toward AJ, I was uncomfortable with the way the story made his behavior seem like an admirable thing. She resisted or straight up said no she didn’t want to do something a couple of times and he kind of pushed until she caved. I don’t think this is a great model for teen relationships and can actually be a dangerous pattern. So I struggled with that.

The story explores some of AJ’s spiritual beliefs and the comfort she finds in church and Christian faith. So there’s more spiritual content here than in some other books by major Christian publishers that I’ve read lately. I loved seeing these elements grafted into the story but wished they played a role in the story’s resolution as well.

The plot got a little murky toward the three-quarter mark of Life Just Got Real. I’m not sure what the big conflict/final battle is exactly. I felt like the story sort of lost focus and became more event-driven at that point. The ending left me wanting to know more (in a good way), though I don’t see any evidence that there are plans for a sequel.

Readers looking for a clean reality show novel will want to put this one on their lists. If you liked Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos or liked the concept but wanted a clean alternative, Life Just Got Real should be on your reading list.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white. The story takes place in Nashville and focuses on a wealthy white family and a poorer white family.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

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

Spiritual Content
AJ reflects on the change in her Christian life since her dad’s death and realizes she hasn’t prayed much lately. She begins attending church again and tries to make her spiritual life a priority. She also introduces Kaden to her church. He develops his own belief and mentions studying the bible. He also talks to his sister Kate briefly about believing in God and how maybe that’s what he’s been missing in his life up to that point. Kate wants to be supportive but doesn’t seem interested in spirituality.

Violent Content
A boy publicly humiliates a girl by saying some unkind things about her.

Drug Content
A boy gets drunk and says some ugly things about a girl publicly. He later apologizes for what he said and did.

Review: Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson

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

Not Now, Not Ever
Lily Anderson
St. Martin’s Press
Published on November 21, 2017

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About Not Now, Not Ever
Elliot Gabaroche is very clear on what she isn’t going to do this summer.

1. She isn’t going to stay home in Sacramento, where she’d have to sit through her stepmother’s sixth community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
2. She isn’t going to mock trial camp at UCLA.
3. And she certainly isn’t going to the Air Force summer program on her mother’s base in Colorado Springs. As cool as it would be to live-action-role-play Ender’s Game, Ellie’s seen three generations of her family go through USAF boot camp up close, and she knows that it’s much less Luke/Yoda/”feel the force,” and much more one hundred push-ups on three days of no sleep. And that just isn’t appealing, no matter how many Xenomorphs from Alien she’d be able to defeat afterwards.

What she is going to do is pack up her attitude, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and go to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic-decathlon-like competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. And she’s going to start over as Ever Lawrence, on her own terms, without the shadow of all her family’s expectations. Because why do what’s expected of you when you can fight other genius nerds to the death for a shot at the dream you’re sure your family will consider a complete waste of time?

This summer’s going to be great.

My Review
I thought the connections between Not Now, Not Ever and The Importance of Being Earnest made this a super fun, unexpected story. Elliot’s struggle to figure out what to do with her future with regard to her family’s expectations for her definitely pulled me into the story. It wasn’t the most satisfying plot element, though.

Actually, I have to say I was pretty excited when I figured out that Brandon (if you read The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You, you’ll remember this guy!) had a pretty major role in this novel. I loved finding him in Not Now, Not Ever.

Lots of the characters have secrets of their own, which had me hooked. It seemed like every time I thought I pegged what was going to happen, some new layer emerged. That made for a fun reading experience for sure.

On the whole, I think I liked these characters better than The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You but prefer that plot over Not Now, Not Ever. Not to say I didn’t enjoy both—I totally did. Anderson delivers strong dialogue and banter with some really fun geek culture in both books. Fans of Cori McCarthy’s You Were Here and Anderson’s debut novel, The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You will want to add this one to reading lists.

Recommended for Ages 14 up

Cultural Elements
Elliot is black. Her step-mom is white. She’s also from a family with very strong military traditions and feels pressured to join follow in that tradition after high school, despite her other dreams. Two of the boys in the summer program are gay and start a relationship.

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

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys and between a boy and girl. It’s implied that a boy and girl have had sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
At one point Elliot drinks alcohol with a friend.

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

 

Review: The Thing with Feathers by McCall Hoyle

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

The Thing with Feathers
McCall Hoyle
Blink YA
Published on September 5, 2017

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About The Thing with Feathers
Emilie Day believes in playing it safe: she’s homeschooled, her best friend is her seizure dog, and she’s probably the only girl on the Outer Banks of North Carolina who can’t swim.

Then Emilie’s mom enrolls her in public school, and Emilie goes from studying at home in her pj’s to halls full of strangers. To make matters worse, Emilie is paired with starting point guard Chatham York for a major research project on Emily Dickinson. She should be ecstatic when Chatham shows interest, but she has a problem. She hasn’t told anyone about her epilepsy.

Emilie lives in fear her recently adjusted meds will fail and she’ll seize at school. Eventually, the worst happens, and she must decide whether to withdraw to safety or follow a dead poet’s advice and “dwell in possibility.”

My Review
I loved the way Emilie wrestled with her fears throughout the story—not just her fears about having peers find out about her epilepsy, but her unresolved grief over her dad’s death and the possibility that her mom might move on to have a new relationship, and her fear of rejection when handsome Chatham shows some pretty strong interest in her.

The tie-ins with Emily Dickinson’s life and poetry added another interesting layer to the story as well. I liked that Emilie recognized so much of herself in the reclusive poet and yet it was often Dickinson’s words which challenged her to go beyond the boundaries she felt comfortable within.

On the whole, I liked the story and enjoyed reading it. The Thing with Feathers is a sweet story with a strong but clean romantic thread. It’s a story about friendship, facing fear and finding hope. Fans of Stephanie Morrill’s Skylar Hoyt and Ellie Sweet books need to add this one to their reading lists.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Emilie has epilepsy and worries a lot about assumptions people may make about it.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

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

Spiritual Content
References to prayer.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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