Category Archives: By Genre

Review: Gone Dark by Amanda Panitch

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,
Gone Dark by Amanda Panitch

Gone Dark
Amanda Panitch
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published April 12, 2022

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About Gone Dark

When seventeen-year-old Zara escaped her father’s backwoods survivalist compound five years ago, she traded crossbows and skinning hides for electricity and video games…and tried to forget the tragedy that drove her away.

Until a malware attack on the United States electrical grids cuts off the entire country’s power.

In the wake of the disaster and the chaos that ensues, Zara is forced to call upon skills she thought she’d never use again—and her best bet to survive is to go back to the home she left behind. Drawing upon a resilience she didn’t know she had, Zara leads a growing group of friends on an epic journey across a crumbling country back to her father’s compound, where their only hope for salvation lies.

But with every step she takes, Zara wonders if she truly has what it takes to face her father and the secrets of her past, or if she’d be better off hiding in the dark.

DRY meets HATCHET in this thrilling tale of survival following a teen girl who must lead her friends across country to the safety of her estranged father’s survivalist compound after a mass power failure leaves the country in chaos.

My Review

One of the fascinating things about this book is Zara’s conflicted feelings about her dad. She and her mom escaped from his compound, and there’s obviously lots of trauma back there she’s not ready to unpack at the beginning of the book. Yet when the power grids go down, she decides his property is the safest place for her and her friends. I found that idea to be kind of hard to digest sometimes.

It made sense that she had conflicted feelings– he’s still her dad, and she was a child when she lived with him, so a lot of her memories about him are a little mixed up. Maybe what was hard to digest was the idea that Zara would be safe at her dad’s. So while she’s locked in on returning to him as a goal, I felt like that was definitely not going to go the way she hoped.

I don’t want to give anything away. I guess I can say that for the most part, I was satisfied about the way things went down. Not everything went the way I expected, which was okay. But it made sense, and felt like the story resolved for the most part.

I liked Zara’s character and her relationship with Gabe and the rest of her team. I loved the way each teammate brought something different to the group, and the way they learned to depend on one another. Another thing that I liked a lot was the mix of people they met along the way. Certainly there were people for whom the catastrophe brought out the worst in them. But there were a lot of people who were trying to be good people and trying to do good things in spite of a horrific situation.

All in all, I enjoyed GONE DARK. I loved that it’s from a girl’s perspective. It reminded me a little bit of ALONE by Megan E. Freeman.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Zara’s best friend and her brother are Latinx. One minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Description of a kiss between two boys.

Spiritual Content
Zara and Gabe stay on an LDS compound for a while.

Violent Content
Several scenes include brief graphic violence showing someone murdering someone else. At one point, a man drugs several others, intending to have them killed later.

Drug Content
Zara and her friends find a bottle of vodka and drink it together.

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

Review: A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

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A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers #3)
Brigid Kemmerer
Bloomsbury YA
Published January 26, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Vow So Bold and Deadly

Face your fears, fight the battle.

Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace.

Fight the battle, save the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and a magical scraver by her side. As Grey’s deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.

As the two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and a dangerous enemy returns, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.

My Review

It took me a long time to read this book. Not because of the writing or the book itself, just… it’s the end of the series. And I was pretty much Team Rhen from the beginning, so I knew this one wasn’t going to be easy, because he goes through some stuff. But I also love the other characters, especially Harper, and really wanted to see how their stories play out. Plus, if you haven’t yet heard, Kemmerer is beginning a new spin-off series this year (which has Tycho in it as a lord???) so I didn’t want to fall behind.

There’s a line in the book where Harper is thinking about Grey and Rhen’s relationship and where things went wrong between those two. She’s thinking about the mistakes they both made and whether that justifies war between them. She concludes this: “one bad choice should not undo a thousand good ones.”

If you know what’s been going on in my personal life the last few months, you probably already know that would hit me really deep. I mean, you could argue that there are some loopholes there depending on what that one bad choice is (murder maybe?). But I’d argue that the thousand choices are a good measure of the person’s true character. If one choice out of a thousand is a bad choice, probably it was a mistake, and there are probably reasons it happened. (Which is pretty much Harper’s point.)

Anyway, obviously the story resonated with me in ways outside the book. I loved the way the story explores the way mistakes impact a relationship but how hope and courage to rebuild that trust impact a relationship, too.

There are so many moments in this book that I needed to happen. Things between Rhen and Harper. Things between Lia Mara and Grey. But things for those characters individually, too. Stuff that they’ve been carrying that we’ve all known they need to face up to. There are shocking moments and moments that broke my heart, too. It’s a really fitting conclusion to this series packed with huge characters and gigantic emotions.

On the whole, I’m so glad I finally read A VOW SO BOLD AND DEADLY. I’m excited about the spinoff, FORGING SILVER INTO STARS, which comes out later this year, too. Sometimes I’m able to get Brigid Kemmerer’s books for review (probably a higher likelihood since it’s the first book in a new series??) but not always. Either way, I’m sure I’ll be reading it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Harper has Cerebral Palsy. (It’s not mentioned specifically in this book, but it is in A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY.) Harper’s brother Jake is gay and in a relationship with a Black man. (Both minor characters.)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl which sometimes leads to more. Some descriptions of undressing and leading up to sex. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
A sorceress once held Rhen under a terrible curse, leaving him terrified of magic. Grey also has the ability to perform magic. Another character does as well.

Violent Content
Battle violence and situations of peril. Some graphic descriptions of violence and references to torture.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol.

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

Review: This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

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This May End Badly
Samantha Markum
Wednesday Books
Published April 12, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About This May End Badly

Pranking mastermind Doe and her motley band of Weston girls are determined to win the century-long war against Winfield Academy before the clock ticks down on their senior year. But when their headmistress announces that The Weston School will merge with its rival the following year, their longtime feud spirals into chaos.

To protect the school that has been her safe haven since her parents’ divorce, Doe puts together a plan to prove once and for all that Winfield boys and Weston girls just don’t mix, starting with a direct hit at Three, Winfield’s boy king and her nemesis. In a desperate move to win, Doe strikes a bargain with Three’s cousin, Wells: If he fake dates her to get under Three’s skin, she’ll help him get back his rightful family heirloom from Three.

As the pranks escalate, so do her feelings for her fake boyfriend, and Doe spins lie after lie to keep up her end of the deal. But when a teacher long suspected of inappropriate behavior messes with a younger Weston girl, Doe has to decide what’s more important: winning a rivalry, or joining forces to protect something far more critical than a prank war legacy.

THIS MAY END BADLY is a story about friendship, falling in love, and crossing pretty much every line presented to you—and how to atone when you do.

My Review

The cover copy on this book made me think of an older favorite: THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU by Lily Anderson. It’s also a boarding school story with an enemies to lovers arc and loads of banter and snark. I LOVED that book when I read it, so I as soon as I read about this book, I knew I wanted to read it.

And it totally delivered on all my hopes for it. I loved Doe’s character with her single-minded passion. I loved Wells with his mysterious sorrow peeking out beneath the “I don’t care” attitude he had going on. On top of that, I loved Doe’s friends, when they pushed her, made room for her, loved her despite her misguided or hurtful actions. I loved the way they operated as a team and protected one another.

I also loved the banter! The pranks. The teasing comments. The awkward, hilarious conversations. I laughed out loud more reading this book than I have in a long time. It was exactly the story I needed this week.

If you like fake dating, boarding school stories, or prank wars and banter, this book is one you won’t want to miss.

Content Notes for This May End Badly

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Doe has a diverse friend group. Her dad is bisexual. Some discussion about how single gender schools exclude trans and nonbinary students.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. In one scene, a boy and girl take their shirts off.

A teacher is rumored to be a sexual predator. The girls try to warn new students and look out for each other. One girl comes forward with details about inappropriate behavior on the teacher’s part. The scene is brief, but the girl is obviously (understandably) traumatized when she describes what happened.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Two boys get into a fistfight.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a party and in other circumstances.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THIS MAY END BADLY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke

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This Rebel Heart
Katherine Locke
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published April 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About This Rebel Heart

A tale set amid the 1956 Hungarian revolution in post-WWII Communist Budapest.

In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. Csilla knows the river is magic. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most–safe from the Holocaust. But that was before the Communists seized power. Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. Before Csilla knew things about her father’s legacy that she wishes she could forget.

Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her escape from this country that has never loved her the way she loves it. But her carefully laid plans fall to pieces when her parents are unexpectedly, publicly exonerated. As the protests in other countries spur talk of a larger revolution in Hungary, Csilla must decide if she believes in the promise and magic of her deeply flawed country enough to risk her life to help save it, or if she should let it burn to the ground.

My Review of This Rebel Heart

The author’s note at the beginning of the book warns that Hungary’s revolution does not end in victory, so I felt like I read this entire book holding my breath, waiting for that shoe to drop. Which wasn’t a negative for me– just added a lot of intensity.

Csilla was my favorite character, but I loved the other characters, too. I loved the way that magic is woven into the story through Csilla’s relationship with the river. The way that color (or a lack of it) is used in the story, too, is really powerful and cool.

The way the story is written completely captivated me. I felt like I couldn’t stop reading, and like so many of the scenes were just aching– achingly beautiful or haunting or tragic. I feel like it struck something in me really deeply, a kind of connection with a book that I haven’t felt since reading THE BOOK THIEF years ago, where it made me want to call people and read them pages of the story.

I’m trying not to buy any new books right now because SHELF SPACE, but I really want a hard copy of this one. THIS REBEL HEART is the first book I’ve read by Katherine Locke, but obviously I need to read all their other books immediately. I absolutely loved it.

I think readers who enjoyed THE GIRL IN THE BLUE COAT by Monica Hesse or books by Ruta Sepetys would love THIS REBEL HEART.

Content Notes for This Rebel Heart

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Csilla is Jewish. Other characters are gay or bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to a kiss between two men. Kissing between two boys. Kissing between a boy and girl. Two boys and a girl are in a romantic relationship together.

Spiritual Content
References to Jewish holidays and practices. One character is an angel of death.

Violent Content
References to genocide, some brief graphic references to death in gas chambers. References to torture and suicide. Brief description as a mob beats a young man to death. Soldiers shoot into a crowd of protestors, killing someone. Some battle violence and other situations of peril.

Drug Content
Characters drink socially at a community dance.

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

Review: She Gets the Girl by Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

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She Gets the Girl
Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published April 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About She Gets the Girl

Alex Blackwood is a little bit headstrong, with a dash of chaos and a whole lot of flirt. She knows how to get the girl. Keeping her on the other hand…not so much. Molly Parker has everything in her life totally in control, except for her complete awkwardness with just about anyone besides her mom. She knows she’s in love with the impossibly cool Cora Myers. She just…hasn’t actually talked to her yet.

Alex and Molly don’t belong on the same planet, let alone the same college campus. But when Alex, fresh off a bad (but hopefully not permanent) breakup, discovers Molly’s hidden crush as their paths cross the night before classes start, they realize they might have a common interest after all. Because maybe if Alex volunteers to help Molly learn how to get her dream girl to fall for her, she can prove to her ex that she’s not a selfish flirt. That she’s ready for an actual commitment. And while Alex is the last person Molly would ever think she could trust, she can’t deny Alex knows what she’s doing with girls, unlike her.

As the two embark on their five-step plans to get their girls to fall for them, though, they both begin to wonder if maybe they’re the ones falling…for each other.

My Review

This one started a teeny bit rough for me. I don’t know if it was the writing or the fact that I’d just read two other books in which a parent was an alcoholic, so I was kind of worn out on that idea? It didn’t feel quite authentic in those opening chapters, but maybe that’s because at that point, Alex was her most inauthentic self.

At any rate, once I was three or so chapters into the book, I felt like things smoothed out and I started to really like both Molly and Alex a lot. I loved watching their friendship develop and watching Molly find her confidence and Alex find the ability to open up and let herself genuinely care about someone.

One of the things I think SHE GETS THE GIRL does really well is deliver complicated relationships. Natalie isn’t the perfect girlfriend, so Alex’s goal of reuniting with her isn’t as simple as it looks, and I found I had a lot of feelings about that, in a good way. I also thought the relationship between Alex and her mom was well done. At first I thought it would be kind of one-dimensional, but I liked that Alex began to unpack her feelings about her relationship with her mom and how she was responding to her mom’s behavior.

Molly also had a complex relationship with her mom. I felt like there was a good balance there, too, of giving enough time and space in the story to bring up some of those issues without it dominating or taking over the whole book.

On the whole, I can say this wife-wife duo delivered exactly the sweet romance I was looking for. I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Molly is half Korean American. Both she and Alex are self-described lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. References to sex between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Molly tries out for a rugby club and gets flattened when another girl tackles her.

Drug Content
Molly attends a party where people are drinking alcohol. Alex and Natalie get drunk after a show. Alex’s mom is an alcoholic.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SHE GETS THE GIRL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Year on Fire by Julie Buxbaum

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Year on Fire
Julie Buxbaum
Delacorte Press
Published April 5, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Year on Fire

Can a single kiss change everything?

It was a year on fire. They fell in love. Someone was bound to get burned.

The Spark: Just days before the start of junior year for twins Arch and Immie and their best friend, Paige, a spontaneous kiss shakes the very foundation of their friendship. But some ties run too deep to be broken by accidental betrayal.

The Fuel: Enter Rohan, new to Wood Valley High by way of London, who walks into school on the first day completely overwhelmed by his sudden move halfway around the world. When Paige calls dibs on him—he’s too cute to ignore—Immie is in no position to argue, certainly not after taking the fall for the disloyal kiss. Too bad for Immie that Ro feels like the best kind of familiar.

The Kindling: Former lab partners Arch and Jackson, Paige’s ex-boyfriend, have never considered themselves more than friends. But sometimes feelings can grow like wildfire.

The Flames: When the girls’ bathroom at Wood Valley is set ablaze, no one doubts it’s arson. But in this bastion of privilege, who’d be angry enough to want to burn down the school? Answer: pretty much everyone.

YEAR ON FIRE explores the blinding power of the lies we tell others and those we tell ourselves, the tight grip of family secrets, the magic of first love, and the grounding beauty of friendship.

My Review

I loved this book for its complicated relationships, the unspoken fears, the drama of falling in love unexpectedly, and the celebration of the close bond of siblings. The writing also swept me away. It’s lyrical and gorgeous and there were so many lines I wanted to sit and savor.

I can’t even choose a favorite character because I liked them all. Ha. I loved the way that Arch and Immie related to each other. It was so comforting to them when they were on the same page about something and so frightening when they weren’t. I was captivated by Ro’s feelings about his parents and the uncertainty of their future as well as feeling helpless and like he had no say in moving to Los Angeles from London.

The whole story sort of circles around fires at school and rumors about who set them. I liked the way that plot slowly unspooled in the midst of all the friendship drama and tension. I felt like it was paced really well– this was a book that I read in two sittings but would have read in one if I hadn’t started the first few chapters at midnight the night before I finished it.

All in all, I think fans of WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart or WE ARE THE GOLDENS by Dana Reinhardt will love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
YEAR ON FIRE is told from four points of view: Immie and Arch are twins. Arch is gay. Paige is “three quarters Jewish American and a quarter Chinese American.” Rohan is from England and is maybe Indian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. Kissing between a girl and boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Someone starts several fires at school. Arch and Immie’s dad becomes violently angry at home.

Drug Content
References to teens drinking alcohol.

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