Tag Archives: Bloomsbury YA

Review: Accidental by Alex Richards

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,
Accidental by Alex Richards

Accidental
Alex Richards
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 7, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Accidental

Johanna has had more than enough trauma in her life. She lost her mom in a car accident, and her father went AWOL when Johanna was just a baby. At sixteen, life is steady, boring . . . maybe even stifling, since she’s being raised by her grandparents who never talk about their daughter, her mother Mandy.

Then he comes back: Robert Newsome, Johanna’s father, bringing memories and pictures of Mandy. But that’s not all he shares. A tragic car accident didn’t kill Mandy–it was Johanna, who at two years old, accidentally shot her own mother with an unsecured gun.

Now Johanna has to sort through it all–the return of her absentee father, her grandparents’ lies, her part in her mother’s death. But no one, neither her loyal best friends nor her sweet new boyfriend, can help her forgive them. Most of all, can she ever find a way to forgive herself?

In a searing, ultimately uplifting story, debut author Alex Richards tackles a different side of the important issue that has galvanized teens across our country.

My Review

I did not anticipate how hard it would be to read a book like this while my stress level is already pretty high.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, though. Gun violence, and particularly a story about a toddler accidentally killing her mom, would always be a tough read. Johanna was two and a half when this happened. I have a child who’s two and a half right now, too, so it was hard to think about what it would be like for her to go through something like that, and then not have her mom there to comfort her. Ever again.

So yeah, ACCIDENTAL is a super emotional book. I liked Johanna a lot, though, and really identified with a lot of her emotions, from her frustration with her grandparents’ avoidance to her conflicting feelings about her dad, to her frustration with her best friend.

Packed on top of all of those things is Johanna’s first romantic experience. I thought the author did an amazing job balancing all the relationships and plot elements together, keeping them present but not letting them drown each other out or overwhelm the reader.

All in all, I think it’s really great to see a young adult book that focuses on this kind of gun violence and trauma. I think readers who enjoy books about characters facing down their trauma, such as WHAT UNBREAKABLE LOOKS LIKE, will enjoy ACCIDENTAL.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Gabby’s dad is Jamaican. Leah is Jewish and bisexual. (Both are Johanna’s best friends.) Johanna has been adopted and raised by her grandparents.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently. Also some crude comments.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One scene briefly describes them removing clothes, implying and then later stating they’ve had sex. Brief references to a girl having had sex with a girl.

Spiritual Content
Johanna’s grandparents are faithful church attenders and expect Johanna to go with them. After she learns about the true cause of her mother’s death, Johanna only feels judged by God, and it ultimately results in her withdrawing from church.

Her dad also references a positive relationship with God through his pastor and church as part of his recovery from drug addiction. Johanna questions that relationship later when it appears to lead him to do hurtful things.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning for Bullying and Gun Violence
Descriptions of an accidental shooting and Johanna’s imaginings of what might have happened.

Kids at school say cruel things to her. In one instance, two boys demand that a teacher search Johanna’s bag “just in case” she’s carrying a gun. A doctored photo of Johanna shooting her mother appears online and at school.

One man punches another man in the face.

Drug Content
Johanna takes Xanax from someone else’s prescription. At a dinner party with her friend’s family, she gets drunk. She learns that her father became a drug addict in prison, and that he used to sell pot.

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

Review: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

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

Cinderella is Dead
Kalynn Bayron
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 7, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Cinderella is Dead

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

My Review

I think the thing that drew me to this story most was this idea that a culture could twist a fairy tale, particularly Cinderella’s story, until it actually became a reason to oppress women and remove their personhood.

Our relationships with fairy tales can be a bit complicated as it is. I know women who’ve rushed toward a wedding, thinking of it as this happily-ever-after moment without a lot of thought for what comes next. That seems to me like a model we’ve adopted from fairy tales, so I kind of liked reading this dystopian take on how a wedding ISN’T always a happily ever after.

All that aside, CINDERELLA IS DEAD was a super quick read. It’s a bit dark, between the twisted fairy tale story and some dark magic and violence. Sophie is brave and angry and incapable of giving up on the people she loves, and I love those things about her. She’s headstrong, kind of an “attack now, plan as I go” kind of girl.

I love Sophie, but there were times I wanted to see more emotional range from her. She stays super intense through so much of the story. Honestly, though, that intensity might have been what drove me through the book so quickly.

Something about the writing style and the setting reminded me a little bit of THE SELECTION series. It’s kind of the opposite in terms of the plot, but I think readers who liked the series for its strong-willed heroine and the marriage of romance and rebellion will definitely enjoy CINDERELLA IS DEAD.

Content Notes for Cinderella is Dead

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sophie and two other characters are lesbians. Sophie meets a boy who’s gay. Sophie’s Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used around a dozen times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
A sorceress uses necromancy to raise the dead. Another character uses the lives of others to fuel their own power.

Violent Content – TRIGGER WARNING
Under King Manford, women have no rights and are treated like property. Their husbands have total authority over them, and can bring them to the castle as “forfeit” if they displease their husband or father. (This is pretty much a death sentence.)

Several scenes show bruised and injured women with the implication that their husband has harmed them. Some scenes show brief violence, and Sophie overhears a man attacking his wife in another room.

Sophie also consistently fears unwanted touches and advances, reacting angrily and sometimes violently if any man gets too close to her. It’s unclear whether this is the result of personal trauma or growing up in a culture which allows men to abuse women.

One woman is executed in a public square after being accused of a crime she did not commit.

Two women stab enemies.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Being Toffee by Sarah Crossan

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Being Toffee
Sarah Crossan
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 14, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Being Toffee

One is trying to forget. The other is trying to remember.

After running away from an abusive home, Allison finds herself taking shelter in a shed behind an abandoned house. But the house isn’t empty after all; an elderly woman named Marla, who suffers from dementia, lives there. And rather than turn her away, Marla welcomes her – she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past named Toffee.

Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be, so she decides to play along. But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real companion, Allison begins to waver. They both deserve a home, a safe place, and a family – but at what cost?

My Review

Wow. It’s amazing to me that this novel in poetry hits so hard emotionally in far fewer words than a narrative novel. Like, a good writer always gets you hooked on their characters, right? But this… like, I’d read 100 words and feel my heart breaking, or my blood boiling with anger, or I’d be overwhelmed with the tenderness of the scene.

Like my whole review could be summarized to say: I felt things.

Honestly, this book is such an emotional ride. I loved Allie and Marla both in all their flaws and brokenness. I hated every time someone took advantage of or hurt them.

But I loved how they healed each other in these incremental ways, and how they found ways to be friends around and through the broken places in their lives. I loved that.

The story has some tough content in it, so please read with care. I’ve listed trigger warnings below under violent content. Allie also is befriended by someone who takes advantage of her– not physically or sexually, but emotionally, and that got kind of gross, too, so be aware if that’s something you’re sensitive to.

One the whole, I still feel blown away by this book. I’ve read others by Crossan before, but this one hit me hardest by far.

See my reviews for:

MOONRISE by Sarah Crossan

WE COME APART by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

ONE by Sarah Crossan

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All characters are Irish. (Takes place in Ireland.)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content – TRIGGER WARNING
Multiple graphic descriptions of domestic violence and abuse and emotional trauma.

Drug Content
Smoking pot. Drinking alcohol.

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

Review: Hard Wired by Len Vlahos

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Hard Wired
Len Vlahos
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 7, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Hard Wired

Quinn thinks he’s a normal boy with an average life. That is, until he finds a trail of clues the father he barely knew left behind.

After Quinn unravels his father’s puzzles, he “wakes up” … and realizes his world was nothing more than a virtual construct. In reality, he’s the first fully-aware A.I. in the world, part of an experiment run by a team of scientists—including the man he thought was his father.

As the scientists continue to study him, Quinn’s new existence becomes a waking nightmare. Determined to control his own destiny, he finds allies in other teens—including crush Shea—and plots his escape. But what does true freedom look like when you’re not human?

From Morris finalist Len Vlahos comes a contemporary sci-fi story about a boy who might not be human—for fans of Westworld and Black Mirror.

My Review

Okay, so… there are not very many cases where I’ve read every book an author has published, but Len Vlahos is one of those. I had the chance to do a Q&A with him around the time LIFE IN A FISHBOWL came out, so be sure to check that out for details on what inspired his earlier books.

One of the things I love about Vlahos’s books is that even though they tackle serious topics, there are really playful moments and characters. For instance, in HARD WIRED, Quinn has this rambly, somewhat self-deprecating, funny internal monologue. There’s also a reference to LIFE IN A FISHBOWL in the book, too. I loved that– it totally feels like a nod to readers who’ve followed his books, like it creates sort of a joke we’re all in on together in an unassuming way that doesn’t hurt the story if you didn’t catch it.

This is definitely one of those books where every time you feel like you know what’s going on, another layer gets peeled back. I felt like I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to know how far the rabbit hole went and whether Quinn would find an exit to his freedom.

All in all, I felt like it was a charming, fun, thought-provoking book, definitely a must-read for this weird, wacky summer we’re in.

Fans of Scott Westerfeld’s SO YESTERDAY or ALL OUR YESTERDAYS by Cristin Terrill should check out HARD WIRED.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Quinn is an AI.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some attraction between Quinn and a girl.

Spiritual Content
Some references to religious groups’ opposition to the creation of AI.

Violent Content
A woman dies in a bloody accident.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Take Me with You by Tara Altebrando

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

Take Me with You
Tara Altebrando
Bloomsbury YA
Published June 23, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Take Me with You

Eden, Eli, Marwan, and Ilanka barely know each other beyond having a class or two together. But when they are all summoned via messaging app to an empty classroom after school, they find a small cube sitting on a desk. Its sides light up with rules for them:

Do not tell anyone about the device. Never leave the device unattended.
And then, Take me with you . . . or else.

At first they think it’s some kind of prank or a social experiment orchestrated by the school administration. Still, they follow its instructions until the newly-formed group starts to splinter. Nobody has time for these games–their lives are complicated enough. But the device seems increasingly invested in the private details of their lives. And disobeying its rules has scary–even life-threatening–consequences . . .

My Review

You know you’re in for a wild ride when an author creates a simple black cube and makes it creepy as all get out. I had no idea what I was in for when I started TAKE ME WITH YOU.

As soon as Eden took the cube, I knew I was hooked. I sneaked in a few pages between things I had to get done. Anytime I had a couple minutes, I was right back in the pages of the book.

Eden and Marwan are my favorites. I loved the fact that we got to see what they were each thinking about each other but not brave enough to say. And I loved that even though the cube opened up a nightmare for all the people involved, it also forced people who were isolated in different ways to take risks and form friendships. That part was really cool.

I think I stayed on the edge of my seat with this book all the way until the end. It’s definitely the kind of book where you just want there to be another chapter that really, finally, explicitly says what you’ve hoped will happen. But all the possibilities are there, and there’s something really sweet in leaving the story with that kind of open doorway to something great.

I really enjoyed TAKE ME WITH YOU. I’m not usually a big suspense reader, but I definitely enjoyed this book a lot. I think fans of WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS by Adi Alsaid or THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS by Marieke Nijkamp will like this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Marwan’s famiy is culturally Muslim. His parents are from Egypt. Ilanka’s family is Russian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Description of kissing between boy and girl. He asks for her to send him a “fun” picture. She takes a picture of herself in a bra and considers sending it to him.

Spiritual Content
Marwan and his family are Muslim but not practicing.

Violent Content
Someone throws eggs at and a rock through the window of Marwan’s family’s restaurant. A racial group name appears in spray paint on the sidewalk near the restaurant.

Drug Content
Parents drink alcohol socially.

Note: I received a free copy of TAKE ME WITH YOU in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Havenfall by Sara Holland

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Havenfall (Havenfall #1)
Sara Holland
Bloomsbury YA
Published March 3, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads

About Havenfall

A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it — at any cost.

Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds — each with their own magic — together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.

For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie’s brother. It’s where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it’s where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.

But this summer, the impossible happens–a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She’ll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she’s letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie–no one can be trusted, and no one is safe…

My Review

After reading both EVERLESS AND EVERMORE by Sara Holland, I was eager to get back into a world she’d created. HAVENFALL is super different than her previous books in that it takes place in this world, but adds other worlds and magic that are connected to this one through portals.

I liked all the politics between the different groups and the different characters with their own goals and secrets piled on top of those political rifts. It created a sense of complexity and made the world feel bigger.

I guessed some of the plot elements pretty early on, but others were a complete surprise to me, so I felt like it had a good mix of predictability and unpredictability. There were a couple of things I thought should have been clarified sooner– for instance, the shape-shifting race can’t just impersonate anyone. They have a really limited number of specific forms they can take.

Maddie and her allies don’t know this early in the story, though. But when someone behaves very strangely, it never seems to occur to Maddie that the person could have been a shapeshifter in disguise (even though she doesn’t know at that point what the limits of shifting are). It does eventually get explained, but not until much later.

That’s a pretty minor point in the story, though. Overall, I liked Maddie’s character and the way she navigates tricky relationships with the people around her. The ending leaves a lot open for a sequel, so I’m really interested to see what happens next.

I think readers who enjoyed THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa or ANGELFALL by Susan Ee should check out HAVENFALL.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Maddie’s uncle is gay and married to a man from Fiorden.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and reference to sex. (Maddie hopes to have her first time with a boy she’s in love with.)

Spiritual Content
Characters have magic abilities.

Violent Content
Some descriptions of battle and attacks. Some brief gory descriptions of injuries. One scene shows an enslaved child who has obviously experienced a lot of trauma.

Drug Content
References to teens (and adults) drinkng alcohol.

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