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Review: We Can Be Heroes by Kyrie McCauley

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We Can Be Heroes by Kyrie McCauley

We Can Be Heroes
Kyrie McCauley
Katherine Tegen Books
Published September 7, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Can Be Heroes

“Welcome to Bell, proud home of Bell Firearms for two hundred years, and where five months ago, the teen heir to the Bell fortune took his father’s guns to school and killed his ex-girlfriend, Cassandra Queen.” —WE CAN BE HEROES PODCAST

Beck and Vivian never could stand each other, but they always tried their best for their mutual friend, Cassie. After the town moves on from Cassie’s murder too fast, Beck and Vivian finally find common ground: vengeance. They memorialize Cassie by secretly painting murals of her around town, a message to the world that Cassie won’t be forgotten. But Beck and Vivian are keeping secrets, like the third passenger riding in Beck’s VW bus with them—Cassie’s ghost.

When their murals catch the attention of a podcaster covering Cassie’s case, they become the catalyst for a debate that Bell Firearms can no longer ignore. With law enforcement closing in on them, Beck and Vivian hurry to give Cassie the closure she needs—by delivering justice to those responsible for her death.

Kyrie McCauley, author of If These Wings Could Fly, delivers a powerful contemporary YA novel about a trio of girls fighting for each other in the aftermath of a school shooting and the lasting bonds of friendship. Perfect for fans of Laura Ruby and Mindy McGinnis.

My Review

This. Book. Just wow. There are a couple scenes toward the end in particular (which I won’t spoil) but which absolutely wrecked me. The relationships between the characters are so incredibly well done. The friendships between the girls. The relationship between Beck and her gentle, not to be pushed around, strong but silent type grandfather. He’s my favorite literary grandpa EVER.

Then. The layering! The way the story wove together truths about domestic violence and powerful snapshots from Greek myths and the story of two girls grappling with crushing grief in a town refusing to face what killed their best friend. The clips from the podcast focused on exposing violence against women. The Latin expression that was so precious to Cassie that comes up again and again through the story: collige virgo rosas.

I just.

I feel like there’s no way that I can review this book and do it justice at all. It might be the best book at weaving all these things together simultaneously and telling a story that bears the weight of the important topics it explores without being dominated by them.

I loved this book. This is going to be the book you hear about from me for like the next year, so if you know me in real life, probably go ahead and read it now. Ha! Really, though. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that felt as gripping and as weighty as this and had the moving writing style to back it up, too. Like maybe since I read THE BOOK THIEF? I’m not sure. I can see why McCauley is compared in the back cover copy to Laura Ruby, who wrote BONE GAP, which was also a densely packed, lyrical, moving book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are three white girls. One girl is a lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between boy and girl. A girl recalls briefly that she slept with her boyfriend before she was ready and implies that he pressured or perhaps even forced her to do so.

Spiritual Content
Cassie is dead, but every night she appears as a ghost in the van owned by one of her two best friends.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for domestic violence/abuse and for gun violence and suicide and bullying.
Some descriptions of domestic violence. Some descriptions of a school shooting in which Cassie was killed and one of her best friends injured before the gunman ended his life. Those things happened before the book begins, so they’re related in short flashes of memory by the characters.

At one point, a girl finds a hateful message spray painted on her door. (I’ve referred to this as bullying, but I’m not sure what the right label for it is.)

Drug Content
The girls drink alcohol together and get drunk together as teens more than once.

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

Review: The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

The Tiger at Midnight
Swati Teerdhala
Katherine Tegen Books
Published April 23, 2019

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

About The Tiger at Midnight

A broken bond. A dying land. A cat-and-mouse game that can only end in bloodshed.

Esha is a legend, but no one knows. It’s only in the shadows that she moonlights as the Viper, the rebels’ highly skilled assassin. She’s devoted her life to avenging what she lost in the royal coup, and now she’s been tasked with her most important mission to date: taking down the ruthless General Hotha.

Kunal has been a soldier since childhood, training morning and night to uphold the power of King Vardaan. His uncle, the general, has ensured that Kunal never strays from the path—even as a part of Kunal longs to join the outside world, which has been growing only more volatile.

Then Esha’s and Kunal’s paths cross—and an unimaginable chain of events unfolds. Both the Viper and the soldier think they’re calling the shots, but they’re not the only players moving the pieces. As the bonds that hold their land in order break down and the sins of the past meet the promise of a new future, both rebel and soldier must make unforgivable choices.

Drawing inspiration from ancient Indian history and Hindu mythology, the first book in Swati Teerdhala’s debut fantasy trilogy captivates with electric romance, stunning action, and the fierce bonds that hold people together—and drive them apart.

My Review

Forbidden love between a duty-bound soldier and a rebel assassin set in a lush, magical landscape? OH. YES. I knew as soon as I read the description of this book that THE TIGER AT MIDNIGHT was something I needed to read.

What is it about characters who battle with loyalty to a cause once they realize their world isn’t the black and white place they thought it was? I loved that for both Esha and Kunal, decisions that were once easy become complicated. Suddenly their enemies have faces and names and causes, and it’s not so simple to cut them down.

There’s a lot of inner turmoil and wrestling, which I love because I tend to love stories that tackle moral issues. There’s also a beautiful landscape with jungles and palaces and town bazaars and everything described in a way that makes it all come alive.I think fans of Roshani Chokshi (THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN) and Sabaa Tahir (AN EMBER IN THE ASHES) will love this fantastic book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Written with inspiration from Indian history and Hindu mythology.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used very rarely.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl and pretty fierce romantic tension. Esha meets a girl who is running away to be with her lover, another girl.

Spiritual Content
A Samyad woman and a Himyan man must both make a sacrifice to renew the janma bond with the land, a bond which keeps the land fertile and growing. Since the disruption of the bond, the land is drying out and people are starving.

Some characters have the ability to shift into animal forms.

Violent Content
Esha is an assassin who primarily uses whips as her weapon of choice. She wraps the whip around the neck of victims she wishes to control or threaten. She kills several soldiers.

Some scenes show battle violence and situations of peril. No gore.

Drug Content
Some references to drinking alcohol. Esha pours alcohol on a soldier she has incapacitated, hoping that his superiors will think him drunk. Kunal drinks with other soldiers, but usually only a small amount. In one scene, he pours his wine out when the others aren’t looking.

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

Review: Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning

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

Sea Witch Rising
Sarah Henning
Kathering Tegen Books
Published August 6, 2019

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads

About Sea Witch Rising

“The Little Mermaid” takes a twisted turn in this thrilling sequel to villainess origin story Sea Witch, as the forces of land and sea clash in an epic battle for freedom, redemption, and true love. 

Runa will not let her twin sister die. Alia traded her voice to the Sea Witch for a shot at happiness with a prince who doesn’t love her. And his rejection will literally kill her—unless Runa intervenes.

Under the sea, Evie craves her own freedom—but liberation from her role as Sea Witch will require an exchange she may not be willing to make. With their hearts’ desires at odds, what will Runa and Evie be willing to sacrifice to save their worlds? 

Told from alternating perspectives, this epic fairy tale retelling is a romantic and heart-wrenching story about the complications of sisterhood, the uncompromising nature of magic, and the cost of redemption.

My Review

I forgot how much I like the way Sarah Henning writes. Her characters are compelling and complex. They’re the kind of characters who are somehow both hero and villain. You don’t agree with all their choices, in fact, some of them you wildly disagree with, but you understand the desperation and the love behind them.

The story world is also rich and imaginative. The magical system feels well-developed, too. I liked the cross-generational element to the story, where Evie, the protagonist from Henning’s first book, SEA WITCH, is now the age of Runa’s grandmother. Runa’s sister becomes human because she’s in love with the grandson of Evie’s best friend. It gives the story an interesting circular feel.

I think I expected the Little Mermaid retelling to be the whole story. (Spoiler: it isn’t. It’s about 25% of the book.) On the one hand, I liked that SEA WITCH RISING went much broader into this political conflict and the collision of merpeople and humans. On the other hand, sometimes the story felt rushed because so much was crammed into the pages.

A few elements challenged my willing suspension of disbelief. I’ll try not to include spoilers. At one point Runa takes a serious action that I felt didn’t get the proper horror from her new allies. They kind of face-palmed, told her she did a stupid thing, and sort of moved on.

They had other, more pressing issues, so in some ways it made sense that they put Runa’s actions aside, but it didn’t seem like she paid a social cost for her behavior, if that makes sense.

I kind of also wanted SEA WITCH RISING to have a little more of a nod to true love toward the end of the book. The story definitely isn’t about romantic love. It’s about sisterhood and also the kind of love you have for your people. But it would have been really cool to juxtapose the part of the story which is the retelling of the Little Mermaid against Runa’s own journey toward love.

On the whole, I still really enjoyed the book. Like I said, I love the way Sarah Henning writes and I love her complex characters. I’m a huge fan of the duology, and I hope Henning writes more fantasy in the future.

If you like twisted fairy tales, also check out the duology SPINDLE FIRE and WINTER GLASS by Lexa Hillyer, which are kind of a Sleeping Beauty/Alice in Wonderland/Cinderella mashup. Also, if you’re fans of those books, you definitely want to read SEA WITCH and SEA WITCH RISING!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Runa and her sisters have blond hair and pale skin. The humans in the story are from Denmark.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
References to the sea goddess, Urda. Use of magic.

Violent Content
The sea king uses a violent magic to harm the sea witch. In an intense scene, a someone stabs another person. Witches use magic to incapacitate and burn enemy soldiers.

Drug Content
The sea king uses nectar from a rare flower to amass magical power. He’s become addicted and withdrawals from the nectar may kill him.

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 SEA WITCH RISING in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

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

Sea Witch
Sarah Henning
Katherine Tegen Books
Published on July 31, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Sea Witch
Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

My Review
Even though the description kind of tells where this story is headed, I felt like so many things about it took me completely by surprise. I liked the fact that it was set in Denmark and really felt anchored in the setting, from the village’s dependence on fishing to the climate to some of the cultural elements. I thought the way beliefs about the goddess of the sea were woven into the story was great, too.

At first I wasn’t sure if the characters would really draw me in. Something about Evie didn’t immediately hook me. I think I felt like she was well-intentioned but a little bit oblivious to the feelings of the people around her. She really grew on me, though, the more I read. I loved that her good intentions ended up being a huge driving force in the story, but not always for good. I don’t know if that makes sense. Sometimes she did things meaning to help but they backfired. Every time that happened, I felt myself only get more deeply invested in the story.

I think Sea Witch is perfect for fans of the movie Maleficent or really any fairytale origin story. I enjoyed it and found it to be a pretty quick read.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white. The story takes place in Denmark.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
The town celebrates rituals honoring the goddess of the sea, Urdu. When someone dies, everyone considers it because Udru takes what she will. A king some years ago burned witches, and public feeling is very strongly against them, so Evie and her family keep their power secret. Evie uses her power to try to bring more fish to the fisherman so the people in her village don’t go hungry. Evie befriends a mermaid who has been transformed into a human girl.
Magic always demands a price, such as a life taken for one saved. This means when someone’s life is saved, someone must die instead. In one instance, the sacrifice is willing. In another, the life is unwillingly given.

Violent Content
A woman gives her life for a spell to save her child. A child drowns in the ocean while her friends try to rescue her. A man is speared through the chest. A boy and later a young woman are injured in the water. Violent storms threaten the lives of those at sea.

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol at a festival.


Review: Even if the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia

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

Even if the Sky Falls
Mia Garcia
Katherine Tegen Books
Published on May 10, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Even if the Sky Falls
All she needs is one night to be anyone she wants.

Julie is desperate for a change. So she heads to New Orleans with her youth group to rebuild houses and pretend her life isn’t a total mess. But between her super-clingy team leader and her way-too-chipper companions, Julie feels more trapped than ever.

In a moment of daring, she ditches her work clothes for DIY fairy wings and heads straight into the heart of Mid-Summer Mardi Gras, where she locks eyes with Miles, an utterly irresistible guy with a complicated story of his own. And for once, Julie isn’t looking back. She jumps at the chance to see the real New Orleans, and in one surreal night, they dance under the stars, share their most shameful secrets, and fall in love.

But their adventure takes an unexpected turn when an oncoming hurricane changes course. As the storm gains power and Julie is pulled back into chaos she finds pretending everything is fine is no longer an option.

My Review
I’m a little torn in how I feel about this book. On the one hand, Julie’s story drew me in immediately. Obviously she’s recovering from something intense, but we don’t learn right away what’s happened to wreck her so deeply.

Then she gets this opportunity to escape her past completely for a little while. I loved the characters in the band she meets and especially Miles. It only took like half a second for me to start hoping Miles and Julie would get together.

The hurricane descriptions were pretty wild. As a Floridian, I’ve weathered several storms. I’m not sure I buy that so much happened from a Category 2 storm, but I’m sure it depends on a lot of factors, like which side of the storm hit them and that sort of thing. Certainly no matter what category it is, being outside in a hurricane is really dangerous!

What I really struggled with, though, is the ending. The romance gets resolved, and that was great. But all the way along Julie flashes back to what happened at home before the mission trip, and I think I wanted those two worlds to collide more completely. I was hoping her family or her brother would make an appearance at the end and we’d know she’d turned a corner even in her ability to deal with things at home. Not that everything had to be fixed, just some kind of scene tying things together.

Other than that, I’m glad I read it. I hate that Julie had such a bad experience on her mission trip, because I have such fun memories of my own trips. But considering what was going on in her life, it made perfect sense that she would feel alienated and unable to connect with the enthusiasm of the rest of the group.

The descriptions of New Orleans were fun and vivid – I felt like I was there, and I’ve been craving beignets since reading about them. Yum!

Even if the Sky Falls is a great pick for fans of The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith or Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett.Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Julie is Latina and talks about visiting relatives in Puerto Rico.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Infrequent use of extreme profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. At one point a boy and girl go swimming in their underwear. References to sex. One scene shows some nudity and lets us know the characters have had sex without any graphic details.

Julie’s mission leader clearly wants a relationship with her. He’s clingy and clearly makes her uncomfortable, since he seems willfully blind to her “no” signals. He doesn’t assault her or anything like that, but he does make her feel gross.

Spiritual Content
Julie’s family is Catholic and she’s on a mission trip with a church group, but it’s clear she has a lot of doubts in terms of her own faith. She’s bitter and depressed and feels like the church people don’t understand her and are too happy-happy.

Violent Content
Someone tries to choke Julie. She escapes.

The storm beats Julie and her friend up pretty badly. There’s one scene where they battle the elements, and things look pretty grim. Some details about injuries. It’s definitely a perilous situation.

Drug Content
Julie and her companion drink beer at a party and later share a bottle of wine.

Review: A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

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

A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1)
Brittany Cavallaro
Katherine Tegen Books
Published on March 1, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About A Study in Charlotte

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

My Review

A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE has been on my reading list since before it hit the shelves. (I wasn’t cool enough to get a review copy, but I got a free audiobook version from the first week of Audiobooks Sync summer program.) So I’ve finally had a chance to read it.

Sad, terrible disclaimer: I’ve never read the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I kind of wish I had read them before reading this book. I feel like I would have gotten more of a kick out of the moments which must be a nod to the classic original stories. But I very much enjoyed reading the book even without that insider fun.

I liked that both Jamie and Charlotte have some big flaws (Jamie’s anger management issues and big emotions; Charlotte’s addictions and inability to see past her analysis of a situation) which somehow make them a stronger team. While it’s not really a character-driven story, the relationships between characters evolve quite a bit as the story unfolds. Jamie must give up the idolized version of Charlotte from his childhood, and faces an opportunity to build a relationship with his dad (who has his own flaws) and step-family.

While I wish the language had been cleaner, I really enjoyed reading A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE. The murder mystery kept me on the edge of my seat, and the complex relationships and intriguing cast of characters led me to devour the book from beginning to end. This is a series I want to see through to the end.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Charlotte is (of course) from London. Other characters from Connecticut.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some lusty comments from Jamie – things like noticing a girl’s curves or wondering who’s having sex. A boy makes lewd comments to and about a girl. Later we learn he sexually assaulted a girl (we don’t learn any of the details other than that she was not sober and did not consent.). Brief kiss between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of a fist fight between two boys. A boy is discovered murdered by poison and snake bite. Someone attacks a girl and shoves a plastic jewel down her throat. A bomb explodes and injures some people. An unknown virus threatens to kill a boy if he doesn’t find the antidote quickly.

Drug Content
A girl takes Oxycodone and smokes cigarettes. Teens drink vodka at a weekly party. References to drug rehab and cocaine use in the past.