Category Archives: Young Adult

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
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I loved, loved, LOVED this book. Told in a series of sparse but beautiful narrative poems that depict one short elevator ride, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a YA standout. This little book is reminiscent of the troubling … Continue reading

Posted in Challenges, Contemporary, poetry, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Mermaid’s Sister by Carrie Anne Noble
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I read this for my challenge book with non-human characters. This is the story of babies left with a childless old healer woman on a mountaintop. The woman’s name is Verity, and as one might expect, she can tell no lies. One … Continue reading

Posted in Challenges, Children's, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Mythology, NaNoWriMo, Paranormal, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
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Well, this is not what I was expecting. It was a whole bunch of Martha’s Vineyard “I’m fancy” with more than a little bit of King Lear who-is-the-favorite-daughter and the Kennedys all-American family thrown in. So Cadence Sinclair Eastman is 15 and and … Continue reading

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The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
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This is a fairly typical YA book about rumors and reputations and bullies. It’s got quite a few slut-shaming incidents and scenes depicting how boys get away with sleeping around but girls never can. It’s not groundbreaking or anything, but it was … Continue reading

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The Books of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau
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The City of Ember – I enjoyed this first installment in the popular dystopian YA series. It follows two teens, Lina and Doon, as they look for a way to save or escape their dying subterranean city. The story takes place … Continue reading

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The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
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Does anyone really enjoy this book? I mean, really, actually enjoy reading it. I can see someone saying something like “it’s a great book!” (which I don’t necessarily agree with), but to actually ENJOY THE READING of this book would … Continue reading

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The Shadow Throne – Jennifer A. Nielsen (Ascendance #3)
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So sad, this is the last book of the series. Carthya is finally at war with all it’s bordering countries, and Sage must once again figure out a way to save the day (and his country). He still doesn’t share … Continue reading

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The House of the Scorpion and The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer
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I first read The House of the Scorpion seven or eight years ago when my oldest was in elementary school. He decided, based on the cover and blurb, that this book looked like it would be his “most favorite book … Continue reading

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The Runaway King – Jennifer A. Nielsen (Ascendance #2)
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Jennifer A. Nielsen, though she has a name that I literally cannot spell correctly the first time, ever, has written a great followup to The False Prince. In this one, Sage runs off to join the pirates for sort of … Continue reading

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The False Prince – Jennifer A. Nielsen (Ascendance #1)
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I can’t believe I haven’t posted about this series yet! I’ve read quite a bit of YA fantasy and this is hands-down my favorite. Which is strange because it doesn’t seem to be especially popular. So, Sage is an orphan … Continue reading

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