Reviews by Category: Fiction

Teen Review
Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

Wild and Crooked

By Leah Thomas

Rated by
Rose K. from MO YA Lit Council
Oct 15, 2019

The book switches between perspectives of two different, yet alike, characters forcing you to look at the situation from multiple perspectives. It is a book dedicated to those who are often pushed to the side in today’s world, and shows that we are all more alike than one might think, and that you should not judge others based on only what you’ve heard.

Teen Review
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up With Me

By Mariko Tamaki

Rated by
Andrew G.
Aug 29, 2019

Freddy is a young teen who is struggling with her friends, her job, and most importantly her relationship. The book makes you feel a connection with these characters very quickly so from the start you’re rooting for your favorite character. I was not disappointed by anything. The art was outstanding and the story was impeccable. I was extremely satisfied by the ending. Hard to imagine a better book.

Teen Review
Squad by Mariah MacCarthy

Squad

By Mariah MacCarthy

Rated by
Callie S.
Jul 1, 2019

This book explains issues many teens have today in a very realistic way. It helped me understand that I'm not necessarily the only person who's had a friend just completely turn around and change on them. It also deals with somebody trying to grasp somebody's gender identity which is unfortunately something many people still don't understand. Everything was explained in just the right way and the book was absolutely incredible. 

I loved the cover! I think the bows on the cover plus one of them being cut in half perfectly represented what was going to happen in the book.

Teen Review
Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst

Starworld

By Audrey Coulthurst

Rated by
Molly J. from BV YA Lit Council
Jun 10, 2019

Do you ever find your self wanting to escape into a different world? Well, that is exactly what happens in this book. High school students Sam and Zoe have existed on two very different platforms, but find themselves more similar than they thought. It all starts with an unexpected encounter that leads the two girls to swap phone numbers, and in their text messages they build up the wonderful Starworld. In Starworld both girls feel free and they share things they never shared with other people. But will this amazing world last? Will feelings get in way of this unexpected friendship?

Teen Review
If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

If There's No Tomorrow

By Jennifer L. Armentrout

Rated by
Claire B from Monticello YAAC
Feb 21, 2019

Lena Wise is your average high school book nerd, just coasting through life until college, always looking for tomorrow to be better. Though she faces some complications in life with her dad, and beside the fact that she is in love with her best friend, Lena's life is pretty normal. That is until tragedy strikes and Lena begins to realize that for some people, there is no tomorrow.

The most compelling part of this book was the way it approaches teen drinking and survivors guilt. I was happy with the ending and the way all of the events progressed.

Teen Review
The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried

By Shaun David Hutchinson

Rated by
Eddy J from Blue Valley YAAC
Feb 19, 2019

Dino's ex-best friend, July, just died. Or so Dino thinks. Dino's family owns a funeral home, and Dino's family tries to make dead people look like they're peacefully resting in their coffin before their burial. Dino is preparing for July's funeral, putting make-up on her, doing the usual, when suddenly, July bolts upright and starts screaming. She's not dead, but she's not quite alive, either. Dino then learns that July's awakening has made it so that nobody, and I mean nobody, is able to die anymore! This compelling, coming-of-age story about friendship will suck readers into it.

Teen Review
Awake in the World by Jason Gurley

Awake in the World

By Jason Gurley

Rated by
Erin L
Feb 12, 2019

Zach Mays is notorious for having the worst luck in Orilly, a small oil town. His father has died and left him and his older brother to care for the family. Zach is lost trying to put his bleak life together until Vanessa, a confident, radiant girl who's planned her whole future, comes into his world.

Teen Review
Analee in Real Life by Janelle Milantes

Analee, in Real Life

By Janelle Milanes

Rated by
Jahnavi P
Feb 8, 2019

Analee in Real Life is about a teenage girl who recently lost her mother. Soon after, she loses her best friend as well. About the only friend she has is in an online game. His name is Harris, and she has a crush on him. So when the most popular boy in the school, Sebastian Matias asks her to pose as his girlfriend to make his ex jealous, she agrees.

Teen Review
The Similars by Rebecca Hanover

The Similars

By Rebecca Hanover

Rated by
Lauren F from Blue Valley YAAC
Feb 1, 2019

The Similars is a fantastic literary tale of understanding actions and feelings of others while simultaneously exploring the concept of clones that may be a future reality. Emma is dealing with the aftermath of a friend's suicide when six clones, dubbed 'The Similars', begin attending her high school. One of them wears the face of her recently deceased friend, but she is quick to understand that he is not Oliver and will never be Oliver. 

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