Always and Forever, Lara Jean—Jenny Han

Title: Always and Forever, Lara Jean
Author: Jenny Han
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2017
Pages: 336 P.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: April 2017

Jenny Han’s Always and Forever, Lara Jean

Jenny Han first introduced us to the quirky but adorable Lara Jean in To All the Boys I've Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You. Lara Jean has survived the embarrassing reveal of her love letters, the awkward private romantic video that went viral, the jealousy and sabotage of ex-best friend Genevieve, and the transition from Peter as fake-boyfriend to Peter as real-boyfriend. Now in her senior year of high school, Lara is comfortable in her relationship with Peter and looking forward to attending the same college. Her widowed father has unexpectedly found happiness in a new relationship, her older sister Margot has a new boyfriend, and her younger sister Kitty is thrilled with their father's romance. Everything is going exactly as planned for Lara Jean, until it does not. When Lara Jean's plan is disrupted, she is torn between her heart and her head. 

Although the time period is very clear and there are frequent mentions to today's technology, Jenny Han's story is really timeless. First love, finding one's identity in school and at home, navigating the delicate transition from kid to adult, are all universal themes in teen literature and Han has done a good job of exploring them. She has written a sweet coming of age love story and fans of the first two books will be clamoring for this conclusion. 

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Queens of Geek—Jen Wilde

Title: Queens of Geek
Author: Jen Wilde
Publisher: Swoon Reads, 2017
Pages: 288 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: March 2017

Jen Wilde's Queens of Geek

Taylor, Charlie, and Jamie have traveled all the way to the United States from Australia to attend the ultimate fandom convention, SupaCon. Charlie has a fan base of her own as a vlogger and actress promoting her first movie and was able to use her new celebrity status to get lifelong friends Taylor and Jamie into SupaCon as well. Charlie's co-star, the swoon-worthy Reese Ryan, is also her ex-boyfriend and his presence at SupaCon complicates things for the young actress. She strikes up a relationship with fellow vlogger and super cool-girl Alyssa Huntington and discovers that her crush on the internet star isn't in vain. While Charlie and Alyssa are exploring their new relationship, anxiety-prone Taylor and trusty sidekick Jamie are determined to make SupaCon the best experience ever by meeting their favorite author. Taylor must overcome her deepest fears in order to get what she wants. Jamie helps her to realize that what she really wants is him in this geeky romance. 

Queens of Geek is full of book and movie references and is a fun look at the fandom convention phenomena. Taylor's anxiety and experience with Asperger's is treated sensitively. The story is told in chapters alternating between Charlie's and Taylor's point of view, giving the reader a chance to see inside both of their minds. Queens of Geek is a fun quick read that will appeal to romance readers and self-proclaimed geeks. 

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Love and First Sight—Josh Sundquist

Title: Love and First Sight
Author: Josh Sundquist
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, 2017
Pages: 288 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: Dec 2017

Josh Sundquist’s Love and First Sight

Will starts his first day at a new high school groping a girl on the stairs, sitting on a kid in the cafeteria, and making a fellow classmate cry just by looking at her. All in all a successful day for a sixteen-year-old blind boy who had never been in a public school. Will manages to navigate high school with his cane, his iPhone, and his ability to memorize routes once he has taken them. Navigating high school friendships turns out to be a bit trickier. Will becomes friends with the boy from the cafeteria and the girl he made cry, but when an experimental surgery gives Will eyesight he discovers that they were not as forthcoming with him as he thought. Cecily, the crying girl Will is falling in love with, has a facial birthmark that does not meet traditional standards of beauty. Will insists that what Cecily looks like really does not matter, but he feels betrayed by her and their friends for keeping it from him when he could not see it. 

Sundquist writes about Will's blindness with sensitivity. Although Will is completely incapable of seeing anything in the beginning of the story--not even shadows--he is not helpless or powerless. He is flawed, not because he cannot see with his eyes, but rather because of how he responds when he can see with them. The lesson in Love and First Sight is clear and predictable, but readers will enjoy Will's journey anyway.

******

Keep Her

Title: Keep Her
Author: Leora Krygier
Publisher: She Writes Press, 2016.
Pages: 264 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: November 2016

Leora Krygier’s Keep Her

Maddie is a seventeen-year-old recent graduate contemplating her future. Although she loves numbers and scientific rational thinking, she has been accepted into a university program for fine art. She creates collages from photographs and unwanted scraps of material. While waiting for her pictures to be developed, the camera store she is in is suddenly flooded from a water main break. Maddie starts to panic, but is quickly rescued by a young man. Aiden and Maddie instantly bond over their frightening experience and form an interesting friendship. Maddie is dealing with emotions from her adoption, as well as the consequences of her brother's criminal behavior. Aiden is dealing with his own demons, namely the guilt over his younger brother's accidental death and the life-changing decision he is faced with--whether or not to keep his infant daughter. When Maddie learns Aiden is considering putting his daughter up for adoption, she tries to convince him to keep her.

Keep Her is a quick interesting read that will engage fans of contemporary fiction. Maddie and Aiden's relationship blooms very quickly, but throughout the novel there are flashbacks to Aiden's mission to save endangered whales that suggest that maybe Aiden's been waiting for Maddie for a lot longer. Fans of meant-to-be romance stories will not be disappointed.

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Holding Up the Universe--Jennifer Niven

Title: Holding Up the Universe
Author: Jennifer Niven
Publisher: Random House Children's Books, 2016
Pages: 400 p
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: September 2016

Jennifer Niven's Holding Up the Universe

Three years after Libby Strout was named “America’s Fattest Teen” and was airlifted out of her house, she is ready to start her junior year of high school and put her infamous past behind her. She is determined to make up for lost time and to be the girl who can do anything—if only her classmates will see her for who she truly is instead of just seeing her size. Jack Masselin is one of the cool kids, the popular kids, who seem to have everything easy. But Jack is hiding a big secret that could jeopardize his entire school life. Jack has a disorder called prosopagnosia, an inability to recognize faces. Each morning he wakes up his family and friends are strangers to him. Relying on hair styles (that can change) and personality traits to identify his family and friends is getting harder to do as Jack gets older. When Libby is the victim of a cruel joke and Jack is the reluctant perpetrator, they are both sent to group counseling, where they learn that they are not as alone as they thought.

Told in chapters alternating Libby and Jack’s point of view, Holding Up the Universe is a thoughtful story of friendship and love. Both Libby and Jack are vulnerable flawed characters who find peace when they find each other and the strength to be honest with themselves and their loved ones. A worthy addition to any YA collection, this story is engaging and difficult to put down.

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Crimson Skew, The--S.E. Grove

Title: The Crimson Skew
Author: S.E. Grove
Publisher: Viking, 2016
Pages: 432 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: May 2016

S.E. Grove's The Crimson Skew

The Crimson Skew is the third and final book in the Mapmaker’s Trilogy, a fantasy series unlike any other. The first two books (The Glass Sentence and The Golden Specific) set up the main plot. In 1799 the world experienced what is known as the Great Disruption—all of the continents were strangely pulled out of time and put back in different eras. Nearly a century later, Sophia and Theo, two young friends searching for answers in this disjointed universe, continue on their separate journeys in this exhilarating conclusion to the trilogy. Sophia is closer than ever to finding out the truth about the disappearance of her parents. Theo is forced to fight in a war he does not believe in, while Sophia’s Uncle Shadrack is forced to work in a government he does not believe in. They all have very important roles to play in the final battle and the future of the world.

S.E. Grove has created a wonderfully unique series with multiple layers for students and teachers to explore. On the surface, this is an entertaining fantasy and adventure story for kids. Deeper, there are themes of xenophobia and racism and how people’s actions have an affect on the world on a fundamental level. The Crimson Skew and the entire trilogy are great fun books to read, as well as perfect choices for book groups and class reading.

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I Text Dead People--Rose Cooper

Title: I Text Dead People
Author: Rose Cooper
Publisher: Random House, 2015
Pages: 256 p
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: March 2015

It is bad enough that Annabel Craven has just moved into a creepy old mansion next to a cemetery and has to start a new school, but she has also destroyed her cell phone in the wash. This proves to be particularly troublesome when she comes across a weird guy in the cemetery demanding that she return what she took from him. A very confused Anna runs away, trips over a cell phone and decides to pocket it on her way to school. Things continue to get more confusing for Anna as it becomes clear that her newly found phone has very special capabilities, mainly--texting the dead. When one of Anna's new classmates is killed in a tragic accident, Anna must use her phone to help solve the mystery.

I Text Dead People has a funny unique premise and Anna is an interesting protagonist. There are some expected and unexpected twists and the major mystery is wrapped up nicely. While some parts of the book did not quite add up as well as they should have, tweens will not care about minor flaws and will instead focus on enjoying Anna's entertaining character. They will be glad to know that more adventures are planned for Rose Cooper's Dead Series.

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Heat of the Moment--Lauren Barnholdt

Title: Heat of the Moment
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Publisher: Harper Teen, 2015
Pages: 304 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

High school senior Lyla McAfee has her whole senior trip to Florida planned out perfectly. She plans on losing her virginity to her boyfriend of two years (a plan mentioned four times in the first two pages), but first she needs to get there. She misses the school sponsored bus to the airport, so Lyla hops on the back of a motorcycle belonging to a classmate she barely knows so she can make it to the airport on time. She would not normally do that, but as a freshman she had scheduled an email to repeatedly be sent to herself as a senior (over the course of one day) saying, "Before graduation, I will… learn to trust." Lyla manages to get on the plane but the weekend does not go quite as she planned it. Her boyfriend is annoyed that she rode with another guy, she's rooming with ex-friends she has not spoken to in years, and the motorcycle guy keeps popping up in her life.

Lyla is not a particularly likable character. She is unforgiving; a trait that causes her to lie and try to cover up her own actions. She is concerned with trusting other people, but she is not very trustworthy herself. She does come to realize her mistakes by the end of the story and there is hope that she will mature in the next two books in this planned trilogy. This is a good addition to large teen collections with insatiable romance readers.

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Finding Mr. Brightside--Jay Clark

Title: Finding Mr. Brightside
Author: Jay Clark
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, 2015.
Pages: 288 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

Abram is slightly obsessed with his neighbor Juliette but he is afraid to make contact because of their shared traumatic past. Abram's dad and Juliette's mom were in a horrible fatal car crash which revealed the two had been having an illicit affair. Abram and Juliette each react differently to the loss of their respective parents and the scandal it uncovered. Juliette is addicted to Adderall because it helps occupy her mind and prevents her from sleeping. Abram is on antidepressants that do the opposite. When they run into each other filling their prescriptions at the local drug store, Abram takes a chance and speaks to Juliette, who takes a bigger chance and speaks back. From there they open the door to an unexpected friendship and romance and some much needed healing.

Finding Mr. Brightside is told in both Abram's and Juliette's points of view in alternating chapters. Clark does a good job of making their voices different without resorting to stereotypical differences between girls and boys (Abram does not obsess over sex). The romance unfolds nicely and although it is quick, this is not a case of insta-love. It takes Juliette a while to let her guard down and truly trust Abram. She may have been subconsciously attracted to him, but she was determined to not be in a relationship with anyone. Clark's characters are realistic and sympathetic. Readers will root for both of them to overcome their trauma and accept a future of happiness.

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When My Heart Was Wicked--Tricia Stirling

Title: When My Heart Was Wicked
Author: Tricia Stirling
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2015.
Pages: 192 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

Lacy is grieving for her beloved father with her kind-hearted stepmother when her troubled mother shows up demanding custody. Although clearly the better parent, Lacy's stepmom has no legal claim to her and must give her up to the wild and evil-spirited Cheyenne. Lacy fears that all of the work she has done to overcome her own troubled past will be undone as soon as she is under her mother's influence. She tries to fight it but little by little she loses herself until she must confront her mother and battle for her own soul. On the surface this is a normal story about a girl trying to find her own identity separate from her mother's. But underneath the surface, there is an element of magic. Cheyenne has always turned to dark magic and included her very young daughter in her spells. Now that Lacy is older and trying to resist her mother, Cheyenne goes so far as using magic against her. Lacy's battle for her soul is a very real one and not just a metaphor.

When My Heart Was Wicked is not a traditional fantasy story, nor is it traditional realistic fiction. Fans of Francesca Lia Block's magical realism will enjoy this quick and powerful debut from Tricia Stirling.  

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Pennyroyal Academy--M.A. Larson

Title: Pennyroyal Academy
Author: M.A. Larson
Publisher: G.P. Putnam, 2014.
Pages: 320 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

The first novel in a planned series, Pennyroyal Academy, opens with a young girl lost in a dark magical forest who stumbles on a deserted cottage. Hoping for shelter, she enters and quickly realizes she has made a huge mistake. The cottage belongs to a witch who returns with a captured boy. But this is no ordinary boy and girl. The two of them are able to escape the evil witch and begin a journey to Pennyroyal Academy, a school for knights and princesses who learn how to battle evil witches. While at the Academy the girl with no name discovers she is the victim of a curse and slowly discovers her true identity.

The traditional idea of princesses as kind generous girls remains true, but M.A. Larson has given them other qualities as well: strength and witch fighting abilities. Pennyroyal Academy is a boot camp for girls to train to join the Princess Army and help rid the world of the evil dangerous witches.  Readers will love the references to well-known Grimm's fairy tales as well as the idea of princesses who are not damsels in distress and can do their own saving. Younger readers who are closer to the princess-loving age may enjoy the novel more, but older readers will also appreciate the girl-power update to the fairy tale world of their youth.

**

That's my official VOYA review. I just finished reading Pennyroyal Academy to my 7 year old and she decided to do her own review as well:

M.A. Larson, Author
Pennyroyal Academy, Title

I liked Pennyroyal Academy because it is fiction and Evie learns about her family and I liked that it was different because the princesses were fighting witches instead of laying around.

I think that people should read it.

**
Edited 1/6/15 to include this tweet from Larson. How cool is he?

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Bane Chronicles--Cassandra Clare

Title: The Bane Chronicles
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry, 2014.
Pages: 528 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: none

Known to fans of Cassandra Clare's series The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, Magnus Bane is an immortal warlock straddling the line between good and evil. The son of a powerful demon, Bane often finds himself coming to the aid of helpless mundanes (regular humans) as well as other Downworlders (Werewolves, Vampires, Fairies) and even the haughty protectors of the world, Shadowhunters. A supporting player in Clare's series, Bane gets the center stage in The Bane Chronicles, a collection of short stories about his past and present. As with most short story collections with more than one author, the writing is a little uneven and some of the stories are less interesting than others but Bane's charismatic over-the-top character is enough to keep one reading. While just a companion to the two series and not a prequel or sequel, knowledge of the series definitely enhances the enjoyment of the book. The stories are mostly in chronological order starting with Bane's friendship with fellow warlocks Ragnor Fell and Catarina Loss in 1791 and following his exploits in mundane affairs (the French Revolution and the Stock Market crash in 1929). Fans will be most interested in the stories concerning Bane's connections with the Shadowhunters and his relationship with Alec Lightwood of The Mortal Instruments series.

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Evidence of Things Not Seen--Lindsey Lane

Title: Evidence of Things Not Seen
Author: Lindsey Lane
Publisher: Farrar Strauss Giroux/Macmillan, 2014.
Pages: 240 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

Tommy Smythe is a strange boy who is obsessed with physics but cannot relate to his classmates. One day he disappears, leaving behind just his red motorbike and his cryptic journal full of notes about parallel universes and alternate dimensions. Tommy's classmates help search for him but most believe he found a way to cross over into another dimension. No one knows for sure but as long as the truth is never discovered, it remains a possibility.

Tommy's story is told through multiple points of view, some from his classmates and neighbors and others from strangers just passing through town. Each chapter is from a different perspective but they all center around a piece of land called the "pull-out" and relate to Tommy's disappearance. Some chapters are first person narratives (people who knew Tommy) and some are written in third person (people who find objects he has left behind) but all are in present tense. Each is dated with how long Tommy has been missing. While the tense can be jarring to read, it does help add to the sense that Tommy is missing and his story is ongoing. Readers looking for clear-cut answers and conclusions will be disappointed. The real story is not Tommy's to tell, it is in the lives of all the people left behind. Evidence of Things Not Seen is more of a short story collection with Tommy and the pull-out as a unifying thread than a mystery novel and will take a special reader to truly appreciate it.

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The Far Dawn--Kevin Emerson

Title: The Far Dawn: Book Three of the Atlanteans
Author: Kevin Emerson
Publisher: Katherine Tegan/HarperCollins, 2014.
Pages: 368 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: none

Owen and Lilly, the two surving Atlanteans, continue their quest to save the Heart of the Terra and thwart the evil Eden corporation's secret Project Elysium in this final thrilling installment to the Atlanteans series. Owen is overjoyed to be reunited with Lilly, the true Medium to the terra, as they search for the Paintbrush of the Gods, but his joy is shortlived. He is still reeling from his discovery of his true past and the awful horrors unleashed in Desenna when he must face the hardest test yet—saving the planet or saving his love.

Readers unfamililar with the first two books in the series (The Lost Code and The Dark Shore) will want to catch up before attempting the The Far Dawn and will be rewarded for doing so. Emerson has written an exciting thought-provoking conclusion to his mythical adventure trilogy. This book is more mystical and spiritual than the others and ties the series up nicely. Book groups and classes would benefit from the numerous topics for discussion: ecology, polution, government, religion, ethics. Teens who do not read that deeply will still enjoy the adventure and the basic story of a boy who discovers he is more than what he seems. Fans of dystopian literature will not be disappointed.

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The Chapel Wars--Lindsey Leavitt

Title: The Chapel Wars
Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Publisher: Bloomsbury, 2014.
Pages: 292 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

Holly has always been the responsible hard working grandchild, but it is still surprising when Grandpa Jim’s will leaves the 16 year old his wedding chapel. Equally as surprising is the letter she is supposed to hand deliver to a boy who just happens to be the grandson of her grandfather’s rival chapel owner and sworn enemy. Not at all surprising is that Holly falls in love with Dax and the two must hide their Shakespearean romance from their families. 

Lindsey Leavitt has written a funny, touching story of dysfunctional families and a loving grandfather’s last attempt at fixing things. Holly is the perfect example of a leader. She makes hard decisions for the company, even if they go against her personal wishes, and she does so with strength and grace. She may be confused and lost on the inside, but she still takes control of the family business and they trust her decisions. A good mix of funny and sad, the romance is just enough to be entertaining but not too much to overshadow the main story. Leavitt waits until the very last page before revealing Grandpa Jim’s letter to Dax, a strategy that works perfectly for our appreciation of the book. In a world of trilogies, The Chapel Wars stands alone as a funny, realistic, heartfelt novel that teens of all ages will enjoy.

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Bareknuckle Series

Title: Bareknuckle Series
Author: various
Publisher: Darby Creek, 2014
Pages: varies
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

Bareknuckle is an exciting new hi/lo series perfect for reluctant reader boys. Each book tells a different story set at an underground boxing club in the 1870s. Although boys will be most interested in the very violent fighting, each book also throws in some history and moral lessons. Descriptions of the fights are very visual and auditory and suck in readers who love picturing loud cracks as bare knuckles hit broken noses. Squeamish readers might not be as thrilled, but most boys will be drawn to the fighting sections. Although the series is aimed at reluctant readers, it is exciting enough to interest voracious readers as well. In Nathan Sack’s The Big Fix readers are introduced to underground boxing when young journalist George Choogart travels to New York to uncover corruption in a post-Tammany city. The Woodrat is established as a popular fighting club. Fighter’s Alley by Heather Duffy Stone tells the story of a young boy determined to enter a high-stakes boxing tournament and try to keep it a secret from his father who is running for mayor. Slavery and immigration are backstories in Gabriel Goodman’s Lightning’s Run. Jewish immigrant Hiram and former slave Lightning join forces at the Woodrat to fight against bullies, both big and small. The Bareknuckle series would be a worthy addition to middle school libraries and libraries serving the tween (4^th-6^th grades) population.

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