Genre: Teen Fiction
Book Review

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing

If you are even remotely on bookish social media, then you are aware of Fourth Wing. It’s been much-hyped and sold out and everywhere I look online there are rave reviews for this YA-fantasy-romance. I am not here to yuck anyone’s yum. If you read Fourth Wing and you loved it, I am totally happy for you. I want people to love what they read. This was not a book that worked for me, though, … Continue reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Book Review

This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang

This Time It’s Real

This Time It’s Real is a YA celebrity romance that focuses a lot on identity and fitting in. Eliza Lin’s mother is a corporate crisis manager, and as a result of her mom’s career she’s spent her childhood living all over the world. Now she’s in Beijing, and even though she’s Chinese, she doesn’t feel like she fits in at her new school any better than her last one. Eliza’s passion is writing, and for … Continue reading This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang

Book Review

Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert

Our Crooked Hearts

Don’t start Our Crooked Hearts unless you have time to finish it. It’s such a wonderful, spooky, thrilling story that it’s hard to put down. It’s a book about imperfect parents, teenage dissatisfaction, and female empowerment and it unfolds beautifully. It’s also a remarkable ghost story. While this book has horror elements to it, it wasn’t especially scary and would be appropriate for a teen. I do want to warn readers about some violence to … Continue reading Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert

Book Review

In Every Generation by Kendare Blake

In Every Generation

Crystal Anne With An E comes to us from a sunny clime, though she is an indoor cat that prefers to remain pale. She is an autism consultant by day, and recently completed a degree in information science, mostly because she could and it was fun. She likes to read (obviously), watch TV while cross-stitching something geeky, play video games, beg her plants not to die in the hell heat of summer, and walk while … Continue reading In Every Generation by Kendare Blake

Book Review

She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

She’s Too Pretty to Burn

She’s Too Pretty to Burn is an intriguing, but uneven read. It opens like a teen romance, and ends like a thriller, but the transition between the two is jarring and disruptive to the reading experience. It’s also supposed to be inspired by The Portrait of Dorian Grey which I didn’t get at all from the text. The novel centers around three people: Mick, a high school swim star with a troubled home life; Veronica, … Continue reading She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

Book Review

Star Wars: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray

Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark

This review was brought to you in high-definition and surround sound by Crystal Anne with An E. Crystal is a Hufflepuff who works as an autism consultant by day and goes to Library School at night. She reads a lot, she cross-stitches a lot, and is always ready to make someone a reading list. NB: This book is currently .99 digitally for May the 4th! … Guess who’s back? This time with bonus Grogu gifs! … Continue reading Star Wars: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray

Book Review

Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran

Queen of Coin and Whispers

Confession time: I skip to the end within the first 10% of most books. (Please don’t yell at me. I’ve already been told by horrified friends that it’s a moral failing.) When I skipped to the end of Queen of Coin and Whispers, I was hit by one of the most compelling lines I’ve read in a long time: She loved me as I loved her, fierce as a bloodied blade. Does it give you … Continue reading Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran

Book Review

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

You Should See Me in a Crown

CW: racism, homophobia The first time I saw this cover, I fell in love. Then I read the blurb and knew I had to have it. Check it out: Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their … Continue reading You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Book Review

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

CW: torture including water boarding, cutting off a finger, implied sexual assault My little ears perked up when I first heard about this one. It has mermaids, witches, pirates, magic, lesbians, double agents, and a woman disguised as a man. What more could I want? I was right to be excited, because damn did it deliver that, and more. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea (TMtW&tS) was so good that I tore through the … Continue reading The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Book Review

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

What I Like About You

What I Like About You is a terrific example of how a book’s flaws can overwhelm the good parts. It has engaging writing, stellar #ownvoices rep of Jewish teens, and nuanced exploration of grief. It also enraged me enough to slam my tablet down and seethe for a good hour after I finished. My initial grade was an F but I upgraded my rating after a few days of introspection (see the above good parts). … Continue reading What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

Book Review

Queerleaders by M.B. Guel

Queerleaders

Queerleaders is a romantic comedy set in a Catholic high school. Mackenzie (Mack) has always known that she is a lesbian, but she is only out to her best friend, Lila. Mack has a huge crush on a cheerleader. When Mack is outed at school and bullied by the cheerleader’s football-player boyfriend, Chad, Mack rashly declares that she can steal ALL of the football player’s girlfriends — or, at least, get them to kiss her. … Continue reading Queerleaders by M.B. Guel

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