Content warning: Lockdown situation at a high school, emotionally absent/neglectful parents. Also, the main characters are professional athletes and talk/think about food and nutrition in a way that might be triggering for people with eating disorders. The thing that happens when you follow certain romance authors on Twitter for a while is that you find yourself slowly becoming obsessed with figure skating. This is a rather disappointing obsession to have in Australia, where the ISU … Continue reading Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimara →
Freaky in Fresno is a blast. It’s a YA with a lot of romance, but the focus is more on family and friendship, so we’re talking more rom-com than romance novel. In this book, two cousins who were raised like sisters but have grown apart, switch bodies Freaky-Friday style. What ensues involves romance, make-up, an angry chihuahua, wolf dogs, classic horror movies, and a very beautiful car. I loved it, although it was a little … Continue reading Freaky in Fresno by Laurie Boyle Crompton →
I love modern-day witches. I love queer romance. I love mysteries. I’m not typically a huge YA reader, but I like the first three things enough to give queer YA witch romance mystery These Witches Don’t Burn a try. While this book was not without its flaws, there was something quite fresh-feeling about These Witches Don’t Burn that I appreciated. It took a lot of common YA tropes, such as “I’m trying to be a … Continue reading These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling →
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages is a fun YA fictional anthology. I enjoyed the variety of the stories and the variety of representation, although I was sorry to see no bisexual representation (if I missed it, let me know!). Multiple ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds are represented and there are a couple of asexual stories in addition to the LGBT stories, which I was thrilled about since asexual relationships … Continue reading All Out edited by Saundra Mitchell →
Sparrowhawk is an intense, violent, historical fantasy comic that I found to be both horrifying (in a good way) and amazing. Readers should know that there is harm to cute fey creatures, there is racism, and there is a cliffhanger ending, and the protaganist is tough as nails but too stupid to live. Our story begins in Victorian England. Artemesia is raised as an upper-class proper Victorian woman as the illegitimate daughter of a Naval … Continue reading Sparrowhawk by Delilah S. Dawson →
This YA graphic novel is very sweet and perfect for fall. I’m not sure that much about it will stay with me, but it was a good use of a leisurely autumn lunch break. Mooncakes tells the story of Nova, a teen witch, and her childhood friend Tam, a werewolf, who is back in town after a several-year absence. Tam is trying to defeat a local demon who has possessed a horse (unlike most of … Continue reading Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu →
TW/CW: Murder, attempted rape, beheading/separated limbs. I deeply, deeply enjoyed The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh. Or, a lot of it, anyway. The Beautiful takes place in 1872 New Orleans, where a young former dressmaker named Celine arrives after fleeing Paris. She arrives with several other young women from Europe and they are all to be settled in a convent together until they marry. Celine quickly becomes drawn to a young woman named Odette, who hires … Continue reading The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh →
The Grace Year is described as a “haunting, feminist YA speculative thriller,” and I mostly agree with that assessment. It’s twisted, memorable, and eerie (there is a tree from which severed fingers and other body parts hang). It’s a book you’ll be thinking about for days after you’ve finished reading, but it does struggle with being overly ambitious in subplots and when it comes to a satisfactory ending, it doesn’t stick the landing. There is … Continue reading The Grace Year by Kim Liggett →
By Wingèd Chair is a young adult coming-of-age fantasy romance novel which plays with the Robin Hood story and takes it in some interesting new directions. Set in a fantasy world that has both medieval European and Victorian steampunk elements, the backdrop to the story is the unjust rule of Duke John, who has somehow disposed of his elder brother and now rules the country with the aid of the Sheriff and his Peacekeepers, who … Continue reading By Wingèd Chair by Kendra Merritt →
Here’s what was going through my head when I finished this book: wow woah wow woah wow woah wow woah wow!! In a good way. I’ve been majorly excited about this book since June when I saw the beautiful cover and read these words in the synopsis: “an impossible love between two girls—one human, one Made—whose romance could be the beginning of a revolution.” This book features SO many things that are right in my … Continue reading Crier’s War by Nina Varela →
The Infinite Noise is a YA love story and also a superhero origin story. It’s also a story in which nothing much happens. If you like m/m romance with angsty teens, this is fine, but because of the superpower angle I expected more plot and none is forthcoming. The entire book reads like a very slow prequel that never pays off. Caleb and Adam are both sixteen. Caleb wears sports gear/Adam wears Emo shirts/Caleb plays football/Adam’s … Continue reading The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen →
