Tag: Young Adult

“The Wicked Bargain” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Wicked Bargain” by Gabe Cole Novoa

On Mar León de la Rosa’s sixteenth birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn’t enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar’s father and the entire crew of their ship.

When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up their soul to save their father by the harvest moon, or never see him again. The task is impossible–Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there’s no way their magic is a match for el Diablo. Then Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate–and the captain’s son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption–or it could mean certain death.

Review

This was an interesting book. It has some great parts to it but feels a little immature. Granted the main characters are teenagers reacting like teenagers to everything. I feel like it could have done with a bit more editing and figuring out how the story was meant to go. I got tired of how long it took Mar to realize they could actually control their powers – the sudden realization didn’t feel like it made a whole lot of sense. But again, teenagers. I’m glad it worked out in the end though and it was mostly a fun read.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Wicked Bargain”.

Book Details

A young person is shown taking up most of the cover facing right with their head turned forward. They're wearing a brown shirt and pants and a necklace. They have one hand up with a flame in it. Behind them is the ocean and a pirate ship. The title and author's name are shown over them.

Author’s Website

Gabe Cole Novoa
Publisher / Date
Penguin Random House, February 2023
Genre
Fantasy Young Adult
Page Count
360
Completion Date
September 3, 2023

“To Shape a Dragon’s Breath” Review

Posted on by Jen

“To Shape a Dragon’s Breath” by Moniquill Blackgoose

The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.

Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea on how a dragon should be raised—and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, then her dragon will be killed.

For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart and determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.

Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.

Review

This was a great book and I’m looking forward to the next one as this is meant to be the first book in a series. The ending of the book works so that it could be a stand alone, but there’s definitely more of the story to be told. The setting is an alternate history version of Earth but still with colonizers and indigenous populations that are dealing with the aftermath of being colonized, and dragons! The characters were great to read about – the central conflict between Anegus and the teachers was well done. I also enjoyed seeing the difference between Anequs who knows exactly who she is and where she belongs and another indigenous character who grew up among the colonizers never knowing the truth about his people. There is a third character in the book who is meant to be autistic, though never outright stated given the time and place, who is awesome. He ends up being friends with Anequs and makes for a very interesting character with his own conflicts to deal with. There are some parts that got a little slow to get and perhaps some other things could have been explained better but I enjoyed it regardless.

I would highly recommend reading the interview with Moniquill Blackgoose, An Indies Introduce Q&A with Moniquill Blackgoose, for more context to the setting for the story and the characters. There are no spoilers for the book in this interview besides setting and information about Anequs and the dragons.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “To Shape a Dragon’s Breath”.

Book Details

The cover is dark red with the face of a dragon in the middle with spikes of hair on top and along its nose. There are red flowers on either side of the dragon's head. The title is written out down the cover one word on each line with the author's name at the bottom.

Author’s Website
Moniquill Blackgoose
Published
Del Rey, May 2023
Genre
Alternate History, Fantasy, Young Adult
Page Count
528
Completion Date
August 1, 2023

“Under Every Sky” Review

Posted on by Jen

“Under Every Sky” by Kenzie Brooks

Seventeen-year-old Maeve Barnes is poised on the brink of freedom—from her city, her past, and her unruly magic. Mere weeks from now, she will be on a plane bound for London and well on her way to starting a nice, ordinary life for herself.

But luck has never been on Maeve’s side. A beautiful stranger appears with a dire warning: the Shadow King is coming. All Maeve’s carefully laid plans for her future are put on hold when the shadowy demon crashes through the wards of the city, attacking her family and churning long-buried secrets to the surface.

In the days that follow, three things become abundantly clear. One, the Elder Council is useless. Two, Hanna—the caustic and evasive stranger—knows more than she is letting on. And three, someone inside Leto is colluding with the Shadow King to bring death and destruction within the city walls.

Amidst a flurry of unlikely alliances, near misses and heartbreaking realizations, Maeve must come to terms with her magic, her resentment toward Leto, and the possibility that she won’t make it to London, after all.

Review

I wasn’t sure about this book at first because Maeve was a little frustrating – but I did remind myself she’s only seventeen and dealing with a lot. I did like that as soon as everything started happening she went to work. There were still some moments of “I can’t do this!” but they were brief and made sense for the moments they happened. The rest of the characters were great too though this was the sort of story where adults end up being almost entirely useless and kids have to save the world. But I knew what I was getting into when I started the book. Overall the story is great and the resolution of a certain plot point actually ended up working out in a way I liked.

Book Details

Blue cover with various circles and symbols on it with the title and author's name in the middle.

Author’s Website
Kenzie Brooks
Publisher / Date
Self Published, May 2023
Genre
Fantasy, Young Adult
Page Count
366
Completion Date
July 24, 2023

“The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester” by Maya MacGregor

Sam Sylvester’s not overly optimistic about their recent move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon after a traumatic experience in their last home in the rural Midwest.

Yet Sam’s life seems to be on the upswing after meeting several new friends and a potential love interest in Shep, the pretty neighbor. However, Sam can’t seem to let go of what might have been, and is drawn to investigate the death of a teenage boy in 1980s Astoria. Sam’s convinced he was murdered–especially since Sam’s investigation seems to resurrect some ghosts in the town.

Threatening notes and figures hidden in shadows begin to disrupt Sam’s life. Yet Sam continues to search for the truth. When Sam discovers that they may be closer to a killer than previously known, Sam has a difficult decision to make. Would they risk their new life for a half-lived one?

Review

Originally read this last year soon after it was published – I still love it. It’s a great quick read with awesome characters. The central mystery is a little predictable but it was still fun waiting to see what was going on. I liked it more for the character interactions. Especially Sam realizing there is a place where they can be themselves and have friends and date safely. This is both a story about being non-binary and Autistic and finding people who get you in all the ways that matter. Their father already does but having people beyond their father understand them is something new.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester”.

Book Details

A young person shown on the cover with white/purple hair and wearing a black t-shirt with a logo of something that is covered up by the book they're holding in their right hand against their chest. Their right arm is covered with a tattoo of sky and a bird and tree. The background is purple and white with stars. The title is shown at the top of te cover.

Author’s Website
Maya MacGregor
Publisher / Date
Astra Young Readers, May 2022
Genre
General Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult
Page Count
355
Completion Date
July 20, 2023 (2nd read)

“The Queen of Water” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Queen of Water” by Laura Resau and María Virginia Farinango

Born in an Andean village in Ecuador, Virginia lives with her family in a small, earthen-walled dwelling. In her Indigenous community, it is not uncommon to work in the fields all day, even as a child, or to be called a longa tonta—stupid Indian—by members of the privileged class of mestizos, or Spanish descendants. When seven-year-old Virginia is taken from her home to be a servant to a mestizo couple, she has no idea what the future holds.

In this poignant novel based on her own story, the inspiring María Virginia Farinango has collaborated with acclaimed author Laura Resau to recount one girl’s unforgettable journey to find her place in the world. It will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately, it will fill you with hope.

Review

This was a book I ended up reading very quickly because I couldn’t put it down until I finished. The story is fascinating with a lot of history. Virginia’s childhood was is sad but the ending of the book is hopeful for the future. I really enjoyed Virginia’s exploration of her background and rediscovery of who she is. At the end of the book there are authors notes that explain how this story came to be. María Virginia Farinango had always wanted to be able to tell her story and to have someone write it with her. The author’s notes should definitely be read after reading the book as it fulls out more information. The book is based on María Virginia Farinango’s life so it’s categorized as fiction – it’s not truly a memoir though a lot of it really happened.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Queen of Water”.

Book Details

A head shot of a woman with light brown skin and black hair takes up most of the cover. She is looking downwards with her eyes mostly closed. She is wearing a gold neckless with four strands of beads and a white dress. The authors names and the title are over her face. The left edge of the cover has a cloth pattern in green and reds.

Author’s Website
Laura Resau and María Virginia Farinango
Publisher / Date
Delacorte/Random House, 2011
Genre
Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Page Count
368
Completion Date
July 14, 2023

“Hell Followed with Us” Review

Posted on by Jen

“Hell Followed with Us” by Andrew Joseph White

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.

Review

This was a really good book! There’s a lot of gore and body horror but I don’t think it was as graphic as it could have been. If it was a movie or a tv show I’d probably have trouble watching because of the gore but in text it didn’t seem so bad. If you read the introduction of the book the author explains where a lot of it came from and how he felt as a teen struggling with his identity. Which is the whole book too.

All of the characters were great and I liked how everything worked out. Even Nick’s “secrets” worked out well in the end. Benji was a great character to get to know. I did wonder if some things could have been explained a little better but at the same time I wasn’t sure how much the characters knew or could explain because they’re all teenagers dealing with the world they’ve been left in. I’m not sure how fully they understood everything to start with. Even Benji’s awareness of everything and understanding of what was happening seemed suspect.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Hell Followed with Us”.

Book Details

The cover has a blue background with black clouds. At the bottom of the page are the ruins of several buildings in red brick. In the middle of the cover there is the figure of a person with six wings with a red eye on each wing. The person has their head turned to the left with a scar on their cheek and bandages on their hands with blood dripping from their hands and chest. There is a chain around the figure in a circle and the title is written on a ribbon at the persons legs.

Author’s Website
Andrew Joseph White
Publisher / Date
Peachtree Teen, June 2022
Genre
Science Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult
Page Count
416
Completion Date
June 30, 2023