 5 stars
Poignant, important, and all about discovering your own space--your space within yourself, your space amongst other people, and your space in the world. (Puns, yes, but serious meanings? Also yes.) Characters: ★★★★★ Emotional resonance: ★★★★★ Handling of topics: ★★★★★ Pluto is going through a difficult time. Recently diagnosed with depression and anxiety, it's not exactly what she had planned for the end of her seventh grade experience. 13-year-olds don't have to deal with this, do they? And if they do, why can't Pluto seem to handle it better? (Those are Pluto's harsh questions for herself.) Not only is Pluto navigating her own struggle and trying to figure out how to get through it--her dad, located in New York City, thinks he knows what's best and wants Pluto to come to the city in order to get better. Pluto doesn't want to leave her mom, and she doesn't want to go to the city. So it's time to make a list of what she needs to do in order to be "Pluto" again. If she can find herself and act like she used to, then she can stay...right? Pluto is about to discover just what it means to be herself. And how, at the end of the day, she can chart her own path through the stars. , My thoughts: Wow, is this book filled with heart. I cried, I ached, I laughed, I smiled. Pluto's journey through love, self acceptance, and personal growth was something special to witness. One of the poignant elements to me was Pluto's support system. Unlike other novels I've read, where the main character(s) might occasionally be unmoored without a robust group of loved ones around them, How to Become a Planet showcased a loving group of folks around Pluto wishing her the best, trying to help her, and helping her each step of the way in the best way they could. I found that added to the story immensely and left me with a feeling of warmth and safeness. I can only imagine how this would resonate with younger readers going through similar circumstances. This is an important novel for young LGBT+ teens, and especially those at the younger end. I look forward to having this in my arsenal for book recommendations for children and parents alike.
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 4.5 stars
I demand to know where books like these were when I was a kid! This was so much fun—humor, dark lords and unicorns, a young protagonist with Goals and Things to Do, and a whole lot of quirky adventures. Humor: ★★★★★ Characters: ★★★★★ Setting: ★★★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★ As the sole heir of the infamous Dark Lord Elithor, 12-year-old Clementine Morcerous has been groomed since birth to be the best (worst?) Evil Overlord she can be. This includes Dastardly Deeds, general rules about Evildoing from the Council of Dark Lords, and more. Who knew the life of a Dark Lord could be so...whimsical? Clementine, our young protagonist, is upset to discover that one day her father seems to be...chipping away. As if his body parts are being whittled down by some exterior force. At first, she's not concerned. Her father is often cursed by the other Dark Lords, that's par for the course in the Council. But usually those events are...flashier. More direct. And not a months on end process that her father actually seems to be losing. What's a girl to do, besides get to the bottom of it? With Clementine, her grimoire-turned-rogue-chicken "Gricken," a knight-in-training village boy, and a unicorn hunter in hiding, things are about to get INTERESTING. My thoughts: I loved this story. For a middle grade novel, this was packed with humor, sophisticated language, and a lot of relevant moral messaging for kids and adults alike. Clementine was a fantastic main character. I enjoyed the side characters, even as they were more trope-y and filled their humor niches. You always need some predictable comedic relief! Honestly, I'm running out of things to say besides... I loved it all. If you like humor, fantasies that don't take themselves too seriously, and books that are more character-driven as opposed to plot-driven, check this one out! Thank you to Algonquin for Young Readers for my copy in exchange for an honest review.  4 stars
Wow! I love reading something so new it's unlike anything I've read before. Three siblings vie for their godhoods in the lingering aftermath of their mother's murder in a mythological tale like the classics... Bring it on!! Concept: ★★★★★ Characters: ★★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★ 1/2 Enjoyment: ★★★★ First off, a moment of silence for future YA fantasies that I'll have to read following this book. They have big shoes to fill, as my expectations have been raised. Dream Country brings something new to the realm of YA literature—and I am here for it. The siblings of Dream, Nightmares, and Sleep have existed in separate realms for 6 years, ever since the murder of their mother, Night. The triplets were never charged with Night's murder, but the blood on their bodies and the lack of truth following the incident tarnished the legacies of all three children and they've been battling it ever since. Now it's six years later, and the triplets are about to experience another upset: their realms are in trouble. For years, the three realms of Dreams, Nightmares, and Sleep have been separated by an ornate Gate/Wall composed of Ivory and Horn. Dream can touch Ivory but not Horn, Nightmares can touch Horn but not Ivory, and Sleep can touch neither. So they remain separate, with their Minor gods living in the three realms alongside them. Then the Gates come down. And things will never be the same for these long-estranged siblings. My thoughts: Like I mentioned right off the bat, this debut sparkles with newness. From its focus on godhood and realms to its mythology-inspired storytelling and writing, Dream Country is unlike the rest of the genre. On some level, it made it harder to get into as it was so different, so "off" from the rest that I struggled to engage with its method of storytelling for the first third. However, once you get into the story and get on board with the writing style, the tale sings. I loved spending times with these archetypal siblings. Its a story that doesn't bring too many surprises or twists, but it does deliver on worthwhile emotions and beautiful, lyrical imagery. Looking forward to more from this author. She has a talent for a new perspective. Thank you to Onwe Press for my copy in exchange for an honest review.  4 stars
Lush and lyrical, beautifully romantic, and a wonderful duology finale... (but longgg.) Writing: ★★★★ 1/2 Characters/Romance: ★★★★★ Pacing: ★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★ 1/2 We Free the Stars is the final book in the Arawiya series. For thoughts on the first book, check out my review here. Below there are SPOILERS for the first book, We Hunt the Flame. I repeat, SPOILERS for the first book! Ok, they gone? Good! Let's talk about this one. Following the events of We Hunt the Flame, our group of rebels/adventurers are reeling. The Lion of the Night is at large with a dangerous agenda, they've lost Altair, and the remaining members of the group are struggling to cope with a recent loss and the implications of the fight yet to come. Zafira, Nasir, and the team are bound for Sultan’s Keep, determined to restore the hearts of the Sisters of Old to the minarets of each caliphate—thus returning magic to all of Arawiya. Zafira is the fabled Hunter of the realm, who spent most of her years masquerading as a man who was known for his ability to find anything. Now armed with a mind-to-mind connection to a powerful magical text and outed as a Huntress, not a Hunter, she's struggling to adjust to her new situation amidst the panic of their quest. Oh, and there's the exciting (or distracting?) feelings she's experiencing for the crown prince, Nasir. Nasir, the crown prince of Arawiya and the famed assassin known as the Prince of Death, is also dealing with some shattering revelations. Having just found out that he has a brother—and discovering that the brother is his commander at arms and lifelong reluctant frenemy, Altair—is enough to make him stop in his tracks. But then to discover that his father, the evil Sultan, is also under the Lion's mind control and therefore not the monster Nasir believed him to be for years? Yikes. Nasir is, to put it mildly, a bit of an emotional mess and attempting to hide it. And there's also the fated pull he feels for Zafira too, in case he didn't have enough going on. With court politics, assassinations, intrigue, and deadly games of cat and mouse to come, We Free the Stars takes off with a lot on its plate. Will Arawiya be saved? My thoughts: So I need to address the elephant in the room right off the bat: the pacing of this novel really suffered with the extreme length of this book. Even though it was only roughly 100 pages longer than the first book, this installment felt every inch of its extra page count. I think this was a difficult series to wrap up, honestly, and it speaks to the author's talented sentences and character development that I still loved it... even when it dragged on. And it did drag. Part of what made me fixate on the length was the somewhat aimless portion around the 250-350 page mark where I felt like the characters were all aimlessly pacing from space to space, waiting for the shoe to drop and filling the time with movement to feel productive. That sounds super dramatic—but I feel like it's accurate. I enjoyed those portions for the conversations and the romantic angst, but even my "character drama"-preferring self was ready for some action after a while. However, despite those qualms above, I really did love this book. Hafsah Faizal is a beautiful writer and I fell in love with her characters and this world. Nasir and Zafira's romance stands alone in my head for its refreshing blend of good "old fashioned" YA angst and drama mixed with a sensual edge that didn't rely on raw sexual insta-lust to make it work. I was also a huge fan of the side characters and their unique emotional arcs.  3.5 stars
What does a small mom-and-pop haunted hotel do when a big chain business comes into town? Up their game, of course. Ghost-y style. This was so fun to read! Concept: ★★★★★ Pacing: ★★★ Characters: ★★★ 1/2 Do you like ghosts? Do you like light-hearted fun? Do you like middle grade? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I'd love to recommend this book directly to you. I picked this up on a whim from my local bookstore because I was immediately drawn in by the title, The Second-Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street. It's a mouthful (true) but it's also the kind of title that screams to be read (ahhh!). In this book, you can expect: a 6th grade girl doing her best in a family reeling from a recent tragedy, an eclectic family of ghosts that leap off of the page, a dramatic showdown between characters that reminded me heavily of the sense of drama in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and a whole lotta cool dialogue surrounding ghosts and their integrations into our "living" society. Read it! I promise you'll have a good time. ABOUT THE BOOK: A family-run haunted hotel’s livelihood is threatened when a bigger haunted hotel opens nearby in this hilarious, spooky story... Twelve-year-old Willow Ivan’s family has run the Hotel Ivan for four hundred years. Through thick and thin, they’ve held on tight to their title as the Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street. That is, until the Hauntery—a corporate chain of haunted hotels—moves in down the street. As the Ivan’s business fades, so do their ghostly staff. And Willow begins to worry that The Ivan’s days are numbered. Then Willow meets Evie, a Hauntery ghost who’s forced to play the part of a Spooky Little Girl even though she longs to be a Terrifying Phantasm. So when Willow offers her a job at The Ivan, Evie accepts—but she doesn’t tell Willow that she’s still working for The Ivan’s competition, for fear of losing her new job and friend. Together, the girls come up with a plan to save The Ivan. But with The Ivan ghosts already fading and Evie’s secret threatening to come out, will it be too late?  5 stars
Not everyone's cup of tea, but for fans of Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, gritty urban fantasy, lyrical portal fantasy, and murder mysteries.... this was tailor-made for us. Writing: ★★★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★ WARNING! There are SPOILERS for the first book in this duology, The Hazel Wood, in this review. In order to talk about the setup for this book I have to SPOIL how the first book ends. Consider this your spoiler alert! A recap of The Hazel Wood: In The Hazel Wood, Alice discovered that she was a Story, a girl made from the twisted magical imaginings of the Spinner in the fairy tale landscape of the Hazel Wood. The Hazel Wood was the kind of setting that would make even the Grimms brothers hesitate. It was brutal, bloody, and cyclical in its relentless drive to make its Stories (other Made characters, like Alice) act out their dark fables with no escape. When Alice and her friend, Ellery Finch, discover a way into the fairy tale they soon fall into the clutches of the Spinner—Alice gets sucked into her Story and can't get out, and Ellery has to battle the realm itself to free her. The end of The Hazel Wood shows Ellery shattering Alice's Story in the Hazel Wood and freeing Alice...at the cost of the fabric of the realm itself. Alice escapes to New York City, and Ellery stays in the Hazel Wood to explore the doors of realms he's only dreamed about. Now's it's time for The Night Country. Alice is trying to be a human. She's desperately trying to forget the events of The Hazel Wood. Her years spent trapped in the role of Alice-Three-Times have marked her soul. But Alice can't escape her Story roots—the other Stories won't let her. When Ellery shattered the realm, he caused its decay. The center would not hold. With holes in the Hinterland, other Stories have found their way into the city, and to Alice. They are like refugees in a strange land, Other and off. But then, Stories start turning up dead. And certain body parts are missing from each dead Story. ~Meanwhile, Ellery Finch is in a bind. He's trapped in the remnants of the Hazel Wood, desperate to get out and yet unwilling to return to our world. When a beautiful young woman with the ability to create Doors offers him a bargain, he jumps at the chance to travel with her. But where is she going to lead him?~ It turns out that Alice's life of Alice-Three-Times isn't something she can shake off. And maybe the lie wasn't that Alice was a Story at heart—maybe it was that Alice never had a shot at playing human. With ice in her veins, dead bodies lining up, and a mysterious red-headed stranger stirring up the Stories to vengeance, it's time for Alice to get to the bottom of what's happening to the other Stories and the Hazel Wood—before it's too late. Alice and Ellery aren't done with their adventures just yet. And the other realms aren't done with them either. I cannot describe how much I LOVED this installment. The Night Country was everything I'd hoped it would be, and more. It's darker, bloodier, and richer in detail and scope. While The Hazel Wood was almost trapped in its confines as a fairy tale landscape, The Night Country had the floor wide open for plot and character arcs. I loved where we took Alice and Ellery in their journeys. The murder mystery element was a surprise—but it was fantastically done. More fantasies should have murder mysteries, maybe? Overall, a fantastic book that I devoured in one sitting. Cannot wait for more from Melissa Albert.  4 stars
Filled with heart, acapella, drama, and the complexities of young people in love, this was a sweet and engaging read. It gives you the feels, you know? Writing: ★★★★★ Plot: ★★★ 1/2 Enjoyment: ★★★★ Izzy Crawford is just trying to belong. Having spent the past six years moving from town to town to town with her mother after her father died in Iraq, Izzy's tired of feeling like she can't put down roots. Things change when Izzy starts going to school in Virginia. She's keeping her scholarship status on the down low and she's attempting to play it cool, but high school has other plans. When you've got roots, you've got ties. And some ties get complicated. Izzy finds herself juggling her school life—she's in an acapella group and getting closer to one of the hottest athletes in school, Sam, which is made more complicated by the fact that Izzy's friend Roz likes him too. If that's not enough, she's also experiencing one of the most exciting things that her family has ever experienced—they've been selected by Habit for Humanity to receive a brand new home. However, Izzy can't keep all the elements in her life from spinning into each other forever. It's all going to overlap soon. Is she ready to lay down roots and roll with the seasons? I thought this was a powerful and moving YA novel. Sometimes a YA contemporary reads for its audience and doesn't transcend its age bracket for adults... How to Build a Heart is not one of those reads. There are lessons, fun, and love to be had in these pages and the author shares them beautifully for all ages. Izzy's story of fitting in and growing into her own personhood was a lot of fun. Plus, Maria Padian's writing is amazing. So read it for the writing voice alone. Recommended for all! Haha. But in all honesty, I really enjoyed this one. Will definitely keep an eye on Maria Padian's future works. Thank you to Algonquin Books for Young Readers for my copy in exchange for an honest review.  3 stars
"What big teeth you have, Grandma..." All the better to eat you with, my dear. This debut is filled with teeth, ominous undertones, and horror-set vibes. A very interesting debut, even if it didn't jive for me personally. Concepts: ★★★★★ Writing style/how plot points were unveiled via the writing: ★★ Use of speculative elements: ★★★ 1/2 Pacing: ★★★ Overall Enjoyment: ★★★ 1/2 Eleanor Zarrin has been away at boarding school for many, many years. But it's time to come home—she has no choice. What greets her at home is her family...shapeshifters, eldritch horrors mixed with human features, the family friend who eats nothing and gleams in the moonlight, and her fortune-telling grandmother holding it all together. But when Eleanor's grandmother dies violently over the tarot card deck while reading Eleanor's fortune, things start to turn sour in the Zarrin household. With no where to turn to and feeling trapped by her family's suspicions and distanced aloofness, Eleanor finds a letter from her other grandmother locked in a chest. She decides to invite her to come to the Zarrin house. It would be nice to meet her other grandmother... But no one in the Zarrin household—whether they have teeth, sea-skin, or blackened maws—is ready for the Other Grandmother. Least of all Eleanor. "You take after your other grandmother, Eleanor," they said. They never meant it as a compliment. My thoughts: So for those who know my reading tastes, this seems like the perfect read. Right? That makes it extra painful to share that I really... didn't mesh with this story at all. It might the case of it's me, not the book. Definitely take all of the below with a grain of salt. In particular, I found it extremely hard to get into the groove with the way the story was told. Basic plot facts were purposefully dangled and never explained, and yet we spent a lot of time on physical descriptions and internal thought processes, so the lack of plot depth became frustrating as opposed to interesting. It left me with a very uneven sense of what was even happening—and NOT in a good way like a typical mysterious horror set-up. If we'd been vague in all things, it would have made sense as a style choice, but with way too much time spent with Eleanor's thoughts on mundane teenage romance feelings and descriptions of the settings the lack of plot knowledge felt like a lack of building. I also thought that the pacing seemed off, but that could be tied to my frustrations with the way the story unfolded. The first half felt like we were in a holding pattern, and while the vague, horror "What's happening??" atmosphere worked for the first 100 pages... I got bored waiting for the shoe to drop and the plot to begin. And when it did begin, then I was frustrated that we veered away from that and decided to focus on a romantic subplot that didn't seem to make sense in the story. Without spoilers I can't say much, but if you'd just snipped out the romance it would have been a lot stronger. It was a distraction, for me, and an added frustration when combined with the rest of this (vagueness, lack of plot action, etc). But I did find the ending worked out well. It was worth the wait, and even though it became easy to predict the further you read, that lack of surprise did not take away from the satisfaction of the moment. Overall, definitely check this one out if the cover appeals to you and you're a fan of horror and speculative fiction. Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.  4 stars
Deadly games, a city based on your sins, historical fantasy vibes, gangs and codes of honor, slow burn romances, revolutions and conspiracies, and so much more... what a (surprisingly bloody) good time. Pacing: ★★ Characters ★★★ 1/2 World/Setting: ★★★★ Larger story arc: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★ Take your time in the City of Sin, if you lose your bearings it'll reel you in... Enne Salta arrives in New Reynes, known in the realm as the "City of Sin," with a bag full of belongings and a note from her adopted mother telling her to who to call if she needs help. Enne can't find her mother and time has run out, so she's desperate for some help. She's looking for a man named Levi Glaiser. Levi Glaiser is the Iron Lord, the leader of one of the most prominent street gangs in the city. He's balancing on the edge of fealty to his gang, a forced bargain with a mob boss, and the mountain of lies keeping him—and his future—from falling apart. The last thing he wants on his doorstep is a girl calling in a favor from one of the most notorious rebel sympathizers in the realm. Enne doesn't like the look of Levi, and Levi likes the look of Enne a little too much. Enne has money, Levi needs money. Levi has connections to the pulse of the city, and Enne needs to find out what happened to her mother. Time to strike a bargain... But things quickly become much bigger than a bargain between the Iron Lord and the visiting new girl when things in New Reynes get complicated, and fast. Trouble is brewing in the city, lords are being murdered, and the noose around Levi's neck is getting tighter and tighter with one of the two mob bosses in the city after him and the other pulling his strings. Enne and Levi are going to get much more than they bargained for, and neither one of them is truly ready for the hidden secrets of Enne's past to rise to the surface. The game of monarchies, conspiracies, murder plots, and blood ties is about to begin... WOW, y'all. I loved this. Ace of Shades is one of those YA books that came out in the surplus of red/black aesthetic fantasy reads released in the aftermath of Six of Crows and V.E. Schwab's rise to popular immortality and to be honest, I thought the book was going to be derivative of the themes it was invoking on the cover. Totally missed the mark on this one. While you can sorta-kinda-squint and see Schwab and you can definitely make surface-level comparisons to Six of Crows, Ace of Shades quickly diverges from the paths of the expected with a truly explosive and engaging story arc. I found the first half to be slow and followed a lot of traditional YA tropes. Discovery of world, learning the key players, getting a quick-and-dirty run down of the magic system, introducing the bad guys, etc. But the second half—d-d-d-damn! Talk about a ramp-up and a showdown all in one. I couldn't put it down. When the ending actually happened, I was on Amazon that very second pressing "Buy Now" on the second book. Very excited to see where the plot takes us, and now that the exposition and beginning stuff is over with the really intrigue and development can take off.  4 stars
A powerful, moving novel about the everyday grit of young homelessness tinged with empathy, endurance, and subtlety. Definitely not easy to forget. Writing: ★★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★ Characters: ★★★★ Living in the homeless community in San Francisco, Maddy has banded together with a small group of others in the Golden Gate Park. Struggling to survive, the last thing Maddy expects to experience is a murder. Having been an unwilling yet captive witness of a young man's murder, Maddy quickly finds herself drawn in to the investigation with the local police and with the murdered man's parents. Maddy didn't sign up for this—and she certainly doesn't want to give up the secrets of her history in order to help the police and the family find closure. But will she decide to open up given the circumstances? If she does, what then? I know the above description is pretty vague, but I really didn't want to give too much away about the novel. It's one of those that you really need to experience first-hand and not read in a blurb. I was surprised at how much this novel moved me—which sounds callous, as obviously a novel about young homelessness is one that you'd automatically assume would be moving. And I did assume it would be. But at the same, I guess I underestimated how much it would move me as a reader. There's a lingering thread of sadness mixed with hope mixed with a sense of trapped circumstance in this, and it's an intense cocktail to experience. This is a powerful debut that is grappling with some heavy, contemporary topics. I'm glad I got to follow Maddy's journey, however hard. I occasionally wished for more depth, but overall a very satisfying story. Thank you to Algonquin for my copy in exchange for an honest review. |
Amy Imogene ReadsJust someone looking for her own door into Wonderland. Archives
October 2021
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All reviews posted are my own and do not reflect the opinions of any other individual or entity. When applicable, reviewed titles sent to me by the publisher are noted at the bottom of each review.
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