Sanctum by Madeleine Roux

Title: Sanctum (Asylum #2)

Author: Madeleine Roux

Publisher: HarperCollins 2015

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 368

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Unread Shelf Project Reading Challenge - Backlist title; Winter TBR

Dan, Abby, and Jordan remain traumatized by the summer they shared in the Brookline asylum. Much as they'd love to move on, many questions remain, and someone is determined to keep the terror alive, sending the teens photos of an old-timey carnival, with no note and no name. Forsaking their plan never to go back, the teens return to New Hampshire College under the guise of a weekend for prospective students, and there they realize that the carnival from the photos is not only real, it's here on campus, apparently for the first time in many years.

Sneaking away from sample classes and college parties, Dan and his friends lead a tour of their own—one through the abandoned houses and hidden places of a surrounding town. Camford is hiding a terrible past, and the truth behind Dan's connection to the asylum's evil warden is more terrifying than Dan ever imagined.

And with this book, I am officially DNFing the rest of the Asylum series. The first book I enjoyed. It was a YA Horror book with an intriguing setting, plotline, and characters. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Well it turns out, almost the exact same things. Our three friends show back up at Brookline after receiving vaguely sinister messages in the mail. Instead of talking about things and attempting to get ahead of the mystery, Abby and Jordan spend half the book not believing Dan (seeing ghosts, hearing voices, etc) and Dan spends most of the book trying to figure out if his friends are actually his friends. that’s what we did in the first book. At this point in the series, I wanted to see a lot more character growth. The lack of growth and unity among the friends distracted me enough that I couldn’t really get into the actual mystery. By the end of the book, I realized that I have no desire to find out what happens to the characters. Three books taken off my UnRead Shelf.

Asylum:

• #0.5 Escape from Asylum

• #1 Asylum

• #1.5 The Scarlets

• #2 Sanctum

• #2.5 The Bone Artists

• #3 Catacomb

• #3.5 The Warden

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2)

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Speak 2012

Genre: YA Romance

Pages: 338

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

My last book of 2020! I loved Anna and the French Kiss and hoped the sequel would be just as good. It was a very good book, but not great. I loved Cricket and the whole boy-next-door trope. It gets me every time. I loved the appearances of Anna and St. Clair. But I wasn’t keen on Lola and Max as her other relationship. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book hoping that Lola wouldn’t make terrible decisions. Turns out that she just made some bad decisions. Part of my problem is that I’m reading this young adult romance as an adult woman with teenagers. It made me so nervous and I completely empathized with Lola’s dads. I imagine that I wouldn’t have been so nervous if I read this as a teenager. Overall a good lighter read to end my year.

Anna and the French Kiss

• #1 Anna and the French Kiss

• #2 Lola and the Boy Next Door

• #3 Isla and the Happily Ever After

Next up on the TBR pile:

Color Me In by Natasha Diaz

Title: Color Me In

Author: Natasha Diaz

Publisher: Ember 2020

Genre: YA Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - October

Growing up in an affluent suburb of New York City, sixteen-year-old Nevaeh Levitz never thought much about her biracial roots. When her Black mom and Jewish dad split up, she relocates to her mom's family home in Harlem and is forced to confront her identity for the first time.

Nevaeh wants to get to know her extended family, but because she inadvertently passes as white, her cousin thinks she's too privileged, pampered, and selfish to relate to the injustices African Americans face on a daily basis. In the meantime, Nevaeh's dad decides that she should have a belated bat mitzvah instead of a sweet sixteen, which guarantees social humiliation at her posh private school. But rather than take a stand, Nevaeh does what she's always done when life gets complicated: she stays silent.

Only when Nevaeh stumbles upon a secret from her mom's past, finds herself falling in love, and sees firsthand the prejudice her family faces does she begin to realize she has her own voice. And choices. Will she continue to let circumstances dictate her path? Or will she decide once for all who and where she is meant to be?

I was very underwhelmed by this book. I loved the premise and was hoping for another The Poet X or Clap When You Land. Instead, we get a book with virtually no plot with underdeveloped characters and bad poetry. I wasn’t a fan of how other women were portrayed (very stereotypical villain types). I hated the father and mostly the mother. The ways in which Nevaeh oppresses others while whining about being oppressed really got to me. Overall, this was a very immature debut novel. Lots of interesting topics but not well executed.

Next up on the TBR pile:

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Title: There’s Someone Inside Your House

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton Books 2017

Genre: YA Thriller

Pages: 298

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: TBR Random

It's been almost a year since Makani Young came to live with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska, and she's still adjusting to her new life. And still haunted by her past in Hawaii.

Then, one by one, the students of her small town high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, Makani will be forced to confront her own dark secrets.

Random book from my TBR pile. I didn’t quite know what to expect but ended up really enjoying this teen slasher book. I loved how Perkins threw the audience right into the action. We start with a murder and don’t stop until the last page. She does a great job of creating realistic teen characters that actually act their age. (Seriously something that is often goes wrong in many young adult books.) There was enough jump scares and mystery to keep me interested in the plot. I really did not see the ending coming. Perkins sowed enough doubt that I was constantly questioning my own predictions. My biggest problem with the book was Makani’s dramatic backstory. It just seemed unnecessarily melodramatic. I think with a few tweaks, this could have been a 5 star book for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Title: Sawkill Girls

Author: Claire Legrand

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 464

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Goodreads Random; Monthly Theme - October

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: The newbie. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: The pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: The queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives; a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight…until now.

I was super excited to read this one based on the plot description. I loved the mystery of the monster and the Sawkill Rock. But very quickly, the identity of the monster is revealed. Okay, I can roll with that. It was kind of interesting to see the story from the perspective of the monster. And then a character is killed and I was hoping the mystery would continue. Unfortunately things devolved into a melodramatic teen romance. I just couldn’t get over Marion’s weak character. At the end of the book, I was just meh about everything. Not my cup of tea.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Title: The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall

Author: Katie Alender

Publisher: Point 2015

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - August

Delia's new house isn't just a house. Long ago, it was the Piven Institute for the Care and Correction of Troubled Females -- an insane asylum nicknamed "Hysteria Hall." However, many of the inmates were not insane, just defiant and strong willed. Kind of like Delia herself.

But the house still wants to keep "troubled" girls locked away. So, in the most horrifying way, Delia becomes trapped. And that's when she learns that the house is also haunted.

Ghost girls wander the hallways in their old-fashioned nightgowns. A handsome ghost boy named Theo roams the grounds. Delia learns that all the spirits are unsettled and full of dark secrets. The house, too, harbors shocking truths within its walls -- truths that only Delia can uncover, and that may set her free.

And she'll need to act quickly -- before the house's power overtakes everything she loves.

This was a surprisingly fun ghost adventure story. I’m not sure why I ended up picking this up, but I sped read through this one in only a few days. I was immediately drawn in by the setting. I’m a sucker fo ra haunted former asylum or school. I liked Delia, but the other characters were the ones that kept me reading. I loved Theo and Eliza and Florence and even Maria. I couldn’t wait to uncover the mystery of who was controlling the ghosts. The last 30 pages were a rollicking good time. This was very fun and a good weekend’s read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lovely War by Julie Berry

Title: Lovely War

Author: Julie Berry

Publisher: Penguin Books 2020

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020; Monthly Theme - June

They are Hazel, James, Aubrey, and Colette. A classical pianist from London, a British would-be architect turned soldier, a Harlem-born ragtime genius in the U.S. Army, and a Belgian orphan with a gorgeous voice and a devastating past. Their story, as told by the goddess Aphrodite, who must spin the tale or face judgment on Mount Olympus, is filled with hope and heartbreak, prejudice and passion, and reveals that, though War is a formidable force, it's no match for the transcendent power of Love.

Another selection from the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Challenge. Overall, I ended up really enjoying this book. I loved following the interconnected stories of James, Hazel, Aubrey, and Colette. I loved reading about their experiences in World War I and the trials their endured. It was a good book that kept me interested throughout. I did have to keep reminding myself that this was labeled as a young adult novel and as such, didn’t get as serious as i would have liked. The frame story with the Greek gods was inventive in the telling of the story. The story did start fairly slow and I didn’t get hooked until we crossed the 100 page mark. And the last 25 pages or so, I could have done without. But it was a good book that was very infortative as to life during World War I.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Title: The Poet X

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

Genre: YA Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Monthly Theme - September

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

Another amazing book by Elizabeth Acevedo. If I was a 14 year old girl, this may have been my favorite book read for the year. It’s such an amazing coming-of-age story featuring a multidimensional young woman. I loved reading every page of this book. It’s a beautiful story with a lot of heart. I definitely liked this one more than Acevedo’s Clap When You Land and I really liked that one also. Just a beautiful story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

Title: Deathless Divide (Dread Nation #2)

Author: Justine Ireland

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 2020

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 553

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook

After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodemus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880s America.

What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears—as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

But she won’t be in it alone.

Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by—and that Jane needs her too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive—even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.

Yes! This was such a great follow-up to Dread Nation! We fall right back in with Jane and Katherine but time and circumstances have changed situation. I loved seeing what was happening out west after spending the first book in the east and in the middle of the country. I loved that we retained a few of the favorite characters and even added some new ones. I was along for the ride from page one. The book may not have ended with a happily ever after, but it definitely had a resolution to one of the big storylines. Loved every second of this series.

Dread Nation

• #1 Dread Nation

• #2 Deathless Divide

Next up on the TBR pile:

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

Title: Burn Our Bodies Down

Author: Rory Power

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2020

Genre: Young Adult Horror

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - June

Ever since Margot was born, it's been just her and her mother, struggling to get along. But that's not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she may have just found the answer: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Only, when Margot gets there, it's not what she bargained for.

As soon as they see her face, everyone in town knows who Margot belongs to. It's unmistakable--she's a Nielsen. And when a mysterious girl who could be Margot's twin is pulled from a fire, Margot realizes that her mother left Phalene for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what's still there?

The only thing Margot knows for sure is there's poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she's there, she might never escape.

I was so incredibly excited for this book. I absolutely loved Wilder Girls and hoped that this would be another great horror novel. Instead, this book just dragged and dragged with whiny characters and no real direction. I was thoroughly bored for the first 70% of the book. I could not connect at all with Margot and really despised her mother. Even after showing up in Phalene, I was completely bored. The entire relationship, or non-relationship, between Margot and Tess was completely thrown in for no real reason. I just didn’t get it. And then we get to the last section of the book and everything went weird, but not in a good way. I love good gore horror, but this just seemed like a giant punch in the gut. Nothing was nuanced or interesting. The book ended and I just didn’t really care.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

Title: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #1)

Author: Roseanne A. Brown

Publisher: Balzar + Bray 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 480

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.

But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.

When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a heart-pounding course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?

I absolutely loved the premise of this one. I loved the focus on West African myths. I loved the world building in this one. I just could not get behind the characters and the plotline. The characters are so incredibly whiny. They are directionless for most of the book. And then for the last strike, the two main characters fall in love in an instant. I just cannot with the silly young adult romance. Once we get into the story, the constant secrets and betrayals just felt super boring and predictable. I got to the end of the book and it just wasn’t worth it to me. I think I’m down with the series.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium (Delirium #1)

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins 2016

Genre: YA SciFI

Pages: 422

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 YA; TBR Random

In an alternate United States, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the Cure. Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. She watched love destroy her mother and isn't about to make the same mistakes.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the Wilds who lives under the government's radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?

This was just boring… Right away, I knew that the main premise of the world was going to be boring. Another recycled scifi dystopian plot. And sometimes, I can get over the boring recycled plot if the characters are interesting. Unfortunately, I just found Lena super boring. Alex was better, but seemed to dull as the story moved on. I wanted to know more about Lena’s friend, but alas, we had to focus on the “romance” in the story. I won’t be reading on in this series.

Delirium

• #! Delirium

• #2 Pandemonium

• #3 Requiem

Next up on the TBR pile:

Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

Title: Seven Endless Forests

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - May

On the heels of a devastating plague, Torvi’s sister, Morgunn is stolen from the family farm by Uther, a flame-loving Fremish wolf-priest who leads a pack of ragged, starving girls. Torvi leaves the only home she’s ever known, and joins a shaven-skulled druid and a band of roaming Elsh artists known as the Butcher Bards. They set out on a quest to rescue Torvi’s sister, and find a mythical sword.

On their travels, Torvi and her companions will encounter magical night wilds and mystical Drakes who trade in young men. They will sing rowdy Elshland ballads in a tree-town tavern, and find a mysterious black tower in an Endless Forest. They will fight alongside famous Vorseland archers and barter with Fremish wizards. They will feast with rogue Jade Fell children in a Skal Mountain cave, and seek the help of a Pig Witch. They will face wild, dangerous magic that leads to love, joy, tragedy, and death.

Torvi sets out to rescue a sister, but she may find it’s merely the first step toward a life that is grander and more glorious than anything she could have imagined.

Such a mixed bag for me. I loved the writing style, very lyrical. I loved the allusions to various mythologies and stories, especially the King Arthur thread. I loved the world building, so sprawling. But overall, I was very disappointed in the actual story itself. We are treated to an almost 400 pages road novel with tons of meandering flashbacks and stories. And yet, we don’t move the plot forward at all in those 400 pages. I was left thinking this was just the beginning. Where’s the rest of the story? The characters are very bland to the point that I couldn’t actually see any of them in my mind. And sometimes that sprawling world building allusions to various myths overwhelmed everything. Like seriously, they have be the “Vorse” and talk about dying and meeting again in “Holholla”? It got old pretty quickly. Disappointing read…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams

Title: Agnes at the End of the World

Author: Kelly McWilliams

Publisher: Little, Brown Books 2020

Genre: YA Scifi

Pages: 432

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Monthly Theme

Agnes loves her home of Red Creek -- its quiet, sunny mornings, its dusty roads, and its God. There, she cares tirelessly for her younger siblings and follows the town's strict laws. What she doesn't know is that Red Creek is a cult, controlled by a madman who calls himself a prophet.

Then Agnes meets Danny, an Outsider boy, and begins to question what is and isn't a sin. Her younger brother, Ezekiel, will die without the insulin she barters for once a month, even though medicine is considered outlawed. Is she a sinner for saving him? Is her sister, Beth, a sinner for dreaming of the world beyond Red Creek?

As the Prophet grows more dangerous, Agnes realizes she must escape with Ezekiel and leave everyone else, including Beth, behind. But it isn't safe Outside, either: A viral pandemic is burning through the population at a terrifying rate. As Agnes ventures forth, a mysterious connection grows between her and the Virus. But in a world where faith, miracles, and cruelty have long been indistinguishable, will Agnes be able to choose between saving her family and saving the world?

I started reading this book and had such high hopes. The first part of the book intrigued me. I find cults to be fascinating and I was very into learning more about the inner workings of the cult. I was on the edge of my seat through Agnes’s coming to terms with the lies she had been told. And I was desperate to see her escape the cult. But then, the book started taking a turn… and I got very concerned about the topics of the book. The second half of the book is all about Agnes accepting God (yes, uppercase G) and following his plan. SPOILER In fact, the book ends because Agnes realizes that she can cure the virus by becoming God’s new prophet. I was not prepared for this turn. The book became a whole story about accepting religion, a very specific religion. I just couldn’t. By the time I realized where this was going, I was 78% complete so I finished the book. Now I’m wishing that I didn’t.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Wicked as You Wish by Rin Chupeco

Title: Wicked as You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1)

Author: Rin Chupeco

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

Many years ago, the magical Kingdom of Avalon was left encased in ice when the Snow Queen waged war. Its former citizens are now refugees in a world mostly devoid of magic. Which is why the crown prince and his protectors are stuck in...Arizona.

Prince Alexei, the sole survivor of the Avalon royal family, is hiding in a town so boring, magic doesn't even work there. Few know his secret identity, but his friend Tala is one of them.

A new hope for their abandoned homeland reignites when a famous creature of legend, the Firebird, appears for the first time in decades. Alex and Tala must unite with a ragtag group of new friends to journey back to Avalon for a showdown that will change the world as they know it.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I loved the mash-up of various systems of magic and worlds from other literature. I loved the action sequences especially all those involving the Ice Maiden and the Snow Queen. It took me a while to get the hang of the terminology, but I did get the hang of it. The story was decent and set up the rest of the series pretty well. This one ends on one hell of a cliffhanger, so beware. Unfortunately, I am very tired of the trope where everyone other character knows what’s going on, while the main character is kept in the dark “for their own safety.” I really get so very annoyed by this in every book it appears. I just cannot. Why can’t characters just communicate the relevant information in any given situation? I can’t deal with the lies by omission. I am still debating whether or not to continue reading this series.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Title: Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1)

Author: Justine Ireland

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 2018

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 418

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: GR Random; Monthly Theme

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.

In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.

But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.

But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. 

And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

Oh my goodness! This was a thrilling ride! I immediately starting rooting for Jane, but know bad things were going to happen to her (that’s how zombie books go). I loved starting at Miss Preston’s school before venturing out into the world outside. I loved the world Ireland creates. I’m a sucker for good alternative history. This world is a horrible yet fascinating one. I was fully invested in the characters and the story. Like Jane, I needed to see what was really going on in Baltimore and in Summerland. Even Katherine grew on me and I daresay, I actually like her now! I can’t wait to read the second book and find out who made it out of Summerland (fingers crossed for Gideon) and who our characters have still yet to meet.

Dread Nation

• #1 Dread Nation

• #2 Deathless Divide

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

Title: A Song Below Water

Author: Bethany C. Morrow

Publisher: Tor Teen 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 288

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Monthly Theme

In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers.

Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school’s junior year.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment.

Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it’s only Tavia and Effie’s unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.

I wanted to love this book so much! I was intrigued about the siren aspect of the summary. I was craving another really good exploration of current social issues. And just look at that cover! How could I resist? Unfortunately the reality is not great. Bottom line: Morrow tries to do too much in a short amount of pages leading to a muddled mess of topics and storytelling. Explained more: there are multiple aspects that I did not like.

• The pacing is incredibly slow for the first half of the book. And then the second half of the book turns it up to 11, leaving me with whiplash while reading.

• The writing style is somewhere between straight first person and stream of consciousness and it’s confusing and annoying. Both main characters often trailed off in the middle of explaining to focus on something else leaving me with confusion.

• Speaking of explaining, there is none when it comes to the mythical creatures. We are never treated to a true look at how they exist within our society. They seem to just be thrown in randomly. Why include them if there’s no real exploration? Just make this a contemporary YA novel, no fantasy.

• The focus of social justice was lost completely in the rest of the mess.

If you want to read a good fantasy novel that explores race and identity, pick up The Deep by Rivers Solomon. Amazing book! And it has actual mermaids! Or grab Solomon’s other book, An Unkindness of Ghosts, for a science fiction version.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Title: Tweet Cute

Author: Emma Lord

Publisher: Wednesday Books 2020

Genre: YA Romance

Pages: 368

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; MMD 2020

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

A very cute contemporary young adult romance. I wasn’t completely blown away, but I ended up smiling throughout most of the book. Pepper and Jack are great characters and I do like how we see the story from each perspective. I loved some of the side characters, mostly Pooja and Paul, but Paige was cool too. of course, the parents in this novel are made out to be completely clueless in regards to their kids. Common trope in YA novels and one that gets really old to read when you’re not 16 years old. I would have liked to see more at the end of the book, but like usual, the ending is very rushed. Overall, it was an enjoyable couple days read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Title: Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1)

Author: Beth Revis

Publisher: Razorbill 2011

Genre: YA Scifi

Pages: 416

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf; Monthly Theme

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends--and planet--behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship. Amy and her parents believe they will wake on a new planet, Centauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber.

Someone tried to murder her.

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader. And Elder, Eldest's rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold metal walls? All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

CW: Sexual Assault

I just read a muddle of a science fiction, romance, murder mystery and it was not good at all. I was intrigued by the premise and I usually love a generation ship story. But this one was a mess and I was not impressed at all. Breaking it down with bullet points:

• Too many genres in one book! Seriously, just pick a few…

• Sloppy writing. At times, I had to reread paragraphs because the writing was confusing. I had a lot of trouble “seeing” the action and setting easily.

• Boring characters. We know virtually nothing about Amy other than she misses her “daddy” and Earth boyfriend and likes to run. Okay… and? Elder is a wet blanket most of the time, a milquetoast person. I got really nothing from him. The most interesting characters were other inhabitants of the Ward, but we spend little time with them.

• So many predictable twists. I called the murderer a mile away. Revealing who unplugged Amy was silly and made me really hate that character even more. Of course the ship is delayed. They are always delayed (or off course). So so predictable.

• That attempted rape came out of nowhere, was way too graphic, and also sensual. Just no!

I could probably keep ranting, but I’d rather go read something good. Needless to say, I will not be continuing this series.

Across the Universe

• #1 Across the Universe

• #2 A Million Suns

• #3 Shades of Earth

Next up on the TBR pile:

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Title: Clap When You Land

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Publisher: Quill Tree Books 2020

Genre: YA Fiction

Pages: 432

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Modern Mrs Darcy 2020

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other. 

CW: Death of a parent, Sexual assault

I picked this up because of its inclusion on the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide and as one of Acevedo’s earlier works, The Poet X, won multiple awards. I had some trepidation over of the “free verse” form of the novel, but I should not have been worried. This was a moving, beautiful account of two girls growing up in very different cities but connected by many threads. I loved getting to know each girl and piecing together their lives, struggles, and dreams. Camino felt more real to me, but both girls were expertly sketched out. By the end of the novel, I wanted to keep following them as they grew together and found their new places in the world. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile: