The Castle School (for Troubled Girls), By Alyssa B. Scheinmel ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Coming-of age, Contemporary Fiction, Mental Illness, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 2nd, 2021

400 Pages

Synopsis: When Moira Dreyfuss’s parents announce that they’re sending her to an all-girls boarding school deep in the Maine woods, Moira isn’t fooled. She knows her parents are punishing her; she’s been too much trouble since her best friend, Nathan, died—and for a while before that. At the Castle School, isolated from the rest of the world, Moira will be expected to pour her heart out to the odd headmaster, Dr. Prince. But she isn’t interested in getting over Nathan’s death, or befriending her fellow students.

On her first night there, Moira hears distant music. On her second, she discovers the lock on her window is broken. On her third, she and her roommate venture outside…and learn they’re not so isolated after all. There’s another, very different, Castle School nearby—this one filled with boys whose parents sent them away, too.

Moira is convinced that the Castle Schools and the doctors who run them are hiding something. But exploring the schools will force Moira to confront her overwhelming grief—and the real reasons her parents sent her away.

The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) was not what I was expecting, which was more along the lines of another boarding school mystery that’s so popular in YA fiction. Instead, it’s a thoughtful exploration of various mental health disorders in teen girls. The students of the Castle School suffer from a myriad of illnesses: cutting, selective mutism, depression, kleptomania, trichotillomania (obsessive hair pulling), and alcoholism. While most of the story is focused on Moira, each of her fellow classmates have their own chapters which briefly relate what led them to the point where they wound up at the school. This is the strongest part of the book. The so-called “mystery” of why there are two schools is superfluous and actually detracts from what the characters are going through, and I wish the author had simply stuck to the main theme of the story. Despite this, I think The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) would be a solid choice for YA book discussion groups.

The Extraordinaries (The Extraordinaries #1), by TJ Klune ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

ADHD, Coming-of age, Death of a parent, Diversity, Humor, LGBTQ, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 5th, 2020

400 Pages

Synopsis: Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra. TJ Klune’s YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD, and the heroes he loves.

Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a super power, right?

After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the help of Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend (and maybe the love of his life).

Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl meets Marissa Meyer’s Renegades in TJ Klune’s YA debut.

With everything going on I needed something fun that would make me smile and laugh, and The Extraordinaries more than delivered!

Nick Bell is an adorably awkward gay teen who has ADHD and an obsession with superheroes. His relationship with his small group of friends and his dad provide some wonderfully moving moments as well as some humorous ones. The “Extraordinaries” of Nova City themselves, are mainly in the background, but provide context for Nick’s obsession.

The storyline itself is a little rough around the edges at times, especially in regards to Nick’s utter cluelessness about what’s going on with his best friend Seth, but to be honest, Nick’s personality is otherwise so endearing, that I was willing to overlook his shortcomings. 

In the end, The Extraordinaries is a memorable coming-of-age story filled with relatable, diverse characters and a fun messy storyline. It’s the perfect escape from what’s happening in the real world and I can’t recommend it enough, especially for fans of authors such as Becky Albertalli, Rainbow Rowell, and Adam Silvera. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book in this trilogy.

The Lucky Ones, by Liz Lawson ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Coming-of age, LGBTQ, Mass shootings, Mental Illness, Romance, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 7th, 2020

352 Pages

Synopsis: For fans of “Thirteen Reasons Why,” “This Is How It Ends,” and “All the Bright Places,” comes a new novel about life after. How do you put yourself back together when it seems like you’ve lost it all?

May is a survivor. But she doesn’t feel like one. She feels angry. And lost. And alone. Eleven months after the school shooting, that killed her twin brother, May still doesn’t know why she was the only one to walk out of the band room that day. No one gets what she went through—no one saw and heard what she did. No one can possibly understand how it feels to be her.

Zach lost his old life when his mother decided to defend the shooter. His girlfriend dumped him, his friends bailed, and now he spends his time hanging out with his little sister…and the one faithful friend who stuck around. His best friend is needy and demanding, but he won’t let Zack disappear into himself. Which is how Zach ends up at band practice that night. The same night May goes with her best friend to audition for a new band.

Which is how May meets Zach. And how Zach meets May. And how both might figure out that surviving could be an option after all.

After reading The Lucky Ones last night over a two hour period I feel comfortable in saying this will be one of the most talked about books of 2020.

Told in alternating perspectives from May, the only survivor of a school shooting and Zach, whose mother has taken on the case of the shooter, the story explores the aftermath, when the cameras have left and the media’s and country’s attention has moved on to the next calamity-driven news cycle. May, who lost her twin brother is not only angry but is also suffering from survivor’s guilt and PTSD. Her fury and anguish are so palpable and just tore my heart in two. And Zach, a sweet awkward boy, has gone from having a normal social life, to dealing with being ostracized simply for being the son of the lawyer defending the shooter. That these two should meet and actually start healing each other shouldn’t have worked, yet it does. Their relationship has its ups and downs, but it develops in an utterly believable way. It’s messy, and tension-filled, and at times even humorous, but what remains constant is the need for these two lost souls to beat the odds and stay together. They each have a support system in place with their small group of friends, and thank goodness for that because the adult/parental disconnect is prevalent. By the end of the book though there’s hope for a strengthening in the bond between May and her mother, and Zach and his parents.

The Lucky Ones is an impressive debut for Liz Lawson, and I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from her. I’m not going to lie. This is an emotional, gut-wrenching tale, and I recommend that you have a box of tissues handy. It’s also a book that I feel privileged to have been granted an early copy and it’s one that I highly recommend for teens, parents, and any adult who cares about what kids are having to deal with today, things that we didn’t have to. The story doesn’t get political or wade into the gun control debate, although I recommend you read the author’s afterward where she discusses why she wrote this. Instead, it puts a human face to what life is like after a mass shooting. If there is going to be one book that I nag everyone to mark their calendars (4/7/20) and read, it’s The Lucky Ones. This is a book that every high school and public library should have on its shelves, so if you can, please put in requests to purchase to your libraries now. 

Slay, by Brittney Morris ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Coming-of age, Diversity, Gaming, Racism, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 24th, 2019

336 Pages

Synopsis: By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.”

But when a teen is murdered in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in The SLAY world, news of the game reaches the mainstream media, and Slay is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.”

Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process? 

As a 54-year-old white woman, I’m obviously not the target audience for a book like Slay, but even so, I really enjoyed this and think it entirely lives up to the hype surrounding it. I absolutely adored Kiera and I think many teens will relate to her. She’s someone who knows who she is, yet is still caught between two worlds, and isn’t comfortable with being forced by others into representing the wider black culture. This is behind her creation of the massive online game Slay where she and other players can feel comfortable being themselves. 

The world of Slay is gorgeously written and the fight scenes are particularly phenomenal. Morris does an exceptional job at balancing this virtual world, with the real world issues that Kiera is encountering. I think it’s brilliantly done and the only reason I’m not giving this 5 stars is because I think some of the other characters, particularly Kiera’s parents and boyfriend could have been developed a little more. 

The story itself is timely yet utterly unique, which is another reason why in my opinion, Slayer is going to be one of the most talked about books of the Fall. Inspired by the movie Black Panther, Brittney Morris wrote this in eleven days. I know, right?! Morris was the first female African-American graduate of her high school, and the only African-American woman at the previous place where she worked. She says her background and interactions with the world are reflected in her fiction. 

“I got used to feeling out of place in a room full of people who don’t look like me, and shrinking myself down to something that’s ‘acceptable’ by everyone. I wrote Slay for black teens who live between worlds as I did, who feel pressure to be one version of themselves at work or school, and only get to be themselves among people who share their experiences.”

Slay is a fantastic book that I guarantee will hold wide appeal to its target audience and beyond. I’m already choosing my dream cast for the future film I’m sure will be coming. I highly recommend it to fans of Black Panther and Ready Player One.

One Word Kill (Impossible Times #1), by Mark Lawrence ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

1980s, Cancer, Coming-of age, London, Romance, Science Fiction, YA Fiction

Thanks to Netgalley and 47North for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

201 Pages

Synopsis: In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. And it isn’t even the strangest thing to happen to him that week.

Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange—yet curiously familiar man—is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help—now.

He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in the way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-wielding maniac and the laws of physics.

I’m a big fan of Mark Lawrence so when I saw One Word Kill on NetGalley I knew I had to request it and I’m so glad I did because it’s further convinced me that this prolific author can do no wrong. Why is this may you ask? Well, there’s the setting of 1980’s London, time-travel, Dungeons & Dragons, and except for the villainous psychopath, a lovable cast of characters. I swear, only Mark Lawrence could successfully combine a terminally ill teen, D&D, and quantum mechanics with a sweet, heart-wrenching, coming-of-age/love story. And, this is all accomplished in just over 200 pages! In essence, read this for the quality of writing, creativity, memorable characters, and page-turning, nostalgic storyline. I’ve already ordered the sequel, Limited Wish, which just came out on 5/28, and I’m preordering the third book, Dispel Illusion which is due out 11/14/19.

 

 

Devil and the Bluebird ~ By Jennifer Mason-Black – 5.0 Stars

Tags

Coming-of age, Domestic Abuse, LGBT, Relationships, Sex Trafficking, Supernatural, YA Fiction

Thank you NetGalley and Amulet Books for providing an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 17th, 2016

Synopsis: Blue Riley has wrestled with her own demons ever since the loss of her mother to cancer. But when she encounters a beautiful devil at her town’s crossroads, it’s her runaway sister’s soul she fights to save. The devil steals Blues voice–inherited from her musically gifted mother–in exchange for a single shot at finding Cass.

Armed with her mother’s guitar, a knapsack of cherished mementos, and a pair of magical books, Blue journeys west in search of her sister. When the devil changes the terms of their deal, Blue must reevaluate her understanding of good and evil and open herself to finding family in unexpected places.

I have to admit that when I requested Devil And The Bluebird, it was because the synopsis with it’s mention of crossroad demons reminded me of the tv show Supernatural, which if you’ve been following me you might have noticed my slight, ahem, obsession. For those of you not familiar with crossroads demon folklore, these are the demons you can make a supernatural deal with. Unfortunately it also involves the giving up of your soul, and in Supernatural when your contract is up, you’re  brutally killed by Hellhounds, who then drag your soul to Hell. Nasty huh? So, in this instance 17-year-old Blue is desperately trying to save her sister Cass who disappeared after making a deal with a devil. Blue makes a bargain: the demon gives her six months to find Cass and if Blue fails then she can collect both sisters’ souls. Of course, as is often the case with demons, this one pulls a sneaky trick on Blue. While Blue sets off on her journey with her guitar and a pair of magical boots, she does so without her voice. Yep. No singing, no talking, nada.

Naturally the devil has other tricks up her sleeves as well, but I’m going to let you discover them on your own if you choose to read this. Blue is a picture-perfect tragically flawed character. She’s smart, loyal and stubbornly determined. She has more love in her heart than she realizes. Mourning her mother deeply, Blue will do whatever it takes to reunite with her sister which gets her into some pretty awful situations. As she makes friends and allies on her journey, she also learns some of different types of evil that are out there, and I’m not talking about the paranormal kind. Throughout the book Mason-Black does a beautiful job with Blue’s voice which rings with clarity and sincerity. The secondary characters, of which there are quite a few, are richly drawn. Each one, no matter how brief their role, is a fully realized person. I fully believed that all these characters who walk in and out of Blue’s life, also have lives of their own. While some of them show that greed, selfishness, indifference and cruelty can take many forms, they also show the same for kindness, compassion and love. It’s these last three that allow Blue to continue on her quest. Alongside the paranormal elements that are in the story, there are also many real-life issues explored including: loss of a parent, teen runaways, transgender teens, drug abuse, homelessness, domestic abuse, and sex trafficking. It amazes me that the author was able to include all of this in a 336 page novel without once slowing the pace down. Devil And The Bluebird is a lyrical and poignant debut that despite its touching on some of the uglier parts of life, still manages to be a beautiful redemption tale. Because of the mature themes I recommend this to older teens and adults. I also think it would be a perfect novel for a book discussion group. And now for some reason I’m feeling an overwhelming need to binge- watch the Winchesters.