I’ve teamed up with 35+fantastic authors to give away a huge collection of YA Sci-Fi & Fantasy novels to 2 lucky winners, PLUS a brand new eReader to the Grand Prize winner!
Oh, and did I mention you'll receive a collection of FREE reads just for entering? 😁 You can win my novel Dickensen Academy, plus books from authors like BrendaHiatt, DK Holmberg, Eileen Mueller, and more. Enter the giveaway by clicking here 👉http://bit.ly/YASFF-june2019 Good luck and enjoy!
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Title: Up to this Pointe
Author: Jennifer Longo Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Length: 355 pages Summary Harper Scott is a seventeen year old that wants to be a professional ballerina. She has made a plan with her best friend, Kate. They will both dance for the San Francisco Ballet and share an inexpensive loft together and live in the city forever. However, it is clear from page one that something has gone wrong with The Plan because Harper has arranged to spend six months in Antarctica working as a science research intern. Thanks to her ancestor being Robert Falcon Scott, one of the first explorers to reach the South Pole, she has been given a coveted spot. My Review This is an excellent book that pulled me in from page one. The story was told in alternating chapters between the present, when Harper arrives at the McMurdo science station on Antarctica, and the past, 140 days earlier when she was preparing for the San Francisco Ballet audition. Therefore, I was anxious to keep reading to find out the reasons that led Harper to leave her life for six months. I picked up this book because a local male author told me that he loved it, and it brought him to tears even though he didn’t care a bit about ballet. I had to laugh as I read it because it is a book that is definitely going to appeal more to girls, particularly teens although as an adult, I loved it. The author does an excellent job at character development, particularly with Harper. Written in first person, it is easy to empathize with Harper who is vulnerable and raw with emotions. People will relate to this book because it is about losing a childhood dream and coming out on the other side. Even if ballet wasn’t your dream, so many children dream of near impossible to achieve careers, e.g. professional or Olympic athletes, artists, or musicians. And unfortunately, often during the teen years, reality takes those dreams away. This book is classified as Young Adult and is therefore intended for ages twelve to eighteen. I plan to recommend it to my own twelve-year-old daughter but wouldn’t go younger. There are references to premarital sex and drinking although this is primarily something Harper observes among the adult residents of the science station. She does have a few drinks one night and kisses a boy. I don’t recall any foul language. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. Thank you for reading this post. Title: Cinder, The Lunar Chronicles Book #1
Author: Marissa, Meyer Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi Fairy Tale Retelling Length: 387 pages Summary Cinder is a sixteen-year old cyborg growing up in New Beijing, one of a handful of Earth’s new empires created after WWIII. She is a skilled mechanic living with her stepmother and two stepsisters. She was adopted by her stepmother’s husband five years earlier although Cinder doesn’t remember anything of her first eleven years. Since Cinder is a cyborg, she is considered less than human and therefore is owned by her stepmother, similar to a slave. Kai, the prince of New Beijing, is about to become emperor after his father dies from the deadly plague that is running rampant on Earth. Before his untimely death, the emperor was trying to form a partnership with Queen Levana, the ruler of the Lunars, a settlement on the moon. Kai agrees to marry Queen Levana in exchange for the vaccine developed by the Lunars that will stop the plague. Meanwhile, Kai has fallen for Cinder yet doesn’t know she is a cyborg. With the help of the doctor who is researching cures for the plague, Cinder begins to discover more and more about her mysterious past and learns that someone went to great length to spare her life and hide her true identity. Using her skills as a mechanic, Cinder discovers important information buried within the prince’s android, information about Queen Levana’s true intentions. Cinder needs to get to the ball in time to communicate this knowledge before the Queen uses her special powers to marry the prince. My Review My twelve-year old daughter recommended this book to me. I had never read a fairy tale retelling and didn’t expect to enjoy it. But I devoured it. The storyline was creative and unique and the characters were well developed and likable, aside from the Queen of course. In fact, I now plan to read more fairy tale retellings and am considering writing my own. This book is first in series of three: Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress. Plus there are two companion books about the characters and the Lunar society. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. Thank you for reading this post. Title: Delirium (#1 of the series)
Author: Lauren Oliver Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult Length: 441 pages Summary Lena is a 17-year old girl counting down the days until she can get cured once she turns 18. She lives in Portland, Maine in an alternate present where Love has been declared a disease in the United States. Therefore, many cities, including Maine, has closed their borders to uncured adults. As Lena and most Maine residents believe, once you have the cure you will be happy and you won’t need to suffer pains and symptoms associated with Love. Lena’s mother committed suicide when Lena was a young girl because she was in Love and the cure did not work for her. Thus, Lena grows up with her Aunt and cousins, taking a strong viewpoint that Love is the disease that ripped apart her family. Lena believes in following the rules as well as the cure. However, her best friend Hana prefers to live on edge. She goes to parties and listens to unapproved music. During the months leading up to her procedure, Lena meets Alex. Alex is cured as confirmed by a visible scar, so it is okay for Lena to talk with him. As her attraction for him strengthens, she learns that he is not what he appears to be. He is really an uncured and was born in the Wilds—the area outside the boarders. Lena begins to break the rules to spend time with Alex. The more she is with him, the more she begins to questions the rules her society has put in place. Perhaps Love is not a disease. My Review I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the character development. Lena, Hana, and Alex were all very likable characters. And the descriptions of many of the minor characters were quite amusing. I also enjoyed the world building. All the rules fascinated me. Each chapter began with a short quote from a book printed in their society that showed the reader Lena’s world without bogging down the text with all that information. Although it was long, it was a fast paced book and hooked me from the beginning. I am excited to read Book #2, Pandemonium. There is also a book called Hana that takes her view during the Delirium time period. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. Thank you for reading this post. Title: Openly Straight
Author: Bill Konigsberg Genre: Contemporary YA Length: 320 pages Summary Rafe Goldberg begins his junior year at Natick, an “all boys” boarding school in Massachusetts. He was an openly gay 16-year old from Boulder Colorado where his community had accepted him since he came out in eighth grade, and his parents truly celebrated his diversity. However, he found the gay label got in the way of people seeing him and prevented him from being just "one of the guys". He wanted to take a break from being gay, so he researched other schools and begged to transfer to Natick. At the beginning of the school year, Rafe is immediately drawn into the soccer crowd and is labeled as a jock for the first time in his life. He relishes being part of a group that had always shut him out . He also becomes friends with his eccentric roommate, Albie, and Albie’s openly gay friend, Toby. As the weeks go by, Rafe develops a tight friendship with a jock named Ben. Ben is different from the rest of them. He is smarter and philosophical and doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks of him. As their friendship deepens, Rafe realizes he loves Ben but doesn’t know how Ben feels. It’s complicated by the fact that Rafe is hiding his true identify from all the students at Natick. All the while, Rafe’s English teacher, Mr. Scarborough, asks each student to keep a private journal to record his thoughts, so Rafe’s essays are peppered throughout the book. The book takes place between September and December. My Review This was an excellent book. It was not only a fun, entertaining read, but I came away with a greater knowledge of the challenges of being labeled as different. (The book focused on gay versus straight, but through Bryce, the only black in their class, you also learn some of Rafe’s challenges are shared by others perceived as “different”.) Written in first person, the reader gains access to a teenage boy’s thoughts about being gay. Given that Rafe had been openly gay back in Colorado and was now hiding it, he was able to constantly reflect on the differences of being gay versus straight in a way that you may not see in a book told from the viewpoint of a person just coming out or openly gay. Also, Rafe’s parents are very involved in the LGBTQ community, so Rafe is a far more educated gay male than the average 16-year old. Finally, through his essays the reader gets an even deeper view of his experiences. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. Thank you for reading this post. Title: The Game of Love and Death
Author: Martha Brockenbrough Genre: Historical Young Adult Romance Length: 329 pages Summary The book opens in 1920 when Love and Death begin a new game. Love picks a Caucasian baby, Henry, as his player while Death picks a black one, Flora. Who will win? Fast forward seventeen years. Henry is now an orphan living with his friend’s wealthy family in Seattle. Playing his cello brings him happiness. Flora lives with her grandmother and sings in the jazz club she co-owns with her uncle. She dreams of becoming the first black pilot to fly across the world. Love and Death’s pawns now begin to interact. Love needs Henry and Flora to choose love above all things. As Love’s player, this comes easily for Henry. However, Flora fights against her feelings for him because she knows falling in love with Henry is not the smart thing to do as a black woman in 1937. Little do they know there are greater beings throwing aides and obstacles their way, in the form of people, as they fight to for their players to win their game. The majority of this book takes place in the spring and summer of 1937. My Review This was a very interesting book. I highly recommend it as a book club read as there are many aspects and layers to discuss. Even the question, who is the protagonist? could lead to a lengthy discussion. I also believe the book would appeal to both women and men, unlike typical romance novels. I love that the book is so original, which makes it memorable for me. The only other book I’ve read with a similar character is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (another great read by the way) where Death plays the narrator. However, the story is completely different. The Game of Love and Death is told in third person from a variety of points of view, primarily Love, Death, Henry and Flora. The chapters are very short which leads to faster reading. I listed the genre as historical young adult romance. It was listed as different genres depending on the website, so I included them all. I believe it would appeal most to readers who enjoy romance novels because love is the focus of the book. I listed it as historical since it takes place in 1937, and the author did her research to make sure the setting was appropriate. However, learning multiple facts about the 30’s was not the focus. As for Young Adult, it would be classified as such because the protagonists are both 17 years old. However due to the times, the characters, Flora in particular, do not behave as today’s teenagers. Flora is living an adult life with adult responsibilities. Therefore, I expect today’s adults would identify more with these characters than today’s teens. But the content is perfectly appropriate for a younger reader. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. Thank you for reading this post. Title: A Great and Terrible Beauty Author: Libba Bray Genre: Young Adult Length: 403 pages Summary This book begins in 1895 in India on Gemma Doyle’s 16th birthday when she begins to get visions just prior to her mother’s suicide. Fast forward a few months and Gemma and her father have relocated to London, and she is sent to the Spence Academy for Girls, a finishing school. At Spence, Gemma continues to be plagued with visions. She also meets Felicity and Pippa. At first, these girls do pranks to see where Gemma will fit in socially. But soon, though blackmail Gemma becomes part of their crowd along with her roommate Ann. Through her visions, Gemma finds a buried diary and learns to travel to the realms, a dream-like place between Earth and the afterlife. By bringing her new friends to the realms, they form a special bond. In the realms, their dreams can come true. They can be beautiful and loved and have an independence that girls could not have back in the 19th century. They can even do magic such as turning leaves to butterflies. Gemma finds her mother in the realms and learns many secrets of her mother’s past. She also learns that the realms were closed off from the world because of a terrible incident that happened twenty years before. Gemma now has the power to re-open the realms and bring some of the magic back to the real world. But doing so has dangerous implications since an unknown person by the name of Circe wants to have the magic and power for herself. Aside from the first chapter, this book takes place during the fall of 1895. My Review I was immediately immersed into Gemma’s worlds at both Spence and in the realms. At Spence, I felt their claustrophobia of being stuck not only in a boarding school, but knowing they would never have independence as women even after graduation. In the realms, the author did a great job painting a picture with all of our senses, and I could feel the independence and power that was not available to women in the real world at that time. The four main characters were well developed. Ann was the poor mistreated orphan with no self-confidence. Felicity had a magnetic personality yet wasn’t wanted by her own family. Pippa was the beauty who wanted true love rather than an arranged marriage. And Gemma was the one who had the power and thought differently from the others. Many readers will likely identify with one of their unique personalities. The book was written in first person from Gemma’s viewpoint, so it was easy to get into her mind and be part of her internal struggle of what to do with her visions and newfound power. Should she follow or mother’s advice and warning about Circe, or should she give into her friends’ wishes to have some magic for themselves? It was fast-paced and original. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next. Fortunately, when you finish this book you can read book 2, Rebel Angels and book 3, The Sweet Far Thing. I immediately picked up Rebel Angels and so far, it is just as good. Although it was Young Adult, the language was sophisticated and held my interest. I even found myself having to check a dictionary frequently, partly because so many terms have changed in the last 100 years. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. Thank you for reading this post.
Title: Lies We Tell Ourselves Author: Robin Talley Genre: Historical Fiction - Young Adult Length: 368 pages Summary This book is about two high school seniors who meet when their high school is integrated in 1959. Although the story and high school are fictitious, the author did her research. Unfortunately integration didn’t go smoothly in every school district including some parts of Virginia that fought it for years after it had become the law. Sarah is a college bound black teenager who transfers to Jefferson High School to get a better education. Along with nine other blacks, Sarah is put into remedial classes and has to deal with a barrage of humiliating and dangerous pranks. Linda grew up in a family strongly opposed to integration. These two students are forced to work together on a school project. Over the course of a few months, they slowly come to grip with some of the lies they have told themselves about each other’s races and realize they are not as different as they suspected. The book takes place over a period of four months. My Review (small spoiler in 2nd paragraph down) Although it was painful to read at times, it opened my eyes to our country’s recent history. In all my lessons about integration, I had only learned about adults such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. I had never thought about the children who sometimes had to be the ones on the front lines. I had a hard time putting it down. It was fast paced, and I was fascinated by the history of school integration. This book also touched upon the difficulty of coming to terms with lesbian feelings. The focus was on the girls’ feelings rather than on a physical relationship. There was only a couple brief kisses. Part of my enjoyment was due to the way the story was told. One-half of the book was in first person from Sarah’s point of view, the other half from Linda’s. (The last chapter was told by Ruth, Sarah’s younger sister.) Unlike other books that switch back and forth between points of view after every chapter, this book only switched a couple of times. For me, this was the best of both worlds. I got to identify with each of their perspectives, but I didn’t have to struggle through the transitions from one point of view to the other very frequently. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. Thank you for reading this post. Title: Since You’ve Been Gone
Author: Morgan Matson Genre: Contemporary Young Adult Length: 449 pages Summary Emily Hughes is a seventeen-year old who just finished her junior year. As summer vacation begins, her best friend Sloane disappears without an explanation. Soon, Emily receives a “to do” list in the mail. Sloane has created a list of thirteen activities Emily is supposed to complete over the summer. Emily was the shy one who relied on Sloane the past two years to bring her out of her shell. She can’t imagine doing many of the items on the list, a list that includes activities such as: Kiss a Stranger, Break Something, Hug a Jamie, and Apple Picking at Dark. But in hopes that completing the items on the list will somehow lead to her lost friend, Emily begins. She enlists the help of an unlikely Boy Scout type of guy from school and his best friend. She also becomes friends with a girl at work. With the help of her new friends, she works through the list, stepping out of her comfort zone in many cases. The book takes place over the course of the summer. My Review I loved this book! Based on the thirteen items listed on the back cover, I didn’t expect it to engage me. I had picked it up only because I heard that it was good. There wasn’t anything magical or out of this world in the book; it was just real life. However, I would say this is one of the best contemporary Young Adult books I have read. Ms. Matson did an amazing job of getting into Emily’s head and transporting me back to what it felt like to be a teen. I believe many readers, especially those who are not naturally outgoing, will identify with Emily. She feels lost at the beginning of the novel. We root for her as she matures and becomes her own person separate from her best friend. I felt comfortable letting my tween read this novel, as the mature content was limited and not the focus. There was some underage drinking, use of a fake ID, skinny-dipping, and a couple of kisses. My daughter enjoyed it too, by the way. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. Thank you for reading this post. Title: The Admissions
Author: Meg Mitchell Moore Genre: Contemporary Fiction Length: 305 pages Summary Angela Hawthorne is an overachiever, currently her class valedictorian and doing everything in her power to remain in that competitive position. She has a close-knit, upper-middle class family comprised of her parents and two younger sisters. All of them are affected by the stress Angela is under during her senior year as she begins the college application process. It also delves into some of the secrets they all carry, so they can continue to perpetuate the image of the perfect American family. Most of the book takes place during the fall while Angela is applying to Harvard, her top choice. My Review I really enjoyed this book. It was a light read that I had a difficult time putting down. Plus there was light-humor integrated throughout. I especially enjoyed some of the random thoughts and observations, Nora, the mother would frequently make. The author did an excellent job telling the story from multiple points of view: Angela, Nora (mother), Gabe (father), and Celily (10-year-old sister). Although this book is classified as contemporary fiction, I believe many teenagers would enjoy it since the focus is a seventeen-year-old girl applying to college. A teen may also enjoy getting inside the head of the parents. As a mom, I would be comfortable letting my teen read it, but parents may wish to know there is one insignificant scene with underage drinking and several mentions of students using Adderall to help them study. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA books to improve my writing. If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request. |
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