Archive for the ‘Young Adult’ Category

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

I was a little concerned and uncomfortable throughout most of this book. The story itself was engaging, but the magical aspect of the story raised some red flags for me. If you’ve read my blog at all, you know that I am not against magic in fiction. In fact, some of my favorite books are [...]

March 6, 2012 Tags: YA series Posted in: fantasy, historical fiction, Young Adult No Comments

Entwined by Heather Dixon

This one was fun! I guess I would classify it as historical fantasy…definitely has magic, but the setting has a vaguely Victorian feel. It definitely gets a bit dark (and bloody) at the end, so I would lean towards reserving this for a slightly older crowd. (I wouldn’t put it on the shelf for my [...]

March 1, 2012 Posted in: fantasy, historical fiction, Young Adult No Comments

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

So, I loved this book to start out with. Strong female character. A little violent, but not graphically so. There was a passage in the first half of the book that I absolutely loved. The main character, Katsa, has been used by her uncle as a thug to keep his kingdom in line. She is [...]

January 13, 2012 Tags: California Young Reader Medal Posted in: fantasy, Young Adult No Comments

the Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

I’m pretty disappointed with this one. I think it is trying to be an updated 1984 for today’s young adults but doesn’t even approach that iconic work of speculative fiction. The first issue I had with the book is that the author’s political commentary is actually a little above the heads of her target audience. [...]

February 18, 2011 Posted in: science fiction, Young Adult No Comments

The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

February 18, 2011 Posted in: science fiction, Young Adult No Comments

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

It’s time for the California Young Reader Medal once again. Usually, I try to get some of them read before the kids start on them, but this has just been a really busy year, so the only two that I’ve gotten through so far have been Hunger Games and The Adoration of Jenna Fox. You [...]

January 9, 2011 Posted in: science fiction, Young Adult No Comments

The Hunger Games

It’s been awhile since this has happened…I’ve read a book that drew me in enough to make me want to post about it right away. The Hunger Games is so powerful, filled with significance while still subtle. The story is set in a post apocolyptic North America that has been divided into thirteen districts that [...]

October 3, 2010 Posted in: fantasy, science fiction, Young Adult No Comments

The Looking Glass Wars

Alice in Wonderland is one of those books, at least for me, that was fun to read as a child, but then when I reread it as an adult, it had me wondering if Charles Dodgson (a.k.a. Lewis Carroll) wasn’t a but touched. In The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor takes this classic children’s tale [...]

June 24, 2010 Posted in: fantasy, fiction, retold fairy tale, Young Adult No Comments

The Heir Series

My brother recommended these books to me, so I suppose that he should really be the one to write the review. He doesn’t feel all that confident in his writing (yet), so you’ll have to put up with my version, yet again. As far as fantasy for young adults goes, these books are some of [...]

June 3, 2010 Posted in: fantasy, fiction, Young Adult One Comment

Uprising

This novel isn’t a page-turner, but it is certainly a good historical novel. The story centers around the events that led up to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which was the catalyst that finally initiated significant reforms to workplace laws that actually protect workers. The novels follows three young girls that are all tied to [...]

April 22, 2010 Posted in: fiction, historical fiction, Young Adult No Comments