Reviews

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City of Ashes — Cassandra Clare

TITLE: City of Ashes AUTHOR: Cassandra Clare SERIES: The Mortal Instruments, #2 RELEASED: March 25th, 2008; Margaret Ferguson Books GENRE: Fantasy AGE RANGE: YA SYNOPSIS: Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s...

INTL GIVEAWAY: Burning the Bacon — L. Austen Johnson (ARC Review)

TITLE: Burning the Bacon AUTHOR: L. Austen Johnson RELEASES: April 26th, 2018; Gen Z Publishing GENRE: Nonfic/Poetry AGE RANGE: Everyone SYNOPSIS: In Burning the Bacon, debut poet L. Austen Johnson navigates through deeply personal terrain, laying waste to it and watching its flowers regrow in the four sections of the collection: “Gravity,” “In Memoriam,” “Entropy,” and “Parthenogenesis.” She explores topics such as chronic illness, love, heartbreak, memory, and growing up with a blend of accessible language and rich metaphor. {GOODREADS . AMAZON} SCROLL DOWN FOR...

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel — Madeleine L’Engle & Hope Larson

TITLE: A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel AUTHOR: Madeleine L’Engle (adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson) RELEASED: October 2nd, 2012; Margaret Ferguson Books (original story published in 1962) GENRE: Science Fiction AGE RANGE: MG SYNOPSIS: The world already knows Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, Calvin O’Keefe, and the three Mrs–Who, Whatsit, and Which–the memorable and wonderful characters who fight off a dark force and save our universe in the Newbery award-winning classic A Wrinkle in Time. But in 50 years of publication, the book...

White Rabbit — Caleb Roehrig (ARC Review)

TITLE: White Rabbit AUTHOR: Caleb Roehrig RELEASES: April 24th, 2018; Feiwel & Friends GENRE: Thriller AGE RANGE: YA SYNOPSIS: Rufus Holt is having the worst night of his life. It begins with the reappearance of his ex-boyfriend, Sebastian—the guy who stomped his heart out like a spent cigarette. Just as Rufus is getting ready to move on, Sebastian turns up out of the blue, saying they need to “talk.” Things couldn’t get much worse, right? But then Rufus gets a call from his sister...

What I Leave Behind — Alison McGhee (ARC Review)

TITLE: What I Leave Behind AUTHOR: Alison McGhee RELEASES: May 15th, 2018; Atheneum GENRE: Contemporary AGE RANGE: YA SYNOPSIS: After his dad commits suicide, Will tries to overcome his own misery by secretly helping the people around him in this story made up of one hundred chapters of one hundred words each. Sixteen-year-old Will spends most of his days the same way: Working at the Dollar Only store, trying to replicate his late father’s famous cornbread recipe, and walking the streets of Los Angeles....

Gray Wolf Island — Tracey Neithercott (ARC Review)

TITLE: Gray Wolf Island AUTHOR: Tracey Neithercott RELEASED: October 10th, 2017; Knopf Books for Young Readers GENRE: Contemporary/Mystery/Magical Realism AGE RANGE: YA SYNOPSIS: Right before Sadie died, she begged her sister, Ruby, to do the one thing she could never do herself: Find the treasure on Gray Wolf Island. With just a mysterious treasure map as a guide, Ruby reluctantly allows some friends to join her on the hunt, each of whom is touched by magic: a boy allegedly born to a virgin, a...

Chord — Chelsea M. Cameron

TITLE: Chord AUTHOR: Chelsea M. Cameron RELEASED: January 28th, 2018; self-published GENRE: Contemporary AGE RANGE: NA SYNOPSIS: Chase Hillier has plans, and nothing will cause her to deviate from them. So far, they’re pretty simple: Get through her first year of college with good grades, read a lot of books, and hopefully find a cute boyfriend who could turn into her husband someday. She’s got it all mapped out. No one is going to stand in her way. Not even her roommate, Cordelia Scott....

Time Was — Ian McDonald (ARC Review)

TITLE: Time Was AUTHOR: Ian McDonald RELEASES: April 24th, 2018; Tor.com GENRE: Science Fiction/Historical Fiction AGE RANGE: Adult SYNOPSIS: A love story stitched across time and war, shaped by the power of books, and ultimately destroyed by it. In the heart of World War II, Tom and Ben became lovers. Brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar, the two founded a love that could not be revealed. When the project went wrong, Tom and Ben vanished into...

The Hobbit — J.R.R. Tolkien

TITLE: The Hobbit AUTHOR: J.R.R. Tolkien RELEASED: September 21st, 1937; George Allen & Unwin Ltd. GENRE: Fantasy SYNOPSIS: Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. {GOODREADS} This is a tough...

Devils Unto Dust — Emma Berquist (ARC Review)

TITLE: Devils Unto Dust AUTHOR: Emma Berquist RELEASES: April 10th, 2018; Greenwillow GENRE: Western/Horror AGE RANGE: YA SYNOPSIS: Ten years ago, a horrifying disease began spreading across the West Texas desert. Infected people—shakes—attacked the living and created havoc and destruction. No one has ever survived the infection. Daisy Wilcox, known as Willie, has been protecting her siblings within the relatively safe walls of Glory, Texas. When Willie’s good-for-nothing father steals a fortune from one of the most dangerous shake-hunters in town, she finds herself...