Book Review: Thomas Wildus and the Wizard of Sumeria (Elandrian Chronicles #2) by J.M. Bergen

 

The second installment of The Elandrian Chronicles started out promising to be a great sequel. About half way in, it was more exciting than the first book because readers are plopped right into the magic without wasting time learning the backstory. The book follows fourteen-year-old Thomas and his best friends Enrique and Akhil as they battle dark forces seeking the Staff of Zantar that grants ultimate knowledge and power. They nonchalantly race against time while under the guise of attending a prestigious summer science camp for a few weeks.

Book Review: Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

In typical 17-year-old fashion, Del Rainey starts going to church. Not because he really believes in getting closer to God, but because his longtime crush, Keira, is very active in the church community. She’s fresh from a breakup, and Del believes he’s finally gotten his chance. The only problem?

Book Review: Saint Training by Elizabeth Fixmer

This book follows the journey of 11-year-old Mary Clare O’Brian as she strives to become a nun, and ultimately a saint. She tries to stop talking back to the nuns at her school, fighting with her eight brothers and sisters, and secretly liking boys in her head. She thinks that if she stops sinning, God will help her family, who is struggling to make ends meet after they find out another baby is on the way. Mary Clare just wants to see her family happy again but unfortunately that means her mother going back to school and taking a job as a teacher. It is unheard of for women to work outside the home in their 1960s small town community, Mrs. O’Brien’s feminist view makes her neighbors turn up their noses. More responsibility falls on Mary Clare, who must constantly take care of the house and her siblings, which makes her an outcast with her friends. Meanwhile, the government is drafting young men to serve in Vietnam, and Mary Clare’s two older brothers take different sides.

Book Review: Symptoms of a Heartbreak by Sona Charaipotra

Don’t let the title or the cover mislead you. Symptoms of a Heartbreak is not a feel-good summer romance that you can read with your toes in the sand. Rather, it follows the story of girl genius Saira Seghal, who becomes a pediatric oncologist at the age of 16. Her advanced academic intellect has earned her this title, but Saira still has the emotional maturity of a teenager. The year is filled with best friend drama, family health scares, and emotional attachments to patients. Saira thinks that when she gets her driver’s license, she will officially become an adult. Throughout the book, Saira learns that although she’s sacrificed a lot to become a doctor at young age, in some ways she is still happy to be a teenager.

Book Review: Unblemished by Sara Ella

For as long as she can remember, Eliyana Ember has lived a sheltered life in Manhattan, until one day her mother unexpectedly passes away. Numb with sorrow, she follows a friend to a party and gets kidnapped by a mysterious boy named Ky. She is brought to a parallel dimension called the Second Reflection, where good is battling evil. The Void threatens to wipe out the Verity, and a servant of the Void has usurped the throne. The locals believe that Eliyana’s grotesque birthmark indicates that she is the “Verity’s vessel,” with a special link to the good forces of the realm. If she has this power, it will manifest before her eighteenth birthday, which is just a few weeks away. Romance also abounds as El must battle her feelings for her old friend Joshua and new friend, Ky. She discovers that her mother is still alive, but being held as a prisoner of the crown. As El works to free her mother, she learns more about this strange new world and her place in it. Will El find a way to put aside her doubt and confront the darkness that looms over everything she holds dear? Read this book to find out!

Book Review: Shug by Jenny Han

Shug was one of the best middle grade novels I have read in a long time. I could not put it down. The story was not anything crazy or magical, but getting a slice-of-life narrative from a seventh grader just put me on the edge of my seat. The narrative felt so high-stakes because at twelve years old, everything IS the end of the world. For Annemarie Wilcox (called “Shug,” short for Sugar), every aspect of life hangs in the balance. One wrong move and her whole world will come crashing down. Her parents are on the verge of splitting up, she is about to start seventh grade, and things are all of a sudden weird between Annemarie and her childhood best friend, Mark. Everyone in school is growing up, falling in love for the first time, and discovering where they fit in.

Book Review: Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

 

Have you ever had a teacher who changed your life? I’ve had many. Because of Mr. Terupt follows the narratives of seven 5^th grade students who are all insecure for different reasons. Jessica’s parents split up, and she just moved across the country to a new school. Alexia is a bully whom no one can really figure out. Danielle is overweight and has trouble standing up for herself. Anna’s mother is a shunned teenage mom, and Anna thinks it was her fault. Peter is the class clown who thinks he can get away with anything. Jeffrey’s family lost a son, and he has a cynical view of the world. Luke loves school because he’s smart, but his annoying classmates get on his nerves. New teacher Mr. Terupt makes each student feel special and encourages them to become their best selves in the classroom and at home…until the unthinkable happens.

Book Review – Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire by Susan Tan

 

Summary: Eight-year-old Priscilla Lee Jenkins, future bestselling author, writes her imaginative and heartfelt autobiography and invites us along for the ride.

Book Review – Boston Jane: Wilderness Days by Jennifer L. Holm

Summary: The pioneer town of Shoalwater Bay is growing, with more settlers arriving every day. Sixteen-year-old Jane Peck must put aside her own sorrow in order to save a beloved friend from a old trapper seeking revenge!

Book Review: Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

The cover alone should make you want to pick this book up!

This was one of the best young adult books I have ever read! Sometimes in the YA genre, it seems like you are reading about the same characters and the same plots. Authors write with the trend and you can’t really blame them. If the dystopian genre is popular one day, why not write a dystopian novel of your own and jump on the bandwagon? The problem with this is, these copies become boring, overdone, repetitive, and dispassionate.