Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

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Publication date: 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 374
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 13+

Abby is in love with her best friend, but after having her confession been blown last summer, she has tried to be content with just being friends. Abby also wants to have her art displayed in a gallery show at the museum she works at, but is told that her art lacks feeling. These two things bring about the "Heart List"--a list of things that will help Abby experience more emotions to put into her art and to help her overcome her lingering feelings for Cooper.

I liked this book a lot better than the West's last book. I didn't feel like the main character was dense or stupid. She's still 17, so she had a lot of growing up to do. I think that the idea of a "Heart List" is a great idea on how to do that. Abby was able to experience different things, meet different people, and understand herself and those around her better. That improved not only her art, but her relationship with Cooper and those around her. She was able to learn something about herself.

This is mostly a cute, light book, but touched on some interesting subjects. I never felt like the more serious things were treated lightly or glossed over, but they also weren't the main part of the story. It was just that people are more than just background characters or circumstances are more than just plot points.

There was no sex or language.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 455
My rating: 4 stars
Ages: 13+
Series: The Numair Chronicles

Before he was Numair, he was Arram, son of a draper and student of magic. When his talent with his Gift is discovered, he becomes friends with two other talented students. As he advances through the university, Arram meets gods, slaves, and talented magicians, all of who shape his world view as he learns what kind of person he wants to be. Will he stay with his friends or seek out the larger world?

The Tortall books were such a big part of my preteen and teen years. I still read them and love them. This book was exactly how I remember the other books to be. In a way, it was like being transported back to reading about Alanna when I was 12. I'm excited to learn more about Arram and how became the Numair I came to love in The Immortals series.

Even for those who are not familiar with the other series, this book would be a good place to start. There isn't really any prerequisite knowledge needed to enjoy this book, as it takes place before or during the events of the first Alanna book, but in a different country.

There were a few parts that seemed to drag a little, but that is really my only criticism.

There is some things of a sexual nature, but nothing graphic.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 552
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 15+

Before the Age of Anarchy, prodigies (those people with special powers) were persecuted and forced to hide. Now ten years after the renegades, the "super heroes" killed off Ace Anarchy and started a new age and government, Nova and the remaining renegades are forced to stay underground and submit to the Council's rule. Nova isn't having this--the Council isn't as great as everyone thinks and it's time that their rule end. The only way to do that is to discover their secrets, which means becoming a renegade herself.

Meyer's writing is solid, just as it was in the Lunar Chronicles, but I found myself taking a long time to get into this book. The characters were interesting, the world well built, but there was something I just felt was missing. But I can't quite put my finger on it, because by all accounts, it was a well-written book.

The characters were hard to keep straight, since they all have a super hero name and a regular name. And then I couldn't keep track of their powers either. There is a guide in the front of the book that I could have referenced, but I don't like having to flip back and forth while I'm reading.

I think that what is really interesting is that we get both sides of the story. It's not that one side is bad and one side is good, but that both sides are working toward what they believe is right and both sides make mistakes but also do good things. And Nova kind of realizes it. So while we do see the renegade side through Aiden, Nova is seeing both sides. She's able to come to terms with what both are trying to do and what can be done.

This does have a sequel coming out this year and so it ends a little bit on a cliff hanger, which I'm not a fan of. But I guess I'll just have to wait until the fall to see what happens.

No language or sex.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 384
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 15+
Series: DC Icons

Diana, though princess of the Amazons, has tried to prove her place an Themyscira her entire life. When she rescues a human from a shipwreck, she has the choice to either let her die or to save her. Alia has been overprotected her entire life and just wanted to experience some freedom. What she doesn't realize is that, as a warbringer (a descendant of Helen of Troy), she creates a spirit of discord wherever she goes. It's up to Diana to try to break the warbringer line and bring peace to the world, even if it means sacrificing her place as an Amazon.

There is something I learned from reading this book, and that is that you can't try to fit these new superhero books into what you know about the character and their story line. If you'll remember, I had a problem with that before. It's important to keep this in mind because it doesn't follow the time line of the old TV series, or the new movie. Instead, Warbringer takes place in the present day, though Diana is still a teenager.

I felt like it was slow to get into, with the middle being interesting and intriguing, and the end again slowing down. The twist was unexpected, though I'm not sure how well I liked it, even if it did go against cliches and tropes.

I was also a little disappointed when my copy came and the cover had been printed incorrectly.

There wasn't any language that stood out to me, and very little mention of sex.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: 287
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 16+

When teenagers in small town Nebraska start being brutally murdered, Makani and the rest of the high school students are horrified, feeling that any of them could be next. What's the link between the victims and who in their town could do such terrible things?

 This is about as scary as I get for Halloween. More than the descriptions of the murders themselves, what I found more chilling was the games the murderer played with his victims before hand. Moving things in their house, opening doors, stealing things—someone hiding in your house and doing things. That's what scares me.

I liked the beginning, which made me believe the story was about someone else before turning that around. (I obviously hadn't read the summary before starting to read it.) The mystery was intriguing, though I feel like we were told too early who the murderer was. And I think I would have liked more of an explanation or understanding of why he did what he did to his victims.

The descriptions of the murders got more and more gruesome and graphic with each one, until it got to the point where I was thinking that I didn't need to know that much information.

There were some f-words and sex.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: 304
My rating: 3.5 stars
Ages: 16+

Aza Holmes finds herself on an ever tightening spiral of thoughts and compulsions, unsure why her friends stay with her and how to be better. When the father of an old acquaintance goes missing, Aza finds herself in the middle of Davis's life and worries.

This isn't so much a mystery story as it is about a girl trying to live with her mental illness. What I appreciate about this is that Aza's illness isn't shown as some quirky thing that helps her solve the Case of the Missing Father. It isn't something that is easily overcome or only happens when it's convenient. But at the same time, it doesn't mean that she also isn't just a teenager at times. It is neither consuming of her every moment nor only in some moments.  It's a spiral, which sometime is tight and unmanageable and sometimes wide and maintainable. If these descriptions seem to contradict themselves, it's because that is what mental illness is—a conundrum of inconsistencies.

I found Aza somewhat relatable, as I did her friend Daisy and her mom and Davis. People are more than just one trait and I think that Green showed that. Compared to The Fault in Our Stars, this wasn't as emotionally wrenching (I didn't find myself sobbing), but more true to life.

There was some hard language and talk about sex (not explicit).

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Lucky in Love by Kasie West

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Point
Pages: 352
My rating: 2.5 stars
Ages: 13+

Maddie spends most of her time studying, when she isn't at her job at the zoo. With the money problems her family has, she needs to get a scholarship for college and earn money to help out. So it's on a whim when she buys a lottery ticket on her eighteenth birthday. Her life changes over night when she realizes she won the 50 million prize.

This is the second book I've read this year about a teenager winning the lottery. I'll admit that Windfall was a better story, but Lucky had a simpler plot with more likable characters. Of West's books that I've read, I think this is probably the weakest. I just couldn't believe that Maddie, who we know is really smart with a GPA above 4.0, would be so dumb after she wins the lottery. Every time she mentioned that she should meet with a financial adviser, I'd yell at her in my head "Yes! Go! Now!" But who knows, maybe I would have been the same if I had won the lottery when I was 18.

The book does put forth the problem of not knowing if people are your friends because you have a lot of money or not. I think that I might have been more suspicious earlier than Maddie was, but seeing her trust and positive outlook on life crash down was a little heartbreaking. I'm glad that she had Seth, who was the one person who treated her the same after she won.

There is no language or sex.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Banned Books Week takes place the last week of September every year. It's a time to bring awareness of the banning and challenging of books that is still prevalent in our society. To support the freedom to read, I choose a banned/challenged book that I've never read before. Because of this, my review is slightly different, as I tend to focus on the reason it was banned or challenged for most of the review. For more information on Banned Books Week, visit ala.org.

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Publication date: 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 325
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 16+

New girl Eleanor is too different, with her wild curly, red hair and her men's shirts. Park is different too, but since his family has lived in town for generations, he can get away with it. When Eleanor sits next to Park on the bus, neither of them could have guessed how things would turn out.

Eleanor and Park was challenged on the basis of the profane language used throughout the novel. I won't lie, there was quite a bit of language (including the f-word), maybe a little more than *I* am comfortable with. But it's not up to me, or anyone, to control what society can read or consume. There is also some references to sex and sexual situations.

Despite the language, I think that the story that is told is important and heartbreaking. It's so much more than just learning to stand out and stand up. It's about being strong enough to know when to fight back or leave.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Alexander Hamilton: The Graphic History of an American Founding Father by Jonathan Hennessey and Justin Greenwood

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: 10 Speed Press
Pages: 176
My rating: 2.5 stars
Ages: 15+

Who was Alexander Hamilton? What led him to become such an important, and at times controversial, figure in American history? Learn about the man and legend through this graphic novel.

I have to start by admitting that I'm not very familiar with graphic novels; this may only be the third one I've ever read in my life. With that admission, I have to say that I just didn't feel that a graphic novel was the best form to use for this. I usually think the words and pictures work together to tell the story, but I didn't even look at the art most of the time. The only time that I felt it was done well was at the end during the duel, where the story was told by the characters speaking and by the pictures showing their actions. Most of the rest of the time, there was hardly any dialogue, just exposition.

This book would be much more approachable to younger readers if the author had taken a more creative nonfiction direction. As it was, it took a long time for me to read because it was things that I already knew and presented in a way that wasn't too interesting.

Some of the art was interesting. When Hamilton first came to America, he was a teenager, but he was drawn like a middle-aged man. Then there was some symbolic or metaphorical art that I could never really understand. I also felt that all the women were drawn too modern, with smirks and sass (this especially bothered me with Elizabeth Schuyler, Hamilton's wife).

There was talk of sex, with pictures of Hamilton in bed with a woman, which is why I put the age where I did.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

What To Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 287
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 14+

The day Kit decides to sit with loner David at lunch is the day that both of their lives start changing. Kit is dealing with the aftermath of losing her father in an accident and is tired of the exasperated pity and sympathy she gets from her friends. David lives his life to be invisible and to survive high school—a place that he doesn't understand no matter how hard he tries. Can the two of them help each other overcome what they are both going through?

This book is told through alternating the POV from David to Kit and back, each chapter. I think this is really important because to see things from just one point of view wouldn't have worked for the story. David is very literally, falling on the autism spectrum, so if it were told completely from his view we wouldn't get the nuances and subtleties. Kit is seeing things very emotionally, so we need David's straight forward view. They perfectly balanced each other out.

The book plays with tropes usually found in high school movies and novels, sometimes completely rejecting them and sometimes embracing them. I liked that our main characters were different than the majority of main characters in American novels.

There was very minor language.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Because You Love to Hate Me edited by Ameriie

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 339
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 16+

What is it about some villains that make them so intriguing? How did villains become villains? What is it that the villains really want? Through 13 different short stories we find the answers.

Each short story in this collection was inspired by a question asked by a book blogger, who then includes commentary after that story.

I had two favorite stories: "The Sea Witch" by Marissa Meyer, which shows how the sea witch who provides the Little Mermaid with legs came to be the sea witch. The other was "Beautiful Venom" by Cindy Pon. Pon takes the Greek myth about Medusa and transplants it into China in one of the best ways possible. I think the reason I liked both of these stories so much is that it really does show how these familiar villains became who they are. In the case of Meyer's story, the sea witch was an outcast who thought she found love only to be heartbroken. In "Beautiful Venom," Pon focused more on the part of the Medusa story that we tend to glaze over.

I was a little disappointed in some of the stories because I was expecting all of them to be like the ones I mentioned above—the origin stories of villains. Which did happen in some of the stories, but a lot of them turned the villains into heroes.

I did like the commentary from the bloggers; in fact, some times those where my favorite parts.

One of the stories does use the f-word repeatedly.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 357
My rating: 3.5 stars
Ages: 16+

After years of helping her mom plan weddings, Louna has become a cynic about love. If love does exist, than true love--walking in the sunset love--only happens once and Louna already had her chance. Then she's forced to work with the annoyingly optimistic and commitment-phobe Ambrose. As if working with bridezillas wasn't enough. But through the course of the summer, and a bet they make, Louna might discover that loving and losing doesn't mean love is gone.

Sara Dessen is one of the reigning YA romance authors. She's able to put forth a story, that, if I tried to tell it, would come across as completely unbelievable and contrived. Louna's first love happens in such a way, but is told with such sincerity that I have no problem suspending my disbelief.

I liked the characters, too. Each one was complex and lifelike, instead of just there to move along plot or Louna and Ambrose. The relationship and care between Louna, her mother, and William was wonderful. It's nice to have adult characters who respond well and understand teenagers.

There were some f-words and mentions of sex.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

I See London, I See France by Sarah Mlynowski

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 375
My rating: 2.5 stars
Ages: 17+

For years, Sydney and Leela have been planning their trip to Europe. When it finally comes, it's overshadowed by Leela's recent break-up and Sydney's worry about her family back home. When Leela's ex and his very attractive best friend show up, Sydney must adjust her plans for this trip.

To be honest, I didn't like the girls from the start. Part of that was that I couldn't make the way they really were fit with my first impression. We first meet the girls in the airport, running for their flight. Sydney is presented as a neat, rule following, good girl, while Leela was a wild, chaotic, party girl. Come to find out, it's just the opposite and learning that really made me bothered for some reason. And then I started to not like Leela even more because she never seemed to think about Sydney and how she might feel. Meanwhile, Sydney never seemed to stand up for herself to her friend. I was really expecting them to have a big fallout and go their separate ways.

The writing was good and it was fun to "visit" all the different places that they went, but it's hard to like a book when you don't really like the main characters.

There was also drug and alcohol use, sex, sex talk, and sexual situations.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

This is How it Happened by Paula Stokes

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 368
My rating: 3.5 stars
Ages: 15+

Genevieve Grace woke up in the hospital with no memory of the accident that landed her there and killed her famous boyfriend, Dallas Kade. With the internet exploding with accusations against the man in the other truck and reporters camping out on her front lawn, Gen decides to escape and spend the summer with her dad in Utah. But as Gen's memory of that night starts to come back, she starts to realize that things may not have happened the way everyone else thinks.

This was a book that I wanted to keep reading, to discover what Gen would do and how people would react. I'm not sure if there has been a book that has focused so well on the downfalls of living in the digital age, where netizens become judge and jury, condemning people in trial by media.

Having been born and raised in Utah, I was a little apprehensive about the portrayal of the state and its people, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was nice to have a Mormon character in a nonreligious book that wasn't overdone or made of stereotypes. It was also great have some appreciate the beauty of the state, which some people miss because it isn't green and lush.

There was some mild language, sexual topics, and talks of suicide.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 388
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 16+

When Bailey moves across the country to live with her dad, she attempts to find the guy she only knows as Alex she's been chatting with online who lives in the same town. Instead, she ends up meeting Porter, a cocky and rude surfer boy who Bailey can't seem to get away from. But when things start to change with Porter, will Bailey be able to forget Alex?

This is kind of a take on You've Got Mail or The Shop Around the Corner—two people meet through writing to each other and don't realize when they meet in real life who they are.

What makes it interesting is that both Bailey and Porter are damaged, both physically and mentally. It makes their friendship and interactions deeper and more difficult to understand. Fortunately, there isn't a lot of misunderstandings, or if there are, they don't last long.

There were times when I wondered about descriptions of the town, set in central California, since I've been to that area and it isn't the sunniest and usually isn't very warm, but the characters would be wearing shorts, but I suppose it could be different from where I was thinking.

There is swearing and sex.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 300
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 15+

Alice doesn't believe in luck; at least, not good luck. So when she buys her friend Teddy a lottery ticket as a joke for his birthday, she doesn't expect anything to come of it. But the next day, Teddy becomes the youngest winner of the lottery ever. Alice is scared what this change will do to her best friend--who she has been in love with for years.

I usually love Smith's characters; however, I really didn't like Teddy. Even at the end. He had ignored and brushed off Alice so many times, got mad at her for sharing her opinion, and never seemed to try to see things from her side. Then he would get jealous and childish when she seemed interested in another person. Even at the end of book, I still just couldn't find myself liking him.

That said, I did like the book and the concept of it. Who hasn't thought what they would do if they won the lottery? How would life change or not change? How would it affect your friends and family? Though, really, the story was more about Alice growing and learning about family and friendship than Teddy winning the lottery. And the writing was spot on.

There is some mild language, but no sex.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 400
My rating: 3.5 stars
Ages: 10+

Peregrine was raised thinking she was a Lakti--a member of the ruling class. Then a fairy comes to her and tells her that she is a Bamarre, the oppressed people who were conquered by the Lakti generations ago. Perry must make the decision to continue to live as a Lakti or to embrace being a Bamarre to save her people.

This is a prequel to Levine's The Two Princesses of Bamarre, telling the background of the freedom of the Bamarre that is referenced. To be honest, it's been a long time since I read Two Princesses, but this book stood on it's own. I just wanted to pick up on the Easter eggs and allusions.

Levine has been one of my favorite authors since I was a kid, so I was excited when a new book came out. This has shades of multiple fairy tales and stories, without being tooI don't know if this is her best book, but it was exciting and a good read, especially if you are a fan.

There is no language or sex.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 388
My rating: 4 stars
Ages: 16+

Lucy in secure in her life as a Pastor's Kid, relying on her faith and her relationship with her family to guide her life. But when her mom is diagnosed with cancer, Lucy's faith fails her and she starts pushing back against the things she was taught. Instead of helping with her parents' church camp over the summer, Lucy becomes a counselor at the "hippie" camp. It's there that she learns about who she really is and what it means to love and be loved.

I just really love Lord's writing. It's so approachable and easy to read, but with a depth that usually comes from much more complicated writing. I like the view of Lucy's crisis of faith--I think it's something that a lot of people go through. She still held onto the things she was taught, and still wanted to be faithful, but was angry at God.

There comes a time in every teenager's life that they need to learn for themselves and stop relying on their parents to tell them how they should be. And there comes a time when a child learns more about their parents as people, with histories and faults. Lucy learning these things and growing as a person and a friend was natural.

Also, I cried several times.

There is some swearing (about four f-words) and mention of sex.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentmer

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Crown
Pages: 399
My rating: 3.5
Ages: 16+

Not only did Carver lose all three of his friends at once, but he has to live with the guilt of knowing he caused their deaths. Not on purpose, but caused all the same. With school starting, Carver isn't sure how to face everyone without his friends. Battling crippling guilt, Carver has to come to terms with what happened, even while being blamed by those around him.

I didn't mean for my last two reviews to be about grief and death, but sometimes these things just happen. However, this is a completely different look at grief and guilt than was in Letters to the Lost. This time, something that Carver did directly attributed to the accident that killed his friends, and it's something he has to live with. What I think is important though, is that in grieving, we all start thinking of things we could have done different and we all experience that guilt and need to come to terms with living while others are gone.

This book also deals with panic attacks, being blamed, and friendship. It's not a deeply depressing book, but it does deal with serious subjects.

There is some language and sexual talk.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

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Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 388
My rating: 4 stars
Ages: 15+

Juliet spends her free time in the cemetery, writing letters to her mother. Declan is likely to be voted "most likely to end up in jail." He's serving community service when he finds a letter left on a grave. When he decides to respond to it, he starts a relationship with an unknown person who seems to understand him better than any other person. But when he learns that the person he's been writing is Juliet, he wonders if he can continue to share with her.

I loved this book--I could barely stand to put it down. While it does deal with heavy topics such as grief and guilt and judging by appearances, it didn't feel heavy even while addressing them in a good way.

It took a little while for me to realize that when the chapter started with a letter from one character, it meant the chapter would be in the other character's POV. I think I would have liked a more obvious clue than that.

The secondary characters were also interesting and well developed, to the point where I believed that they had a life outside of reacting to the main characters' drama.

No sex (thought mention of it and mention of nudity) and only mild language.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.