Red Rising

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Red Rising (Red Rising #1)

Pierce Brown

Del Rey (Random House): 2014, 382 pages

Reviewed by Tori Lyons

The Earth is dying, so Mars is being colonized by a brave group of pioneer Reds.  Darrow is one of these pioneers, mining for Helium-6 deep under the surface of Mars.  After Darrow’s wife is executed, he is recruited by a secretive group of rebels who open his eyes to the truth: Mars has actually been colonized for generations and Reds like Darrow are toiling away to support the extravagant lifestyles of the Golds living on the surface. Fueled by his rage and a sense of justice, Darrow is reformed into a Gold and sets out to overthrow the colorful caste system from the inside. 

A Great and Terrible Beauty

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A Great and Terrible Beauty 

Libba Bray

Simon and Schuster: 2003, 403 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Sixteen year old Gemma Doyle lives in India with her mother and father, miffed at not being able to go back to London for her first season.  Suddenly there is a horrible family tragedy and she is sent not only back to England but straight to Spence's Academy for Girls.  It's the quintessential Victorian boarding school, focused on educating girls on how to be great wives, hostesses, and mothers.  But Gemma isn't like the other girls; she has a secret, a power that she doesn't understand and doesn't know how to control.  She tries to ignore it while she learns to navigate her new surroundings.  Gemma tricks her way into the mean-girl clique consisting of power-hungry Felicity and Pippa, the most beautiful girl in the whole school, bringing along her roommate, Ann, the scholarship student who is constantly picked on.  When the girls find a hidden diary of a long-ago student who shares the same powers that Gemma is experiencing, the foursome decides to try their hand at this new and unusual magic.  Are they just having some fun they wouldn't ever be allowed to have in the real world or are they acting beyond their control?  What is the price to pay for such pleasure?  Readers should be aware that this is the first book in Bray's trilogy.

Pennyroyal Academy

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Pennyroyal Academy

M.A. Larson

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers: 2014, 320 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

A girl, later named Evie because she has no name, leaves her family in a far away place, traveling through the haunted forests to come to the bustling city in order to enlist at Pennyroyal Academy.  Pennyroyal Academy trains future princesses and knights in order to fight the war against the witches and dragons.  Ever fearful of being cut and having to leave the Academy, Evie must survive the rigorous training by the Fairy Drillsergeant while also navigating this new world of friendships and enemies, of mean girls and cute boys.  The outside war continues to get closer to the Academy while also becoming closer and alarmingly personal for Evie.  She must draw on all her strength and courage in order to not just stay at Pennyroyal Academy but also to just stay alive.

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

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Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

Katie Alender

Scholastic Press: 2013, 296 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Colette Iselin is going back to her French roots!  A junior at a private school in Ohio, Colette leaps at the chance to spend nine days in France for a school trip.  But Paris is on alert right now: there's a serial killer targeting the young and beautiful and the killing method of choice is decapitation.  Colette isn't worried until she starts seeing visions of a pale woman in a pink ball gown and large white wig, like Marie Antoinette herself. Colette starts to investigate and teams up with a local French boy since her self-obsessed "friends" don't seem that interested.  Colette learns that her father's family may have been a part of something and now it seems that Colette is also involved and in danger! Can she solve the mystery and keep her head connected to her body before the trip is over?

Prom and Prejudice

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Prom and Prejudice

Elizabeth Eulberg

Point: 2011, 231 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet is a musical scholarship student at Longbourn Academy, the sister school of Pemberley Academy.  Things are hard for scholarship students, since the majority of the school's student population are wealthier than some foreign countries.  Prom is a big deal at Longbourn but Lizzie wants nothing to do with it.  Sure, she'll help her roommate and best friend, Jane - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from studying abroad - but that's the extent of her prom involvement.  But Charles isn't the only one back; Will Darcy is back at Pemberley after studying abroad in London too. Lizzie and Darcy's first meeting does not go well (surprise) and she's pretty sure it's because she's a scholarship student.  Chance keeps throwing them together even though Lizzie wants nothing to do with him...or does she?

Dumplin'

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Dumplin'

Julie Murphy

Balzer + Bray: 2015, 375 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Willowdean Dickson (Will to her friends, Dumplin' to her mother) lives in small town Texas where football and the local beauty pageant reigns supreme.  Will knows she's fat, calls herself fat, but never really had an issue with it.  That it, until Bo Larson comes into her life.  He's attractive, mysterious, and genuinely likes Will back.  But suddenly Will sees all her flaws and her confidence is gone.  So how can she get it back?  By entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant!  Dumplin' is funny, heartwarming, but also realistic and with some great references to the genius that is Dolly Parton.

Carry On

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Carry On

Rainbow Rowell

St. Martin's Griffin: 2015, 522 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Rainbow Rowell first wrote about Simon Snow and Baz in her novel Fangirl.  In Carry On, Rowell has devoted a full novel to the characters that were only briefly mentioned in Fangirl.  Simon Snow is "the chosen one," the one who will stop the dark force that threatens the world of magic.  Except that he's pretty sure he's not really "the chosen one" since he's terrible at magic and is more focused on why his nemesis for the past seven years is missing from their last year at the Watford School of Magicks.  Baz has his own reasons for missing so much school but he won't share it with Simon.  After all, Baz likes seeing Simon squirm.  There is magic, teen angst, friendship, and relationship drama; after all, they are in high school, even if they have to deal with monsters on occasion.

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The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Leslye Walton

Candlewick Press: 2014, 301 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Ava Lavender was born with actual wings like a bird.  Unsure of why, she decides to research into her family and see, perhaps, where she got this unusual 'trait' from.  Half of the book goes into Ava's family on her mother's side and how they are all unlucky in love and the other half is spent on how teenage Ava ventures out into the real world, with some wonderful but also terrible results.  The book is considered magical realism and Walton does a great job making the hints of magic real enough to make sense, even if it could never occur in real life.  I would recommend this book to older teens as it does have some strong language, not consistently but sprinkled throughout, and there are scenes of descriptive violence.  There is also a part in the book that can be a trigger warning for those who have experienced sexual assault.

Goodbye Stranger

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Goodbye Stranger

Rebecca Stead

Wendy Lamb Books: 2015, 304 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Goodbye Stranger is a middle-grade novel about changing friendships and relationships.  Set in present day New York City, the book follows the friendship between Bridge, Tabitha, and Em.  They're in 7th grade, still best friends forever, but things have been different lately.  Em "has curves now," is popular with the older soccer crowd, and is texting an 8th grade boy.  Tab believes most people have an ulterior motive and Bridge is still wondering what her purpose is in the world, especially after surviving a horrible accident while also thinking about what her new friendship with Sherm Russo means.  Throw in an unnamed high school girl who is dealing with betrayal on Valentine's Day and you've got the recipe for a funny and poignant novel that shows readers that no matter what age you are, it's still difficult to deal with changes in the relationships that mean the most to you.

Finding Audrey

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Finding Audrey

Sophie Kinsella

Delacorte Books for Young Readers: 2015, 288 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Finding Audrey focuses on fourteen year old Audrey Turner who is trying to deal with her anxiety disorders and bouts of depression after an incident happens at her old school.  She finds comfort behind her dark sunglasses and tends to stay in her house where she doesn't have to interact with people.  Readers are therefore privy to her interactions with her dysfunctional, yet hilarious, family.  Things start to change, however, when Audrey meets Linus, one of her brother's online gaming buddies.  Author Kinsella manages to take a more humorous and hopeful approach to mental illness in her YA debut.  Readers are not only drawn into Audrey's situation but they can't help becoming invested in the other characters as well.

The Wrath and the Dawn

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The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1)

Renee Ahdieh

G.P. Putnam's Sons: 2015, 388 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

The Wrath and the Dawn is the first in Ahdieh's series that is based off the story of Scheherazade and One Thousand and One Nights.  While the author uses a few stories from the collection, the book does a good job of creating its own unique story.  Khalid is the young Caliph of Khorasan and each night he takes a bride and each morning he has her killed.  Sixteen year old Shahrzad volunteers in order to take revenge for the killing of her best friend.  Slowly, Shahrzad starts to fall in love with the Caliph and realizes that things are not all they seem and wonders what secrets her new husband is trying to hid from her.  The Wrath and the Dawn weaves magic, mystery, romance, and suspense in this wonderful retelling of a classic story.  Readers should be aware that the second book in the series will not be available until May 2016.

Nimona

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Nimona

Noelle Stevenson

Harper Collins: 2015, 272 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Nimona is a graphic novel by Noelle Stevenson, which started as a web comic.  Nimona is a young girl who also happens to be a shapeshifter and she has a knack for causing trouble.  She becomes the sidekick to the villain Lord Ballister Blackheart.  Blackheart is out for revenge against Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics.  As Blackheart spends more time with Nimona, he begins to realize that her powers are more dangerous than he imagined.  Can he prove that the Institution is actually up to no good, finally exact revenge against Goldenloin, and keep Nimona in check?  

An Ember in the Ashes

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An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)

Sabaa Tahir

Razorbill: 2015, 446 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

An Ember in the Ashes is the first of Sabaa Tahir's epic series.  The author switches each chapter into the point of view of Laia, a slave, or Elias, a soldier, who live under the rule of the brutal Martial Empire (which was inspired by Ancient Rome).  Laia just wants to survive, living simply with her grandparents and brother.  But when her brother is arrested for treason against the Empire, Laia agrees to spy on the Empire at the military academy for the rebels in return for her brother's rescue.  

Elias just wants to graduate from the military academy and run away from the cruelty he's been surrounded by since he was six years old.  His plans of desertion are put on the back burner as he is chosen to compete in the Trials, a brutal series of test in which the winner not only lives but is either crowned the new Emperor or his right hand man.  It is during this time that he meets Laia and their stories begin to intertwine.  Readers should be aware that the second book in the series will not be available until the end of April 2016.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Becky Albertalli

Balzer + Bray: 2015, 303 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a great young adult book.  It focuses on 16 year old Simon, who's gay but in the closet.  He has an email correspondence with another boy in his school who is also gay but they both keep their identities a secret.  Simon's world is turned upside down when another boy at school not only finds out about the emails but uses them to subtly blackmail him to play matchmaker, since the blackmailer has a crush on one of Simon's more attractive female friends.  Simon has to figure out how to navigate through this all while dealing with changes in his friendships and family and his newly emerging crush on Blue, his email pen pal.  Albertalli does a great job creating realistic fiction that is actually real.  Readers should be advised that there is some strong language but no explicit sexual content.

Looking for Alaska

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Looking for Alaska

John Green

Speak: 2006, 221 pages

Reviewed by Ellen Dickman

This is on many lists for young adults and a few banned book lists.  I enjoyed this book; it's about a teenage boy, Miles, who attends a co-ed boarding school.  He must deal with some unexpected and difficult life events.  I would love to read this with a book club as I would enjoy other readers' perspectives of his character.  

P.S. I Still Love You

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P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #2)

Jenny Han

Simon & Schuster Books: 2015, 337 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

I highly recommend to those interested in this book to start with the first in the series by Jenny Han: To All the Boys I've Loved Before.  This book immediately follows where the first book left off (in a cliff-hanger, by the way) with high school student Laura Jean trying to figure out her feelings with Peter and with another boy from her past who comes back to into her life due to the events from the first book.  These books are a charming coming-of-age series that follows an innocent, family-driven protagonist who deals with love, heartache, the drama of friends and enemies, and figuring out what it means to grow up.