Young Adult Fiction

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

December 8, 2019 Leave a Comment

432 pages | Inkyard Press | Contemporary | 09/03/2019

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine is a book that defies categorization as Alaine, an aspiring journalist and daughter of one of the biggest Black women in broadcasting, (read: Joy-Ann Ried or Melissa Harris-Perry ) begins a project to follow the history of her Haitian family. Told in diary entries, e-mails, letters and text this book takes some deeply emotional turns and dives into the complications of mother-daughter relationships and unspoken family history–with a touch of magical realism.

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I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi

December 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

9 hours 58 min | Sci Fi YA | Harper Teen | Release Date: 10/22/2019

I Hope You Get This Message is one of those books that asks the question ‘what would happen if everyone on Earth knew they were about to die ?’ I feel like YA does this kind of book every once and a while* but this is my first time reading this trope in YA…and it just didn’t work for me.

In this iteration of the end of the world, Earth has picked up communication from a planet called Alma. They learn from intercepted transcripts that Alma has been incubating Earth for thousands of years and is currently debating whether or not to kill all of humanity in 8 days for what they have done to Earth.

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Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

November 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

Rating: ★★★+.5 | 15 hrs 14 mins | Brilliance Audio | YA Fantasy | 09/29/2015

I’m on a mission to read the Grishaverse series before the Netflix show comes out and right now I have Crooked Kingdom and King of Scars left.

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The Cruel Prince By Holly Black

November 5, 2019 Leave a Comment

8 hours 39 minutes| Hachette Audio | Fantasy | 1/02/18

Here we go.

I’m a big fan of Holly Black’s Curse Workers’ series and I’ve always found it interesting that The Curse Workers series is SO unlike her other writings which feature witches, wizards and fae. Black has been writing YA about faerie for years and Curel Prince has been a big hit. I was intrigued because of the high review Kat gave it and was ready to dive in.

The book follows three sisters who are whisked away against their will to Faerie where they live among the gentry. But to truly earn a place among the Folk, they must make a way for themselves no matter the cost.

17-year-old Jude Durate is fierce and determined so when she has the opportunity to join the Court of Shadows, a group of royal spies, to ensure the next King of Faerie is crowned she takes her chance. I sort of wish the book was about this–but it wasn’t. Jude’s role as a spy in more of a side plot to make room for all the …cruelness.

Honestly, I found the first 30% of the book kind of unpleasant, I didn’t really enjoy watching the main character basically get tortured only to have her main tormentor, Prince Cardan, on the way to partially redemption at the end. It truly felt like we were supposed to look at the events that happened and understand he didn’t mean for it to be that way. Because he can’t stop thinking about her. Ugh.

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On The Come Up by Angie Thomas

November 2, 2019 Leave a Comment

447 pages | Contemporary | Balzer & Bray | Release Date: 2/5/2019

I don’t know what this says about me but when a book or author has a lot of hype I tend not to read it until it quiets down. Angie Thomas was an author like that. I’d been following her ever since she announced her deal on Twitter and I’m happy to see the success she’s gained. I’ve still yet to read The Hate U Give because I’m not in a place to read Black trauma stories but when I was taking a bus trip I saw this on Overdrive and picked it up.

Now, this book exists in the same place as The Hate U Give and does spoil some of the outcomes of that book so be warned if you haven’t read it.

In On The Come Up 16-year-old Brianna “Bri” Jackson is an aspiring rapper from the hood who lives in the shadow of her deceased father’s rap fame. She’s ready to have her come up but injustice, poverty, and complicated family dynamics stand in her way.

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Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

October 10, 2019 Leave a Comment

408 pages | Mystery YA | HarperCollins | Release Date: 10/02/2018

Mia Ferguson and Brynn McNally are the notorious Monsters of Brickhouse Lane. Five years ago they murdered their best friend Summer Marks in the exact way described in their fanfiction and then got away with it. But here’s the thing nobody will believe; they really didn’t do it. On the 5th anniversary of Summer’s death, the former friends reunite to find the truth.

Jess gave me this book for my birthday and it was so much in my wheelhouse. I’ve been a fan of Oliver’s writing since the Delirium series and one of the few true comes stories I’m fascinated by is the Slenderman stabbing. I was excited to see how these elements and fanfiction was going to be used and…I was a little disappointed in the execution. The inclusion of the fanfic didn’t feel natural or realistic and most of what they were “discovering” had no bearing on the mystery.

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