Books and Sensibility

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Tarnished Are The Stars by Rosiee Thor

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Rating: Unrated | 384 pages | Lyrical Shine | Scholastic Press| 10/15/2019 

Tarnished Are The Stars is one of those rare standalone fantasy young adult novels–something I am always here for. In this futuristic Sci-fi tale three teens on opposite sides of the political spectrum of Earth Adjacent; a new Luddite Victorianesque planet settled after technology destroyed Earth. The queen rules from above in a space station where Eliza serves as the queen’s personal spy, down below on Earth Adjacent the commissioner rules with one iron rule. No tech. a decree that stands even-while though his son Nathaniel’s life depends on his illegal clockwork heart. Living on the outside is  Anna Thatcher known as “The Mechanic” a young mechanic and tech smuggler living in a secret village where everyone needs a clockwork hearts to survive. Anna is an outlaw and when Nathaniel decides to prove himself to his father by capturing her Nathaniel finds himself mixed up in a rebellion that will reveal deep family secrets.

This book is an easy comp to the Cinder by Marissa Meyer because as the three teens are brought together by circumstance, they have an easy banter and humorous back and forth like the Lunar Chronicles, all while they lead a  rebellion against space-dwelling overlords.

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In Search of Us by Ava Dellaria

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Rating: Unrated | 384 Pages| Contemporary YA | Release Date: 2/26/2019

Angie’s family has always been her and her mother Marilyn. Their bond is unbreakable but when Angie finds evidence that there might be more to the death of the father she never knew; she sets off on a road trip to L.A with her estranged ex-boyfriend to where the story of her past began. Which is where Marilyn’s story starts in 1998 Los Angeles.

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Crier’s War by Nina Vareela

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320 pages | HaperTeen | Fantasy| 10/01/2019 

Automae are alchemically created “Made”  humans designed to serve as humanoid companions and servants. They were not supposed to rise up, they were not supposed to conquer humanity…but they did. It’s been nearly fifty years and The Age of Automae is still on the rise, but a human rebellion is on the horizon.

The world created in Nin Vareela’s Crier’s War is a twist on the uncanny valley and robot apocalypse. The highly detailed world-building and the mythology was one of the best parts of the book,  but this book hinges so hard on what felt like a lukewarm forbidden romance between Crier, an Automae noble and Ayla a vengeful human girl working in secret for the resistance and motivated only by her need to kill Crier. 

Crier’s War has a promising start as Ayla and Crier have an accidental run-in where Ayla witnesses Crier…cry, something Automae are not supposed to do. As Crier finds herself experiencing new emotions she decides to keep Ayla close by making her her handmaid. But the more time Crier spends with Ayla the more she begins to feel the one thing Automae aren’t supposed to have; passion.

This could have been so compelling, but in a book that is about forbidden emotions ALL of the emotions felt a little muted. 

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End of The Year Mini Reviews

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Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

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 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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Ordinary Girls by Blair Thornburgh

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368 pages | Contemporary YA | Harper Teen | Release Date: 06/04/2019

This book is made for every teenager who loves Jane Austen and the Brontë Sisters. Ordinary Girls is a send-up of Sense and Sensibility (you know….that Austen book our blog is named after and neither of us have read). It tells the story of the two totally opposite Blatchley sisters and their mother as they trt to save their old Victorian house.

Fifteen-year-old Plum Blatchtly is the most sensible of the group, she’s a dreamy introvert who often finds herself taking charge in her unconventional family and develops a sweet romance with the roguish boy from down the street. As a character, you can tell she idolizes the women of Austen’s time and her speech and cadence reflect that.

The Blatchley women are quirky, free-spirited and not above a humorous situation. From furniture-less dinner parties, broken water pipes and small fires they endure quite a year. Ordinary Girls is a well-meaning and earnest YA novel made for fans of the Jane Austen aesthetic.

Check out the audiobook review at AudioFile Magazine