Difference between revisions of "Newest Teens Reviews"

From TheBookbag
Jump to navigationJump to search
(34 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[Category:Teens|*]]
 
[[Category:Teens|*]]
 
[[Category:New Reviews|Teens]]__NOTOC__  <!-- Remove -->
 
[[Category:New Reviews|Teens]]__NOTOC__  <!-- Remove -->
{|class-"wikitable" cellpadding="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->
+
{{Frontpage
<!-- Marie Lu, Stuart Moore and Chris Wildgoose -->
+
|isbn=1712435728
|-
+
|title=Jamie's Keepsake
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
+
|author=Michael Gallagher
[[image:1401280048.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401280048/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
+
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=When we first meet Alex Hannah, he's just being released from the Southern General Hospital.  The nurse thinks he'll come back to visit the other patients but Alex has no intention of doing that: he's been there for a year, on the same ward where his brother died and now, with his hair all shorn off, he's going home in his dead brother's clothes.  He wants to get outside and back with his friends: his brother, Forbes, says that the fresh air will do him good and his mother tells him that he's not to mention TB and to say it was tonsillitis.  Good luck with that one, Alex.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Alice Oseman
 +
|title=Solitaire
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary= Victoria Spring has returned to Year 12 following Christmas break and feels dead to the world. Nothing is interesting. People are stupid and boring.  She has one real friend; the rest are just people she sits near so she's not a complete loner. She hates a lot of things - including herself. But suddenly, a blog called Solitaire has arrived and is pulling pranks throughout the school. And Michael Holden has appeared and is showing up everywhere in Tori's life. Tori doesn't know (or care) why she's involved, but suddenly she is. What does Solitaire want? Who's behind it? Why does it all seem to be linked to Tori? Why does Michael want to be in Tori's life so badly and who is he, really? Things are only getting stranger and darker, and only one thing is certain – Tori isn't bored anymore.
 +
|isbn=9780007559220
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Alice Oseman
 +
|title=Loveless
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary= Georgia is a teenager who's embarking on her first year of university and is in a desperate struggle to figure herself out. She's always been in love with love. With the idea of love, the idea of falling madly for someone and finding bliss. But the reality for her has always been different. She's never had a crush. She's never been kissed. And she's desperate to feel something and fall for someone. But when the opportunity presents itself in any kind of real, tangible and physical way for her - she's disgusted by it. But isn't that what she's supposed to want? Isn't that what everyone is supposed to do? How come everyone else can do it? Why can't she?
 +
|isbn=000824412X
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Arvin Ahmadi
 +
|title=How It All Blew Up
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=18 year old Amir is American Iranian, a muslim, and gay.  He struggles with his identity, unable to face telling his parents who he really is, so when another student at his school starts blackmailing him, threatening to show his parents photographs of Amir kissing his boyfriend Amir panics and runs away...to Italy! So begins a journey for Amir, and his family, where they all discover more about him, and who he really is, and who he really wants to be.
 +
|isbn=1471409929
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Christina Hammonds Reed
 +
|title=The Black Kids
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=Christina Hammonds Reed's debut novel is set against the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, a reaction to the absolution of four police officers for beating a black man, Rodney King, nearly to death. Told from the perspective of Ashley Bennett, the novel follows her evolution from a silent bystander when confronted with matters of race, to a woman finding her voice and embracing her heritage.
 +
|isbn=1471188191
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Suzanne Collins
 +
|title=The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary= Coriolanus Snow is refined, charming, and one of the only surviving members of the affluent Snow family. But their world was destroyed by the war. Their riches gone, his parents dead - and yet the facade must be maintained. As the 10th Hunger Games begins, Coriolanus and other students of the Academy become the first Mentors of the tributes in the games. This is his chance to prove himself to the world and secure his place in the Capitol for good. But when he is assigned a tribute with no hope - a girl from District 12 - he thinks all chances of winning (both for her and for him) are gone. But Lucy Gray Baird proves herself to be a spark in his world, in a way he could never have imagined. As the Games commence, Lucy Gray fights for her life in the arena - but behind the scenes, in the sly, complex and strangely dangerous world of the Capitol, Coriolanus is fighting for his life too. Will she survive the Games? Will he? And what happens then?
 +
|isbn=0702300179
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=James Patterson
 +
|title=Hawk: A Maximum Ride Novel
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=Hawk has been waiting on the same street corner, every day, for years.  She is waiting for her parents to come and get her.  They left her there when she was just tiny, and although she's almost certain that they are never coming back for her, she continues to head back there each day, just in case.  Hawk isn't your ordinary street urchin though...she has wings, and can fly!  Since she was abandoned she's been living with a group of other children, all with interesting characteristics of their own and together they've made their own family. But now the city is seemingly even more troubled than usual, there's a mysterious child-killer who has been brought to the prison next door to where the children live, and then one day Hawk comes home to find her family have been taken away. Where have they been taken, and can Hawk rescue them before it's too late?
 +
|isbn=1529120004
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Samira Ahmed
 +
|title= Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
 +
|rating= 3.5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=''In the end, we all become stories''
  
 +
Spending the summer in Paris sounds like a dream for most people, especially art-lovers, but Khayyam can't relax and stop thinking about the mess she left behind in Chicago. On a chance encounter with a descendant of Alexandre Dumas, Khayyam finds herself on a historical journey with him to unveil the truth about the 19th century Muslim woman who may have crossed paths with Alendre Dumas, Eugene Delacroix and Lord Byron. As the two teenagers travel the city they not only discover themselves, but uncover the true story of the woman and why it was one that should never have been forgotten.
 +
|isbn=0349003556
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Angela Mack
 +
|title=I Am Unworthy
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary= Isabel is determined to start fresh. Start again. Sixth form will be different. Her tormentor doesn't go to Gilleford Secondary School anymore. She can escape the hurt, the fear, and the person she became. Josh is determined to keep going, even through the rage, the pain, and using his fists to solve any problem or situation. But he has secrets that threaten to tear him and his brothers apart. When Josh and Isabel's worlds collide, can they make their relationship work? Can they both finally be happy? Or will Josh's time run out?
 +
|isbn=B089FL7H4H
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Non Pratt
 +
|title=Every Little Piece of My Heart
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary= Freya was a beautiful, popular and complex girl, loved by many and seemingly stable in her existence as a queen bee 16-year-old student, complete with best friend and the promise of the end of GCSEs just months away. But one day, on January 1st, she just... left. No explanation. No warning. No goodbye. No one heard from her since. A once active social profile left deserted. So, when her best friend Sophie receives a mysterious parcel from her 5 months after, she expects it to contain answers of some kind, but is surprised to find the parcel contains another layer addressed to a complete stranger, and then another layer to another person and another, each containing an item unique to them and Freya, connecting 4 strangers through her mystery and the promise of 'treasure' at the end of it all. With each parcel, a new layer of the story and of Freya is unwrapped - and painful truths come to light that threaten to break bonds, both new and old. Can what's been broken be fixed? And why did Freya leave?
 +
|isbn=1406366943
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Kat Ellis
 +
|title=Harrow Lake
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=When we first meet 17-year-old Lola, daughter to legendary horror movie director Nolan Nox, she is saying goodbye to New York City - by sneaking out and stealing from its residents. But when she is found by her father's assistant and forced to come home, she arrives to find an unlocked door, a trail of blood, and her father dying in his study. And so, while he recovers, she is sent off to live with her grandmother in Harrow Lake, the small 1920s town in Indiana that served as the location for the film that made her parents famous. But something about this place isn't right. There's a darkness inside the people here. Secrets about her mother and dark tales of the town's cannibal monster 'Mister Jitters' fill every corner, and disturbing happenings plague Lola. But with every passing hour, secrets long buried come painfully to light and she begins to think that these stories may not be stories at all, and something very real and sinister lurks in Harrow Lake.
 +
|isbn=0241397049
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Holly Jackson
 +
|title=Good Girl, Bad Blood
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=A month on from the explosive conclusion to the Andie Bell mystery, a new normal has settled over Little Kilton. Max Hastings' assault trial thunders on, Pippa's viral podcast detailing her journey of discovering the truth about Andie and Sal's deaths has gained massive media attention, Cara and her sister Naomi are reeling from the realisation that their father, Elliot Ward, had murdered Sal Singh and kidnapped a girl he thought was Andie after she stumbled out of his house, bleeding, and disappeared into the night. As the town tries to heal again, six years on from the events of that night, tragedy strikes again. Jamie Reynolds, older brother to one of Pippa's best friends has gone missing. And so, alongside her difficult life as a semi-famous eighteen-year-old, she is once again taken down a dark, twisted path to discover the truth.
 +
|isbn=1405297751
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Maggie Tokuda-Hall
 +
|title= The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea
 +
|rating= 5
 +
|genre= Teens
 +
|summary= On the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl has assumed the identity of Florian the man in an attempt to fit in with the crew. Life is hard as a pirate, trust and empathy are the first things to be discarded, but anything has to be better than starving on the streets. Meanwhile, the young Lady Evelyn Hasegawa boards the Dove, headed off to be married to a military man she's never met on some far-flung colony of the Nipran Empire. Neither of them expects to be thrown together by fate, never mind fall in love…
 +
|isbn=1536204315
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Holly Jackson
 +
|title=A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=5 years ago, the tiny town of Little Kilton was rocked when beautiful, popular Andie Bell disappeared without a trace, presumed murdered. Her boyfriend Salil Singh was everyone's number 1 suspect – especially after Sal sent a 'confession' text to his dad and died in an apparent suicide just days after her disappearance. His guilt was sealed and the case was closed, so the town and its families tried moved on. Now Pippa is determined to prove that Sal was innocent, with the help of his brother Ravi. What started out as an innocent school project quickly turns into something much more sinister, and Pippa begins to unearth the dark truth about the beautiful, innocent queen bee of Kilton Grammar School and what really happened all those years ago. But the closer she gets, the more dangerous it becomes.
 +
|isbn=1405293187
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Kat Dunn
 +
|title=Dangerous Remedy
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary= It's Paris, 1794. The Revolution is five years old and the country in the midst of violent political turmoil between the Revolutionaries, trying to maintain their control by whatever means necessary, and the Royalists, still loyal to monarchy intent. Caught in a no man's land between the two warring factions is the Battalion of the Dead. Led by a disillusioned revolutionary's daughter, the band of outcasts have made a name for themselves rescuing innocent citizens from the violent fallout. But they may have gotten in over their heads with their latest rescue, Olympe, a girl with a disturbing history and powers that might just make her the spark that blows up the powder-keg of revolutionary Paris.
 +
|isbn=1789543649
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Jenny Valentine
 +
|title=Hello Now
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary= Jude reluctantly moves to a small, quiet seaside town after her Mum and her most recent boyfriend split (making this their 13th post-breakup move) and settle into a big, old house overlooking the sea - which happens to contain a strange, old sitting tenant named Henry, who stays rooted in the house like a ghost that just won't leave – or can't. As Jude settles into this new, seemingly mundane, reality she is consumed by a longing for her old life in London and anger at another forced change – but this will be the last time, she swears. This world is quiet, dull and yet suffocating for Jude. That is until the day Novo arrives, and her entire concept of the world changes forever.
 +
|isbn=0007466498
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Ashley Poston
 +
|title= Bookish and the Beast
 +
|rating= 3.5
 +
|genre= Teens
 +
|summary= Set after the ExcelsiCon, we are introduced to Rosie Thorne, a Small Town, USA girl who has recently lost her mother and is entering her final year of high school. Things keep piling up for Rosie, and when she follows a stray dog into what she thinks is an abandoned castle in her town, things just get worse. Rosie accidentally destroys a rare book and with her mother's hospital and funeral costs she has no money to cover the damage. She finds herself working for Vance Reigns, Hollywood royalty on a paparazzi escape, to repay the debt.
  
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
+
For most Starfield superfans this would be a dream but Rosie soon realises Vance is a jerk - and he isn't too fond of her either. However, as the two are forced to get to know each other, their guards begin to lower and they discover that maybe this situation might not be so terrible after all.
===[[Batman: Nightwalker: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu, Stuart Moore and Chris Wildgoose]]===
+
|isbn=1683691938
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Patrick Ness
 +
|title=Burn
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary=''On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957 - the very day, in fact, that Dwight David Eisenhower took the oath of office for the second time as President of the United States of America - Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station for the dragon he'd hired to help on the farm.''
 +
It's 1950s America but not as we know it. In this alternate US, there is still a Cold War with the Russians, still a concomitant arms race. And the stain of racism is just as crushing - something mixed race Sarah and her Japanese American friend Jason are only too well aware of. As is the deeply unpleasant town deputy, Kelby. But one thing is ''very'' different. In this alternate world, there are dragons. The dragons live in an uneasy peace with humans and communication is minimal. But a few of these winged creatures do hire out their labour to human in return for gold - they are dragons, after all.
 +
Poor Frankie! 
 +
|isbn= 1406375500
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Jacqueline Wilson
 +
|title=Love Frankie
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Teens
 +
|summary= Frankie is nearly fourteen. Being nearly fourteen is not easy when your mum has been diagnosed with MS, when your dad has decided to leave her for another woman, when your older sister has turned into the girliest girl who ever lived, and, above all, when Sally and her mates are bullying you at school. Oh, and when Sam, your best friend since forever, suddenly starts sending out signs that he might fancy you - and you don't fancy him back.
  
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Graphic Novels|Graphic Novels]]
+
Poor Frankie! 
 +
|isbn= 0857535897 
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed
 +
|title= Yes No Maybe So
 +
|rating= 4
 +
|genre= Teens
 +
|summary= ''We might give it our all and crash and burn. But we might win. We might actually change things. And that maybe makes it still worth going for, don't you think?''
 +
Jaime has been spending his summer helping his cousin with campaigning in time for a special election. When his mother encourages him to go canvassing, he can't think of anything worse. However, Jaime has always wanted to be a politician and decides there is no time like the present to conquer his fear of speaking to the public.
 +
Maya is a Pakistani-American Muslim girl who is having the worst summer of her life. Her parents are going through a separation, she has zero plans for the summer to help take her mind off things and her only close friend is permanently busy. To help occupy her, her parents offer to buy her a car if she agrees to go canvassing.
 +
The pair could possibly be the worst canvassing duo in history, as neither of them really want to be there, but as the campaign goes on they discover that they care, a lot, about the election - and maybe even about each other?
 +
|isbn=1471184668
 +
}}
  
The young man called Bruce Wayne is a very noticeable one – he can hardly go anywhere without people – bystanders, paparazzi, and suchlike – reminding him he's a billionaire at the age of eighteen.  Feeling rather stuck with the legacy he's inherited from his murdered parents, he wants to do charitable deeds.  But one night, when he speeds off in his posh new car in pursuit of a criminal, he goes too far as far as the authorities are concerned, and gets given the most unlikely stretch of community service instead – cleaning in the home for violent criminals that is Arkham Asylum.  There he learns of some other people who also allege charitable intent – the Nightwalkers, a gang who steal any ten-figure bank account contents they can, and murder the owner.  Can he get close to one of them and get the truth of their schemes, or will the manipulative Madeleine be a step too far for the young do-gooder? [[Batman: Nightwalker: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu, Stuart Moore and Chris Wildgoose|Full Review]]
+
Move on to [[Newest Thrillers Reviews]]
 
 
<!-- Maxwell N Andrews -->
 
|-
 
| style=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|
 
[[image:1983376353.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1983376353/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|
 
===[[Lighthouse of the Netherworlds by Maxwell N Andrews]]===
 
 
 
[[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]
 
 
 
The phrase about never trusting a book by its cover is something I put on a par with comments about Marmite.  You're supposed to love it or hate it and I'm halfway between, and likewise the old adage is halfway true.  From the cover of this I had a child-friendly fantasy, what with that name and that attractive artwork of an attractive girl reaching for an attractive water plant.  That was only built on by the initial fictionalised quotes, with their non-standard spelling, as if texts of scripture in this book's world predated our standardised literacy.  But why was I two chapters in and just finding more and more characters, both human and animal, and more and more flashbacks, and no proof that this was what I'd bought in for? [[Lighthouse of the Netherworlds by Maxwell N Andrews|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Tamaki and Pugh -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1401283292.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401283292/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Pugh]]===
 
 
 
[[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Graphic Novels|Graphic Novels]]
 
 
 
Harleen Quinzel is new in town.  She always, to me, seems new in town, even if she's been around a long time, for she always has a very fresh attitude, and seems to look out of those large eyes at everything anew each time.  But here she is new in town, and the town is Gotham City.  Expecting a year-long furlough from life with her mother, she finds her gran dead and herself with no option but to stay with a bunch of drag queens.  She also finds school is a drag, she also finds the whole neighbourhood is being redeveloped by a large and uncaring corporation – but she also finds two characters that will have a big impact on her life.  One is a civil-minded lass called Ivy, the other someone she only meets at night – a lad with a singular graffiti tag and a mind for violence and chaos, who calls himself The Joker… [[Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Pugh|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Watson -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1526613689.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1526613689/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
 
]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[Some Places More Than Others by Renee Watson]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
Amara's twelfth birthday is coming up and she wants nothing more for it than a trip to New York to meet her father's side of the family. But her father hasn't spoken to Amara's grandfather for many years - Amara doesn't know why - and both her parents are resistant to the idea. But Amara is nothing if not persistent and a school family history project provides her with the perfect wedge. Eventually, her parents give in and off she goes... with a secret mission from her mother: to bring her father and Grandpa Earl back together again.  [[Some Places More Than Others by Renee Watson|Full Review]] 
 
 
 
<!-- Thakur -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:140638853X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/140638853X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Somebody Give This Heart a Pen by Sophia Thakur]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Anthologies|Anthologies]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
Sophia Thakur's debut anthology is a collection of poems that are all unique, whether in relation to their style, length or theme. The collection is split into four sections, titled 'grow','wait','break'and 'grow again', guiding you through a process which is one of the foundations that the anthology is built on. Each section begins with a foregrounded title page containing various small pieces of writing, ranging from a quote by a Nigerian playwright, to African proverbs. This provides a nice introduction to the section before you are immersed into the beautifully written and eloquent poems that Thakur has clearly put her heart and soul into.  [[Somebody Give This Heart a Pen by Sophia Thakur|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Lawrence -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1444940651.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444940651/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
 
]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[Rose, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
Rose and her brother Rudder have recently escaped from cult-like fundamentalist Christian sect, the Pilgrims, along with their mother. While Mum works endless hours at agency cleaning jobs trying to keep the rent paid on their tiny flat, Rose and Rudder are trying to navigate the worldly world. It's not easy when everything is new and the rigid rules you've always lived by are suddenly missing.  [[Rose, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence|Full Review]]
 
<!-- Gregory -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1526609169.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1526609169/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
 
]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
Gemma has just started her A levels at school. She's a keen student and she has a good, close set of friends. Gemma loves country music and in her spare time she enjoys writing and singing country songs. She's pretty good at it too. Home life is busy - Gemma's brother Michael has a chance at a football career and the whole family, propelled by Gemma's rather over-invested dad, is supporting him with everything they've got. Gemma hasn't had a serious boyfriend yet, so when the handsome Aaron appears and an instant attraction fizzles between them, Gemma is keen to see where romance could lead...  [[I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory|Full Review]]
 
<!-- Filby -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1999683587.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999683587/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
 
]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[The Evil Occupants of Easingdale Castle by Ray Filby]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
Jason likes chess. He's pretty good at it too - a level eight on his computer programme, with level ten being Grand Master level. He's also good at systems, having contributed to the relational database that has streamlined his school's administration.  Jason's school, Easingdale Comprehensive, is very big on technology and its head, Mr Johnston, is keen to involve his pupils wherever they show promise. So Jason's friends have also helped out. Liz is great with hardware and helped with the school's card reader system. Becky has a flair for software and has recommended lots of curriculum-enhancing apps. And Bill is a talented programmer... [[The Evil Occupants of Easingdale Castle by Ray Filby|Full Review]] 
 
 
 
<!-- James -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1781128952.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1781128952/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Dyslexia Friendly|Dyslexia Friendly]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
This is a dyslexia-friendly, science fiction novella for young adults. It tells the tale of Hugo, an unwanted and rather lonely android, who makes a living for himself mending time-travel watches. When one of his clients demands that his broken watch be mended, Hugo realises there is a mystery to be solved, and is only too ready to help. An exciting journey of discovery unfolds, which takes Hugo out of his drab attic workroom and into a scary adventure with some amazing new friends, exploring regions of the planet never before known to exist. [[The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Webb -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1916459900.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459900/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
 
]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[Disbelieved: Skin and Bone CSIs by Beth Webb]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
Anelise - Annie - has been living with her cousin Joe and her aunt, an eminent forensic scientist, since her mum died and her naturalist father went abroad on a research trip. So she does wonder sometimes whether the minor premonitions she has - who's on the other end of the ringing phone, or at the door when there's a knock - are in her imagination. But to foresee a serious accident and then for it to actually happen? And the dreadful headaches. Something's going on. Luckily for Annie, Joe is convinced and also willing to help. So they start to investigate the accident... [[Disbelieved: Skin and Bone CSIs by Beth Webb|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Whitlock -->
 
|-
 
| style=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|
 
[[image:1782692177.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1782692177/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|
 
===[[The Collective by Lindsey Whitlock]]===
 
 
 
[[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
''Illinois Territory, Collective Homesteads of America.''  It's certainly an unusual place.  Some people live in sunken houses, buried into hillsides to disguise how large their property is at times of austerity, among other reasons.  Others are called Foresters, for they live and work in trees – forever playing and resting in trees as children, but farming in amongst them and living between them too.  These two sides hate each other – so perhaps this is less of an unusual place than at first sight.  Our drama kicks off when the small area the Foresters live in is placed under compulsory purchase – the residents are given a pitiful amount to clear out, before they get manfully cleared out.  It's probably the Hills that are behind this, what's more.  Our hero, Elwyn, has just left the trees for the Hills, to live with an uncle and learn their ways – he's just of age to decide things for himself, and he has decided to see how the other half lives.  This has, of course, opened himself up to no end of prejudicial judgement.  But what's this – as soon as he reaches the Hills he sees a third way of living, in a lovely colonial-style mansion, where everything sparkles and shines with crystalline light.  What does it mean that he feels destiny-bound to this even posher, newer and more hopeful life? [[The Collective by Lindsey Whitlock|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Macdibble -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1910646482.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1910646482/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
Set in a dystopian Australia, this is the story of Ella and Emery and their dogs travelling across the outback together.  A red fungus has wiped out all the crops and grasses, and with the food chain grinding to a halt, society is collapsing.  Ella's mum has been gone for a long time - she left for work one day and then never came home.  Ella and her half brother Emery have been living at home with their dad and their dogs, hoping for the best, but one day their dad decides to go out and try to find Ella's mum.  When he also fails to return, Emery decides that their best chance of survival is to set out with the dogs to travel across the outback to his grandfather's house where, he believes, there will still be food and a safe place for them to live until their father can find them again. [[The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble|Full Review]]
 
 
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:0008291845.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008291845/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[We Are Not Okay by Natalia Gomes]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]
 
 
 
Set in a typical American town, ''We Are Not Okay'' tells the story of four teenage girls facing the difficulties brought on by high school and growing up as a girl in today's society. The novel is told from four different perspectives, those of Lucy, Ulana, Trina and Sophia, whose friendship statuses vary from BFFs to sworn enemies. The reader is presented with a glimpse into each of their lives, but more importantly their minds, and at times the thoughts of those characters could have been taken directly from my own. Gomes has created a heartbreakingly real and relevant novel that focuses on prominent topic areas which are becoming ingrained in our society, particularly in relation to the ''Me Too Movement''. ''We Are Not Okay'' reminds the reader of the importance of phrases like ''I'm With Her''. [[We Are Not Okay by Natalia Gomes|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Crossan -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1408868121.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408868121/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
 
]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[Toffee by Sarah Crossan]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
''I am not who I say I am,''
 
''and Marla isn't who she thinks she is. '' 
 
 
 
''I am a girl trying to forget.''
 
''She is a woman trying to remember.''
 
 
 
Allison has finally had enough and has run away from home. The burning red weal on her face provides a clue to why. She's on her way to Bude to find Kelly-Anne, who was the first to run away from home, but Kelly-Anne isn't answering her phone. Night is closing in and so Allison takes refuge in a shed in the garden of what looks to be an empty house. But the house isn't empty. Marla lives in it and Marla doesn't remember things very well. She mistakes Allison for her friend, Toffee. And because Allison doesn't much want to be Allison any more and because Marla is so happy to see Toffee - why shouldn't Allison ''become'' Toffee? [[Toffee by Sarah Crossan|Full Review]]<!-- Carroll -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1471160645.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471160645/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[The Words That Fly Between Us by Sarah Carroll]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]
 
 
 
Lucy is living in a beautiful, expensive house along with her joking, playful dad and her lovely mum.  Everything should be perfect.  Her dad is a property investor, making millions, and she and her mum don't lack for anything in their lives.  But still, Lucy lives her life on edge, controlled by the words around her, whether they are spoken, or unspoken.  You see, her dad is a bully, edging closer and closer towards physically abusing her mum, and Lucy is manipulated by him, unable to express her true feelings, or fully develop her artistic side which is where she feels her talents lie but her dad says won't ever lead to her having a successful life. [[The Words That Fly Between Us by Sarah Carroll|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Foster -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1471172236.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471172236/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Check Mates by Stewart Foster]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
In many ways Felix is a typical boy in Year 7, enjoying playing games on his PS4 and hanging out with his friend Jake at the weekend. However Felix is struggling at school. He is not a problem child but he does have a problem. His ADHD makes it hard for him to concentrate, he keeps getting into trouble and his grades are slipping. When his Mum suggests that he spends more time with his grandfather Felix is horrified. Ever since Grandma died his Granddad has been grumpy and more eccentric than before. All he wants to do is sit in the dark and play chess. Felix knows that this will be extremely boring. But sometimes we learn valuable lessons where we least expect to and perhaps Granddad and Felix can help each other. [[Check Mates by Stewart Foster|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Wild-Palmer -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1782692231.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1782692231/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[The Tunnels Below by Nadine Wild-Palmer]]===
 
 
 
[[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]]
 
 
 
Meet Cecilia.  It's her twelfth birthday, and after a scene that shows her parents to be wacky, witty and wonderful as if fresh from an American sit-com, the whole family is set to go out for a grand day of celebration.  Cecilia is toting a large, silvered ball that her younger sister found as a present, but ends up dropping it, and watching it as it rolls right back from her grip into the very Underground carriage they had just left.  Mind the gap.  Back in the train with it she finds she is alone – and the train promptly hares off to leave her abandoned in pitch darkness at a stop no other train has ever taken her to…  It's the outskirts, Cecilia will find, of a strange society of English-speaking humanised animals, and her first acquaintance, a fox-man, will tell her that all talk of a world above, with suns and fields and fresh air, is pooh-poohed as the nonsense gibberish of people who have wandered in darkness too much and forgotten their origins.  Can she survive all this wondrous civilisation can throw at her and find her way back to the family she left behind – or will the dark leaders from the resident crow family subject her to their evil reign? [[The Tunnels Below by Nadine Wild-Palmer|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Lupo -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1408898055.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408898055/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21
 
]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[We Are Blood And Thunder by Kesia Lupo]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
 
 
''In a sealed-off city, a young woman, Lena, is running for her life. She has been sentenced to death and her only way to survive is to trust those she has been brought up to fear - those with magic.''
 
 
 
''On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. Years ago she escaped before her own powers were discovered. But now she won't hide who she is any longer.''
 
 
 
So, Lena is a cryptling - a low caste individual living in the city of Duke's Forest.[[We Are Blood And Thunder by Kesia Lupo|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Paige -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:140128339X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/140128339X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
===[[Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige and Stephen Byrne]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Graphic Novels|Graphic Novels]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]
 
 
 
Meet Mera.  She's the latest in a line of young women intent on fighting against their intended destiny for one only they can see for themselves.  Her father, the king of Xebel, sees some cotton wool and a hunky man in an arranged marriage as her future – after all, Mera's mother, the territory's warrior queen, is long dead.  Mera doesn't fancy the cosseting or the fella involved at all, and is in fact trying to get Xebel out from under the cosh of Atlantean power, for Xebel's royalty are merely puppets of Atlantean masters.  So when she overhears her father request that her intended goes to the world of us air-breathing humans, and kill the Atlantis heir, she rushes off to get the quest (and the promised throne) all for herself.  But of course, she has no idea what kind of person she will meet, and how hard it will be to get the job done… [[Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige and Stephen Byrne|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Collins -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:1408888335.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408888335/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
 
 
 
===[[All the Invisible Things by Orlagh Collins]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]
 
 
 
 
 
Vetty, her dad, and her little sister are about to move back to London and Vetty can't wait. The family has been staying with Aunt Wendy since the death of Vetty's mother several years ago. With the girls older and Aunt Wendy getting married, it's time to get back to their lives. Vetty, mostly, is looking forward to reconnecting with Pez. She and he were inseparable - spending all their time together and knowing each other inside out, without the need for words. Vetty could do with a friend like that right now, as her inner feelings of difference get ever stronger...  [[All the Invisible Things by Orlagh Collins|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->
 
|}
 

Revision as of 13:13, 7 September 2020

1712435728.jpg

Review of

Jamie's Keepsake by Michael Gallagher

4.5star.jpg Teens

When we first meet Alex Hannah, he's just being released from the Southern General Hospital. The nurse thinks he'll come back to visit the other patients but Alex has no intention of doing that: he's been there for a year, on the same ward where his brother died and now, with his hair all shorn off, he's going home in his dead brother's clothes. He wants to get outside and back with his friends: his brother, Forbes, says that the fresh air will do him good and his mother tells him that he's not to mention TB and to say it was tonsillitis. Good luck with that one, Alex. Full Review

9780007559220.jpg

Review of

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

4star.jpg Teens

Victoria Spring has returned to Year 12 following Christmas break and feels dead to the world. Nothing is interesting. People are stupid and boring. She has one real friend; the rest are just people she sits near so she's not a complete loner. She hates a lot of things - including herself. But suddenly, a blog called Solitaire has arrived and is pulling pranks throughout the school. And Michael Holden has appeared and is showing up everywhere in Tori's life. Tori doesn't know (or care) why she's involved, but suddenly she is. What does Solitaire want? Who's behind it? Why does it all seem to be linked to Tori? Why does Michael want to be in Tori's life so badly and who is he, really? Things are only getting stranger and darker, and only one thing is certain – Tori isn't bored anymore. Full Review

000824412X.jpg

Review of

Loveless by Alice Oseman

5star.jpg Teens

Georgia is a teenager who's embarking on her first year of university and is in a desperate struggle to figure herself out. She's always been in love with love. With the idea of love, the idea of falling madly for someone and finding bliss. But the reality for her has always been different. She's never had a crush. She's never been kissed. And she's desperate to feel something and fall for someone. But when the opportunity presents itself in any kind of real, tangible and physical way for her - she's disgusted by it. But isn't that what she's supposed to want? Isn't that what everyone is supposed to do? How come everyone else can do it? Why can't she? Full Review

1471409929.jpg

Review of

How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi

4star.jpg Teens

18 year old Amir is American Iranian, a muslim, and gay. He struggles with his identity, unable to face telling his parents who he really is, so when another student at his school starts blackmailing him, threatening to show his parents photographs of Amir kissing his boyfriend Amir panics and runs away...to Italy! So begins a journey for Amir, and his family, where they all discover more about him, and who he really is, and who he really wants to be. Full Review

1471188191.jpg

Review of

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

4.5star.jpg Teens

Christina Hammonds Reed's debut novel is set against the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, a reaction to the absolution of four police officers for beating a black man, Rodney King, nearly to death. Told from the perspective of Ashley Bennett, the novel follows her evolution from a silent bystander when confronted with matters of race, to a woman finding her voice and embracing her heritage. Full Review

0702300179.jpg

Review of

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

4.5star.jpg Teens

Coriolanus Snow is refined, charming, and one of the only surviving members of the affluent Snow family. But their world was destroyed by the war. Their riches gone, his parents dead - and yet the facade must be maintained. As the 10th Hunger Games begins, Coriolanus and other students of the Academy become the first Mentors of the tributes in the games. This is his chance to prove himself to the world and secure his place in the Capitol for good. But when he is assigned a tribute with no hope - a girl from District 12 - he thinks all chances of winning (both for her and for him) are gone. But Lucy Gray Baird proves herself to be a spark in his world, in a way he could never have imagined. As the Games commence, Lucy Gray fights for her life in the arena - but behind the scenes, in the sly, complex and strangely dangerous world of the Capitol, Coriolanus is fighting for his life too. Will she survive the Games? Will he? And what happens then? Full Review

1529120004.jpg

Review of

Hawk: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson

4star.jpg Teens

Hawk has been waiting on the same street corner, every day, for years. She is waiting for her parents to come and get her. They left her there when she was just tiny, and although she's almost certain that they are never coming back for her, she continues to head back there each day, just in case. Hawk isn't your ordinary street urchin though...she has wings, and can fly! Since she was abandoned she's been living with a group of other children, all with interesting characteristics of their own and together they've made their own family. But now the city is seemingly even more troubled than usual, there's a mysterious child-killer who has been brought to the prison next door to where the children live, and then one day Hawk comes home to find her family have been taken away. Where have they been taken, and can Hawk rescue them before it's too late? Full Review

0349003556.jpg

Review of

Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed

3.5star.jpg Teens

In the end, we all become stories

Spending the summer in Paris sounds like a dream for most people, especially art-lovers, but Khayyam can't relax and stop thinking about the mess she left behind in Chicago. On a chance encounter with a descendant of Alexandre Dumas, Khayyam finds herself on a historical journey with him to unveil the truth about the 19th century Muslim woman who may have crossed paths with Alendre Dumas, Eugene Delacroix and Lord Byron. As the two teenagers travel the city they not only discover themselves, but uncover the true story of the woman and why it was one that should never have been forgotten. Full Review

B089FL7H4H.jpg

Review of

I Am Unworthy by Angela Mack

4star.jpg Teens

Isabel is determined to start fresh. Start again. Sixth form will be different. Her tormentor doesn't go to Gilleford Secondary School anymore. She can escape the hurt, the fear, and the person she became. Josh is determined to keep going, even through the rage, the pain, and using his fists to solve any problem or situation. But he has secrets that threaten to tear him and his brothers apart. When Josh and Isabel's worlds collide, can they make their relationship work? Can they both finally be happy? Or will Josh's time run out? Full Review

1406366943.jpg

Review of

Every Little Piece of My Heart by Non Pratt

4star.jpg Teens

Freya was a beautiful, popular and complex girl, loved by many and seemingly stable in her existence as a queen bee 16-year-old student, complete with best friend and the promise of the end of GCSEs just months away. But one day, on January 1st, she just... left. No explanation. No warning. No goodbye. No one heard from her since. A once active social profile left deserted. So, when her best friend Sophie receives a mysterious parcel from her 5 months after, she expects it to contain answers of some kind, but is surprised to find the parcel contains another layer addressed to a complete stranger, and then another layer to another person and another, each containing an item unique to them and Freya, connecting 4 strangers through her mystery and the promise of 'treasure' at the end of it all. With each parcel, a new layer of the story and of Freya is unwrapped - and painful truths come to light that threaten to break bonds, both new and old. Can what's been broken be fixed? And why did Freya leave? Full Review

0241397049.jpg

Review of

Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis

4.5star.jpg Teens

When we first meet 17-year-old Lola, daughter to legendary horror movie director Nolan Nox, she is saying goodbye to New York City - by sneaking out and stealing from its residents. But when she is found by her father's assistant and forced to come home, she arrives to find an unlocked door, a trail of blood, and her father dying in his study. And so, while he recovers, she is sent off to live with her grandmother in Harrow Lake, the small 1920s town in Indiana that served as the location for the film that made her parents famous. But something about this place isn't right. There's a darkness inside the people here. Secrets about her mother and dark tales of the town's cannibal monster 'Mister Jitters' fill every corner, and disturbing happenings plague Lola. But with every passing hour, secrets long buried come painfully to light and she begins to think that these stories may not be stories at all, and something very real and sinister lurks in Harrow Lake. Full Review

1405297751.jpg

Review of

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

5star.jpg Teens

A month on from the explosive conclusion to the Andie Bell mystery, a new normal has settled over Little Kilton. Max Hastings' assault trial thunders on, Pippa's viral podcast detailing her journey of discovering the truth about Andie and Sal's deaths has gained massive media attention, Cara and her sister Naomi are reeling from the realisation that their father, Elliot Ward, had murdered Sal Singh and kidnapped a girl he thought was Andie after she stumbled out of his house, bleeding, and disappeared into the night. As the town tries to heal again, six years on from the events of that night, tragedy strikes again. Jamie Reynolds, older brother to one of Pippa's best friends has gone missing. And so, alongside her difficult life as a semi-famous eighteen-year-old, she is once again taken down a dark, twisted path to discover the truth. Full Review

1536204315.jpg

Review of

The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

5star.jpg Teens

On the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl has assumed the identity of Florian the man in an attempt to fit in with the crew. Life is hard as a pirate, trust and empathy are the first things to be discarded, but anything has to be better than starving on the streets. Meanwhile, the young Lady Evelyn Hasegawa boards the Dove, headed off to be married to a military man she's never met on some far-flung colony of the Nipran Empire. Neither of them expects to be thrown together by fate, never mind fall in love… Full Review

1405293187.jpg

Review of

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

5star.jpg Teens

5 years ago, the tiny town of Little Kilton was rocked when beautiful, popular Andie Bell disappeared without a trace, presumed murdered. Her boyfriend Salil Singh was everyone's number 1 suspect – especially after Sal sent a 'confession' text to his dad and died in an apparent suicide just days after her disappearance. His guilt was sealed and the case was closed, so the town and its families tried moved on. Now Pippa is determined to prove that Sal was innocent, with the help of his brother Ravi. What started out as an innocent school project quickly turns into something much more sinister, and Pippa begins to unearth the dark truth about the beautiful, innocent queen bee of Kilton Grammar School and what really happened all those years ago. But the closer she gets, the more dangerous it becomes. Full Review

1789543649.jpg

Review of

Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn

4.5star.jpg Teens

It's Paris, 1794. The Revolution is five years old and the country in the midst of violent political turmoil between the Revolutionaries, trying to maintain their control by whatever means necessary, and the Royalists, still loyal to monarchy intent. Caught in a no man's land between the two warring factions is the Battalion of the Dead. Led by a disillusioned revolutionary's daughter, the band of outcasts have made a name for themselves rescuing innocent citizens from the violent fallout. But they may have gotten in over their heads with their latest rescue, Olympe, a girl with a disturbing history and powers that might just make her the spark that blows up the powder-keg of revolutionary Paris. Full Review

0007466498.jpg

Review of

Hello Now by Jenny Valentine

4.5star.jpg Teens

Jude reluctantly moves to a small, quiet seaside town after her Mum and her most recent boyfriend split (making this their 13th post-breakup move) and settle into a big, old house overlooking the sea - which happens to contain a strange, old sitting tenant named Henry, who stays rooted in the house like a ghost that just won't leave – or can't. As Jude settles into this new, seemingly mundane, reality she is consumed by a longing for her old life in London and anger at another forced change – but this will be the last time, she swears. This world is quiet, dull and yet suffocating for Jude. That is until the day Novo arrives, and her entire concept of the world changes forever. Full Review

1683691938.jpg

Review of

Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

3.5star.jpg Teens

Set after the ExcelsiCon, we are introduced to Rosie Thorne, a Small Town, USA girl who has recently lost her mother and is entering her final year of high school. Things keep piling up for Rosie, and when she follows a stray dog into what she thinks is an abandoned castle in her town, things just get worse. Rosie accidentally destroys a rare book and with her mother's hospital and funeral costs she has no money to cover the damage. She finds herself working for Vance Reigns, Hollywood royalty on a paparazzi escape, to repay the debt.

For most Starfield superfans this would be a dream but Rosie soon realises Vance is a jerk - and he isn't too fond of her either. However, as the two are forced to get to know each other, their guards begin to lower and they discover that maybe this situation might not be so terrible after all. Full Review

1406375500.jpg

Review of

Burn by Patrick Ness

5star.jpg Teens

On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957 - the very day, in fact, that Dwight David Eisenhower took the oath of office for the second time as President of the United States of America - Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station for the dragon he'd hired to help on the farm. It's 1950s America but not as we know it. In this alternate US, there is still a Cold War with the Russians, still a concomitant arms race. And the stain of racism is just as crushing - something mixed race Sarah and her Japanese American friend Jason are only too well aware of. As is the deeply unpleasant town deputy, Kelby. But one thing is very different. In this alternate world, there are dragons. The dragons live in an uneasy peace with humans and communication is minimal. But a few of these winged creatures do hire out their labour to human in return for gold - they are dragons, after all. Poor Frankie! Full Review

0857535897.jpg

Review of

Love Frankie by Jacqueline Wilson

4.5star.jpg Teens

Frankie is nearly fourteen. Being nearly fourteen is not easy when your mum has been diagnosed with MS, when your dad has decided to leave her for another woman, when your older sister has turned into the girliest girl who ever lived, and, above all, when Sally and her mates are bullying you at school. Oh, and when Sam, your best friend since forever, suddenly starts sending out signs that he might fancy you - and you don't fancy him back.

Poor Frankie! Full Review

1471184668.jpg

Review of

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

4star.jpg Teens

We might give it our all and crash and burn. But we might win. We might actually change things. And that maybe makes it still worth going for, don't you think? Jaime has been spending his summer helping his cousin with campaigning in time for a special election. When his mother encourages him to go canvassing, he can't think of anything worse. However, Jaime has always wanted to be a politician and decides there is no time like the present to conquer his fear of speaking to the public. Maya is a Pakistani-American Muslim girl who is having the worst summer of her life. Her parents are going through a separation, she has zero plans for the summer to help take her mind off things and her only close friend is permanently busy. To help occupy her, her parents offer to buy her a car if she agrees to go canvassing. The pair could possibly be the worst canvassing duo in history, as neither of them really want to be there, but as the campaign goes on they discover that they care, a lot, about the election - and maybe even about each other? Full Review

Move on to Newest Thrillers Reviews