January Wrap-Up!

Hello everyone!

This is my first ever monthly wrap-up post, and I'm so proud of my progress this month. It's only the ending of January, and I already hit my Goodreads goal! This is such a big deal for me since the past few years I've been on Goodreads have shown that I can be close to making 30 books, but I never quite get there. I was worried that I wouldn't make it, but I did my best.

And I succeeded!

Totally bad grammar, but I think I can slide.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Winning will make you famous.
Losing means certain death.

The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.

When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Book Overview:

Author: Suzanne Collins | Series: The Hunger Games | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick | Length: 11 hours, 11 minutes | Publish Date: September 14, 2008 | Genre: YA Dystopia | Literary Awards: Georgia Peach Book Award (2009), Buxtehuder Bulle (2009), Golden Duck Award for Hal Clement Award for Young Adult (2009), Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards for Older Readers (2012), West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA) for Older Readers (2010)
Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award (2011), Red House Children's Book Award for Older Readers & Overall (2010), South Carolina Book Award for Junior and Young Adult Book (2011), Charlotte Award (2010), Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award (2010), Teen Buckeye Book Award (2009), Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for Young Adults (2010), Rhode Island Teen Book Award (2010), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (2010), Evergreen Teen Book Award (2011), Soaring Eagle Book Award (2009), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2010), Sakura Medal for Middle School Book (2010), Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award (2009), Florida Teens Read (2009), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Preis der Jugendjury (2010), Iowa High School Book Award (2011), New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award for Young Adult (2011), Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (2010), The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2009), Lincoln Award (2011), Kinderboekwinkelprijs (2010), Missouri Truman Readers Award (2011), Cybils Award for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2008), Literaturpreis der Jury der jungen Leser for Jugendbuch (2010), The Inky Awards Shortlist for Silver Inky (2009), Prix Et-lisez-moi (2011), Missouri Gateway Readers Award (2011), Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for High School and Intermediate (2011), Premio El Templo de las Mil Puertas for Mejor novela extranjera perteneciente a saga (2009)  | Rated: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: HECK YES

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

the longing.

Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.

Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being a human. 

the linger.

For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life a constant struggle between two forces--wolf and human--with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Book Overview:

Author: Maggie Stiefvater | Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Dan Bittner, Pierce Cravens, Emma Galvin, & Jenna Lamia | Length: 10 hours, 38 mins | Publish Date: July 13, 2010 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal Romance | Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Goodreads Author, Favorite Heroine, Favorite Book, Young Adult Fantasy (2010) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

Book Blog Collaboration: Buddy Read with Brittany

Hey everyone!

I'm so happy to announce that I have another book blog collaboration! Everyone meet, Brittany, and go check out her blog: bookwormbrittanyy. Together, we will be doing future buddy reads, starting with When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. I am so excited to be doing an official blog collaboration with Brittany, as we have done two buddy reads together so far. Stay tuned for our discussions! Here's our Q&A with Brittany so you can get to know her more:

Everless by Sara Holland

In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

Book Overview:

Author: Sara Holland | Series: Untitled | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Eileen Stevens | Length: 10 hours, 1 min | Publish Date: January 2, 2018 | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: HECK YES

Buddy Read Discussion: Dorothy Must Die with Trish

Hello everyone!

Thank you all for your patience! I know it must have been really exciting to see that I was doing a blog collaboration for the first time ever. I know I was excited about it, and I still am!

As you remember, Trish with WideAngledLife and I decided to do a buddy read for Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. Well, we both finished the book, and let me say that it was one hell of a ride!

* * * S P O I L E R S  A L E R T * * *

Turn back now if you don't want to be spoiled!

ttyl by Lauren Myracle

Audacious author Lauren Myracle accomplishes something of a literary miracle in her second young-adult novel, ttyl (Internet instant messaging shorthand for "talk to you later"), as she crafts an epistolary novel entirely out of IM transcripts between three high-school girls.

Far from being precious, the format proves perfect for accurately capturing the sweet histrionics and intimate intricacies of teenage girls. Grownups (and even teenage boys) might feel as if they've intercepted a raw feed from Girl Secret Headquarters, as the book's three protagonists--identified by their screen names "SnowAngel," "zoegirl," and "mad maddie"--tough their way through a rough-and-tumble time in high school. Conversations range from the predictable (clothes, the delicate high-school popularity ecosystem, boys, boys in French class, boys in Old Navy commercials, etc.) to the jarringly explicit (the girls discuss female ejaculation: "some girls really do, tho. I read it in our bodies, ourselves") and the unintentionally hilarious (Maddie's IM reduction of the Christian poem "Footprints"--"oh, no, my son. no, no, no. i was carrying u, don't u c?").

But Myracle's triumph in ttyl comes in leveraging the language-stretching idiom of e-mail, text messaging, and IM. Reaching to express themselves, the girls communicate almost as much through punctuation and syntactical quirks as with words: "SnowAngel: 'cuz--drumroll, please--ROB TYLER is in my french class!!! *breathes deeply, with hand to throbbing bosom* on friday we have to do "une dialogue" together. i get to ask for a bite of his hot dog.'"

Myracle already proved her command of teenage girl-ness with Kissing Kate, but the self-imposed convention of ttyl allows a subtlety that is even more brilliant. Parents might like reading the book just to quantify how out of touch they are, but teens will love the winning, satisfyingly dramatic tale of this tumultuous trio. (Ages 13 to 17) --Paul Hughes

Book Overview:

Author: Lauren Myracle | Series: Internet Girls | Format: Paperback (10th Anniversary Edition) | Length: 208 pages | Publish Date: February 18, 2014 | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

A searing #OwnVoices coming-of-age debut in which an Indian-American Muslim teen confronts Islamophobia and a reality she can neither explain nor escape--perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Jacqueline Woodson, and Adam Silvera.

American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.

There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs. 

Book Overview:

Author: Samira Ahmed | Series: None | Format: Hardcover | Length: 281 pages | Publish Date: January 16, 2018 | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission. 

Book Overview:

Author: Danielle Paige | Series: Dorothy Must Die | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Devon Sorvari | Length: 14 hours, 12 mins | Publish Date: April 1, 2014 | Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author (2014) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Book Blog Collaboration: Buddy Read with Trish

Hello, Readers!

I am so excited to announce that I will be doing future book blog collaborations with a fellow blogger, Trish! For our first collab, we will be buddy reading Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. Are you excited? I know I am! Here's a little Q&A with Trish. Check her out on her blog: Wide Angled Life.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away... a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Book Overview:

Author: Kristin Cashore | Series: Graceling Realm | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: David Baker and the Full Cast Family | Length: 12 hours, 30 mins | Publish Date: June 30, 2009 | Literary Awards: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature (2009), William C. Morris YA Debut Award Nominee (2009), Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2011), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2010), Sakura Medal Nominee for High School Book (2010), Florida Teens Read Nominee (2010), Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award (ALAN/NCTE) Nominee (2009), Iowa High School Book Award Nominee (2011), Lincoln Award Nominee (2011), Cybils Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2008), Green Mountain Book Award (2011), Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2011) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

Stars by Colleen Oakes

Wendy Darling has a perfectly agreeable life with her parents and brothers in wealthy London, as well as a budding romance with Booth, the neighborhood bookseller’s son. But while their parents are at a ball, the charmingly beautiful Peter Pan comes to the Darling children’s nursery and—dazzled by this flying boy with god-like powers—they follow him out of the window and straight on to morning, to Neverland, an intoxicating island of feral freedom.

As time passes in Neverland, Wendy realizes that this Lost Boys’ paradise of turquoise seas, mermaids, and pirates holds terrible secrets rooted in blood and greed. As Peter’s grasp on her heart tightens, she struggles to remember where she came from—and begins to suspect that this island of dreams, and the boy who desires her, have the potential to transform into an everlasting nightmare.

Book Overview:

Author: Colleen Oakes | Series: Wendy Darling Series | Format: Paperback | Length: 317 pages | Publish Date: October 13, 2015 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Retelling | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

Obsession by Amanda Robson

One evening, a wife asks her husband a question: who else would you go for, if you could?

It is a simple question – a little game – that will destroy her life.

Carly and Rob are a perfect couple. They share happy lives with their children and their close friends Craig and Jenny. They’re lucky. But beneath the surface, no relationship is simple: can another woman’s husband and another man’s wife ever just be good friends?

Little by little, Carly’s question sends her life spiralling out of control, as she begins to doubt everything she thought was true. Who can she trust? The man she has promised to stick by forever, or the best friend she has known for years? And is Carly being entirely honest with either of them?

Book Overview:

Author: Amanda Robson | Series: None | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Thomas Judd, Stephanie Racine, Rich Keeble, Helen Keeley | Length: 10 hours, 55 mins | Publish Date: June 1, 2017 | Genre: Psychological Thriller | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket

Dear Reader,

Before you throw this awful book to the ground and run as far away from it as possible, you should probably know why. This book is the only one which describes every last detail of the Baudelaire children's miserable stay at Heimlich Hospital, which makes it one of the most dreadful books in the world.

There are many pleasant things to read about, but this book contains none of them. Within its pages are such burdensome details as a suspicious shopkeeper, unnecessary surgery, an intercom system, anaesthesia, heart-shaped balloons, and some very startling news about a fire. Clearly you do not want to read about such things.

I have sworn to research this story, and to write it down as best I can, so I should know that this book is something best left on the ground, where you undoubtedly found it.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Book Overview:

Author: Lemony Snicket | Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Tim Curry | Length: 4 hours, 16 minutes | Publish Date: January 1, 2001 | Genre: YA/Children's Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive. 

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Book Overview:

Author: Marissa Meyer | Series: The Lunar Chronicles | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Rebecca Soler | Length: 11 hours, 19 minutes | Publish Date: February 5, 2013 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Science Fiction | Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2013), Premio El Templo de las Mil Puertas Nominee for Mejor novela extranjera perteneciente a saga (2013) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: HECK YES

Dreadmarrow Thief by Marjory Kaptanoglu

“A novel that celebrates life and love the way only the best fantasy tales can.” -Kirkus Reviews

SEEKING LOVE, REVENGE, AND A CURE FOR DEATH...

In this thrilling fantasy adventure, sixteen-year-old Tessa Skye shapeshifts into a sparrow using a windrider—a forbidden magical amulet. When she accidentally reveals herself to the wicked Conjurer Lord Fellstone, the tyrant has her papa killed. Overcome by guilt and remorse, Tessa sets out for the castle to steal Fellstone’s Dreadmarrow, his most prized magical artifact, which has the power to restore life. She’s joined by Calder, searching for his lost love, and Ash, whose growing attraction to Tessa distracts from his plan to avenge his murdered twin.

DREADMARROW THIEF is an enchanting coming-of-age story about a girl who seeks to wield great power, only to learn it comes at a terrible price.

“The quest narrative is exciting and compelling... a work of classic fantasy.” -The BookLife Prize

Book Overview:

Author: Marjory Kaptanoglu | Series: The Conjurer Fellstone Series | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: 225 pages | Publish Date: October 9, 2017 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rated: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Book Overview:

Author: Maggie Stiefvater | Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls | Format: Audiobook | Narrated By: Jenna Lamia, David LeDoux | Length: 10 hours, 43 minutes | Publish Date: August 1, 2009 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Supernatural | Literary Awards: Georgia Peach Book Award (2010), Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award Nominee (2011), Children's Choice Book Award Nominee for Teen Choice Book of the Year (2010), Florida Teens Read Nominee (2010), Teen Read Award Nominee for Best Read (2010), The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2010), Lincoln Award Nominee (2012), The Inky Awards Shortlist for Silver Inky (2010), Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2012) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

The Mermaid's Mirror by L. K. Madigan

Lena has lived her whole life near the beach - walking for miles up and down the shore and breathing the salty air, swimming in the cold water, and watching the surfers rule the waves - the problem is, she's spent her whole life just watching.

As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena vows she will no longer watch from the sand: she will learn to surf.

But her father - a former surfer himself - refuses to allow her to take lessons. After his near drowning years ago, he can't bear to let Lena take up the risky sport.

Yet something keeps drawing Lena to the water... an ancient, powerful magic. And one morning Lena catches sight of this magic: a beautiful woman - with a silvery tail.

Now nothing can stop Lena from seeking the mermaid, not even the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove.

And soon... what she sees in the mermaid's mirror will change her life forever.

Book Overview:

Author: L. K. Madigan | Series: None | Format: Paperback | Length: 308 pages | Publish Date: September 27, 2011 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology | Rated: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

Kristen Ciccarelli’s debut fantasy explores an intricately woven world of deception, inner darkness, and dragons that fantasy fans won’t be able to resist.

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

Book Overview:

Author: Kristen Ciccarelli | Series: Iskari Series | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Pearl Mackie | Length: 11 hours, 17 minutes | Publish Date: October 3, 2017 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rated: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: HECK YES

Dead Serious: Breaking the Cycle of Teen Sucide by Jane Mersky Leder

Are you under a lot of stress? Feeling too much pressure to get good grades? Trying to avoid social media because you’re being bullied? Grappling with your sexual/gender identity? Feeling depressed—even suicidal?

What are the reasons why teens decide to take their own lives? What can be done to stop them? Through stories, studies and strategies, Dead Serious helps teens, parents and educators navigate the choppy waters of adolescence and provides tools that can help break the cycle of teen suicide. 

Teen suicide is preventable.

Book Overview:

Author: Jane Mersky Leder | Series: None | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: Unknown | Publish Date: January 23, 2018 | Genre: Nonfiction Psychology | Rated: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Sweethearts by Gemma Gilmore

When seventeen-year-old Ingrid Harper realizes she may not have the talent to pursue a scholarship for the most prestigious art school in Australia, she turns to pink hair dye as a distraction.

Her new hair captures the attention of a fellow art student, Kat, who introduces Ingrid to the LGBT clubbing scene, and although Ingrid enjoys partying with her new friend, she becomes caught up in confusion about her sexuality. Her fear is overwhelming—she can’t think about anything else.

Until her best friend, Summer, reveals that she is pregnant.

As her best friend faces the realities of being pregnant at seventeen, Ingrid is shown the true definition of courage. It motivates her to come out about her sexuality—she likes girls. Only girls. Now she just has to work out what that means for the other areas of her life.

Book Overview:

Author: Gemma Gilmore | Series: None | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: Unknown | Publish Date: January 29, 2018 | Genre: YA Contemporary/LGBTQ+ | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Thunderlight by Adrienne Woods

Vibrant, scale swathed wings… Abilities that can be harnessed by a chosen few… Dragons…

All this may seem like old news, but for seventeen year-old Elena Watkins the world of Paegeia is not finished revealing all its secrets. During a summer break intended for relaxation, she discovers that her harrowing adventure to retrieve the King of Lion sword wasn’t the destiny foretold by the cryptic Viden, a dragon with the ability to see a person’s true fate. The words inked onto the page of the mysterious Book of Shadows remains black and Elena must return to Dragonia Academy to discover their true meaning.

Upon her return to the magnificent castle she has to face a challenge of a different kind, keeping her boyfriend Lucian McKenzie, the Prince of Tith and love of her life, away from the dangerous new student, Paul Sutton. As a Wyvern, Paul has made it his mission to claim Elena as his rider but he is proving to be more perilous than at first glance.

Everyone knew that Wyverns were bad news, and just as evil as the darkness that lurked inside Blake Leaf, the Rubicon forced to fight against his inner nature every day. But Elena can see a small light lurking in the darkness, a destiny still unfulfilled; to prove that Wyverns can be claimed.

Will Lucian’s dark secret about Wyverns and Elena’s need to prove their true nature cause their love to be torn apart? And which of Elena’s friends will be sacrificed this time if she is wrong? 

Book Overview:

Author: Adrienne Woods | Series: The Dragonian Series | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: A. T. Chandler and Erin Moon | Length: 14 hours, 49 minutes | Publish Date: November 20, 2014 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend; Yes

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series!

A wicked mash-up of fairy tale and Terminator—set in a Star Wars kind of world—Marissa Meyer's Cinder is a fresh and fiercely ingenious futuristic retelling of Cinderella

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

Book Overview:

Author: Marissa Meyer | Series: The Lunar Chronicles | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Rebecca Soler | Length: 10 hours, 1 minute | Publish Date: January 3, 2012 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopian | Literary Awards: Kalbacher Klapperschlange for Altersgruppe 7. -9. Klasse (2015), Pennsylvanian Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee for Young Adults (2014), Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2012), Premio El Templo de las Mil Puertas Nominee for Mejor novela extranjera perteneciente a saga (2012) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: HECK YES

Looking for Dei by David A. Wilson (ARC Review)

Fifteen-year-old Nara Dall has never liked secrets. Yet it seems that her life has been filled with them, from the ugly scar on her back to the strange powers she possesses. Her mysterious father refuses to say anything about her origins, and soon, she and her best friend must attend the announcement ceremony, in which youths are tested for a magical gift.

A gifted youth has not been announced in the poor village of Dimmitt for decades. When Nara uncovers the reason, she uses her own powers to make things right. The decision sets her on a path of danger, discovery, and a search for the divine. In the process, she learns the truth about herself and uncovers the biggest secret of all: the power of broken people. 

Book Overview:

Author: David A. Wilson | Series: None | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: Unknown | Publish Date: March 23, 2018 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

Firebolt by Adrienne Woods

Dragons. Right. Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins was no different.
Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.
Now Elena’s in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a Prince wants Elena’s heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh. And the only way Elena’s going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own.
Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales. Now it’s time for Elena to believe – in herself.

Book Overview: 

Author: Adrienne Woods | Series: The Dragonian Series | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Erin Moon | Length: 10 hours, 37 minutes | Publish Date: September 19, 2014 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Angie Thomas’s searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty. Soon to be a major motion picture from Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Book Overview:

Author: Angie Thomas | Series: None | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Bahni Turpin | Length: 11 hours, 40 minutes | Publish Date: February 28, 2017 | Genre: YA Contemporary / Realistic Fiction | Literary Awards: National Book Award Nominee for Young People's Literature (2017), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction (2017), Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers' Literature (2017), Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction & for Debut Goodreads Author (2017) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: HECK YES

See All the Stars by Kit Frick (ARC Review)

We Were Liars meets 13 Reasons Why in this thrilling debut novel that sweeps readers away as they try to solve the mystery of what happened then to make Ellory so broken now.

It’s hard to find the truth beneath the lies you tell yourself.

Then: They were four—Bex, Jenni, Ellory, Ret. (Venus. Earth. Moon. Sun.) Electric, headstrong young women; Ellory’s whole solar system.

Now: Ellory is alone, her once inseparable group of friends torn apart by secrets, deception, and a shocking incident that changed their lives forever.

Then: Lazy summer days. A party. A beautiful boy. Ellory met Matthias and fell into the beginning of a spectacular, bright love.

Now: Ellory returns to Pine Brook to navigate senior year after a two-month suspension and summer away—no boyfriend, no friends. No going back. Tormented by some and sought out by others, troubled by a mysterious note-writer who won’t let Ellory forget, and consumed by guilt over her not entirely innocent role in everything and everyone she’s lost, Ellory finds that even in the present, the past is everywhere.

The path forward isn’t a straight line. And moving on will mean sorting the truth from the lies—the lies Ellory has been telling herself.

Book Overview:

Author: Kit Frick | Series: None | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: 320 pages | Publish Date: August 14, 2018 | Genre: YA Contemporary | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket

Dear Reader,

You have undoubtedly picked up this book by mistake, so please put it down. Nobody in their right mind would read this particular book about the lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire on purpose, because each dismal moment of their stay in the village of V.F.D. has been faithfully and dreadfully recorded in these pages. I can think of no single reason why anyone would want to open a book containing such unpleasant matters as migrating crows, an angry mob, a newspaper headline, the arrest of innocent people, the Deluxe Cell, and some very strange hats. It is my solemn and sacred occupation to research each detail of the Baudelaire children's lives and write them all down, but you may prefer to do some other solemn and sacred thing, such as reading another book instead.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Book Overview:

Author: Lemony Snicket | Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Tim Curry | Length: 4 hours, 20 minutes | Publish Date: April 24, 2001 | Genre: YA/Children's Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

New World: Rising by Jennifer Wilson

Worlds collide in debut author Jennifer Wilson's graphic dystopian series where Divergent meets Mad Max. 

Since witnessing her parents' murders at the age of eleven, Phoenix's only purpose in life has been to uphold her mother's dying words - to be strong and survive. But surviving outside of The Walls - outside of The Sanctuary - is more like a drawn-out death sentence. A cruel and ruthless city, Tartarus is run by the Tribes whose motto is simple, "Join or die." 

Refusing to join and determined to live, Phoenix fights to survive in this savage world. But who can she trust, when no one can be trusted? Not even herself...

The first of a trilogy, New World Rising is an epic tale of survival, instinct, trauma, and the extraordinary power of human connection.

"Savage and raw, Jennifer Wilson pulls no punches in this blood tingling dystopian." Kimberly Derting, award-winning author of The Pledge Trilogy

Book Overview:

Author: Jennifer Wilson | Series: New World | Format: Paperback | Length: 350 pages | Publish Date: January 5, 2016 | Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopia | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

“Heart-fluttering, honest, and hilarious. I can’t stop hugging this book.” —Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss

"I have such a crush on this book! Not only is this one a must read, but it's a must re-read." —Julie Murphy, New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’

From the award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda comes a funny, authentic novel about sisterhood, love, and identity.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly's totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she'll get her first kiss and she'll get her twin back. 
There's only one problem: Molly's coworker, Reid. He's a chubby Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. 

Right?

Book Overview:

Author: Becky Albertalli | Series: None | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Arielle DeLisle | Length: 7 hours, 58 minutes | Publish Date: April 11, 2017 | Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, GLBT | Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2017) | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★| Recommend: HECK YES

Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed

One house, two worlds...

Rose Cliffe has never met a young lady like her new mistress. Clever, rich, and beautiful, Ada Averley treats Rose as an equal. And Rose could use a friend. Especially now that she, at barely sixteen, has risen to the position of ladies' maid. Rose knows she should be grateful to have a place at a house like Somerton. Still, she can't help but wonder what her life might have been had she been born a lady, like Ada.

For the first time in a decade, the Averleys have returned to Somerton, their majestic ancestral estate. But terrible scandal has followed Ada's beloved father all the way from India. Now Ada finds herself torn between her own happiness and her family's honor. Only she has the power to restore the Averley name-but it would mean giving up her one true love ... someone she could never persuade her father to accept.

Sumptuous and enticing, the first novel in the At Somerton series introduces two worlds, utterly different yet entangled, where ruthless ambition, forbidden attraction, and unspoken dreams are hidden behind dutiful smiles and glittering jewels. All those secrets are waiting ... at Somerton.

Book Overview:

Author: Leila Rasheed | Series: At Somerton | Format: Hardcover | Length: 400 pages | Publish Date: January 22, 2013 | Genre: YA Historial Fiction/Romance | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe