What YA book are you reading RIGHT NOW?, issue 2

I'm back. My reading's getting in the way of writing...

Finished Dreamland by R0bert L. Anders0n

An old book (2015) my sister bought years ago but never read and oh boy. This is a toughie to rate.

First off, I disliked the main character sometimes. She didn't tell people things that could have solved the conflict right away. She also did some pretty stupid things that made me grind my teeth.

Second, the writing. SO much description and pointless action. There was a whole chapter of the character walking around that added nothing to the story.

Thirdly, the book through in random curse words and other upper-level pg-thirteen things, and while I knew this was a teenage book, it just didn't fit the tone or mood of the book. Every time someone swore, I was taken out of the story.

Fourthly, this book through in a lot of things but never explained or wrapped them up. The story ended in a totally strange way that I didn't see coming. I felt it ended too soon and on the wrong subject/plotline.

Overall I rate this book a 2 because it was still an engaging and interesting story. Maybe a 2.5 even. I don't know.

Just finished the YA novel "Conjured" by Sarah Beth Durst. Three stars. It wasn't great but it wasn't horrible either.

I felt like the narrative wasn't grounded. It was dream-like and flimsy. That's my main beef with this book.

I did however love the description and plot. It was imaginative, to say the least.

If this book had been grounded more, instead of leaving you guessing EVERYTHING, I would have rated it higher.

I did buy another book by this author, however it is MG. Fingers crossed for another creative (and hopefully a more grounded narrative) read.

Hi everyone... I just finished reading Dan Simmons' Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. It left me kind of speechless. I feel like I haven't read something of this skill and magnitude since i read Dune. What are your thoughts on it?

Just finished The June B0ys (ya mystery) by C0urt Stevens. This is the first book I've read off my TBR I started in August, and I'm sorry to say it was disappointing.

It's about how every June, thirteen boys go missing only for them to come back unharmed on the 30th. The main character's cousin was abducted and she's on the lookout for the kidnapper. But it might just be her father.


Back to the review:

It was very confusing. I felt like this story should have started way earlier. There were too many people and the story didn't mention when it was in the past it present. I spent the first 70 pages or so flipping to passages in the beginning to figure out who everyone was. The story also felt like it got nowhere, made no progress in the plot until the last third.

But the ending was an emotional gut punch not many stories seem to have. So good on that.

Unfortunately, despite the ending, this is a 1.5 star read.

Finished Some Kind of Animal by Maria Romasco-Moore.

It's about a teen girl who has a hiiden wild twin in the woods and how when the twin attacks everyone thinks the main character did it.

This book took a while before it got running. About 120 pages before something exciting happened. I also found it way too preachy/lecture-y. It was a really good concept and such a unique book. The writing itself was great. I just wish it focused more on the twin than other plotlines.

3 stars

Just finished Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood (ya fantasy).

It's about a girl whose mother is stolen away by a person claiming to be from a fairy tale her grandmother wrote.

This book was amazing. Sure it was slow to begin with, and used a lot of pop culture references I didn't get, but the book was mind-blowing, clever, and creative. Sure, the author could have used real fairy tales, but by making her own, it made the book an extra layer of remarkable.

Can't wait to start the sequel.

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Just finished Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood (ya fantasy).

It's about a girl whose mother is stolen away by a person claiming to be from a fairy tale her grandmother wrote.

This book was amazing. Sure it was slow to begin with, and used a lot of pop culture references I didn't get, but the book was mind-blowing, clever, and creative. Sure, the author could have used real fairy tales, but by making her own, it made the book an extra layer of remarkable.

Can't wait to start the sequel.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I just finished Hannah Strom's (our own starrystorm) book, The Door in my Hand. Here's what I thought:

Real quick it's about a futuristic urban fantasy novel about a teenage daredevil who discovers a door in her hand. A monster will come out it soon, but luckily she has the help of a acquaintance who also has a door in his hand.

I rate it 4.5 stars.

I only bumped it down half a star because some of the action was hard to follow, but WOW was this a fantastic book.

I loved how Hannah Strom made both of the main characters have distinct voices. I was mesmerized by her unique world building, too, but the voice sold it for me.

The imagery was so special and did I mention how much I loved the main characters' voices?

Anyways, if you want a book that is full of action and creativity, this is the book for you.

I just finished The Night Country (the sequel to The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert). I enjoyed it as much as the first, another five star read.

I did notice, however in both books there was a lot of metaphors, descriptive language, and just plain old sentences that didn't make much sense. Just to much purple prose in general. Pretty writing but sometimes it got overwhelming and muddled.

Just nitpicking here so I have something to write. Great book. A must read.

A SEMI-DEFINITIVE LIST OF WORST NIGHTMARES by Krystal Sutherland




This book was so good. I'll admit it took me awhile to like the main characters but when I did they were truly spectacular. This book was so fun and heartbreaking at the same time. It focuses on mental health that anyone struggling can relate too.

A great start for someone new to the romance genre because it also flashes back to the Ester's grandfather befriending Death. I loved those chapters.

Also...

A CHARACTER HAS SELECTIVE MUTISM!!!!

Struggling with selective mutism myself it was so touching to see it included with an explanation on what it was. The character also didn't focus on getting rid of it. The others treated the mute as a normal human being. I almost cried when I read it. It was obvious a ton of research went into this book.

A must-read 5 star read. My only crits are because there were a lot of pop culture refs that I didn't get and sometimes the romance was cringey.

WARNING: There's a suicidal character and domestic abuse.

I'm reading One of Us is Next! I loved One of Us is Lying a lot more than I thought I would. To be honest, I've had a hard time getting into YA lately even though it used to be my favourite genre for all my teens and probably most of my twenties. But I've branched out a bit and haven't found many that I can get into without them feeling too juvenile. I really enjoyed One of Us is Next because of the mystery and the un-put-downable nature of the story. Really loving the sequel so far!

ikhlashussain, I’ve read both books in that series and was surprised by how into them I got. I felt like I was back in high school watching Pretty Little Liars or something. It’s definitely a fun, kinda guilty pleasure book to read. I’m planning to get my sister the first book (along with a couple other books) for my sister for Christmas. She’s gotten really into murder books lately (my family’s trying not to be concerned.

I'm working on The Grace Year, even though I don't do well with thriller-type books. My stress levels are skyrocketing! But its good. And very well written.

Currently reading The Girl & The Demon by Pauline Gruber. The final book in her trilogy. I feel like I've been on the journey along with her following along since book one. All the way since 2013. I've grown attached to a lot of the characters.

Rilind Modigliani said:

Hi everyone... I just finished reading Dan Simmons' Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. It left me kind of speechless. I feel like I haven't read something of this skill and magnitude since i read Dune. What are your thoughts on it?

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I started Hyperion around the start of this year. I was absolutely in love with the first sub-story (about the priest in search of the "Christian" tribe), but the subsequent stories weren't as compelling to me. I stopped reading somewhere around when they start traveling on the wind powered vehicle, I think. Does it get amazing again? There are just sooooo many pages, hahaha

I'm catching up on some fantasy "classics." Currently reading the Mistborn trilogy and just finished the first book. A real master class in fantasy storytelling; so rarely does a book with such a large word count feel packed with real story instead of unnecessary fluff (looking at you J.R.R. Tolkien). I don't think the book was marketed as YA, but it certainly fits into the genre just fine.

redwall

is the wheel of time & the city of bones any good?

Ride Proud, Rebel, Andre Norton

im reading the inhertince games and the land of stories when worlds colide