We'll Fly Away
by Bryan Bliss
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
WE'LL FLY AWAY by Bryan Bliss is the story of two best friends, Luke and Toby, and their senior year of high school. With the promise of a college wrestling scholarship for Luke, the two boys make their plans to leave their town, Toby’s abusive father, and Luke’s distant mother at the end of the school year. Carefully woven within the story of the boys’ year are Luke’s letters to Toby from death row.
These letters ultimately allow readers to piece together the events leading up to Luke’s incarceration and complimented the other aspects of the novel well. However, the best part of reading WE'LL FLY AWAY was the vulnerability of each of the two main characters. This, along with the strength of the boys’ friendship made reading the novel and their growth apart from one another especially heartbreaking.
Warnings: physical abuse
Moonrise
by Sarah Crossan
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
Warning: this book will make you cry. MOONRISE by Sarah Crossan is a poignant novel that explores the far-reaching impacts of capital punishment in modern society. The book is written from the perspective of Joe Moon, whose brother, Ed, is on death row. It would have been easy for Crossan to make the novel purely a political statement, but, luckily for the readers, she doesn't. Instead, she uses complex characters to convey a nuanced perspective on this issue.
The novel is written in verse rather than prose; if I'd known this when I was looking for a book, I probably wouldn't have chosen it, but don't let it stop you! The short lines ensure that each word packs a punch and add to the overall feeling of urgency. In all, MOONRISE is a truly incredible reading experience and is sure to stick with you for a long, long time.
Brightly Burning
by Alexa Donne
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 1, 2018
BRIGHTLY BURNING is about the crew (plus one civilian) of the Rochester, a spaceship orbiting the moon. Captain Hugo Fairfax, Grace Poole, Commander Xiao, to name a few of the crew. Our civilian is ten-year-old Jessa, younger sister of our Captain. The crew is dedicated to taking care of her. She has had governesses in the past, but they never stay long, and the newest one, Stella (our protagonist), is trying to figure out why. She sorts through rumors of murder and ghosts, all the while drifting closer and closer to the mysterious, wild Hugo. He drags her to parties and has her teach Jessa for most of her day each day, but usually, a few hours at the end of the day are reserved to them, in which they both come out of their shells and read together. But Stella hears laughter outside her room at night, and after Hugo nearly dies in a fire and is immediately aware of the cause, she begins to suspect he has a part in the conspiracy.
I loved BRIGHTLY BURNING. It is said that BRIGHTLY BURNING is an update of JANE EYRE in all the best ways; I wouldn’t know, as I’ve never read JANE EYRE. Alexa Donne has a magical, kind way of writing-–I cared for every single character, even Mari Hanada. Especially Hugo, right from the beginning. He is overdramatic and showy and rowdy and broken. And he does not like himself very much. He is quick to blame himself, no matter what happens. He lets his guilt nearly destroy him, more than once. I feel strong sympathy for him, because he reminds me of me, but worse. I too would feel it necessary to take over a spaceship at a young age, rather than letting someone out of the family captain it. Stella is a relatable protagonist, excellent narrator, and good friend, but she wasn’t my favorite character, despite her kind heart. No, my favorite character is Rori, the Rochester’s artificial intelligence. I’ve read the book, I know the world inside; for you, I will reveal no spoilers but tell you that throughout the book, Rori brings light and humor to the darkest situations, and often is our hero’s hero. She’s mighty good at troubleshooting and telling people what to do without sounding overbearing. And she seems quite aware. If I were ever to have an AI anywhere, I would want her to be like Rori. (Rori x Lori forever!!!)
The quality in Donne’s writing actually improves with the chapters. At the beginning, it wasn’t that interesting and it felt cliché. If you run into the same problem, don’t let that stop you. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. By which I mean, at around page 36 (don’t skip), the momentum increases, the tension speeds up, and I read the rest of it in one sitting. The book is much darker than you first think. And I deeply appreciated every element of it. You will not be able to put it down. The ending for me lacked in what I like to call “reader looseness.” It was adorable and romantic and special and healing, but it told you what happened after the climax and sorting-out-of-plot, rather than letting you imagine. It shoved us too far into the future, but other than that, the book was far better than I expected. I beg you to read it. It is diverse for the sake of realism--humanity really does have that much variety--and compassionate in nature.
The Smoke Thieves
by Sally Green
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: May 1, 2018
What do a princess, soldier, demon hunter, thief, and servant all have in common? They all live in a world where four nations, soaked in the barest bit of magic, are at the brink of war. In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a marriage arranged by her scheming father. In Calidor, March seeks revenge on the prince he serves for betraying his people. In Pitoria, Edyon steals for the fun of it, as he travels from town to town. And in the far north, Tash runs for her life as bait for the demon hunter Gravell. But as alliances shift and old feuds are dug up, each of their lives will be affected as they eventually come together because of a single jar of the illustrious drug, demon smoke.
Though this book started out slow, it certainly did not stay like that for long! In fact, this was the book that brought me out of my reading slump! As the story progressed, I could feel myself fall quickly in love with the plot of each chapter. The author did this by writing tons of mini high stakes situations that make the reader unable to put the book down from chapter to chapter. Another thing Green did with the plot that really interested me personally, was how she hinted about connecting all of the point of views at some point of the book. Because of this, I was constantly searching for what could be hints of connection. This sort of active reading made me super absorbed into the plot because I really felt like I was there with the characters, trying to figure out the political plots and twists with them.
Another aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was the characters. Each had a very distinct “role” but the book made sure to stay away from falling into the stereotypes that came with them. One thing that I found to be very interesting was how the author had a character that felt very similar to a character in her previous book. I enjoyed how she added this in because I loved that character, but at the same time I thought it was interesting how she made sure the character was still unique in his own right.
If you love books full of amazing world building and a bit of magic, this book is for you! You will not be bored with all the amazing subplots and excellent writing.
Ash Princess
by Laura Sebastian
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Ever since her mother and country were taken from her at the age of six, Theodosia has lived as a captive in her own palace. Only kept alive to keep her people under control and nicknamed the Ash Princess after her murdered mother, the Fire Queen, she suffers from constant abuse and never-ending ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. But just when she thinks her grueling life could not get any worse, Theodosia is forced by the Kaiser to destroy her last chance at returning to the crown. But Theodosia is not as alone as she thinks, realizing that she still has one last person that she can rely on to help set her free: herself.
This book is definitely one of those that go above and beyond what is described in the summary. So many issues were touched upon in this book and so many aspects of my ideal book were featured in it, that I would not hesitate for a second to call this my new all-time favorite! For one, the author was able to cover issues that are not easily talked about in YA fantasy, like sexual harassment and racism. These issues are hard to discuss in YA because they are so big, and are instead often skimmed over or just written in a bad way. But by creating a peaceful nation of people quickly enslaved by a greedy king and his people, the author was able to discuss these topics successfully. Not only that, but Sebastian was able to integrate them into her plot in a beautiful and interesting way. The integration of these topics made the book feel that much more real--as these are topics often talked about today--connecting things that readers see in the news to this fantasy world.
The next aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was the plot itself. Far from the traditional story of a girl in need of help who then discovers super-powerful magic that was just buried deep inside of her (like what the summary might imply), Sebastian was able to utilize another power for the main character to wield: her mind. Though this might seem obvious for a character to use, in YA fantasy it is more common to see girls using hidden magic as their weapon, something the main character actually flat out refuses to do because of her religion. I loved that the author wrote Theodosia this way because it made her more relatable and also enhanced the plot. Instead of going through magical battle scenes, I instead read brilliantly thought out plots, tricks, and conversations where Theodosia's words and ability to act are her weapons. These types of scenes were common throughout the book, leaving me desperate to read more and creating sleepless nights of late night reading.
Another aspect of the plot that I really enjoyed was the way Sebastian was able to steer clear of YA book tropes. At several points of this book, I thought that she was about to fall into a trope (and ruin the book for me). But boy was I wrong. Every time that Sebastian was getting close to something that would be considered a book trope, she was able to beautifully move away from it, making ASH PRINCESS unique and that much more interesting because it was harder to predict.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Each one was able to follow their own path and each lead to their own unique plot points. I can’t say much without spoiling it, but this book was definitely one that you could not predict, a great trait for a book to have. No two characters were the same and each had their own beautifully constructed story line.
I would recommend this book for YA fantasy lovers looking for a new take on the genre. ASH PRINCESS was able to combine so many factors that make a great book. If you are interested in seeing modern day issues such as sexual harassment play out in a fantasy novel and actually done realistically to bring attention to the issue, this book is for you.
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
by Julie C. Dao
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Xifeng is a peasant girl who’s been told all her life that she would one day be Empress of Feng Lu. Yet, to sit on the throne, she will have to give up her friends, her family, and possibly even herself.
FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS by Julie C. Dao is, without a doubt, one of the best debut novels I’ve ever read! Though a retelling of The Evil Queen legend, Dao manages to make every aspect of the story her own. The world of Feng Lu that Dao paints is masterful -- every page bristles with culture and history -- and the complex characters within it ooze life and passion. Xifeng is both someone you root for and fear for her success. If you’re looking for a book with strong historical influences, a protagonist you’ll hate to love, and a gripping plot that, simply put, will make it nearly impossible to stop reading, FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS is the book for you!
Ace of Shades
by Amanda Foody
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
Arriving in the city of New Reynes, the so-called city of sin, prim and proper Enne Salta only cares for one thing: finding her missing mother before it’s too late. Alone and unprepared for the city’s dark corners, she searches for the only clue given to her, the name of Levi Glaisyer. But Levi is as far from a gentleman as you can get as he is a notorious street lord and con man. But being only one payment away from the end of an unraveling scam, he agrees to help Enne in the promise of a payout of his dreams. Yet the search for Enne’s mother is not how she expected, bringing her through the darkest depths of the city of sin. And as traps snare around them and secrets are unveiled, it becomes clear that neither of them will be able to make it out without losing something, or someone, dear to them. With lives as the prize and souls the betting tokens, the game of death is one that they must play until the end.
From the very first words, I was addicted to this book. Written in a descriptive style that seems to bring the words off of the page, I was in love with every word. Foody has a way of writing each and every detail in such a way that the words seem to come alive. Every detail in the book seemed purposely placed, every word adding to the meaning, and every gesture one of hidden meanings. In a book such of this with a smoky city of mystery and suspense, this only made me question what I thought would happen next. This type of writing goes greatly with another aspect of ACE OF SHADES, the world building.
Even within the first few pages of this book, I can already tell that the author is a queen of building new worlds. When I first read through her opening scene of Enne entering through the city and being asked about her family, I was confused. But then the author quickly explained the reason for it: each family has a particular inherited talent and while it is sometimes something like dance (like the main character) or math, it could also be something like fire or electricity, it could be magic. When I first discovered this I literally mumbled to myself ‘oh my god she’s doing this’. It’s safe to say that I was incredible impressed with this. I know that this is something often done in fantasy books and an element like this should not be something so unexpected for me; but I still found it so incredibly unique that it almost felt like the perfect fantasy element for me, if authors could create things for specific readers. Besides this, the author created this great universe with an amazing backdrop and history that went well with the setting. Foody clearly knows how to outline a story.
The next aspect of the book that I really liked was the character development. So many books nowadays have books with plain beginning to end character arcs where minimal character development is achieved. But in ACE OF SHADES, Foody clearly put in time and effort to make each character perfect. One example of this is Enne, who started out as a prim and proper young lady who I just could not stop despising. It wasn’t just who she was that bugged me, but her personality. But throughout the book, I actually began to like her and I felt like she truly was a main character that I can enjoy. While her personality did not change so much that she felt like a different person, it did change enough that it was clear that she grew with the story. Another character who did this was Levi whose entire moral standard changed through the book. This type of character growth is hard to come by in books and even though it is often attempted, it frequently comes off half-baked.
Another thing that I enjoyed about the characters was that Foody made sure to stay away from the stereotypes that they could easily be associated with. Levi was not your typical street lord baddy whose only thirst is for guts and gold. Enne is not your typical graceful dancer who seeks grace and cleanliness over survival. Foody paid special attention to her characters to make sure that they don’t become their stereotypes and instead stay as their own personalities. And just because Foody spent so much effort on her main characters, does not mean that she spent any less on her side ones. I truly cannot imagine better written side characters. She clearly did not waste any effort with them as each grew into their own spots in the book and left it feeling like the book would be incomplete without them. Each of them were well written and incredibly entertaining leaving me to laugh, smile, and cry beside them.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the plot. With hidden agendas and unexpected betrayal at every turn, Foody keeps the reader constantly entertained throughout the book. I was so entertained that I even stayed up all night to finish it. The author also made sure not to only have one main plot as she created numerous subplots that all intertwined at some point. Reading ACE OF SHADES felt like I was in a giant maze and with each page, I got closer to the middle. Though one aspect of the book was a bit obvious, it was still minor and so much of the book still shocked me with each chapter.
I would recommend this book for fans of SIX OF CROWS because ACE OF SHADES has a familiar atmosphere to it. This book is best suited for readers thirteen and up. If you a seeking a book that will grip you tight and won’t let you go until the last page, this one is for you.
