Review: Shout

Shout
by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 12, 2019

SHOUT by Laurie Halse Anderson is, in part, a sequel to SPEAK, Anderson’s critically acclaimed 1999 novel. In SPEAK, Melinda struggles to find her voice and speak out about having been raped. Melinda was a semi-autobiographical version of Anderson herself. However, SHOUT diverges from this fictional character and world, revealing Anderson’s true and heartbreakingly real experience as a girl growing into adulthood (then later, tells of the resistance she faced after writing SPEAK). Written entirely in verse, Anderson begins innocent anecdotes that, with one phrase, devolve into nightmares. Her pin-prick attention to detail and expressive prose is indulgent and gripping at the same time. One of the most moving elements of this book is her portrayal of her parents, conclusively complicated, yet loving and hopeful. Anderson describes her parents with detail and care, remembering vivid, emotional, and colorful moments in which Anderson’s childish perception and mature hindsight both play a part in revealing truth. Anderson’s personal and often emotionally raw verse is effectively moving. Throughout SHOUT, the horrors of sexual abuse and rape are laid bare to the reader. Anderson pulls no punches as she approaches the topic with fury and passion. While beautifully written and incredibly moving (more than one tear was shed), SHOUT is a vessel through which Anderson calls boys and girls, parents and teachers, to awareness and to action.

Review: Lovely War

Lovely War
by Julie Berry

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 5, 2019

LOVELY WAR by Julie Berry, author of THE PASSION OF DOLSSA, tells of the trials of true love during WWI, told through the eyes of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. The novel begins when God of Fire, Hephaestus, catches his wife, Aphrodite, engaging in a passionate affair with the God of War, Ares. Asked to defend themselves, Aphrodite begins to tell a story of two true loves set during wartime. From there, the epic unfolds, introducing Hazel, a timid pianist from London; James, a British soldier; Colette, a war torn Belgian survivor; and Aubrey, an African-American jazz pianist for the war effort. As love brings them together and war tears them apart, Aphrodite calls in witnesses--Apollo (God of Music) and Hades (God of Death)--to illustrate each character’s painful and joyful journey. 

What most struck me about this novel is Berry’s examination of the relationships between death, love, war, and music. Aphrodite begins the story to prove that War and Love are inextricably linked. This relationship, and Berry’s method of discussion, is creative and intriguing. As the Gods and Goddesses interfere in the lives of our mortal protagonists, we see the relationship’s many nuances and come to understand it as complex. The characters are complicated as well. As a result of war or prejudice, each one faces pain and struggles to overcome it throughout the novel. Despite its relatively short reading time, LOVELY WAR seems like a saga, extraordinarily detailed and expansive. The narrative gives even minor characters life and color. This worldbuilding through character development makes the interactions in the novel dynamic and meanful. I thoroughly enjoyed this unique and captivating epic and recommend it to all who enjoy historical fiction, romance, action, or Greek mythology.

Review: I Am Still Alive

I Am Still Alive
by Kate Marshall

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 24, 2018

I AM STILL ALIVE is a masterfully constructed novel following the life of teenage girl Jess after a series of disastrous events started by the murder of her father leave her stranded alone in the Canadian wilderness. Jess must survive in a foreign land with nothing except a few tools and an ever faithful dog at her side. But Jess is also focused on surviving so that she can enact a revenge plot against the murderer of her father. A survival story plus a revenge plot plus a strong female protagonist. What’s not to like?

With her debut novel, author Kate Marshall is sure to have created a thriller novel that sets the tone for the rest of her career. Jess’s rollercoaster ride of trials and errors kept me fascinated throughout the entirety of the book, and oftentimes I became so entranced with the intricately woven story that I would forget it wasn’t real. The emotions Jess goes through are reflected on the reader, leaving me at times breathless, and at other times, heartbroken. I recommend I AM STILL ALIVE to readers teenaged and older, due to graphic content.

Review: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik

The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik
by David Arnold

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 22, 2018

In THE STRANGE FASCINATIONS OF NOAH HYPNOTIK by David Arnold, high schooler Noah Oakman wakes up in a world where everything he knows, with a few exceptions, is slightly different: small changes that seem meaningless but are eerily inexplicable and random. Noah tries to piece together what happened to him by investigating the few things that stayed constant, which he calls his "fascinations". With no explanation as well as problems besides that parallel universe of sorts he has found himself in, Noah does everything he can to bring his life back to the way it once was.

A refreshing and well-written book, Arnold's third book is a delightful piece of realistic fiction with the tiniest hint of sci-fi/magical realism. It has already been optioned by a film studio to be turned into a movie. The intellectual nature of Noah's thoughts and interests, while familiar, was a clean and realistically executed example of the classic "deep, moody, and knowledgeable of a lot of obscure novels and philosophers" trope common to YA main characters. The confusion I felt reading it and trying to understand what was happening perfectly matched Noah's, and was resolved by the end of the story, making this book more of an experience than a passive read. I would highly recommend this to any fans of authors such as A.S King, Lauren Oliver, and John Green.

Review: The Smoke Thieves

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. 

Review: Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined

Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined
by Danielle Younge-Ullman

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 21, 2017

EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IS NOT RUINED by Danielle Younge-Ullman follows Ingrid as she treks through uncharted wilderness with other troubled youth. Haunted by her glamorous past and the drama that ended her mother's career in opera, Ingrid finds her future is drastically different than what she’d expected. All the while Ingrid chronicles her journey in letters to her mother. Younge-Ullman does a great job of keeping the reader's interest, juggling past and present, which at first seem like different life times. However, as the reader reads on, it becomes clear why and how Ingrid ended up in Peak Wilderness for four weeks.

Emotional and exciting, Ingrid’s past is revealed and by the end of the novel each piece finally falls into place, and a big secret is discovered. Each character in this book develops uniquely throughout the novel. They take their own challenges and overcome them just as Ingrid does. Ingrid’s hilarious take on her adventures at Peak Wilderness balance out with her heartfelt and sorrowful past. It’s easy to identify with Ingrid as she’s just as sarcastic and conflicted as any teenager. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Review: Kids of Appetite

Kids of Appetite
by David Arnold

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 20, 2016

David Arnold’s KIDS OF APPETITE is a novel about affection, disappointment, and opening up to the ones you love. When Victor Benuchii III finds a letter inside his dad's urn detailing where to spread his ashes, he feels it's his duty to carry out his father's last wishes. Vic ends up joining a group of kids genuinely eager to help him. The group seeks out each site, retracing Vic’s father’s past. As each of them open up to him, he uncovers tragedy and sacrifice. Soon he finds himself infatuated with Mad, a tough girl with a tragic upbringing living with an abusive uncle. When Baz, the leader of the group, is accused of murdering Mad’s uncle, Vic and his new friends formulate a plan to free him from custody and clear his name.

David Arnold draws vivid characters that come to life on the page. You will enjoy watching their relationships with each other deepen as you read. Vic's devotion to Mad is sweet and passionate; their relationship is the highlight of the book. Throughout the fluctuating plot, this simple love ties the book together and will leave you wanting more. The plot of this book is complicated yet easy to understand, and covers a wide variety of topics, including first love, murder, and acceptance. Once you pick up KIDS OF APPETITE you won't be able to put it down.

Review: Riverkeep

Riverkeep

by Martin Stewart 

Publisher: Viking

Publication Date: July 26, 2016

  

RIVERKEEP by Martin Stewart is an adventurous and thrilling book about a boy named Wulliam, who is attempting to cure his father after he was possessed by a dark spirit. Wull is almost 16, and is set to become Riverkeep, where he tends to a magical and treacherous river. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and its adventurous nature. Furthermore, I really liked the character development and the diversity amongst the characters as a whole. I liked the book largely due to its action and the way the book is written: keeping accents for each and every character really helped me to keep a good idea of the characters’ traits in my head. I would recommend the book to people who enjoy action and adventure. However, the book had some gore in it, so people who don't enjoy that kind of description may not like it as much.

Review: Stranger

Stranger by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith
Publication date: November 13, 2014
Publisher: Viking Juvenile

The book, STRANGER, by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith, is very exciting and suspenseful. The book switches between points of views, and although it could sometimes be confusing, it helped show the ideas that the characters were forming. The different views allowed more insight into the characters' lives.The plot is also a great idea. The story takes place in what is known as Los Angeles to us, but is now, generations later, Las Anclas. The main character in the story is a man named Ross Juarez, who has brought an ancient artifact into Las Anclas, and people are chasing him down to get it. This story has a great mix of suspense, action, and deceit. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action-packed thrillers.