Review: 3.5-4 star rating Summary: Coyote and her father Rodeo are traveling across the USA in a converted school bus. Coyote’s sister and mother died in a car accident. After the accident, they are hopping into the bus and never went back. But after talking to her grandmother, she discovers that the park is being […]
Category: YA
Review of “Out of My Heart” by Sharon M. Draper
Review: 3 stars Summary: Book #2 in the “Out of my mind” series. This book takes place about a year after book #1. We see Melody wanting to go away to camp like her other friends from school. She researches what camps she would be able to attend. And her mother agrees to take her. […]
Review of “A Very Large Expanse of Sea” by Tahereh Mafi
Rating: 4 star review Summary: A year after 9/11, we follow Shirin as she navigates an America school. She is Muslim and just trying to do your average teenager stuff while also dealing with racism. Review: The one thing that I liked the most was the characters in this book. The main character is just […]
Review of “Luck of the Titanic” by Stacey Lee
Overall: 2.5-3 star review Summary: Her twin brother gets a job on the Titanic. She is a stowaway. She wants to leave England to be a circus performer in America. But Chinese cannot enter America. Before leaving the ship in America, she needs to get her brother on board with her plan, audition and get […]
Review of “As Good As Dead” by Holly Jackson (Book 3 in the series)
Overall: 4 star review Summary: Pip is heading off to college. Her true crime podcast is very popular, but also leads to people who hate her too. One of her “fans” is sending her ominous messages that frighten Pip. She is bound and determined to find whoever is doing this to her. My thoughts: You […]
“The Rest of the Story” by Sarah Dessen review
Overall: 4 our of 5 stars Summary of Review: A fun and quick read about finding yourself, family, and growth as a person. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Summary: Emma Saylor’s mother died when she was young. She does not remember much about her mother or her mother’s family. When Emma’s dad is going away […]
Review of “Tokyo Ever After” by Emiko Jean
Overall: 3.5 to 4 Stars Summary of review: A cute story with fun characters. It is a light-hearted read. Summary: An American girl does a DNA test to discover that her biological father is the crown prince of Japan. She travels to Japan to meet her father. As she is getting to know the culture and […]
Review of “You Have a Match” by Emma Lord
At first, I was going to rate this book a 4.5 star review, but I could not think of bad things about it. So I changed my mind and rating it a 5 star review. Summary: Abby takes a DNA test her with best friends. She finds out through the DNA test that she has […]
Review of “Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus” by Dusti Bowling
WOW! 5 star review! I really enjoyed this book a lot. I was attracted to it by its cover at the library. But I feel in love with the characters and plot right away! It is not just for YAs. It has a powerful message that anyone can relate to it. Aven, a 13 year […]
Review of “You Should See Me In A Crown” by Leah Johnson
It started off as a typical YA book, but the characters is what made this book special. Liz Lighty is not your typical prom queen. But after she loses her chances at getting finaincal aid for college, she needs the scholarship that comes with a win for prom queen. There is a front runner for […]
Review of “Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body” by Rebekah Raussig
This book is a 5 star read for me. I learned so much! This book is for all ages to read and is very informative. She is a teacher, and it shows throughout this book. Rebekah Taussig, Ph.D. authored a well written memoir, but it is so much more. She discusses her childhood, career, love […]
Review of “A Torch Against The Night” by Sabaa Tahir (Ember in the Ashes: Book 2)
I did not like this book as much as the 1st one. But it was enjoyable. This is not my typical genre. I am rating this book a 3.5- 4 star review. I do not want to give too much away as this is the 2nd in the series. But basically Elias and Laia are […]
Review of “brown girl dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson
This book is written in verse and beautiful. This novel is really important for YA and adults to read alike. I am reviewing this book with a 4.5 star review. This is her memoir as a child growing up in South Carolina and Brooklyn as a young black girl in the 60s and 70s. She […]
Review of “The Light in Hidden Spaces” by Sharon Cameron
I am rating this book a 3.5 star rating. I felt like I have read this story already. Basically, I can sum up this book quickly. A girl hides 13 Jewish people in her house risking her and her sister’s lives for hiding them. This is a common theme for WW2 books. I liked the […]
Review of “The Edge of Falling” by Rebecca Serle
I am giving this book a 3.5 star review. This book just failed to deliver for me. Caggie is a young girl who lost her sister in a tragic way. She is grieving and it is consuming her. Everything that she does or decisions being made is from her grief. She breaks up with her […]
Review of “A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow” by Laura Taylor Namey
Reese Witherspoon’s YA Book Club pick. I am rating this book a 4 star review. What a cute story. I enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were adorable. A young Miami girl, Lila, has kind of a nervous break down; her best friend leaves, her boyfriend and her break up, she loses her grandmother, […]
Review of “Starfish” by Lisa Fipps
This novel is a book for all ages. It does not need to just apply for YA. It is written in verse and beautifully tell a story about a young girl who struggles with how other people view her body image. This book is about a young girl who is bullied by her parents and […]
Review of “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell
Oh wow! This book was good! 5 star easily from me. Cath and Wren are twins. Wren wants a little indepnedance from Cath when they head off to college. Cath is very much a loner only spending her time with Wren. So when she goes to college, she has no room for making friends. She […]
Review of “Inside Out & Back Again” by Thanhha Lai
WOW! A 5 star read for me! At first, I thought this book was for smaller children. But I was wrong; this book can be read by any age. It is a wonderful book of poetic verse about a young Vietnamese girl. The Story begins at the end of the Vietnam War. A little girl […]
Review of “Lily and Dash: Book of Dares” by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
I am giving this book a 3.5 to 4 star review. It was a cute read! Get ready because Netflix has the movie coming out for the holidays! Basically, a cynical young man (Dash) who hates Christmas happens upon a scavenger hunt through a book store which expands through NYC. The owner of the notebook […]
Review on “Saint Anything” by Sarah Dessen
I am rating this book a 4-4.5 star review. There was just something about this book that I loved! It was my first book by Sarah Dessen and will not be my last. This book is about a teenager named Sydney. Her brother, Peyton, is the center of her parents world. He is in jail […]
Review of “Furia” by Yamile Saied Mendez
I enjoyed this book a lot! I am giving it a 3.5-4 star review. Camillia is a 17 year old living in Argentina. She has kept a secret from her parents- she plays soccer. Her dad is abusive and her mother is rather strict for only their daughter. Her brother is allowed to play soccer […]
Review of “Go Ask Alice” by Anonymous
This book was okay. I read it in one sitting. This novel reminded me of the scene in the TV show “Freaks and Geeks.” Anyways, the plot is simple enough. It is a traditional diary form (1st person). The narrator is a girl who starts in a nice family and starts using drugs. She runs […]
Review of “Zac and Mia” by A.J. Betts
I am rating this novel a 3 star review. I wanted to read this book after hearing that it will be made into a TV show for Hulu. Basically, the story is about two teenagers with cancer. Zac has leukemia and Mia has Osteosarcoma . Zac is more laid back whereas Mia is an antsy and […]
Review of “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare
I am giving this book a 4 star review. “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare is the 1st book in the series of “The Mortal Instruments.” This is not my typical genre to read. But it held my interest, and I am shocked. It is well written novel. I had never read a book, watched […]
Review of “Leah on the Offbeat” by Becky Albertalli
I am giving this book a 3.5 star review. So I love the “Simonverse” novels! I really wanted to like this book as much as the others, but there was something about it that was flat for me. We are taken back to Alabama where we meet the “Simon gang” again! This time Leah is […]
Review of “The Upside of Unrequited” by Becky Albertalli (Simonverse #2)
OMG I loved this book a lot! I am rating it a 4.5 star review! Basically, a novel about sisterhood, growing up, first loves, etc. It is about a girl who has a twin sister. She has never had a boyfriend, but her sister just started to date a girlfriend. The main character struggles with […]
Review for “A Summer to Die” by Lois Lowry
I am giving this book a 4 star review! Get ready to cry with this book. It gives you all the feels. It is about death, birth, and living. Basically, she is a young girl with a sister who is dying. You kind of learn all about the disease through the eyes of the other […]
Review of “Out of My Mind” by Sharon M. Draper
I am rating this book a 3 star review. Melody has cerebral palsy. The book follows here through her elementary school age and the struggles of going to school, making friends, communicating, etc. Melody is extremely intelligent and joins a quiz team. This novel is for middle school aged children. I read it through recommendations […]
Review of “The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
I am rating this novel a 4.5 star review. Such a page turner. If you want a murder mystery but do not want to read a book about a cop investigating a murder (Blah) then this is the book for you. This book follows the rules of a classic who-dun-it. Just right when I would […]