young adult

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Thumbs up for Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun. Young adult fantasy.

A better-than-average YA fantasy with a powerful heroine and a wonderful, detailed West Africa-inspired setting. Unfortunately, it was sold as an adult book. This matters, because it sets reader expectations. Forged by Blood, while very well-written, is a fast-paced, first-person present-tense adventure coming-of-age story complete with love triangle: in other words, it hits all the YA notes.… >> Read more

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Two thumbs up for The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, The Queen of Nothing, and How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black. Young adult fantasy.

Whether you like these books are not will be wholly dependent on your feelings about Holly Black’s writing style (vivid and kind of slithery-feeling) and whether you enjoy violent, ambitious female leads who take absolutely no shit, even when rationality suggests they should chill.… >> Read more

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Thumbs up for Spin the Dawn and Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim. Young adult fantasy.

Let me start by saying that I don’t typically like young adult books, and I instantly put down novels in first person. Nevertheless, I picked up this duology because it was billed as “Project Runway meets Mulan,” and that is my ill-spent youth in a nutshell.… >> Read more

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Thumbs up for The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity. Young adult graphic novel.

A wonderful teen graphic novel about a modern girl obsessed with Gothic novels, who rescues a gentleman from drowning only to find herself swept to an island universe that obeys the rules of a Gothic novels. Worrisomely, the universe seems to be having issues….… >> Read more

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Thumbs up for Green Angel by Alice Hoffman. Science fiction.

After a girl’s family is killed in some sort of semi-apocalyptic event, she finds a new emotional identity and learns how to survive. If you embrace this novella as a work of poetry, it is lovely. If you insist on having things logically explained, you will hate it. I can keep myself in the former camp, with a bit of effort.… >> Read more

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Thumbs up for The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. Young adult historical romance.

It’s 17– and Monty’s in love with his best friend Percy. Joined by Monty’s sister Felicity, they go on the Grand Tour of Europe. Everything that happens after that would be spoilers. I was expecting a sarcastic teen romance with historical trappings which I would put down after ten pages.… >> Read more