Month: February 2018

Title: This Tiny Perfect World
Author: Lauren Gibaldi
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Edelweiss
Release Date: February 27, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Penny loves her small-town Florida life, and she has her future mapped out. She’s going to community college after graduation to stay close to home and her best friend, Faye. She’ll take over the family diner that her dad has been managing since her mother died. And one day, she’ll marry her high school sweetheart, Logan.

But when she unexpectedly lands a scholarship to a prestigious summer theater camp, she is thrust into a world of competition and self-doubt. And suddenly, her future gets a little hazy. As she meets new friends, including Chase, a talented young actor with big-city dreams, she begins to realize that maybe the life everyone (including her) expects her to lead is not the one she was meant to have.

Review:

I really liked this story!

I loved the drama program that Penny attended. It was described very well, and sounded fascinating. Acting is completely new to me. I’ve always been shy, and I was never interested in drama classes, though I did dance. I found this part of the story very interesting, since it is something that I’ve never experienced.

The characters in the story were great. They were well developed, and seemed like real people. I liked that Penny was conflicted in many ways, from her future career to her friends/boyfriend. It added tension to the story. I also loved the twist at the end. I didn’t see it coming at all, so I was surprised.

If you like contemporary Young Adult stories, you’ll love this one!

About the Author:

 

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Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Source: Purchased
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

Review:

I loved the Grisha Trilogy, so I had high hopes for this series. I was surprised that it was so different, but I actually ended up loving this book more than the Grisha Trilogy!

This story is in a much different format than the Grisha Trilogy. It’s set in the same world, but that’s where the similarities end. This story is told from third person perspective, rather than first person. There are some references to the things that happened in the trilogy, but it isn’t a continuation of the story.

I loved the tension in this story. Every time I thought I knew where the plot was going, it changed. The heist was planned down to the smallest details, but there were snags along the way. The planning in the story and the planning of the plot was so amazing.

I was shocked at how much I loved this story, so much more than the Grisha Trilogy. I had to go out and buy Crooked Kingdom right after finishing it, so I hope to read it soon!

Title: Wintersong
Author: S. Jae-Jones
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: February 7, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.

All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.

But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.

Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.

Review:

I liked this story. I’m so glad the sequel is out, so I can read it right away.

I liked the references to Christina Rossetti’s poetry throughout the book. The story is based on her poem “The Goblin Market.” But it also has a lot of the themes from Beauty and the Beast as well.

Liesl’s music was a great backdrop to the story. It was realistic that she was a great composer but her brother was the one to get the credit, just because he was a boy. I loved that music was able to unite people of all different backgrounds.

One thing that frustrated me was Liesl’s relationship with the Goblin King. They did a lot of pointless bickering. They had the same arguments over and over. It was annoying because I was rooting for Liesl to be happy, either with him or without him.

I liked this story, and I recommend it for YA fantasy fans.

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic
Source: Purchased
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Review:

I listened to this audiobook a couple of years ago and I loved it. I found it a little difficult to differentiate between the characters when I was listening to it, so I bought a hard copy to read before reading the second book. I still loved the story.

It’s a great unique story. There’s mysticism and fantasy with Blue’s eccentric family. You never know what they’re going to do. The Aglionby boys were also unpredictable. It seems like the more you learn about them, the stranger they seem.

There was so much that happened in the story! Looking back on it, it seems like a whole series in one book. I can’t wait to see what happens in the rest of the series!