Young Adult – Page 61 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Dawn and the Impossible Three (Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #5)

Title: Dawn and the Impossible Three (Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #5)
Author: Gale Galligan
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Graphix
Source: Library
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dawn Schafer is the newest member of The Baby-sitters Club. While she’s still adjusting to life in Stoneybrook after moving from sunny California, she’s eager to accept her first big job. But taking care of the three Barrett kids would be too much for anybaby-sitter. The house is always a mess, the kids are out of control, and Mrs. Barrett never does any of the things she promises. On top of all that, Dawn wants to fit in with the other members of the BSC, but she can’t figure out how to get along with Kristy. Was joining The Baby-sitters Club a mistake?

A graphic novel adaptation of the original story.

Review:

This fifth instalment in the Baby-Sitters Club series has a new illustrator! I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical about the change because I love Raina Telgemeier. I am very pleased with how Gale Galligan put her own spin on the girls.

In this story, the girls have to deal with changing friendships. Kristy will be moving into her new stepfather’s house, so she worries that her place in the club will be jeopardized. She also gets upset when Mary Anne and Dawn seem to be getting closer because their parents are dating. She is jealous of the possibility that they could become stepsisters.

Another important issue the girls have to face is how to address problems with adults. Dawn babysits for three difficult siblings, and she can see that she steps in many times when their mother should be there instead. The mother doesn’t even tell Dawn about one child’s allergies, which could have had dangerous consequences. Eventually, Dawn must figure out a way to solve this problem.

This is a great series! I can’t wait for the next Baby-Sitter’s Club graphic novel!

Review: Rabbit and Robot

Title: Rabbit and Robot
Author: Andrew Smith
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Cager has been transported to the Tennessee, a giant lunar-cruise ship orbiting the moon that his dad owns, by Billy and Rowan to help him shake his Woz addiction. Meanwhile, Earth, in the midst of thirty simultaneous wars, burns to ash beneath them. And as the robots on board become increasingly insane and cannibalistic, and the Earth becomes a toxic wasteland, the boys have to wonder if they’ll be stranded alone in space forever.

Review:

This book is a futuristic story, set on a space ship that cruises around the moon.

The beginning of the story was a little confusing. It opens right in the middle of events. The boys are trapped in a lake with talking animals. I had no idea where the story was going when it started like this!

I liked how dramatic the cogs, or robots, were in this story. They each had a dominating emotion which they would constantly exhibit. For example some were depressed, or angry, or sexual. They made the story entertaining because they were so extreme and unpredictable.

One thing I don’t really agree with is that it’s a young adult story. When I was a teen, I don’t think I would have enjoyed this story because of the mature themes. It is more of an older young adult novel since the main characters are teens, but the themes would be too mature for younger teens.

I enjoyed this book! It’s a unique dystopian story!

Review: Supergirl at Super Hero High (DC Super Hero Girls #2)

Title: Supergirl at Super Hero High (DC Super Hero Girls #2)
Author: Lisa Yee
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Random House
Source: Library
Release Date: July 5, 2016
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Get your cape on with the DC Super Hero Girls™—the unprecedented new Super Hero universe especially for girls! Readers of all ages can fly high with the all-new adventures of Wonder Woman™, Supergirl™, Batgirl™, and some of the world’s most iconic female super heroes as high schoolers!

Supergirl is the new girl in school—and she just also happens to be the most powerful teenager in the galaxy!

After losing her home planet of Krypton and everyone she knows, Supergirl has made a new home on Earth, but she’s isn’t so sure that Super Hero High School is the right place for her. Wonder Woman, other new friends, and a kindly librarian make her feel welcome, but breached inter-dimensional portals, invading alien armies, and bad dreams shake her confidence. It’s not easy being a super hero and a high school student all at once!

Award-winning author Lisa Yee brings mystery, thrills, and laughs to this groundbreaking series that follows DC Comics’ most iconic female Super Heroes and Super-Villains. Move over Batman™ and Superman™—the DC Super Hero Girls are ready to save the day and have fun doing it!

Review:

I enjoyed this book. It’s the second in the series.

Supergirl arrives at Super Hero High in this story. She has recently arrived on Earth, so everything is new to her, including her powers.

The students at Super Hero High have to figure out who is trying to break into a room called the Boom Tubes at the school. The Boom Tubes are portals to anywhere in the galaxy that you could travel to. I think it was obvious from the beginning who was trying to break into the room. That person was very suspicious the whole time. I wish the ending was a little more suspenseful, since I had figured out the culprit from the beginning.

I really like the way that each book in this series focuses on a different super hero. I’m looking forward to the rest of this series.

Review: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein

Title: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
Author: Kiersten White
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Elizabeth Lavenza hasn’t had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her “caregiver,” and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything–except a friend.

Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable–and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.

But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth’s survival depends on managing Victor’s dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.

Review:

I loved this book so much! It was so thrilling and suspenseful.

I loved the way this story was woven together. Elizabeth reflects on her childhood with Victor throughout the beginning of the book while she is searching for him. He stopped returning her letters, so she went looking for him at his school. But once she finds him, everything changes. She finds a lot more than just her friend Victor.

Parts of Elizabeth’s past are constantly reflected in her current life, including the many ways she saved Victor in their childhood. She was a strong woman, who was a huge influence on Victor. However, she was still restricted to the life of an eighteenth century woman. She was an orphan and she could have been kicked out of the house at any moment without any help. She didn’t have anything to fall back on, except staying with the Frankensteins.

I haven’t read Frankenstein yet, but I’m planning on reading it soon since it is the 200th anniversary of its publication this year. I’m curious to see how it measures up to this book, because this story had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

Review: Very Rich

Title: Very Rich
Author: Polly Horvath
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ten-year-old Rupert Brown comes from an ordinary family. They live in a small house in the poorest section of Steelville, Ohio, and have little money or food. So when Rupert inadvertently finds himself spending Christmas at the house of Turgid River — the richest boy in town — he is blown away to discover a whole other world, including all the food he can eat and wonderful prizes that he wins when the family plays games, prizes he hopes to take home to his family so they can have Christmas presents for the very first time. But this windfall is short-lived when Rupert loses it all in one last game and goes home empty-handed. Each member of the Rivers family feels guilty about what happened and, unbeknownst to each other, tries to make it up to Rupert in their own unique way, taking him on one unlikely adventure after another.

Review:

This was an unusual story. It follows many adventures that Rupert has with the members of the Rivers family.

Rupert comes from a very poor family. They eat oatmeal for every meal because they can’t afford much else. The Rivers family is the opposite. They have every extravagance possible. Rupert ends up spending Christmas with them, but his great evening takes a horrible turn when Rupert loses all of the prizes he won in the games. Then over the following weeks, the members of the Rivers family try to make up for taking all of Rupert’s gifts away.

I found this story very strange. The Rivers family kept dangling gifts and food in front of Rupert but didn’t actually give them to him. It was so cruel. There were some fantasy elements like time travel, but these moments didn’t fit in with the rest story because the rest of it was fairly realistic.

This story reminded me of some other children’s stories. Rupert’s family is in the same unfortunate situation as Charlie Bucket’s family in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The narration style and circumstances of Rupert’s life were like the Beaudelaire children in A Series of Unfortunate Events. However, I found this book was missing the excitement and redemption that these stories had.

Review: The Storm Runner

Title: The Storm Runner
Author: J.C. Cervantes
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: September 18, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Zane has always enjoyed exploring the dormant volcano near his home in New Mexico, even though hiking it is challenging. He’d much rather hang out there with his dog, Rosie, than go to middle school, where kids call him Sir Limps a Lot, McGimpster, or Uno—for his one good leg. What Zane doesn’t know is that the volcano is a gateway to another world and he is at the center of a powerful prophecy. A new girl at school, Brooks, informs him that he’s destined to release an evil god from the ancient Maya relic he is imprisoned in—unless she can find and remove it first. Together they return to the volcano, where all kinds of crazy happens. Brooks turns into a hawk, a demon attacks them in a cave, and Rosie gives her all while trying to protect Zane. When Zane decides to save his dog no matter the cost, he is thrust into an adventure full of surprising discoveries, dangerous secrets, and an all-out war between the gods, one of whom happens to be his father. To survive, Zane will have to become the Storm Runner. But how can he run when he can’t even walk well without a cane?

Feisty heroes, tricky gods, murderous demons, and spirited giants are just some of the pleasures that await in this fresh and funny take on Maya mythology, as rich and delicious as a mug of authentic hot chocolate.

Review:

This story is about Mayan mythology. I wasn’t familiar with Mayan myths before this book. Many of the names were difficult to say, because they are not pronounced the way they are written. Zane explains how to say some words in his narrative, but there is also a glossary at the end which details the gods and how to pronounce their names.

This story followed the usual format of Rick Riordan books. Though he did not write this book, it is published by his imprint, Rick Riordan Presents. Zane lives with his mother and has never known his father. His father is a figure from Mayan mythology, and Zane learns his identity when he gains his own powers. The Percy Jackson series and the Magnus Chase series also begin like that, but they are about Greek mythology and Norse mythology. I liked the predictability of the story, and the ending was a surprise.

This narrative was unique because it is Zane’s account of events which he is writing down for the gods. He makes comments directly to the gods a few times. At the end of his narrative for the gods, he continues the story to tell how it really ends. This was a unique way to tell the story.

I’m excited to see where this story goes. This was a great start to the series.

Review: Kens

Title: Kens
Author: Raziel Reid
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher
Release Date: September 18, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Heterosexuality is so last season: Kens is the gay Heathers meets Mean Girls, a shocking parody for a whole new generation.

Every high school has the archetypical Queen B and her minions. In Kens, the high school hierarchy has been reimagined. Willows High is led by Ken Hilton, and he makes Regina George from Mean Girls look like a saint. Ken Hilton rules Willows High with his carbon-copies, Ken Roberts and Ken Carson, standing next to his throne. It can be hard to tell the Kens apart. There are minor differences in each edition, but all Kens are created from the same mold, straight out of Satan’s doll factory. Soul sold separately.

Tommy Rawlins can’t help but compare himself to these shimmering images of perfection that glide through the halls. He’s desperate to fit in, but in a school where the Kens are queens who are treated like Queens, Tommy is the uncool gay kid. A once-in-a-lifetime chance at becoming a Ken changes everything for Tommy, just as his eye is caught by the tall, dark, handsome new boy, Blaine. Has Blaine arrived in time to save him from the Kens? Tommy has high hopes for their future together, but when their shared desire to overthrow Ken Hilton takes a shocking turn, Tommy must decide how willing he is to reinvent himself — inside and out. Is this new version of Tommy everything he’s always wanted to be, or has he become an unknowing and submissive puppet in a sadistic plan?

Review:

I loved this satire. It has the subject matter of Mean Girls, with the satirical style of Animal Farm.

The popular boys at school are called the Kens. Many of the characters are named after characters in the Barbie world, including Ken, Barbie, Tutti, Todd, and Tommy. I loved this throwback to the dolls of my childhood!

In this world, the Kens are the most popular kids in school, so everyone wants to be them. The three Kens had plastic surgery to look exactly the same, and they all changed their names to Ken. The Kens are also gay, so everyone wants to be gay too. There is even one boy who pretends to be gay, but he is secretly heterosexual.

I loved the satire aspects of the story. It starts out very much like the story of the movie Mean Girls. Tommy wants to be just like the Kens, and one day he gets his wish. However, everything goes wrong when one person in the school dies. The power of the Kens becomes apparent, and it isn’t necessarily a good thing.

This is a great story! I loved it!

Review: The Unbinding of Mary Reade

Title: The Unbinding of Mary Reade
Author: Miriam McNamara
Genre: Historical, Young Adult
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Source: Thomas Allen & Son (book distributor)
Release Date: June 19, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A clever, romantic novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack—and fell in love with Anne Bonny.

There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mum, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where no girl can be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s livelihood—and her safety—depends on her ability to disguise her gender.

At least, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and in the midst of the gang of cutthroats, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate.

The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain, earning herself the chance to join the account and become a pirate alongside Calico Jack and Anne Bonny.

For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Breathlessly romantic and brilliantly subversive, The Unbinding of Mary Reade is sure to sweep readers off their feet and make their hearts soar.

Review:

I really enjoyed this story. There was lots of romance, and a bit of suspense too.

I flew through this story. It was very fast paced. The chapters alternated between different years. Some flashed back to Mary’s young years, or her first journey on a ship, while others returned to her current pirate life. This made the Mary’s past more mysterious because some parts of her past life are saved until the end.

As soon as I started reading this, I had to look up Mary Reade, who was a real pirate. I could could tell from the way the story was written, that it was based on a true story. Mary’s story is fascinating. She was a woman who dressed up as a man so she could be a pirate. Her mother raised her as a boy because her son, Mark, died after Mary was born. Her son was the grandson of a very rich woman, and she wanted her illegitimate daughter to inherit the woman’s wealth instead. It is a crazy premise for a story, but it is what actually happened to Mary.

I’m curious about Mary Reade now, so I will keep my eyes open for more of her story. I highly recommend this book.

Review: Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)

Title: Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)
Author: Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books
Source: Purchased
Release Date: October 18, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminaecontinues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

Review:

This series is one of the best book series I’ve ever read. It has everything: mystery, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, romance. At the same time, it all makes sense. It’s like real life, with a little bit of everything.

It took me a while to get back into the story because it has been a while since I read the first book. It threw me off when I learned that this story follows different characters from the first one. I was disappointed when I found out. But I fell in love with these characters pretty quickly. It’s amazing how much emotion can be put into these characters who only speak through texts for the most part of this story.

At one point the two stories from the first and second books collide and I was so excited when it happened! The ending was also amazing and had my heart pounding. One thing I figured out by the end is that nothing is what it seems…

I loved this book! I can’t wait to read the next book, but I don’t want the series to be over!

Review: The Benefits of Being an Octopus

Title: The Benefits of Being an Octopus
Author: Ann Braden
Genre: Young Adult, Middle Grade
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: September 4, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people have other things they’ve got to do.

Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there’s Lenny, her mom’s boyfriend—they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer.

At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend Fuchsia has her own issues, and since they’re in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it’s best if no one notices them.

Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus: eight arms to do eight things at once. Incredible camouflage ability and steady, unblinking vision. Powerful protective defenses.

Unfortunately, she’s not totally invisible, and one of her teachers forces her to join the debate club. Even though Zoey resists participating, debate ultimately leads her to see things in a new way: her mom’s relationship with Lenny, Fuchsia’s situation, and her own place in this town of people who think they’re better than her. Can Zoey find the courage to speak up, even if it means risking the most stable home she’s ever had?

This moving debut novel explores the cultural divides around class and the gun debate through the eyes of one girl, living on the edges of society, trying to find her way forward.

Review:

This is a powerful story for young people.

Many important themes were explored in this story, such as poverty and abuse. Zoey takes care of her siblings while her mom works. She learns that her mother is in an abusive relationship, and Zoey tries to find a way out of it. Even though she is a child, she knows she can and must do something to help her mother.

Her friend Fuchsia faces similar problems. Her mother’s boyfriend threatens Fuchsia if she reports her mother to family services. Fuchsia feels trapped, as if she cannot tell her mother because she won’t believe her, so she is ready to accept her future. Zoey has to show her that she can stand up for herself.

Zoey is a very strong character. She stands up for many people in this book, including her siblings, her mother, and her friends. Though some parts were difficult to read about, these are real situations that happen to kids all the time. I really enjoyed this book.

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What to read next:

Dawn and the Impossible Three (The Baby-Sitters Club #5) by Ann M. Martin

Kristy’s Big Day (Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #6) by Gale Galligan

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What to read next:

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Schteyngart

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What to read next:

Batgirl at Super Hero High (DC Super Hero Girls #3) by Lisa Yee

DC Super Hero Girls, Vol. 1: Finals Crisis by Shea Fontana and Yancey Labat

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What to read next:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga #1) by Kiersten White

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What to read next:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) by Lemony Snicket

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What to read next:

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1) by Rick Riordan

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What to read next:

When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid

Mean Girls by Micol Ostow

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Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Isle of Blood and Stone (Tower of Winds #1) by Makiia Lucier

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Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Warcross by Marie Lu

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What to read next:

Ghost (Track #1) by Jason Reynolds

Small Things by Mel Tregonning