Young Adult – Page 63 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Pashmina

Title: Pashmina
Author: Nidhi Chanani
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult
Publisher: First Second
Source: Library
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri’s mom avoids these questions–the topic of India is permanently closed.

For Pri, her mother’s homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she find a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film. But is this the real India? And what is that shadow lurking in the background? To learn the truth, Pri must travel farther than she’s ever dared and find the family she never knew.

In this heartwarming graphic novel debut, Nidhi Chanani weaves a tale about the hardship and self-discovery that is born from juggling two cultures and two worlds.

Review:

Last year, I saw this book everywhere, so I was curious to read it myself. It was great!

I liked the way that Priyanka discovered her history throughout the book. She had a lot of questions about her life, including who her father was, but her mother didn’t give her any answers. She felt much more comfortable with herself and her relationship with her mother once she finally got all of her answers.

The pashmina was a magical item. It gave Pri a taste of what India would be like, which made her want to go there. However, the pashmina only shows one side of things. Not all of India looks the way it did in the fantasy. There is also a lot of poverty that Pri wasn’t expecting.

I really enjoyed this story. It showed how Pri learned to combine her two cultures, American and Indian.

Review: The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)

Title: The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Library
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Magnus Chase has seen his share of trouble. Ever since that terrible night two years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, Magnus learns that someone else is trying to track him down—his uncle Randolph, a man his mother had always warned him about. When Magnus tries to outmaneuver his uncle, he falls right into his clutches. Randolph starts rambling about Norse history and Magnus’s birthright: a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

The more Randolph talks, the more puzzle pieces fall into place. Stories about the gods of Asgard, wolves, and Doomsday bubble up from Magnus’s memory. But he doesn’t have time to consider it all before a fire giant attacks the city, forcing him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents. . . .

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die.

Review:

I didn’t know much about Norse Mythology before reading this book, but I learned a lot.

This book was very fast paced. The chapters were short so they were easy to read. Magnus had to go on many small missions in this story, which were each like a mini plot by themselves.

I have read the first two books in the Percy Jackson series, and this book reminded me of the first Percy Jackson book. Magnus and Percy have a lot in common. They both have gods as fathers. Their mothers are also supposedly dead early in the story. They also both have protectors from the mythological world who were watching over them in the human world. I was disappointed when I saw these similarities at first, but once Magnus entered into the world of the Norse gods, his story took a different path from Percy’s story.

Another interesting thing about this book is that the main character dies at the beginning. It actually works in this story! You’ll just have to read it to find out how!

Review: The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2)

Title: The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2)
Author: Lemony Snicket
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Source: Library
Release Date: September 30, 1999
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dear Reader,

If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale, I’m afraid you have picked up the wrong book altogether. The story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire children spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle, but don’t be fooled. If you know anything at all about the unlucky Baudelaire children, you already know that even pleasant events lead down the same road to misery.

In fact, within the pages you now hold in your hands, the three siblings endure a car accident, a terrible odor, a deadly serpent, a long knife, a large brass reading lamp, and the appearance of a person they’d hoped never to see again.

I am bound to record these tragic events, but you are free to put this book back on the shelf and seek something lighter.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Review:

This is another great book in the series.

One of the things I like about this book is that they give away what’s going to happen at the end fairly early on in the story. Uncle Monty won’t survive the book. But even though the ending is revealed early, the book is still exciting. It’s difficult to give away the ending and still keep the reader intrigued, but Lemony Snicket can do it!

I read this book years ago, but I still love it. The snakes were an interesting part of the story. I loved how Uncle Monty discovered a snake and named it the Incredibly Deadly Viper for a special reason, but you’ll have to read it to find out why!

I can’t wait to continue rereading the series.

Review: The Last Magician

Title: The Last Magician
Author: Lisa Maxwell
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Release Date: July 18, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Stop the Magician. Steal the book. Save the future.

In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.

Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.

But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

Review:

I loved the plot in this story. It reminded me of the heist in Six of Crows, but less intense and complex.

I had a hard time getting into the story at the beginning, because there were so many characters! The narrative kept switching between different characters, and some had similar names, or were referred to as their first and last names alternately so I thought they were different people. It was especially confusing because there were a few different gang leaders who ran the city. At about a quarter of the way through the book I had everyone sorted out.

I loved the time travel aspects of the story. Though there wasn’t a lot of switching between different time periods, Esta’s actions in the past altered the future. She could see that from the way that the newspaper clipping that she brought from the future changed when different things happened.

The ending was fantastic. There were a bunch of surprises that I didn’t see coming. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

Review: This One Summer

Title: This One Summer
Author: Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: First Second
Source: Library
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It’s their getaway, their refuge. Rosie’s friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose’s mom and dad won’t stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It’s a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it’s a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.

In This One Summer two stellar creators redefine the teen graphic novel. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, the team behind Skim, have collaborated on this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about a girl on the cusp of her teen age — a story of renewal and revelation.

Review:

This is a great summer story. It deals with mature problems that aren’t always in teen/preteen novels.

The two characters are preteens. They are just going through puberty, since they are always talking about getting boobs. That part was funny. I really liked Windy. She was a comic character. She was always dancing and being silly, but sometimes others laughed at her, rather than with her.

There are different pregnancy issues in this book, which kids may not learn about in health class, but they can happen. Rose’s mom wanted to have another baby, but she couldn’t. She had miscarriages. Her insistence on having another baby made Rose feel like she wasn’t enough of a daughter for her. Rose and Windy like the cute boy who works at the convenience store. They overhear his conversations with his friends about another girl, who he got pregnant. The boy, called the Dud, refused to speak to her after he found out she was pregnant. He wasn’t nice, and the girls didn’t like him so much after that, but that is a real problem that some girls have to deal with.

The graphics were also amazing. There was a lot of movement in the pictures, along with sound effects. It really looked like they were moving sometimes. The short panels that moved like a flip book also created movement in the illustrations.

I really liked this graphic novel. It was emotional and serious, but there were some funny parts as well.

Review: Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge

Title: Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge
Author: Lisa Jensen
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Filled with magic and fierce emotion, Lisa Jensen’s multilayered novel will make you question all you think you know about beauty, beastliness, and happily ever after.

They say Château Beaumont is cursed. But servant-girl Lucie can’t believe such foolishness about handsome Jean-Loup Christian Henri LeNoir, Chevalier de Beaumont, master of the estate. But when the chevalier’s cruelty is revealed, Lucie vows to see him suffer. A wisewoman grants her wish, with a spell that transforms Jean-Loup into monstrous-looking Beast, reflecting the monster he is inside. But Beast is nothing like the chevalier. Jean-Loup would never patiently tend his roses; Jean-Loup would never attempt poetry; Jean-Loup would never express remorse for the wrong done to Lucie. Gradually, Lucie realizes that Beast is an entirely different creature from the handsome chevalier, with a heart more human than Jean-Loup’s ever was. Lucie dares to hope that noble Beast has permanently replaced the cruel Jean-Loup — until an innocent beauty arrives at Beast’s château with the power to break the spell.

Review:

This is an original retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but it didn’t work for me.

The story started off well. I liked the upstairs/downstairs aspects, where Lucie had to view the Chevalier from afar because she was a maid. But he wasn’t who she expected.

There was a sexual assault, which made me feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t the actual assault, but her reaction to it. She just wanted revenge in any possible way. Lucie was blinded by this idea of revenge, so she didn’t even notice other things that were happening around her.

There was a lot of description in this story. The mansion and the grounds were described in a lot of detail, mostly because the main character couldn’t speak for most of the story (you’d have to read it to understand why). This was great because I could imagine everything, but I would have liked to have more tension to move the story along. It would have been more powerful if there was less description and more action.

I won’t spoil the ending but the Beast wasn’t who she thought he was. The way the story ended was unique, but I couldn’t get into the rest of the story.

Review: My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1)

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Title: My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1)
Author: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Gift
Release Date: June 17, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

Review:

I loved this book! It definitely lived up to the hype.

I loved how this history was similar to real history but slightly different. A few years ago, I read some Philippa Gregory books, and I loved the ones about the Tudors the best. The war between the Eðians (people who could turn into animals) and the Verities (people who didn’t think people should turn into animals) mimicked the real fight between Protestants and Catholics.

I liked the twists throughout the story. I could predict some of the things that happened, but some surprised me. Most things seemed like they could be real, but then someone would turn into a horse or bird and the scene would become comedic.

One thing that I picked up on right away was that G kept coming up with lines of poetry, which would later be in Shakespeare’s plays. You’ll just have to read the book to find out that connection.

There were many funny parts in this story. I laughed out loud quite a few times. This was a clever way to retell history with a fantasy spin.

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Source: Purchased
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Mara Dyer believes life can’t get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

Review:

I flew through this book! I’m so obsessed with the story! For some reason, it kept reminding me of The Mediator series, which is another one of my favourites.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story from the description, but it sounded spooky. It had thriller aspects as well as creepy horror scenes. One of the creepiest things was the many unexplained occurrences such as Mara’s hallucinations. They scared me, and I thought it seemed like more than just a psychological problem. It isn’t normal for people to die just because you imagine their death.

I was also intrigued by Noah. I know that he has his own spin off series now, so I figured he would be important when he was introduced. He turned out to be different from how he was portrayed at the beginning, so I’m curious to see what happens to him too.

I loved this book! I can’t wait to read the next one!

What to read next:

Shadowland (The Mediator #1) by Meg Cabot
If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Have you read this book or this series? What did you think?

Review: Fawkes

Title: Fawkes
Author: Nadine Brandes
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: July 10, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.

Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.

But what if death finds him first?

Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.

The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.

The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.

No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

Review:

This story has a strange mix of true history and fantasy. Some of the events and characters were real. Guy Fawkes did take part in a gun powder plot to kill King James. But, in reality, there were no Keepers and Igniters who could control colour. There is even a different kind of plague in this story. This one turns a body to stone, rather than making someone sick. It was sometimes hard to keep track of what was real and what was fiction.

The war between Keepers (the people who only controlled one colour) and the Igniters (the people who controlled more that one colour) resembled the fight between Protestants and Catholics. They use the same information, in this case controlling colours, in different ways. Racial issues also came up multiple times in the story. Unfortunately, this separation of religions and races is still prevalent today, just as in the 17th century.

This book was good. I liked the way it rewrote history, with a fantasy twist.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

Review: From Twinkle, with Love

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Title: From Twinkle, with Love
Author: Sandhya Menon
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: May 22, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

Review:

This is another amazing story from Sandhya Menon! I love how her books are about Indian characters. I love reading novels that feature different cultures, and Memon’s books are extra special.

There were a few moments in this story that reminded me of the book Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. I also loved that book, so I liked these similarities. Twinkle has a secret admirer who emailed her, just like Simon and his secret crush, Blue. Also, Twinkle went to meet her secret admirer on a ferris wheel at a carnival, just like when Simon met Blue. I’m not sure if these similarities were intentional, but I enjoyed seeing Twinkle have some of the same experiences as Simon.

I loved the way that Twinkle writes to her favourite female filmmakers in her diary. One thing that I noticed right away was that she kept writing to the same women over and over. There are not many female filmmakers, so she didn’t have many to choose from. Hopefully, this book will inspire young girls to follow their dreams and create films, just like Twinkle.

I loved this book! I can’t wait to see what Sandhya Menon writes next!

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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Review:

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The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2)

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

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The Wide Window (A Series of Unfortunate Events #3) by Lemony Snicket

The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles #1) by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Goodreads Synopsis:

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Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

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Hunted by Megan Spooner

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

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My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey

Shadowland (The Mediator #1) by Meg Cabot

If I Stay by Gayle Forman