Middle grade read with a YA feel
351649
A middle grade read with a YA feel. The main character, Peak (his mom's a mountain climber, too, so it actually makes sense), is all teen boy, with a snarky, sarcastic attitude to go along with his daredevil approach to life. Fast-paced and interesting, the story takes us up the side of a mountain and, while at times, it's a bit farfetched, it's still an action-packed read that even the most reluctant MG reader should enjoy.
4178317
This book begins interestingly enough and progresses rather quickly into a tale of magic, mystery and fantasy much like the Pern series. If I had to guess, I would say that the author loosely modeled this book after the Pern books, as many of the elements were similar.

I liked the main character very much. Micah is the type of character that doesn't start out as the strongest person in the book, but you get the opportunity to watch him grow and become something incredible along the way, which I thought added credibility to his character.

There were a few points in this book where I felt there was an overabundance of information that could have been thinned out a little to make the story flow a bit better. The story itself is really good and enchanted me enough to keep reading.

I was a bit surprised by the amount of violence and gore in this novel. From the cover I had assumed this was for younger audiences, at perhaps a mid grade YA level. I would definitely not recommend this book for the younger end of the YA audience.

The secondary characters were okay. I did get the opinion on a few occasions that they were a bit flat and black and white. What you see is what you get. There really was not a lot of character profiling going on for the reader, they were either evil or they were good with little explanation.

For the most part, this book kept me entertained and was interesting and well written enough that I would be curious to see how the other books play out.

If you are looking for a fantasy novel that will invite you into a new world, this may be just the thing.

This review is based on a digital ARC from Netgalley and the publisher, Open Road Media.
3498069
This read was a bit out of my wheelhouse, having a distinct YA vibe to it and a good amount of romance. That is not what I typically like to read, but the action and complexity of the world kept me involved.
  Secrets of Peace follows duel protagonists Jared and Zira are assassins in the Peace Project. Sheltered and indoctrinated, they depict two extremes. Jared, being capable and one of the best operatives in the project and Zira who struggles to prove her worth as one of the youngest assassins. The differences only grow greater as Zira starts to question her role.
  I liked the balance of the characters and the contrasts. The story touched on some interesting subjects but didn't take a very hard stance on the role of the government.
  If you enjoy YA books with a nice, safe premise and a steady pace, this is a good pick for you.
208849
This is a YA genre, but I wouldnt recommend it for teens younger than fourteen because of the subject matter, which may be a little heady at this age.

Lena is now in high school, but she is lonely.  She is the only child, both of her parents are working all of the time, but then one day she discovers a girl her age, Juliet James, who is very attractive and seems to be full of fun.  Yet she doesnt mix well with the other girls. Lena also has a boyfriend, Quinn, whom she has dated some for the past few months.  But he is very possessive, always kissing Lena when he gets close to her, so Lena doesnt date him often. Lena offers to drive Juliet home one day and there she meets Juliets father, Mr. James, who is very cheerful and friendly.  There are two young men also living there, and almost immediately Lena learns that they are gay and in love with other.  They don't try to hide their affection and they are good about helping with the house and cooking.  Everyone is most affectionate with each other.
Juliet is very friendly and loving, which Lena has missed because her parents are not like that, and as time passes, Lena keeps getting this strong feeling she wants to kiss Juliet.  Quinn is jealous of the time Lena spends with Juliet and finally tells Lena that Juliet had just transferred from this other high school because she was a lesbian and there had been problems about it.
From this point on, Juliet is friendly and loving, but does not try to seduce Lena.  But she does explain the young men who are gay.  As time passes, Lena and Juliet are more and more drawn to each other, but Juliet does not push.  She just responds to Lena, and Lena is like filling herself up with love because of her lack at home.
The story is totally filled with the trials, emotions and foibles of high school children, but then becomes engrossed in the physical pull between Lena and Juliet, which Lena recognizes and prefers to call it being bisexual rather than lesbian, including when she has to admit it to her other high school friend and telling her folks, which is most difficult for her folks to accept, even though they don't understand it.
This book is well written, the sexual advances are handled tastefully and might be a good book for those teenagers who are facing these same life choices.  Even though it is for YA, I rather enjoyed it because I recalled much of my teenage years, although I did not have the desires set forth here.  In fact, when I was in high school, the vets were just coming home from WWII and they would make remarks about certain men and laugh, and it was quite awhile before we learned about queers and my mother didn't know anything about this, but my father did.
I was given a complimentary copy of the e-book for an honest review.
3806816
I have been a fan of the Hundred Oaks series ever since Catching Jordan was released. I get more and more excited with each book that is released and I am always anticipating yet another YA romance that will sweep me off my feet.

After Taylor takes the fall for something she didn't do, she is forced to leave her private school and attend Hundred Oaks High. With her dad as a senator, Taylor's decision could ruin her father's image of his perfect family and Taylor's hope of attending Yale. Taylor has always turned to soccer to deal with life, but on her new team, she feels even more excluded than before. The only person who seems to understand what she's going through is Ezra, her older brother's best friend. Taylor has had a crush on him forever, but can Taylor really be with Ezra after what had happened in their past?

So right after I read this book, I gave it four stars. Not my favorite in the series, but a cute read. Two weeks later as I'm writing this review, I had to knock the rating down to three stars after thinking about what I liked and didn't like about this book. While this did have a cute romance and dealt with the more mature side of YA novel themes, there were things that are still rubbing me the wrong way. First off, the thing Ezra did "way back" when Taylor was 16 was kind ofanticlimactic. She was really mad at him over that? And never talked to him about it to understand what actually happened? And he didn't try to talk to her to explain? Then, the whole thing with her ex-boyfriend coming back to talk to her was just a littleexpected? I guess I wanted to be more surprised with the storyline and not disappointed in the big secrets that were revealed and came to play out.

Going to the romance between Taylor and Ezra, I just didn't find myself connecting to their relationship as much as I wanted to. Taylor seemed a little too, I don't know, immature for Ezra? She was still in high school and he had a job and life he was trying to figure out. I think Taylor just seemed immature to me because of what went down at her private school. I didn't really think she had that great of a relationship with her ex-boyfriend to cause her to do what she did that got her kicked out. I guess what I'm saying is that I didn't connect with the characters, their motivations, and their relationships as much as I have in the past novels of this series.

As you can see, I'm still conflicted over my feelings for this one. Overall, this one was still an enjoyable read with endearing characters and a more mature YA plot line, but I didn't love it as much as I wanted to.
1015373
After much debate I am giving this book three stars.  At first, the unique first person plural POV is hard to understand since it rotates so quickly between many characters, but by the end of the book it worked and I cannot wait for more.  I do wish that it was in present tense, or at least that the characters did not give as much away in their foreshadowing.  Overall, I would recommend this book; it is a unique writing style for YA novels.  Fans of Lisi Harrison will likely enjoy the contemporary teenage drama taking place, just with an ESP twist.
2451293
Twelve year old Rebecca's life is forever changed when her single mother dies in a car accident and she is sent to live in a small rural town in Minnesotawith her Grandmother. Having barely settled into her new routine, Rebecca's world is rocked once more with the revelation that magic is real and she is tangled in a nasty feud with the god Pan, who was subsequently responsible for her mothers "accident". With the help of gnomes, fairies, and a dragon or two, Rebecca must train for the eventual fight against Pan who aims to rid the world of humanity. Can Rebecca save both magic and human kind alike? Or will Pan destroy the world as she knows it?

While this book has a pretty awesome plot foundation and afun group of main and supporting characters, I felt it seemed rushed and predictable at times. This book could have easily been a proper YA trilogy with a tad more natural build up with some plot and character development. It was somewhatsimplistic for my taste which lent itself to a more elementary gradelevel read but contained a few scenes which are more high-school age level (mention of suicide/sex/underage drinking etc)which was confusing to me as the reader as to who the intended audience was? The writing and plot was too watered down and simplistic for an older age group, but some subject matter was not appropriate for the younger age group.

This wasn't a terrible read, like I said, it has good bones and some likable characters, but I would have enjoyed it more with some more finesse and buildup to the finale with some more subtle character development along the way.
110367
Not a bad YA/paranormal read. I love the concept of being born a vampire. Alexis knows she is different from her family and it seems to take her quite a long time to question her parents' favoritism towards her younger sister. It has potential for a fabulous storyline but the wishy washy emotional rollercoaster of the main character makes her seem like an ungrateful child.

I realize that as a YA novel, teenage angst and rebellion is quite normal. Up until the homecoming dance Alexis is portrayed with more brains than social interactions. Suddenly she is very popular, has a gorgeous boyfriend ( whom she just met) and takes on the same self centered attitude of those whom she has always avoided.

The characters need to be developed just a tad more. If they had more background information I think it would help people become more interested in the story~
3999305
What I Loved

Unlocked is an interesting take on YA paranormal. Throughout the story, Hannah, is convinced she is going crazy. She sees dark shadows, hallucinations, and apparitions.

Though Hannah was once popular, she begins to lose friends, not care about appearance, and do poorly in school.  This all lends to an air of mystery and suspense throughout the novel.  The element of hypnosis added a bit of nuance to the story.  The author was not afraid to make the scenes gritting and scary.

I  did love the character of plug, I think he was complex and interesting. His character grew and changed throughout the book.  I also liked the character of Kyla. Her personality was sweet and friendly while her appearance is described as avant-garde (with shocking hair colors). I loved to hate, Chelsea. She was the typical high school mean girl.

The subplot of Hannah dealing with her father and friends deaths added depth to the story and made Hannahs character more realistic for me.

Finally, the cover is amazing. Retro and mysteries at the same time.

What Left Me Wanting More

Although I did like the premise of the book and the general story lines, I do think there were a few things that I struggled with. The pacing of the story was somewhat off for me. Toward the middle of the novel, if felt like the incidents Hannah was experiencing were just repeated over and over. I was also confused  by the story part of the time. I couldn't figure out which parts were real and which parts were products of Hannas imagination ( I know this was the authors intention but left me confused to what was happening). The characters of Manny and Mannys mother were also a little flat and, I felt, a little unrealistic. For example, Mannys mother kept calling Hannah child seemed strange. Manny and his mother also had personalities that varied from scene to scene.

My Final Take

Unlocked is a complex paranormal young adult thriller. It mixes the paranormal, hypnosis, and romance. This is a great book for anyone looking for a YA book with a unique twist. This is a good fit for paranormal lovers.
4123277
It seems that YA fiction tends to go in cycles, with whatever is popular at the moment spawning a flood of imitators.  "Harry Potter" spawned a slew of imitators, and while "Twilight" might not have given birth to the paranormal romance craze in YA literature, it certainly fed the fire.  Right now the current trend seems to be the "dystopian YA novel," and dozens of series -- "Hunger Games," "Divergent," "Maze Runner," "Razorland," "Blood Red Road," "Uglies," "Matched," and "Gone," to name a few -- have ridden this wave, trying to cash in on the craze.  Some of these series see more success than others, but sadly what often ends up happening is that so many books of a type come out at once that they all begin to look and feel the same after awhile.

"Warchild: Pawn" is the first in a trilogy, and fits rather neatly in the "dystopian YA novel" genre.  While a diverting and engaging enough read, there's very little in the story that makes it stand out, and in the end it feels like just another generic dystopian book.

Caroline lives in a tiny village (formerly a military outpost) in the Appalachian Mountains, serving as a scout and keeping a lookout for attacking armies and Republicons -- rouges who regularly raid the village for supplies.  When she hears war drums and realizes their village is under attack, she rushes to warn the village... only for a sudden betrayal to wipe out almost everything she has ever known and loved.  Soon, with the help of a deserter from an enemy army and a pack of surprisingly honorable Republicons, she finds herself rounding up survivors and evacuating nearby villages, leading a mass exodus to the capitol city where she hopes to find refuge and warn those in charge of the oncoming army.  Caroline has serious doubts that she can succeed in her goal... but as their journey wears on she finds she may have superhuman powers that she can use to save her people...

This book was quite well-written -- no spelling or grammar errors that I could see, a brisk pace that never felt either rushed or lagging, and descriptions that paint a vivid picture without being overly wordy.  Life in Caroline's village is well-portrayed and feels real, though I do wish the rest of the world had been realized a little more fully.  Part of this might have been intentional on the author's part, though -- Caroline's focus is limited to her home village at first, and only when a bigger threat moves in does she think to broaden her scope.  Perhaps later books in the series will flesh out the world a little more.

Character development is adequate in Caroline's case, but the rest of the characters don't get much in the way of characterization or development.  Finn is a traitor with a heart of gold, and I predict that the future books will feature the prerequisite romance between these two.  Hawkins, the leader of the village, is a slimy one-note villain, as are most of the attacking army.  Almost none of the villagers are given any characterization, so unfortunately the reader doesn't feel much of a sense of loss when tragedy strikes them.

All in all, though, there's the sense that "Warchild: Pawn" doesn't really have anything new to add to the endless slew of YA dystopian novels out there.  Whereas other books have something unique that helps them stand out (such as the titular "Hunger Games" and "Maze Runner's" labyrinth and mysteries), this book feels weirdly generic in feel.  Even the Kinders -- people who have taken a serum that grants them superhuman powers -- aren't a terribly original concept, and Caroline's powers coming so erratically to her feels more like a case of deus ex machina than anything else, since they tend to kick in just in time for her to overcome whatever problem she's facing.

While I enjoyed reading this book, it doesn't offer anything terribly new and exciting to the genre, and it's probably not one I'll re-read or hunt down the sequels for.  Good for a teen who loves other books in the genre, however, such as "Hunger Games" or "Divergent."
4963903
Summary:
Sam is a very sweet boy that just can't seem to put this one girl behind him.  Riley is a princess with a wild side.  When Sam saves Riley's life, she decides to help him win back the love of his lady.  Unfortunately, Riley is also rebelling, and Sam may have signed up for more than he bargained for.

My thoughts:
This is a cute novel.  If you go in with no expectations and just want to read a sweet contemporary YA romance, then this is a good book to grab.  There is nothing that is heavy hitting.  There is nothing that really stands out about it.  Riley gets annoying a bit with her pushing the envelope and attempting to meddle with everything, but at the same time, I feel like I understood why she was acting the way she choose.  Sam finds himself in situations he did not originally suspect.  I'm not sure if turning the sweet, quiet kid into a fighter is a great move, but his motivations are clear.  There is teenage alcohol abuse, parties, language, and violence within the novel, but nothing so descriptive that it would turn people away.  Overall, I think this is a good no-think novel that high school girls will enjoy over a weekend.
4156764
This is a charming middle grade novel, that centers around a stone girl who is desperate to save herself and her friends who are fading from this world.  She sets off an adventure to the valley where her farther came from in hopes she will find a stonemason who can re carve their marks so that they won't fade away.  What she discovers in the city of Skye is not at all what she expects.  The story moves along at a rapid pace and the whole concept of living breathing stone creations and people is a unique concept that sets the story apart.  It a stand alone novel so it makes for a nice light read between heavy more mature novels.  If you have middle grade readers in your life they are sure to enjoy this one.
2841557
I don't read much middle grade fiction anymore. I read Gregor The Overlander by Susan Collins last year, and Lost in the Barrens by Farley Mowat, Middle grade fiction is a hard read for an adult. Young Adult Fiction these days is basically a book written for adults, but with teenage protagonists. I'm probably over-simplifying that a bit, but not a lot.

Middle grade fiction is a different beast altogether. The reading skills of the reader are generally lower. Their attentions spans (especially boys) are much shorter. The plot has to be more simple, and the characters fewer and easy to remember. I loved middle grade fictions when I was growing up, but once I graduated from that level of reading to more adult books, it was really hard to go back, because most middle grade books seemed so shallow when it came to emotions and plot.

Bread for the Pharaoh by Jerome Asher is a middle grade novel set in on the Giza Plateau in Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Kafre, sometime around 2550 BC. San is the son of Nasu, a baker who supplies bread for one of the Pharaoh's Temples, and for the workers who are carving the great statue of the Sphinx. On a trip to the temple with his daily supply of bread, San meets Aja, the daughter of the High Priest. San and Aja strike up a friendship that is banned by her father because San and Aja are from different classes. Aja is a noble. San is just a peasant. But San and Aja continue to sneak around to enjoy each other's company, and in doing so, stumble into a plot that not only endangers them, but their families as well.

The book is quite good. It does start a little bit slow for middle grade fiction, showing all the work San's father Nasu must do to make the bread every day. San, the main character, doesn't appear until page 3, which threw me for a bit, because the point of view had to shift from Nasu to San. But once past that point, the book picked up speed. San and Aja are constantly climbing on things to get away from pursuit or to sneak out to their forbidden meetings. They're just kids, and that is clear, but the story puts them into the position of needing to act - of having no choice to turn it over to the authorities because the authorities either cannot be  trusted or would not believe them. When I was a kid, and I came up with my fantasies of being a hero and saving the day, these were always key components. Kids want to believe that kids have the power to save the day when the adults are not there or won't listen. Come to think of it, that's the same theme JK Rowling used so well to put Harry Potter in danger so frequently.

Through the last half of the book, I had a hard time putting it down and would definitely recommend it to any family / friends with boys or girls in the 8-12 year old range. My 4 year old daughter actually sat next to me while I was reading it, and I read some of it to her, and she didn't want me to stop. But my voice gave out, so she'll have to read it to herself when she gets a little older.
4914295
Marked tells the story of Bayerly, a girl with a secret that falls in with a group of teens who hunt rogue monsters (otherworlders, like vampires, werewolves, etc.). As stated in the book's description, she falls for the alpha in the group, an egotistical, yet charming boy named Will.

In general, I liked this story for it's action and for the gradual way Bayerly's secret past is revealed. For the action scenes, I almost felt like I was right in there with them, especially in the later fights where hordes of creepy zombie things were after them.

Unlike some stories where the backstory is revealed in a huge chunk at the beginning, the author of Marked reveals Bayerly's past and the origins of her talent in small bits here and there, which, in my case, kept the story interesting and made me want to keep reading to find out more. And, I must say I was surprised by the nature of her origins when they were finally revealed in total. Besides that, both her talent and how she got it are fascinating and unique, and Bayerly herself is one tough and independent girl.

I had no trouble sticking with this book because it flows quickly from one scene to the next, but sometimes things happen a little too quickly or easily. In particular, the dialog seems rushed, certain conclusions seem to be jumped to prematurely, and the attraction between Will and Bayerly seems a bit too instant to be entirely believable.

As for Will, his temper and reactions to any resistance or non-Will oriented behavior from Bayerly made him unlikable at times. He seems alright here and there, but then again it seems like a relationship with him would not be a healthy one. I kept hoping that Bayerly would ditch him for Xander, or just about anyone else, but I don't think she will. The story doesn't seem to be building to a love triangle, which I'm sure some will find refreshing, but I'm just disappointed Will had to be such a jerk. I'm hoping he'll get over himself a bit in the coming books and maybe grow into someone more likeable.

Overall, I kind of liked this story. It's somewhat unique in places while still playing up the otherworldly monster themes popular in today's YA genre. I enjoyed the backstory and the fight scenes the most and think that those who like YA stories with a mysterious and tough heroine will enjoy this story. On the other hand, the story would benefit from some editorial polishing for pace and dialog.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest, non-reciprocal review.
1611843
this series feels very teen-esque. I enjoy YA fiction, but this felt a little too juvenile with a side of erotica for my taste.
181694
I have mixed feelings about this one, but I'm intrigued enough to want to read the next one so I'm giving 4 stars instead of 3. The idea for the story is different from the usual witch/magic story so that was a huge plus. I also liked the characters, but I had a few problems connecting with them all the time. There were a few places where I didn't understand the reactions to some of the situations, and that would throw me out of the story a little bit. As the story progressed my interest in it grew, also. Overall I would say that this is a great book for YA, or YA lovers, who want a fun original story line and don't need to fully understand everything to enjoy a story.
2502796
I think I may have overdosed on paranormal YA recently, and its possible that is clouding my judgement.

Verity deserves more of a 3.5, probably. This is a perfectly fine YA romance with werewolves. Girl dreams of boy. Girl meets boy. Boy must resist acting on his lurv for noble reasons. Girl finds out werewolves exist. Girl turns out to be more than just your normal human.

Twilight (or Leopard Moon, Destiny Binds, Intuition series) fans would quite like this one, I imagine.

Perdita lives with her grandmother and father who fight over how she should live her life. Sadly, her father wins most of these arguments. He is so paranoid-obsessive about her safety she's never stayed over at her best friend, Tammy's house, never goes out, and must wear button down sweaters to school all the time.

Naturally enough, Perdita is a fringe-dweller in her high school. Her only friends are Tammy and her nerd-clueless cousin, Joey.

But then Amelia and her brother, Nathan show up at school. Nathan's got the same, brown eyes Perdita has dreamed of (and doodled) for years. And along with the newcomers, dead cats, big, shaggy dogs, and strange, staring men also pop up in Perdita's small, Irish town.

Will she win the battle to be a normal teenager? What are all the mysterious men and shaggy dogs doing? Why does Amelia's family have so many pictures of wolves in their house?

Okay, so it was kind of cool reading the occasional non-Americanism "let's sort this" etc. It was also cool to have a non-American setting and culture (although I could have used even more of that). Perdita is suitably spunky at times and romantically overwhelmed by Nathan at times. So why did I rate this less than the 4 stars?

Blame my jaded palate. I can't be satisfied with the normal YA paranormal anymore. I need either a POV character who totally wrings my heart, or a lime twist on my glass of teen angst-ade.

While I had no problems with Perdita, she didn't get under my skin, either. And the whole werewolf thing is a blatant elephant in the room. The somewhat confusing prologue (for me) with the werewolves in Europe, and then the whole Amelia wearing a werewolf charm bracelet (I mean really, she calls the charms werewolves? Why would she do that? Why doesn't Perdita get the little bit curious or clued in?)along with the many wolf pictures in Amelia's house gives it away.

The other thing that kind of made this more 3ish for me was the blatant, over-the-top villainry of the High School Queen Bee (and another person supposed to be Perdita's friend.) I don't mind villainry, but I like more grey in my villains. It just struck me as weird that Nathan would be so clueless, even if he was being noble and hesitant, that he would go along with such blatant bullying. It made him seem wishy-washy and clueless as opposed to angsty and conflicted.

On the other hand, the last third of the book picks up the pace quite nicely, bringing in an interesting curse/werewolf story involving Nathan and Perdita that sets up some nice angst in the unresolved ending.

This Book's Snack Rating: Like eating a can of Pringles for the perfectly snackable plot and characters without any special flavor or twist