Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus

Reserve the Print Book | eBook | Playaway Audiobook

This book follows Liv Fleming, a high schooler whose biggest worry is performing well in school and maintaining her friendships – that is, until her dad goes missing for four days and makes his return by streaking through town, an act that is witnessed by most of Liv’s classmates. Upon Mr. Fleming’s return, he sets about teaching Liv and her friend Doug how to prepare alien traps, claiming he was in an alien lair during the time that he was missing. When Mr. Fleming disappears for a second time and doesn’t return, Doug assumes that the aliens captured Liv’s dad once again, and he thinks that the only way to bring him back is to continue monitoring the traps. Liv follows through the motions half-heartedly, not wanting to upset Doug but also not truly believing that aliens are real. However, on a day three years after her dad’s disappearance, she has to reconsider her version of reality when she discovers a creature in one of her dad’s traps that’s unlike any other being she had ever seen. She’s forced to make a difficult decision: should she turn this creature into the authorities, or should she try to collect information from it about where her father is?

I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant to read this book at first because I don’t normally enjoy sci-fi novels, but I was drawn into the storyline after the first chapter, and I could barely put it down after that. My favorite thing about this book is how complex it is, with several plot twists, so the storyline isn’t too predictable. By the time I reached the final 50 or so pages, I found myself twisting my blanket anxiously because I was so nervous to see how the book would end. The one thing I didn’t like about this book is that there were some confusing aspects of the plot. Overall, I would give this book a 4.5/5 rating. It’s a great book for anyone looking for a thriller to keep them reading past their bedtime!

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 12/18/20

Poe Dameron: Free Fall by Alex Segura

Reserve the eBook | eAudio | Print Book

This book is about Poe Dameron, a teenage boy who is yearning to escape his home planet of Yavin 4. He often gets in trouble, and all he really wants to do is be able to fly his plane and have adventures like his mother often did. So when a group approaches him saying they are looking for a pilot to get them of off Yavin 4, Poe immediately wants to accept. The group seems a little shady though, and is he really willing to leave his whole life behind? But Poe realizes that this might be his only chance to get off the planet so he accepts. What he doesn’t realize is that he has just joined one of the most wanted groups in the whole galaxy… the Spice Runners of Kijimi. But Poe is already too deep in to escape now… what will happen to him now? This books goes on to show Poe’s adventures with the Spice Runners.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Star Wars, flying, and maybe adventure. However, if you are a fan of realistic fiction or dystopian like I am, I would not recommend this book. I found this book a little bit boring and it felt a little bit drawn out. Other than that it was a pretty good book, just not my style. The author did do a really nice job of writing the book, and I could see the thought that went into making this book easy to read.Overall I give this book a 3/5. If you like Star Wars or flying, this may be a good book for you, but other then that, I don’t necessarily recommend it. Thanks for reading my review 🙂

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 12/16/20

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

Reserve the Print Book | eAudio

This novel is a Snow White retelling with Sophie/the princess as the main character. Though some parts of the story definitely diverge from the original, many parts are kept the same, such as the existence of the stepmother. In this story, the stepmother/queen asks the mirror, “mirror mirror on the wall, who will bring about my fall” and the mirror ends up showing Sophie. Fearing that she might lose her beloved crown, the stepmother sends out her huntsman to take Sophie’s heart. While the huntsman succeeds, Sophie ends up living with the help of seven strangers who build Sophie a new heart. The story continues as we follow Sophie who tries to navigate her way through her new life and see if she can ultimately defeat the true evil behind it.

First, the characters. Sophie is described as too soft-hearted, too kind, and too foolish. The thing is, she was definitely too foolish. As a seventeen year old girl, I just could not believe that she couldn’t figure out the prince, Haakon, was a fraud. I knew from the moment we met him all he wanted from Sophie was the crown. It frustrated me greatly that Sophie would constantly yearn for him and even put herself in danger by wandering outside of the safe cottage that the seven men (they were so nice) graciously let her stay in until she realized that he was evil. However, I do love good character development. Sophie did grow a lot on her journey to find her heart. She acknowledges that although being kind can be a sign of weakness, it ultimately will win out over being severe. For the other point of view we are given besides the queen and huntsman, the King of Crows. The King of Crows who is later revealed to be Fear was the actual evil being. He manipulated the queen to kill Sophie. It was also revealed that he took many other people’s hearts and ate them (what?!). I personally do not have a strong opinion of Fear. He was neither great nor terrible. For the side characters, Arno and Will. Arno was probably one of my favorite characters even if he was not in the spotlight. He had a sad backstory that tied in nicely with his current state and even though he had many opportunities to abandon Sophie, he stayed with her as an almost father figure. The same can be said for Will, the love interest. He also had every reason to leave Sophie, as she stood for the crown that did nothing but harm Will’s family. I probably would have left, oops!

Time for plot. The plot overall was pretty convenient for Sophie. Every time she almost died, she somehow was alive again (oh wow!) Especially at the end, when the creatures trapped in Fear’s castle were released and immediately joined Sophie and her crew to take her crown back. Not too believable, in my opinion. The novel does pick up after around halfway through, after she meets Arno and Will and starts her quest to get her heart back.

The messages in this book were pretty solid. There was a lot of talk about a woman being in power and how it can affect someone’s mental state and how they perceive those around them as being untrusting and deceiving. Also I liked how the story was tied into the heart and love and how being loving does not equate to being too soft. 

Overall, I would give this book a 3.5/5 stars. I would recommend this medium paced book to people that don’t have a problem with not getting attached to characters and who like fairytale retellings that have a nice message behind it.

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 12/14/20

The Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis

Reserve the eBook | eAudio

Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis re-imagines the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty in a dystopian romance. Years ago, an earthquake hit New York, separating the heroine of this story, Jade, from her mother. Years later, the city is nothing like it was before: instead of cement roads, there are cobblestone streets; instead of cars, there are horses and carriages; instead of houses and skyscrapers, there is a single towering castle. Above all, New York now has a queen with the ability to strip emotions away. Jade, too, has changed; she no longer has feelings, her heart cold as ice, and she works as part of the all-women queen’s guards, the Black Hearts, where spends her days staring at the ruins of the city. However, things start to take a turn when the queen’s son, Asher, returns from his runaway. For once in Jade’s life since the earthquake, she starts to feel emotion, from Asher’s constant taunts that spark anger to his steady gaze that cause her heart to skip a beat. As Jade and Asher grow closer, Jade’s icy heart starts to melt, and she begins to question her loyalty; is she on the queen’s side or Asher’s?

Jade won me over as soon as she introduces herself: “I wish I could say I was the hero of the story. A resister. A rebel. Someone who lived to bring an end to the queen who stole my childhood—my mother, my life, my very world. But I’m not. I’m not the good guy. I’m the one who puts the good guys in their graves.” From the start, I understood that Jade is going to be an unconventional heroine that I am going to love. Honestly, the novel was a delightful read, especially the romance within. The romance between Jade and Asher was slow and sweet, with plenty of moments between the two that was swoony and adorable. Davis was able to make the simplest acts of touching hands to looking in each others’ eyes way more compelling than that of romance scenes packed with complex actions. Additionally, there was no love triangle in sight, which I greatly appreciated. The only complaint that I have about this book is that I feel like it doesn’t completely represent the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. Even though I can see how it incorporates the classic tale, there’s just not enough resemblance; if I were to go into the book without knowing that it’s supposed to be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, I would have no idea until about half-way through the book. On the other hand, Gathering Frost does give off a fairy tale vibe, due to some things being too convenient and the fulfilling ending (it checks off all the boxes in a fairy tale). Overall, I enjoyed Gathering Frost, and I look forward to reading the next book in the Once Upon a Curse series, Withering Rose.

This is the book for you if you enjoy re imagined fairy tales with kick-ass heroines and story lines filled with cliché romance along with action scenes.

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 11/30/20

Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri

Reserve the Print Book

Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri is a novel about five children—Bicé, Belle, Victoria, Valentine, and Christian—who all disappeared from England one night, only to appear again in New York as teenagers with their governess, Madame Vileroy. Their mysterious appearance causes rumors to arise, and their outstanding progress in one of New York’s most prestigious high school adds to the aura of strangeness that surrounds the five. As the group continues to rise above with the help of their governess, who gives each one of them a gift (ability to stop time, to have extreme beauty, to read minds, to turn back time, and to steal anything), the five soon find that their successes come with a cost: their souls. As their wicked governess continues to supply their gifts, each individual struggles with whether to continue with their sins or to give up their power while still given the chance.

In my opinion, Another Faust has an extremely captivating story line that I didn’t expect it to have when I went into reading, and it was also thought-provoking. The way the authors crafted the characters was another thing that I enjoyed because I can relate to each of them through my struggles as a human with perfection and the prices I’ve paid in my own life to overachieve. However, although the premise and the characters of the story are amazing, I sensed as if something was missing while reading; it just wasn’t enough. My only complaint about this novel is I feel the authors could have expanded more on the plot and the characters to make it richer darker, deeper, and more elaborate—if it did, it might’ve been one of the most clever and creative books I’ve ever read.

Although Another Faust may not be at its full potential, I believe it is worth the read. It has enough complexity to get the reader wanting to find out more and truly is a refreshing supernatural read.

The Secret Runners by Matthew Reilly

Reserve the Print Book

This book is about Skye: a teenage girl who has the perfect life. Or at least, that’s what it looks like. Skye (or Blue as some people call her) lives in one of New York’s most expensive apartments with her Mom, her super rich stepdad, and her brother, Red. She goes to one of New York’s most exclusive private schools. But Skye’s life isn’t perfect, and she knows it. She doesn’t particularly like her mother who judges her all the time, and she misses her father. She’s really an outcast at school, even though she started out really popular at her old school. Oh, the world is going to end on March 17th. At least that’s what the old wacko scientist said before he died. Skye isn’t sure what to think about the world ending, but she doesn’t have much time to think about it. Red has just told her about a tunnel – a very secret tunnel that only the popular crew knows about. A tunnel that can transport you somewhere… but where? When Skye finally gets an invitation to go into the tunnel, she realizes that the tunnel leads to a different New York… but where? With the world (maybe) coming to an end, Skye needs to figure out where this tunnel leads to… and fast.

I really liked the realistic aspect of this book. Even with it being a dystopian book, all the other elements except for the tunnel were things I can imagine happening in real life. It took place with most of the main characters as high schoolers, and the author did a really good job of making the characters really realistic. I also loved that this was a dystopian book, and it was a little scary, but not too much.

I usually don’t like thriller books, but I think this was a great one for anyone looking for a good book to read.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that there were some parts about it that were pretty predictable, and there were also a lot of swear words in it. Overall, I give this book 4.5/5! I thought it was pretty good!

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 11/30/20

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

Reserve the eBook | Print Book | Book on CD

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett revolves around Hawthorn Creely’s quest to solve Lizzie Lovett, her town’s beloved resident, sudden disappearance when she went camping with her boyfriend. At first, finding Lizzie was the whole town’s goal, and hundreds of rumors spread all coming down to the focus that Lizzie’s boyfriend killed her. However, as time drags out, people slowly began giving up on searching for Lizzie—everyone except Hawthorn. Hawthorn believes that nothing damaging could have happened to Lizzie because she’s pretty, happy, and popular, thus causing Hawthorn to come up with an absurd theory that she soon convinces herself to be true with every passing day. Since Hawthorn knows nothing about Lizzie, she decides to integrate her life into as much of Lizzie’s as possible before her disappearance, from working at the same place Lizzie did to spending time with Lizzie’s boyfriend. The more Hawthorn learns about Lizzie, the more she’s sure her theory is correct; after all, girls like Lizzie don’t just disappear and die.

When I first begin reading, Lizzie Lovett’s mystery disappearance and Hawthorn’s quirky and unapologetic personality hooked me. Sadly, this did not last. I had thought that the main focus of the book would be about Hawthorn attempting to debunk the truth behind where Lizzie is, but it soon turned into Hawthorn desperately trying to prove that her theory is accurate; this becomes extremely repetitive and annoying half-way through the novel. From this, I do want to point out that I believe the description of the book proves misleading, as what I read did not fit the description. Additionally, although Hawthorn’s character was fun and fresh near the beginning, I soon realize how horrible of a person she is. She’s eccentric and has no filter, but she’s also just downright mean and inconsiderate to everyone around her, even though she seems to realize her problem. However, the principal reason that made me dislike this book is because of a relationship within the novel that’s weird, untimely, and even toxic at times. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil the book, but I despised the relationship with a burning passion; it made me cringe throughout my whole time reading (which was not a pleasant feeling).

In general, The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett has a plot with potential, but its execution failed to impress me. Don’t read this book if you’re expecting to find an exciting mystery.

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 11/21/20

The Glittering Court (Book #1) by Richelle Mead

Reserve the eBook | Print Book | Playaway audiobook

Lady Elizabeth Witmore hates her life despite being as a part of the nobility with a great title and name because her fortune has been dwindling ever since her parent’s death. Realizing that she’ll be forced into an engagement with her cousin to survive, Elizabeth decides to take a risk and assumes the identity of her maid, Adelaide Bailey. Taking her place, Adelaide is soon sent to the Glittering Court, where it trains young ladies from disadvantaged lives to become noblewomen, and eventually sent overseas to Adoria (also known as the New World) to wed wealthy men. As Adelaide’s story travels from her world to the New World, she struggles to keep her true identity a secret, for if found, she’ll lose her only chance to freedom. Yet, along her journey, there’s one person who knows who she is: Cedric Thorn, the son of the man who co-owns the Glittering Court. Soon, the two begin to work together to help each others’ goals and soon find themselves falling for each other despite their unfavorable circumstances. Both must keep each other and their own aims a secret, bringing their relationship down a dangerous road.

Going into the book, I didn’t have any expectations since I’ve never read a book written by Richelle Mead. To be fair, I almost didn’t borrow this book from the e-library for reasons that I have already forgotten about, but let’s just say I’m so glad that I did. Now, I know that a lot of reviews compare this book to The Selection series, but let me assure you that it’s not like those books at all; it’s not another selection set in another world. For me, I was surprised by the book because, though it focused heavily on Adelaide and Cedric’s romance, it didn’t revolve around their relationship, which I genuinely appreciated. By doing this, Mead allows the reader to understand the ins-and-outs of the Glittering Court, as well as Adelaide’s roommates and close friends, Mirabel (Mira) Vianna and Tamsin Wright. It made the book feel more natural through the mix of Adelaide’s experiences, friendships, and relationships, and a great read overall. I was constantly rooting for Adelaide and Cedric, laughing at the conversations between the three roommates, and praising Adelaide’s daring actions.

This 100% worth the read. It’s the perfect book for those who love historical fiction with a twist of romance.

The Midnight Jewel (Book #2) by Richelle Mead

Reserve the eBook | Print Book | Book on CD

Midnight Jewel is the second book to the Glittering Court series, and it follows the storyline of Mirabel (Mira) Viana, a strong-willed and independent girl who’s always been an outsider and shunned for where she came. After losing touch with her brother, Mira decides to go to Adoria (also known as the New World), where her brother had escaped to, by joining the Glittering Court. The Glittering Court is essentially a program for young ladies that come from underprivileged backgrounds that trains them for a year to become “proper”, and then ship them off the New World to marry the men who have settled there, where the men pay the Glittering Court for the ladies. For Mira, she only wants to go to Adoria to find her brother, and she cares less about who she marries; however, things take a turn when she meets Grant Elliott, a spy, and starts an alliance by working with him. As the two grow closer together, Mira starts to wonder if there’s more than friendship between her and Grant, and she questions herself about her previous statement about marriage.

Personally, I enjoyed this book more compared to The Glittering Court because I resonated with Mira’s character, and I liked how the plot focused more on Mira’s experience outside from the eyes of the Glittering Court. Additionally, I adored the relationship between Mira and Grant because it feels so raw, for it makes you want to rejoice at one moment and punch the wall immediately the next; it’s just so different from any other relationships I’ve read in books. The main reason why I loved Midnight Jewel is that it doesn’t continue the story from The Glittering Court but instead retells the story from another character’s lens, showing how the same place and time can tell a completely different story. By doing this, I was also able to understand a lot of other characters and their backgrounds that weren’t present in the first book. The only negative thing that I can find to say about this book is that if you haven’t read The Glittering Court, you may not fully understand how the Glittering Court operates since most of Mira’s story focuses on her time after she’s arrived at Adoria. Obviously, it’s okay if you didn’t, but you may be a bit confused, so I’d recommend that you do.

Now, should you read this? Yes. Midnight Jewel is no doubt beautifully combines romance and adventure into a book that you can’t put down. Whatever your taste is, I’d strongly recommend you give this book a shot.

The Emerald Sea (Book #3) by Richelle Mead

Reserve the eBook | Print Book | Book on CD

The final book of The Glittering Court series follows the adventures of Tamsin Wright, a girl who’s willing to sacrifice everything for her family. After being accepted into the Glittering Court—a program that trains common girls into proper ladies and then sends them off to Adoria (or the New World) to marry the rich men there—Tamsin has her heart set on becoming the best and marrying the richest husband she can find, for the sake of her family’s future. During her time at the Glittering Court, Tamsin becomes best friends with her roommates, Mirabel (Mira) Viana and Adelaide Bailey. However, when Adelaide managed to snatch Tamsin’s spot of being the best out of the Glittering Court girls, Tamsin becomes angry and upset, ultimately cutting herself from her roommates to pursue her goal by taking a different ship to Adoria. When a storm strikes, Tamsin finds herself separated from the Glittering Court’s other ship, discovering they are far north from their destination. Gradually, Tamsin becomes the leader of this group of girls, as she learns about new cultures and forms alliances. Yet, when she crosses paths with tradesman Jago Robinson and kind-hearted minister Gideon Stewart, Tamsin finds herself falling in love. As she struggles with her attraction and her primary intent of coming over to the New World, Tamsin understands what she must do: no matter what, she must put her family first before her the secret that could ruin her plans comes out.

The Emerald Sea wonderfully wraps up the Glittering Court series, concluding all three girl’s journies. This book is just as amazing as the prior ones, and it will whisk you away while reading, as Tamsin’s unstoppable nature overcomes every obstacle in her way. Something that I extremely enjoyed about this is how Tamsin’s storyline is a bit different from Mira and Adelaide’s since she did take a different ship and ended up in another location due to the storm. Although it’s still parallel to The Glittering Court and Midnight Jewel, it uncovers another story that was much needed to be explained, nicely wrapping up the loose ends of the trilogy. Additionally, it feels really satisfying for me to finally have the answers to all my questions about Tamsin and her disappearances. Another reason why I loved this book lays in Tamsin emerging to be a more complicated and interesting character than I had previously imagined; I knew her story is complex and holds dangers, but never in the way that was revealed in the book. Everything I read was so eye-opening and fell in place perfectly.

I would definitely suggest you read The Emerald Sea and all the books in the Glittering Court series because this series is unlike any other I’ve read (especially its concurrent events)—just read it!

-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 11/21/20