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The Mime Order

January 27, 2016

mime order

  I don’t read a lot of young adult science fiction but when Samantha Shannon’s first book The Bone Season came out I was intrigued enough that I was curious about the next chapter in the life of her protagonist, Paige Mahoney. Shannon returns Paige to London after she escapes from Sheol I, a penal colony, in The Mime Order. As what is known as an Unnatural (a human with ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Bloomsbury, fantasy, London, science fiction, young adult

Dryland: A Novel

November 13, 2015

dryland

  Julie Winter is a sophomore in high school and if navigating those waters is not enough, there are the perceptions of her by people at her school. Her brother Jordan was a swimmer of Olympic caliber and so everyone who meets her thinks she must be a potential swimming superstar. When she is asked to join the swim team, she does, but Julie is not Jordan. That Jordan now ... Read More...

3 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: debut, literary, Tin House, young adult

Boo: A Novel

July 15, 2015

boo

You are thirteen; standing in front of your locker at school one morning and the next thing you know you wake up in an austere white room and are informed you’ve been ‘rebirthed’ into Heaven, although it’s not called Heaven it’s called Town. For most 13-year-olds this would be fairly traumatic but for Oliver, the protagonist in Neil Smith’s Boo it’s not altogether unexpected. ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, mystery, Vintage, young adult

Belzhar: A Novel

October 1, 2014

belzhar

  Imagine a small boarding school for “fragile” teens in rural Vermont and within that school an exclusive English class to which only 4 or 5 students are handpicked to join. With this Meg Wolitzer makes her debut in YA fiction. Having read and loved The Interestings, her last adult novel, I knew I had to give Belzhar a try. The school is The Wooden Barn and Jamaica (known as ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, coming-of-age, Dutton, magical realism, New England, young adult

July Reading Recap

August 1, 2014

july reading recap

Yes, it’s August first and this is a July reading recap but I like to make sure the month is well and truly over before I post something called a “recap”. That’s just me. July was an interesting month. Despite hitting a patch of reading blahs when I couldn’t find anything I wanted to read on my shelves (pretty sure that’s one of the signs of the Apocalypse) I ended up reading ... Read More...

14 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature, Reading Tagged: chick lit, lists, marriage, mini-reviews, young adult

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

July 7, 2014

close your eyes

Sweet sixteen—a time of so many changes. Learning to drive, first dates, preparing for college, and, if you’re Emily Shepard, a nuclear reactor meltdown near your tiny town in Vermont, your parents disappearing, and being evacuated from your school with only the clothes on your back. This is sixteen as seen by Chris Bohjalian in his new novel, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands. When ... Read More...

7 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, Doubleday, family, social issues, young adult

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