YA

The Evolving Truth of Ever-Stronger Will / Maya MacGregor

/ Alisha Helms / 1 Comment 
The Evolving Truth of Ever-Stronger Will
By: Maya MacGregor
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Number of Pages: 273
Published: July 23, 2023
Publisher: Astra Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: November 22, 2023 - November 24, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: death of a patron, child abuse, mental abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, drugs, mentions of death by overdose

Will, an agender teen, is only a few months away from turning 18 – finally an adult, and finally able to have freedom away from their abusive, addicted mother. When their mother dies suddenly, Will is granted freedom earlier than expected, but her dying words haunt Will. Soon, their mother’s drug-dealing past comes back and threatens Will’s shiny new future, leaving them to scramble to find a past foster they haven’t heard from in years. And, they need to do this all before Child Protective Services finds out Will’s been left on their own.

I really enjoyed that this was written in second person. Besides fanfiction, I’ve never read a novel in this form and I’ve got to say, this works so well! And it makes perfect sense to use it for a character who is nonbinary or genderfluid. 

The imperfections of the characters of this novel is what made this novel so perfect. Not one single person was the most amazing person ever – they all had their faults, their traumas, their own realistic story, and that made this beautiful.

I’m excited for those to need this story to get their hands on it. And I’m excited for those who may not necessarily need this story, but can learn from this story, because it’s all so important. With the amazing writing that is from Maya MacGregor you get so much representation that isn’t forced at all, it’s just who they are and that’s that.

Overall, I will be highly recommending this book to so many people. Though I will give a bit of a heavy warning to check the Trigger Warnings and to be gentle with yourself.

*Thank you Astra Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Something More / Jackie Khalilieh

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Something More
By: Jackie Khalilieh
Genre: YA, Romance
Number of Pages: 336
Published: June 6, 2023
Publisher: Tundra Books
Dates Read: November 17, 2023 - November 19, 2023
Format: Hardcover

Jessie was just diagnosed as autistic weeks before starting high school. Determined to keep it hidden, she makes a list of goals to cross off – ranging from having two distinct eyebrows, to getting a magical first kiss, and landing a spot in the school musical.

This is such an honest and messy story. So many novels, especially YA, don’t always show the messiness that’s teenage life, but this one shows it great. Jackie Khalilieh writes Jessie as a truly authentic teen with autism: feeling different, being bad at social interactions and ques, being obsessed with one particular interest, along with a lot of other differences. Khalilieh also writes deeply about wearing a mask and what that both looks like and feels like to someone with autism.

Along with truly showing a teen with autism, this story is also a romance, but cute. I’m usually against YA Romance because I find them so cheesy, but this one I actually liked and enjoyed. Jessie meets two boys on her first day of school and both show interest in her – one she catches onto a lot more quickly. Again, I would like to bring up the writing that Khalilieh did here where she talks about Jessie zeroing in on the one boy and the one relationship and how all others don’t really matter too much. I can be bad at that, so I felt that deeply.

Overall, I absolutely loved the representation this book shows and the story that it gives. I believe that, even though it is a YA romance, it’s not overly cheesy, and therefore I can see many readers enjoying this for its autistic representation.

*Thank you Tundra Books and LibraryThing for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night / Amélie Wen Zhao

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Song of Silver, Flame Like Night
By: Amélie Wen Zhao
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Number of Pages: 480
Published: January 3, 2023
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Dates Read: November 8, 2023 - November 13, 2023
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

Lan has always had a strange mark burned into her arm by her dying mother – a mark that only she can see, until one night, a boy who saves her, can see it; Zen. Zen’s a practitioner – one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom. Their magic is rumored to have been drawn from the demons they communed with and now must be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep – ones they must hide from others and ones they must still discover themselves. Both hold the power to liberate their land – or to destroy the world.

I originally tried reading this a while ago and couldn’t get into it right then – it’s a heavy fantasy, with an a-mazing world building. When I first read it, I couldn’t place myself in the world. Quite a few months later, I was able to get ahold of the audiobook from my library and listen to it. That’s where I fell into the world fast.

This book reads, to me, like an epic movie. I could see all the fight scenes perfectly, the mood was easily set and understandable. But, again, this may be a series where I listen to the audiobooks of them because there was so much info dump to get you set into the world and the scenes that, to me, I was able to visualize a little better when I heard it, rather than when I saw it.

This is the first book of a series though, so it gets to have the info dumps. I’m still excited to read the second book in the series and have already put a hold of it at the library.

Overall, this is a wonderful fantasy book based in Chinese Folklore and Mythology that I can see a great deal of readers enjoying – especially those who really like to get dropped into a world totally unlike ours currently.

*Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

That Self-Same Metal / Brittany N. Williams

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That Self-Same Metal
By: Brittany N. Williams
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 352
Published: April 25, 2023
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Dates Read: October 29, 2023 - October 31, 2023
Format: ARC / Library Book / Audiobook

Trigger Warnings: racism (including blackface), sexism, murder, violence

Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is a “gifted” craftswoman who creates and upkeeps the stage blades for William Shakespeare’s acting company. Joan’s gift comes from a magical ability she was blessed with from her Head Orisha, Ogun. Because her entire family is Orisha-blessed, they’ve kept tabs on the Fae presence in London. Usually, they just see a faint glow around a Fae’s body as they try their best to blend in with regular society. After a pack has been broken though, the rise of brutal Fae attacks has risen. After saving the son of a cruel Lord from a Fae attack, Joan gets thrusted into the political world of humans and Fae.

The writing really shows the author’s background in theater and acting and of the historical time period (including the treatment of Black people living in London, which I hadn’t known about). 

Some of the parts didn’t interest me as much, but I did really enjoy the fight scenes as I felt like they were well written. There could have been a lot going on, but I would never feel like I was lost but rather right in the middle of swords swinging around.

Overall, this was a fun and action-packed YA fantasy with an alternative history twist. I can see YA fantasy readers and those who love theater enjoying this book with the twist of Shakespeare. I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for the next book in the series to continue with Joan and her story.

The Spells We Cast / Jason June

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The Spells We Cast
By: Jason June
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 352
Published: October 2, 2023
Publisher: Melissa de la Cruz Studio
Dates Read: October 25, 2023 - October 27, 2023
Format: Library Book / Audiobook / Hardcover

Nigel Barrett spent his whole life preparing for the Culling – a spell-casting competition that determines which of the world’s teenage magicians get to keep their powers, and those who will be stripped of them, in order to keep and preserve the magical balance. He’d been ready – until he met Ori Olson.

The moment they meet, sparks fly, their powers are stronger, more thrilling, but also it seems, more dangerous. As the Culling field gets more and more narrow, Nigel and Orio realize just how much is at stake – and it may very well ride on the connection between them.

I don’t know where I saw this being marketed as “magical gay cowboys” but I grabbed this as soon as I could because of it. And boy, did it not disappoint! I also don’t know what it is about teenagers and them being on the verge of losing their magic forever that gets me into these stories, but I’m down.

I did give out quite a few eye rolls when Nigel would talk about his breakup with Jeremy. He’d talk about how he knew they wouldn’t work out and listed all this stuff – but then would compare interactions with Ori to Jeremy and I’d be sitting there going, “It’s not the same!”. And, the whole insta-romance thing is never my type. This book happens over 3 days!! <spoiler> I know this plays on soulmates, but it’s still a bit too fast </spoiler>.

But, even though I didn’t care all that much for the romance aspect of it (or rather, the pining on Nigel’s part for a partner who is no longer even in the photo), I still enjoyed the novel and its story. It ended on a cliffhanger and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the sequel for sure!

*Thank you Melissa de la Cruz Studio and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

The Collectors / Edited By: A.S. King

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The Collectors
Edited By: A.S. King
Genre: Short Stories, YA
Number of Pages: 272
Published: September 19, 2023
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: October 23, 2023 - October 25, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

The Collectors is an anthology of stories by well known young adult authors about characters and their strange collections.

I haven’t really reviewed an anthology of stories from different authors before, so here’s my doing my best.

Play House: Took me a minute to get into it, but then enjoyed it.

The White Savior Does Not Save the Day: This was okay for me – it delivered a well written story, but I don’t know how I feel about it still, even two days after reading it.

Take It From Me: I can still actively “see” scenes from this story even now. The banana stickers on the wall, the locked box of doubts – it was a vivid story.

Ring of Fire: Metaphor about grief, but was kind of left confused a little at the end.

Museum of Misery: Impactful. A big punch with little words but pictures said everything.

La Concha: I couldn’t always follow this one. I felt like there were some big pieces missing from it.

Pool Bandits: One of my favorites just because of the length these boys went to to skate. My partner is a skater and I understand that culture a lot.

We Are Looking For Home: Another story I didn’t quite understand and even in the end, I don’t know what it was about??

A Recording for Carole Before It All Goes: This was beautiful and heartwarming. I feel like everyone nowadays possibly knows someone who has Dementia or Alzheimer’s. My grandmother had dementia and just passed away at the beginning of this month and these stories will always make me think of her.

Sweet Everlasting: A crazy and kind of scary concept of being stuck in the “moment they wish could last forever”

The ones I loved: Take It from Me / David Levithan, Pool Bandits / G. Neri, A Recording for Carole Before It All Goes / Jason Reynolds, and Sweet Everlasting / M.T. Anderson

Overall, there were some wonderful and great stories, and others that I just couldn’t get into – doesn’t mean they weren’t good and others wouldn’t enjoy them though!

*Thank you Dutton Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I Loved You in Another Life / David Arnold

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I Loved You in Another Life
By: David Arnold
Genre: YA, Romance
Number of Pages: 352
Published: October 10, 2023
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: October 20, 2023 - October 23, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook / Library Book / Audiobook

Sosh is lost and angry at the world for the drunk driver that killed her sister. Stevie and Sosh were more than sisters, they were the best of friends – Sosh looked at Stevie like she was her moon. Evan’s struggling with his dad walking out on his family and his mom’s breast cancer diagnosis – but mostly, he’s worried about how to take care of his younger brother William, a sensitive seven-year-old, who wears the same red hoodie, covers himself in bandaids, and watches E.T. every Tuesday night. Both are trying to figure out their next step in life when they begin hearing a mysterious singer no one else seems to hear. How will the melody bring them together?

The characters of Sosh and Evan were a little harder to get into at the beginning but they were closed off, which was understandable. It was almost like meeting a friend for the first time – the more you got to know them, the more they opened up and shared their struggles.

I don’t read a ton of romance, but this book is most definitely a slow burn romance. Did I get the “love you in another life” part? Not really – sure there were tidbits here and there of other characters in a different time, but I had a hard time connecting them to Sosh and Evan.

What I really did like about this book, that wasn’t the romance, was both the family dynamic of Evan, his mom, and his brother, and the therapy positive outlook they had on there. Oh – and Sosh and her teacher’s relationship, because that’s what I always wanted for my kids when I taught – was for them to feel safe enough to talk about their stuff and for me to hopefully give them a positive outcome.

Overall, I enjoyed this mostly for the character’s individual’s journeys over the romance portion of it. Romance was okay, but that’s not why I will be recommending this book when I do.

*Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Girls Like Girls / Hayley Kiyoko

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Girls Like Girls
By: Hayley Kiyoko
Genre: YA, Romance
Number of Pages: 336
Published: May 30, 2023
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Dates Read: October 9, 2023 - October 10, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook / Audiobook

Trigger Warnings: mentions of suicide, grief, loss of a parent, homophobia, underage drinking and drug use

It’s the summer of 2006 and 17-year-old Coley has been forced to move to rural Oregon after losing her mother. She’s in no position to risk her already fragile heart – but then she meets Sonya, and everything she’s tried to keep down goes flying. Both girls have a lot to figure out and realize before they can step up.

Based on Hayley Kiyoko’s hit song and music video with the same title, Girls Like Girls is about young, queer love between two girls.

The writing of this isn’t perfect, I didn’t think it would be, especially being Hayley Kiyoko’s debut novel, but it made up for it in the parts that really hit it home. Sure some parts were a bit cringey and filled with teenage dramatics, but it was also very lyrical and still realistic in parts.

Though, Tenton drove me so nuts! I understand in a way that it’s set in a small town and you don’t always have a wide selection of people to hang out with but like – come on! Sonya would continuously defend him but we never saw anything good from him.

Overall, this is a cutesy YA sapphic romance that gives a bit of a “cinematic extension” to Kiyoko’s song and music video with the same title. Don’t hold it up to high standards of regular romance, it is Young Adult – other than that, I can see quite a few people enjoying the read.

*Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Faint of Heart / Kerilynn Wilson

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The Faint of Heart
By: Kerilynn Wilson
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 304
Published: June 13, 2023
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Dates Read: October 3, 2023
Format: eBook / Library Book

Not too long ago, the Scientist discovered that if you removed your heart, you no longer had to deal with sadness, anxiety, or anger. That’s all it took for everyone to line up. Everyone except June – but the pressure and loneliness is getting too much for her.

One day though, June finds a heart in a jar abandoned in an alley. The heart intrigues her and gives her an idea; an idea filled with hope. But the heart also brings her to a classmate, Max, who has a secret of his own.

The art of this novel is of muted colors with splashes of bright colors. It really works well to show what those without their heart look like. Some panels can be a bit much, because so much is happening in them, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from continuing to read it.

I think that those who like Coraline would enjoy this novel, as it gives out those vibes a lot. This story could relate to a lot of people – especially those who feel too much. Because as much as you would love not to feel the dark, that means you can’t feel the light either, and this book really shows that.

This is both a simple read and also a complex read. I feel like a lot of different people could enjoy this, again, especially those who are feeling big emotions that they may not want to be feeling. It let’s them feel seen but also gives the cautionary tale of what could happen if you don’t feel those things anymore.

Confetti Realms / Nadia Shammas

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Confetti Realms
By: Nadia Shammas, Karnessa (Artist), Hackto Oshiro (Colorist), Micah Meyers (Letterer)
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 196
Published: October 17, 2023
Publisher: Maverick
Dates Read: October 3, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

On Halloween night a group of teens are transported from a graveyard into another realm where they must collect molars in order to return home.

I loved the art of this graphic novel – the cover alone is what caught my attention. Throughout the entire novel, the art was clear and smoothed allowing easy reading.

What I felt fell a little short was that they were in this crazy and a bit ridiculous world and we only ever get a glimpse at it. I would get lost within the panels a bit and not pay that much attention to what’s in the speech bubbles because I was more interested in the background. Which is kind of what brings me to the part where I had a hard time understanding the characters – to me, it felt like they weren’t flushed out as much as they could have been. A lot of their bickering was repetitive.

I’m also not entirely sure I know what happened at the end??

I’ll try and reread it one of these days, but right now it just wasn’t for me.

*Thank you Maverick for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review