2016 Book Reviews
To see our latest reviews, please click on the Book Reviews tag.
2015 Book Reviews
January 2015
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson with illustrations by Christine Larsen
The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds
Suspicion by Alexandra Monir
Better Than Perfect by Melissa Kantor
Cut Me Free by J. R. Johanson
The Prey by Tim Isbell
Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Alex as Well by Alyssa Brugman
Twisted Fate by Nora Olson
Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moscowitz
Top Ten Clues Your Clueless by Liz Czukas
Playlist for the Dead by Michael Falkoff
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
February 2015
Promposal by Rhonda Helms
The Forgetting by Nicole Maggi
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross
Elena Vanishing: A Memoir by Elena and Claire Dunkle
Tomboy by Liz Prince
The Bargaining by Carly Anne West
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
March 2015
The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith
Beast in the Mirror by Laura Bradley Rede
Rad American Women A-Z by Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl
What If I’m an Atheist? by David Seidman
The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle
Hold Tight, Don’t Let Go by Laura Rose Wagner
April 2015
Invincible by Amy Reed
Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu
Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby
THE TRUTH ABOUT US by Janet Gurtler
THE BULLIES OF WALL ST. by Sheila Bair
Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby
Every Last Promise by Kristin Hallbrook
May 2015
Anything Could Happen by Will Walton
The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Heat of the Moment by Lauren Barnholdt01
June 2015
Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer
They Still Break Girls, Don’t They: A Reflection on THE SACRED LIES OF MINNOW BLY for #FSYALit
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
Summer Love: An LGBTQ Collection
Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) by Amy Spalding
2014 Book Reviews
January 2014
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halsen Anderson
Panic by Lauren Oliver
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale
September Girls by Bennett Madison
The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
The Rule of Three by Eric Walters
February 2014
Anyone but You by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes
Unaccompanied Minor by Hollis Gillespie
No Surrender Soldier by Christine Kohler
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
NIL by Lynne Matson
Historical Heartthrobs by Kelly Murphy
Plus One by Elizabeth Fama
Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau
Perfect Lies by Kiersten White
Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott
The Hit by Melvin Burgess
March 2014
Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens
Noggin by John Corey Whaley
Erased by Jennifer Rush
Switched at Birthday by Natalie Standiford (MG)
Invasion by Walter Dean Myers
Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore
Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg
The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Charm and Strange by Stephanie Khuen
The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Uses for Boys by Erica Loraine Scheidt
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
Killer Instinct by S. E. Green
April 2014
She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Sekret by Lindsay Smith
This Side of Salvation by Jeri Smith-Ready
Outside the Box, a book of poems
Scared Stiff, Everything you need to know about 50 famous phobias by Sara Latta
The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold
Free to Fall by Lauren Miller
Live Through This by Mindi Scott
May 2014
Real Prom Queens of Westfield High by Laurie Boyle Crompton
Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell
Hungry by H. A. Swain
100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn
Servants of the Storm by Delilah S. Dawson
Poisoned Apples, Poems for You My Pretty by Christine Hepperman
Bleed Like Me by Christa Desir
Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A. S. King
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno
The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer
June 2014
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour
Proxy by Alex London
Guardian by Alex London
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd (MG Lit)
Sisters by Raina Telgemeier (MG Lit, Graphic Novel)
Star Wars Jedi Academy: Return of the Padawan (MG Lit)
Cleopatra in Space Book 1: Target Practice (MG Lit, Graphic Novel)
A Death Struck Year by Makiia Lucier
July 2014
Firebug by Lish McBride
Like No Other by Una LaMarche
Bad Magic by Pseudonymous Boch
Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally
Revenge of the Flower Girls by Jennifer Ziegler
Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Loom Magic craft series
Amity by Micol Ostow
A Mad Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
August 2014
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
Kinda Like Brothers by Coe Booth
Some Boys by Patty Blount
Just Call My Name by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
Tabula Rasa by Kristen Lippert-Martin
September 2014
Mortal Danger by Anne Aguirre
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition by Katie Rain Hill
Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen by Arin Andrews
Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner
Perfectly Good White Boy by Carrie Mesrobian
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
October 2014
Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither
Get Happy by Mary Amato
Play Me Backwards by Adam Selzer
Girl Defective by Simmone Howell
Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Steifvater
Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore
November 2014
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
Wildlife by Fiona Wood
Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes
Words and Their Meanings by Kate Bassett
2013 Book Reviews
January 2013
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
The Girl in the Wall by Daphne Benedis-Grab
The Dead and the Buried by Kim Harrington
Tempestous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes
MG Review: Whatever After, If the Shoe Fits by Sarah Mlynowski
Falling for You by Lisa Schroeder
Scowler by Daniel Kraus
Sparks by S J Adams
Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt
October Mourning by Leslea Newman
GN Review: Once Upon a Time Machine
Return to Me by Justina Chen
February 2013
Holy Spokes by Rob Coppolillo
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa, book 2 in the Blood of Eden series
Dare You To, book 2 in the Pushing the Limits series by Katie McGarry
The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter
The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter
The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Andrew Jenks: My life as a young filmmaker by Andrew Jenks
Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Prey (The Hunt #2) by Andrew Fukuda
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross
Homeland by Cory Doctorow
Mind Games by Kiersten White
Dualed by Elsie Chapman
March 2013
Hide and Seek by Kate Messner
Rotten by Michael Northrop
When the Butterflies Came by Kimberly Griffiths Little
The Look by Sophia Bennett
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gatz
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison
The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney
Period 8 by Chris Crutcher
Permanent Record by Leslie Stella
The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr
Prophecy by Ellen Oh
5 Great Reads for High School Seniors: Death, Dickinson and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez, Golden by Jessi Kirby, When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney, Return to Me by Justina Chen and Just One Day by Gayle Forman
5 Great Reads for High School Freshmen
The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini
April 2013
Death, Dickinson and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Doll Bones by Holly Black
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
Also Known As by Robin Benway
Trinkets by Kirsten Smith
Deadly by Sarah N. Harvey
Agent Angus by K. L. Denman
Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones
Death, Doom and Detention by Darynda Jones
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
Prophecy Girl by Cecily White
The Collector by Victoria Scott
May 2013
Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein
Canary by Rachele Alpine
Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick
The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Winger by Andrew Smith
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey
Maid of Secrets by Jenn McGowan
The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison
June 2013
Frosting and Friendship by Lisa Schroeder
Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown
Chomp by Carl Hiassen
Reality Boy by A. S. King
Super Pop! by Daniel Harmon
Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance
Tarnish by Katherine Longshore
July 2013
Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stentz
Night School by C. J. Daugherty
Quarantine 2: The Saints by Lex Thomas
Contaminated by Em Garner
BZRK: Reloaded by Michael Grant
Saving Thanehaven by Catherine Jinks
A Summer of Sundays by Lindsay Eland
What I Came to Tell You by Tommy Hayes
Fire & Ash (Rot & Ruin 4) by Jonathan Maberry
The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross
Infinity Glass by Myra McEntire
A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin
Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff
August 2013
Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin
Until It Hurts to Stop by Jennifer L. Hubbards
Marie Antionette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender
AntiGoddess by Kendara Blake
Blackout by Robison Wells
Star Wars Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown
3:59 by Gretchen McNeil
Coda by Emma Trevayne
Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde
Little Fish by Ramsey Beyer
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
W.A.R.P. The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer (audio)
Twerp by Mark Goldblatt (audio)
If I Ever Get Out of Here Alive by Eric L. Gansworth
The 100 by Kass Morgan
September 2013
Over You by Amy Reed
Taste Test by Kelly Fiore
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Smoke by Ellen Hopkins
White Lines by Jennifer Banash
Scorched by Mari Mancusi
The Year of Shadows by Claire LeGrand
Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Steifvater
Inheritance by Malinda Lo
How Not to Be a Dick by Meghan Doherty
5 Nonfiction Titles from VOYA’s 2012 Nonfiction Honor List
Sick by Tom Leveen
October 2013
Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi
Monsters by Ilsa J. Bick
Eat, Brains, Love by Jeff Hart
Inhuman by Kat Falls
Control by Lydia Kang
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Croak by Gina Damico
Rebel Belle by Rachelle Hawkins
Ketchup Clouds by Ann Pilcher
Something Deadly This Way Comes by Kim Harrison
The Wrap-Up List by Steve Arntson
The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray
Watermark by Krissi Dallas
Dead Ends by Erin Jade Lange
Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst
Asylum by Madeleine Roux
November 2013
Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce
Why? Answers to Everyday Scientific Questions by Joel Levy (nonfiction)
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes
Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koertge
More Than This by Patrick Ness
December 2013
Pawn by Aimee Carter
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
The Archived by Victoria Schwab
The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher
Warrior by Ellen Oh
The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
Poor Little Dead Girls by Lizzie Friend
Reboot by Amy Tintera
A Matter of Days by Amber Kizer
2012 Book Reviews
January 2012
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater
BZRK by Michael Grant (The Mr.’s Second Opinion)
February 2012
The Catastrophic History of You & Me by Jess Rothenberg
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
The Downside of Being Charlie by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Skyship Academy: the Pearl Wars by Nick James (The Mr.’s Mini Review)
Fracture by Megan Miranda
Starters by Lissa Price
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
March 2012
Ashes by Ilsa Bick
The Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby
The Future of Us by Jasy Asher and Caroln Mackler
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Variant by Robison Wells
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
April 2012
The Hunt by Andrew Fulcuda
Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies
Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Partials by Dan Wells
Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQueery
One Moment by Kristina McBride
In Honor by Jessi Kirby
Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein
May 2012
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
Rotters by Daniel Kraus
The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
Illuminate by Aimee Agresti
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
Ask the Passengers by A. S. King
Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Timepiece by Myra McEntire
Lexapro and Cons by Aaron Karo
Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster
This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan
No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz
The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
June 2012
Cornered, 15 stories of bullying and defiance
Adaptation by Malinda Lo
Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Every Day by David Levithan
What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton
The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee
Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
July 2012
Crewel by Gennifer Albin
Lost Girls by Ann Kelley
Giants Beware by Rachel Rosado
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
MG Reads: Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead, Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller & Ungifted by Gordon Korman
Zom-B by Darren Shan
Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams
Battlefield by J F Jenkins
August 2012
Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry
Guitar Notes by Mary Amato
Butter by Erin Jade Lange
Shelftalkers: Knocked Up Teens
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
The Diviners by Libba Bray
September 2012
Ask the Passengers by A. S. King (reviewed by Jenny Torres Sanchez)
Speechless by Hannah Harrington
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Skinny by Donna Conner
Shelftalkers: Cancer in teen fiction
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Between You and Me by Marisa Calin
Capture the Flag (MG) by Kate Messner
Son by Lois Lowry
October 2012
Through to You by Emily Hainsworth
Endangered by Eliot Schefer
Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Velveteen by Daniel Marks
Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
Dear Teen Me edited by E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel
My Super Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris
Conjure by Lea Nolan
Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel (GN)
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
November 2012
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand
Safekeeping by Karen Hesse
Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch
Zoo Station, a memoir – the story of Christiane F.
Regine’s Book, a teen girl’s last words by Regine Stokke
Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens by Kakthy Beleg and Marke Bieschke
Uncool, a Girl’s Guide to Misfitting In by Erin Elisabeth Conley
Girls Against Girls: Why we are mean to each other and how we can change by Bonnie Burton
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow
Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
The Curiosities: a collection of stories by Maggie Steifvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff
Gravity by Melissa West
Origin by Jessica Khoury
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
December 2012
What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang
Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson
A Bad Day for Voodoo by Jeff Strand
Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride
Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
Altered by Jennifer Rush