YA

Book Review: As Good As Dead

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As Good As Dead
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #3
by Holly Jackson

My rating: 1.5 / 5
Genre: YA mystery, suspense

Well…I’ve put off writing this review as long as I could. I don’t know how much I can say without giving spoilers, but I’ll try. I’m really disappointed by the turn this book took from the series before it. Not only does Pip cross some major ethical/moral lines (which she also did in the previous book, but not nearly to the same extent), the mystery is nearly non-existent, is not solved by Pip at all, and is wrapped up halfway through the book. The second half is given over to the stuff I can’t talk about without spoiling it.

During that first half, while the not-very-mysterious mystery is unfolding, Pip is suffering some severe PTSD from what happened at the end of the previous book. While I can’t really say that her trauma is unrealistic or too extreme, since I’ve never gone through what she did, it definitely feels overdone. It’s certainly a preference thing, but my preference is to not have a book like this so bogged down by a main character who is falling apart and dealing with it in all the worst ways. 

As for the spoilers, I don’t want share them here and risk anyone accidentally seeing something they wish they hadn’t. If you want to read the spoiler part of my review, follow this link to my review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6243264646 (Once there, click on the spoiler tag midway through the text.)

Not only did I not enjoy this book, but it also seems likely to me that the author planned this ending from the start. Though I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, I don’t know that I’ll ever want to re-read them, and I also don’t think I’ll be able to trust another book/series by this author. As for a recommendation, it’s difficult to recommend any of this series, knowing how it ends, and knowing that the books are connected enough that stopping at #2 might feel incomplete. Plenty of others weren’t bothered by what I was, both the spoiler and the non-spoiler parts, so maybe you won’t be either.

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Book Review: Payback

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Payback
Masterminds #3
by Gordon Korman

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure, suspense

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series,  starting with Masterminds.

Split up and suffering the sting of betrayal, the four teens from Serenity, New Mexico, the happiest town on earth, have to decide whether their own freedom is worth risking to try to save their fellow clones from Serenity.

This is an exciting and satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that I have enjoyed all the way through. Though nothing can quite match the reveal in the first book, there were still some surprises in this one. It was maybe a tiny bit anti-climactic, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing in a book like this, especially one written for pre-teens. Like the previous books, each teen’s perspective is shown at different times, all in 1st person, and by now they’re all familiar voices. I especially appreciated Malik’s arc, which I was really starting to think was going to go a different way. I highly recommend this book, and the entire series, for teens and even adults who enjoy suspenseful teen books (though definitely start at the beginning).

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Book Review: Dragon and Liberator

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Dragon and Liberator
Dragonback #6
by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for previous books in the series, which starts with Dragon and Thief.

Jack and Draycos race to stop those who are intent on wiping out Draycos’s people, and are now being aided in their quest by Alison Kayna and Taneem. When their plans go awry, both pairs of human and K’da must improvise and decide what it’s worth to them to stop the genocide of two races.

I’ve been anticipating an exciting end to this series, and it didn’t disappoint. It seems clear to me that Zahn had at least the skeleton of this entire story planned out from the beginning, as different pieces fall into place in this final book in ways that thrilled me. I even cheered at one point, which caused my husband to give me a funny look. The friendship between Jack and Draycos has been one of my favorite things about this series, and though the action squeezes the characterization out a bit in this book, I still appreciate the way it all comes together in the end.

I’m not generally interested in heavy sci-fi, but the fact that it’s written for teens probably helps make it more accessible for someone like me. I really enjoyed this series overall and recommend it for any fans of this kind of sci-fi, young or old.

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Book Review: Dragon and Judge

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Dragon and Judge
Dragonback #5
by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous book in the series, Dragon and Herdsman.

As Jack continues to try to help Draycos, the dragon-like symbiont that uses him for a host, track down who killed his people, the pair take what is meant to be a brief detour to a planet where Jack’s Uncle Virgil used to visit a bank to replenish his funds. But as soon as they arrive on the planet, Jack is mistaken for a circuit judge, and he and Draycos are whisked away to an inescapable canyon to hear several years’ worth of disputes.

I really expected this book to be quite a departure from the series, but I think it was a bit more connected even than the previous book. Real answers are given to the investigation into the impending K’da genocide, and secrets from Jack’s past are exposed. The unusual race of beings that force Jack into presiding over their disputes showcases Zahn’s worldbuilding abilities; however, I felt that there was a lot more that could have been explained about their system of uprights and number names. Though I’m not a huge fan of Alison Kayna, I also enjoyed her side story, as she’s abducted and brought to Neverlin, due to being the one who actually ends up opening Uncle Virgil’s bank box. Her growing connection with her own K’da symbiont is quite different from Jack and Draycos’s but also an intriguing part of the story. Overall, I’ve really enjoyed this series and am highly anticipating the last book and hopefully the salvation of the K’da and Shontine.

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Book Review: Bee’s Gift

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Bee’s Gift
Abby’s Letters #2
by Dana Romanin

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Christian YA romance

A one-time mistake changes Lindsey Bartley’s life forever during senior year, and she has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. Though Richard Hendrick, the man that Lindsey is forever linked to by two lines on a pregnancy test, doesn’t know it yet, his life is about to change for good as well.

I liked this book more than the previous in the series, mostly due to the main character actually being a bit more interesting and dynamic and the loss of the love triangle that permeated the first book. However, though we have moved on to a different character, we don’t move on enough. Part one of two, so half of the book, takes place at the same time as the events in the previous book, and though we see a different side of the story (Lindsey was a side character in the first book with no POV parts), she connects with one of the POVs in the first book (Clark) enough that several scenes are literally re-hashed, word-for-word, from the first book. To be fair, there are minor differences amongst the repeated sentences, though, since a different perspective is shown on the same scenes, but I really think the author should have figured out a way to have a completely fresh take on this second story.

That being said, Lindsey’s character arc, especially her newfound faith in God, drives the first half of the story pretty well. She struggles to decide what to do about her pregnancy, from keeping or discarding, telling the father or not, telling parents or not, etc., and it all felt pretty realistic to me. Except for the way that Lindsey picked up on “church lingo” and prayed fluently for someone else who was struggling, after only attending youth group for a few weeks. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of a learning curve, and it seemed like it could be a bit intimidating for anyone reading the book that is a new believer themselves.

Then part two of the book shifts focus completely from Lindsey to Richard, who was part of the love triangle in the first book. This second half of the book takes us past the time period covered in the first book, into the first summer after graduation for all of these characters, and to a brand-new setting. In a way, it felt like a whole different book, and I wonder if the author perhaps could have started the book here instead. I enjoyed Richard’s arc in this second half, as he grapples with an uncertain future and what his responsibility really is in the life of an unborn child that he has no reason to feel connected to. In the end, the story ends well, probably not much different than one might expect, though there is a bit of a twist thrown in in what feels like an obvious attempt to add drama or excitement. Overall, this book was more enjoyable than I expected it to be, after the first one, and though I’m not sure how accessible it is, I would recommend it for older teens and Christian parents of teens.

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Book Review: I Am Number Four

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I Am Number Four
Lorien Legacies #1
by Pittacus Lore

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

John Smith (not his real name) has been on the run most of his life, hiding on Earth from a race of beings that destroyed his home planet, Lorien, and killed almost everyone on it. He and others escaped and came to Earth to bide their time, waiting until they could fight back and try to reclaim their planet. But the Mogadorians are also on Earth and are tracking down John and the other Legacies, whose developing powers will allow them to fight back. They can only kill the Legacies in order. The first three are dead, and John is Number Four.

This is one of those kinds of books that I can understand why some people think it’s trite, but I enjoyed it anyway. Though the book is long, I read it fairly quickly, due to it being action-packed and easy to read. I think what I appreciated most about this story is that the characters are overall pretty well developed, and I really liked the different relationships. “John” and Henri, his non-Legacy protector from Lorien, have a father-son-type bond. They don’t always get along, but they respect and care about each other. Though John moves often enough that he doesn’t generally form lasting relationships, the connections he makes with other teens at his new school adds to the story. I personally didn’t care about the romance, but I figure that’s because I’m an adult, whereas teenagers might enjoy it more.

The world-building in this novel is also intriguing and easy to follow. Though some information is clearly left unexplained, it just left me wanting to continue the series to learn more. And one particular clue that’s given at a few points in the book has a great culmination that I can’t explain without spoiling the moment. I was absorbed in the book all the way through and have already recommended it to my 14-year-old daughter. If you enjoy sci-fi without a lot of complex world-building, especially in the YA range, you should consider reading this book.

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Book Review: The Outsiders

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The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Classic YA coming of age fiction

I read this book in 8th grade, and I remembered a few things about it, mostly that I liked it more than most books I read for school back then. Reading it again as an adult, decades later, I was not thinking about theme or symbolism, but reading just for the enjoyment of it. I have to admit that I’m pretty far removed from this culture, not just because it’s set so long ago, but also because I’ve lived in a pretty sheltered, rural area all my life, especially as a teenager. Still, I enjoyed the simple writing style, the characterization, and the dynamics of the main group of characters. I felt for Ponyboy and Johnny in their no-win situation and in this culture that gave all of those on the high and low extremes of the social classes the feeling of futility and inevitability. My daughter, who is also in 8th grade right now, is reading this book for school, and I look forward to discussing her thoughts when she’s done. While the culture may have changed, I’d imagine that the overall idea of the clashing between the “high” and “low” classes, or other extremes of society, still happens plenty, especially in places with higher populations. The idea that “things are bad everywhere” and that people can strive to change their circumstances is still relevant to today. I’m glad I re-read this book, and though I don’t necessarily like the idea of over-analyzing literature for school, I think it’s still a good book for teens to read.

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Book Review: Stars Beyond Realms

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Stars Beyond Realms
The Chronicles of the Starborne Cadets #1
by Marie-Hélène Lebeault

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

Young cadets at a space academy are tapped for a mission to explore an alternate reality.

I received this book as a digital ARC, but I had no idea that it would be so short—72 pages. It’s not exactly a length I would expect for something billed as space opera. And indeed, the story and world-building are pretty shallow. The four cadets have a little characterization, but not a lot. They’re mostly relegated to their different skillsets. A few things made me scratch my head. For example, why did so many cadets get invited to the briefing during which Alex and his friends are told they’ve been selected for this special mission? Why does the alternative earth have a purple sky and 2 moons? Why do the cadets struggle so much with aspects of the mission that seem to me like they should have been part of their intensive training?

This book has every appearance (to me) of being self-published, but if it is, the author did a lot of work to keep it from known. If this is traditionally published, though, I don’t really know how an editor/publisher didn’t request for this to be expanded on. It really is more like the idea for a novel that is ready to be filled in more, and I can see potential in the author’s ideas if she were to go into more depth with it. As it is, it did not grab my attention enough for me to want to continue the series.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

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Book Review: Criminal Destiny

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Criminal Destiny
Masterminds #2
by Gordon Korman

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure, suspense

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the first books in the series, Masterminds.

Broken out and on the run, the four teens from Serenity, New Mexico, the happiest town on earth, have to learn about the real world that their “parents” kept from them all their lives if they want to stay free. 

This book continues the action-packed story started in the previous. The angle of the kids trying to get a handle on the outside world while also figuring out what they want for their lives is often humorous. Not knowing who they can trust, but needing to trust someone, makes their plan to shine the light on Project Osiris all the more difficult. But at least they know they can trust each other…or can they?

Like the previous book, each teen’s perspective is shown at different times, all in 1st person. While I don’t usually appreciate that kind of storytelling, Korman pulls it off much better than most, as their voices are all unique enough to keep me from being confused (for the most part). This book takes the teens all over the Rocky Mountain area of the US (or somewhere in there) as they question their own actions and motives. This is turning into one of my favorite middle-grade suspense/adventure series, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out in the final book. I highly recommend this book for teens and even adults who enjoy suspenseful teen books (though definitely start at the beginning).

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Book Review: Dragon and Herdsman

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Dragon and Herdsman
Dragonback #4
by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure

As Jack continues to try to help Draycos, the dragon-like symbiont that uses him for a host, track down who killed his people, the pair’s next attempt to track down information lands them in a cell. But when they’re broken out by an unlikely rescuer, Draycos is shocked and dismayed to find a primitive herd of his own race on the planet they escape to.

Though this installment of the series didn’t really further the overall plot much, the discovery of the Phookas (the primitive K’da) was an intriguing enough departure for me, considering that Draycos was supposedly the first of his kind to come to the area. Though in the end, I’m not entirely sure what Zahn was going for with these creatures or if they will come into play at all in the future, the progression from completely primitive to something more drives the story well enough. I’m definitely no fan of Alison Kayna’s now (she’s the one who rescues them early in the book), and really hope to learn more about her and soon. However, the next book looks like it will also be quite the departure, which is baffling, considering that there’s only one book left in the series after that. Fortunately, the books are fairly quick and simple reads, especially for sci-fi, because at this point, all I can do is keep going and hope that the next book has at least some answers after all. I don’t mean to imply that this book was bad, though, since I did give it 4 stars. Maybe just not as satisfying as I would hope for at this point in the series.

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