Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 15
Title: This is Where it Ends
Author: Marieke Nijkamp
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pub Date: 01/05/16
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: I actually sort of liked the book. The dialogue felt real to the story, the plot was believable, and the characters were actually there, not just cardboard cutouts. I liked how each section was a different character telling the story because it helped explain who the people were. I'm not sure some of the characters would have acted as they acted in the book in real life, though. For example, there is a kid who escapes from a war zone as a child. I highly doubt he would be as calm and collected as he was the entire story if this actually happened. Also, for as small as they claimed the town to be, the police took a reeeeeaally long time to get to the school... Other than those things, this was a fairly good book stylistically.
Memorable or Forgettable: The plot is the most memorable. A lot of books these days would turn this into a secret plot to take over the world, but this one tells a story that could happen, and probably has happened. Not a lot of books these days tell a truthful story like that, with the depth this has anymore.
Cover: Honestly? The cover sucks. It might just be that I have no experience with the real world, but I have no idea where the things on the cover came from, or what they are. The cover was very confusing, and if I hadn't been told it was worth reading, I probably would have skipped it.
Age Range: 14 through 18 and up
Quality: 4Q - Better than most
Popularity: 3P - Some teen appeal
tags: thriller / school shooting / drama / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: The Serpent King
Author: Jeff Zentner
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Pub Date: 03/08/16
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: In the beginning, this book felt slow. The plot didn't make much sense to me, and it didn't feel like it was going anywhere. But it picked up fairly quickly, and that helped it along.
The characters were amazing. I felt like I knew them, why they were doing certain things, why they thought the way they did. I liked how different chapters were in different perspectives. Other people have tried this, like Rick Roirdan in his Egypt and Roman series, but I think this book is the only one I've read that truly pulled this technique off. It really helped me understand the characters. Honestly, I think the characters are the best part of this book.
There are a few details that I would have liked added, that I think would have added to the plot, and the book in general. Some of the songs Dill wrote would have been nice. We got to see Lydia's blog, so why not the songs? Also, more from the dad. Dill Sr. seems to be the reason Dill Jr.'s life is so miserable, but we don't learn much about him. I get that the book is about the kid, but I think the dad would have been able to further expand on the kid's character.
Memorable or Forgettable: Why is this book memorable? The emotion. There are bad books where the characters don't feel. There are okay books where just the characters feel. And there are good books where the reader feels. This is a book where you get weird looks in public because you are crying over it. Spoilers: Seriously! The author took the character I related to most and murdered him! And the characters are reacting, and the writing is reacting, and this is basically an emotional bomb! So yeah. This book is memorable because of the emotion.
Cover: I guess the cover is okay. It doesn't really sway my might-read-the-book-ness. It does reflect the contents.
Age Range: 12 through 18 and up
Quality: 4Q - Better than most
Popularity: 4P - Broad general teen appeal
tags: coming of age / Southern fiction / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: The Dogs
Author: Allan Stratton
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pub Date: 09/01/15
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: I didn't like this book. It read less like a novel and more like an informational text. The situation the characters are placed in makes no sense. Cameron, who everyone calls smart, is actually extremely stupid. And the "extremely paranoid" mother would have been locked up a looooong time ago. Assuming that didn't happen, she would have locked her kid up fairly quickly in the book. All in all, it makes no sense.
Memorable or Forgettable: It's forgettable. It was written in a way that takes your time, but not your mind.
Cover: The cover is boring and forgettable. I'd say it reflects the contents.
Age Range: 12 through 13
Quality: 2Q - Needs more work
Popularity: 3P - Some teen appeal
tags: horror / psychological thriller / supernatural / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: Forbidden
Author: Eve Bunting
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pub Date: 12/01/15
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: I did not like this book. At all. My first major problem with this book was how the characters spoke. It felt like the author Googled "How do Scottish people talk?" and wrote based on what she found on answers dot whatever dot com. But it was only every three chapters or so. Every other chapter had characters that sounded British to me.
Another problem I had was the romance story. The first day she was in this town, she fell in love. This feels like what literally every new book known to man does. But my problem is the fact that Miss You-Must-Do-Everything-The-Proper-Way-Otherwise-I-Will-Die-Of-Shame fell in love with Mr. Rules?-Pshaw-Where's-The-Fun-In-That. The male in this pairing seems like the kind of person that Josie would look at and say, "Oh, he's handsome. But I mustn't behave like a silly little girl. What would Mrs. Chandler say about that? Oh, look at that behavior! That's horrible! I must never go near him again!" not take one look at him and fall in love.
Yet another issue in this book is how much it feels like a short story, not a novella. This story would have been way better if it had been condensed into 30-50 pages, not the 214 pages it was. That would have been enough time to explain the aunt and uncle's "business" and Josie's reaction to it. It wouldn't be so long that the ending made no sense for all that buildup.
Which brings us to my next issue. The ending. The book is building (I say building, I mean slowly climbing that little slope in a street that is there to let the water run off, until roughly 2/3 of the way through, when the slope jumps two feet, then continues on as previously) like it is going to be a serious historical fiction book. It has all (I mean one, sort of) the characters built as normal people for that time, and they are smart enough to figure something out. But then a whole bunch of pyromaniatical ghosts show up and kill everybody. Yep, that totally makes sense. This ending feels like the author was all, "Whoa, I have a brilliant idea! I'll have a girl catch some wreckers! It'll be great! <write write write> Wait-how am I supposed to end this thing? Um... I have a deadline... Um... Please come up with something... Aha!" and added a rushed ending for a different book.
All in all, this feels like a bad fan fiction. Of what, I'm not really sure, but that's what it feels like to me.
Memorable or Forgettable: What made this book memorable was the informational content. While the book itself was not very great, the whole idea of wreckers in 1807 was interesting. But other than that, it really wasn't that memorable. It's another female protagonist meets mysterious hot guy with a secret type story. I'm probably going to mix this one up with the last one I read, and these two will blend with the next one.
Cover: The cover is kind of boring. It only sort of reflects the contents of this book, and doesn't fit the title at all. I don't think very many people will pick this one up based on the cover.
Age Range: Under 12 through 13
Quality: 2Q - Needs more work
Popularity: 2P - Only for special interest
tags: historical fiction / suspense / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: Mechanica
Author: Betsy Cornwell
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pub Date: 08/04/15
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This was an okay book, I guess. The main character was interesting and well developed. The rest of the characters just seemed there. The book did feel like it was only about her, which it was, but I could have used some other interesting characters as well. The plot, while interesting, was not exactly believable for the situation the main character was in.
Memorable or Forgettable: I'm going to remember how lame the romance was. Seriously, get rid of the love story! At least tone it back a bit! But other than that, this had a good message that most sane people will remember after reading this book.
Cover: While the cover was interesting, it requires serious mental gymnastics to connect it to the book.
Age Range: Under 12 through 15
Quality: 3Q - Readable
Popularity: 3P - Some teen appeal
tags: fantasy / steampunk / fairy tale / Cinderalla / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: Seed
Author: Lisa Heathfield
Publisher: Running Press
Pub Date: 03/10/15
Galley: No
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This was interesting. The plot was okay, but it was really the only thing that was developed. The main character was too easily swayed one way or another for something that she was raised for. And I have no idea who the antagonist was, the new kid or the evil ruler. Neither of them were talked about strongly enough to be considered. And the problem solver was a character I had never heard of. This book seemed like the author had a great idea, but forgot to tell people about it.
Memorable or Forgettable: This was an interesting idea. It was freaky on sooooo many levels, but it was good. If it was better developed, I might remember it well enough to call it good.
Cover: The cover is boring. And boringer. Although it does match the contents, but the contents are not something you can put into a picture.
Age Range: 14 through 18 and up
Quality: 3Q - Readable
Popularity: 3P - Some teen appeal
tags: drama / cults / physical and emotional abuse / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: The Novice (Summoner Book One)
Author: Taran Matharu
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pub Date: 05/05/15
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: I liked this book. The plot moved well, with everything happening at a speed worth reading. All the characters were believable, but some of the nobles could have been developed a little bit better. I would like to know more about them. But the main character, Fletcher, was conceivably stupid enough to have been from a secluded village in the middle of nowhere with no access to anything - he was kind enough and he was mean enough. Things were explained well, and I felt like I had enough information throughout the book.
Memorable or Forgettable: The most memorable thing about this book is that it is not a repeat of the past six or seven books I have read lately. It feels more original. It also feels like quality writing, something else that is lacking. Finally, the darn cliffhanger has guaranteed I will not forget this book for a long while.
Cover: The cover was the reason I picked it up. I so want that jacket. Anyone who wears that jacket is a good character.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q - Better than most
Popularity: 4P - Broad general teen appeal
tags: fantasy / adventure / The Summoner Trilogy / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: Backlash
Author: Sarah Darer Littman
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pub Date: 03/31/15
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The characters were amazing. They interacted
well, they were real people, and I can see the problems that they have actually
being a problem that a real person can have. The plot moved quickly enough to
be interesting, but slow enough to make sense. What bothers me stylistically
about this book is the nonlinear plot. (Part one is after a character tries to
kill herself, part two is previous to that, and part three is the same time as
the first part.) That bothers me, but it worked, and I can see other people
liking it.
Memorable or Forgettable: What really stood out to me is the family set
up. Both younger siblings felt like they were dragged into their family
problems against their will, and that their parents did not understand them,
and that everything was against them. This is almost exactly like a lot of
people's lives, and nobody wants to mention it. There are actually a lot of
problems in this book that a lot of people are scared of mentioning, and that
is what will make this book memorable.
Cover: The cover turned me away. Not a good cover. But
that is just me, and I am special, so it is probably okay. Except for the fact
that it did not reflect its contents as well as it could have.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
tags:
coming of age / social media / teen suicide / dysfunctional families /
ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: The World Without Us
Author: Robin Stevenson
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Pub Date: 02/15/15
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The plot moved quickly enough, the story made
sense. The thing that felt wrong was the characters. I do not really buy the
whole Mel and her parent’s relationship. That did not really make sense. And I
felt like I was outside the characters. An amazing book takes you along with
the characters, inside their heads. This felt more like I was watching from a
distance.
Memorable or Forgettable: I think the only reason I will forget it is
because this is the third or fourth book I read like this in two or three
months. It did not really move me in any way to make it stand out amongst them.
Cover: What? The cover? Oh, yeah. Um, that is a pretty
picture. It reflects the contents well.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
tags:
teen suicide / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: Falling into Place
Author: Amy Zhang
Publisher: Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins
Pub Date: 09/06/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: What really bothered me about the book was the
narrator. It took me 237-ish pages to figure out who was telling me the story.
This sort of took away from the book, as I spent more time confused than
comprehending. Another problem was how stupid the characters were. The main
character knew she was an idiot, complained about being an idiot, but did
nothing about being an idiot. Annoying. This book also felt like it was written
in segments over a long period of time. This might have been the non-linear timeline,
but some of the sections felt like they were written by an eight year old. My
final problem is that it seems like the first chapter happened to hook you; the
middle happened because the author wanted to make a point, but the story was
neglectable; and the end is there to finish it and make it over.
Memorable or Forgettable: This is forgettable because it seems like one
long complaint. The main character was weird and annoying. The other characters
were out of character for most of the book. It just was not well done.
Cover: I like the cover. Nobody else my age will like it,
but I like it.
Age Range: Under 12
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 2P Only for special interest
tags: bullying / suicide / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 14
Title: Guilty?: Crime, Punishment, and the Changing Face
of Justice
Author: Teri Kanefield
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: 11/04/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This was nonfiction (but you probably knew
that). It seemed very well researched and well presented. It moved very
smoothly and made sense. If it were me, I would have put more of my opinion in
it, but the whole "these are the facts, what do you think" thing
worked. Nonfiction can be good, or it can crash and burn. This was good.
Memorable or Forgettable: The real life situations made it memorable. I am
against pointless things right now, and the real life made it have a point. It
made sense, and that helped its cause.
Cover: Wait- it has a cover?! Oh yeah. It does. Well,
it reflects the contents. I picked it up to annoy my Social Studies teacher. I
would not know if it turns people off or not.
Age Range: 12 through 15
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
tags: non-fiction / American justice system / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 13
Title: The Vault of Dreamers
Author: Caragh M. O'Brien
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pub Date: 09/16/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The plot was really well put together. You always had exactly the right amount of information for any given moment, and it also worked with itself. It happened in a place where this kind of thing can happen, to people I can see it happening to. The characters developed very well, and in directions you can see them going. The dialogue was great. These are actual people having conversations I can see people having, with an actual life behind them, not cardboard cutouts speaking lines on a stage who will go home to nothing, literally. This author knew what they were doing.
Memorable or Forgettable: I really think this author wrote the character, not the story, then had the character write the story, and that, nine times out of ten, makes the book so much better. The story was not told, it was showed. The details included make me believe in this plot, even though I doubt it would ever actually happen. It also helps that the plot idea itself is brilliant. This book was memorable.
Cover: The cover did tempt me to pick up the book, but now that I have read the book, two questions: where did this cover come from, and why?
Age Range: 12 through 18 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
tags: science fiction / dystopian / psychological thriller / reality TV / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 13
Title: Barbarian Lord
Author: Matt Smith
Publisher: Clarion Books
Pub Date: 07/01/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The characters were not relatable. They seemed to just exist, not really have a life and personality. The plot was very good at not existing in any way. The dialogue did not work. Not very well done.
Memorable or Forgettable: This was really just stupid. There was no real life to this book. It really went in one eye and out the other.
Cover: It was there. Yeah.
Age Range: Under 12
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
Additional Comments:
This, if published, will probably earn a few points because it is by Matt Smith.
tags: graphic novel / sword and sorcery / Vikings / Nordic lore / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 13
Title: The Island of Excess Love
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pub Date: 08/26/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The characters degraded from the last book, so this author obviously has a talent. There is even worse sentence structure, and the plot can not take you in. The dialogue was a little forced. Overall, not great.
Memorable or Forgettable: The plot, the characters, reactions between them, nothing was very well done. It is a very forgettable book.
Cover: It is there. That is really the type of cover it is. There.
Age Range: Under 12
Quality: 1Q How did it get published?
Popularity: 1P Yech! Forced to read it
tags: romance / post-apocalyptic / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 13
Title: Fire & Flood
Author: Victoria Scott
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pub Date: 02/25/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This is quite a wonderful book if you like it when characters do not actually interact with each other in a normal fashion, characters are walking stereotypes, and the plot is literally a badly written Hunger Games. The Pandoras are amazing.
Memorable or Forgettable: The Pandoras. They were amazing. It kind of seemed as though Scott wanted to write a book about them, but also wanted humans. They are seriously the only part of the book I will remember, because the rest was kind of like Professor Binns from Harry Potter wanted to tell the story.
Cover: What? It has a cover? Huh. That is so weird. Why is the feather burning? The book had absolutely nothing to do with that. Or fire and flood, for that matter.
Age Range: Under 12
Quality: 1Q How did it get published?
Popularity: 1P Yech! Forced to read it
tags: science fiction / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 13
Title: Savage Drift (Monument 14 #3)
Author: Emmy Laybourne
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pub Date: 05/06/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This was not exactly a spectacular book. Instead of developing characters, it seems like she drops them. Instead of giving the dropped characters a nice send off and explaining what happened to them, they have a temper tantrum and leave Dean until the end of the book. There is very little just talking dialogue. It all seems to be I hate you go away, or ohmygoshohmygosh everyone is going to die- no, they are not. I am lying to calm you down dialogue. As for the plot, it continues the "I want a trilogy, but I hate writing these books" feel that started half way through the last one.
Memorable or Forgettable: I guess the main reason I really do not like this book is that it is going to be one of those books that everyone worships because the first one was new. If this one were on its own, it might be better, but it is not at all memorable because the first one was way better, in plot and in writing.
Cover: The cover seems boring, really. I did not really notice it. But yes, it reflects pages 3-9 of chapter 30 in the "Oh, that is what it is? I barely noticed" kind of way.
Age Range: 14 through 18 and up
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
tags: post apocalyptic / dystopia / science fiction/ Monument 14 / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 13
Title: Take Back the Skies
Author: Lucy Saxon
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Pub Date: 06/03/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: Element wise, this was an okay book. The characters were actual people. They had conversations that could actually happen. They showed true emotions. The plot made sense. It was paced well. It was just fast enough to keep things going. It was still slow enough to make sense.
Memorable or Forgettable: The most memorable thing in this book was its messages. That is a very bad thing, as its messages send the wrong picture to children. It sends "classic girls are too weak" stereotypes. So, yes the book is memorable. No, not in a good way.
Cover: I liked the cover. It was very Sci-Fi ish. It was not what I expected from the cover, but the cover still matched.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
tags: science fiction / fantasy / Take Back the Skies / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 13
Title: I Have a Bad Feeling About This
Author: Jeff Strand
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pub Date: 03/01/14
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book was really well written. The characters stayed who they were throughout the whole book, so there was no random, "I am suddenly a super hero because the author could not do anything with me," kind of thing. The characters interacted well, and the way the plot was designed was amazing.
Memorable or Forgettable: This book was really memorable because it was really funny. It was definitely written to be humorous, and it worked. Also, it seemed to be written for teens, while still kind of making fun of the things it talked about. It had a YouTuber in it, talking about the really bad remake of the events that happened in the book movie. That was interesting.
Cover: The cover was very much the book. The words being written in something that could be red paint and could be blood was definitely a good idea.
Age Range: Under 12 through 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
tags: humor / realistic fiction / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K.
Age: 13
Title: Independent Study (The Testing #2)
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: 01/07/2014
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book needs a voice of its own. It has characters that speak almost exactly like Katniss Everdeen, and is almost written by her author. The characters are all static and do almost nothing.
Memorable or Forgettable: It is exactly like the Hunger Games, and it almost completely contradicts the first one. There is almost no plot, and she always is worrying about boys.
Cover: The cover is exactly like the book: pointless. I would never have picked it up, except for the reviews given by my group mates.
Age Range: 12 through 13
Quality: 1Q How did it get published?
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
tags: science fiction / dystopian romance / The Testing / ya lit
Reader: Veronica K
Age: 13
Title: The Rule of Three
Author: Eric Walters
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: 01/21/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book had pretty good dialogue. There were sometimes when it sounded like the characters were lecturing each other in conversation, but all in all it was believable. The characters themselves were a stretch, they seemed to be a little bit to convenient, but they worked, and were pretty realistic for who the author wanted them to be.
Memorable or Forgettable: What makes this book memorable is the lesson it tries to teach you. It is basically The Lord of the Flies, but more relevant to this day and age. It really gets across that society needs rules and that civilization is not as civil as it seems. The plot was also very memorable, as not very many people think along these lines.
Cover: The cover reflects the end-middle and the end. It is very inviting to readers who like this type of story.
Age Range: 12-13
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
tags: coming of age / post-apocalyptic / ya lit
