Good Reads & Views

Hunted by Meagan Spooner
YA Fiction

What it’s about: Hunted by Meagan Spooner is a Beauty and the Beast retelling in which Yeva—our Beauty—is a skilled hunter and the youngest of three loving sisters. When her father is killed deep in the woods by the legendary Beast, Yeva sets out to seek revenge for his murder. This novel descends gently from reality to fantasy with a level-headed, but passionate female lead. If you’re looking for a young adult Beauty and the Beast that sticks relatively close to the source material, but not so much as to become stale, you’ve found it in this “tale as old as time.”   

You Might Also Like: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

 

 

Dread Nation: Rise Up by Justina Ireland
YA Fiction

What it’s about: The dead rose up at Gettysburg just after the battle, and the nation is still recovering from the war and the zombie apocalypse. Now Jane McKeene is training to become a lady’s attendant (bodyguard) against the shamblers and trying to find out what happened to her ex-boyfriend’s sister and her family, but she makes powerful enemies in the process.

Why you should read it: This reads a bit like Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the Wild West. African-American Jane is smart, sassy, and ferocious, protecting those she cares about and commenting on the world as she knows it. Well worth finding on audio too.

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The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
YA Fiction

Beautiful and monstrous, The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, is a strong example of creative world building, but suffers a bit from weak sentence rhythm. Set in Orléans, a cultural mashup of New Orleans and Asian fusion, this novel tells the tale of the beautiful and talented Camellia Beauregard and her induction as the favorite Belle to the royal family. Since the God of the Sky and the Goddess of Beauty have allowed their nasty marital problems to affect their children—the people of Orleans--only Belles can make them beautiful. However, Camellia doesn’t know who to trust in the palace: the Queen is cold and reserved and the princess might just be nuts. The amount of physical description and writing style given in this novel plays well with its theme regarding beauty, but its first person point of view sentence structure can become repetitive. This story gives me hard Panam, the capital city featured in Hunger Games, vibes, and mimics its obsession with extreme appearances, gluttony, and excess. If you’re into world building with terrifying undertones, pick this bad boy up because it delivers.

 

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
YA Fiction

Shaun was shot and killed. According to The Rules, his brother Will must not cry or snitch, and he has to kill the one responsible. He gets his brother’s gun and enters the elevator to go kill the man he believes has shot his brother… Ghosts of his past get in too. Will sharing their tragic stories change Will’s path and stop the cycle of violence? This novel-in-verse uses powerful imagery and several voices to weave together a tale of an-eye-for-an-eye as well as revenge gone wrong. Although it is a very fast read (less than two hours as an audiobook), it is emotionally moving and thought provoking.

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Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
YA Fiction

Texas town-treasure, Harper Price, is exactly what a proper southern belle should be: hard working, sweet, and pretty, but when she is suddenly the lone witness to the death of a sword wielding janitor on the night she is supposed to be crowned homecoming queen, everything is turned upside down. Now, she’s charged with protecting her high school nemesis—David Stark, rumor-starting school reporter—to the death as his sworn paladin. With new super powers in agility, strength, and fighting that seem to come out of nowhere, Harper must combat those who want David dead all while surviving cotillion and salvaging some semblance of her disintegrating social life. Rebel Belle, by Rachel Hawkins, is a quick but gentle stand in for a butt-kicking vampire slayer. It is missing the witty dialogue and timely teenage topics of its inspiration, but may serve as an appropriate introduction to the superior work that so obviously inspired it. A fine read on its own, it’s concluding pages make promises worth reading more about in its next installment: Miss Mayhem.

 

 

Yvain, The Knight of the Lion by M. T. Anderson
YA Fiction

In the days of knights and castles, Yvain is a swashbuckling knight of King Arthur’s Round Table who runs into trouble when he breaks a promise to his wife. A ferocious lion is his sidekick. He is suicidal until he finds a damsel in distress who gives him a cause that gives his life meaning. This graphic novel takes the famous medieval classic and turns it into a reader-friendly, if gory, story. This is an adaptation of Chrétien de Troyes’s 13th century work that greatly defined the developing fantasy genre known as “romance,” which is not today’s meaning of romance in literature. You have here all the elements of medieval romance: swordplay, courtly love (and the obligatory cruel lady), chivalry, knights errant, ladies in need of rescue, tournaments, adventure, horses. Lots of horses. And a lion. Imagine Medieval Times® with a more complicated, drawn out plot.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Fiction

Can you imagine being born with an extreme facial deformity and going through 27 corrective surgeries before entering 5^th grade? That's August Pullman, who loves Star Wars, eats ice cream, rides his bike, plays ball, and has an x-box... Sounds like an average 10 year old. He is very much an ordinary kid on the inside. August, aka Auggie, is a 5^th grade boy about ready to start school at Beech prep after being homeschooled all his life. Auggie and his father do not think this is a good idea. Auggie’s tight knit family is very loving and supportive. His one and only older sibling, Via, is very protective of her younger brother. Auggie’s favorite furry friend is Daisy the family dog. What could be worse than starting at a new school and not knowing a single person? Aggie is about to find out. This book is about expectations and fitting in, no matter what your external appearance. Find out what it's like to be Auggie, but also what it’s like to be the people around him.

Ms. Marvel #1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
YA Nonfiction

She was born in Jersey City, but her parents expect Kamala to act like a good Pakistani girl. She idolizes superheroes, but she certainly didn’t expect to get Ms. Marvel’s powers! Now Kamala’s struggling to balance her protective parents’ wishes with some secret crime fighting while being grounded. The writing is entertaining and fast paced, and the illustrations are bright and colorful. Kamala is a gutsy heroine who thinks for herself. Even those who don’t know the history of the previous Ms. Marvels will find this easy to follow, but there are a few hints layered in for fans too. Here’s hoping the series stays as strong as the new Ms. Marvel!

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
YA Fiction

This book was captivating from the very beginning. It is told from the perspective of Clay Jensen, a high school student who receives a box of audiotapes narrated by a girl whom he had a crush on, Hannah Baker, who has recently committed suicide. The book interweaves her words from the audiotapes with his comments and memories. On the audiotapes Hannah shares her thirteen reasons for why she did what she did and names specific people and how they contributed to what happened and her ultimate decision. They too will receive the audiotapes and are instructed to mail them to the next person mentioned on the tapes. It really made me think about the ways we effect people's lives with what we do or don't do, say or don't say, and when we know we need to do something but don't, or do something we shouldn't have done. It highlights, I feel, how our interactions, words, and choices can have a profound impact on others.

March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell
Nonfiction

This graphic novel was much buzzed about before its release, and it grabbed me right from the start. Congressman John Lewis shares his life story growing up poor in Alabama, his awakening to preaching about racial equality and the beginnings of his work with the Civil Rights movement in this first volume. The powerful story jumps back and forth in time but never loses focus. Lewis' dedication to nonviolent protest amazed me, especially when Nate Powell's expressive drawings showed some of the violence and hatred directed at him and other students during the lunch counter sit-ins.