Category: Young Adult/New Adult

Posted in Historical Fiction, Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Divah takes New York!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

divahDivah, by Susannah Appelbaum (March 2016, Sky Pony Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781634506748

Recommended for ages 12+

Itzy Nash is not looking forward to this summer vacation. Her dad is sending her off to her stuffy aunt, who doesn’t even like kids, while he goes off to Paris to do some research. But when Itzy arrives at New York’s elite Carlyle Hotel, she gets the strange feeling that something’s not right – for starters, Aunt Maude isn’t around, either; she’s left word that she’s hired a governess to keep an eye on Itzy. Plus, there’s a weird sound coming from one of the closets, and there are tons of flies. And that’s just the beginning.

Itzy learns that the Queen of the Damned – the Divah – is at the Carlyle, and she’s trying to open the gates of Hell itself. With the help of a fallen angel that she may or may not be able to trust, an aging star, and a host of colorful New Yorkers, Itzy also discovers that it’s up to her to save New York – and the world – from the Divah and her minions. Better hope she’s up to the task.

I loved this book. There’s a bit of historical fiction with a twist, some horror, and through it all, a fantastically witty thread of the darkest humor. It’s a sendup of high New York society and celebrity, a thrill ride in a book, with an End of Days bent. There are well-developed characters and a backstory that comes to fruition over the centuries. Ms. Appelbaum takes pop culture and weaves it into her story’s history to establish the ubiquity of demon and demon hunter culture in our world, from Evian water to Hermès scarves.

Add this to collections where YA thrillers/paranormal fiction is popular. Booktalk New York touchstones like the Carlyle Hotel in New York, particularly the Bemelmans Bar within the hotel; show art from the Madeline books to link the readers to Bemelmans’ work. For teens, booktalk Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby, for similar New York-based horror.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Vault of Dreamers continues with The Rule of Mirrors

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

rule of mirrorsThe Rule of Mirrors, by Caragh O’Brien (Feb. 2016, Roaring Brook Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781596439405

Recommended for ages 12+

About a year and a half ago, The Vault of Mirrors had me on the edge of my seat with its mindgame narrative and cliffhanger ending, so when I saw that its sequel, The Rule of Mirrors was finally available through Edelweiss, I was all over it. I was not disappointed.

Rosie is back, but she’s not at Forge School anymore. She’s not in the vault of dreamers anymore. Actually, Rosie’s not in just one place anymore: she’s been mined, and one of her dream seeds has taken root in a coma patient: a pregnant Latina girl named Althea.

Told in first person narratives, we get Thea’s and Rosie’s stories. While Rosie’s consciousness lives on in Thea’s body, Thea appears to be gone, and she struggles to make sense of everything around her. Rosie is desperate to escape her circumstances and get revenge on Dr. Berg, the Forge School dean who imprisoned her.

This second book in the Vault of Dreamers trilogy is just as gripping and plays just as many mindgames as the first. If you thought there were moral quandaries in the first book, you haven’t read anything yet. O’Brien presents a host of new dilemmas in Rule of Mirrors, including pregnancy, keeping a coma patient alive, and what happens when one person’s consciousness is transferred into another person’s body?

This is a brilliant trilogy that shouldn’t be missed. Great for teens, great for adults, great for dark fantasy fans. Don’t miss!

Posted in Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Think you know Peter Pan? Read Lisa Maxwell’s Unhooked.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

unhookedUnhooked, by Lisa Maxwell (Feb. 2016, Simon Pulse), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481432047

Recommended for ages 13+

Gwendolyn has never had a real home. Her mother has moved she and Gwen around for years, never staying too long in one place, always on the run from the monsters she swore were after them. Gwen is tired and frustrated at this latest move to a small apartment in London. Thankfully, her best friend, Olivia, is spending the summer with them.

Shortly after they arrive at the apartment, Gwen and Olivia are taken in the middle of the night by shadowy creatures. Separated from Olivia and desperate to find out what’s going on, she finds herself on a boat and demands that the Captain enlighten her. And that’s when she discovers that the monsters her mother always worried about weren’t just a figment of her imagination. Gwen is in Neverland, and Hook isn’t necessarily the one she has to watch out for. Now, she’s got to find Olivia and try to find their way home, but Pan isn’t planning on making things easy for anyone. He’s got an agenda, and the two girls have been brought to Neverland to help him accomplish it. He’s a sweet talker, especially compared to the harsh, brutal Hook, but Gwen has the feeling that Pan’s not all he seems to be…

This dark fantasy reimagining of Peter Pan will turn everything you think you know about Neverland and Peter Pan on its head. It’s a dark and brutal tale, with children dying in battle and evil faeries playing both sides. It’s fast-paced and well constructed, with smart, put-together characters and a painful World War I story gently woven into the overall narrative. You’ll try to place all the characters – I did – but just go with the narrative rather than try to fit every peg to a hole. For instance, I quickly figured that Gwen was Wendy, but where were Michael and John? There are parallels that could be drawn – no spoilers here – but in the end, Gwen is Gwendolyn, Hook is Hook, Pan is Pan, and Olivia is Olivia. These are their own characters, their own people, unique and individual in every way.

I don’t know whether this will turn into a series or a trilogy. This is a great stand-alone adventure and doesn’t need further explanation. Add to your fantasy collection; YA fairy tales are always good to have available to provide a comforting bridge to childhood with a decidedly grown-up spin to them.

Posted in Fantasy, Young Adult/New Adult

These Vicious Masks – a Regency X-Men!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

viciousThese Vicious Masks, by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas (Feb. 2016, Macmillan), $9.99, ISBN: 9781250073891

Recommended for ages 13+

Evelyn is so tired of dealing with society’s expectations. She isn’t interested in the balls her mother insists they attend, she isn’t interested in marriage – she’d rather help her sister, Rose, who has the scandalous dream of becoming a doctor! The two have earned the pearl-clutching reputation for healing people at their country estate, and that just won’t do in London society. The sisters meet an odd gentleman named Sebastian Braddock at one gala, and don’t know what to make of him. Is he eccentric, or just crazy? All bets are off the next morning, when Evelyn wakes up to discover Rose is gone. No matter what her so-called note said, she knows that Mr. Braddock is somehow mixed up in this. She heads off to London to find her sister and bring her home.

Once she arrives in London, though, Evelyn finds out that she, Rose, Mr. Braddock, and even Mr. Kent, the dashing gentleman that’s had eyes for her – are a very special group of people, with special abilities that attract the attention of a scientist who experiments on these gifted individuals. Rose’s time is running out, and Evelyn finds herself forced to trust Mr. Braddock to help her get her sister back home safely.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It’s Heroes, circa 1820; X-Men meets Jane Austen, as I’ve read elsewhere. We’ve got a nefarious underground organization pulling strings, young men and women with incredible abilities that they may not even be aware they have, dashing men and daring young women rushing headlong into danger to save one of their own. I love the witty dialogue here – I chuckled out loud often while reading. Evelyn is a brilliant protagonist, sarcastic and vulnerable, smart and strong. Her banter with Mr. Kent is delicious, and her frustration at her own attraction to Sebastian Braddock is hilarious.

It’s not all laughs, with a very real danger in the form of a doctor hell bent on discovering the source of these abilities. Evelyn is terrified at the prospect of losing her sister, and furious at the time it’s taking to locate her. She finds herself in some of the seediest spots in London and up against people, the likes of whom she’s never encountered before. You’ll laugh, but you’ll white knuckle the covers as you read this book, trust me. The ending of the book leads me to think/hope/wish that there’s another book coming, and while I normally sigh and say, “Everything is a trilogy/quadrilogy/series these days,” here, I’ll say, “Yes, please, more.”

Add this one to your YA collections where you have fantasy fans. No steampunk here, just good storytelling and superpowers, no tights, no capes (unless we’re talking opera cloaks, that’s a different story).

Posted in Fiction, geek culture, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Creep Con – Cosplay does *not* equal consent or reality!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

creep conCreep Con, by Kim Firmston (Sept. 2015, Lorimer), $14.95, ISBN: 9781459409774

Recommended for ages 12+

Comic book and superhero fan Mariam’s the new girl in school and feeling lonely until she meets Tya, who’s hardcore into the manga/anime fandom. The two bond over their mutual fandoms and love of cosplay and conventions, and plan to attend an otaku – anime and manga fandom – con together. All is well until Tya can’t go to the con because she has a family wedding to go to, leaving Mariam to go on her own. While she’s there, she meets up with a group of cosplayers from the same manga, who invite her to join their group. The leader of the group, Rick, seems to have a hard time keeping fantasy and reality straight, though, and starts getting way too familiar with Mariam, insisting that they play out their character’s romance. Can Mariam get away from Rick before things go too far?

If you’re a cosplay/convention fan, you’re doubtlessly familiar with the Cosplay is NOT Consent movement, a movement that exists because some con-goers said and acted inappropriately to their fellow fans. Creep Con is an interesting look at this situation, particularly as it takes place in the otaku fandom, where the costumes can get a little outrageous. There are some great references to both comics/superhero and otaku fandoms here, that teens will be familiar with and appreciate. The story brings the danger of cosplay being mistaken for consent home, and at the same time, reminds teens that they need to be honest and upfront with their parents and guardians – safety first.

I did find Mariam frustrating in that she let herself be ordered around by this guy she didn’t even know. She had two people she knew and wanted to become closer friends with at the con, but talked herself – several times – into listening to Rick, who left charming behind and went right into creepy early on in the book. I can see where it was an honest portrayal, particularly for a new girl who was trying to make friends, but I would have liked a stronger protagonist who wasn’t so easily manipulated.

This is one of Lorimer’s new novels for reluctant readers. The line is strong, covering current topics like cosplay and fandom; LGBT and abuse with their Side Streets line; sports; historical fiction, and true crime. Struggling and reluctant readers will appreciate the no frills storytelling that gets straight to the point and covers topics that meet their interests.

 

Posted in Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Cinnamon Girl: A Superheroine teens can get behind!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

cinnamon girlThe Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl, by Melissa Keil (April 2016, Peachtree Publishers), $17.95, ISBN: 9781561459056

Recommended for ages 13+

Alba is a teen who loves her life just the way it is. She and her mom live behind the bakery her mother runs in Eden Valley, a small, South Australian town. She loves Wonder Woman, comics and pop culture, and her close-knit group of friends, especially her best friend, Grady. Everything is pretty perfect – until it’s not.

First, a YouTube video from some wacko doomsday preacher goes viral. The problem? He claims that Eden Valley will be the one safe spot on the planet, which brings doomsday fanatics flooding into the Valley, setting up campsites on any available patch of land. Then, Daniel Gordon arrives on the scene: Alba and Grady’s childhood friend who went on to become a B-list heartthrob on a nighttime TV soap opera. He’s giving off signals that cause some confusing feelings for Alba, especially when Grady starts acting even weirder. Even Cinnamon Girl, Alba’s superheroine creation, is stumping her lately; she just can’t seem to find inspiration for Cinnamon’s continuing adventures. Can she get all of this worked out before the world ends?

I loved this book! There are fantastic comic book and pop culture references (Wonder Woman fans will be especially thrilled), and Alba is a great protagonist and teen role model. She’s body-positive, with an early conversation about her body and breasts that made me laugh out loud; she thinks she’s aware of who she is and her place in the world, until the outside world intrudes on the little bubble she’s created for herself and she finds herself faced with some big decisions.

This is an end of times story, but not necessarily the end of times you think it is. It’s a crossroads story, an end of childhood story, and for many people, entering adulthood and leaving high school behind can feel like it’s all coming to an end. I loved Alba’s narration and found it real; believable. Alba’s snarky narration is wonderful and refreshing, particularly when the world seems to be showing up on her doorstep and appear to have left their manners at home. The black and white comic art throughout the book made me really want to see a Cinnamon Girl comic book. Maybe we’ll get some further adventures of Alba, with prose and a graphic novel woven together to create a narrative a la I Am Princess X? Probably not, but that’s okay – The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl is a standout, standalone novel that Rainbow Rowell fans will devour. This book will also make a great graduation gift for the teens in your life; let them know that you know adulting is hard, but this book will help ease the transition.

Melissa Keil is an Australian author whose debut novel, Life in Outer Space, won the 2013 Ampersand Project (and which is now on my TBR). Cinnamon Girl has been shortlisted for the 2015 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year. Check out her author website for more info on her books!

 

Posted in geek culture, Graphic Novels, Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

YALSA releases their 2016 list of great graphic novels!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Great news! Last week, YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) published their 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. There are some brilliant titles on the list, making gift purchases and library collection updates a lot easier, by the way. I was really excited to see so many great books on the list, from a diverse mix of major publishers and smaller independents.

Some highlights:

Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War. By Michel Chikwanine & Jessica Dee Humphreys/Illus. by Claudia Davila. Kids Can Press, $18.95, (9781771381260). A young man tells the story of his kidnapping by rebel militants and his time as a child soldier in the Congo.

Doomboy. By Tony Sandoval. Illustrated by the author. Magnetic Press, $24.99, (9780991332472). A teen with an active imagination and a love of heavy metal mourns his girlfriend the best way he can: through his music.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1952. By Mike Mignola and John Arcudi. Illustrated by Alex Maleev. Dark Horse Books, paper, $19.99 (9781616556600). Hellboy goes on his first mission.

Human Body Theatre. By Maris Wicks. Illustrated by the author. First Second, $14.99, (9781596439290). A skeleton teaches the reader about the human body and its functions.

Last of the Sandwalkers. By Jay Hosler. Illustrated by the author. First Second, $16.99, (9781626720244). A tribe of insects goes on a voyage of discovery to explore the land beyond their borders.

Princess Ugg, vol. 1. By Ted Naifeh. Illus by the author. Oni Press, paper, $15.99, (9781620101780). Warrior Princess Ulga attends the prestigious Princess Academy at her dead mother’s request.

Roller Girl. By Victoria Jamieson. Illustrated by the author. Dial Books for Young Readers, $12.99, (9780803740167). A tween signs up for roller derby camp and learns about herself, friendship, and sacrifice.

The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne, Crystal Chan, and Stacy King. Illus by SunNeko Lee. Udon Entertainment, hardcover, $24.99, (9781927925348). A manga retelling of the classic story of a Puritan woman caught in adultery and forced to publicly bear her shame.

The Suspended Castle: A Philemon Adventure. By Fred. Illus by the author. TOON Graphics, hardcover, $16.95, (9781935179863). Bartholomew has been rescued from an alternate dimension but now misses it and wants to go back, little suspecting the adventure in store for him and Philemon.

Now, go forth and read graphic novels, and check out the rest of YALSA’s list!

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Rebellion as Fantasy: Curio, by Evangeline Denmark

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

curioCurio, by Evangeline Denmark (Jan. 2016, ZonderKidz), $17.99, ISBN: 9780310729662

Recommended for ages 13+

In a post-cataclysm Mercury City, Colorado, a group of alchemists, called Chemists, are the ruling body, controlling the populace through draconian laws, torture, and distribution of a daily potion that helps citizens survive after a plague ravaged society a century before. Physical contact between males and females comes with a price; a price her best friend, Whit, learns after trying to help Grey home in time for curfew. After Whit’s brutal punishment, Grey takes a risk she’s been thinking about for too long – she gives him her ration of potion. She knows she and her family are different – her father and grandfather don’t take it, and she suspects she doesn’t need it, either. This provides the Chemists with the chance they’ve been waiting for: the chance to get hold of Grey and attack her family. She seeks refuge at her grandfather’s repair shop, where her only chance at escape is to enter the world of the curio cabinet in the back of the shop: there, she finds herself in a world of living porcelain and clockwork figures, swept up in a class struggle of their own, and a mysterious figure known as the Mad Tock. Could he be the mysterious person she was told to seek out?

Curio is a curious mix of post-apocalyptic and steampunk genres. Grey is a standard YA post-apocalyptic heroine, spunky and strong-willed, ready to take on the system. She’s got a special secret to be revealed and a family history that she only knows the surface of. The world inside the curio cabinet is a steampunk society, with “tocks” – clockwork figures that make up the working class – and “porcies”, the beautiful upper class. It’s a skin-deep society; the fragile porcies are terrified of cracks or breaks, because they’ll be banished to “Lower”, with the rest of the lower class and broken, to eke out an existence. We spend a lot of time in Curio, but a lot of it is laborious. There is a lot of concentration on the porcies’ fascination with Grey and where she could be from, and the villain of the story is enticing but not as fully realized as he could be. The Mad Tock storyline could also benefit from more emphasis on his story earlier on, and less on his gadgetry.

There’s some strong world-building on both sides of the curio cabinet, but the overall storytelling lags. The one plot that doesn’t lag at all is the love story, and that happens so quickly that it is difficult to believe (but that could just be my personal taste).

Curio is an interesting mashup of two genres I never pictured working well together, but they do. There’s potential for a series here, and indeed, there is a prequel, Mark of Blood and Alchemy, available as a free download for Kindle and Nook.

 

Posted in Fantasy, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

A Curse of Ash & Iron – YA with a little steampunk, a little fairy tale

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ash & Iron eBook 1000A Curse of Ash & Iron, by Christine Norris (May 2015, Curiosity Quills Press), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1620078853

Recommended for ages 13+

Eleanor lost her mother when she was a child, and has been living under her evil stepmother’s thumb ever since. She’s a stranger to her beloved father; indeed, to everyone she once knew – her stepmother has managed to bewitch her so that no one will recognize her. Living as a servant in her own home and forced to wear a stranger’s face in public, Ellie is in for a bleak future until her childhood best friend, Ben Grimm, sees through the spell and recognizes her. Together, guided by a mysterious benefactor, Ellie may have a chance to regaining her life after all.

Heavily influenced by Cinderella, this steampunk fairy tale is great YA reading for girls who like a little steam power in their romance. Ellie isn’t a simpering, fainting Victorian heroine; she’s a smart, determined young woman who is darned angry about the way her life has gone, and she’s going to fight to get it all back. The evil stepmother is truly an awful human being – you’ll be waiting the entire book for a giant anvil to fall out of the sky and bean her, I promise you – and Ben, as the long-lost childhood friend, has his own subplot about his personal quest for independence that will put you firmly in his corner.

Great characters, steam and brass, and a familiar fairy tale feel to comfort you on days when you just want to be a kid again. A Curse of Ash & Iron is the book for your burgeoning steampunk collection. If your readers aren’t quite ready for Gail Carriger’s Finishing School assassins, they’ll love Ellie and her friends. Historical notes at the novel’s end will appeal to history buffs!

Author Christine Norris offers printable goodies on her website, along with some extra content geared toward librarians. Give her some love, she’s one of our tribe!