Young Adult Book Reviews

High-school drama and real-world consequences collide in Mortal Vengeance by Alejandro Torres De la Rocha, a fast-paced thriller with a supernatural twist.

When four young friends in Santo Domingo hatch a revenge prank against a particularly tyrannical teacher, they spark a catastrophic chain of events that threatens to destroy their friendships and any hope for the future. Not only do they face possible expulsion, arrest, military school, or just being grounded forever, a scythe-wielding monster begins to stalk the streets, and the grim deaths that follow send the town into a panic. Death has come to these unsettled Caribbean shores, […]

A raw account of a teenage boy battling the relentless weight of anxiety, The Clock in My Head Never Stops by Daniel Rush is a relatable and detailed portrait of silent struggle.

Readers follow Billy’s steps through a typical day of high school, where he overthinks every step of the way, from nerve-wracking moments of class participation and awkward upperclassmen crushes to the self-doubt of team sports and emotional disconnection from seemingly oblivious parents. His unwanted and obsessive focus on time, expectations, potential disappointments, failures, or embarrassment goes beyond the typical worries of most teenagers, crossing into the realm of […]