Young Adult Book Reviews

Review: Aura (The Senses Novels Book 1) by K M Aul

Aura (The Senses Novels Book 1) by K M Aul

Shifting your perspective as a reader is one of the fundamental reasons to pick up a book, and great authors can immerse readers in worlds they couldn’t have imagined before the first page. In Aura, the first installation of the Senses Novels by K M Aul, the author does not hesitate to throw readers off the deep end of all they assume about the world – and about how it’s going to end.

The gifted young characters that sit at the center of the novel, particularly Jacob, must navigate their own inherent struggles in the larger world, while also […]

Review: The Last April by Belinda Kroll

The Last April

Split-second decisions have life-changing consequences in The Last April, a gripping and thought-provoking work of YA historical fiction by Belinda Kroll.

It’s April, 1865 and in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, fifteen-year-old Gretchen Miller is in the garden of her family farm in rural Ohio when she’s startled by a Confederate soldier who falls in a dead faint literally steps from her feet. As Gretchen reaches his side, the feverish soldier mutters about his escape from Camp Chase, a training barrack/Confederate prison outside of Columbus. Realizing that the young soldier will die without her help, Gretchen reluctantly […]

2019-01-22T10:54:07+02:00July 15th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |

Review: A Smuggler’s Path by I.L. Cruz

A Smuggler's Path by I.L. Cruz

A delightfully creative adventure, A Smuggler’s Path by I.L. Cruz stands alone in a very crowded fantasy genre, boasting a youthful, energetic spirit and a wonderful new world to explore for readers of fantasy.

The Enchanted Isles are the place where magic fled when the world of men became too dangerous for mages. When the fires of the Spanish Inquisition burned, it was time for the magic-wielders to find safer shores. However, after struggles and violence arose between the three founding sisters of the isles, the freedom of this magic disappeared. It once more became a sacred thing, something to […]

Luni327: The Journey Begins by Dan Eaton

Luni327: The Journey Begins by Dan Eaton

Life on Earth is inevitably going to change in the coming decades, and in Dan Eaton’s Luni327: The Journey Begins, one of the more popular ideas of a lunar colony takes center stage in this suspense-filled YA novel.

Couched within the perspective of a 13-year-old boy, the story comes with a natural innocence to it, but Bryce also grows immensely over the course of the novel, and the adventures he experiences on his journey effortlessly drive this exciting tale. Additionally, the novel’s futuristic vision of the moon doesn’t stretch too far into the realm of science fiction, considering that […]

Escape the Future by T. Schneider

Escape the Future by Tom Schneider

The powerful effects that dystopian realities can have on young people is a common element in post-apocalyptic fiction. In Escape the Future, the gritty new novel from Tom Schneider, this youthful perspective is highlighted, and in the horrors of a world where all the lights have gone out, three young protagonists must find a way to survive and protect those they love most.

In this raw depiction of the future, Schneider masterfully depicts Eva, Layla and Henry, three distinct and uniquely motivated young characters that infuse this story with authenticity. The family dynamic makes this story as powerful as […]

Berlin Butterfly: Ensnare by Leah Moyes

Berlin Butterfly: Ensnare by Leah MoyesIn Berlin Butterfly: Ensnare, author Leah Moyes has presented a truly human story of heartache and familial devotion during the Cold War in East Berlin.

The story begins on August 12, 1961, the day the barbs were laid in preparation for the Berlin Wall. 15-year-old Ella must make the decision that many of that time had to make: leave your family and be free, or stay and suffer the tyranny of Khrushchev. The lives on the other side of the wall may have seemed  so much greener, but the relationships that were built, the love that was longed for, […]

2018-05-10T12:09:12+02:00May 10th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |

The Prisoner of Zurenda: Warrior from Olympus by Kent A. LeFevre

The Prisoner of Zurenda: Warrior from Olympus by Kent A. LeFevreThe Prisoner of Zurenda: Warrior from Olympus is an epic work of mythic fantasy, weaving Greek mythology into an entertaining work of fiction. More fit for younger readers, it boasts characters with a moral compass – a quality that is famously devoid among the Greek Gods.

A trio of friends, Arjun, Lycos and Keira, adventure through ancient Greece, both real and fantastical, in an attempt quell the angry gods and ungrateful men. Assigned a mission by the Goddess Selene, its story fits snugly with those of ancient Greece – sea monsters attack, leaving men to float off on pieces of […]

2019-01-22T06:00:42+02:00May 8th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , , |

Review: Chasing the Red Queen by Karen Glista

Chasing the Red Queen

Chippewa legends and vampirical lore make for interesting bedfellows in Chasing the Red Queen, an edgy YA paranormal romance by Karen Glista.

Sixteen-year-old Donja Bellanger is devastated to be leaving behind her childhood home and all those she holds dear to start a new life in another town, thanks to her mother’s marriage to widower, Carson Hampton. Worse yet, she’ll have to share a bedroom with Carson’s privileged daughter, Makayla, during renovations to the old manor into which they just moved.

Surprisingly, the two girls quickly become fast friends, bonding over their tragic loss of a parent, and on […]

2020-02-21T07:14:31+02:00April 20th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |
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