Titans by Victoria Scott Science Fiction Suspense Thriller Young Adult * * * * Stars (Great!) Astrid Sullivan would do anything to keep her family from falling apart, but her grandfather’s and father’s gambling have put them in a precarious position and they stand to lose everything. A chance meeting with a cantankerous elderly engineer (Rags) at the racetrack, gives Astrid new hope when he asks her to be the jockey for a Titan 1.0 … Read more
The Vanishing Throne Falconer #2 by Elizabeth May Fantasy Romance Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) In the first book of the Falconer trilogy, Aileana Kameron discovered she was a warrior with special gifts (a Falconer) and vowed to take her vengeance on the Fae who had murdered her mother. She failed in her quest to renew the seal that kept human and Fae worlds separate, which the Fae exploited by invading the … Read more
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg Mystery Romance Science Fiction Suspense Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) When we first meet Ana, all we know about her is that she has been on trial for murder. But she is no ordinary criminal. Ana is a Fantasist – a human/cyborg hybrid who was created in a lab specifically to be one of the hostess-princesses in a sprawling theme-park known as “The Kingdom.” She and her sisters … Read more
The Belles Belles #1 by Dhonielle Clayton (Audio edition) Fantasy Science Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) The Belles are a group of women who have special powers to enhance the appearance of normal people (who typically have grey skin and red eyes). Depending on how powerful a Belle is, she can use her arcana to color skin, hair and eyes, do body shaping, even alter bone structure. Some can even change personality. A … Read more
My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life by Rachel Cohn Realistic Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Elle Zoellner is gobsmacked when her Japanese father, with whom she has never had any contact, suddenly informs her that he is bringing her to live with him in Tokyo, Japan. Her mother was incarcerated (drugs) not long ago, and Elle has been living in foster homes, so her transition to the wealth and privilege enjoyed by her … Read more
How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom by S.J. Goslee Funny LGBTQ Realistic Fiction Romance * * * * Stars (Great!) Nolan Grant’s family loves him like crazy, but his slightly older sister takes her sisterly responsibilities a little too seriously and intensely sometimes. She wants to make sure Nolan is adequately prepared for life – particularly life after she goes away to college and can’t be there for him constantly. Her goals (for … Read more
The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Zoey is in 7th grade and she tries to keep a low profile because other kids have opinions about her that she can’t do anything about. She’s poor, she’s moved around a lot (when her family wasn’t living out of her mom’s car), sometimes she doesn’t have enough to eat or clean clothes to wear, she’s got 3 … Read more
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Lucy Callahan is a math savant. She acquired her “superpowers” after being struck by lightning and suddenly developed an affinity with and for numbers. There were some negative side effects, though – she also has some obsessive-compulsive tendencies and a fear of germs that other people often perceive as weird or freakish. Raised by her Nana, and homeschooled since … Read more
Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya Realistic Fiction Tween * * * * Stars (Great!) Marcus Vega is an enterprising 14-year-old, who looks much older than his actual age (6 feet tall, 180 lbs, mustache). To help his single-parent mom out with bills and emergencies, he runs a number of different businesses – charging kids at school for littering or using their cell phones (both against school rules), and offering a fee-based protection … Read more
By Night vol. 1 by John Allison Comics Science Fiction Supernatural * * * * Stars (Great!) Jane and Heather go way back, but haven’t seen each other since they graduated from college. Now they’re both back in their hometown, Spectrum, where exactly nothing happens ever. Heather has a great idea that’s sure to be fun – the Charleswood Estate, abandoned for years, has officially run out of money to fund its security man (conveniently, … Read more