Month: January 2022

“As Natalie moved closer to the door, she heard whispers. Girls’ voices hissed around the frame. ‘Natalie,’ they said. ‘Natalie.’ She opened the door to blackness colder than the pits of January.”

A YA paranormal thriller, The Door to January follows the story of sixteen-year-old Natalie Payson and her younger cousin Teddy as she moves back to her hometown of Bernier, Maine to discover the reason behind her repeated nightmares. Ever since she moved away from Benier, Natalie has had a recurring nightmare about a strange house that leads her to experiencing visions of ugly murders and crying girls. However, it is unclear how Natalie is connected to any of this. Meanwhile, her return to town hasn’t gone unnoticed by her and Teddy’s former bullies who revive their old practices by threatening Natalie’s life. Through different storylines and POVs, the mystery behind Natalie’s nightmares, and the mystery of her past bullying incident, slowly pieces itself together and creates one big chilling tale.

The beginning of this book had a very slow start, one that immediately informed the reader of the setting and the characters before diving into the plot right away, which surprisingly, I really enjoyed. The pacing was very enjoyable as well; I didn’t feel like I was trapped in one scene for days on end. The plot moved right along but didn’t leave the reader feeling rushed or overwhelmed in the least. I truly appreciated the slow building suspense because that was the main factor that kept me hooked in. Another aspect that hooked me in, but not necessarily in a good way, was the idea of time travel. The aspect of time travel itself was crafted into Natalie’s nightmares by traveling back into the past to slowly reveal the initial mystery. This was my least favorite part of the book; the dueling POVs were messy and yet at the same time those POVs were what kept the plot moving along and functioning. What I’m saying is that the plot was a little hard to follow sometimes due to these POVs but, in the end, everything fit together.

I very rarely read mystery/thriller novels and when I do, I’m not usually a fan. However, with The Door to January, I was so hooked that I finished this read within two days. It was so unlike the previous mystery books I had read in the past mainly due to the initial mystery that included a paranormal aspect; it was just so unique to me! This novel was ever-changing; every time I thought I had the mystery pinned down and explained, it grew and grew and turned in a direction I was never expecting. The slow unfolding of the house’s history and the elevating tension around Natalie’s flashbacks to a mysterious crime both merge together to create a electrifying and suspenseful tale. Even though the plotlines never quite fuse, there’s enough eerie mystery to satisfy the thrill-seekers of the reader world.

If you’re looking for something that will spice up your usual style of books, I recommend giving this one a try. Although there are some difficult topics covered with the kidnapping of young girls, it is still a great and enjoyable read. I felt the incorporation of tragic events was very becoming and nothing was too over the top in an unwarranted form with graphic content. This is a very quick read as well, only 191 pages so, if you’re not looking for a book you’ll be too attached to, then The Door to January will give you that short connection that will still leave you with a fulfilled feeling.

Illegal is an easy read, definitely a page-turner.

Although I wish the story went into more detail about some of the more gruesome parts of the reality of immigration. The story line was good and definitely made you wanna finish. Definitely good and powerful for some younger readers probably around late middle school. The story is around a boy named Ebo, it starts when his only family member that he has been living with leaves so Ebo journeys to find him. Ebo believes his brother went to find his sister who has already left Africa and is living in Europe. Ebo journeys across a desert, avoids many soldiers, and finally crosses the Mediterranean on a dingy. The intense nature of the journey grasps at readers interest which I believe makes it an easy read.

There were two things I really loved about the book was the fact it took a real life situation and made it interesting even if you can’t relate to it and I think Eoin really pretrayed that well. In addition the artwork the novel had was lovely, the art style just fits and its so nice to look at.

This book by Morgan Matson is a story about friendship and love. It specifically focuses on times when its rough. Main character Taylor has a hard time facing hardship and tends to run away when things get hard. Taylor learns that taking the easy way out of things are not always good as she visits her lake home. Taylor feels as if she runs away she stands out more. Her father receives unexpected news thats devastated which has the family go on a last minute vacation to their lake home. while at the lake home Taylor meets up with people she thought she left behind 2 years ago like her old best friend. As days go on Taylor is surrounded by memories she wants to leave in the past, but this time she cant run away. As time goes on Taylor starts to see she has a second chance at all these memories.

I enjoyed reading this book. it was a good read and had a good storyline to it. I liked how it turned out to be a good lesson on Taylor learning to see the good in challenging things. Even though she wanted to run away she learned how to overcome the challenge.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about friendship, love, and also challenges/hardships. The storyline to this book is wonderful and it shows goals and lessons. Even when Taylor thought her summer was ruined challenges turned into an awesome lesson.

“Every knot, every spell, every piece of magic had a cost” pg 26

The Camelot Betrayal is the second book in this series and it’s about Queen Guinevere and King Arthur. No magic is allowed in Camelot until Arthur makes an exception when he allows Guinevere to be his Queen. Only certain people know that Guinevere is a witch and they want to keep it that way. Now that Mordred is gone, Guinevere makes sure the kingdom is safe by putting magic down so no magic creatures can come through. Guinevere faces all these obstacles, one being she can’t seem to find her place in Camelot. She is starting to lose who she was before she was Guinevere. Guinevere takes up a quest to go save Branigan’s love Isolde, when Guinevere is doing so, all these things happen and result in making more of a mess than what was supposed to happen. This changes the whole course of the book and brings it to a surprising end.

I really liked the first book in this series so I decided to read the second one and I was not disappointed. This book is a great read, even if you didn’t read the first book I feel like you would still get a good understanding of this book which I think is really amazing. This book is sometimes boring and you feel like you don’t want to finish it but trust me when I say you are gonna wanna finish it.

This book would be good for people who are interested in books about not feeling like you belong with the aspect of magic in it as well.

The Leaving is about these 6 kids that got taken just to randomly show up 11 years later without any memory of the 11 years they were gone. The biggest question of all is what happened to the 6th kid that never turned up. The book is all about these kids trying to figure out what happened to them during the 11 years and why didn’t the last kid come home with them. Lucas and Scarlett two of the 5 that came back start looking for the clues to figure out who they were. The little boy that did not come home, his sister Avery is determined to find out what happened to him and why he didn’t return with the others.

I really loved this book, there were some boring parts and some parts that were confusing but overall I could not put this book down when I read it. The chapters are Scarlett, Avery, and Lucas, this is a great layout because it shows us those 3 kids’ thoughts through all this. Scarletts chapters were my favorite because they showed the spirling of her memories trying to come back.

You would really like this book if you are into mysteries about the trauma and identity that comes with losing your memory you will really like this book. Also, if you like books that solve the underlying mystery and don’t just talk about it and then skip over it to the bigger mystery this book would be for you.

– Gayle Forman, If I Stay

17-year-old Mia Hall is enjoying her snow day at home with her family. They enjoy breakfast together as a family when they then decide to go for a drive. What they thought would be just a nice drive in the snow turns into a nightmare. Their whole family gets involved in a car crash that nearly kills all of them. During the crash, Mia find something strange happening to her. She finds her body that is hanging on for life having an out side of body experience. Mia is a ghost. She watches as crews pick her body up to bring her to the hospital. When Mia arrives to the hospital she is put immediately in ICU. During this time Mia finds herself having a choice. She feels she can choose to wake up or just let her body go at peace. Mia doesn’t want to wake. The only thing she wants most is to see her boyfriend Adam.

I enjoyed this book a ton, for I watched the movie a while back and was curious if it would be the same as the movie or have changed. This booked allowed for open emotion which I love when reading.

I truly recommend this book. It is filled with a ton of action and emotions. It draws you as a reader to a hook. The story is based upon events that could happen in real life, so the feeling of emotion is strongly felt throughout the reading.

Theodore Finch is someone who enjoys researching and plotting his own death, making sure to journal about the final moments of different people from around the world. He also finds himself constantly feeling the need to change who he is, becoming characters like “British Finch” and “80s Finch” who’s a vegetarian. However, no matter how many times he tries to change who he is, he will always be classified as “Theodore Freak” by the people at school.

Violet Markey, a once popular girl from California, is finding it hard to maintain who she was after the premature death of her older sister, Elenore. Being the sole survivor of the car accident, she finds herself suffering from PTSD, unable to overcome the trauma of that night. She finds herself floating through life, no longer being able to connect with her friends or partake in the things she used to be passionate about.

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven follows the lives of these two teens who meet standing on the edge of a belltower at school. Although the two know nothing about each other before their first encounter, they quickly find themselves depending on one another as they navigate high school, their mental health, and the world beyond their small town. 

I initially read this book because it had been recommended to me, but I ended up being largely disappointed by the way the most integral part of the book was written. Mental health is such a huge part of this story, and while one would expect it to be presented in a more thoughtful way, it was written as though it was more of a quirk. Admittedly, Finch is an eccentric character with lots of energy, but his bipolar disorder is far from being a “quirk” that sets him apart from “other guys.” I can understand the possible thought process of presenting this idea of how mental health can be misconstrued as a “quirk,” but some explanation of how mental health is more than that is also necessary. 

This book also shows a very stigmatized view of the help options available to those suffering from issues with their mental health. From guidance counselors to group therapy, all of it was presented as though it was a joke, providing very little hope to those who may in fact be struggling with similar issues. I can understand how sometimes people don’t feel they receive the help they need, but this combined with other details in the story leaves readers feeling rather hopeless.

*Spoilers:*

The way the topic of suicide is handled in this novel is also a major letdown. Although I could provide more details about just how poorly suicide is depicted in this novel, I will simply quote Violet’s takeaway after Finch’s death: “what a terrible feeling to love someone and not be able to help them.” This message is something I would never want to give to readers, especially if they happen to be struggling with similar problems. This message alone sends the idea that there is nothing someone can do to help someone struggling, when in fact there are so many things that you CAN do.

The other issue I had with this book is how the author failed to take the opportunity of further exploring Finch’s thought process as he falls further into his depression. Seeing as this book is supposed to be about mental health and teens, I would have expected more internal monologue about their feelings, but this book fell short of accomplishing that. In fact, we are no longer given Finch’s point of view after he disappears, leaving us with no information on his thought process when he’s setting out on his final series of adventures for the last few months of his life.

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven had the potential to be a good book, and there were some parts of it that I did enjoy, but some of the integral pieces of the book were written in such a way that was difficult to read. The author partially wrote this book because she lost someone she was close to as a result of suicide, and while acknowledging that, I am sure this story was meant to have a different type of impact. Unfortunately, it left me feeling like there were no bright places to look forward to.

“The best way to get to know someone, to get beneath their skin & into the bone, is to tell a story & offer music.”

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride is a novel-in-verse following the life of Moth, a girl who lost her entire family in a car accident and is constantly reminded of the guilt she feels from being the only survivor, and Sani, a boy with depression looking for an escape from his abusive household. Upon meeting, both teenagers feel a connection to each other and Moth accompanies Sani on a road trip to the Navajo Nation, where they learn more about themselves as well as each other.

I always find novels-in-verse intriguing and Me (Moth) was no exception. McBride’s writing was so captivating that I almost genuinely could not put the book down, and I kept wishing that I wasn’t reading a library copy otherwise I would have underlined every single line. McBride portrayed Sani and Moth’s relationship so beautifully, and their connection to each other was absolutely mesmerizing to read, if at times a little cliché (but it’s poetry, I think it’s allowed to be a little cliché).

McBride was also able to seamlessly incorporate Navajo myths and Hoodoo spirituality into the story as well, and her connection of two separate cultures was so interesting to read and learn about, which I think was part of what brought magic into the story, and made me truly enjoy Moth and Sani as characters.

The book left me utterly destroyed (which to me is a good sign with books), and I did not know what to do with myself for hours afterward. I think that it is now one of my favorite books. I recommend Me (Moth) for anyone who enjoys novels-in-verse and doesn’t mind having their heart broken on occasion.

‘Bad Girls with Perfect Faces’ is a book about vapid teenage girls doing horrible things to each other over boys whose only personality traits are ’emotionally unstable’, ‘stupid’, or ‘a catfish’. This leads the main character, Sasha, to cover up the murder of her best friend/unrequited crush’s cheating, manipulative, manic-pixie-dream-girl with an emphasis on the manic, girlfriend, Ivy. She believes that the boy, Xavier, was so drunk/high that he did it, based on flimsy evidence, and is a bad enough person that she pushes him into taking a road trip and stuffs the body in the trunk without his knowledge. She does this in the hopes of disposing of her body in secret, so he doesn’t realize he killed her.

Because that is a terrible plan, he finds out. He tells Sasha that he didn’t kill her, but has absolutely no problem with tossing the corpse that neither of them were responsible for into a lake anyway. Later, they find out that Sasha was tangentially responsible in the most backward way possible. When she catfished Ivy in an attempt to prove to Xavier that she’s a bad person, she was actually talking to Ivy’s friend, who was the one who actually killed her. After she fell in love with the catfish, Ivy decided, because she is a cruel, vindictive harpy, to meet up and sleep with the ‘boy’, just to make her feel bad. This backfires in the most dramatic way possible. It ends with all of the characters being unable to be around each other due to the guilt and fear of being caught, and living separate, miserable lives.

This book is the perfect exemplar of the importance of character likability. Whereas none of the people are even half-decent human beings, or have a singular brain cell between them, they do, however, have very entertaining inner monologues. Though they are not, and should not be, relatable, experiencing their arcs was kind of like watching a multi-car pileup in blissfully slow motion.

All in all, it’s a fun book with an ending that is actually plausible given the course of events. Nothing comes out of left field, everything is fully resolved at the end, which is important for a stand-alone, and only the least likable character dies. It even makes up for the mediocre writing quality and dated jokes.

I can concisely sum up my reaction to Six Crimson Cranes with this quote from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You: “I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?” 

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim is a retelling of the folktale The Six Swans by the Brothers Grimm. It’s set in an Asia-inspired fantasy world in which magic exists but is forbidden (classic, I know). Shiori, our protagonist, is a young girl who is cursed into literal silence while her six elder brothers are trapped in the bodies of swans, and Shiori journeys alone and voiceless to free herself and her brothers of their curse. 

I am a huge fan of Lim’s other series, Spin the Dawn, a loose adaptation of Mulan. I went into Six Crimson Cranes with extremely high standards, and was unfortunately “whelmed”. I did not dislike Six Crimson Cranes, but I was not astounded. I found the plot to be slow at times, and frankly, I forget much of the middle of the plot. Additionally, the romance caught me off-guard, and it seemed unexpected and incongruent with the plot.

I did enjoy the concept of the retelling and Shiori as a character. Shiori is resilient despite the loss of her voice, and I found myself rooting for her despite my disinterest in the plot. Additionally, I loved the plot twists near the end of the novel, which I did not foresee at all! I enjoyed the fluidity of evil, especially the uncertainty of who was evil.  I thought Shiori’s stepmother, Raikama, was a marvelous villain and character, and I really liked how Lim played with her arc throughout the book. Lim is also very adept at depicting stories set in a culture inspired by Asia, something I appreciate in her writing.

I feel a certain level of guilt in not loving Six Crimson Cranes, as I am aware that I had unusually high standards for Lim’s second series. However, Six Crimson Cranes is a solid, well written novel in which Lim incorporates unexpected plot twists, dynamic antagonists, a unique cultural setting, and a strong female lead. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a solid fantasy read and interested in fairy tale retellings! 

-Sonny