LA Readers' Reviews

I Rise by Marie Arnold is a realistic fiction novel, nominated for the North Star Award, about almost fifteen year old Ayomide Bosia. Ayomide, or Ayo, has been raised in her mother’s civil rights organization for her entire life. Her mother created See Us when Ayo was born and their mission has been to bring about equality of all Black people in Harlem, New York City. Ayo has spent her life helping with protests against racial injustice but now she wants out. She wants to live like all her friends do and do all the things her friends do. but her mother is a force to be reckoned with and will not let Ayo opt out. As Ayo gets more and more frustrated, she begins skipping out on See Us events to spend time with Devonte, who she has a crush on. Her mother is furious with her when she finds out and they get into a huge argument. But as they both hurl painful words at each other, Ayo’s mom begins to realize that Ayo has had enough and can’t take it anymore. So Ayo’s mom lets her free. Ayo no longer has to participate in See Us. As Ayo adjusts to more free time and no more working, she spends more time with Devonte. One evening at Devonte’s house, they tune into the news coverage of a See Us protest and they watch as Ayo’s mom gets shot in the head. Ayo begins to spiral as her mom doesn’t wake up and everyone gets more and more agitated. Ayo knows that something needs to be done but she can’t bring herself to do it. She’s nowhere near as strong or courageous as her mother. But when it doesn’t look like her mother is going to wakeup anytime soon, can Ayo bring herself to step up?

I thought this was such an interesting book. I cannot personally relate to the experiences of the characters so it was such a new look at other people’s lives for me. I thought that the story was very well written and the characters felt very three dimensional. I wasn’t the hugest fan of the ending. I understand why Ayo made the decisions she did at the end but it was a little heartbreaking considering how much she was struggling in the beginning of the story. I also felt like Ayo’s experiences with her father were a bit rushed at the end and I would’ve liked to see more or see it slower.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is passionate about civil rights. It’s a deep story full of Black history that I think is an amazing read for anyone. The romance plot in I Rise isn’t overwhelming but is also a vital part of Ayo’s choices. Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who hates romance or to anyone whose main priority is romance. I Rise also feels suitable for most ages. It’s important for everyone to experience perspectives they cannot relate to and I Rise is one of them to me.

YA Realistic Fiction enjoyers will be delighted by what Marie Arnold has for them. I Rise is a wonderful story about how racism runs rampant even now and what it looks like for the youth. Anyone who is looking for a coming of age story about a young Black teen will love I Rise.

WARNING: If you have not read The Final Empire DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW. The two books come in very quick succession, and the plots can not be reversed. READ THIS SERIES IN ORDER. Spoilers for The Final Empire can’t be avoided. Just read it first.

The Well of Ascension, by Brandon Sanderson, the sequel to The Final Empire, directly follows the events of the previous book. It follows Kelsier’s old crew and Vin as they attempt to rebuild and defend the once mighty empire. The plot deals with impending doom as three armies threaten to destroy what they worked so hard to create. It deals with subtle politics and schemes, battle tactics and the hopeless fight running on faith and morals, but the story deals with the crew after Kelsier’s death. It deals with Vin learning who she is and who she wants to be. It follows Elend as he tries to go from young scholar to king, and what that means. The plot is a masterfully crafted intricate puzzle of leads and misleads, and the story is of people trying to fit in a world they once knew, until they broke it.

The Well of Ascension reads like a second book in a trilogy. It is well worth reading if you’ve read The Final Empire, but don’t expect it to be equal. It’s not. This book is a good book, amazing for fans of fantasy, it’s a shame it had to follow in the wake of The Final Empire. This book goes further into characters the first book glazed over, particularly Ham and Breeze. It follows the first book in dealing with complicated themes, however themes in The Well of Ascension are more focused on love and how people fit in their world. This is a truly wonderful book if you can over look the obnoxiously placed love triangle (probably there for good reason knowing Brandon Sanderson). The Ending is immaculate, the whole book sets it up, clues strategically placed, theories proven and disproven, hope given then taken away again at the last moment. The ending makes reading book three mandatory. There is no other option. You should read this book. Make your own decisions, you’ll either want to burn it or put it on an atium pedestal.

The Well of Ascension hits you like a cat with its claws out, but The Final Empire hits you like a semi-truck full of used kitty litter.

“All My Rage” by Sahara Tahir is a heart-wrenching young adult novel that portrays the struggles of two teenagers or almost young adults – Salahudin and Noor. Salahudin, a 17-year-old boy with Pakistani roots, lives with his terminally ill mother and alcoholic father in Juniper, California. Noor’s living conditions don’t look any brighter; her parents passed away when she was young and still living in Pakistan, now she lives under her uncle’s, who she has moved to California with, controlling roof. Despite their difficult circumstances, Salahudin and Noor have always had a special bond and have been each other’s support system. Both of them are considered outcasts at school, but their friendship has always helped them through tough times. However, their relationship takes a hit when they have a big argument. 

Their lives turn upside down when Salahudin’s mother passes away, leaving him to deal with her failing motel and innumerable unpaid bills, which is not an easy task with a father who is constantly drunk. Meanwhile, Noor tries to plan a life for herself outside of Juniper, but her uncle, who does not want her to have an academic future, makes it quite challenging to apply for college. 

Throughout the story, the two teenagers try to navigate their friendship amidst all these difficulties and also explore their feelings for each other, which might even be more than just friendship. However, every time they think they’ve overcome a challenge, life throws another hurdle their way.

This book tells a very dark but also realistic form of life. It shows that not all people are lucky and often can’t even help their misfortune. It deals with themes like addiction, drugs, death and violence. But it also tells about friendship, love and the experience of growing up and finding one’s place in life..

“All my Rage” relentlessly shows the harsh side of life, and it is depressing to know that more than a few teenagers must grow up in similar or even worse circumstances.

The struggles faced by the main characters, Salahudin and Noor, are heartbreaking and yet so realistic. It is a powerful reminder that life is not always fair, and sometimes things happen that are out of our control. 

Despite the dark subject matter, the book is also a source of inspiration. Salahudin and Noor demonstrate incredible resilience in the face of adversity, and their friendship is truly heartwarming. The multiple points of view also add an interesting layer to the story, allowing the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the characters and their experiences.

“All My Rage”  is written out of three alternating points of view. Noor, Salahudin and his mother Misba. Noor and Salahudin tell their point of view from the present, while Misba’s story begins in her youth in Pakistan and continues until her death in California. The multiple perspectives add an interesting layer to the story, allowing the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the characters and their experiences.This makes the book more interesting and refreshing.

Overall, I highly recommend “All My Rage” to anyone looking for a compelling and emotional read. It’s a must-read for everyone who loves realistic young-adult fiction.

The Weight of Blood is a fictional horror novel, nominated for the North Star Award, about biracial a teen named Mandy Washington. Mandy is a strange girl who has been bullied her whole life. She joined public school at the age of twelve and is liked by nobody. Mandy dresses weird, smells weird, and acts weird. Not a single person knows her secret though, besides her father. Mandy has been forced to pretend that she is white her whole life. Mandy’s father is an extreme white supremacist and forbids her from ever letting anyone know that she isn’t fully white. But one day, Mandy gets caught in the rain and her hair’s reaction reveals that she is partially Black. The bullying gets so much worse but it also makes its way onto social media and attention is being brought to the racism that runs rampant at Mandy’s school. Wendy is a white girl in Mandy’s class who is dating Kenny, who is Black and the star of the football team. Wendy tries to fix the situation by having Kenny bring Mandy to the school’s prom. She believed that having Kenny take her would be a show of kindness and equality that could help erase the bad media exposure. However, majority of the white students hate this idea and many of them begin to act worse towards Mandy. But as Kenny and Mandy get to know each other before prom, Wendy has doubts on if she wants to follow though with her plans.

I loved The Weight of Blood. I loved Mandy’s character. I thought that she was really well constructed and multifaceted. I think that the pacing for the story made sense. None of the plot lines felt like they were too slow or rushed. I found this book really interesting because it reads as realistic fiction for the most part but then there is a couple of fantasy horror elements. The way the story is structured, lots of the relationships and feelings of the characters are often shrouded and I found that that hooked me in and it made me really excited to keep reading. The format is another interesting piece to me. Part of the story is actually 20 years later and is a podcast trying to uncover the mystery of what really happened in Mandy’s town all those years ago.

I would recommend this for any average horror enthusiasts. The Weight of Blood doesn’t really have any unusual elements or extreme gore that some readers look for. But it also doesn’t hold back on the messy details. I think this book works for slightly more mature audiences. There is a lot of sensitive topics brought up like racism and child abuse. This can be a bit triggering for some but it is also good representation of what these topics are like. Readers should also be warned that this isn’t a realistic fiction horror because there are a couple fantastical elements.

YA Horror fanatics will love what Tiffany D. Jackson has to offer. She has managed to capture not only the horrors of what teenagers can be like but also actual horror components in a way that blends for a wonderfully thrilling story. Anyone who loves a revenge story will love The Weight of Blood.

!Trigger Warning!

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin is a dual-point-of-view novel that tells the story of two sisters trying to find their own ways back to each other. They grew up outside the cities, with an abusive father. To continue funding his drinking habit The father sold his oldest daughter Mei Yee into sexual slavery in The Walled City; an overlooked piece of land between two nations where the are no laws. Jin is determined to get her sister back but to do so she must enter The Walled City. For her own safety, Jin masquerades as a boy while spending years trying to find her sister. When her hope finally dwindles, she is given the opportunity to enter the largest brothel in the city to aid the leader with asset runs outside the city. All the while Mai Yee is determined to escape the Walled City and its Brothel one way or another.

When I saw this book on the shelves I was thrilled. I have read many other of Graudin’s books and I always enjoyed the sci-fi twist she added to her historical fiction stories. At first, I was very excited however I was surprised to find out that this story was not historical fiction. I would describe this story to be very dystopian however rather similar in many aspects to our world. I enjoyed this book however I wanted to see more of a sci-fi twist as is typical of Graudin’s other books

I enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book and how it echoes real-world places. The Walled City is explained to be a city with two others built on top which is very true of many sites in Southeast Asia. Another major setting in the story “Seng Nongi” is very reminiscent of current-day Singapore. I enjoyed picking out these similarities and I liked how although this is a dystopian fiction novel, Graudin kept it based in reality.

I noticed a few major plotholes throughout the story which influenced my opinion of the overall book. In many instances, it is said that once you enter the walled city you cannot leave however Jin walks right out of the front gate every time she leaves for an asset run into the city. I also found that this is true for other characters being able to leave directly from the called city and never come back. There were also a few other key aspects that just were unrealistic such as the negative temperatures every night that are not mentioned when it comes time for Jin to return to her home which is simply just a cardboard mat and a tarp. Although these aren’t massive problems there were certain inconsistencies throughout the story that I found to really inhibit the understanding and quality of the story

This book is not very well suited for younger teens. The story deals with many instances of alcoholism, drug abuse, overdose, sexual assault, extortion, violent scenarios, gangs, and domestic abuse. These are all key points in the story and Graudin does not shy away from the gore of these situations but rather shows them in detail. This book is suited for mature Teenagers and young adults who can handle these situations and aren’t afraid of a little violence and gore.

Give me a sign is a heartwarming book starring a 17 year old girl, name Lilah, who has hearing lose, and isn’t sure where she belongs. As she returns to a camp for the deaf and blind as a junior counselor, she begins to feel like she belongs. Isaac, a boy who is deaf also came into her life. Navigating through life at camp and being able to learn more ASL (American Sign Language) with Isaac was making Lilah feel like she’s no longer in the middle. As the summer goes on, Isaac and Lilah’s relationship grows stronger too. As the two navigate their camp duties as counselor and get through tough times, they manage to find a connection between them. It wasn’t easy for Lilah to be proud of her hearing lose, but with Isaac and her friends from camp she learns to not be ashamed to be who she is.

Give me a Sign was a door opener for me. It gave me a little peek of what deaf or hearing lose culture was life. And giving me a knowledge of the problems they face as well. It was a touching book that I loved to read. It gave me the inspiration to also learn ASL, even if it takes awhile. The characters were interesting to read about too. Since in the camp their are also blind kids or have hard vision there. So there were different types of characters, deaf, hard at hearing, blind, non-deafs, etc. Just learning the varieties of groups that there are, and how they manage life is just amazing to learn about. Give me a sign is a page turner because of the love story too. This book mostly focuses on Isaac’s and Lilah’s whole relationships, which I love. Love stories such as this are one of my favorite genres as well. Love in real life is complicated and you never know if it really is true love or not. But in books you know exactly who is going to end up together, and that no matter what they’ll stick together through thick and thin. It’s quite intriguing to read a characters love life. And lastly, my favorite part about reading Give me a Sign is the setting. People don’t pay attention to setting as much, but this particular setting gave me a warm feeling inside. I’ve always loved camp, and want to go to an overstay camp just like in the story. Fire pits, S’mores, new friends, cabins, it give off a nice, calming, and fun vibe.

Although despite all of the great value of this book, there war some down sides. First, and it will be seen in every first book of someones, the wording and structure all seemed so simple and easy too read, like reading in 6th grade was like. It didn’t have complex words, any serious plots, and seemed like it could be a told over a camp fire. Give me a Sign was an outstanding book, and I have no complaints other than that one. It really was a good love story, with amazing characters.

This book I would recommend to someone that is into love stories, and want a simple book, without any hard words and such. Someone that doesn’t want to big, dramatic plot to follow.

A novel

This book is about the story of two teenage boys, Jason Reynold and Brendan Kiely who experience racism and police brutality in America firsthand.
The story begins when Jason, an African-American boy, is brutally beaten by the police after being wrongly accused of shoplifting.
This event shakes the local community and will change the lives of the protagonists forever.
Quinn, who is Rashad's schoolmate, is at the scene of the attack, and therefore becomes a witness. Consequently it will be imbued with community expectation and personal conscience throughout history.
This book is written in the first person, and is told from the point of view of the two main protagonists, who alternate narrating.
This original way of narrating the story allows the reader to identify with both protagonists and to see reality with two different eyes.
It is a book that I found very interesting because it describes and talks about American society and its main problems such as racism and violence, with which young people find themselves involved on a daily basis.
It makes us understand the weak points of the society in which we live and invites us to reflect on these problems, encouraging us to always act for a more just society.
I recommend this book to anyone, especially if you are passionate about sociology or social policy because, as well as a story, it is a true photocopy of the world we live in.

Sugaring Off is a realistic fiction novel, that has been nominated for the North Star Award, about a 17 year old partially deaf girl, who goes by the name Owl. Owl lives on her aunt and uncle’s maple farm after a tragic accident 10 years prior involving her father. Owl’s father was sent to jail after throwing Owl down the stairs and rendering her deaf in one ear. Owl’s uncle Seth is getting on in his years and needs another hand on the maple farm. So he hires a friend’s grandson named Cody, without telling Owl. Owl and Cody’s relationship is a tumultuous one, after a rough first encounter. As Owl begins getting used to Cody on the farm, she is dealing with a stubborn teacher at her school. In a K-12 school of 14 kids, they hire a private tutor who aids deaf students on a regular basis named Mrs. Z. Owl is not a very big fan of Mrs. Z and often tries to make things difficult for her. Owl and Mrs. Z often butt heads because Owl struggles with using sign language and Mrs. Z uses it constantly. As frustrations grow between the two of them, it becomes more and more apparent that a confrontation is near. As Cody and Owl grow closer, so does the potential threat of Owl’s father. Owl’s father is to be released and wants to get into contact with Owl. As Owl battles with the idea of interacting with her father, Cody’s secrets start piling up. Cody is hiding things from Owl and she gets suspicious about how bad these secrets could be.

I enjoyed this books. The pacing of the story was nice and the characters felt multifaceted, instead of flat. Much of the story details were hidden to the reader and you had to find things out at the same time as Owl. I really enjoyed the air of mystery around the intentions of all the different characters. I will say that by the end of the book I absolutely hated Cody. It went back and forth for a while but he lied so much that I couldn’t do anything but despise him. I do think that the ending of the book moved a little too fast considering how slow the rest of the book usually was.

I think that this book is suitable for those who are a bit more mature. There isn’t any explicit sexual content but there are parts that hint at it so I don’t think this is a book for everyone. There is also talk of child abuse and drug use. I recommend this for those who are looking for a realistic fiction book with a healthy dose of romance. Fantasy elements aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and Sugaring Off has none of that. The romance plot is a big component that moves the story along.

YA Realistic Fiction readers will be delighted by the story that Gillian French has crafted. The characters’ storylines will be sure to entertain readers of all kinds. For readers who are interested in romance, this is definitely the book for that. However, they should be warned that the relationships in the book are not always the healthiest.

The Similars by Rebecca Hanover follows Emmaline Chance as she begins another school year at a prestigious boarding school While battling the recent loss of her best friend Oliver. When Emmaline returns to school, she faces The Similars, who are illegal exact DNA clones of their originals who are students at Darkwood Academy. Emmaline’s grief over her late friend only gets worse when she meets Levi, Oliver’s Similar. With the introduction of The Similars violent attacks begin to take place on their originals and Emmaline is forced to band with The Similars to discover what is truly taking place at Darkwood Academy.

I truly enjoyed this book. The plot was rich and interesting and the characters had so much depth that you only uncover as the story goes on and Emmaline gets to know them. The world-building was well executed and never felt too much. the author had a way of revealing things slowly so it was never overwhelming and really brought you into the story. While the story deals with heavy topics such as grief, addiction, and violence the author still makes it feel like these characters are teenagers. The characters are never making the smartest decisions with perfect reasoning or focusing all their efforts on one thing because, in the end, they are still supposed to be teenagers. The author does a great job of adding unnecessary details to make sure that these do still feel like teenagers such as hazing, petty arguments, trivial beauty standards, mindless bickering, and sarcastic humor. I think that while these things are unnecessary to the plot they really add to the richness of the story.

While Rebecca Hanover does a great job of writing a story with great depth and characters there were still some things that I wish were talked about more in the story. It is stated from the beginning that Emmalime is heavily grieving the loss of her best friend and is abusing sleeping pills to cope. I felt like after a while of being angry at Levi for just existing Emmaline fell too quickly for him. I am not sure if this is because the author intended for it to be a familiar face so it should give her the same feelings or if the jump from enemies to lovers was glossed over to accentuate the plot. I also wish the grief and addiction were talked about or carried further into the book. I felt like after the recent death of someone so important you don’t just magically feel better and I felt as though simply flushing the pills wouldn’t have been the end of the addiction struggles.

I think this book has the potential to appeal to a broad audience. it is a Sci-fi book as well as a murder mystery. I think it is geared more towards older teens due to the heavy topics and violence but I felt like the book could be enjoyed by whoever wanted to read it.

“Alas, she had died, Again.”

Iris, a tightrope performer, is not as normal as she seems. She does not remember her past either, but has a sense on whether somethings familiar. Iris’s weird traits don’t stop there. She’s like a phoenix overseeing the whole crowd. And a trait that she shares with that bird is she can’t die. No matter the pain, she’s still going to be fine in the end. Iris wonders about her past for her whole life, well, she didn’t know her past and abilities was much more monstrous. A boy named Adam is curious about her too. promised to show Iris her passed. The two along with others enter a competition of trials and missions. Discovering more knowledge as they do. But little did Iris know he had more to information on her than herself. The chaos, friends, foes, secrets, mystery, all in which Iris had entered once she met Adam. Is she going to win the battle or will she get eaten by a bigger bird?

I’ve always loved reading books with secrets snd mysteries behind every corner. When I find out an information, I find out more that goes with it. Not to mention the mystery in those types of stories go deep. The Bones of Ruin was a phenomenal book, with great plot. It has twists and turns that got my head spinning. In addition to the deep mystery that follows throughout the story. It gave my mind a bit of a thinking frenzy, wondering what really happened to her. The book gives a scary, intimidating mood throughout. And the characters were all on point. They even had mysteries and secrets behind themselves as well, and as the story moves along there’s a part of a character that gets revealed, whether it’s Iris, Adam, or others. It always has my jaw drop to see a different side of the character or his/her story. It really is a touching book, and gets me excited on reading more mystery books.

Although it wasn’t really the book I expected to read. Especially the love/ love interests in this story was weird for me. I didn’t quite get a hold of whether there was one or not. I’d love it more if there was love story going on in this book. A quality in a book that I love, and other people too. Also, it may not apply to a lot of people, but I didn’t like the fact of the many characters in the book. 3 or 5 characters is my limit to a great story. If it’s more or less than that It’d either be boring or way to stressful to read, keeping up with characters. I’m not talking about background characters, or extras. I’m talking about side, and main characters. Too much can leave my brain a bit fuzzy, and confused on who’s who, or who the real main characters are. Lastly, the length of the book was a little too long for me. I like books between the radar of 100-200 or even 300 pages. I thought of trying this book to a gate way of me reading more longer books, but it wasn’t really for me.

My liking doesn’t much matter right now though. What matters is that someone who loves long stories and mystery find this book. Especially someone who like unnatural powers, and love a mystery book that is a little bit hard to figure out. This book also may target students who love fantasy. Go take a deep dive on this book, and find out what secrets Iris has to offer.