But at the end of the day, what really draws me into a book is the love story, so I was interested to read Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone. As long as readers have no expectation of receiving any kind of explanation of how or why Bennett can time travel, they’ll likely find this an enjoyable romance. Anna is a likable character. She’s sweet, but not too sweet. Bennett is cute and fun and a bit mysterious, even though he’s not some super-hunky guy. Both characters seem realistic, and attracted to each other in a believable way that your average teen can relate to. Parents are so often absent in YA fiction, I loved seeing Anna’s parents portrayed as normal people. Anna has an average family and an average life, until the very un-average Bennett makes his appearance.

Filled with sufficient angst, the romance is really the heart of this story. As readers slowly come to understand why Bennett has tried to keep Anna at arm’s length, and why she is so drawn to him, it’s hard not to fall in love right along with them. Though Anna accepts his ability, she doesn’t accept him using it to change her life without her knowledge, though she does insist he use it to prevent her friends’ car accident, and ultimately change the course of their relationship.

Explanation of how the whole time travel business works is slim. The rules are very simple, and don’t seem sufficient to keep the world from imploding. All Bennett knows is that he shouldn’t go back in time to before he was born, and he shouldn’t ever show up in the same place he was in the past. There’s no discussion of creating alternate time lines or really many consequences to their little and big “do-overs.” What there is a lot of is indulgent, fun trips to exotic locales. This book doesn’t prompt much thinking, but it does manage to make the reader feel. Stone’s prose is light and engrossing and fun to read.

I wouldn’t recommend this to those who favor hard science fiction, but for those looking for a unique young adult romance that’s heavy on the sweetness, this is a perfect fit.

– Molly, YA

In Jodi Lynn Anderson’s newest novel, Tiger Lily, she recounts the familiar childhood tale of Peter Pan, but with a twist. The story is told from Tinkerbell’s perspective, and she begins long before Peter and the lost boys ever met Wendy Darling. Tink gives us the scoop on Peter Pan’s first love, Tiger Lily.

The adopted daughter of Tik Tok, the shaman of her tribe, Tiger Lily is still an outcast despite her high social position. She is even more ostracized when she saves a shipwrecked man and her tribe fears she has caught the aging disease. Tiger Lily is lonely, until she meets the most feared creature in the forest—Pan, and his band of lost boys.

Tinkerbell as narrator is a gimmick, to be sure. Using her first person perspective allows the story to be wider, and we see scenes from Hook and his pirates, Peter and the Lost Boys, as well as Tiger Lily and her village. Tink is also able to offer us her opinion on those involved—she’s certainly not an unbiased narrator. While it took me 100 pages to come to terms with Tink the observer as the voice of the story, in the end, I thought it worked.

Anderson renders the familiar characters in a much more nuanced way than their Disney counterparts; Tiger Lily is not just an Indian princess; Hook is a sad man with a broken dream and an obsession with Peter Pan; Smee isn’t just a side-kick, but a twisted villain in his own right. My absolute favorite character was Tik Tok, whose quiet wisdom and celebration of gender non-conformity gives him a unique perspective.

In a sea of insta-love and happily-ever-afters, Tiger Lily stands out because we know it’s not going to end well for Peter Pan and Tiger Lily. Once Wendy bursts onto the scene, readers have no doubt that Peter will chose to grow up. But like most first loves, Peter and Tiger Lily leave lasting  impressions on one another’s hearts, and certainly will do the same for readers.

- Molly, YA

What is it about? Flipped is a romance told in two voices. The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw Juli, he ran. That’s pretty much the pattern for these two neighbors until the eighth grade, when, just as Juli is realizing Bryce isn’t as wonderful as she thought, Bryce is starting to see that Juli is pretty amazing. How these two teens manage to see beyond the surface of things and come together makes for a comic and poignant romance.

Why did you think of it and why did you pick it up? I chose to read Flipped at this time mostly because of the KU Literature Fest that is going on in October, which I am super excited for because I didn’t go last year and I sort of regret not doing so. Although it has been on my to-read list for a while now. I had already seen the movie (which I desperately wish I hadn’t done. NEVER watch the movie before the book. Especially if you had wanted to read the book before they even thought about making a movie) therefore I knew what to expect, but it was still worth the read. There really is no other way to describe this book other than positively sweet. It contained everything that a book about young love should and nothing else.

I read a lot of romance/coming-of-age novels where the protagonist is about sixteen or seventeen and that’s fine, but at the same time the romance aspect is different. It’s not necessarily going to be cute or innocent, and most times it isn’t. Because I have read those kinds of books my standards and views on love is very different from kids my age. In good and bad ways. I know that since I’m only in eighth grade I’m probably not going to fall in love so I shouldn’t pretend like I am. I also now believe that soul mates exist which isn’t always good because what if I never find that person? What if I end up ignoring someone incredible because my standards were too high? Now you see what I mean when I say that Flipped was a wonderful break from that.

The meaning was very relevant to kids my age, as well. Yes, it was obvious but occasionally subtlety really is overrated. Flipped was about accepting change, growing up and discovering who you are and also seeing people for what they are really made of. Surprisingly, I ended up enjoying Bryce’s chapters’ more than Julie’s. Bryce actually changed quite a bit and being able to catch a glimpse into a boy’s mind as he is making a serious internal change was intriguing. Julie, however, didn’t have to change immensely because she already had an advanced, deep-thinking mind.

The switching point-of-views (POV’s) was the one factor I was a tad iffy on. The chapters often overlap and that can be fascinating, but at times boring as well. Maybe it bugged me slightly because I had already seen the movie which is awesome and exactly like the book. The switching POV’s did help me to see the transformation (or lack of) that each character underwent.

In the end, reading this novel was sort of like reading The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski. It surprised me with the little details and caused me to realize that I don’t always have to read scandalous romance novels (They aren’t actually that scandalous. I promise.)

Star Rating: 3 Stars: It was okay.

I would suggest this for: Fifth and sixth graders looking for a sweet read

Review by: Lauren B

Thanks for the review, Lauren!

This review is also posted at Books that Smolder.

  Between Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

Esmerine, a mermaid, grows close to her childhood playmate Alander, a winged man, when they join forces to find her sister Dosia, who has reportedly eloped with a human despite the sisters’ vow to always keep the sea and its people first in their hearts.

  Lost Voices by Sarah Porter

Assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of her grim Alaskan fishing village by her abusive, alcoholic uncle, fourteen-year-old Luce expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waters below, but when she instead transforms into a mermaid she is faced with struggles and choices she could never have imagined. Be sure to check out the sequel, Waking Storms.

  Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Galen, prince of the Syrena, is sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. He finds Emma and after several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, Galen becomes convinced Emma holds the key to his kingdom.

  The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Córdova

After being sucked out to sea in a tidal wave, Tristan Hart returns ashore on Coney Island with no memory of what happened to him– yet he can sense the emotions of others and dreams of a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

  Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

As the only brother in a family of mermaids living in Lake Superior, Calder White is expected to seduce Lily, the daughter of the man believed to have killed the mermaids’ mother, but he begins to fall in love with her just as Lily starts to suspect the legends about the lake are true.

  Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

On her seventeenth birthday, Tempest must decide whether to remain a human and live on land or submit to her mermaid half, like her mother before her, and enter into a long-running war under the sea.

  Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

Celia, who shares mental powers with her triplet sisters, finds competition for a handsome boy with Lo, a sea monster who must persuade a mortal to love her and steal his soul to earn back her humanity.

The Mermaid’s Mirror by L K Madigan

Lena, almost sixteen, has always felt drawn to the waters of San Francisco Bay despite the fears of her father, a former surfer, but after she glimpses a beautiful woman with a tail, nothing can keep Lena from seeking the mermaid in the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove.

What was it about? After getting a divorce Maya and Lochan’s parents seemed to forget that they had ever had children. Their father moved to Australia to start his own new, more perfect family while their mother turned to alcohol and partying in a last ditch effort to hold onto her fading youth. As the oldest in the house Maya and Lochan are forced to take on the role of parents, including all of the stress that goes along with it. Slowly breaking down under the pressure of taking care of their three younger siblings and juggling school as well, they find that the only people they really connect with and find comfort in are each other. And not just in a sibling type way. As Lochan and Maya begin to realize that they are in love they struggle to decide if society is right in thinking that relationships like theirs are vile and repulsive or if all that matters is that they make each other feel happy and fulfilled. One thing they know for sure though, is that every day their fragile world threatens to come crashing down on them.

What did you think of it and why did you pick it up? I know that I am constantly saying that summaries are really hard for me to write because I need to work on my technical writing but this time I’m serious. I actually had to read an entire other book and wait a day before I could even attempt to try and continue writing it. It’s because this book is complex. Alright, maybe the book isn’t terribly complex, it’s not science fiction or anything, but the SITUATION is complex. I mean, how do you tell someone about the incest book you just read without sounding like some kind of weirdo, not to mention the fact that I actually have two brothers? I read this because it sounded intriguing and I had never read an incest novel. Honestly though, I’m not even sure this book was entirely geared towards teenagers. If you just changed the characters ages by seven years or so (they’re 17/18) it would be perfect for someone in their thirties. It has all of the melodrama of a soap opera and all of the overdramatized passion of a steamy romance novel. Forbidden definitely isn’t for everyone.

Don’t get me wrong here; I’m giving this book four stars for a reason. I truly did like it, for as much as I seem to be bagging on it. Maybe even part of me loved it, or at least respected how the topic was handled. The author, Tabitha Suzuma, had the sense to not start into the romance until the reader had gotten used to how close Maya and Lochan’s family had to be because of their negligent mother. Seriously, these kids actually had to PLEAD with their mother for money to pay the rent and put food on the table. Most of the time she was pretending to be in her twenties again by disappearing with her boyfriend, nine years her junior. And when the romance between Maya and Lochan did start Suzuma didn’t try to have that take over the book. She obviously took a lot of time to consider the conflicting feelings someone would feel in that situation and more than that, the feelings a reader would have while reading about incest. The characters didn’t accept their relationship right away which was great! People take time to adjust and Suzuma respected that.

I also liked the fact that this novel made me think. It forced me to form my own opinions on what I think of incest and the laws telling people who they can and can’t marry. Not all people like stuff that questions something they find taboo which I suppose is okay but I believe we should all try to open our eyes a bit more. Finally, the ending, my god the ending was just…impeccable. Utterly heart-breaking and unexpected but definitely something that will stick in your mind for a while. I can’t even imagine loving someone as much as Lochan must have to do what he did. Tears came to my eyes and I probably would have cried harder if I hadn’t been so shocked.

But there were flaws. First of all, Lochan and Maya’s different POV’s sounded very similar. The way they thought made it seem like Suzuma tried so hard to convey the emotions they were having at every moment that they didn’t even seem realistic anymore. No one REALLY thinks like that, do they? The reason why teens like John Green’s novels so much is because he is able to write about the way teenager’s feel without trying to overdo their emotions. Suzuma didn’t really accomplish this. Another problem that occurred because of this was that the scenes in which Lochan and Maya were kissing and such seemed overdramatized. I get it, they had a relationship that was raw and passionate and utterly amazing. That is great. I hope someday I’ll love someone like that (except, you know, without the incest…) But, it too was slightly extreme. Some people LOVE flowery writing like this. I won’t lie, I do too occasionally. I write poems and that’s about as flowery as it gets and I’m sure that makes me a huge hypocrite.

Overall, this is a book worth reading. Over time you begin to forget about the flaws and see that despite being overwritten, it’s a great read. Keep in mind though, you have to discern for yourself whether or not you are ready to read about a mature subject and handle it in a mature way. Forbidden isn’t for everyone but I certainly enjoyed it.

Star Rating:  It was really good. I’ve already told my friends about it.

I would suggest this for: Mature teenagers looking for a novel that is intriguing and a bit off the beaten path.

Review by: Lauren B.

Thanks for the review, Lauren!

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

What is it about? Echo and Noah are broken. They have been shattered by the people they cared about the most and they can’t quite figure out how to pick all the pieces back up. So they develop their own ways of coping. For Echo, its withdrawing so far into herself that you can barely see past the long-sleeved shirts she wears year round. Just eating in the lunch room with her old friends is a huge obstacle in itself. For Noah, he also withdraws. Except he’s withdrawing from what seemed like a great future. Now, he’s known as the school bad boy and player. It’s said that he only uses girls as one-night stands in the backseat of his car. Bottom line is they shouldn’t be together. He’s a jerk who doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings and she’s a timid girl used to being pushed into things her father wants her to do. That’s just how it is…right? But what if they really aren’t so different after all? What if beneath all of ! the walls that they’ve built true love is waiting to find them?

That summary was so generic. Unfortunately I can’t bring myself to write something more original. I’ve been lazy about my reviews lately and because of that I am behind. I read this book about four days ago and I should have reviewed it right then but I suppose what’s done is done. I still have a pretty good idea of what I did and didn’t like about this book and that’ll have to be enough.

What did you think of it & why did you pick it up: As far as I know Pushing the Limits is Katie McGarry’s first novel. I LOVE reading debut novels. Especially in the summer when it seems like there are just so many of them coming out. It’s like there’s this whole world of newly released books that I was never privy to before. Maybe I was so caught up in trying to absorb all of the great literature I missed out before I got my Shelfari (a nerdy website for books that I highly recommend. Similar to Goodreads but more simple) and started to seriously use it. That sucks because you can find serious treasures in some of those novels. But that’s not the big reason why I like them. For the most part, they’re, well… they’re easy. They are all nice beachy reads with an easy to digest plot and likable, if not slightly stereotypical, characters. This, for me, is definitely welcome. In the summer I can sometimes get caught under a load of 450 page novels that are c! omplex and emotional and utterly breath-taking. Sure they are great and all of them get spots on my favorite’s shelf, but read four of those in a row you start to get a little stressed out. So Pushing the Limits was like taking a little breather. And because it was a breather, I loved it.

Alright. Maybe not LOVED with an exclamation point. But I liked it a lot. The plot was well thought out for a novel using the “hurt good girl falls for misunderstood bad boy” stereotype and McGarry didn’t try to make Echo magically get better when *SPOILER* she and Noah finally get together. Instead the author understood that she still had half the book left to write. I respect that even if I’m the kind of girl to like it more when the characters typically get together in the end of the book after making some kind of realization, instead of the middle. It did work for Pushing the Limits though, because without each other we all knew Noah and Echo would never have had the courage to face their problems head-on.

Noah and Echo themselves were nice characters as well. I guess I’ll say they had good motivations and tragic stories that you couldn’t help but feel badly for. You should never have a character that just does something for the sake of doing. Everybody has a reason and motivation behind their thoughts and actions. I did find Ashley a bit annoying in the beginning though, which I’m sure was the author’s intent. However, I found my favorite character to be the school counselor, Mrs. Collins. She was feisty, blunt and rational. She did everything in her power to help Noah and Echo even if it meant touching on the most sensitive spots of their pasts’. I wish more school counselors were like that, especially in high school.

I have to admit though; there were a few repetitive spots in this novel. And most of them were coming from Noah. He constantly called Echo his ‘siren’ or his ‘goddess’. Okay, that’s awesome that you are complimenting your girl so much but I could have done without it just a few times. It is sweet, yes, but…overused. Also, all of the millions of comments about how Echo smells like a cinnamon roll. We get it already. She smells like a bakery. Sweet, innocent, and yummy. One thing I did like was that Echo was clear about not wanting to have sex and I loved that Noah respected that. I’m not saying that everyone in high school has sex and pressures everybody else to do so as well, in fact I’m sure that isn’t even the case in most places. But teenagers get a bad rep for this and sex in teen novels really isn’t always necessary to move the plot forward and to build the character relationships.

Overall, I’d give it 3.5 stars. It was a debut novel after all. But I can’t wait to read McGarry’s second book that tells the story of one of Noah’s friends, Beth.

Star Rating:  It was okay.

I would suggest this for: Teen girls looking for a light, fun, and beachy read.

Name: Lauren B

Thanks for the review, Lauren!

Though the cover might lead you to believe the story takes place in space, it’s set in a future here on Earth years after genetic manipulation nearly wiped out humanity. Only the Luddites, who escaped to live in caves for generations, have survived unscathed. The rest of the people are called the Reduced, with limited intellectual capabilities that have left them mute and unable to care for themselves. When it is finally safe to come to the surface, The Luddites set out to restore humanity. They believe it is their duty to God to care for the Reduced, but the way they do this is by enslaving them and outlawing all forms of technology in order to prevent the same kind catastrophe that nearly killed off their ancestors. The Reduced work the farms of the Luddites, and after a few generations, begin to have children called Posts because they are not afflicted with the genetic problems of their parents and can lead normal, productive lives, yet they are still bound to their Luddite masters.

Elliot is a Luddite who runs her father’s estate because he is frivolous and lazy. Years ago, she had the opportunity to run away with her friend Kai, a Post who was a talented mechanical apprentice who dreamed of a life where the rigid social structure didn’t interfere with their friendship. Elliot, knowing the estate would fail if she left, stayed behind and her responsibility was to the people she whose care was entrusted to her family. Now, years later, Kai has returned, but as a wealthy, accomplished Post who is renting out her family’s shipyard to build a fleet to explore beyond the island. And so the awkward tension begins…will Elliot and Kai get back together?

The story follows the plot of Jane Austen’s Persuasion rather closely, so even though I knew the basic outline of what would happen, I still felt compelled to keep reading and ended up finishing the book in one day. The characters drew me in, not the plot. Elliot is everything Ann is in Persuasion: endearing, dedicated, true. She doesn’t deny her emotions, she just realizes there is more to the world than her own feelings. As the main character, she was certainly the most developed, and I genuinely liked her. Kai was brooding and taciturn in the tradition of Austen’s leading men. Though the supporting cast felt underdeveloped, they served their purpose of furthering the story.

As far as science fiction goes, this is definitely what I’d call “sci-fi lite”. There’s not a lot of development of the “how” of the world—it’s clear that genetic manipulation is what contributed to the demise of a good portion of the population, but there’s no hard science. It’s not the details that the story relies on, however; the idea suffices. The slow way the past is revealed allowed it to serve as a background to the romance.

And the romance is what you read it for. Though the story is set in the future, the old-fashioned ideas of class and courtship play out in an excruciatingly delightful way.

In young adult literature, the romance is often a tale of boy meets girl. There is instant attraction, then they battle their family/evil overlords/zombies/etc. It was refreshing to read a story that starts years after the protagonists initially fell in love. Rather than sacrificing the tension, this configuration magnified it exponentially. Though we don’t get so much as an on-page kiss between Malakai and Elliot, the tension and angst surely don’t suffer.

I recommend this book for those who like their YA romance with a side of dystopia and a sprinkling of sci-fi.

- Molly, YA Staff

Karou is just like any other art student living in Prague. She has blue hair (that grows out of her head that shade) and a loser of an ex-boyfriend (who dresses up as a vampire to scare tourists and models in her life drawing class just to annoy her). She hangs out with her best friend at Poison Kitchen eating goulash. She’s got a perfectly normal part-time job, traveling through doors that lead to far away corners of the earth, collecting teeth and trading in wishes. The fantastical creatures she draws in her sketchbook aren’t a product of her imagination; they’re the only family she’s ever known, including Brimstone, the otherwordly creature who raised her.

But when black handprints start appearing on doors all over the world, closing the portals for good, Karou begins a journey to find out who—and what—she truly is. When she meets Akiva, an angel with eyes that burn like fire, the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. Karou learns the secrets of her past—and the violent consequences of her love.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is a fantastic tale of demons and fallen angels, of love and loss. In my opinion, it’s the most compelling tale of star-crossed lovers since Romeo and Juliet. The mythology is inventive and strange and utterly beautiful. The prose is absolutely gorgeous and lush in its description. Laini Taylor’s words don’t just describe—they let us feel and taste and hear and smell the world she’s created. They are pure magic, strung together like Brimstone strings together teeth. And the romance? Swoon-worthy. Best of all, the novel leaves you with a feeling of hope that love really can conquer all—at least by the end of a trilogy. Days of Blood and Starlight, the sequel, is due out this fall.

I recommend this novel to mature teen readers, and adults who are fans of fantasy and romance.

-Molly, YA Staff

Tessa Gratton’s debut novel, Blood Magic, is a dark paranormal romance set in a small Missouri town. Told in alternating first person point of views mixed with diary entries, it’s a tale of witchcraft that fans of Twilight and Hex Hall will enjoy.

Silla’s has just lost her parents in an apparent murder-suicide when a mysterious package is sent to her from someone known only as the Deacon. The package contains a spell book in her dad’s handwriting, though she never knew her father was anything other than the local Latin teacher. When she tries her first spell in the graveyard bordering her house, Nick, her new neighbor, witnesses her turn a dead leaf green again with just a bit of salt and a drop of blood. Nick is no stranger to blood magic, and it’s no coincidence he’s moved in next door to Silla. Together they uncover the truth of their pasts and the magic that runs in their veins.

Tessa’s next book, The Blood Keeper, is due out this fall and is another tale of mystery and magic. But it isn’t all blood and witches for Tessa. Next year, she’ll release the first book in a new series, The Songs of Asgard, an alternative history of the US where the Norse gods walk among us.

To find out more about Tessa, visit her website. Check out Blood Magic today, before she visits the library!

I judge a lot by first lines, and this one hooked me: “The Garretts were forbidden from the start. But that’s not why they were important.” I can’t help but fall for a story of forbidden love!

But Jase Garrett isn’t from the wrong side of the tracks, at least not in a traditional sense. He lives right next door to Samantha and she’s been observing their raucous household from her rooftop since they first moved in.  Because Samantha’s mom is an uptight, judgmental, Republican, she’s not supposed to associate with them. Her mother disapproves of their messy yard, loud children, and that they struggle to support their large family. In this small seaside Connecticut town, having half a dozen kids is enough to make people talk. Despite her mom’s objections, Samantha begins dating Jase after he climbs up the trellis by her window one night.

“Need rescuing?” he asks.

The love story was very sweet. The back cover has a line from Simone Elkeles, author of the Perfect Chemistry series that sums it up nicely: “Jase and Samantha have a heart-warming romance every girl will envy.” The high school sweethearts are almost too perfect—but it certainly is the kind of romance every girl hopes for. You can’t help but fall in love with the whole Garrett family. They love life, and they love each other.

Before long, Samantha is a fixture at the Garretts, welcomed into their boisterous home. Samantha’s mother is so busy with her reelection campaign, she hardly notices. But when her mom is in a hit-and-run accident on the way home from a political event, it has disastrous consequences for Samantha, her mother, and the Garretts, and Samantha must decide where her true loyalties lie.

My favorite character by far was Tim, Samantha’s best friend’s bad boy brother. He was certainly the most well-drawn character of the book. I sympathized with his addiction, laughed at his wise cracks, and cheered him on as he grew and changed. George, Jase’s four-year-old brother, was outstanding and stole the show every time he turned up on the page. All of his sensitive, science-nerd antics had my heart melting. These two supporting characters were my favorite parts of the book.

Though I tend to favor fantasy and science fiction in the young adult literature I read, this was a fun book for summer. I would recommend this novel to fans of contemporary young adult romance.

Molly, YA Staff