Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Pages: 532

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Fantasy

Notes for Parents: Contains some violence.

The Back Cover

Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep for as long as he can remember, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream of her before he knew she exited?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This book is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book and a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2017).

What’s good?

This is a fantasy adventure that follows young Lazlo Strange as he joins a group travelling to the fabled city of Weep, a town he’s been fantasizing about since he was a child. The plot is simple with a few twists and turns that keep it interesting. The world building is complex and imaginative, and the supporting characters are well-drawn and likable. Points of view switch between Lazlo, the godspawn, and other characters, providing an innovative view of life on two sides of the same coin – the people of Weep and the children of the gods who are trapped in the tower above the city, both of whom view themselves as victims of the other. The ending was a cliffhanger, but satisfying.

Best Part: Lazlo

What isn’t good?

It’s so slow! The pace doesn’t really pick up until the last third of the book. The author is wordy and repetitive, making the story about twice as long as it should be. There are a lot of strange names of people, places, and things that make it hard to keep everything straight so it took a while to remember who everyone was. In fact, I didn’t really start caring about any of the characters until closer to the end. For me, the romance was a bust. Instalove is just not my thing.

Worst part: The pace.

Recommendation ☺☺☺ (3/5)

I think I read this with too many expectations. The novel came with a lot of hype and it just didn’t pan out for me. But it was still an interesting story with good characters and a solid plot that got really interesting at the end. If I had had the sequel when I finished the first, I probably would have started reading it. Recommended.

Taylor, Laini. Strange the Dreamer. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2017.

Everything Beautiful is not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman

Pages: 361

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Contemporary

Notes for Parents: Contains mild language and mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Then: Ingrid traveled all over Europe with her opera star mother, Margot-Sophia. Life was beautiful and bright, and every day soared with music.
Now: Ingrid is on a summertime wilderness survival trek for at-risk teens: addicts, runaways, and her. She’s fighting to survive crushing humiliations, physical challenges that push her to her limits, and mind games that threaten to break her. Ingrid is never going to make it through this summer if she can’t figure out why she’s here…and why the music really stopped.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is a CBC Best Book of 2017; it was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award; and shortlisted for the White Pine Award.

What’s good?

Using a combination of narration and letter-writing, Ingrid recounts her less-than-ideal adventures on a wilderness trek for at-risk teens. In flashbacks, she slowly reveals what led up to her needing to join the wilderness survival group. Sarcastic humor infused with anger and grief gives life to the storytelling. The supporting characters are well-developed and have interesting stories of their own. The pace is good and the plot is intricate but easy to understand. The ending was unexpected and well-done.

Best Part: The dead mosquito count.

What isn’t good?

There’s a lot of telling rather than showing. It could have used a bit more dialogue and lot less description. I was bothered by the part where Ingrid is basically forced to share a tent with two boys and the adults had no qualms with Peace’s bizarre behavior. The romance was dull.

Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺ (4/5)

This was an excellent story, told with humor and grace, about dealing with mental illness. While it wasn’t wholly unique, there was a rare quality about it that makes it stand out from the multitude of other “my mom is depressed” novels. There were as many heartwarming moments as there were heartbreaking ones. Definitely recommended.

Younge-Ullman, Danielle. Everything Beautiful is not Ruined. Toronto: Razorbill Canada, 2018.

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

Pages: 393

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Contemporary

Notes for Parents: Contains course language and mature content

The Back Cover

For Angel, life is about one thing: The Ark—a pop-rock trio of teenage boys taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything she loves—her friend Juliet, her dreams, her place in the world.

Jimmy owes everything to The Ark. He’s their frontman—and playing in a band with his mates is all he ever dreamed of doing.

But dreams don’t always turn out the way you think, and when Jimmy and Angel are unexpectedly thrust together they find out how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction in 2018.

What’s good?

Angel’s obsession with a boy band leads her to London where she stays with a friend Juliet and together they plan a week of activities around The Ark. Things, however, don’t go exactly as planned. The plot is simple but the story is multifaceted. There are many themes, including love v. obsession, public persona v. private life, meeting your heroes, religion, identity, mental health, healthy relationships, and so much more. The narrative stays light despite the many heavy subjects, but it gets serious when it needs to. The pace is good and the characters are diverse. The story is fun and engaging.

Best Part: Jimmy’s grandfather.

What isn’t good?

Some of the British colloquialism can be confusing, but there’s nothing too perplexing.

Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺ (4/5)

This is not a love story. Rather it’s a coming-of-age journey for a group of young people who come together in an unexpected way to learn about themselves and each other. In the end, the lesson is that people are complicated and we need to learn how to care about ourselves before we can truly care about each other. Recommended.

Oseman, Alice. I Was Born for This. New York: HarperCollins, 2018.

City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson

Pages: 401

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Contemporary / Crime mystery

Notes for Parents: Contains violence, illegal activities, and descriptions of mature scenes.

The Back Cover

After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrive in Kenya hoping for a better life. They can’t believe their luck when Tina’s mother finds work as a maid for the Greyhills, one of the city’s most illustrious families. But there’s a dark secret lurking behind the family’s immense fortune, and when Tina discovers her mother shot dead in Mr. Greyhill’s private study, she knows he pulled the trigger. And she’ll do whatever it takes to prove it.

But there’s more to the murder than meets the eye, including harrowing secrets from Tina’s past that will change everything she thought she knew and reveal the painful truth behind her mother’s death.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The story begins five years after Tina’s mother’s death, as she puts her plan for revenge into action.

What’s good?

Tina has spent years planning how to ruin the life of the man responsible for her mother’s death. It should have been cut and dry, but a chance encounter with a childhood friend complicates everything. The plot is sophisticated and engaging. What begins as simple revenge develops into a complex mystery that involves gangs, warlords, illegal gold, and her mother’s hidden past. The female lead is strong, the setting is gritty and full of danger, and the overall tone remains tense throughout.

Best Part: As she tells the story, Tina shares the rules of being a good thief.

What isn’t good?

The pace is uneven, unfolding slowly with only the occasional burst of action. The mystery of who killed Tina’s mother is predictable when it comes to who didn’t do it. The ending is tidy, but maybe too tidy.

Worst part: The romance, although limited, was still unnecessary.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺ (4/5)

Set in the unforgiving streets of Kenya, this story is a different kind of contemporary thriller. The main character is an orphan, a thief, and a survivor, risking everything to avenge her mother’s death. The story is intense, albeit a bit slow, but worth the read. Recommended.

Anderson, Natalie C., City of Saints & Thieves. New York: Speak, 2017.

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland

Pages: 349

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Contemporary

Notes for Parents: Contains coarse language, underaged drinking, and some mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Esther’s family is riddled with fear. Her father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the basement in six years. Her twin brother cannot be in the dark. Her mother is terrified of bad luck. According to the family curses, they are destined to die from the very things they fear most.

Esther doesn’t know what her great fear is yet (nor does she want to). So she avoids nearly everything, keeping close track of every phobia in her semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.

Then Esther is pickpocketed by Jonah Smallwood, an old elementary school classmate. Along with her phone, money and a fruit roll-up she’d been saving, Jonah also steals her list. And so begins Esther’s ultimate challenge—to work her way through the list, tackling one fear at a time.

Including one that Esther hadn’t even considered: love.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

There’s a bit of a possible paranormal element to this story—maybe.

What’s good?

Esther Solar is facing her fears with the help of Jonah Smallwood. With macabre humor and sarcastic dialogue, checking fears off her semi-definitive list becomes an adventure. Esther and Jonah are strong characters, and well-supported by Esther’s twin Eugene, who needs a constant source of light, and her friend Hephzibah, who has selective mutism. The plot is simple and perhaps a little predictable, but the pace moves steadily making it a fast read. The story touches on phobias, anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, abuse, addiction, and more. And there’s even a hint of the supernatural, and a kitten.

Best Part: Lobster Shakespeare (pg. 73)

What isn’t good?

The Solar family was a bit over-the-top. To call them quirky feels like a bit of an understatement. As a result, the story felt a bit…theatrical. It also creates a confusing tone that changes from solemn to comical in the same scene. The end was satisfying but a little sappy.

Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺ (4/5)

It was that soft, supernatural element that won me over. Without it, this would have been just a weird story about family in desperate need of therapy. But it was heartwarming, and funny, and a little bit sad without being too serious or too flippant about the serious parts. I enjoyed it. Recommended.

Sutherland, Krystal. A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares. New York: Speak, 2017.