Beneath by Roland Smith

Pages: 264

Intended Audience: Teens and mature tweens

Genre: Adventure

Notes for Parents: Contains implied violence and some mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Pat O’Toole has always idolized his older brother, Coop. Coop is…different. He doesn’t talk on the phone, doesn’t use email, and doesn’t have friends. He’s never really cared for anything but the thrill of being underground, and for Pat of course. So it’s no surprise to anyone that after a huge fight with their parents, Coop runs away. One year later, Pat receives a package containing a digital voice recorder and a cryptic message from his brother. He follows the clues to New York City and soon discovers that Coop has joined the Community, a society living beneath the streets. Now it’s up to Pat to find his brother—and bring him home.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book in a series. It was nominated for the Oregon Spirit Book Award for Middle Readers in 2015 and for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award in 2018.

What’s good?

Pat has one goal – find his brother. But it isn’t so simple when he tracks him to New York and discovers he’s somewhere in the mysterious underground where a community of people have settled. The underground is a fascinating place full of interesting people like Posty, Lod, Kate, and the Librarian. The chapters are short – sometimes very short – so it’s a quick and easy read. The plot is simple (find Coop!) and the pace is quick. There’s plenty of adventure, danger, fear, and intense moments. The ending is good, wrapping up most of the story but leaving it open for further adventures.    

Best Part: Pat was very likeable.

What isn’t good?

The geography of the underground was a little confusing.

Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺(4/5)

The description of the story didn’t sound very interesting, so it took a while before I picked up this book. But once I did, I was sucked into the story almost immediately. The short chapters and fast pace make it very easy to read, and the premise is captivating. Definitely recommended.

Smith, Roland. Beneath. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2015.

Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Pages: 390

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Contemporary / Disaster

Notes for Parents: Contains coarse language, violence, and mature scenes.

The Inside Cover

Everyone’s going to remember where they were when the taps went dry.

The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s life has become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers.

Until the taps run dry.

Suddenly Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a war zone of desperation; neighbors and families turning against one another in the hunt for water. When her parents don’t return and she and her brother are threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

In reality, spring of 2019 saw California officially declared drought free after more than seven years of experiencing some type of drought. Water in California is very closely managed because rainfall is limited and occurs mostly in the winter. That’s not to say the tides can’t quickly turn. A few months without significant precipitation can threaten reservoirs.

What’s good?

The desperation becomes palpable as a group of kids go in search of water during a drought. There’s chaos and danger when Alyssa, Garrett, and Kelton have to leave their neighborhood after violence breaks out. The plot is full of twists and turns and the pace steadily increases until the dramatic end. The story is told from different characters’ viewpoints, giving interesting insight into their thoughts and fears, especially after the group dynamics get complicated when other survivors join them. Henry’s narration is funny and Jacqui is a compelling character.  

Best Part: Henry.

What isn’t good?

The chapters are long and especially daunting in the beginning because the story starts slow. While the premise is believable, the series of events that follow the group is unrealistic – nothing seems to go right for them and eventually it gets tedious. Also, the government response to the crisis is chaotic and bumbling beyond belief. The threat of serious drought has existed there for so long that there must be at least a decent plan in place.

Worst part: Their luck.

Recommendation ☺☺☺ (3.5/5)

This could have been a great book, but it was still a good book. It’s fascinating to see how disaster brings out the best in some people and the worst in others. There were some tense moments and some great action scenes. And there was a shocking turn of events that I didn’t see coming. Recommended.

Shusterman, Neal and Jarrod Shusterman. Dry. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Pages: 324

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy

Notes for Parents: Contains violence, some under-age drinking, and other mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Hazel and her brother, Ben, live in Fairfold, where humans and the Folk exist side by side. Since they were children, Hazel and Ben have been telling each other stories about the boy in the glass coffin: that he is a prince and they are valiant knights. But as Hazel grows up, she puts aside those stories. Hazel knows the horned boy will never wake.

Until one day he does…

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction in 2015.

What’s good?

Set in contemporary time, this is a dark fantasy where the existence of faerie folk is accepted by the town, but they are considered to be dangerous and cruel. The world-building is well done and the plot is complex but easy to understand. Exciting action scenes and tense moments create a good pace in the second half. This story has magic curses, exciting battles, royalty, knights, swords, secret revels, power struggles, a town under threat, and a monster in the forest. It also touches on issues of racism, xenophobia, ethics, and the LGBTQ community.

Best Part: The boy in the glass coffin.

What isn’t good?

Something’s missing and I’m not sure what. Perhaps with all the good stuff it has, I was disappointed that it wasn’t more…intense? The first half is good, but not as exciting as the second half. The characters are interesting, but I didn’t really care about them as much as I should have.

Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation ☺☺☺ (3.5/5)

The story has a fantastic premise that drew me in right away. The town’s cautious relationship with the fae (fairy folk) was intriguing, Jack’s history was fascinating, and Severin’s story was captivating…and yet. For some reason I just couldn’t connect with Hazel, the main character. Her friend Leonie was more interesting! Regardless, I still really enjoyed the story. Recommended.

Black, Holly. The Darkest Part of the Forest. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2015.

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.