We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: May 14th, 2019
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Romance

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REVIEW:

After finishing a fast-paced, action-packed YA Fantasy book (Wicked Saints), it was hard getting into a slow-paced, thought-driven story. I was going to say ‘‘character-driven’’ because there’s a lot of saying hello and goodbye to different people, but the protagonists are not particularly three-dimensional and it’s a very descriptive novel.

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: April 2nd, 2019
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Action, Romance, Friendship

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REVIEW:

I have to say, I was ready to hate this book. The cover attracted me, and so did the fact that it’s YA Fantasy, and as much as I love to hate the genre if it becomes too cliché, part of me will always come back for more. I was ready to hate this book because I trust my friends’ opinions and people seem to react very differently to this story.

Wilder Girls – Rory Power

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Received: Random House Canada
Published: July 9th, 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mystery, Horror, LGBTQIA+, Disease, Friendship

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REVIEW:

Survival stories tend to grip me. There’s something really fascinating, I think, about the idea of ‘‘the survival of the fittest’’ or strongest, smartest, prettiest. It’s a competition. It’s a deadly game. Sometimes, there’s no use even trying because you can’t compare. You don’t have it in you to survive. You’re a follower, not a leader.

Every Note Played – Lisa Genova

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Library
Published: March 20th, 2018
Publisher: Scout Press
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: Adult, Contemporary, ALS, Family

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REVIEW:

Like a lot of people, I read STILL ALICE and let it change my way of perceiving Alzheimer’s disease. It was an unforgettable story and I learned more from it than I could have predicted. I still remember this one thing that has stayed with me for years: Alice claims that apparently if you hold someone’s gaze for longer than five seconds and they don’t look away, it means they either want to sleep with you or KILL YOU. That alone made me go WOW. Unfortunately, nothing in this book made me go like that. Nothing blew me away or made me say: ‘‘What, really? Noooo. I can’t believe this!’’ It did act as a tool to teach about ALS disease but I did not feel as connected to the characters as I did to those featured in STILL ALICE.

Slayer – Kiersten White

Slayer by Kiersten White

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Simon & Schuster Canada
Published: January 8th, 2019
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Powers, Family

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REVIEW:

Read The Mortal Instruments instead. If you’ve read The Mortal Instruments, try Vampire Academy. If you’ve tried Vampire Academy, dive into Lady Helen. If you’ve dived into Lady Helen, plunge into The Stars Never Rise. If you’ve plunged into The Stars Never Rise, open Monsters of Verity. If you’ve opened Monsters of Verity, give the Grisha Verse a chance. If you’ve given the Grisha Verse a chance, lose yourself in Daughter of Smoke and Bone. If you’ve lost yourself in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I’M OUT. Just read this book, it’s FINE. UGH you’re such a bookworm. You don’t need me.

Blog Tour: Enchantée – Gita Trelease

Enchantée by Gita Trelease

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: February 5th, 2019
Publisher: Flatiron/Macmillan
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Magic, Family, Romance

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REVIEW:

Let me just take a quick second here to say that I finished four novels this weekend. It feels like I’m binge-reading (so you know it won’t last), because I only recently got back into reading fiction so it’s like my subconscious (and body overall) is trying to make up for the ‘‘lost time.’’ That said, if this book had been awful, I would not have forced myself to read it. My experience reading it may be a little different than an Anglophone’s experience because I went to a Francophone school and we looked at the French Revolution again and again and again. I also studied Marie Antoinette in my Art History classes, which helped humanize her in my eyes, because her family portraits showed her love for her children.

Famous in a Small Town – Emma Mills

Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: January 15th, 2019
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Romance, Friendship, Family

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REVIEW:

I opened this gorgeous book expecting to smile and laugh at every chapter. Emma Mills always makes me think that, what with her original and feel-good-sounding premises. And her stories do start in a lovely, fun manner. But eventually and slowly, heavy themes creep into the storyline and grow. This is good, because it means we are gently guided towards more impactful situations instead of being thrown into them without warning. That doesn’t mean this book didn’t make me smile or laugh. On the contrary, I loved it BECAUSE it made me feel such diverse emotions: happiness, sadness, befuddlement, surprise, warmth…

Two Can Keep a Secret – Karen M. McManus

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Random House Canada
Published: January 8th, 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary, High School, Romance, Family

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REVIEW:

Overall, I found this to be much less eye-roll-worthy than ONE OF US IS LYING. The author still is too much in love with stereotypes… I mean, homecoming queens dying? Please. But I felt more engaged somehow with only two narrators, a boy and a girl (Ellery and Malcolm), love interests to each other and both involving themselves in the mystery case(s). Both are likeable and smart(ish) leads. Actually, anything I say about one of them basically immediately applies to the other because, frankly, they have such similar voices it’s hard at times to distinguish them.

The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Library
Published: January 15th, 2019
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Action (I guess)

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REVIEW:

The world is confusing: the more I read, the less I understand. The characters are bland: the more I struggle to picture them, the less invested I am. The premise promises but never before have I wished to chop a premise’s head off as much as right now. The writing is beautiful, so it has that going for itself, but I’m not as shallow as I used to be and so will not finish this book by consuming the purple prose alone. I need to CONNECT. If you can’t make me connect, you’ve failed in my eyes. Sorry not sorry.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Library
Published: January 29th, 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Fairy Tale, War Setting

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REVIEW:

This is hands down one of the best fairy tale retellings I have ever read. I did not have high expectations at all, having found Brigid Kemmerer’s Letters to the Lost to be a MEH read (please don’t curse me!), but this story hooked me right from the start.