Review: The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles

The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Publication Date: January 31st, 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Death, Romance, Family

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BLURB:

It’s been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, who’s still reeling from her father’s shockingly sudden death in a caving accident and her neighbors’ mysterious disappearance from their own home. Then on a terrifying sub-zero, blizzardy night in Montana, she and her brother are brutally attacked in a cabin in the woods–only to be rescued by a mysterious bounty hunter they call X.

X is no ordinary bounty hunter. He is from a hell called the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe’s evil attacker and others like him. Forbidden to reveal himself to anyone other than his victims, X casts aside the Lowlands’ rules for Zoe. As X and Zoe learn more about their different worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their future. But escaping the Lowlands and the ties that bind X might mean the ultimate sacrifice for both of them.

Review: Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos

Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 11+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Cancer

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(MISLEADING) BLURB:

Fifteen-year-old Jackie Stone is a prisoner in her own house. Everything she says and does 24/7 is being taped and broadcast to every television in America. Why? Because her dad is dying of a brain tumor and he has auctioned his life on eBay to the highest bidder: a ruthless TV reality show executive at ATN.

Gone is her mom’s attention and cooking and parent-teacher conferences. Gone is her sister’s trust ever since she’s been dazzled by the cameras and new-found infamy. Gone is her privacy. Gone is the whole family’s dignity as ATN twists their words and makes a public mockery of their lives on Life and Death. But most of all, Jackie fears that one day very soon her father will just be . . . gone. Armed only with her ingenuity and the power of the internet, Jackie is determined to end the show and reclaim all of their lives, even in death.

Review: The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart by Lauren DeStefano

The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart by Lauren DeStefano

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Publication Date: September 13th, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 7+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Ghosts, Paranormal, Friendship

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BLURB:

Lionel is a wild boy, who doesn’t much like to be around other people. He’d rather be a purring cat or a wolf stalking the woods.

Marybeth is a nice girl. She doesn’t need to be told to comb her hair or brush her teeth, and she’s kind to everyone at the orphanage . . . Lionel most of all.

Different though they are, Lionel and Marybeth are best friends in a world that has forgotten about them. So when a mysterious blue spirit possesses Marybeth—and starts to take control—they know they must stop it before the real Marybeth fades away forever.

Review: When We Collided by Emery Lord

When We Collided by Emery Lord

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: ARC
Publication Date: April 5th 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Point of View: 1st Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Mental Illness

BLURB:

We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know…

Jonah never thought a girl like Vivi would come along.

Vivi didn’t know Jonah would light up her world.

Neither of them expected a summer like this…a summer that would rewrite their futures.

In an unflinching story about new love, old wounds, and forces beyond our control, two teens find that when you collide with the right person at just the right time, it will change you forever.