Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters – Emily Roberson

Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters by Emily Roberson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: October 20th, 2019
Publisher: FSG
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mythology, Retelling, Forbidden Love, Competition, Reality TV

---

REVIEW:

This book was such a pleasurable experience. I feel like sincerely thanking the author for writing it because we all need positive distractions in our lives. I’m a university student who takes school seriously but I also need time to chill with a fun and surprising book. This story combines so many of the things I enjoy immersing myself in: mythology, retellings, forbidden love, competition and reality TV. I especially liked the ways in which Emily Roberson negotiated antiquity and modernity. On the one hand, Ariadne and everyone else in her world believe in the gods—Poseidon, Athena and such—and will do anything to please them. On the other hand, technology is very much present in everyday life and myths are understood as truths to be remembered but also, to some, truths to be questioned.

No Fixed Address – Susin Nielsen

No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Penguin Random House Canada
Published: September 11th, 2018
Publisher: Tundra Books
Recommended Age: 8+
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Friendship, Family, Social Issues, Competition

---

REVIEW:

I admire the hell out of Susin Nielsen for tackling the topics she does. It isn’t easy to talk about controversial subjects like poverty and homelessness to a middle grade audience. And yet, Susin Nielsen tries… and, in my opinion, does a superb job of discussing them.

Monsters Beware! (Chronicles of Claudette #3)

Monsters Beware! by Jorge Aguirre

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: March 13th, 2018
Publisher: First Second
Recommended Age: 8+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Humor, Adventure, Dragons

---

BLURB:

In Monsters Beware!, the third and final book of the Claudette graphic novel series, Claudette is put to the ultimate test. With her honor on the line will she learn that there’s more to a fight than just winning?

5 to 1 – Holly Bodger

5 to 1 by Holly Bodger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: May 12th, 2015
Publisher: Knopf BFYR
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Dystopian, Feminism, Freedom, Competition

---

BLURB:

In the year 2054, after decades of gender selection, India now has a ratio of five boys for every girl, making women an incredibly valuable commodity. Tired of marrying off their daughters to the highest bidder and determined to finally make marriage fair, the women who form the country of Koyanagar have instituted a series of tests so that every boy has the chance to win a wife. Sudasa, though, doesn’t want to be a wife, and Kiran, a boy forced to compete in the test to become her husband, has other plans as well. As the tests advance, Sudasa and Kiran thwart each other at every turn until they slowly realize that they just might want the same thing.

Ultra Negative Review: The Crown’s Game (The Crown’s Game, #1) by Evelyn Skye

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: May 17th, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Competition, Magic, Romance

BLURB:

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Review: Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: October 20th 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Point of View: 3rd Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Alternative History, Post World War II, Competition, Race-to-the-end

BLURB:

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule the world. To commemorate their Great Victory over Britain and Russia, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s ball.

Yael, who escaped from a death camp, has one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year’s only female victor, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin’s brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael’s every move. But as Yael begins to get closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?