Category Archives: Young Adult Fiction

#BookReview ~ Winter of the Wolf by Martha Hunt Handler #Mystery #Spirituality #DebutNovel

Posted in Book Review, Debut Novel, Mystery, Spiritual, Young Adult Fiction by

Author: Martha Hunt Handler

Published: July 2020 by Greenleaf Book Group Press

Category: Mystery, Spirituality, YA (with reservations) Book Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A tragic mystery blending sleuthing and spirituality

An exploration in grief, suicide, spiritualism, and Inuit culture, Winter of the Wolf follows Bean, an empathic and spiritually evolved fifteen-year-old, who is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother Sam’s death. Though all evidence points to a suicide, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper. With help from her friend Julie, they retrace Sam’s steps, delve into his Inuit beliefs, and reconnect with their spiritual beliefs to uncover clues beyond material understanding.

Winter of the Wolf is the story of a family’s grief and how they cope with tragedy. It’s far from all doom and gloom though. This coming of age story is about following instincts and beliefs, exploring new avenues to discover the truth, however painful. And, although the story centres on teens, there are serious adult themes and topics in the book that I think wouldn’t be suitable for younger teen readers.

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#ThrowbackThursday ~ Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart #YA #Audiobook #Review

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Young Adult Fiction by

Throwback Thursday this week is an audiobook aimed at the younger reader, performed excellently by MacLeod Andrews. It was published in January 2016 by Scholastic Audio.

My Thoughts

When twelve year old Jonathan Grisby arrives at Slabhenge, hungry, cold and tormented, he faces at least ten weeks in the forbidding and Dickensian-like reform school. Run by The Admiral and his staff, who take pleasure from making life as difficult and uncomfortable as possible for the unfortunates who have been sent there. Slabhenge has had several incarnations, including a facility for the mentally ill, but to the boys it seems more like a prison with it’s many corridors, staircases and stone-walled, dank rooms.

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#ThrowbackThursday ~ The Rising by Heather Graham and Jon Land #YA #Scifi

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction by

The Rising was released on audio in January 2017 and performed by Luke Daniels.

My Thoughts

Eighteen year old Alex Chin, popular star football player, was adopted by a Chinese couple, Li and An Chin, when he was a baby. Football is his passion and with plenty of scholarship offers, he believes he has a bright future ahead. His tutor, Samantha Dixon, is about to graduate and plans an internship with NASA, working with Dr Thomas Donati. All is going well for both of them until a head injury on the football field lands Alex in hospital. An initial CT scan shows something strange, and when Alex has a follow-up the bulbs in scanner burn out and the glass casing shatters. Then Alex’s doctor is murdered. And when Sam finds Alex’s parents dying in their home and have a run in with the non human attackers, she and Alex go on the run with help from Alex’s guardian, Raiff, who has been in the background, keeping an eye on him, knowing this day would come sooner or later. 

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#ThrowbackThursday ~ The Last Gatekeeper (The Crown of Fane Duology #1) by @katyhaye #YA #Fantasy

Posted in Book Review, Fantasy, Throwback Thursday, Young Adult Fiction by

This week’s Throwback Thursday looks back at The Last Gatekeeper—not my usual genre but I did enjoy this one. Ticks all the boxes for a young adult fantasy novel.

My Thoughts

Up until the day of her 17th birthday, Zanzibar MacKenzie lead a very sheltered life. She always knew she was different, home schooled, no electrical appliances whatsoever in her life or environment and isolated by her EHS. Just how different, she was about to find out. While spending time with her only friend, Em, who lives nearby, and Em’s boyfriend at the beach, Zan thinks she spots a stranger on the cliff watching them. 

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#ThrowbackThursday ~ Plus One by Elizabeth Fama ~ An Alternate Reality #Audiobook #YAFiction #BookReview

Posted in Alternate Reality, Audiobook, Book Review, Throwback Thursday, Young Adult Fiction by

Throwback Thursday this week is a novel dealing with the aftermath of the flu pandemic of 1918—hopefully not a sign of things to come! Plus One is narrated by Julia Whelan and was released in 2015.

My Thoughts

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#ThrowbackThursday ~ HellHole by Gina Damico #AudioBookReview #YA #Fantasy #SciFi

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Throwback Thursday, Young Adult Fiction by

My Throwback Thursday choice for this week is HellHole, an audiobook narrated by MacLeod Andrews and released in January 2015.

Renee at It’s Book Talk began this meme as a way to share old favourites, as well as books that have been waiting on the ‘to be read’ pile for however long, and are finally getting an airing.

My Thoughts

Max is the quintessential awkward teen who has zero luck with girls, loves crosswords and digging for fossils on Ugly Hill. He cares for his sick mother who’s waiting for a heart transplant as well as attending school and working long hours at a convenience store. One day at work he steals a cat statue for his mother, who loves sparkly junk. He can’t afford to buy it but wants to give his mother something he knows she’ll appreciate. Max is terrified the security camera will pick up his theft but little does he know getting caught is the least of his worries.

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A Song for Bill Robinson by C.E. Atkins ~ #YoungAdult Fiction #BookReview @Chanatkins @rararesources #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Blog Blitz, Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Drama, Young Adult Fiction by

Welcome to my stop on the 5 day mini blog blitz for A Song For Bill Robinson, courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources.

My Thoughts

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#GuestPost from Gila Green #Author of #YA Novel No Entry @green_gila #Environmental

Posted in Books, Fiction, Guest Post, Young Adult Fiction by

It’s a pleasure today to welcome Gila Green with a guest post. Gila has written a young adult, environmental fiction novel titled No Entry. Here’s what the book is about…

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All The Love You Write by D.G. Driver 💌 #BookReview for #RBRT @DGDriverAuthor #YA Paranormal Romance #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult Fiction by

Author: D.G. Driver

Published: August 2019 by Fire & Ice Young Adult Books

Category: Young Adult, Teen Romance, Paranormal, Book Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel is written in 3 parts. The first part, “Love Letters”, is a revised version of Passing Notes with an additional final chapter. It tells the story of the mysterious ghostly notes Mark finds that teach him to write a perfect love letter to impress the girl he adores.
In the second part,”So Near While Apart”, Mark and Bethany find an old shoebox full of love letters written between a young couple back in 1970, during the Vietnam war. It’s a sweet and touching story.
 Part 3, “Straight From Your Heart” keeps the story going from Bethany’s point of view as she and Mark struggle through the final months of their senior year in high school. She also has a ghost meddling with her, but this ghost isn’t as helpful and can be downright vindictive.

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#ThrowbackThursday ~ Morrighan (The Remnant Chronicles 0.5) by Mary E Pearson #YA #PostApocalyptic

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic, Throwback Thursday, Young Adult Fiction by

Morrighan by Mary Pearson is my Throwback Thursday choice this week. An audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan and MacLeod Andrews, two of my favourites, and released in 2016.

My Thoughts

Although this is a prequel it can be read as a standalone novella. I haven’t yet read any of the Remnant Chronicles so I’m not sure of the connection to the series. From what I can gather the characters in this don’t feature in the main storyline and are, perhaps, ancestors. 

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