Maya Motayne writes an amazing fantasy novel infused with magic and interesting characters. Nocturna is more than just a story about magic and its dark side, it has an element of truth to it. The characters’ emotions are so strong that you feel like you’re fighting right beside them. Motayne’s descriptions and language create magnificent images in your mind of scenes that aren’t possible in real life. Nocturna sweeps you away to an entirely different world, and changes your views forever.
Nocturna tells about a prince named Alfie, whose family experienced a tragedy that made him king, but he is not ready for the huge responsibility. He feels lost on the throne. Alfie is ruined, until he meets a thief named Finn, whose magic consists of changing her own face to match anyone. She is a faceshifter living in the ugly part of town, hiding her ugly past with foreign faces. They release something horrible and dark into Alfie’s kingdom, and it’s up to them to entrap it once again. Nocturna hunts them down and brings out the absolute worst in them. The two fighters have to face their terrible memories and pasts in order to defeat the dark magic, but can they come together and put the greater good of the people first?
I recommend this book to any fantasy lover. Whether you like high fantasy, or just a touch of magic, this book is for you. Nocturna is impossible to put down. The plot is so addicting and surprising that reading it in just a few days (or one!) is almost a guarantee. I cannot praise this book enough. Motayne has written a beautiful, magical story filled with every emotion possible. There is so much love and friendship but also pain and suffering. It’s a mix of good and bad, light and dark. It’s Nocturna.
Author Archives: Cadie Peters
You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno
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You Must Not Miss, by Katrina Leno, is a story about a girl who goes by Magpie, and her little touch of magic. She lives in a town called Farther, with her alcoholic mother. Her sister left her, her dad cheated on her mom, and her life was ruined at a party a few months back. Now all she has is a little yellow notebook that she writes in, dreaming of a world called Near. She wants to live in this world so badly that one day, it comes into existence. A place where she can go to be happy; to be alone. A place where she is in control, unlike her life. She learns the secrets of Near, and it becomes a part of her. But instead of thinking about the consequences, she starts using Near for her own benefit.
You Must Not Miss is a thrilling new novel about revenge, secret doorways, and fancy pens. It’s about fake appearances, swimming pools, and loneliness on a pool floatie. Leno writes a cautious tale about the dangers of control and power, and how people aren’t always how they seem.
What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
What if it’s Us, by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli, is magical. It tells the story of Arthur, a high school student who lives in Georgia but is spending the summer as an intern in New York, and Ben, a New York native spending the summer in summer school. Their sweet, romantic-movie meetup is incredible. Neither of them can believe it. Somehow, in the chaos of the huge city, the universe managed to put them together in the same place, at the same time. They knew they had to make the universe’s wishes come true. Their desperation to find each other is adorable and admirable. Everyone is rooting for them, and the lead up is amazing. This story is two boys, finding love and a perfect summer in the magic of New York.
Silvera and Albertalli write this book with familiar and comfortable characters. They feel so real and relatable, making them even more lovable. Every character is unique; every interaction special. There are laugh-out-loud moments, and serious moments, and very romantic moments. Everything an amazing story needs. This book makes everyone believe in love. All different kinds of love. It is about taking chances, and do-overs, and forgiveness. A great story for anyone and anytime.
Just Wreck it All by N. Griffin
In Just Wreck it All, by N. Griffin, a teenage girl named Bett struggles with her past. She lives in a small town where everyone knows your name, and she loved it. She used to be amazing! A healthy, athletic, fun person. But the accident came and went, and she turned into a self-conscious over-eater, and focused on dividing her life into ‘pluses’ and ‘minuses’. She defined a ‘plus’ as doing something she liked, like running, for example. And she had to counteract the pluses with minuses, so nothing positive came without a price.
When a bad incident occurs at school, just after the school year begins, Bett’s life takes another turn. She needs to decide if her actions are going to be plus or minus, and how it impacts the people around her.
Just Wreck it All is an important high-school-identity story, and teaches many lessons. N. Griffin writes with passion and beauty, creating masterpieces and letting them show through the characters.
Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Our Year of Maybe, by Rachel Lynn Solomon, is not just a love story. This is a story with such deep, raw emotion, and real, human characters. It is about Sophie and her neighbor Peter. They have been best friends since they were babies. But Sophie’s crush on Peter makes things all too real. Her secret crush, that is.
Peter has a deadly kidney disease and miraculously, Sophie is a match. She donates one of her kidneys to her neighbor, her love, her Peter. She wants them to become closer; to be physically bonded by matching kidneys. Her love for him is overwhelming and she needs an answer from his part of the relationship. The transplant has complicated everything, and Sophie is not sure if it’s good or bad.
Rachel Lynn Solomon is such a talented writer. She tells an unheard of story with fierceness and truth, breaking ground on an example of a not-so-perfect romantic tale. This is one of the best YA romance books ever, because of its intriguing language and elements of stone-cold truth. A must-read for any romance novel lovers!
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix
The Faithful Spy, by John Hendrix, is a riveting true story about the enemies of Hitler, presented in illustrated form. It tells the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young theologist who loved his home country of Germany, but despised the man who gained control of it. Dietrich’s only wish is to protect his beloved country and restore it back to what it used to be. For this to happen, he has to get rid of Hitler. Dietrich and his friends conspire, travel, and spy, all in the name of German safety.
John Hendrix writes with determination and interest, sharing the unknown details of many important figures in Germany’s unfathomable history. This book is riddled with knowledge about World War II and the Holocaust. It is informational, yet also a journey through one man’s sacrifices. Stunning pictures and an amazing format bring the images to life as the book takes you through the entirety of World War II and the Holocaust, all through Dietrich’s eyes.
The Faithful Spy is intense and emotional, but teaches so much lost history about these tragic events. This book is great for history buffs, or anyone interested in learning more about these events and the different sides of humanity.
Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria
Beneath the Citadel, by Destiny Soria, is an impeccably crafted fantasy novel with everything planned out perfectly. There are plot twists and moments of relief, and this story makes you feel like you’re with the characters in the citadel.
Beneath the Citadel tells about four teenagers who live in a place ruled by rooks and seers; sentients and diviners. Nothing is private, and it seems as if everyone’s future is written in prophecies. But the citadel has secrets of its own: what’s beneath the citadel. Something so unimaginable. These four friends are the last of the rebels, trying to destroy the corrupt government. Will the citadel’s secret ruin or help their plan?
Destiny Soria wrote a truly amazing novel here. I recommend this to any fantasy lover, or anyone who wants to read a book impossible to put down. It is thoroughly engulfing from the first page to the last, and makes you want more. I cannot begin to describe how interesting this story is. There’s nothing else like it and it’s bound to become huge like Harry Potter or Red Queen. I hope there is a sequel!
People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins
The book People Kill People, by Ellen Hopkins, is extraordinarily written. The writing hits your emotions in all the right places, and it gives insight into many different people’s lives and their views on things such as gun laws and immigration rights. People Kill People tells the story of six different teenagers. They are all connected, in more ways than just firearms in the state of Arizona. One thing brings them together; the thought of using a gun on someone. Themselves, a stranger, the person they love most. There is a little voice in their heads, whispering, controlling, saying what if. Hopkins writes in an amazing style, each character getting a spotlight and summarizing it with poems after. She addresses the issues and lets you decide for yourself, whatever your opinion is. At the end of the story, someone shoots and someone dies. This is how the world goes. Read People Kill People to find out.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is politically active, and who wants to make a difference. Anyone on either side of the political spectrum. If you have lost a loved one to gun violence, read this book to know you are not alone. If you want to find out more about these issues, read this book. If you think any aspect of it is interesting, read this book because you will not be disappointed. People Kill People is the next big thing, and it will change hearts, minds, and lives.
Every Day by David Levithan
Every Day by David Levithan, is probably my favorite book. It is a beautiful story about love, the obstacles of life, and how important making memories is. The main character, A, wakes up every single day in a new place, in a new body. He takes over for a day, traveling through this strange life and seeing all kinds of things. One day, he wakes up in the body of Justin, and meets his girlfriend- Rhiannon. Love at first sight is such a cliche, but David Levithan makes it fascinatingly real. He tells the story of A and Rhiannon, and the intense obstacles they have to face, even just to talk to each other! This love story is one of a kind, and it will keep you wanting more.
I love this book because it is a completely new take on a love story. They get repetitive after a while, and this brings a fresh take to the YA genre. Every Day sucks you in; you feel the character’s emotions; you live this story. I read this a few years ago, but even now I still remember the feelings washing over me as I indulged in this. It is memorable, beautiful, and heart-racing. This is the most interesting book I have ever read, and that’s saying something! David Levithan truly brings such a riveting storyline to such a unique group of characters. I’m glad it has a sequel! I cannot praise this book enough, and it will always be an all-time favorite.
Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl
Neverworld Wake, by Marisha Pessl, is a stunningly put together story. It tells of a girl named Beatrice who recently lost her boyfriend, Jim, at the end of her senior year of high school. Jim’s death reveals a bounty of unanswered questions, and Beatrice needs to get to the bottom of them. She returns to Wincroft, the mansion belonging to her old best friend. Beatrice and all her friends were separated after Jim’s death. While searching for answers, Beatrice gets swept up into the craziness of the night, and can’t escape. They become trapped, stuck in time. Beatrice and her “friends” are introduced to a confusing place called Neverworld Wake, where they live a century inside a second.
Neverworld Wake is thrilling. It’s impossible to put down. Once you get sucked into the wake yourself, there’s no coming out until the story is finished. It’s hypnotizing; the mere idea of this wake is captivating. There is drama, sadness, adventure, edge-of-your-seat anticipation, and plot twists you could never imagine. This book is bound to become popular among YA readers. It is one of a kind, and I urge everyone to read it. Neverworld Wake is one of the best books I have ever read, and a great addition to the YA genre.