Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco is a dizzying novel with so many plot points, characters, destinations, and magical items, it’s hard to keep track of. Although an enjoyable read, I’ll admit that I often found myself confused amidst the chaos.

In a world where magic is a necessity, used for everything from magical selfie sticks to a crackling, lightning whip, Tala Warnock finds herself in an awkward position. As a spellbreaker her only curse is to dissipate the magic around her. But as the evil Snow Queen hunts down her best friend, Prince Alexei of Avalon, in an attempt to steal Avalon’s most powerful weapon, the Firebird, she might prove more useful than she thought. Along with Avalon’s most skilled warriors they must embark on a journey to free Avalon of the Snow Queen and return Alex to his rightful throne.

Like I said before, this book is confusing! It wasn’t until half way through the book that I finally started to get my bearings and understand the terminology and characters. While the world Chupeco creates is interesting and the plot itself intriguing, I think the explanation could do with a little more work. It’s a mix of modern technology with old fairy tale characters that create an interesting mix.

Overall, I’d say this book is good for anyone willing to push through complex world-building to enjoy a fun, magical adventure. – Kira Kaplan

Drawing on Yusef Salaam’s experience as a wrongly incarcerated teen, Ibi Zoboi has created a haunting reality within the pages of her book, Punching the Air. Written in verse, this novel uses beautiful language to describe the horrors of our criminal justice system.

Amal, a young artist and poet, is thrown behind bars for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite his innocence and lack of evidence towards the crime, the jury decides the only marker they need to prove his guilt remains within his skin. Thrust into a world where he doesn’t belong, Amal struggles to keep hope even as the rest of the world pulls him down. His art is his only comfort, but even that is taken away and squashed to some degree. His life has been decided for him based on actions he didn’t take, forever labeled a criminal.

Unfortunately Amal’s story is not unique within our world. It’s a recognizable tale of racism and bias within our criminal justice system, destroying black youth before they have a chance to live. This reflection of our society evokes that much more emotion within the reader. Zobois choice to write in verse gives the feeling of raw emotion filtering through the page, as if we’ve gained access to the very center of Amal’s mind.

Beautifully written with a heart-wrenching story, this book is not meant for plot but for reflection and awareness for the road we must pave for equality. – Kira Kaplan

If You, Then Me by Yvonne Woon tells the story of Xia Chan’s sophomore year at an elite boarding school for coding prodigies. Her impressive programming abilities and invention of an AI she nicknames Wiser earn her a spot at the institution. She moves from her small town in Massachusetts with her small life—homework, chores, and chatting with an online pen pal to bustling Silicon Valley, California where her life is anything but dull. She meets new friends, a new love interest, and her coding idol, Mitzy. Mitzy promises to introduce her to the shiny life of being a tech founder, but Xia must decide if following that path is right for her. 

I enjoyed this book. Learning about what goes on behind closed doors in the tech industry was really intriguing. I also appreciated that the main character was an Asian-American woman programmer, as you don’t see many of those. That said, Xia made decisions throughout the book that made her less of a likable character. 

I would recommend this book. It was a fun read with some good messages. Those who enjoy coding and programming should definitely look into this one. – Sophie Cornish

Cassie Gustafson’s new novel, “After the Ink Dries” is an eye-opening novel that describes the effects sexual abuse has on different people. Following the perspectives of Erica: a new girl with an internal superhero alter-ego, and Thomas: the lacrosse player with hopes of becoming a musician. The story begins with Erica waking up with a hazy memory and writing covering her body saying offensive words, inappropriate drawings, and the names of Thomas and his lacrosse teammates. Throughout the novel, Erica tries to piece together what exactly happened that fateful night, while Thomas tries to forget all about it. Gustafson includes every thought and movement as the protagonists go throughout the week. The story is told in the first person of both protagonists, making them all the more relatable. Excellent identity and personality building reflects the character’s feelings and transforms them into the readers’. As a sort of mystery novel, interest is piqued with eagerness to solve.  Gustafson’s writing technique is admirable for the author portrays exactly what is going through the characters’ minds. As the reader, you go through the journey with the characters. “After the Ink Dries” is a novel with a voice that needs to be heard. (TW! sexual abuse, sexual harassment, substance use, self harm, suicide, bullying.) – Zoe Cloar

The novel Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp follows the two protagonists Pen Prado and Xander Amaro through their transition into adulthood from childhood. Pen is an aspiring baker who struggles to understand why her parents don’t want to support her dream. Meanwhile, Xander is looking for his estranged father in order to move on from his lonely childhood. Together they try to live up to their dreams, even though it seems that the world is working against them. Not only do the two main characters grow throughout the story, but their parental figures are also coming to terms with the fact that they are learning to let go of their children. 

The clear and strong message of the story makes this a good Young Adult book. Elements such as the search for community and character’s assimilation feel natural and work well. However, the pacing could be improved. Initially, the story is very slow as we get to know our characters, once the reader gets through half of the story major events are thrown in and feel rushed. Personally, this story reminded me of my close community and of the support I have around me. 

All in all, I would recommend this book to others. The fear of adulthood and independence is articulated effectively, someone who is uncertain about their future could perhaps relate to and learn from the characters. – Lynda Otero

The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim is a novel about a mother-daughter duo, Noreen and her mom Ruby, who take a trip to Delhi. After Noreen’s aunt, Sonia, passes away, Noreen hopes to go to India to fulfill some of Sonia’s wishes that she did not get to accomplish before she died. Her trip finds her in love and more confident and happy than she was before she left. 

I thought this book was very fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also liked getting to experience Delhi through Noreen’s eyes and learn more about the culture there. I especially appreciated that the author made the #MeToo movement such a prominent theme in the book, as that is extremely important. 

I would recommend this book to realistic fiction lovers, romance lovers, and Gilmore Girls fans. – Sophie Cornish

Author of The Sun is Also a Star and Everything Everything, Nicola Yoon, brings us another great love story called Instructions for Dancing. The main character, Evie catches her father cheating on her mother. Around the same time, a woman gives her a book that has the address of a dance studio written inside. She begins experiencing strange visions whenever she sees couples: she sees how their relationship stared and how it will eventually end. Feeling like her life is falling apart, she heads to the address written in the inside of the book, hoping that it will help resolve some of her problems. There, she meets X, another dancer, and they fall in love. After envisioning so many relationships end, Evie must decide if loving X is worth it. 

As all of Nicola Yoon’s books have been so far, this novel was very enjoyable. I thought Evie was a very relatable character. Yoon’s language was very descriptive and she made it easy for me to picture the setting and empathize with Evie’s feelings. Evie’s relationship visions were very fun and interesting to read.  

I would definitely recommend this book. It had an intriguing plot that kept me hooked. Romance fans would especially like this one. – Sophie Cornish

I actually had trouble reading Of Princes and Promises simply because I was so hooked. I found myself skimming each page with clenched fingers and a pounding heart to make sure the protagonists got their happy ending and the last few chapters had me reading pages as fast as I possibly could. I loved how the story was surprisingly gripping and action-packed for a realistic romance novel (with a tiny bit of magic). 

That being said, I’m not sure I fully support the relationship between the two main protagonists, since it felt like a lot of their conflicts were resolved too quickly. To fall back on the expression “show not tell” for writing, at times it felt like the protagonists’ feelings were explained more than shown.

However, I still really enjoyed reading this book! The writing was engaging, with lots of relatable descriptions, and the characters were very well written. In addition, I love how the book promotes positive messages of self love, forgiveness, and making amends. And above all, I love the happy ending that left me feeling nourished after finishing the story. All in all I would definitely recommend it for people who like realistic fiction with a touch of high school drama. – Sophia Wright

Quinn and Cora, the main characters in The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga, used to be best friends. Until Quinn’s older brother shot himself and three others at the local high school— one of which being Cora’s older sister. Since then, Quinn and Cora have not spoken and Cora blames Quinn for her sister’s death. This all changes when Quinn begins to research the possibility of time travel. They realize they must work together to hopefully reverse what Quinn’s brother did that day. In order to make things right again, they have to put aside their past issues with each other in order to save their lives. 

This book kept me turning the pages until the very end. The storyline was very interesting. I thought that the concept of time travel being real was fascinating. It had never occurred to me that traveling forward or backward into time could be possible which made this book all the more riveting. I also thought that reading about Quinn’s life as the sister of someone who had committed such a horrible act was very unique. I had never read a book from a perspective such as this one before. 

I would without a doubt recommend this book. It was a real page turner that kept me enthralled until the end. It would be great for those interested in time travel. – Sophie Cornish

Hollow Chest by Brita Sandstrom is a heart-wrenching story, literally. It’s filled with darkness and unimaginable pain, yet in the midst of it all is an ever-clear message that love conquers all.

Charlie is a young boy forced to assume the role of a man as his older brother, Theo, is taken as a solider to fight in WWII. Struggling to take care of grandpa, comfort mom, and complete the daily chores and housework required, he’s grateful to hear news of Theo returning. All will go back to normal. But something’s wrong with Theo; he screams in the middle of the night, is coarse and callous, and seems empty and hollow. War wolves—ancient beasts that feast on grief and loss—have eaten his heart. Determined to save Theo, Charlie must venture into the unknown and face the wolves himself. What is he willing to sacrifice for his brother’s heart and will it be enough?

I enjoyed this book as more of a thematic and thought-provoking read than an exciting and entertaining story. The plot itself is interesting enough, but I feel like Sandstrom put more effort into the concept of war wolves and soldiers eaten hearts, than the actual story. Part of the reason I found this book so powerful and emotive was through Sandstrom’s metaphor and imagery of the war wolves. It’s not hard to imagine that the brutality and lasting effects of war—PTSD, isolation, depression—could be caused by a horrifying beast as Sandstrom describes.

I read this book in shades of gray. It was dark and gloomy with a tone of loneliness, but there was a glimmer of hope sprinkled throughout the chapters. The pure, innocent, unconditional love Charlie feels for his brother Theo pushes back against the gloom even at the worst of times. It brings balance and color to the pages, allowing our final thoughts to be hopeful and happy.

I recommend this book for anyone seeking a deeper, emotional read. Keep your mind open and your heart raw and I guarantee you will whole-heartedly enjoy this book. – Kira Kaplan