Book Reccomendations

In the spirit of the Holidays and being festive, I would like to recommend my favorite Young Adult books that I’ve read in 2017 in case anyone is looking for books to buy.

TIMEKEEPER by Tara Sim

This book came out in November of 2016, but I didn’t read the novel till January 2017. It’s a steampunk novel about clock towers in Victorian England, and Danny Hart—a clock mechanic—is the main character, and a relationship ensues with clock spirit Colton. The book is a breath of fresh air because of the organic LGBTQ diversity in addition to having a unique premise. As a result, I can’t wait till the sequel CHAINBREAKER comes out on January 2, 2018.

PROJECT PANDORA by Aden Polydoros

This book also has a creative premise. The book is about teen assassins —and therefore contains a Jason Bourne like premise. The novel is also told through four points of view, and there’s never a dull moment because of rotating between Hades, Shannon, Tyler, and Elizabeth. The novel contains gorgeous descriptive writing that adds lot of color and brings the scenes to life as well. I don’t want to give away too much, but the book kept me on the edge of my seat, and is bound to do the same for others.

FROSTBLOOD and FIREBLOOD by Elly Blake

FROSTBLOOD came out in January 2017, and FIREBLOOD came out eight months later in September 2017. FROSTBLOOD is about a teen girl (Ruby) who is a girl born with fire powers in a world where people are usually born with ice powers if they have powers. A frostblood (Arcus) trains Ruby in hopes of taking down the Frost King, in addition to how a slow burn romance develops between Arcus and Ruby. FIREBLOOD builds on FROSTBLOOD, and Arcus is king now and is romantically involved with Ruby. The worldbuilding also gets bigger to when Ruby must travel to another land. As a result, I can’t wait for the trilogy’s conclusion (NIGHTBLOOD) in June 2018.

FIX ME by Lisa M. Cronkhite

I’m still reading this book, but want to include it on my list because of the creative premise and descriptive writing. The book is about teen girl—Penelope—who is hooked on Fix, which is the latest drug. Penelope gets visions of a guy—Nate—while doing Fix, in addition to how the novel contains a mystery. Inventing a drug makes the novel creative. Doing so requires more effort than say mentioning something that’s real—like the opioid crisis.

VIOLET GRENADE by Victoria Scott

This book is about teen girl—Domino—who begins working for Madame Karina at an entertainment house to get bail money for a friend. The reason this book is on my list is because the novel gets grittier and grittier until its explosive conclusion. But it’s dark in an organic way since the darkness never feels forced. The book also deals with mental illness in a great way because that fact isn’t a random twist. Readers know about Domino’s mental illness upfront, and it therefore isn’t a gimmicky twist that deprives readers of a good story.

FOLLOW ME by Sara Shepard

This book just came out last month, and is the sequel to THE AMATEURS. I got an e-ARC of FOLLOW ME last May, but plan on reading the book again. This is book is a perfect mystery because the characters know who the villain is, and the book there becomes a cat and mouse game between the characters and the killer. Knowing who the villain is by the end of THE AMATEURS, which sets up FOLLOW ME, is a great choice. Mysteries are often predicated on a big revelation at the end, yet readers never get to enjoy what happens after a twist. Ultimately, the description is a little vague on purpose. It’s hard to talk about THE AMATEURS and FOLLOW ME without giving away spoilers.

HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME and THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END by Adam Silvera

HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME is a standalone book told in dual timelines, and deals with the grief when Griffin’s ex-boyfriend Theo dies. This book is awesome because Griffin is out from the beginning of the book. However, the book gets messy. Griffin must sort through his grief over Theo in addition to dealing with his best friend Wade and Theo’s new boyfriend Jackson. As a result, boundaries get blurred since people hookup who you wouldn’t expect. This book was also an improvement over Silvera’s debut MORE HAPPY THAN NOT. HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME ends on a hopeful note despite its dark subject matter.

THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END is a contemporary novel with a slight speculative twist. People get a call from Death Cast on the day they die. Well, that happens to Mateo and Rufus. They are the main characters in the novel. The novel rotates between them, and their paths cross. Ultimately, this book is darker than HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME, but not as dark as MORE HAPPY THAN NOT.