Book recommendations

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon – Book Review

AlyssaLeave a comment

everything everything

Yoon’s Everything, Everything is the story of Maddy, a teenager, who, since she can remember, has been house-bound due to SCID, a condition meaning that any contact with the outside world could trigger a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. In addition, she cannot have any visitors to her house unless they have been thoroughly decontaminated. However, everything soon begins to change when a new family moves next door. She soon gets to know the eldest, Olly, and as she starts to message him on IM, she wishes she could meet him in the flesh. As they become closer, she starts to worry that her illness will get in the way of their relationship and questions whether her situation will ever change…

Continue reading →

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – Book Review

Alyssa4 Comments

the hate you give

In Thomas’ debut novel, we meet Starr, a teenager who has learnt to act differently in the two worlds she lives in: a poor neighbourhood struggling with gang crime and the contrasting private school she attends in the suburbs. Her life changes completely when she is the sole witness to the fatal shooting of Khalil, her best friend who was unarmed when a police officer pulled the trigger. She is soon dragged into protests and riots as she struggles to make the officer pay for what he did and bring justice for Khalil.

Continue reading →

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth – Book Review

AlyssaLeave a comment

carve the mark

In Veronica Roth’s latest novel, we are taken to a dystopian galaxy, powered by the ‘current’ – a mysterious force powering everything in the planet system. We meet Cyra, the sister of the ruler of Shotet, a nation on the planet of Thuvhe. Her ‘currentgift’, a unique ability caused by the current flowing through her, means that she suffers from chronic pain and can in turn cause pain to others through touch. Her reputation causes the citizens of Shotet to fear her, and they don’t see her for who she truly is. Everything changes the day she meets Akos Kereseth, from the nation of Thuvhe, enemies of the Shotet people. At first, they think they couldn’t be more different, but as they begin to get to know each other, they realise stereotypes mean nothing when you have to survive…

Continue reading →

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell – Book Review

Alyssa2 Comments

frozen

After the tragic death of her best friend, Sophie travels to the Isle of Skye to clear her mind of recent events. She stays at the former Dunvegan School for Girls, now the home of her cousins and Uncle. She gets to know Piper, eager to befriend Sophie, Lilias, the youngest sibling struggling with a difficult past, and Cameron, the moody piano prodigy. As Sophie stays longer, she learns that not is all that it seems – the creepy old dolls called ‘Frozen Charlottes’ in a locked cabinet begin to raise questions for Sophie. As she learns more about the family and witnesses some unusual events, she wonders what is really going on…

Continue reading →

Matched by Ally Condie – Book Review

Alyssa1 Comment

matched

In a controlling dystopian society, the government dictates what your job will be, who you will marry and when you will die. For 17-year-old Cassia, it’s her chance to be ‘matched’ with her partner for life. He’s supposed to be the perfect match, but she begins to fall in love with someone else and begins to wonder whether her society would be better if people could decide for themselves…

Continue reading →

Cruel Summer by Juno Dawson – Book Review

Alyssa1 Comment

cruel summer

One year on from leaving High School and the disastrous Ball, friends Ryan, Katie, Alisha, Ben, Greg and his girlfriend Erin are catching up on a villa holiday in Spain. They are all still struggling to move on from the suicide of their best friend, Janey, at the end of the Ball last year. Everything seems to be going well as the group relaxes in the sunshine, until an unexpected visitor arrives claiming Janey’s suicide was not only a murder but was committed by one of them.

Continue reading →

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – Book Review

Alyssa1 Comment

A_Monster_Calls

Every night since his mum started treatment for cancer, Connor O’Malley has suffered from the same nightmare. One night, it’s different. At exactly 12:07, the Monster, formed from a yew tree, goes walking. In return for telling 3 tales Connor must tell him something he has told no one – the truth.

Continue reading →

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare – Book Review

AlyssaLeave a comment

city_of_ashes

In the second installment  of The Mortal Instruments series Clary, the protagonist, is still learning what it means to be a Shadowhunter and finding out more about the world that has been kept hidden from her until recently. Clary encounters werewolves, vampires, warlocks and faeries as she tries to figure out how to wake her mother from a magically induced coma and how to stop her father from bringing evil to the Shadowhunting world.

Continue reading →

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven – Book Review

Alyssa2 Comments

holding-up-the-universe

Holding Up the Universe tells the story of two teenagers called Libby and Jack. Libby, a girl whose struggle with weight led to her becoming trapped in her house, finds that since that event people have struggled to forget that she was once “America’s Fattest Teen”. Jack, on the other hand, has been hiding his prosopagnosia (face blindness) from his friends and family. As the pair get to know each other, they learn that it’s what a person is like on the inside that counts.

Continue reading →

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – Book Review

Alyssa1 Comment

city-of-bones

Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is a normal teenager, or so she thinks. One night, on a visit to a Manhattan nightclub, she witnesses the murder of a seemingly innocent boy. She later finds out that the ‘innocent’ boy was a demon, and the attackers were Shadowhunters, half-human, half-angel and tasked with keeping the human world safe from demons. When Clary discovers she too is a Shadowhunter, she begins to realise that all the stories of vampires, warlocks and werewolves are true…

Continue reading →