Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard – Book Review

In Aveyard’s second instalment of her fantasy series Red Queen, we return to the Kingdom of Norta. After the events of Red Queen, Mare, Kilorn and Cal are on the run from the evil and wicked King Maven. As a Newblood, Mare has Red blood (the colour of common people in Norta) but also the superhuman powers of the elite Silvers. With a list of the others who share her Newblood status in hand, Mare embarks on a mission finding and recruiting these individuals to the rebel organisation, the Scarlet Guard.

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Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – Book Review

In Norta, the colour of your blood defines you – your social status, your occupation, and whether or not you have superpower-like abilities. The elite Silvers exploit the Reds, sending them to the front line in the North and using them as their servants in their lavish residences.

Mare is a Red, and every day she becomes closer to being conscripted on her seventeenth birthday. After a chance encounter, she finds herself serving the King in his summer residence. One day, however, something happens to Mare that makes her question her identity – she appears to have Silver abilities but Red blood, so the royal family decide to declare her as a long-lost princess, to prevent any questions being asked. Mare is thrust in to the Silver world, engaged to a Silver prince. She now has the chance to take down the oppressive system that has caused her family and community so much pain and suffering. This won’t be easy; she must dodge the jealousy, lies and rivalries of the royal courts to try to bring justice to her people.

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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green – Book Review

In John Green’s latest novel, Aza is faced with a dilemma when the billionaire father of a childhood friend becomes a fugitive. When her best friend Daisy hears about the $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, the pair begin to look into anything that may lead them to his whereabouts. However, through the investigation, Aza becomes much closer to the fugitive’s son and childhood friend, Davis Pickett. Being a supportive friend to Daisy, a good student and investigating the case is a lot, but Aza must also learn how to cope with thought-spirals and intrusive thoughts caused by her anxiety and OCD. 

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Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli – Book Review

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After meeting online, Simon Spier has been in contact with the elusive Blue over email, sharing their experiences of coming out with one another. It’s not long before the pair are really close, sharing secrets that they wouldn’t even tell their best friends. What’s more, not only do Blue and Simon go to the same school, but they are in the same year – as Simon begins to fall for Blue, he wants to know Blue’s real identity…

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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han – Book Review

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To allow her to express her feelings, Lara Jean decided to write 5 letters to all the boys she has had a crush on in the past. Of course, these letters were never meant to be sent. Until one day, when they mysteriously find their way out of her special hiding space, and all of a sudden, her next door neighbour and her sister’s boyfriend, Josh Sanderson, and the popular loved-by-everyone Peter Kavinsky, among others, know the intense feelings she once had for them. Now she must face the boys who once meant so much to her as she begins to realise that some still do…

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One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus – Book Review

One of Us is Lying

Monday afternoon, detention. Four completely different students – Yale hopeful Bronwyn, sports ace Cooper, homecoming princess Addy, Nate, who always seems to be in trouble for something, and Simon, an outsider who maintains a gossip app. This is not the usual, uneventful detention – only four students walk out alive. It isn’t long before fingers are pointed at Addy, Nate, Cooper and Bronwyn. They decide to work between themselves to solve the case, revealing a lot of secrets in the process…

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Release by Patrick Ness – book review

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Release is one day in the life of seventeen-year-old Adam, a gay teen with a homophobic preacher father from Washington. It’s a big day for him, with heartbreak, love, secrets being told, relationships breaking down; Adam will learn a lot from today…

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Every Day by David Levithan – Book Review

EveryDay DL

Every day A wakes up in a new body. In order to make it through the day without the person suspecting that they are being possessed, A must access the person’s memory in order to learn their routine, personality, likes, dislikes, relationships and how they act towards others. For one day, A must live their life for them, making decisions in their best interests. It has always been like this for A – their surroundings and physical body changing daily. Then one day, A finds themself in Justin’s body, Rhiannon’s boyfriend. As he moves through the day, he grows closer and closer to Rhiannon – he has found someone he wants to be with every day, a constant when everything around him is changing.

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Fragments of the Lost by Megan Miranda – Book Review

Fragments of the lost

A month after a terrible flood took her ex-boyfriend Caleb’s life, Jessa is asked by Caleb’s mother to tidy their house to prepare them for moving. As she begins to sort his belongings, she learns more and more about the boy she thought she knew. As the memories overwhelm her, she begins to piece together his story, until she’s left with a picture that is unrecognisable – what exactly happened on that bridge, and was it his fault?

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Running Girl by Simon Mason – Book Review

Running Girl

Meet Garvie Smith, a 16-year-old with a genius IQ, and, to his teachers’ and mother’s dismay, the student with the lowest grades. Nicknamed ‘Sherlock’ by his friends, he is known for solving every puzzle that his friends give him. His skills are put to the test when he tries to solve a real crime – the disappearance and murder of his ex-girlfriend, Chloe. He soon learns that people aren’t who they seem – as he delves into Chloe’s secrets, he realises that there is more to the case than originally thought…

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