Young Adult Books

 Printz Honor book

In this Printz Honor book by Elana Arnold, entitled Damsel, we have a pro-feminist view on the classic fairy tale story.  It starts with a prince out to slay a dragon in order to save a damsel.  This girl has no memory, is given a name and he takes her home to be his queen. At first, he is charming, but soon his true character comes out as he belittles her and threatens what little happiness she is able to find.  In one part, a lynx is being trained and the trainer states that fear and respect should go hand in hand.  We can see the parallel to what the queen in waiting was going through.  This was at the core of what made this fantasy go wrong for me. I can see right away this is not going to be a feel-good romance.  There is not a way to “fix” this.  He treats her as a helpless child and property, which I know is historically accurate, but I was hoping to see her strength from the beginning.  It took a while, but it does all lead up to something. 

This book was chosen because it fit into the category of being a Printz honor book and it looked like it could be an exciting and romantic read.  I learned that more often than not, medieval castles and princes are not all about finding true love.  Prince Emory was the first character introduced in the book and he seemed very hard working and was trying to be a good young man.  I was drawn to him until he accomplished his quest. Teens today need to see this as a learning experience. Relationships won’t save you.  You choose how to live your life.

 It was difficult to keep reading.  The story was very descriptive in some parts and I could easily visualize her stunning surroundings, but her heart’s depression is clear.  Obviously it is pretty dark and this fairy tales would not have a happy ending. Most of the book is spent with the main character going along with the actions of the antagonists, all the while realizing something is amiss.  I do see that she was trapped, but would have liked her to solve her problems in a quicker and more promising way.

As a woman, these feelings that she had of not being in control of her life, make me realize what I take for granted in this day and age.  How did romance ever come to be with lives like these?  This could have been a more enjoyable read, but the author wanted us to feel what Ama, the damsel, was going through. Thankfully the end brings all the mysteries to light and you will feel slightly avenged.  If you wish to suffer through this with her and see her eventual success, then I recommend this book to you.

Arnold, E. K. (2018). Damsel. Balzer & Bray/Harperteen.

YALSA book

What a great title for this ice-breaking book.  Both of the main characters are student athletes that rely on ice for their particular sport. They also have to break through each other’s figurative walls. Anastasia is a figure skater and Nathan is a hockey player.  This book was not what I expected.  There were more layers to the characters than the beginning suggests.  The beginning was drunk and meaningless, just like their relationships before each other. This YALSA book may be a bit too much for most young adults, but it is written about college students, so you are going to have plenty of frustration with the characters as they struggle through their choices and consequences.  This couple start out on opposite sides, but through their forced cooperation of having to share the ice time, they see more than just the initial attraction.

 I chose this book because I am drawn to romances because they are usually light stories without too much stress. Although the main character did have her moments where I needed a break from her and made me realize how grateful I am not to be in that stage of life. Thankfully they did plenty of maturing through their trials and I learned how communication must be worked at and how Stacci’s therapist had to help her through her own thoughts. My own views were changed when I saw how a therapist was able to help her overcome some of her self imposed perfection.  I find how she was finally able to get rid of a toxic friendship to be very rewarding and consider her a success story. This is an important topic to me and many young women do not ever realize that it’s happening to them.

 This was not a feminist novel, which I am very grateful for.  The heroine realizes her need of Nate’s gentle strength and allows herself to be happy and understand more about herself in the process.  Nathan was a loved character.  He showed plenty of patience for her even though it seemed sudden after talks of his wild sordid past.  The romance grew on me, but I did not enjoy the bad language.  It seemed forced.  The author threw in a couple of characters so that it would appear to have diverse representation, but had little to do with the central storyline.  The book was long and could have been simplified into a shorter read, but with steamy scenes, inner thoughts, threatened friendships and championships there was a lot to keep up with.  Readers I recommend this book if you take frequent breaks during your readings and possibly even have more than one book going at a time.  There were plenty of ups and downs because of the deceit of her figure skating partner, so it was hard to predict if this would have a happy ending or not.  Thankfully, they each got over their hang ups and were able to see each other through and grasp the positive relationship right in front of them.  I like that they did not give up their dreams, but they pushed through and learned how to have a healthy relationship-work balance. In fact, the ending makes all the struggle worth it because the end is very satisfying. 

Grace, H. (2022). Icebreaker. Atria Books. 

Fantasy

A Door in the Dark is a dark fantasy novel written by Scott Reintgen. It begins with six students suddenly thrown into a mysterious wood and then they notice the dead body of their classmate.  Then it goes back and explains how they magically were transported there.  We learn of the sickening oligarchy that is in charge of their magic city and how only the elite prosper.  The main character is Ren, a brilliant young spell maker who uses her mind to craft a revenge and help navigate her companions through the dangers of an untamed forest and an evil sorcery so deep they may not all survive.

Every library needs this magical fantasy.   I originally chose this book, because it reminded me of the Harry Potter series, in that the original setting is a wizard school, but this book took a deeper turn and ended up being more of an action-adventure and mystery combined.  This book is part of a series and will very much keep the reader turning the pages, without the ability to predict what will happen next.  

I was able to learn how evil and powerful revenge can harm those you care about.  This could help young adults see how important it is to forgive and let go of painful hate.There were moments, I disagreed with Ren’s decisions and hope in the next book that she learns more about the other characters before using them for her own ends.  Hopefully in the future books, we will see more of a development of the other characters that make up such a big part of the story.

Reintgen, S., & Vilinsky, J. (2023). A door in the dark. Simon & Schuster Audio. 

Walter Award Teen Category

Fire Keeper’s Daughter is about Daunis, who is part Ojibwe and Caucasian.  The author, Angeline Boulley is from this tribe in the northern part of the U.S. It is a Walter Award winner because it is an excellent example of diversity.  The mystery unfolds as Daunis, a teenager, is having to get used to her new circumstances. We find out later that she has lost some people that she cared about.  Hockey is a big part of life in this area and she gets closer to a hockey player.  She wants to help protect her community from the dangers of meth.  With much deliberation, she decides to help the F.B.I. try to find out who is behind the deaths that keep occurring.

This book belongs anywhere there are kids that feel like they don’t belong.  The main character is part in one world and torn by both sides of her mixed heritage.  Walter Award Winners depict diverse stories from points of view that haven’t been seen before.  This author puts a voice to each of them and we discover her fears and mistrust of those that are in charge.  I felt at first lost when the book started, but I think that is what the author intended.  She doesn’t want us to feel comfortable or stable in our surroundings because that is what Daunis feels.  This has also been chosen to be made into a movie by Obama’s Production Company and Reese Witherspoon’s book club.

The length of the book could have been told in a more concise way, but with the main character’s thoughts being how the story is told makes that difficult.  I found myself skimming through until she reached a decision.  Being put in another person’s shoes is always a good way to see the world.  I might not agree with her feeling like the government victimizes certain groups, but you can always learn more about a person by seeing their actions and hearing their thoughts.  I recommend this book to any who love a dark murder mystery and thriller.  It does have a little romance, which I appreciated. This really is a sad topic and I am glad that she does all she can to shed light on the meth tragedy and all that it touches.

Boulley, A., & LaBlanc, I. S. (2021). Firekeeper’s daughter. Macmillan Audiobook. 

Novel in Verse

Being a fan of her earlier book, Speak, I knew that I had to read this poetic true account entitled Shout by award winning author, Laurie Halse Anderson. This novel in verse starts with her words as a survivor of rape who is angry, scared and in despair but leaves the reader with inspiration and hope for the future.  Her memoir is written in free verse as she reflects on her life stories and uses her fire to get people to pay attention to what is happening around them. 

This might not be an easy or light topic, but young adults cannot be shielded from the evils of our world.  This belongs in a library so that if there is ever even one victim of sexual assault, they know they have someone else who has dealt with it and they can find comfort in these words. She gives them a voice when they are lost and direction when at their darkest moments. Readers will not be able to pull away.

It is hard to read because of the pain that you feel in her words.  If I did not know why she had such strong and complicated emotions, the frustration would keep me from getting through to the end. I find myself wondering what I would do or say if this was my story and then I understand each passionate word. There is a constant drift from thought to thought and you have to keep up, but it will cause anyone to really reflect and decide what to do to better themselves and the world.

Anderson, L. H. (2019). Shout. Random House/Listening Library.