Tag: #YA

Review: Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit

Goodreads Blurb

Kraków, 1939. A million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. This is no place to grow up. Anna Łania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father, a linguistics professor, during their purge of intellectuals in Poland. She’s alone.

And then Anna meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall, a skilled deceiver with more than a little magic up his sleeve. And when the soldiers in the streets look at him, they see what he wants them to see.

The Swallow Man is not Anna’s father—she knows that very well—but she also knows that, like her father, he’s in danger of being taken, and like her father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird. When he summons a bright, beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced. She follows him into the wilderness.

Over the course of their travels together, Anna and the Swallow Man will dodge bombs, tame soldiers, and even, despite their better judgment, make a friend. But in a world gone mad, everything can prove dangerous. Even the Swallow Man.

Destined to become a classic, Gavriel Savit’s stunning debut reveals life’s hardest lessons while celebrating its miraculous possibilities.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I received an early review copy and loved how well this book was written. The swallow man was a great storyteller filled with mystery. I was fascinated by how the author used different words to translate what really was happening during the war, in order not to frighten Anna , while such terrible things were happening all around them. I was at the edge of my seat. I could never imagine being left alone at age 7 and rooming around the forest to survive with a stranger. Walking from town to town felt like an eternity. Having to pass by dead bodies and having to touch them in order to find food or other survival items freaked me out. It’s a story filled with twists and turns. You will be surprised by your survival extincts if you were surrounded by death, fear, hunger, and cold. Highly recommend this book.

Author Biography

Gavriel Savit is a New York Times Bestselling author. His award-winning writing has been shortlisted for the National Book Award, and has been translated into nineteen languages. As a performer, he has appeared on and off-Broadway, and on stages around the world.

Currently Reading: When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman

Goodreads Blurb

Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne’s journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius.

With the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family’s life is turned inside out, blow by blow, restriction by restriction. Prejudice, loss, and terror run rampant, and Anne is forced to bear witness as ordinary people become monsters, and children and families are caught up in the inescapable tide of violence.

In the midst of impossible danger, Anne, audacious and creative and fearless, discovers who she truly is. With a wisdom far beyond her years, she becomes a writer who will go on to change the world as we know it.

Critically acclaimed author Alice Hoffman weaves a lyrical and heart-wrenching story of the way the world closes in on the Frank family from the moment the Nazis invade the Netherlands until they are forced into hiding, bringing Anne to bold, vivid life. Based on extensive research and published in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, When We Flew Away is an extraordinary and moving tour de force.

“Adding new poignance to a story whose ending we already knew, Alice Hoffman has deftly recreated the child Anne Frank with all her wit, mischief, and uncertainties. This fictionalized account of the increasingly desperate years that preceded the famous diary breaks readers’ hearts one more time. But it reminds us of how important it is to remember and honor all that was lost.” — Lois Lowry, Newbery Award-winning author of Number the Stars

Author Biography

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew; The Marriage of Opposites; The Red Garden; The Museum of Extraordinary Things; The Dovekeepers; Here on Earth, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and the Practical Magic series, including Practical
Magic; Magic Lessons; The Rules of Magic, a selection of Reese’s Book Club; and The Book of Magic. She lives near Boston.

Review: The Zero Degree Zombie Zone by Patrik Henry Bass

Goodreads Blurb

In the spirit if Tony Abbott’s UNDERWORLD books, comes the new kid on the block – Barkari Katari Johnson!

Shy fourth-grader Bakari Katari Johnson is having a bad day. He’s always coming up against Tariq Thomas, the most popular kid in their class, and today is no different. On top of that, Bakari has found a strange ring that appears to have magical powers–and the people from the ring’s fantastical other world want it back! Can Bakari and his best friend Wardell stave off the intruders’ attempts, keep the ring safe, and stand up to Tariq and his pal Keisha, all before the school bell rings? Media celebrity and Essence Magazine entertainment producer, Patrik Henry Bass delivers adventure, fun, fantasy and friendship in this illustrated action-packed adventure starring an African American boy hero and his classmates.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

This was an interesting story. I loved the ice zombies, a very creative idea. It was a great book to teach kids to not be bullies and be friends. Even though Bakari was getting bullied by Keisha and Tarik, they were able to team up and save the world from being invaded by ice zombies. Loved that in the end, they were able to work together and become friends. This is a great book for teenagers. Has adventure, teamwork, and determination.

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads Blurb

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg.

She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I truly loved the first book in the series. Marissa knows how to write amazing fairy tales. It really captures the readers’ attention and brings them to a world of suffering and death. You just want to help fight the Lunar’s and save your loved ones. I was so sad for all that Cinder went through. To feel ugly, unwanted, and abused is a terrible feeling. Everyone gets to see who Cinder truly is, even though she tries her best to keep it a secret. But Queen Levana will show her true colors, which most have only been manipulated with her powers and so-called beauty. Can’t wait to read the next book in series.

Author Biography

I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg. Learn more about me and my upcoming books at http://www.marissameyer.com.

Review: Paper Girls, Volume I by Brian K. Vaughan

Goodreads Blurb

In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

Collects PAPER GIRLS #1-5.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Won this book from GoodReads. This was such a great comic book with supernatural mystery. I loved that girls are the main characters of the book, and they were strong characters. Even though they were scared, they were able to defend each other. The illustrations made the story come to life. It was an interesting book that had me thinking who the bad guys were.

Author Biography

Brian K. Vaughan is the writer and co-creator of comic-book series including SAGA, PAPER GIRLS, Y THE LAST MAN, RUNAWAYS, and most recently, BARRIER, a digital comic with artist Marcos Martin about immigration, available from their pay-what-you-want site http://www.PanelSyndicate.com

BKV’s work has been recognized at the Eisner, Harvey, Hugo, Shuster, Eagle, and British Fantasy Awards. He sometimes writes for film and television in Los Angeles, where he lives with his family and their dogs Hamburger and Milkshake.

Cover Reveal: Brimstone & Blades by Maria Alexander

BOOK DETAILS:

Brimstone & Blades

by Maria Alexander

Publication date: June 3, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult

Synopsis:

It’s 1689. Sixteen-year-old Julie de Maupin is on the run with her boyfriend, a young swordmaster named Sérannes. They perform sword fights and songs in taverns to survive. But when a diabolical creature kills Sérannes, it also injures Julie in the attack. Plunged into the dangerous world of French magic, Julie needs to return to Paris to find the great magician that can heal her devastating wound so she can avenge Sérannes’s death. On the way, she finds the creature is controlled by a necromantic coven called the Shadow Holders. Defeated during the Affair of the Poisons, they’ve returned but this time with traitors in the royal court to crush Louis XIV and terrorize France. With her found family of magical and moggie misfits, Julie must use her sword, wits, and gender-bending wiles to send the threat back to Hell. But will they be enough? Magic is illegal, and so is dueling. But that won’t stop La Maupin.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228501804-brimstone-blades

Pre-order: 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/gI56VD1

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brimstone-blades-maria-alexander/1147015120?ean=9781732454286

AUTHOR BIO:

Maria Alexander is an Amazon #1 Bestseller of Young Adult Horror. Her short stories and nonfiction essays have appeared in numerous publications and acclaimed anthologies alongside living legends such as David Morrell and Heather Graham. 

Her debut novel, MR. WICKER, won the 2014 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her first YA novel, SNOWED, won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel, and was nominated for the 2017 Anthony Award for Best Children’s/YA Novel.

She lives in Los Angeles with two ungrateful cats, a Jewish Christmas caroler, and a purse called Trog.

Author links:

Welcome

https://www.instagram.com/lamaupin/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7460797.Maria_Alexander

Review: Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs

Goodreads Blurb

Wealthy cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars. A fork-tongued princess. The origins of the first ymbryne. These are but a few of the truly brilliant stories in Tales of the Peculiar—known to hide information about the peculiar world—first introduced by Ransom Riggs in his Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series.

Riggs now invites you to share his secrets of peculiar history, with a collection of original stories, as collected and annotated by Millard Nullings, ward of Miss Peregrine and scholar of all things peculiar.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Ransom Riggs is unbelievably the best storyteller ever. Each story left the reader with a learning lesson. I was able to learn a lot from these stories even though they aren’t real. We as human tend to dislike others because they are different. At times, we are different, too, but still can’t accept others who are just as different in fear that you won’t be accepted. The first story with the cannibals was one in which money and luxuries were more important than living life like a normal human. We as humans can relate to all these stories one way or another. If our society was accepting, we could all live in a wonderful world where we all are treated the same even though we are all different. Please read this book because your horizon will broaden and will make you see that being peculiar isn’t any different in today’s world. But maybe we all can work together and make a difference.

Author Biography

Hi, I’m Ransom, and I like to tell stories. Sometimes I tell them with words, sometimes with pictures, often with both. I grew up on a farm on the Eastern shore of Maryland and also in a little house by the beach in Englewood, Florida where I got very tan and swam every day until I became half fish. I started writing stories when I was young, on an old typewriter that jammed and longhand on legal pads. When I was a little older I got a camera for Christmas and became obsessed with photography, and when I was a little older still my friends and I came into possession of a half-broken video camera and began to make our own movies, starring ourselves, using our bedrooms and backyards for sets. I have loved writing stories and taking photographs and making movies ever since, and have endeavored to do all three.

Review: A Mad Zombie Party by Gena Showalter

Goodreads Blurb

The battle rages on.

Ali Bell and Cole Holland’s crew of zombie slayers thought they’d won the war against Anima Industries, the evil company responsible for capturing and experimenting on zombies in an effort to discover the secret to immortality. In the last epic clash, the slayers lost many of their crew and closest friends. But Frosty, the ice man himself, has not recovered from one casualty in particular—the love of his life, Kat Parker.

On the path to self-annihilation, Frosty receives a message from beyond—Kat’s spirit returns, insisting he partner with rogue slayer Camilla Marks. Frosty will do anything for Kat. Except that. Camilla is the one who betrayed them all, leading to Kat’s death.

But when Anima rises from the grave to become a force the slayers may not have the strength to overcome, Frosty, Camilla and all the slayers will have to work together to survive. And one broken slayer will learn that sometimes, the line between hate and attraction is blurred…and the road to redemption isn’t through revenge, but in letting go of the past and grabbing hold of the future.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

I was a little disappointed with the fourth book in this series. It took me some time to get through the book. I didn’t grasp the story until halfway through the book. The first three books grabbed my attention from the very beginning. When I heard this book was coming out, I was so excited, but after reading it, I’m not so sure I was as excited. I was very happy with the ending and that Anima hopefully won’t come back. Good always prevails evil.

Author Biography

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family and menagerie of dogs and cats.

Review: Doctor Strange: Mystery of the Dark Magic by Brandon T. Snider

Goodreads Blurb

When Thor and the Avengers battle a group of enchantedbeasts that mysteriously appear at a Long Island Mall, they call the best inthe magic business to help them out-Doctor Strange. But the good doctor isoverworked and underpaid. These days he’s become the go-to hero for all thingsmagic and he’s exhausted. He’d really prefer to work alone since it’s not likejust anyone can understand his Mastery of the Mystic Arts. More bizarre attacks occur around New YorkCity and Strange finds himself seeking guidance from a number of mysticalallies despite his desire to remain solitary. And when the threats grow wildlybeyond his control, he may have no choice but to accept the counsel of hissuper hero comrades in order save his best friend and the world. This 128 pagechapter book, focusing on Dr. Strange will feature full-color interactiveillustrations throughout. And just in time for his new film!

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

It’s totally a fun book for everyone to enjoy. Doctor Strange is a fascinating character. He loves to be on his own and doesn’t like to seek help from others who don’t know anything about magic. The world was turning upside down with magical creatures attacking humans. He had to seek advice from Marvel characters in order to help humankind. I loved the illustrations very colorful. Brandon did a lovely job of writing a story that brings a superhero to the rescue.