Young Adult
Browse our collection of young adult book reviews
Knights Unite
Laurel Colless (Peter Blue Press)
Knights Unite is the fourth book in the Peter Blue Series by Laurel Colless, and it follows Riva du Lac, who is determined to uphold her promise to avoid detentions at Spiral Hall. But a sea cleanup reveals Shem, a mythical fish boy, and a surprise honor from the Spiral Knights forces her to choose between rules and friendship. Meanwhile, Peter Blue has a vision of a water-dwelling monster. Can their unlikely alliance save the knights—and the wor...
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Stranded on Thin Ice
Sharon CassanoLochman (Ontario Shore Publishing LLC)
Stranded on Thin Ice by Sharon CassanoLochman is a captivating children's novel that masterfully blends themes of friendship, responsibility, adventure, and the trials of growing up, all while navigating the treacherous world of ice fishing. The adventures of Tanner Phillips, who, along with his unconventional new friend Richie Donald, find themselves embroiled in a series of perilous situations during an ice fishing derby, offer biting suspense...
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The Ghost in the Garden
Alisse Lee Goldenberg (Crimson Dragon Publishing)
Alisse Lee Goldenberg’s The Ghost in the Garden is a captivating middle-grade novel that deftly navigates themes of friendship, grief, and the supernatural through the lens of a young girl named Sophie Madison. After moving from her bustling city life in Calgary to the quieter Stratford, Ontario, Sophie struggles to adapt to her new surroundings and confronts unsettling experiences in her new home. The narrative begins with Sophie’s reluctance an...
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Bright Midnights
LS Delorme (Limerent Publishing)
LS Delorme's Bright Midnights: A Dark Paranormal Love Story is a gorgeous addition to the Limerent Series, offering a rich blend of metaphysical sci-fi and romance. In this enthralling narrative, we follow the plight of 17-year-old Amelie, laden with a mysterious gift that attracts others to her. But those who get to her present dangers, so she must shield herself by constructing barriers in her mind. From the outset, Amelie's life is fraught wit...
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Thanks, Carissa, For Ruining My Life
Dallas Woodburn (Immortal Works)
Thanks, Carissa, For Ruining My Life by Dallas Woodburn examines the intricate dynamics of relationships, identity, and personal growth. The story is told from the perspectives of Brad and Rose, allowing readers a perfect understanding of the challenges arising from Carissa's actions alongside these compelling characters. The story opens with Brad's world unraveling after Carissa's abrupt termination of their eleven-month relationship. The emotio...
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"Dumb Orphans": The Bundu Bunch Trilogy
Allan Low (Bundu Bunch Publishing)
Dumb Orphans: The Bundu Bunch Trilogy by Allan Low is an emotionally intense and highly complex narrative that journeys through the lives of a group of AIDS orphans, portraying their struggles against discrimination and the headman's oppression in their southern African community. This trilogy features very sophisticated characters and a deft exploration of collective perseverance, talent, and the hunger for education, all while presenting charac...
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Blaze Union and the Puddin' Head Schools
W.T. Kosmos (Wise Wit Press, LLC)
Blaze Union and the Puddin' Head Schools by W.T. Kosmos is a gripping YA with characters that are finely drawn. In this political satire, the narrator who is a teacher by profession gets tired of the absurdity of book bans in schools, cultural conflicts, and the ridiculous refusal to acknowledge the environmental crisis. He develops what he calls absurdity neurosis as a result of book bans in schools. Advised by his shrink, he finds schools more...
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A Husband Out of this World: Lab Soreno
Deovandski Skibinski JR (Bookbaby)
A Husband out of this World is the second book in the Lab Soreno series by Deovandski Skibinski JR and it opens with the protagonist caught between dream and waking. Maiara has just defeated Harry in the Gandew duel and, while struggling to figure out what actually happened, Harry is painfully waking to the crude reality of being in another world. The murkiness in his memories is disturbing and eventually, different characters begin to surfa...
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The Sentinel of the Chakra Stones
Christine Boucher (Unleash Press)
In The Sentinel of the Chakra Stones by Christine Boucher, fourteen-year-old Jaden discovers her mission in the most unexpected of places. Jaden's mother abandoned her when she was a little girl, and her father does not behave as though he ever wanted her. Life at school has its own trials. The one beautiful thing in Jaden's life is her friendship with Alister. When a strange woman sells a crystal chakra set to Jaden, she doesn't think much about...
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The Dream Keepers
Linda Keen (Keen Press)
The Dream Keepers by Linda Keen is a rollicking ride that follows two young characters, Starlight and her older brother, Thatcher O'Day as they set out on the adventure that will shape their lives in inscrutable ways, from the Deep South to the West Coast. The kids are seven and eight when — together with their grandfather — they must embrace change at the break of a new Millennium. Grandma Gloria has followed the advice of the social worker and...
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