The Chosen by Taran Matharu!

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Twisted adventure!
Thanks to NetGalley, Feiwel and Friends and Goodreads (giveaway winner) for the opportunity to read and review The Chosen by Taran Matharu!
Cade has ended up in a reform center for juvenile delinquents because of his roommate’s theft. Cade attends the center trying to figure out how to stay under the radar. Six months into his yearlong stay, he finds himself on a cliff ledge facing a creature that wants him for a snack. The chapters alternate between Cade in the center and then somewhere else fighting for his life for a few chapters. Then the story continues with Cade trying to survive and understand his new surroundings full of creatures, people from the past and other creatures and technology that have no explanations. The codex is a tech device that Cade has never seen before and it answers several questions and explains that Cade is a contender in the qualifying round which is being counted down on the Codex’s display. The ending lays out the truth of Cade’s circumstances and all its complications. An unusual tale of a twisted adventure, 4 stars!

Under the Moon by Lauren Myracle and Illustrated by Isaac Goodhart!

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Awesome backstory!
Thanks to NetGalley and DC Ink for the opportunity to read and review Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale by Lauren Myracle; illustrated by Isaac Goodhart!
This graphic novel is divided into three sections: The Dark, The Light and Under the Bright White Moon and tells Catwoman’s origin story of abuse and neglect. She lives with her single mother and various boyfriends throughout the years and, the last straw is when her cat is killed by the latest jerk boyfriend. Selena leaves home and after being homeless for a while, she makes friends and finally feels like she belongs somewhere. 5 stars for this riveting graphic novel!

The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout!

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Fun, intrigue, mystery, supernatural and sci-fi rolled into one!
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for the opportunity to read and review The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout!
Two teenage girls, Evie and Heidi, go into an all-inclusive club and while one is having fun dancing the other one is being interrogated by Luc, who’s being extremely rude. Evie isn’t the least bit impressed with Luc and tells him so. The club gets raided and Luc takes Evie to hide inside a closet with him, claiming to be protecting her. She realizes the next day that she’s lost her phone and it’s probably at the club. She heads back to retrieve her phone, to no avail and from there, the acquaintance with Luc grows into more. In the meantime, the Luxen invasion is described and Origins are explained. Luc and Evie are fun characters, each with distinct personalities and I thoroughly enjoy their banter. This story contains several mysteries, which build then unfold throughout the book. I love the author’s writing and have devoured her realistic fiction novels, The Problem with Forever and If There’s No Tomorrow. The Darkest Star is the first supernatural novel of hers that I’ve read and it’s just as awesome, showing how talented Jennifer L. Armentrout is! Even though many mysteries come into the light, there are still unanswered questions at the ending which leads the reader into the next book, The Burning Shadow. Supernatural mystery earning a solid 5 stars!

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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I read Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee as part of the Dragons and Tea Book Club.
Min is bound and determined to prove her brother’s innocence after he’s accused of being a traitor. She runs away from home in search of her brother Jun. On her way to stowaway on a ship, Min meets her Aunt Nari, who tells Min a little about her family’s past, things she would have never guessed. Min manages, through trickery, to get on a ship and barely survives an attack. While in the infirmary, she meets a young man’s ghost. This young man, Cadet Jang, died in the same attack Min was in and she assumes his identity and uses her fox charm to look like him. He happens to be on the same ship as Min’s brother Jun. While posing as Jang, Min gains insight into what may have happened to her brother and she also gets firsthand battle experience. Min learns a lot about herself and her skills and she’s praised for her engineering skills and realizes that she does have worth. Mild intrigue and mystery, 3.5 stars!

The Whole Wide World and Me by Toni Yuly

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read and review The Whole Wide World and Me by Toni Yuly!
Cute, simple and charming prose! Illustrations are reminiscent of Eric Carle because of the patterns, paint on paper and construction paper looking images and backgrounds. A sweet book with a strong message of uniqueness and belonging. 5 stars!

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Based on the true events of Florida’s infamous reform school!
Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read and review The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead!
Historical fiction novel based on the real reform school that horribly mistreated the boys who resided there. Traumatized young men were left to deal with the abuse on their own. The story focuses on Elwood and we learn about other boys’ stories through his eyes as he witnesses them. The prevalent racism harbored hatred to the point of punishing innocent people and sending them to this terrible reform school where even harsher acts of racism occurred. The abuse went on for decades and through several headmasters. After reading this novel, I felt compelled to research the truth behind the story and was sickened at the amount of violence and abuse that young boys had to live through. Some didn’t survive. I truly don’t understand how the adults took part in or witnessed and kept quiet about any of the abuse. What’s their excuse? The Nickel Boys is tremendously powerful, enlightening and tragic, 4 stars!

8 Souls by Rachel Rust

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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A haunting that just won’t stop!
Thanks to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review 8 Souls by Rachel Rust!
Spooky and ominous from the beginning; I was instantly hooked! Mysterious and recurring dreams about a house haunt Chessie; they have since she was little. These dreams were part of her life, to the point that she drew the house for her elementary teacher after she gave the students the assignment of drawing their dream house. Little does she know that Chessie dreams of a house where murders were committed over a century before. When Chessie draws her dream house scene, the teacher is worried and notifies her parents. She then ends up being sent to a psychiatrist. Ever since then, Chessie keeps her dreams to herself, even when she’s hearing voices. She finally confides in someone else and the two of them share the struggle of solving the haunting. 8 Souls is well-written, contains awesome characters and a haunting that won’t stop until justice is complete; 5 spooky stars!

Breakout by A.M. Rose!

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Good storyline, rushed ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Breakout by A.M. Rose!
A prison full of young prisoners, with the last of their lives ticking away while robots guard and serve them, makes up the character pool for the first part of the book. Two cell mates try to escape since they don’t have anything to lose. They get another prisoner added to the escape party and the three of them accidentally end up in a juvenile prison for young men. The young men decide to escape also, so they go together. The main character is often mentioning that things are happening to her only, “happening to me”, like being trapped within four stone walls. Then the next paragraph states that the rest of the group is in there with her. It’s misleading. Breakout is a conglomeration of Virtual Reality and bits and pieces that are reminiscent of popular book plots, such as Hunger Games, Maze Runner and I, Robot. I don’t feel like the ending is solid and seemed almost rushed and I didn’t feel the pull towards the characters that I would have like to; 3.5 stars.