The House No One Sees by Adina King

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Emotionally cleansing!

Penny relives her childhood when her mother calls her. She leaves her friends without telling them where she’s going. When Penny arrives at her mother’s place and finds her overdosed, she’s thrown back to when her mother was a good parent, before her accident and the opioid addiction that followed. Penny remembers the teasing from classmates when she didn’t have clean clothes or a decent lunch from home. She remembers being taken from her mother and living with her loving grandparents and seeing them giving her mother a chance to do better. Penny’s mother didn’t kick the addiction; it took over her life and Penny’s. Penny learned that she has a light inside that has helped her throughout her life and she meets a kind teen boy and makes good friends. She’s finally seen.

Likes/dislikes: Emotionally cleansing. Hotlines for help of many kinds at the end of the book. Words of affirmation, hope and encouragement.
Mature content: PG for mother using drugs.
Language: R for 53 swears, 21 f-words.
Violence: PG for death by drug overdose.
Ethnicity: White and brown skin mentioned.

One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen

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Intense historical fiction!

Atlas and his parents love to climb mountains together. When his mother gets sick, the doctors suggest taking her to stay with grandparents who live in Utah because the air is dry and should help her. When Atlas and his father leave to climb King’s Peak, he says a casual goodbye to his mother, not realizing that will be the last time he speaks to her because she dies while they are away. Atlas and his father throw themselves into mountain climbing after that and end up in Nepal to climb Mt. Everest. They join a team set to reach the unreachable, the Summit of Mt. Everest. Atlas will face the fight of his live and must make the toughest of choices.

Likes/dislikes: I like how the author includes a definition at the beginning of each chapter. The setting is extremely interesting with the threat of World War II hanging over the story. The characters are believable.
Mature content: G
Language: G for 0 swears.
Violence: G
Ethnicity: predominantly white

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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Magical cards abound!

When Elspeth was nine, she caught the dreaded fever that gave unwanted magic to the people who became sick. If you became infected, you would have to hide your symptoms. After the infection, Elspeth gets a monster in her mind that speaks to her and manifests itself to protect her. One night, Elspeth has a dream and she sees a man in golden armor with yellow feline eyes. When he sees her, he disappears and the nightmare takes his place. He recites a poem that sounds like he’s the man in golden armor, the king, and Elspeth, a young woman; the two of them together make up the Nightmare. Elspeth has been hiding her infection for eleven years. When she meets Rayvn, the Captain of the Destriers, who are ordered by the king to get rid of those who are infected, Elspeth is terrified. There’s more to Rayvn than meets the eye.

Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia

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Is anything real?

Mullory feels alone and helpless. Her mother left her to take care of her terminally ill grandmother, leaving her with this warning, “Run if the strange finds you”. She starts receiving letters and doesn’t want to open them but when Elliot, a family services worker, arrives and tells her he’s checking in on Mullory and her Gran and seeing how difficult their situation is, might have a solution to help them. Elliot tells Mullory to open the letters. Inside is an invitation to Stoutmire Estate to participate in a game of mystery to win an inheritance. When she arrives at the estate, Mullory discovers that Elliott is actually Edwin and serves the estate owner, Xavier Stoutmire. Then things become more strange because a murder has been committed and a game has been created by the deceased that’s outlined in the will. The players must unravel the mystery with magical clues, riddles and illusions full of danger.

Likes/dislikes: The book is definitely written for YA with the quips and easy crushes. I like how the author added literary quotes to broaden the impact. Flashbacks are sprinkled throughout the story as echoes that the characters can see. The author created an eclectic mix of characters.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 86 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: predominantly white.

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

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A monster hurricane changes the world!

Nonie lives in the American Museum of Natural History in New York because of the immense hurricane and other intense storms that have swept over the world. When a huge flood hits the museum, Nonie leaves with her sister Bix, their father and their family friend Keller. They are heading to their Aunt Clare’s house. On the way, they fight nature as the storms increase in strength, the wild and unknown. They try to stop for rest from the river and shelter from the rain but meet Lost, two men that only seem to want to harm. Father gets shot, Bix also gets shot and Keller gets pneumonia from jumping into the dirty river to rescue their boat from the strong currents. Will any of them survive?

Likes/dislikes: The story has an interesting premise and dystopian plot. The author made the main characters flawed and relatable. I like that the story was carried on by hope, even when everything seemed lost.
Mature content: G for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 13 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: mixed.

Darkly by Marisha Pessl

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Extremely interesting and unique story!

Dia Gannon is applying for an internship at Darkly, once a game making enterprise, now lies dormant after the owner died thirty-nine years ago. Dia is suspicious of the internship announcement because there’s no hidden clue, message or riddle, which is nothing like the owner Louisiana Veda who did everything mysteriously.
Dia receives a letter announcing that she is one of the seven internship winners that have been chosen from across the globe and will be flying to London for the summer to complete the internship with the others. Dia meets Poe, the 17yo French winner, on the flight to London; Poe has a Darkly game inside a briefcase cuffed to his wrist. They meet the five other interns when they arrive at the boat that will take them to the Louisiana Veda factory near Thornwood, England. Dia feels deceptive vibes and she’s worried about what she’s gotten herself into.

Likes/dislikes: I was immediately immersed in the story due to the voice of the main character, Dia. Dia is quirky, smart, and tough. The book was extremely interesting and unique and I couldn’t stop reading once I started.
Mature content: G for kissing.
Language: R for 16 swears and 2 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death by shooting.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mixed with characters from around the world.

The Kill Factor by Ben Oliver

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Mix of Hunger Games and Under the Dome!

Emerson lives in the Burrows, the poorest part of the city, with her young brother and oblivious father. She steals money to buy food for her brother Kester, who is nine, deaf, and has genius level intelligence. She’s apprehended for starting a fire at the school she was robbing and she’s offered a deal; agree to participate in a competition where one contestant will receive money and status or she can go to prison for arson. Emerson doesn’t want to take the deal but Kester talks her into it because it could change her life for the better. When she arrives, Emerson discovers forty-nine other competitors and the details of the games – gain the most social media followers to win, the lowest ranked person is sent to life in prison. The youth all have to participate in crazy and dangerous games or the poisonous capsule placed in each of their wrists will be triggered to kill them, one by one.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the descriptive surroundings and I felt suffocated when reading about Emerson being under the sand. Emerson has unconditional love and loyalty for her brother. The story is similar to Hunger Games.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 41 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: mixed.

Stealing Infinity by Alyson Noel

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Mystery-filled fantasy!

Natasha is slowly giving up on herself, her life and her future. Mason, her best friend, tries to keep her afloat by always being there for her. Mason tells Natasha to steer clear of Elodie because she’s shallow and doesn’t care about anyone but herself. Elodie talks Natasha into skipping school to go to a club. This choice is going to change Natasha’s life forever.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed Stealing Infinity because it’s a fantasy that has several mysteries hidden within. I also liked the book because it encompasses many genres including fantasy, mystery, science fiction and historical fiction. Natasha is a dynamic character as are Braxton and Elodie.
Mature content: PG-13 kiss.
Language: R for 87 swears and 2 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death and attempted rape.
Ethnicity: Mason is Black, Natasha and Elodie are white, Keane has dark skin, Javon has golden brown skin, Hawke has bronze skin , Oliver has white skin, Song is oriental, Braxton has a European accent and is white.

Ruin Road by Lamar Giles

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Clever imagery in this intense YA horror!

Cade is a smart, kind young man who’s working towards an NFL career. He has received a scholarship to a prep school that will help him with his goals. He’s tall, muscled and Black and people seem to always be afraid of him even when he’s just trying to help. One night he gets off of the subway after being accused of trying to steal a lady’s purse when he was only trying to keep her from falling over when the subway lurched. He ends up in a random neighborhood where he’s watched with suspicion by a couple walking their dog and police officers driving by. He enters a pawn shop to get off the street, purchases a $5 Superbowl ring replica and as he’s leaving, he states that he wishes people weren’t scared of him. Little does he know, he made a wish that will come true that will cause tragic consequences.

Likes/dislikes: Cade and his family have integrity and humility even though they’ve done well. The family unit is represented as an important part of life throughout the book. The nuggets of wisdom from Cade’s father were refreshing. The struggle through Cade’s father’s terminal cancer is handled respectfully, honestly and tactfully. I enjoyed this mysterious and interesting YA horror story.
Mature content: G for parents kissing.
Language: PG for 5 swears, no f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Black and white.

Never Never by Colleen Hoover

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What would you do if you lost your memories every 48 hours?

Silas and 17yo Charlie have no memory of their lives. They become aware in class but don’t know who they are or who anyone else is. Charlie and Silas eventually talk and realize they’re both dealing with the same problem. They search and find some answers but within 48 hours, they’ve lost their memories again, which becomes a pattern. The two are desperate for answers and they won’t give up until they find them.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the clever humor. The character development was strong. Silas and Charlie are interesting and complex characters.
Mature content: PG-13 for implied sex,
Language: R for 192 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: falls to white.