Book Reviews by Teens

At first Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman may be a little confusing, but as you read more of it, you can't stop! It's about this extraordinary girl near the end of her teen years named Aurora who slept through two centuries and was rescued by a boy named Tyler (who she was very into until she met this other guy named Kal, who is part of Tyler's squad). Tyler probably missed the most important moment of his life just to save this girl. Aurora lost her family and everything she used to have and so did this new squad of people. In a way they were all similar and knew how Aurora felt. At first nobody trusted her, because Aurora was different and extremely dangerous. She had a white streak in her hair and mismatched eyes, and could slam a person against the wall without even touching them. Aurora was a special kind of girl and she was dangerous, she could be putting her new friends in danger too. This book was amazing and when it ended, I wanted to know what happened next. (Original artwork for book cover recreation by Agnes Q.)

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. Wow. I really wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did. I loved the concept, and was expecting a good read, but this book was not just good, it was AMAZING. To be honest, I’m not sure what really makes this book stand out to me. I do love the writing style and the character dynamics. Also absolutely ADORE the characters and the banter. Although there is a disease component, it was not an apocalyptic book, it’s not super stressful and “oh no are they going to get the disease?” The characters had already gotten the disease and survived it and had gained powers as a result. It’s reads more like the aftermath of the disease. But if you don’t feel comfortable with a disease component during these times, I would put off reading it for a little. But really, it’s about a group of teens on the run from government because they’ve escaped from the internment camps the government puts them in because they have special abilities. It’s road trips, banter, on the run teens, and great story telling. Overall, I really loved this book and do think it’s definitely worth a read!

Never Fade is the second book in The Darkest Minds series and I, again, really loved the book. I think I’ve found a new favorite author (to add to the list) and her name is Alexandra Bracken. I will say that I did enjoy this one slightly less than the first one. It was almost there (as in almost as good), but I did find myself getting a little bored at certain times which didn’t happen with The Darkest Minds.

In the Afterlight is the third (and originally final) book in The Darkest Minds series, and I really enjoyed it. It does read like a last book in a series, since it was meant to be one, so someone reading the series could stop here and just not read the forth book if they wanted (but with how Alexandra Bracken writes, why would you ever want to stop?). I’m going to be completely honest and say that again, I enjoyed the first book more, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a good book.

The Darkest Legacy is the fourth and final book in The Darkest Minds series and it takes place 5 years after In the Afterlight. This time, the book is told through Zu’s point of view and it’s basically about her being framed for murder and the long journey she goes on in trying to clear her name. Let me just say I LOVED this hook. Again, The way Alexandra Bracken rights, I just eat it up. I love the dialogue, the descriptions, the stories, everything. I don’t know what it was with these books, but I couldn’t put them down. The whole series has “on the run from the government” vibes because that’s basically what’s happening, but I don’t know, I just loved the whole series and I’m sad to see it go. I almost want to say I enjoyed this book just as much as the actual series and I went in a little bit skeptical because it was written years later, but I was actually extremely impressed!
I totally picked up Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye on a whim, and I really enjoyed it! It was a cute and quick read that proved to be a great escape from the world for a little bit. I loved all the cutesy, couple-y stuff that Kai and Bryson did on their dates! They always had super deep conversations, had breakfast together most mornings, and even went to a bomb-ass concert!  Kai and Bryson have such an communicative relationship, which I absolutely adored! They talk about all their feelings, and despite a little miscommunication in the end, they always make it abundantly clear what they feel and what they want out of their week-long relationship. I also loved the mixed race representation. Kai talks a lot about the struggles of being half black and half white in a predominately white and suburban neighborhood. Not only is he of mixed race, but he’s gay (obviously lol), so he faces twice the criticism.  All the familial relationships were super complex and different. I loved how protective of Kai his little sister was. It was so heartwarming to see her understand the unfair judgement Kai faces because of his sexual orientation. I also really loved Kai’s dad. He was empathetic and supportive, just like all parents should be when their child comes out to them. Bryson's family was also super complex. He has a strained relationship with his father, but his mother and older sister are just the best! At some points, this book did feel a little preachy. I understand that this book was all about coming to terms with your sexuality and complexities of being mixed race, but I think it would have resonated more had the author been more subtle. Instead of having Kai talk and complain about how he’s not accepted because of his race or sexual orientation, and that love is love no matter what, I wish the author would show those types of interaction instead.  I also felt like like the author didn’t give Bryson the character development he deserved. In the beginning of the book, Bryson believes he’s straight. But when he starts to spend more time with Kai, he begins to wonder if he could be attracted to boys. Despite the fact that Bryson has also been attracted to girls in the past, the author only mentioned the possibility that he could be bisexual only once briefly. Kai only categorized people as gay or straight, not talking about anything else that people identify as in the LGBT+ community. Overall, Date Me, Bryson Keller may have a few minor issues, but it’s a great and fun read that does have a lot of positives too. 
In The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee, Jo is a Chinese girl living in 1890's Atlanta who did not know who her parents were. Back in those days, people of color didn't have a lot of rights and neither did women. Jo works as a maid for one of the daughters of the richest families in Atlanta. Little did you know, she's also the little Miss Sweetie from the newspaper that everybody has been talking about these days. Jo has many unique skills, making exquisite hats, braiding knots and hair, writing, and horseback riding. Jo lives with Old Gin who took her in as a baby when her parents just left her at his doorsteps. Jo used to ask Old Gin about her parents, but Old Gin would never tell her, so Jo's always left wondering who her parents really were. And the family she works for, why does she keep coming back to work for them?
In Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, Audrey is suffering in depression after a little incident and now she's afraid to make eye contact or any contact at all. She wears dark shades all the time to avoid people looking at her and Audrey would try her best not to look directly at them either. One day, Linus, Audrey's brother's gaming friend, comes over to train for LOC (a video game contest that has a prize money of six million dollars) with her brother Frank. Linus becomes somebody that she can trust and talk to and do any kind of contact with (except for eye contact). Audrey is making progress and is starting to be more open to the public ever since she started being around Linus more often. But no matter what, Audrey just can't find the courage and fight through that fear of taking off her dark shades.
I absolutely adored the art style of Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz! It’s very vibrant and everything looks so beautiful in Gotham City. Art style is very important to me when it comes to graphic novels, and this one particularly impressed me. I didn’t want the story to end because I wanted to keep flipping through all the scenery and landscapes throughout. While the plot is quite simple: they want to figure who kidnapped a kid from their High School, I was still very much invested in all the characters. This is the only Batman reimagined as an Asian main character and I loved that! It made sense in the story, and it was fun to hear him talk about Hong Kong, where he lived before he came back to Gotham I also loved how strong and fierce Selena was. She was the typical girl next door, but also a confident and badass teenager! Jack Napier, aka the Joker, was super sweet in this book! He was so fun to read about, and his friendship with Bruce, albeit a bit strained at time because of their crushes on Selena, was still fun to read about. Usually I’m not a fan of love triangles, but this one worked for me! I totally understood the appeal of both Bruce and Jack, so Selena had such a tough choice to make. And the ending plot twist was something I totally did not see coming! Over all I did while Gotham High wasn’t the most well plotted or complicated story, it was still such a blast to read! And the art is so beautiful and aesthetically pleasing that I will definitely check out the other works of the artist. 
Illuminae by Amy Kaufman was a real ride. I couldn’t put it down, I read all 599 pages within the span of 2 days. It’s very different from any book I’ve ever read. It’s told through pictures, texts, maps, etc. and it was amazing. I tried to recommend this to a friend the day I finished it, but I couldn’t form words to express how good it was. The whole book was filled with twists and turns and it really fills that space-craving portion of your heart. If you want possibly psychopathic robots, a unique storytelling format (and story!!), and very futuristic vibes, this is the book for you. 

Gemina is the sequel to Illuminae and this book, I could not stop reading. Again, I finished a 600+ paged book in two days because WOW. The plot twists just keep on coming. I was not expecting the plot twists to be what they are at all and really all I can say is that this book is MINDBLOWING. It’s just as good, if not better, than its predecessor. Really, just go pick up Illuminae right now and get sucked into this futuristic space world.

Obsidio is the final book in the Illuminae series and really, what a finale! When I finished, I just sat there and felt that weird bittersweet nostalgia-like feeling that is a book hangover. Even in this book, there were still plot twists and intense life or death situations, but to be honest, they weren’t quite as intense. But the whole novel was so well done and before I even finished the book, I wanted more because I knew it was almost over. Definitely one of my all time favorites, this entire series. If you haven’t picked up Illuminae yet, I don’t know what you’re doing other than really missing out. Seriously, if you like space, murder, plot twists, teens saving the world- but really just if you like a good, well done book, you need to read this series.
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley is an eye-opening and compelling novel about figuring out what you think is right and standing up for your beliefs. The novel takes place during the Civil Rights Movement and tells the story of two girls. Sarah is one-of-ten at an all-White high school and is constantly harassed by the majority of her White classmates. Linda’s father is a segregationalist and she was raised by his belief that races shouldn’t mix. But, when Sarah and Linda are forced to work on a class project together, they have to confront the rough truths about race and figure out where they stand.
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell  is a very cute and short read with gorgeous illustration about two pumpkin patch/October amusement park workers. Lots of talk about romance and meeting new love interests. The plot is super predictable but still very cute. A good light graphic novel to get you into the Fall season (or miss fall in the middle of summer...) 

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