-
Shadow and Bone
Bardugo, Leigh
Reviewed: July 8, 2025
Shadow and Bone is a fantasy novel written for a young adult audience by Leigh Bardugo. In the narrative world, Ravka is a country at war that is divided by darkness that literally cuts it in half. The story follows Alina Starkov, a map maker for the army and an orphan who seems ordinary, but she soon discovers she has an ability to produce light. She is thrust into the elitism of Grisha, a magic-wielding group under the leadership of the Darkling. Alina slowly discovers that not everything, including whom to trust, is as it appears, while she trains to employ her power and gets... Read Full Review
-
Tokyo Ever After
Jean, Emiko
Reviewed: July 8, 2025
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean tells the story of Izumi Tanaka, an ordinary teenager... until she wasn't. She discovered her father's true roots, who happens to be the Imperial Prince of Japan, which, of course, reveals Izumi's royal blood: a princess. Feeling like she doesn't fit in her hometown, she gives it a chance and travels the world to discover her other half and her father in Tokyo, Japan.
An important element within the story is the way in which different cultures found within a single person are represented. Izumi has the opportunity to explore both cultures.... Read Full Review
-
Six Crimson Cranes
Lim, Elizabeth
Reviewed: June 2, 2025
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim presents the inspiring historical fantasy adventure where Shiori, a princess in exile with a mission to fulfill, embarks on a perilous journey to save the kingdom of Kiata. With a talking dragon, six enchanted cranes, and a curse to break, Shiori embarks on an adventure tethered to the consequences of her out-of-control use of her forbidden magic.
Fun Fact: Six Crimson Cranes is a young adult fantasy retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale The Six Swans.
Lim's language and tone are among the most striking... Read Full Review
-
Project Hail Mary
Weir, Andy
Reviewed: March 26, 2025
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is an eye-catching, emotionally charged science fiction book chock full of friendship, creativity, and, of course, science. Project Hail Mary follows the story of Ryland Grace, an astronaut who has forgotten his memories trapped on a spaceship full of corpses, heading towards an unknown goal. What Andy Weir does marvelously in this novel is maintain intrigue and mystery, slowly unraveling Ryland’s story and darting between the past and present.
However, the true reason this book is so ingenious is the way in which Andy Weir presents the... Read Full Review
-
The Blacktongue Thief
Buehlman, Christopher
Reviewed: March 20, 2025
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman follows the misadventures of Kinch Na Shannack, a thief branded with the black tongue, marking him as a debtor of the nefarious thieves guild. Set in an enchanted realm scarred by war, our thief will soon realize that what may have started as a quick assassination job to pay off his debts is spiraling out of control into something much larger and dangerous than he was anticipating.
Christopher Buehlman masterfully hints at the larger workings and dark past of his universe, all while moving the plot forward at a breakneck pace... Read Full Review
-
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Schwab, Victoria
Reviewed: March 3, 2025
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is a fantastical novel by V.E. Schwab that is based around the life of a young woman who goes by the name of Adeline in France during the 1700s. The story starts as we find out about her desire to get out of her marriage in order to live more freely and on her own. In order to make this longing of hers become reality, she makes a deal with a dark and mysterious entity known as "The Darkness," who gives her the power of immortality. A major drawback of Addie’s compliance with this deal is that she will no longer be recognized by anybody she goes on... Read Full Review
-
It Ends With Us
Hoover, Colleen
Reviewed: February 26, 2025
It Ends with Us is a romance book about a girl named Lily Bloom and how she gets into an abusive relationship. This book has a lot of sensitive subjects that some people should know about before reading this book. For example, the book deals with abuse, sexual assault, and violence.
Now for my actual review. I give this book 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed this book because it was very entertaining, and Colleen Hoover’s writing is very easy to read. The book goes back and forth between two time periods: when Lily was 16 and her father abused her mother, and when Lily is in... Read Full Review
-
The Personal Librarian
Benedict, Marie
Reviewed: February 19, 2025
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict is based on the true story of Belle da Costa Greene, an African American woman who was able to pass as white, enabling her to become one of the most influential librarians in history. Growing up in Washington, DC, and throughout the rest of her life, she faced a lot of racial discrimination and witnessed her father, a well-educated black man who graduated from Harvard, experience hardships revolving around his career due to the color of his skin.
Belle worked extremely hard throughout adolescence and adulthood to attain her life... Read Full Review
-
The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs
Paul, Gregory S.
Reviewed: February 5, 2025
As the second edition of the field guide, this book does not disappoint. It is full of fascinating information, starting off with historical context to describe the habitat of the different prehistoric eras in vivid detail. It also includes a few detailed depictions of prehistoric periods, but of course, most of the book is about dinosaurs. Its inclusion of paleo distribution maps and timelines is helpful in understanding the different eras of the major dinosaur groups. The book is rich with diagrams of skeletons and fossils, demonstrating the physiology of over 750 species. The majority... Read Full Review
-
The School for Good and Evil
Chainani, Soman
Reviewed: January 31, 2025
I first read The School for Good and Evil when I was in 7th grade. I remember my friend handing me the book and telling me I needed to read it. I was in my classes, reading and wishing I was in the School for Good and Evil along with Agatha and Sophie. This book is something I remember fondly from my childhood and was one of the main series that ignited my love for reading. I recommend this book for teens who want to read an easy book with magic, romance, and lots of the found-family tropes.
This book begins when Agatha and Sophie, two friends in a small village, are... Read Full Review
-
The California Native Landscape: The Homeowner's Design Guide to Restoring its Beauty and Balance
Rubin, Greg
Reviewed: January 7, 2025
The California Native Landscape: The Homeowner’s Design Guide to Restoring Its Beauty and Balance by Greg Rubin and Lucy Warren is just as the title explains. It is a thorough guide about different ways to cultivate any landscape one might have. I borrowed the book primarily for its visuals of landscapes, plants, and, of course, native information about flora, which was perfect for my purposes. The book is very good for taking notes on specific landscapes one might hope to capture, either through your own cultivation or, in my case, through art studies.
Rubin and Warren... Read Full Review
-
Scarred
McIntire, Emily
Reviewed: December 16, 2024
Scarred by Emily Mclintire is a very dark, medieval, villain-perspective book. I have read Hooked, the first book of this series, and I really liked it, so I got the second one, and I can say the same thing. Scarred is very well written, and you cannot stop reading it.
A little summary about this book… Scarred is about a girl named Sara whose goal is to marry the oldest son, Prince Michael Faasa, who is next-in-line for the throne—and to kill every other Faasa family member. The book is also about Tristan, the youngest son (Michael’s younger... Read Full Review