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Valley Girls Book Review
Valley Girls by Sarah Nicole Lemon Seventeen-year-old Rilla is a party queen, driven from her home in West Virginia to her park ranger sister’s place in Yosemite National Park. Determined to forge a new identity she can be proud of, Rilla charms her way into a tight-knit group of climbers. Talking to them, Rilla can’t help but be seduced by the unique opportunities she’s been granted. Not wishing to squander them, she sets her sights on climbing El Capitan, one of the most challenging routes in Yosemite, and her summer becomes one harrowing and ecstatic experience after another: first climb, first fall two thousand feet in the air, first love.…
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Furyborn Book Review
Furyborn by Claire Legrand The world will fall. Two Queens will rise. One of blood. One of light. When Rielle Dardenne foils an attempted assassination on her best friend, the crown prince Audric, she inadvertently exposes the secret her family has been keeping for most of her life: she is able to perform all seven types of elemental magic. The only people capable of such a feat are two prophesied Queens, but nobody can prove which one Rielle might be. With the government of Celdaria afraid that Rielle might raze their kingdom to the ground with her out of control powers, they offer her a way to prove she’s the saviour Sun…
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Outwalkers Book Review
Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw This is England in the near future. It is no longer a free country. With a chip implanted at birth, the Government can track anyone, anywhere. And children without two parents are sent to Academy orphanages, where they’re treated miserably and eventually groomed to work on fracking fields for the rest of their lives. Unless they can escape. Jake at least wants to give going on the run a try. Following the death of his parents in a car crash, he flees his Academy, pausing only to rescue his faithful dog, Jet. Once on the run, he makes trails to Scotland, a country free of the oppressive…
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Blood and Sand Book Review
Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk Forged in battle… From the dust of the arena… A legend will rise. Rome is building an Empire. Led by the notorious and vicious Flavius family, the country has already invaded Britannia, as well as Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world has ever seen since Sparta. Attia was once destined to rule Thrace as a queen, but the Romans have destroyed her homeland, leaving devastation and death in their wake. Attia herself is enslaved and forgotten, the last remaining Thracian. When she is given to the gladiator Xanthus, Champion of Rome as a prize to show his master’s favour, Attia tells herself she’d rather…
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Contagion Book Review
Contagion by Teri Terry Callie is missing. Her brother Kai is trying everything he can to bring her home again, continuing the investigation even after the police have given up. Just when he’s about to admit defeat, he meets Shay, a girl who spoke to Callie on the day she disappeared. After speaking to Shay, he begins to hope again that he might be reunited with his little sister. Shay becomes entangled in the search, but they soon realize that Callie’s disappearance is only the beginning. There’s a terrifying epidemic sweeping across the UK, killing almost everyone it contaminates, and the mystery of Callie going missing seems to be at the…
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The Song Rising Book Review
The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon ‘You have risen from the ashes before. The only way to survive is to believe you always will.’ Paige Mahoney did everything in her power to rise as the Underqueen, leader of Scion London’s criminal underworld. In the process, she’s been bloodied and bruised, and she’s crossed a dozen lines– including betraying her own Mime-Lord, Jaxon, who promises revenge for Paige stealing his crown. Now, there are enemies on all sides, and they’re closing in. Jaxon has thrown his lot in with Scion and those who pull the strings of the government, and not even the criminals are entirely pleased with their new Queen. Worse…
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Doing It Book Review
Doing It: Let’s Talk About Sex by Hannah Witton A book for teens which explains everything you might need to know about sex and relationships with no holds barred. In her book, Hannah attempts to separate the facts from the myths, and offer an informative and humorous guide to navigating the world of sex and relationships, tackling everything from porn to LGBTQ issues, to masturbation and break-ups. I’m sorry I can’t do a better job of selling this book to you all, especially since it is really funny and honest, but there really isn’t much to say if you’re trying to sum this book up. For those of you not in…
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Shatter Me Book Review
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi Juliette can’t touch people. She’s been locked away in an asylum by the Restablishment government for murder. Every time someone brushes against her, Juliette’s power causes severe pain, and if she doesn’t push them away, it can prove fatal. Left to the cruel isolation of the asylum, Juliette hasn’t spoken a word in 264 days. She’s been all but forgotten about. Meanwhile, disease, poverty and global warming are destroying the population outside of Juliette’s cell. But all that is about to change. Now, the Restablishment have remembered Juliette and her abilities. Now they’re considering using her as a weapon. Now Juliette has to decide if she’s a…
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The Mime Order Book Review
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon Paige Mahoney may have escaped the horrifying prison camp of Sheol I, where she was little more than a slave, but she’s missed much in Scion-ruled London. Many of the people she’s saved are now missing or dead, and Paige’s description is on every board across the city, baying for her capture. And it isn’t just Scion which is changing its tactics– the Underking of London’s voyant criminal syndicate has been brutally murdered, opening up a rare opportunity for the mime-queens and mime-lords looking to fill the vacuum of power. They’re assembling with their mollishers to fight for the crown. Jaxon Hall, Paige’s boss, is…
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Invictus Short Book Review
Invictus by Ryan Graudin From Goodreads: Time flies when you’re plundering history. Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far’s birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he’s ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past. But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed…
