Young Adult | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

My Soul to Take: Solid YA fantasy

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee Cavanaugh wants to be a normal teenage girl, but her “panic attacks” stand in the way. Kaylee can sense when someone is about to die. She can’t save the dying person, though, and can’t warn them. All she can do is let out an unearthly scream. If you’re familiar with mythology, you can probably guess what kind of supernatural being Kaylee turns out to be!

As My Soul to Take begins, Kaylee learns that her premonitions are real and that her screaming episodes aren’t symptoms of mental illness.

The Queen of Attolia: Darker, more psychological

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Eugenides ends The Thief in triumph, but within the first chapter of this sequel, he is back in the prisons of the Queen of Attolia, where he loses his hand to the executioner’s axe, while the Queen looks on impassively. Forced to deal with the rest of his life as the Queen’s Thief of Eddis, with only one hand, he bitterly retreats to his rooms in seclusion, leaving Eddis without his skills just as the peninsula erupts in warfare, from both within and without.

Beautiful Creatures: … and a host of unforgettable folks

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Halfway through Beautiful Creatures, I remember thinking, “Hey, this is like The Witching Hour, but for teenagers!” The Witching Hour is probably my favorite Anne Rice book of all time, so this is high praise coming from me. It’s different, of course — Beautiful Creatures is much more PG-rated and unfolds at a faster pace — but both are big, meaty books featuring antebellum mansions,

Meridian: Fenestrae, oh my!

Meridian by Amber Kizer

In the crowded field of YA paranormal novels, the premise of Meridian stands out. Not content to give us yet another tale of angsty vampire love, Amber Kizer instead introduces us to the Fenestras, semi-angelic beings who are tasked with helping the dying cross over to the afterlife. Our heroine, Meridian, has always been different. Small animals burrow into her bed and die, and mysterious ailments have always plagued her. On her sixteenth birthday, she learns why. She is a Fenestra.

Meridian’s life changes overnight.

The Splendor Falls: A little too slow…

The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Sylvie Davis was once a promising ballerina, but a broken leg ended her career. Distraught over her injury, her father’s death, and her mother’s remarriage, she overindulges in champagne at the wedding reception, and sees something … supernatural. Something that simply isn’t possible. Her mother and stepfather, convinced that Sylvie is either an alcoholic or mentally ill, pack her off to Alabama to recuperate at the home of a cousin.

But life at Bluestone Hill is far from peaceful. Sylvie soon realizes she’s walked into a hotbed of simmering tensions.

Gatty’s Tale: Spunky little protagonist on a fascinating journey

... Gatty makes for a lovely young heroine. Although only a field-girl, she is impulsive, bright, compassionate, and possesses an innate sense of wisdom and openness to the world around her that makes for several thought-provoking moments.
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Mirrorscape: Flat characters ruin a great idea

Mirrorscape by Mike Wilks

Mel is living his dream. He’s been plucked from his meager existence in his sleepy town and has been brought to the big city to study as an apprentice under a great Master painter. Once there however, Mel finds that life in the big city is not exactly what he pictured.

The head apprentice Groot has it out for him because he knows how much more talented Mel is, and Groot’s big-shot uncle also has Mel on his short list and will go to any lengths to fatten his own pockets and squash Mel like a bug.

The Thief: A delightful mythic fantasy

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

“I can steal anything.” With that boast, Gen sets into action a course of events that could affect kingdoms. When he boasts that he can steal the King’s Seal, and then delivers on his promise, he is arrested and thrown into prison, where he languishes until the King’s Magus approaches him with an offer: freedom if he can steal Hamiathes’s Gift, a legendary stone that carries with it the right to rule the kingdom of Eddis.

Megan Whalen Turner writes a delightful mythic fantasy that takes the reader on a secret journey through a country whose culture and religion are loosely based on Ancient Greece.

The Waking: Dreams of the Dead: Scary!

The Waking: Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall

Considering what an awkward foot Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall (Christopher Golden) starts off on, I was pretty surprised when, shortly after beginning, I found myself unable to put it down.

In spite of my overactive imagination, I like something scary once in a while. Poor Thomas Randall was already up against some stiff competition, since only days ago I wheedled my husband into watching Ringu (the Japanese horror film re-made as The Ring) with me.

Eyes Like Stars: Fresh, Original, Fun

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

I confess, I’ve been put off by YA books a lot lately. The trends seem to lean towards dark and “edgy” books (many of which sound depressing) and Twilight clones and wannabes. I can deal with the former, but the latter isn’t my thing. But while I was browsing one day, the cover of Eyes Likes Stars caught my attention (not surprising, since it’s gorgeous). I read the blurb and decided I had to get it; it sounded fresh,

Series: Young Adult

My Soul to Take: Solid YA fantasy

The Queen of Attolia: Darker, more psychological

Beautiful Creatures: … and a host of unforgettable folks

Meridian: Fenestrae, oh my!

The Splendor Falls: A little too slow…

Gatty’s Tale: Spunky little protagonist on a fascinating journey

Mirrorscape: Flat characters ruin a great idea

The Thief: A delightful mythic fantasy

The Waking: Dreams of the Dead: Scary!

Eyes Like Stars: Fresh, Original, Fun

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