Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
Fantasy Literature for Young Adults (over the age of 12).
The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix
Garth Nix’s The Sinister Booksellers of Bath (2023) is the follow-up to 2020’s fantasy novel, The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. Both books are set in the 1980s, or, as Nix calls it, “a somewhat alternative 1980s.”
We reunite with familiar characters; siblings Merlin and Vivien St. Jacques, both of whom have magic, and Susan, the young art student whose father is an Ancient Sovereign, an old and powerfully magical being.
August 15th, 2023. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Garth Nix | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn (2020), the first book in her LEGENDBORN CYCLE, wasn’t on my radar until I saw it on the Locus Awards finalists list for Best Young Adult novel. I grabbed the audiobook and one of the YAs that lives in my house (Tali, my 18-year-old daughter) and we listened to Legendborn together as we worked a jigsaw puzzle. We agreed to give Legendborn a rating of 3.5 which is quite a bit lower than the book currently rates at both Amazon and GoodReads,
January 12th, 2023. Kat Hooper and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Tracy Deonn | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Some Faraway Place by Lauren Shippen
Rose is a normal girl, and that’s a problem because everyone else in her family – her parents, her brother – are atypical.
I had some hope that returning to the approximate 2016 timeframe and another late-teen protagonist who isn’t an outright villain would be a boon for the BRIGHT SESSIONS series. Unfortunately, I had more issues with Some Faraway Place (2021) than either of its predecessors, The Infinite Noise and A Neon Darkness.
December 27th, 2022. Skye Walker´s rating: 0.5 | Lauren Shippen | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen
A Neon Darkness (2020), the second book in Lauren Shippen‘s THE BRIGHT SESSIONS trilogy, is only very tangentially related to the first book, The Infinite Noise. It centers on a group of atypicals (the in-world word for people with powers) a full decade before the first book occurs.
Robert Gorham is 18-going-on-19 when he arrives in L.A. for reasons unclear to the reader until much later. His power makes him able to effortlessly manipulate people into doing what he wants,
December 9th, 2022. Skye Walker´s rating: 1 | Lauren Shippen | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen
THE BRIGHT SESSIONS is a trilogy of spinoff novels set in the world of the podcast of the same name, both media written by Lauren Shippen. I am generally a fiction podcast fan, so when the third book in the trilogy – Some Faraway Place – hit my radar, something about it sounded familiar. Turns out, on a long road trip a few years ago, I had listened to several episodes of the podcast. I remembered liking it so I wanted to give the books a try.
December 2nd, 2022. Skye Walker´s rating: 3 | Lauren Shippen | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Nightland Express by J.M. Lee
The Nightland Express (2022) by J.M. Lee is a solid YA fantasy that has its moments but also doesn’t quite reach its full potential due to several issues. It also suffers a bit perhaps from trying to take on too much, where a more streamlined approach might have allowed for more full development of its issues as well as a more tense narrative. A minor spoiler follows, one revealed quite early in the book and one whose “reveal” doesn’t really impact the reading experience,
November 4th, 2022. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | J.M. Lee | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Rise of the Vicious Princess by C.J. Redwine
I get a big kick out of reading books not specifically for my demographic. Actually, let me rephrase that. I enjoy reading books that I assume are not written for my demographic. I’m a guy, so stories about princesses are off the table. Perhaps you’re a girl and that John Wick in Space book is not supposed to be your cup of tea. I beg to differ, and love to step outside my comfort zone and read material that is not necessarily written with me in mind.
September 12th, 2022. Justin Blazier´s rating: 4 | C.J. Redwine | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Extraordinaries by TJ Klume
TJ Klune’s 2020 novel The Extraordinaries is only the second-best YA/superhero/coming of age/Spiderman movie parody/neurodivergent/ queer rom-com I’ve read this year. I’ll explain at the end of the review why it only came in second.
Nicholas Bell is sixteen, gay and out to his father, friends and school. Nick lives with ADHD. His mother was killed a few years ago, and he and his cop dad share a loving but uneasy relationship. Nick’s life is further complicated by his crush on one of the two of Nova City’s superpowered,
July 8th, 2022. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | TJ Klune | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
Readers who didn’t get enough of Marissa Meyer’s LUNAR CHRONICLES will be pleased to find Stars Above (2016), a collection of nine stories that give fans more backstory on their favorite characters as well as a romantic epilogue.
Some of these stories can stand alone, giving you a taste of what to expect in the LUNAR CHRONICLES series, but it’d be most meaningful and enjoyable to read Cinder,
April 25th, 2022. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Marissa Meyer | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders
“Knowledge is ugly, and that’s why we wear cute dresses and eat cake.”
As with most second books in a trilogy, things are bad, teetering on the precipice, by the end of Charlie Jane Anders’s second YA SF book Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak (2022). Our stalwart band of earthlings are not giving up, however, even in the face of injury, doubt, and a devastating loss.
In Victories Greater Than Death,
April 15th, 2022. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Charlie Jane Anders | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
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