Reviews Young Adult Books

Symphony for the City of the Dead Dimitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad

August 29, 2020

by M. T. Anderson 2015 This biography is stunning; it is so compellingly told that I couldn’t put it down.The story will stay with me for a long time. I’m finding it hard to start . . . read more »

The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World by Amy Reed 2019

August 29, 2020

The setting is the near future in a downtrodden small town suffering the effects of global warming and economic  disaster following the loss of the surrounding forests. It’s intentionally ugly and depressing with surreal fantasy . . . read more »

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee 2019

July 29, 2020

Although it is written with a light touch, this book hit me hard.   I had not remembered that the southern suffragettes did not include formerly enslaved black women and certainly not Chinese women.They were not even . . . read more »

With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo 2019

July 29, 2020

I loved this book about a feisty young woman who succeeds against so many odds. She is an Afro Latinx senior in high school, living in racially challenging Philadelphia with her  3 yr old daughter and . . . read more »

Frankly in Love

June 21, 2020

By David Yoon 2019 I listened to this audiobook on cloudLibrary. It’s a coming of age story of Korean American high school seniors in Southern California. The parents have immigrated and worked hard to make . . . read more »

Pulp by Robin Talley 2018

August 29, 2019

A confusing book at first with every other chapter being 60 years apart, many characters, and a story within a story or two. But a great perspective on basic human rights for all. We’ve come . . . read more »

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 2018

August 28, 2019

Whew! Quite a story. If you love fantasy and don’t mind bloody battles this is great. I have to admit I hate bloody battles and violence at every turn but I did like this book . . . read more »

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz 2017

September 10, 2018

I am almost finished with this and I want to stop reading so that it won’t end but I can’t! I want these friends forever! I want this wonderful family! I love the way this . . . read more »

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 2018

May 30, 2018

This novel in verse demonstrates the power of poetry and the pain of adolescence. ​A strict catholic family from the Dominican Republic lives in Harlem with twin brother and sister. The parents are removed emotionally . . . read more »

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan 2012

September 15, 2017

This is a beautifully told story that I struggled through. I’m not sure who I would recommend it to except an adult. An innocent young girl who has “seal” in her grows up on a . . . read more »