Genre: Young Adult

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The Mall

The Mall

I will be honest, the main reason I picked this book to read next was the promise of 90s nostalgia.  I was not expecting a relatable coming of age story. I was not expecting compelling characters. I wasn’t expecting a quirky, extremely low stakes yet enjoyable mystery.  Happily, that is what I got. The book blurb does not tell you what to expect, laying into the ninetiesness of it all (hence my primary expectation of a nostalgia fest).  The book starts with Cassie’s life falling apart in a very high school, not falling apart kind of way.  She missed the beginning of summer, training for her new job at America’s Best Cookie, and her prom. Her boyfriend, whom she had planned out their upcoming college future together with, dumps her. The characters are the highlight of the book, which as a character-driven story, rather than plot-driven, is as it should… Read more »

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Emerge: The Awakening

Emerge: The Awakening

Emerge is a fairly standard young adult novel that hits all the boxes on the YA checklist.  Thankfully it does so competently and with a plot that is interesting.  You have Allie, the girl who is different but even she doesn’t know how different.  Read, hidden special powers.  The guy she meets that accepts her for who she is, and turns out to be special to.  A secrete destiny waiting to be discovered. Formulaic however does not equal bad.  Allie is a completely likable character and has an emotional depth which is refreshing to see.  Her relationship with Aiden is believable and well done. In a genre where relationships are all to often one dimensional or unbelievable, I was happy to see Craven knew how to avoid these pitfalls. The backstory is also well done.  There was a lot thought put into the backstory of the world and while yes,… Read more »

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The Magician

The Magician

Review by Andy As young adult fiction goes The Magician is okay but needs some work. Even though it is fantasy the chances of a fifteen-year-old killing a millennia old giant lizard seems kind of slim. The weak plot is helped some by a subplot that is pretty good and characters that are interesting and funny. As a sequel it does not hold up to the first book in the series, The Alchemyst. What makes this series work is the setting of Earth where magic is very much alive. The series also brings legends, gods, and goddesses out of fiction and puts them beside famous people from history, who are themselves often immortal.  For anyone interested in mythology this combination comes off as pretty clever. While the main plot is fairly weak it does pick up the story where the first book left off and continues the plot through well. … Read more »

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