Skip to main content

Teen SRC 2021 – Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card

Ender in Exile (2008 edition) | Open Library

In Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card, we follow Ender and his sister, Valentine. Although it says that it’s a direct sequel to Ender’s Game, I would recommend against treating it as so because there are multiple books explaining the events between these two books. It also spoils that will happen in Bean’s story arc, so it’s best read after you read this after Ender’s story arc, Bean’s story arc, and Speaker for the Dead. It is about when news of Ender being known as a ruthless assassin spreads because he had accidentally killed two children. He wasn’t allowed to return to Earth, so he spends his time in space and colonizing other planets.

I really enjoyed reading this book despite not finishing Speaker of the Dead because most of the information was lightly covered in the book. It was nice to have closure to Bean’s story as well as knowing what has happened to Ender. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Ender’s game series so they can have knowledge as to what happens to the characters.

Teen SRC 2021 – The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking, #2) by Patrick Ness

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness is the second installment of the series Chaos Walking. In the first book, Todd and Viola went to their supposed safe place, but it had already been conquered by their enemy, Mayor Prentiss. In there, they were imprisoned and Todd was forced to learn about the Mayor’s new orders. Bombs also started exploding from another group called the Answer which was made to overthrow the Mayor.

This books showed how easily people are brainwashed by others for a “loyal” cause and also how people can exploit it. The book’s pacing is relatively slow, so I wouldn’t recommend it to people who enjoy fast paced and action filled books. I myself enjoyed it a lot.

Teen SRC 2021- The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking Book 1) eBook : Ness, Patrick:  Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

The Knife of Never letting Go by Patrick Ness is about a world where most of the women are gone because of a “disease” which also causes all male creatures to have their thought come out into verbal format for everyone to hear called the “Noise”. The story follows Todd, the only boy left in the town where everyone else was already a man. This “disease” was said to be from an alien species called the Spackle that had used biological weapons against humans during their war, wiping out all the females.

This book was among one of my favorite books with the many plot twists and properties of “Noise” that I had never thought of before. It also showed how many figures would often make up stories in order to cover up a dark history or to turn a group’s hostility to another group. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read dystopian fiction and is okay with grammar errors.

Teen SRC 2021 – The Toll by Neal Shusterman

“We are imperfect beings… how could we ever fit into a perfect world?”

The Toll by Neal Shusterman is the third and final book of the Arc of a Scythe Trilogy, a Dystopian series set in a world where humanity has conquered death. Those who die are simply deadish, able to be revived within a day, and old age is no longer a concern either; anyone and everyone is welcome to ‘turn a corner’ and go back to a certain age at any time. Scythes manage population control, gleaning people to make sure the Earth does not exceed its population capacity. But of course, with great power comes great responsibility, and some just do not possess that needed quality.

As this review is for The Toll, and not the first two books of the series, there will be spoilers for Scythe and Thunderhead. If you haven’t read those yet, I recommend that you do that first!

Regardless, onto the review.

Going into this, I had high expectations. Scythe and Thunderhead were both incredible reads, and I was hoping that The Toll would wrap the series up well. I was not disappointed; this book left me reeling with a variety of emotions, and even now, I’m still processing the ending. It’s been such a journey seeing the characters develop throughout the years, and in contrast to what I critiqued in my review of Scythe, I have come to relate to the many protagonists in this world, and it brings me so much joy to follow them on their many adventures.

Read More

Teen SRC 2021 – Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Hi everyone! So I looked at my review history and I actually wrote one for Red Queen (Book 1 of the series) in 2017!? That’s wild. But anyway, it also means that this is long overdue, but I sincerely hope my writing has at least improved to make up for it!

*SPOILER ALERT!* I will talk about things that happened in Red Queen, so if you have yet to read Book 1, please do that first!

“No one is born evil, just like no one is born alone. They become that way, through choice and circumstance.”

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard is the second book in a scintillating fantasy series. It follows Mare, Cal, and the Scarlet Guard as they figure out their next steps after the intended execution in the Bowl of Bones that didn’t end as planned. Things are grave, seeing as Maven and Queen Elara have planted a huge target on the backs of the exiled prince and the little lightning girl, convincing the world that they murdered the late King Tiberias.

The story itself definitely wasn’t as good as Red Queen, but to be fair, not many sequels can beat their predecessors. Despite that however, it certainly wasn’t bad. It was a fast-paced, plot-driven book, and I enjoyed the re-read! I think the only thing that threw me off was the characters. I didn’t connect with them very much, and Mare is far from my favourite protagonist. However, I do have to commend Ms. Aveyard on her ability to write realistically, because humans are flawed, and she was able to portray that through her characters, even in such a wildly supernatural world.

Glass Sword felt a lot like a preparatory book for King’s Cage (which I will try to write a review for as well). It was great in its own way, but nothing substantial really occurred. It was also a tad bit overdramatic at times, but that did add to the atmosphere, so no complaints from me LOL.

Overall, I would rate this novel a solid 7/10. It has all the components of a great dystopian/fantasy novel; it simply pales in comparison to the first book. There are some brutal scenes that may be hard to read, but other than that, I would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy/superpowers, and wouldn’t mind a side of romance!

Teen SRC 2021 – The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite - Cass, Kiera

** SPOILERS FOR THE SELECTION (FIRST BOOK) **

I’m an absolute sucker for romance novels, so I was really excited to continue this series. You can read my review on The Selection here.

The Elite by Kiera Cass continues the story of the Selection, with America Singer being in the top 6 chosen girls competing for Prince Maxon’s hand in marriage and the crown. This story mainly revolved around the love triangle, the competition within the girls, and the rebels that keep breaking into the palace.

While reading The Selection I wasn’t sure which side I was on, but finishing The Elite, I’m in Team Maxon. As kind as Aspen is, he has no personality. He also does things that could get them both charged for treason! Is “love” worth the risk of it all? America must decide that for herself.

What I said about the characters being boring in the previous book isn’t true in this one! You really get to connect with the characters, we find out about their beliefs, and what they’re willing to do for them.

Really love this series and would recommend it to all age groups!

Teen SRC 2021 – The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection - Cass, Kiera

So many people accurately describe The Selection by Kiera Mass as a crossover between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor, and I agree 100%. Even though this book was predictable, I enjoyed it immensely!

In America Singer’s world, everyone is divided by caste, the 1s, royalty, the 2s, and 3s, living a lavish life with tons of wealth, and the rest of the lower castes in the professions chosen for them, barely getting by. America and her family are 5s, artists. (America Singer is a singer, how ironic).

*Minor Spoiler Warning*
Prince Maxon holds out a Selection nominating 35 women who will all compete for his hand in marriage and the crown. Her boyfriend, Aspen convinces her to sign up because getting nominated means you receive money, and that’s what they need to get married. After a bad breakup with him, she is nominated and is sent to the castle where she meets the charming Prince Maxon. As they get closer she has to choose between Prince Maxon who could make her a Princess, and Aspen, who she’s always loved.

I loved this book! The plot was good, the caste system based on numbers was interesting, and the ideas were well thought out.

That said, I think the characters were all boring. America has a *I’m not like other girls* and *I’m so ugly* mindset throughout the book and it gets old really fast. Aspen’s whole personality is, “I need to be a man and be good enough for America”. Ew. Maxon is one of the better characters. He’s willing to make mistakes and learn. When he finds out that the 7s and 8s are starving he does something about it. He is adorably awkward and does what he can to help the girls and make an honest opinion about who to marry.

This book isn’t for everyone but it sure was for me. Looking forward to reading the next book, The Elite. 🙂

Teen SRC 2021 – #murderfunding by Gretchen McNeil

#MurderFunding - McNeil, Gretchen

A fast-paced creepy book with many gory murders, #murderfunding by Gretchen McNeil makes up for its poor characterization and cheap tropes with action scenes and suspense. 6/10 for incredibly poor representation (POC especially, watch out) and cringe-worthy teenage slang. Seriously, I don’t know how editors approved the “teen” slang in this book–I’d rather hear teenagers speak like any regular adult than speak like they did in this book. “For reals” made an appearance, and an attempt to say that a character was “salty” (see: frustrated, annoyed) resulted in “less salted”. I LAUGHED SO HARD.

Anyway, I didn’t love this book much, but it was fast-paced and emotionally bland enough to get me out of a reading slump, which is great. There was some attempts to be political in this book, but they failed incredibly hard–resulting in an almost conspiracy-like feel. I did enjoy the formatting of discussion forums/articles on the Internet, but once the Russian meddling plot line was added, that began to feel cheap, too.

Overall, if you’re looking for a quick, creepy thriller, this is it. Otherwise, find something else.

P.S. This is the sequel to #murdertrending, which I read but then forgot mostly about. It is possible to read #murderfunding (2nd book) without having read the first (which got better ratings than this one, btw), but there is some confusing vocabulary to get through at the start. My suggestion: pick up #murdertrending first, then this one if you enjoy it. Happy reading!

Teen SRC 2021 – The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

I had high expectations for The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins because of the original trilogy and…it lived up to them! I’d give it an 8/10. The only downside of this book is that the exciting part doesn’t start until very late in the book.


This book was told from the perspective of the one and only President Snow. He is in his last year at the academy and hopes to win the prize that will help him into university, which he otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. A way that he can win this prize is if he mentors the winner of the 10th Annual Hunger Games. When he is assigned the girl from district 12, the lowest of the low, he is embarrassed but still determined to win. The story continues as he tries to help Lucy Gray, the tribute, win the Games.

***SPOILERS BELOW**

Read More

Teen SRC 2021 – Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

In the kingdom of Astrea, Princess Theodosia Eirene Houzzara was imprisoned and inside her own palace since the day her mother, the Queen of Fire, was murdered by the conquering and merciless Kalovaxians. She was merely 6 years old when the Kaiser invaded her land and destroyed her family. Ever since Theo was forced into the title “Ash Princess” to insult the Astreans and the suffering country. Regardless, Theo kept grasping on the speck of hope that someone will rescue her from the horrid palace and aid her in reclaiming the throne. Now, 10 years have passed and Theo finally realized she needed to take action herself against the Kaiser and fight for her kingdom again. Throughout these years, Theo witnessed her people perish and land being abused. She is determined to take revenge and revolt on the battlefield against the malicious Kaiser.

At first, I was intrigued in this book because I hoped to see Theo grow into a powerful female lead. However, the book displayed her as a cowardly, naive, and indecisive girl despite the traumas she had experienced. I was also quite skeptical about the teen romance involved because everything seemed childish for a young adult fantasy novel. Even the names of the people, objects, and land were unnecessarily long and strange. I did not like this book because I think the reading and comprehension level is too simple for me.

You can find Ash Princess here and more of Laura Sebastian here