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Teen SRC 2020 – Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

Bone Crier's Moon - Purdie, Kathryn

Bone ​Criers have a sacred job. Them alone can keep the dead from preying the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes with a great sacrifice. The gods order a promise of dedication to their duty. And that promise includes the life of the Bone Criers’ one true love. Ailesse has been molded since her first breath to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers. But first she must successfully complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she loves. Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier which he wasn’t supposed to wittiness, and now he seeks revenge. Along with his companions’ whose family has also been taken as sacrifice by Bone Criers. But when he finally kidnapped one, his craving for vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fate has already been tied. Sabine, Ailesse’s best friend, never had the guts to take part of the Bone Crier’s work. But when Ailesse had been caught, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means breaking their traditions or acting against their matriarch just to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. And to just make circumstances even worse the matriarch seems to be harboring dark secrets and Sabine only has one year to save Ailesse, or they will all die.

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Teen SRC 2020 – The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs

The Conference of the Birds - Riggs, Ransom

The Conference of the Birds starts just where the Map of Days ended. Jacob and his friends left against Miss Peregrine’s wishes in order to save Noor. There he learns from H that there is a prophecy taking shape and it has intertwines Noor into it. Jacob had been given a mission of deliver Noor to V, save Noor, and save the peculiardom. Simple enough right? Except V is the most powerful out of Abe’s former ally and she most definitely doesn’t want to be found also Noor is being hunted which puts their whole group in danger and makes everything harder. Now Jacob has to take a leap towards the Conference of the Birds.

This was really disappointing. All four book before this one I loved, but while reading this one I was basically begging for it to end. In “A Map of Days”, the whole plot was steady and at a good pace, slowly revealing the new side of the peculiar world to the reader. This new book however was a hot mess. I didn’t even like this new story line, as the whole prophecy felt like a waste of time. In the first couple books the character worked hard in defeating the “bad guy” just for the “bad guy” to comeback through a “prophecy”; which is just a list that the wights have to follow. Also in A Map of Days, I enjoyed it as the characters showed hints of growing and developing. They have been through so much, surely Jacob would act and think differently in the new book right? But he didn’t evolve at all and all the characters just felt flat. The whole romance part was flat as well. And so was the whole outline of the story. I would rate it 4/10, I liked the idea of the book, but the details were flat. So in summary, I would have enjoyed the book if only it was executed in a different way.

You can find more of Ransom Riggs’ works here.

Teen SRC 2019 – A Taste for Monsters by Matthew J. Kirby

A Taste for Monsters - Kirby, Matthew J.

A heartfelt thriller. Two words I never would’ve put together, but they describes A Taste for Monsters by Mathew J. Kirby accurately.

Evelyn is a young girl in 1888 London, trying to find a job in order to stay off the streets. But because of a disfigurement caused by her dangerous work in a matchstick factory, no one wants to hire her. In desperation, she goes to the hospital. If they can’t fix her face, then maybe they can give her job. At the hospital, the matron tells her that she would scare the patients away, but that she might have another job that would fit her needs. Evelyn is to be the maid of a permanent resident at the London Hospital: the Elephant Man. Evelyn has heard stories about him, and is terrified, but knowing that this job is the only thing that would keep her off the streets, she agrees.

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Teen SRC 2019 – Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

‘Anna Dressed in Blood’ is a YA book about a ghost slayer and a murdered girl which came back as a ghost seeking for vengeance.

The protagonist, Cas Lockwood, is an eighteen-year-old (seemingly normal) guy with an unhealthy obsession for hunting down the ghost that killed his father when he was only a child. He is never affected by his decisions on which ghosts to kill, but that was before he met Anna. At first glance, he treats Anna as an average evil ghost. After (many) unsuccessful attempts to kill her, he starts to warm up to Anna, and eventually develops romantic feelings towards her.

However, this is a horror story after all. While Anna internally fights with an evil version of herself, she kills many more people (unwillingly) and raises suspicion around the town.

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Teen SRC 2019 – Fallen by Lauren Kate

Image result for fallen lauren kate

Fallen by Lauren Kate

“What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?” 

Fallen is about a 17-year old girl named Lucinda Price; Luce for short. When she was young, she started seeing these black things that she calls Shadows. These Shadows was the cause of the death of her boyfriend Trevor, which is why Luce was sent to Sword & Cross Reform School. On her first day there, she sees a boy. His name is Daniel Grigori. Luce can feel herself being attracted to him. Almost like… they’ve met before. But Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce and seems to actively avoid her in the beginning. But Luce feels the connection, and she thinks Daniel does too. Then, like your regular romance book, comes along another boy (ooh, love triangle!). His name is Cam and he looks like a delinquent. Black hair, and the type that all the girls would fall for. So why does he pay so much attention to ordinary Luce?

I think this book has a slow beginning, because it took me longer than usually takes me to read a book that long. There was mystery in it and you may not have expected the ending. Of course, this book is the first part of a series. In fact, it is also a movie! I give this book a 4/5 because of the slow beginning. The actual plot of the book was not bad, but I cannot give it 5/5 (also because nothing is perfect!).

There are 5 books in the series. 4 of the circle around Luce, and the fifth one is about Cam. There is also a novella.

Teen SRC 2018 – Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Image result for shatter meJuliette’s touch is deadly. Ever since she accidentally killed someone with her touch, The Reestablishment has kept her locked up in a cell, trying to “fix” her. But, the world is dying too quickly for anyone to care about a seventeen year old. Food is becoming scarce, diseases are destroying the population, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. However, when a rumor of war spreads from among the survivors, The Reestablishment changes their decision. Maybe Juliette is exactly what they need right now. So, they offer her a choice. Choose to become a weapon… or a warrior.

This series is for anyone with an interest in any one of the tags I’ve listed. For lovers of post-apocalyptic novels, this seiries is especially great!

 

 

Teen SRC 2018 – Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Image result for trial by fire book

How can you save the world when you are literally your worst enemy?

Lily Proctor’s life threatening allergies provent her from enjoying many things normal teenagers take for granted. After getting permission to attend her first, and possibly last, highschool party, Lily just wants to enjoy herself. But, her life never goes according to plan, and she ends up humiliating herself in front of half her graduating class.

Suddenly summoned to a parallel world, Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences. She quickly realizes that what makes her weak in her home world is what makes her extraordinary here. In this world ruled over by powerful women called Crucibles, Lily must stop the worst and cruellest of them all: Lillian. But the problem is, Lillian is the one who summoned her to this world… and is also Lily’s identical other self.

Teen SRC 2018 – Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh

Burning Midnight

Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh

This book is about a boy named David Sullivan (Sully). He hunts for spheres-or, more exactly, orbs. These orbs are special-unlike the ones we normally call “marbles”. These orbs give you special powers if you press two to your temple. Better eyesight, more athletic, better hearing, etc. Sully is a sphere/orb dealer at a flea market, and one day, he meets a very strange girl named Hunter. She is a born sphere hunter, and has a special talent for finding them. The rarer the color of sphere, the better the improvement/power you get. Hunter and Sully power up, and they hunt for spheres-together. One day, they find a gold orb-a color nobody has seen before. But what does it actually do? With professional (not really) orb hunters on their tail, they don’t have time to figure it out.

I personally loved this book but I thought the ending ended too early. They found the orb about 3 quarters into the book, but the whole book ended about 3 pages after. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Well. It wasn’t so interesting at the end, but I loved the beginning! 👍

Teen SRC 2018- When Life Gives You Demons by Jennifer Honeybourn

When Life Gives You Demons

Lemons…..or Demons? Let’s see… I’d probably prefer…Lemons. How about you? Anyways, on to the book. I’m not sure how to summarize this book without spoiling, so: (It’s from the back cover of the book)

When Life Gives You Demons by Jennifer Honeyboum

“Sixteen-year-old Shelby Black has spent the past year training to be an exorcist. Her great-uncle Roy—a Catholic priest and Shelby’s guardian—believes she has a gift for expelling demons, and he’s put her through exorcist boot camp hell, but he still doesn’t trust her to do an exorcism on her own. High school is hard enough without having to explain that you fight demons for a living, so Shelby keeps her extracurricular activity quiet, especially from Spencer, her cute math tutor. Secrets run in Shelby’s family, though: her mother has been missing ever since an exorcism went horribly wrong, and Uncle Roy is tight-lipped about it. But Shelby’s hell-bent on finding her mom, no matter what—even if what it ends up costing her her soul AND a date with Spencer.”-Book summary by author

So….fun? Maybe? If someone asked me for true opinions about this book, I’d probably throw handfuls of glitter and confetti in the air then bring out a party cannon. That’s how awesome this book was!

Teen SRC 2018 – I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Image result for i am number four book

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Aliens are real. Nine of them came to Earth to escape the disaster that happened to their home planet via spaceship. They may look like humans, talk like humans, but they are not like us. They have superhuman powers that we can only dream of. The nine of them have separated upon arrival, and have been brought up among humans, with the plan of growing, training, becoming strong, and finally fighting back from the forces that pursued them. But the enemy has already started hunting them. Three have already been captured and killed. Number Four must gather the remaining ones before they are all killed, and fight back.

I love this series so much! I became so obsessed after reading the first book that I just had to know what happens to John and Sarah’s relationship, as well as the other Gardes!!!