Reading books for children and youth as an adult means you start to see the same things over and over again. There are tropes common to many books intended for children. So when you read a kids' book with some fresh ideas, you really notice. Adam and Cressida Bloom are brother and sister and, like… Continue reading Book Review: The Talent Thief by Alex Williams (Reading with Pearl)
Royce is sixteen and has just moved with his mother across the country, from Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island. He's bored, lonely, and biding his time until he can escape back east to his former life. In the meantime, his mother convinces him to take on the job of caring for her 95-year-old father. Arthur… Continue reading Book Review: Death Benefits by Sarah N. Harvey
I've had this book - a copy that my dad apparently received as a Christmas gift in 1966 - on my shelf for years and never read it or realized that it's a sequel to Lost in the Barrens. Fortunately, you don't need to have read that more famous novel to follow the plot in… Continue reading Book Review: The Curse of the Viking Grave – Farley Mowat
I'm rather inclined to think of Tell the Wolves I'm Home (Dial Press, 2013) as a young adult novel. That's certainly not a bad thing, I just think teenagers would benefit from reading this one. June is 14-years-old and her favourite person in the world has just died. Her uncle Finn, a talented artist, her… Continue reading Book Review – Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Having previously read The Book Thief, I should have suspected that Markus Zusak is not a straightforward novel writer. Yet the conclusion of I Am The Messenger (Knopf, 2005) still came as a surprise to me. Ed Kennedy is a nineteen-year-old cabdriver. He's from the rough side of town and he's on the right track… Continue reading Book Review – I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
As a former teenage girl, I think what I appreciate most about John Green's writing is his characters. Looking for Alaska (Dutton Juvenile, 2005) was Green's first novel. While not as breathtakingly awesome as his more recent The Fault in Our Stars, it's definitely still a solid young adult read. Looking for Alaska begins with… Continue reading Book Review – Looking for Alaska by John Green
Reality Boy is not a book I would have read if I hadn't been given a copy. This is a young adult novel about a teenage boy. I'm not exactly the target audience. However, I thought the premise of Reality Boy was fascinating. Gerald is almost 17. When he was five, his family was featured… Continue reading Book Review – Reality Boy by A.S. King
Note: I try my best not to give away important plot points in my book reviews. However, since Speaker for the Dead follows the plot of Ender's Game, there will be information in the following review that "spoils" Ender's Game. You don't have to read Ender's Game before reading Speaker for the Dead but they… Continue reading Book Review – Speaker For The Dead by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel that takes place in Earth's future, after humans have fought two wars against a mysterious alien enemy known as "buggers". Science fiction isn't a section I normally wander into in bookstores but Ender's Game, published in 1985, is as old as I am and still hugely popular and… Continue reading Book Review – Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
I feel prepared to make the argument that The Fault in Our Stars is not a young adult book. It's a book about young adults. I think there are books, written for a young adult audience, or any particular audience, that are well-written enough and important enough that they become greater than their intended audience.… Continue reading Book Review – The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
Karissa Reads Books 