Andye Reads

I recently read *ILLUMINAE by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. You may have already heard of this book, as everyone seems to be RAVING about it. But I thought I should just give you my thoughts, and a little caution before you decide to drop the big bucks on this one. THE 5 BIG PROBLEMS WITH ILLUMINAE  by Andye 1. The cover. Ok, yeah. The cover is freaking amazing. The problem, though, is that when you take off the dust-jacket, the naked book is JUST AS AMAZING . Or maybe more amazing, I don't even know. So, what am I supposed to do? Display it with the jacket on? Or off? How am I supposed to pick? Switch it back and forth every other day? And where do I put the jacket on the off days? It's going to get crinkled! So now I have to buy TWO copies, just so I don't have to stress out about this. Rude, Random House. Rude. 2. People are bothering me about it.  This goes along with problem #1. I took Illuminae with me to my son's baseball game so I could ...

Review by Emily ALL THE FEELS by Danika Stone Age Range: 12 - 18 years Grade Level: 7 and up Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Swoon Reads (June 7, 2016) Goodreads | Amazon College freshman Liv is more than just a fangirl: The Starveil movies are her life...and her last tangible connection to her deceased father. Thus, when her favorite character, Captain Matt Spartan, is killed off at the end of the last movie, Liv Just. Can't. Deal. Tired of sitting in her room sobbing, Liv decides to launch an online campaign to bring her beloved hero back to life. With the help of her best friend, Xander, actor and steampunk cosplayer extraordinaire, she creates #SpartanSurvived, a call that ignites the fandom. But as her online life succeeds beyond her wildest dreams, Liv is forced to balance that with the pressures of school, her (mostly nonexistent and entirely traumatic) romantic life, and her disapproving mother's new boyfriend. A trip to DragonCon with Xander might be exactly what...

Review by Shannon THE WINNER'S KISS by Marie Rutkoski Series: The Winner's Trilogy (Book 3) Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (March 29, 2016) Audible Audio Edition Listening Length: 12 hours and 13 minutes Program Type: Audiobook Version: Unabridged Publisher: Listening Library Goodreads | Amazon | Audible War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people―and certainly more than she did for him. At least, that’s what he thinks. In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what t...

Review by Reagan  KEEP ME IN MIND by Jaime Reed Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Point (April 26, 2016) Language: English A girl who doesn't remember. A boy who can't forget her. A wise, witty, and heartbreaking love story for today's YA generation. Ellia Dawson doesn't recognize the handsome boy who sits in tears by her hospital bed. But he's telling her that he's Liam McPherson, her boyfriend. Boyfriend? Ellia thinks in shock. She has no clue who Liam is, let alone whether or not she once loved him. She remembers her family, her friends, and the fact that she wants to be a fashion designer. But Liam is a big blank in her life. Meanwhile, Liam is devastated that Ellia, the love of his life, who suffered an accident while they were running together on the beach, has lost her memory. He is desperate to win her back, rebuild what they once had, but Ellia keeps him at an arm's length. She's much more comfortable with a new boy she meets at the...

Review by Jackie The Star-Touched Queen  by Roshani Chokshi Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (April 26, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen? Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire... But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspe...

Review by Sara & Andye THE WINNER'S KISS by Marie Rutkoski Series: The Winner's Trilogy (Book 3) Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (March 29, 2016) Audible Audio Edition Listening Length: 12 hours and 13 minutes Program Type: Audiobook Version: Unabridged Publisher: Listening Library Goodreads | Amazon | Audible War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people―and certainly more than she did for him. At least, that’s what he thinks. In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what ...

Review by Jennifer THE SMELL OF OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES by Bonnie - Sue Hitchcock Grade Level: 7 and up Lexile Measure: 0960 ( What's this? ) Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books (February 23, 2016) Goodreads | Amazon In Alaska, 1970, being a teenager here isn’t like being a teenager anywhere else. This deeply moving and authentic debut is for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, and Benjamin Alire Saenz. Intertwining stories of love, tragedy, wild luck, and salvation on the edge of America’s Last Frontier introduce a writer of rare talent. Ruth has a secret that she can’t hide forever. Dora wonders if she can ever truly escape where she comes from, even when good luck strikes. Alyce is trying to reconcile her desire to dance, with the life she’s always known on her family’s fishing boat. Hank and his brothers decide it’s safer to run away than to stay home—until one of them ends up in terrible danger. Four very different lives are abo...

by Andye ZERO DAY by Jan Gangsei Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (January 12, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon Eight years ago, Addie Webster was the victim of the most notorious kidnapping of the decade. Addie vanished-and her high-profile parents were forced to move on. Mark Webster is now president of the United States, fighting to keep the oval office after a tumultuous first term. Then the unthinkable happens: the president's daughter resurfaces. Addie is brought back into her family's fold, but who is this sixteen-year-old girl with a quiet, burning intelligence now living in the White House? There are those in the president's political circle who find her timely return suspicious. When a national security advisor approaches Darrow Fergusson, Addie's childhood best friend and the son of the president's chief of staff, he doesn't know what to think. How could the girl he's missed for all these years be a threat to na...

by andye I was really excited to get INTO THE DIM by Janet B. Taylor in the mail. I love books about time travel, and this cover looked really great. When I read the description and it takes place in Scotland, I was really intrigued. HELLO! Outlander for teens?? Yes! But there have been quite a few things as I've been reading, made me think that this book isn't going to be for me. The first thing I noticed, was that the main character was very judgmental (calling basically every other girl mindless, blonde and slutty). I don't mind this so much, if there is growth happening, but I didn't get the sense that that was going to happen. Maybe it does, and if so, that's cool. My biggest issue right now, though, is that the storyline is just not grabbing me. I'm not sure if it's the writing, which isn't bad, or the story itself, but I just don't feel a desire to pick it back up and read it. I've had a couple of conversations on Twitter with p...

Review by Elisa   RIDERS by Veronica Rossi Publisher: Tor Teen (February 16, 2016) Publication Date: February 16, 2016 Sold by: Macmillan  Goodreads   | Amazon For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does. Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse. Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen--Conquest, Famine, and Death--are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence. They fail. Now--bound, bloodied, and drugged--Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any ch...

Review by Reagan  THE SWORD OF SUMMER Age Range: 10 - 14 years Grade Level: 5 - 9 Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Book 1) Hardcover: 512 pages Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (October 6, 2015) Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years. When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.  Sometimes,...

Discussion by Andye NAMELESS by Jennifer Jenkin Age Range: 12 and up Grade Level: 7 and up Series: Nameless Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Month9Books, LLC (October 6, 2015) Amazon | Goodreads Four clans have been at war for centuries: the Kodiak, the Raven, the Wolf, and the Ram. Through brutal war tactics, the Ram have dominated the region, inflicting death and destruction on their neighbors. Seventeen-year-old Zo is a Wolf and a healer who volunteers to infiltrate the Ram as a spy on behalf of the allied clans. She offers herself as a Ram slave, joining the people who are called the Nameless. Hers is a suicide mission-Zo's despair after losing her parents in a Ram raid has left her seeking both revenge and an end to her own misery. But after her younger sister follows her into Rams Gate, Zo must find a way to survive her dangerous mission and keep her sister safe. What she doesn't expect to find is the friendship of a young Ram whose life she saves, the confusing feel...

Review by Natalie MIRRORED by Alex Flinn Series: Kendra Chronicles (Book 3) Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: HarperTeen (September 15, 2015) Language: English Amazon | Goodreads Celine's life is the stuff fairy tales are made of. She's beautiful, talented, and brave. Unfortunately, her tale comes complete with a wicked stepmother! When Violet steps into Celine's life, everything changes and weird things begin to happen to her—bizarre accidents, strange illnesses, and rabid animal attacks. Celine doesn't feel safe anywhere. It's almost as if some hateful witch is out to get her. And there is. Violet has been waiting all her life to have Celine's father to herself. Getting rid of his gorgeous daughter is child's play for a witch as powerful as she is. Happy-ever-after isn't enough for Violet. She wants to be the fairest of them all, and Celine is in the way . . . but not for long. Forced to take refuge with her friend Goose and his family, Celine ...

 Review by Sara SANCTUARY by Jennifer McKissack Age Range: 12 and up Grade Level: 7 and up Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 29, 2015) Language: English Amazon | Goodreads A haunting and luminous Gothic YA novel about reckoning with the ghosts of one's dark past. After the untimely death of her aunt Laura, Cecilia Cross is forced to return to Sanctuary, a rambling, old French-Gothic mansion that crowns a remote island off the coast of Maine. Cecilia is both drawn to and repulsed by Sanctuary. The scent of the ocean intoxicates her, but she's also haunted by the ghosts of her past -- of her father who died at Sanctuary five years ago, and of her mother who was committed soon after. The memories leave Cecilia feeling shaken, desperate to run away and forget her terrible family history. But then a mysterious guest arrives at Sanctuary: Eli Bauer, a professor sent to examine Sanctuary's library. Cecilia is intrigued by this strange young man w...