YA

Interview with Jon McGoran, Author of the Spliced Series [And Giveaway!]

I have a really exciting post today! I have always been really interested in authors’ writing processes and where they pull inspiration, particularly in the SFF community where there is so much ingenuity and cool ideas. I was lucky enough to be able to interview Jon McGoran, author of the YA science fiction Spliced series, as a part of the blog tour for the final book in this series, Spiked. In the interview, McGoran shared so much about his inspiration, research, and writing process, and it’s such a fascinating discussion. McGoran’s final installment in the Spliced trilogy, Spiked, releases on May 5, 2020.

Gotham High: Your Favorite DC Villains and heroes At Their High School Best

Gotham High is my second graphic novel from the DC Ink line from DC Comics, and I’m already so in love with this collection. DC Ink makes quality YA graphic novel retellings for classic DC characters, and they’re full of beautiful art and even more beautiful diversity. Gotham High is a stand-alone re-imagining of the origin stories for all your favorite DC heroes and villains, and has really strong characterizations for both its main characters and its secondary characters.

Review: Dust by J.R. Devoe

Dust is the first installment in a new YA post-apocalyptic fairy-tale series by J.R. Devoe. I really love genre-bending stories, and this is one of the better YA versions that I’ve read. It’s fantasy and dystopian and science fiction all wrapped up with a lovely fairy-tale bow.

Book Blitz: Kill or Cure by Pixie Britton [Free for a limited Time!!]

I have great news YA fans! If you’re looking to add a thrilling series to your “social distancing” TBR, start with Kill or Cure by Pixie Britton, which is FREE for the rest of the month!!! Make sure to grab yourself a copy today!

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The Hunger Games Reread and Analysis – Intro

I had great intentions to post this when I woke up this morning. Alas, Animal Crossing: New Horizons released and took away most of my day. However, I really wanted to write this and tell you guys what I have up my sleeve for the upcoming few weeks.

The Hunger Games was a pretty foundational series for me early on in my reading journey. It was my first experience with speculative/dystopian literature, and was the first YA series that I read and enjoyed as an adult. I absolutely devoured this series, and I annotated every book. Best of all, the series still holds up so well! With the new prequel to the series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, coming out on May 19th, I’m gearing up to dive back into the series head-first.

Release Blitz: Bobby Robot by Michael Hilton

Y’all I am so excited for this title. It sounds so fun, and I am always on the look-out for good YA sci fi. YA romance + robots + a human having to pass robot test? MY KIND OF BOOK. I also love that this is YA and has a male protagonist; that’s not as common as it should be! I’m excited to pick this one up soon!

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Review: Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir

Camp Spirit is a YA graphic novel set in the 1990s in Ontario, where high-schooler Elodie has been appointed as a camp counselor for the summer. Elodie is very 90s grunge, is not at all interested in camping or the outdoors, and is the opposite of excited for her summer job. What starts as a frothy, pulpy sort of story takes a sharp turn about mid-way through, and turns this summer romance into a a graphic novel full of intrigue, mystical nightmares, demonic presences, and urban legends. Even through this shift, though, the book never loses its center- the growing friendship (and maybe more) between Elodie and camp counselor extraordinaire, Catherine.

Review: The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp

The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp is one of the best graphic novels I’ve read in a really, really long time. This YA graphic novel is from DC Comics, and tells the story of Barbara Gordon, who becomes Oracle in the Batman/DC comic universe. Don’t be fooled, though– there are practically no superheros in this novel. Instead, we get a beautifully crafted story that is wonderfully diverse, fierce, and full of mystery and intrigue.

Girls with Sharp Sticks & Girls with Razor Hearts Review And Discussion

When I read Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young earlier this year, I was blown away by how much I actually enjoyed it. As much as I love speculative fiction and Sci Fi, I find few YA titles in the genre to be compelling or successfully-crafted. That is not the case with Suzanne Young’s Girls with Sharp Sticks and, its sequel, Girls with Razor Hearts.

Girls with Sharp Sticks follows Mena and her friends, all of which are students at the exclusive and secretive girls-only boarding school, Innovations Academy. When some girls at the school start acting differently and disappearing, Mena begins questioning everything. Such as, why does she never see her family outside of school? Or, what goes on in all those therapy and “impulse control” sessions? And, what exactly happens to the girls after graduation?

Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok

I first heard about Zdrok’s Spectacle duology after I finished Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper series last year. In the haze of my book hangover I searched Goodreads for anything that could be remotely similar to Maniscalco’s macabre Young Adult historical mystery/romance. Spectacle was one of the books that was recommended as similar to Stalking, but I didn’t pick it up at the time and instead engrossed myself in Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel trilogy.

I never forgot about Spectacle, though, and the premise continued to intrigue me. I love a good Young Adult historical mystery, and I love them even more when there is something ~magical~ going on.