A coming of age book that will make you remember what it was like when you were a young teenager (if you’re an adult). Or if you are a teenager, you will relate to the growing pains of trying to figure life out. The reason why I decided to pick up this book was the whole part about movies and Hitchcock. Since I am trying to watch all of Alfred Hitchcock’s works, of course a book paying homage to the late director would catch my eye. The surprise is that even though Maisie and I share a love for movies, this story is not just about Saturdays with Hitchcock. Maisie is just like any average 12 year old trying to switch from being an innocent child to becoming a teenager. Hanging out with boys is no longer just hanging out. Now, there are crushes and love triangles. That boy you can’t stand is now hanging out with your best friend all of the time. Your best friend likes boys, and you don’t really care about that stuff…yet. You have a grandmother that is forgetting everything, and then there’s a grumpy old man that all of a sudden has a change of heart. Growing up is not easy, but the lesson in this story is that you will make it and grow into a better person. This is a very quick read. I read it in one sitting and highly recommend.
[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This post contains affiliate links.]
Neil Patrick Harris is releasing his first young adult book series November 21, 2017. For those who love YA, you can get through this book in a few hours. What I love about this story is how a young boy overcomes bad circumstances to find a family of his own. Carter is an orphan who is sent to live with a family relative, a conman who uses magic tricks to con people. When his guardian tries to force him to steal, he decides to do the right thing. He returns a stolen necklace to an old lady that was kind to him and runs away from his guardian. He stows away on a passing train, waking up in a New England town. A carnival run by criminals happens to be in town. Carter takes a look around, running into a real magician who sees magical potential in him. He doesn’t believe magic is real, but he then discovers a group of young magicians who practice real magic. Carter’s life begins to change. Even though he is homeless and afraid to tell anyone that he has no family, this group of friends takes him in and shows him the time of his life, all the while trying to stop B.B. Bosso and his cronies from stealing a precious diamond. If you liked the Lemony Snicket series, “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” you will like this story. After all, it is befitting to use the Baudelaires as an example, because Neil Patrick Harris plays Count Olaf in the Netflix series. Looks like he took some inspiration from Snicket and created a new magical world for an orphan looking for a family of his own.
[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]
Book Two in the Dark Cycle Book Series. For those who love stories about good vs. evil, heaven vs. hell, this is your kind of book. In book two, Aidan is still learning more about his powers and what happened to his sister Ava. Stuck between his love for two girls, all struggle in their choices. One love was a spell and that spell is killing her. The other is his soulmate. The one he chooses though, hurts everyone in the end. It’s not his fault that a wrench was thrown into the fate lines. Somehow, they have to fix this. Meanwhile, Aidan and his crew must keep darkness at bay, and keep the demons from entering the earthly realm.
[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]
For those who love Young Adult Fiction, here are a few books to peruse.
Edgewater by Courtney Sheinmel is filled with mystery and intrigue as we follow Lorrie Hollander, a young rich girl who all of a sudden has her trust fund cut off while at riding camp. Thinking that her absent-minded aunt forgot to pay the bills, she returns home to discover that her trust fund is missing. With only a few dollars in her pocket, she tries to buy gas and a drink only to discover she doesn’t have enough money for both when she meets Charlie, the son of a senator, who pays for her purchase in exchange for joining him at a party in his family’s home. What Lorrie later discovers is that her predicament and money problems are directly related to Charlie’s family. What begins as a rich girl gone broke turns into something much more…explaining why her mother left her and her sister behind with her senile aunt and where all of this money is really coming from. It’s an ending no one is expecting.
2. Mysteries of Cove by J. Scott Savage. If you liked “City of Ember” by Jeanne DuPrau, you’ll like this new series. Imagine a world where doing anything ‘creative’ is a crime and the word ‘invention’ is a curse word. Welcome to the Cove, a steam-powered city inside of a mountain. Why the city is this way is a mystery, especially to Trenton Coleman, who loves inventing and all things mechanical. Along with Kallista Babbage, they discover a mechanical dragon. Together they try to put it together and leave the Cove. What they were not prepared to learn was why the city was hidden inside of a mountain and why any mechanical noise was forbidden. When they learn why, it’s too late and it jeopardizes the lives of everyone inside the Cove. They’ve attracted something to them that was better off left alone. [Mysteries of Cove is a series. The second book was released last year.]
3. Court of Fives by Kate Elliott. For those who loved “The Hunger Games,” you will love “Court of Fives.” Jessamy lives in a world where a mixed race child will never rise in society. Add in every sexist thing you can of how a woman will never be equal to a man, and you have a good idea what kind of society Jessamy lives in. The Fives is a maze where various contenders compete in five different trials. Winners of the Fives live handsomely, but there is one catch. They have to reveal their face. It is because of this that Jessamy allows someone else to win, so as not to embarrass her father, a famous soldier who would be humiliated if he knew his illegitimate daughter had competed and won in the Fives. Things take a turn for the worst when her family’s patron (the man who cares for them financially) dies. The patron’s death splits up the family and sends Jessamy to live her dream of training and running for the Fives without fear of embarrassing her father, but she finds something much more sinister is happening to her family. It is up to her to save them. [This book is the start of the Court of Fives series. The third book will be released this summer.]
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A coming of age book that will make you remember what it was like when you were a young teenager (if you’re an adult). Or if you are a teenager, you will relate to the growing pains of trying to figure life out. The reason why I decided to pick up this book was the whole part about movies and Hitchcock. Since I am trying to watch all of Alfred Hitchcock’s works, of course a book paying homage to the late director would catch my eye. The surprise is that even though Maisie and I share a love for movies, this story is not just about Saturdays with Hitchcock. Maisie is just like any average 12 year old trying to switch from being an innocent child to becoming a teenager. Hanging out with boys is no longer just hanging out. Now, there are crushes and love triangles. That boy you can’t stand is now hanging out with your best friend all of the time. Your best friend likes boys, and you don’t really care about that stuff…yet. You have a grandmother that is forgetting everything, and then there’s a grumpy old man that all of a sudden has a change of heart. Growing up is not easy, but the lesson in this story is that you will make it and grow into a better person. This is a very quick read. I read it in one sitting and highly recommend.
