{"id":72652,"date":"2017-05-22T17:39:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T06:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=72652"},"modified":"2017-05-25T16:24:10","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T05:24:10","slug":"reviews-must-read-young-adult-books-june","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2017\/05\/22\/reviews-must-read-young-adult-books-june\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEWS: The Must-Read Young Adult Books of May and June"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a month in young adult fiction! Below you’ll find reviews of the YA books Booktopians have read and loved lately. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

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Reviews by Sarah McDuling
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\"<\/a>Once and For All
\nby Sarah Dessen
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Once and For All <\/i>is exactly the kind of uplifting, emotionally cathartic ode to growing up that I have come to expect from Sarah Dessen. When it comes to exploring friendship, family and first love \u2013 Dessen really is the queen! She excels at writing the kind of poignant coming of age stories that grab you by the heartstrings and never let go.<\/p>\n

Louna is a bit of a cynic when it comes to love. She has spent her formative years helping her single mother run a wedding planning business where she has glimpsed behind the scenes of countless fairytale romances. She knows better than to hope for a happily ever after, especially since her own perfect love story ended in heartbreaking tragedy.<\/p>\n

And then she meets Ambrose, an arrogant, entitled, extremely annoying (yet oddly charming) boy who seems to attract chaos wherever he goes…<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no way to describe a Sarah Dessen book without making it sound like every other romantic comedy ever written. The difference is, Sarah Dessen doesn\u2019t just tell cute, funny love stories. She tells cute, funny love stories that pack an unexpectedly heavy emotional punch. Her characters are always complex, messy and quirky without ever seeming clich\u00e9d. It\u2019s a true artform to write a \u201cquirky\u201d character without crossing into clich\u00e9 \u2013 but Sarah Dessen pulls it off time and again!<\/p>\n

In conclusion, this book will make you laugh and smile (and maybe even cry a little bit). Read it! Learn more.<\/a>
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\"Song<\/a>Song of the Current
\nby Sarah Tolcser
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Oh man, this book has literally everything I need in life. Swashbuckling adventure, gods, pirates, magic, an adorable romance, and a vividly imagined new fantasy world to explore. I\u2019m in heaven!<\/p>\n

Caro is a glorious heroine who is strong, spirited and empowered. In order to save her father, she accepts a mission as a privateer and sails away on an epic adventure full of danger and intrigue. Caro is not the sort of girl who sits in a tower and waits to be rescued. Nope, she\u2019s the kind of girl who does the rescuing!<\/p>\n

For lovers of romance, there is a nice slow burning love story that plays out amidst all the madness and mayhem. It is, however, very much a subplot. Caro is a fully realised and layered character who has so much going on there isn\u2019t really any time for swooning over boys. Also, Caro isn\u2019t really the swooning type. She\u2019s a busy lady with a ship to captain and a mission to complete, gods and magic to contend with\u2026 not to mention mysteries to solve, plots to uncover and loved ones to rescue!<\/p>\n

Perfect for fans of Passenger<\/em>, <\/a>The Ship Beyond Time<\/em><\/a> and literally any story involving pirates (because, yay pirates!<\/em>). Learn more. <\/a><\/p>\n

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\"<\/a>Revenge of the Evil Librarian
\nby Michelle Knudsen
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Evil Librarian<\/em><\/a> is such an awesome book. Sassy and scary, hilarious and horrifying\u2026 these are some of my favourite combinations! It\u2019s why Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/em> is so very much my jam. There\u2019s nothing quite like a snappy one-liner delivered in the middle of a life threatening fight to save the world from a demonic apocalypse\u2026 and that\u2019s exactly what Evil Librarian<\/em> is all about. If you like a wisecracking heroine who can quip in the face of death, I suggest you get yourself a copy asap!<\/p>\n

Ever since reading Evil Librarian<\/em> I have been soooooo looking forward to the sequel. Now at last it has arrived! I\u2019m only a few chapters into Revenge of the Evil Librarian<\/em> and so far I\u2019m loving it. It\u2019s good to be reunited with Cyn as she heads off to summer camp with her brand new boyfriend Ryan. It\u2019s a theater camp (of course), and Cyn is super excited until she realises Ryan\u2019s best camp buddy is in fact an alarmingly gorgeous girl.<\/p>\n

Oh and also, it\u2019s possible that pesky demon drama isn\u2019t entirely in the past. There\u2019s a chance Mr Gabriel (aka the Evil Librarian) might have found a way to come back from the dead and wreak a terrible vengeance\u2026 Learn more. <\/a><\/p>\n

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Reviews by Tanaya Lowden
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\"<\/a>My Life as a Hashtag
\nby Gabrielle Williams
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My Life as a Hashtag<\/em> is an entertaining and incredibly relatable story about the impact of social media in schools and society as a whole.<\/p>\n

It follows MC, a 17-year-old girl from Melbourne who is dealing with her parents splitting up, as well as normal school drama, boys, and friend issues. When one of her mean Tumblr posts about the friend she’s fighting with goes viral, MC gets a shock awakening to the repercussions of social media and bullying.<\/p>\n

This book is incredibly important for society today, with a highly relatable message at its core. I’m sure we’ve all had those moments of panic when something we’ve said about someone has come around to haunt us. Imagine that on a global scale. Social media is a wonderful tool, but it also has a hidden underside to it, one that this book explores, and that teenagers will easily be able to identify with.<\/p>\n

The string of events that happen to MC will have you desperately hoping you\u2019re never in her shoes, but will also have you empathising with her and hoping the outcomes will be positive. You see MC learn from her mistakes, making this a thought-provoking read and the perfect book for both the regular and casual YA reader. Learn more. <\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Ballad<\/a>Ballad for a Mad Girl
\nby Vikki Wakefield
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Ballad for a Mad Girl<\/em> is a beautifully creepy book. It\u2019s a little dark, a little mysterious, and a lot of what-the-hell-is-going-on.<\/p>\n

It follows Grace, the funny girl known for her hilarious pranks. When Grace is drawn into a twenty-year-old mystery surrounding missing girl Hannah Holt, the thin veil between this world and the next begins to slip, causing Grace to lose herself in the madness.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m about halfway into this eerie novel, and am enjoying it immensely. In particular, I\u2019m loving Vikki Wakefield\u2019s writing. Any book that can make me feel unsettled while reading it is a winner in my eyes. I\u2019m very intrigued to find out how this mystery will unfold!<\/p>\n

Ballad for a Mad Girl<\/em> is perfect for fans of Michelle Hodkin\u2019s The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.\u00a0<\/em><\/a> Learn more.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Review by Bronwyn Eley
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\"Flame<\/a>Flame in the Mist
\nby Renee Ahdieh
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While reading Flame in the Mist<\/em>, I was instantly draw to Hattori Mariko, a strong and compelling protagonist whose story reminded me so much of Mulan<\/em><\/a>. Mariko was just as daring as Mulan, if not more so, and I found myself nodding in appreciation and muttering \u201cyou go girl\u201d to myself more than once. I even burst out laughing at some points, so surprised by the boldness of Mariko.<\/p>\n

This is a girl who, instead of running back to her family for help, decides to dress up as a boy, slink into the depths of the dangerous Black Clan and find out who<\/em> tried to kill her – all by herself. And who\u2019s up for a little sexy time after nearly drowning? Hattori Mariko, that\u2019s who.<\/p>\n

Ahdieh\u2019s descriptions of winding rivers, lotus blossoms, luxurious silks, and the beauty of the Geiko<\/em> made me feel like I was visiting the exotic, yet sometimes grimy city of Inako. This was definitely one of my favourite parts of the book, especially as we gain an insight into the members of the Black Clan, as they go about their day-to-day activities in this city. We see, perhaps for the first time, members of the clan humanised, and Mariko\u2019s reaction upon realising they\u2019re not all evil.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t spoken about Okami yet. Now, here\u2019s<\/em> a mysterious man. He really knows how to throw people off, and is perhaps just as bold as Mariko. It was nice to see his softer side with his sister and the elderly lady he and the Black Clan support financially. It\u2019s perhaps one of my favourite tropes: the tough guy act is simply that. An act. And beneath that steely exterior? A warm heart.<\/p>\n

I am eager to see what troubles Mariko finds herself in in book two! Learn more. <\/a><\/p>\n