The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

by CarolNo Comments
YA Horror - not my usual genre, which is why I love reading challenges, they get me out of the mystery aisle occasionally. Tales of a cursed island in the Philippines bring a television crew hoping to gather footage to produce a new reality show starring a famous ghost investigator who needs to rehabilitate his image. No one lives on the island, but the film crew needs a guide and they find a teenager, Alon. Alon is the only one willing to help them, but even they tell the crew that it would be best for everyone to leave. Most of the legends are true and people could end up hurt. Alon stays and helps, though, as they believe that's the best way for the most people to survive. Within minutes of their arrival, a giant sinkhole appears, revealing a giant balete tree with a mummified corpse entwined in its gnarled branches. And the crew start seeing strange visions. The island...
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Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

by CarolNo Comments
I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Legendborn. I don't often read YA, but I love a good King Arthur retelling and the fact that it stars a young black woman gives it a uniqueness. For Briana Matthews, a lot of things seem to come easily. She’s an excellent student, accepted to UNC Chapel Hill's Early College program at 16. She’s close with her parents and her best friend Alice, who is joining her at school. But Bree's mother dies in a car accident right before Bree left for school and after the two had had an argument. Lost in her grief and unsure of her path, Bree finds herself pulled into a secret society with members who call themselves “Legendborn”. The mysteries of this group appear to have some connection with her mother’s death, so Bree dives head-first into an organization that makes it very clear it was not made for her. The Legendborn draw on the numerous...
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Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

by Carol4 Comments
I don't read a lot of YA, but Queen of the Tiles combines murder and Scrabble and how could I pass that up? The Queen of the Tiles, Trina Low, is dead. She died a year ago during a championship Scrabble game, but someone has resurrected her Instagram account and is implying that she was murdered. This was just such an entertaining book. It was well-thought-out and just full of wonderful words. The characters were diverse and, while they had the typical teenage jealousies and overreactions, they weren't annoying. I was surprised by who the "bad guy" was and happy with the solution, especially because it wasn't the typical direction a murder mystery heads. I listened to the audio, which was a good choice. The narrator did a good job with the voices and the teenage emotions. I'm also not sure I could have pronounced some of the Scrabble words without help. Those kids had a massive vocabulary. Complicated female friendshipsScrabble and wordplayExploration...
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We Were Kings by Court Stevens

We Were Kings by Court Stevens

by CarolNo Comments
We Were Kings is one of those stories that you just want to keep listening to, even if you should be doing something else. With the passage of the accelerated death penalty, time is running out for Frankie, convicted of murdering her best friend Cora King 20 years ago. There was little evidence then and no new clues have surfaced since. Frankie’s other best friend Beth insists she’s innocent. Beth's daughter Nyla wants to know the truth, so heads back to the island where it all happened, where her mom grew up. Nyla is a good character, determined and caring. I liked her friendship with Sam and her relationship with her mom. Some of the other characters were one-dimensional, but quite honestly that worked for the story. We don't need everyone to be fully fleshed out. From Nyla's point of view, all of them are suspicious and capable of murder and/or attempting to intimidate her — that's the...
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Spotlight on After Lucas by Tudor Robins

by Carol2 Comments
Read an excerpt: Chapter One A gaggle of little girls wearing jodhpurs, with their long braids tied with bows, clusters around the car next to our trailer. A man with a big voice and hearty laugh is frying an egg on the hood. “Who wants sunny side up?” he asks. A round of giggles, and one girl says, “Over easy for me!” Those hair bows – triple layered, in shades of pink, purple and turquoise, some with gems in the middle – make them look so sweet, but I know what those girls grow up to be like. “Mavis!” Laney snaps her fingers at me. “Please tell me you didn’t just snap at me,” I say. I’m used to riding coaches being tough, but those are top-notch coaches with full barns and waiting lists. Not you-weren’t-even-here-a-year-ago coaches trying to turn an old-school Western barn into a show stable. Laney, though, hasn’t received the memo that she shouldn’t look a gift horse like mine in the mouth. That the...
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The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

by Carol5 Comments
To be honest, I don't really have much to say about this one. I enjoyed the first in the series, maybe partly because of the novelty but also because it was fun for the most part. This time around the Watson and Holmes were both a little more annoying and we didn't get to spend much time with the characters I liked. Maybe overall is was a little too full of YA drama for a mystery for me. Yes, you're angry and jealous and whiny - I'm tired of hearing about it. Yes, you have a variety of issues, few of which are your fault, but you should definitely see a therapist. Can we get back to the mystery? But then the mystery's a bit disappointing. And I hated the ending. The thing is, I really want to like this series. Since it's only a trilogy, I'll probably borrow the last from the library when it comes out and hope it makes up for...
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