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Koja, Kathe
7 Reviews
(3)
YA
For Lily, a sophomore at an elite prep school, life becomes more exciting and complicated when she befriends Hazel, a caustic transfer student from public school. Though the setup is familiar, the nuanced depiction of the girls' relationship, which causes Lily to question the social hierarchy she used to take for granted, gives the story depth.
Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann
(2)
YA
In this pensive novel, Dana draws parallels between her life and the lives of honeybees: the queen is Dana's self-absorbed best friend, and Dana is the worker bee. Koja eloquently conveys the fog of melancholy and apprehension that surrounds Dana, but luckily for her, human society isn't as rigid as that of the hive; even a lowly worker can ascend to the throne.
Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2007
(2)
YA
Hilly and her older brother are inseparable, until Hilly's predatory therapist pits them against each other in a power struggle for ownership of Hilly's creative mind. The siblings' crystal-clear narrative voices create a dual perspective that, along with Hilly's stories and decoy journals, raises fascinating questions about the layers of truth and identity that can exist within a single person.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2006
(1)
YA
Closeted gay high-school senior Kit cultivates his innate acting ability when he lands the leading male role in the (fictional) controversial play Talk. His first-person narrative alternates with that of confident queen bee Lindsay, who plays opposite the quiet Kit. The novel flows in a poetic stream-of-consciousness style; mounting tension within the script parallels the tension in Kit's and Lindsay's lives.
Reviewer: Marika Hoe
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2005
(2)
YA
Sixteen-year-old Maggy, an artistic loner with an alcoholic mother, falls for a street kid with a seductive charm; Cole turns out to be a sexual predator who chooses girls to "rescue," then to control and abuse. Readers will be enticed by Koja's original voice and fast-paced tale--as compelling as Cole and as passionate, and compassionate, as Maggy.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2004
(2)
YA
The new student at Rucher High begs for spare change in the cafeteria and asks to be called by his "spiritual name," Jinsen. Most of the kids call him Buddha Boy. When narrator Justin is assigned to work on a school project with his new classmate, he discovers that Jinsen is a gifted artist. Subtle characterizations and a stream-of-consciousness prose style give the novel an original, offbeat voice.
Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2003
(2)
YA
"Lassie with an attitude" is how an animal shelter employee describes the feral collie he brings in one day. It's also an apt description for this novel--a dog story that isn't sappy--and its protagonist, Rachel, who is both kindhearted (toward dogs) and hostile (toward almost everyone else). The satisfying novel is a fast but semi-sophisticated read for teens who haven't outgrown dog stories.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2002
7 reviews
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