Thank you for visiting.
This content is exclusive to subscribers only.
As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
Log In
Don't have a Horn Book Account?
Register Now
Register Now
Yovanoff, Brenna
7 Reviews
(3)
YA
Cool and mechanical overachiever Waverly is high school royalty who hides the fact that she hardly sleeps. In a dreamlike state, she's projected into the acid trip of stoner Marshall, and a romantic relationship develops that creates cracks in Waverly's seemingly immutable foundation. Moody and electric, Yovanoff's writing evokes a feeling of hallucinatory sleeplessness while building solid, sympathetic characters.
Reviewer: Sian Gaetano
(3)
YA
This appealing and accessible compilation of three novellas is both a book of paranormal fiction and a how-to for teens wanting to be writers. With notes from and discussion among the authors throughout, each work focuses on a different aspect of the creative process: Stiefvater's story focuses on character growth and personal knowledge; Gratton's on world-building; and Yovanoff's on the all-consuming idea.
Reviewer: Sian Gaetano
(2)
YA
When Clementine, in a magical coma for years, is awakened, eerie things (grotesquely mutated animals, animated plants, uncanny weather) begin to happen. Clementine must sift through the mysteries of her childhood to figure out what's causing the wild magic. Yovanoff's world-building is sophisticated and precise. Powerful, haunting prose brings to life a world overflowing with wild magic, seething prejudice, and base fear.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2014
(2)
YA
Hannah's best friend Lillian died six months ago but now haunts Hannah's every move. The two girls investigate (both in the real world and the supernatural realm) serial-killer murders that pile up in their city. This is taut sleuthing, a supernatural ghost story, and a coming-of-age novel; it's horrific and shrouded in death but also poetic and life-affirming.
Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2013
(2)
YA
These experimental, unedited short stories showcase the many faces of horror--goth, faerie, ghostly, grotesque, lyrical, vengeful, and nasty-cool. The pieces were first published online by the three authors as an exercise in creativity and criticism, and the presentation here is innovative, incorporating critique comments, hand-written marginalia describing the writer's process, doodles, short essays, and diagrams.
Reviewer: Sarah Ellis
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2012
(2)
YA
Daphne, daughter of a demon and a fallen angel, leaves Hell to search for her favorite sibling, who’s missing on Earth. She ascertains that a self-destructive mess of a boy, Truman, is the likeliest candidate to help. Alternating perspective shows how dissimilar their worlds are, and romantics will find their eventual, hard-earned love even more compelling for the many distances between them.
Reviewer: April Spisak
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2012
(4)
YA
As if typical teenage angst weren't enough, Mackie Doyle explores his changeling heritage and also discovers the dark secret that explains his town's prosperity. This urban fantasy is too long and the tropes are overly familiar, but the intriguing premise--not to mention the striking cover art--should entice readers nevertheless.
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt
7 reviews
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.