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Running/Teens
17 Reviews
(2)
YA
Nira, daughter of stubborn Guyanese-Indian immigrants and the "only brown girl" in her Canadian high school, auditions for the school jazz band. As Nira validates her own talent, she sees that her friend Emily and her cousin Farah are also struggling to come to terms with their identities and family situations. This bittersweet, humorous coming-of-age story offers no easy solutions or redemption narratives, but Nira is a hopeful, relatable character.
Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2019
(3)
YA
Sixteen-year-old Elektra Kamenides is furious when she and her sister are dragged from Mississippi to California by their mother. Elektra misses her father, a scholar of ancient Greek tragedy, but as she makes friends with a wonderfully eclectic set of strays and drifters, she uncovers tragic family secrets and also discovers a reluctant resilience within herself. A delightful realistic novel about epic odysseys and new beginnings.
Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac
(4)
YA
Beautiful, popular Anna has always idolized her offbeat older sister, Storm. After Storm dies in a single-car accident on her graduation night, Anna, bereft, follows an impulse to tackle the summer bucket list Storm left behind. This realistic novel has an earnest tone and a sweet romance, but nothing sets it apart from the growing pack of cathartic teen road-trip stories.
Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald
(4)
YA
Eighteen-year-olds Hildy and Paul are paired in an experiment (inspired by a real-life psychological study) that tests whether intimacy between strangers can be achieved through a series of questions. A predictable romance plot is made livelier through engaging formatting, including IMs, texts, and transcript-style dialogue. The pair's entertaining banter, while in ways revealing, only scratches the surface of the characters' painful home lives.
Reviewer: Lana Barnes
(3)
YA
Sixteen-year-old comedian Ruby Karp pulls no punches with her unaffected discussions of issues relevant to teen girls today: feminism, social media, family life, and more. For example, she discusses FOMO, the "fear of missing out," and how it is linked to social media. This book is a valuable resource for teen girls and the adults in their lives to explore together.
Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay
(4)
YA
After his friend Mary is horrifically murdered, transgender boy Avery begins investigating what happened and receives disturbing anonymous messages threatening him: present as female or be the next to die. Although most characters remain underdeveloped, it's refreshing to see Avery's friends and family supporting his gender identity. The religious fanaticism and details of Mary's murder are unsettling aspects of this mystery.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(4)
YA
Kyle, son of a serial killer, is trying to escape the stigma of his father's crimes at a new boarding school. Then he discovers friendly classmate Naomi is the daughter of one of his father's victims. In alternating chapters, Kyle and Naomi get closer while eerie, violent events on campus escalate. Shades of romance and horror carry this moody but occasionally clunky whodunit.
Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald
(4)
YA
In this retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray, a homely boarding school student (unsubtly named Doreen Gray) transforms into a beauty overnight thanks to a Photoshopped profile picture. As she manipulates and deceives friends and lovers, including a besotted quarterback, the photo becomes increasingly ugly and demonic. While diluted, Manaster's mean-girl reimagining makes Wilde's original plot accessible to a contemporary audience.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith
(4)
YA
Fifteen-year-old Pearl is ecstatic to have changed from "a child to a woman"--she can now be a Companion to the all-powerful patriarch, Papa S. But with her new status comes a more sinister view of the cult community of Seed. Pearl is occasionally an unsympathetic protagonist, but this debut novel's well-paced plot, stirring climax, and provocative concept compensate.
Reviewer: Sian Gaetano
(3)
YA
In 1989, Tina spends a summer in Santiago, Chile, with her estranged father, a subversive, alcoholic journalist damaged physically and mentally by torture under the Pinochet dictatorship. To distract herself, Tina starts up an unexpectedly dangerous romance with a handsome motorcyclist. A companion to Gringolandia, this volume's complex character studies and well-realized setting make for a compelling read that balances brutality with redemption.
Reviewer: Siena Leslie
(4)
YA
After nearly dying in a suicide bombing, K is recruited to infiltrate the Brotherhood, the (presumably responsible) minority group. As she bonds with her new schoolmates and experiences life as a "Hood," she begins to question their vilification. Gripping paranoia propels a suspenseful plot, but the provocative allegory suffers from minimal cultural and historical context for the Citizen-Brotherhood conflict.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
(3)
YA
An illegal immigrant, Monserrat Thalia has kept her status a secret for years. Despite her achievements in high school, now that she's a senior her future is uncertain and she's fighting for survival. Andreu draws from personal experience, and M.T.'s struggles with first love, depression, an abusive father, and the constant fear of deportation feel wholly real. A compelling and timely story.
Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby
(2)
YA
Frenchie spends "one cool night" with her crush, Andy. They part ways, and it's the last time she sees him alive. Months later, in an attempt to find meaning in his suicide, Frenchie retraces the steps of the last night they spent together. Sanchez deftly constructs a dreamy narrative that captures the lingering repercussions of suicide.
Reviewer: Shara Hardeson
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2013
(3)
YA
In this spare novel in verse set in 1965, six young people share dramatic, personal issues that intersect with each other. News reports on events such as the escalating war in Vietnam and the death of Malcolm X are interspersed. Parts of the text are so immediate and intense that they very effectively capture both the details and scope of the times. Timeline.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
(4)
YA
To fit in with her new classmates, Jessie agrees to spend the night in a cemetery--and meets its ghosts. The story's alternating narration can make it difficult to tell who is speaking. Nevertheless, the individual tales are compelling, and the ghostly events, some of which are suspenseful, will keep readers turning pages.
Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess
(4)
YA
Nell's uncanny resemblance to King Edward III's daughter, Princess Joan, becomes a curse after the princess dies of the plague and Nell is forced to impersonate her. Aided by a soldier, Nell and her brother flee the controlling and dangerous royal family. Despite its medieval setting, the story is less historical fiction than it is a marginally creepy and suspenseful extended chase scene.
Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac
(4)
YA
Courtney's family moves to a Colonial-era home next to a cemetery. She meets an odd father and daughter who draw her into a supernatural mystery involving their ancestors, a witch, and some ivy. The story includes interesting historical information (e.g., details about Puritan funeral rites), but the incorporation of facts can be awkward.
Reviewer: Jane Kohuth
17 reviews
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