[Review] The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, translated by Lilit Thwaites

Series: Stand-Alone

Release Date: 10 October, 2017 (English version), 18 August, 2012 (Original Spanish)

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Historical Fiction/Holocaust

ISBN: 9781627796187

Edition: Audiobook and Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★★

Review Written: 16 June, 2018

Summary: Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.

Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.

Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.

See more by Antonio Iturbe at his Website (spanish).

[Review] War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen #4

Release Date: 15 May, 2018

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy/Science Fiction/Dystopian Fantasy

ISBN: 9780062422996

Edition: Audiobook and Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★★

Review Written: 16 June, 2018

Summary: Victory comes at a price.

Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all… starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolishing everything—and everyone—in his path.

War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

In the epic conclusion to Victoria Aveyard’s stunning series, Mare must embrace her fate and summon all her power… for all will be tested, but not all will survive.

See more by Victoria Aveyard at her Website.

[Review] The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Series: Stand-Alone

Release Date: 28 February, 2017

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Emotions & Feelings/Social & Family Issues /Prejudice & Racism/Violence

ISBN: 9780062498533

Edition: Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★★

Review Written: 16 June, 2018

Summary: Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Angie Thomas’s searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty. Soon to be a major motion picture from Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

See more by Angie Thomas at her Website.

Trigger Warnings: Police Brutality, Murder, Graphic Violence

[Review] They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Series: N/A

Release Date: 05 September, 2017

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Gay & Lesbian/Hispanic/Social & Family Issues/Death & Dying

ISBN: 9780062457813

Edition: Ebook

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 24 April, 2018

Summary: On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They're going to die today.

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

In the tradition of Before I Fall and If I Stay, They Both Die at the End is a tour de force from acclaimed author Adam Silvera, whose debut, More Happy Than Not, the New York Times called "profound."

See more by Adam Silvera at his Website.

Warning: IF YOU HAVE A HARD TIME HANDLING THE TOPIC OF DEATH OR DYING, THIS BOOK PROBABLY IS NOT FOR YOU.

[Review] A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

Series: Twisted Tales Series #1

Release Date: 14 March, 2017

Publisher: Disney Press

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fairy Tales & Folklore / Adaptations

ISBN: 9781484707296

Edition: audiobook

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Review Written: 18 February, 2018

Summary: What if Aladdin never found the lamp? This first book in a new Disney YA series will explore a dark and daring version of Aladdin.

When Jafar steals the Genie's lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish. To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

See more by Liz Braswell at her Website.

[Review] Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Series: Children of OrÏsha #1

Release Date: 06 March, 2018

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co - Macmillan Publishers

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fairy Tales & Folklore / Social & Family Issues / Prejudice & Racism / Science Fiction & Fantasy / Sword & Sorcery

ISBN: 9781427295507

Edition: Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★★

Review Written: 20 March, 2018

Summary: They killed my mother.

They took our magic.

They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

See more by Tomi Adeyemi at her Website.

[Review] Book to Movie Comparison: A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle

Series: A Time Quintet

Release Date: 1 January, 1962/9 March, 2018

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Disney Movie Studios

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Science Fiction & Fantasy/Time Travel

ISBN: 9780312367541 (book only)

Edition: Audiobook/Movie

Rating: ★★★★☆ (book)/★★☆☆☆ (movie)

Review Written: 24 March, 2018

Summary: It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."

A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.

A Wrinkle in Time is the winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal.