Tag Archives: Headstrong Girl

The Fever by Megan Abbott

American Literature

Synopsis: When her best friend has a mysterious seizure and ends up in a coma in the hospital, a high school girl begins questioning everything she knows about her friends and family–and then another one of her friends falls victim, too. Review: I wasn’t sure if I would love or hate The Fever, but imagined I wouldn’t fall in the middle the way that I did. There were enough intriguing elements to keep me interested, along with some good surprises, but the emotional payoff just…

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Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

American Literature

Synopsis: After being hidden away for 19 years, the lawful heiress to the throne of the Tearling emerges from hiding, only to find her kingdom tarnished by an ongoing atrocity perpetuated by someone she always admired, and her life in danger from many sides. Review: Queen of the Tearling is a bold, skillful beginning to a promising series. The twist here is that the feudalism typical of epic fantasy is actually the fallout after all technology has failed. It’s futuristic and medieval all at once,…

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Panic by Lauren Oliver

American Literature

Synopsis: A girl whose mom is an abusive alcoholic joins a dangerous game in order to win the money to escape with her younger sister, only to find herself caught in an even tighter prison of fear that may be deadly. Review: Panic has an irresistible hook–every year small town teens play a dangerous Survivor-style game that left one girl paralyzed–and breathless execution. Her intricate characterizations and willingness to linger on small moments between people, combined with her inventive plotting (tigers!) make this book yet…

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The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

American Literature

Synopsis: After living on the road with her truck driver father, Hayley is hoping to graduate from high school, but her father’s bouts with post-traumatic stress disorder after his time in Afghanistan are getting worse and threatening both of their lives. Review: I knew The Impossible Knife of Memory would be brilliant, thought-provoking, and poignant, like every other wonderful book by Laurie Halse Anderson, but I wasn’t prepared for how hopeful and romantic it would be. The love story between Hayley and Finn is one…

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The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan

Scottish Literature

Synopsis: Anais has never known a family, having spent her entire life in the foster system, and now it seems she’ll be trading the small bit of freedom she still has for a jail sentence. Review: The Panopticon‘s marketing copy would have you believe that it’s another dystopian YA story. If you write it off because you’re weary of the genre, then you’ll be missing out. Anais is one of the most alive characters I’ve ever experienced in a book. For all her vulgarity and…

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A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett

American Literature

Synopsis: When she is kidnapped in Somalia by Muslim extremists, an aspiring photojournalist sends her mind to a peaceful “house in the sky” to keep her soul intact during the brutalities of her year-long captivity. Review: After reading A House in the Sky, when my older daughter said she wanted to go to “all the countries” and learn “all the languages,” I was like, “NOOOOOO!” Amanda Lindhout’s journey began with her insatiable wanderlust, as a backpacker for whom no country was too rough. She attempted…

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Cartwheel by Jennifer DuBois

American Literature

Synopsis: When exchange student Lily Hayes is accused of murdering her roommate in suburban Buenos Aires, her every move falls under scrutiny from her father and the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, and what seemed like childish impulsivity now appears sociopathic, even to those who loved her. Review: I devoured Cartwheel in almost on sitting. I haven’t been one to follow any of the high-profile cases the book is based on, such as Amanda Knox, but I find Lily Hayes to be the kind…

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All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

American Literature

Synopsis: Two teens travel back in time to stop their best friend from building a time machine, in the hopes that they can save the world before it is too late. Review: Breathless, I tell you, I was breathless as I sped through All Our Yesterdays. I loved it. What I most appreciated was that the love triangle wasn’t a matter of Team This vs. Team That. There was real depth to the romantic dilemma faced by Em, because the way that time travel is…

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Kalifornia Blu by Kendell Shaffer

American Literature

Synopsis: When dreadlocked and delinquent skater girl Kal’s rock star mom fails to come back to LA for a hearing, Kal finds herself living with the father she never knew, under a strict curfew–and enrolled in a magnet school for teens who aspire to careers in law enforcement. Review: Set in the meticulously and passionately described LA town of Venice Beach, Kalifornia Blu has attitude and the plot to back it up. Kal has always been a wild child, the daughter of an aging rock…

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Quintessence by David Walton

American Literature

Synopsis: In an alternate version of Europe during the pre-Elizabethan years, with the Inquisition raging in Spain, an alchemist and a scientist and a headstrong girl bonded to a magical creature travel to the edge of the world to find quintessence, a substance that can unlock the powers of the universe. Review: Quintessence was great fun, a novel that felt as deeply “researched” as any historical novel, and with a fully realized magical world that kept unfolding until the very last pages. Catherine, the girl…

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