Synopsis:
A spirited young woman takes on the all-male secret society at her boarding school, and not just because her boyfriend’s one of the leaders.
Review:
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks reminded me a lot of Rushmore, and that’s a good thing. It’s quirky and offbeat, combining intelligence and heart within a clever, original plot. [...]

Popularity: 18% [?]

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Synopsis:
A boy marked for termination and organ harvesting escapes into a world where he has no legal right to live.
Review:
I heard about Unwind from the Queens Library, in an email newsletter talking up good new young adult books. I’m so glad that I did, because it’s a dystopian thrill ride in the same vein [...]

Popularity: 35% [?]

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Synopsis:
A retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast.
Review:
I suppose it’s because of all the babysitting I’ve done, but I just couldn’t shake the image of Belle in her big yellow dress as I read Robin McKinley’s Beauty. But setting that aside, I would have loved this when I [...]

Popularity: 49% [?]

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Synopsis:
Deanna’s lived under a dark cloud ever since her dad caught her having sex when she was just 13, and her dreams of getting out just might expire under the weight of his disapproval.
Review:
I’m a latecomer getting to Sara Zarr’s National Book Award Finalist novel Story of a Girl, though it’s been on my radar [...]

Popularity: 50% [?]

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Synopsis:
The concluding adventures of Gemma Doyle, proper Victorian debutante and keeper of the magic of a mystical world called the realms, which is threatened by intruders from the ominous Winterlands.
Review:
The Sweet Far Thing ends the trilogy that began with A Great and Terrible Beauty, followed by Rebel Angels. Gemma Doyle and her friends are [...]

Popularity: 50% [?]

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Found via Rhigirl–
1. When/how did you become an avid reader?
I’ve loved to read as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little girl. I was totally the bookworm nerd that never wanted to do anything else.
2. What is your favorite genre for adult/young adult books?
For YA, I am always a sucker [...]

Popularity: 24% [?]

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Synopsis:
When introverted teen Natalie discovers that she has inherited her mother’s gift for invisibility, she’s caught between her desire to use her powers for good and her fears that her mother will find out.
Review:
Visibility was written when Sarah Neufeld was only 19, and it’s an impressive debut. She’s crafted a fresh take on the [...]

Popularity: 45% [?]

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Synopsis:
When Clay receives a box of cassette tapes recorded by a girl who recently committed suicide, he wonders why he was chosen as one of her thirteen reasons.
Review:
Compelling premise ultimately founders on muddled execution. Asher throws in at least four separate social problems as part of Hannah’s reasons for her suicide, and the construction [...]

Popularity: 37% [?]

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Synopsis:
Leah Greene is dead, and her ex-best friend Laine thinks it’s her fault because she hated Leah so much for what they did in the closet.
Review:
Lessons from a Dead Girl is definitely the kind of YA that I gravitated to when I was a teen: suggestive premise and hints of illicit activity, all masked in [...]

Popularity: 15% [?]

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Synopsis:
A summer job turns into a game of strategy with potentially deadly consequences for a young aspiring scientist hoping to learn more about the implications of the regenerative powers of starfish.
Review:
Of course I had to read a L’Engle as soon as humanly possible, and I wanted to read one I hadn’t read before. I [...]

Popularity: 23% [?]

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