These Vicious Masks / Tarun Shanker, Kelly Zekas

4.5/5

These Vicious Masks immediately drew me in with smooth writing that was easy to read and Evelyn's strong personality. At first, I was skeptical of Evelyn's originality, because there are many historical fiction YA novels that begin with a girl who is "different," who doesn't like balls or suitors. But These Vicious Masks didn't fall into the trap of stressing how Evelyn was a special snowflake. Rather, Evelyn remains focused on her goal of solving the conspiracy around her sister's disappearance. I also liked how in one scene she's called out for her disdain for societal rules and this disdain backfires on her. 

Evelyn's narration is witty and Shanker and Zekas always come up with interesting ways to express her emotions, rather than falling back on overused phrases. I also adored watching the relationship between Mr Braddock and Evelyn develop; it reminded me of Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship.

I tore through These Vicious Masks because the writing is always entertaining, the characters are mysterious, and action is consistent and fast. I would recommend it to fans of The Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue, characters with powers, and Pride and Prejudice. 

Winter Break Adventures

Unfortunately I did not meet my Goodreads reading goal this year but now I know how to set a more realistic goal. I averaged two to three books a month which I am decently proud of, considering I kept that pace throughout the school year, and aim to do the same this year. Here are brief reviews of what I devoured over winter break, when I realized I was desperately behind on my 2018 goal! 

3.5/5

Eliza and Her Monsters opened me up to the world of online comics that I am not well-versed in, and I enjoyed learning more about Eliza's world and how it worked. Zappia slowly, delicately builds relationships between Eliza and others. The tone took an unexpectedly serious shift toward the end of the novel that I at first found a little hard to buy, but after thinking about it a little more, made sense in the greater scheme of the novel. It's a novel about mental illness that isn't solely about mental illness, which I was able to see after I finished. Readers who are introverted, struggle with social anxiety, or are passionate to the online world of comics will relate to Eliza and Her Monsters. 

3/5

I was incredibly excited reading Beasts Made of Night because the concept of solidifying sins and eating them as a way to own and defeat them intrigued me. I devoured Taj's story and his life as an aki, and how their culture was built around the aki. I enjoyed the creative lore, and that Taj was able to meet and build relationships with several female characters and Onyebuchi never fell into the trope of multiple love interests or over-romanticization. But as I continued reading, the novel lost plot and drive, and towards the end, the action became a tangled mess. I would recommend fantasy-lovers to pick up Beasts to learn about the interesting world, devious plot lines, and intriguing characters, but don't have high expectations for a final action-packed scene. 

4/5

Spontaneous is a witty, action-packed novel that will have you smiling at our protagonist Mara's blunt narration but also sympathizing with her honest vulnerability. The clever, almost snarking writing of the first chapter hooked me in and kept me engaged for the entirety of the novel. I wasn't sure where Starmer would take the novel, whether he wanted to bring in a scientific or magical approach to explain the combustion or to leave it a mystery, but I don't believe that it matters. The brilliance of the book isn't in the details of the combustion but in Starmer's engaging narration and the edge-of-your-seat situation he's put his characters in. I recommend Spontaneous to those who like a fun read that also offers substance. 

0/5

The blurb of Overturned drew my interest, but the interest died quickly after I started the novel. Reading Overturned felt as if I was reading the diary of a snooty, spoiled teenage girl, the kind who liked to write in capital letters and put periods after every word. Aside from the writing, our protagonist was also incredibly selfish, particularly in her treatment of her best friend. Overall, I couldn't even finish Overturned and would not recommend it.

The Hazel Wood / Melissa Albert

3/5

The Hazel Wood is beautifully written. Without being overdone, Melissa Albert creates simple, creative metaphors that pinpoint the exact emotion or image she is trying to convey. Because of that, reading The Hazel Wood feels like a treat. Albert also excellently captures the mood of the dark fairytales the book is about. The entire novel has the quiet, cold, dreadful tone, the kind that gives you chills. 

The reasons I didn't enjoy The Hazel Wood as much as I could have is because of the slow pace and the characters. I understand that the slow pace works with the tone, but there wasn't enough plot to drive the novel. I also didn't appreciate the main character, Alice. The one other character we really get to meet and interact with is Finch, and we don't get to know him. There is little dialogue in the novel and most of it is aggressive and short, due to Alice's character. Her aggressive personality made me dislike her, and though it was explained at the end, that doesn't make the first eighty percent of the novel more enjoyable. And the biggest reason of all is that my interest steadily decreased as the novel continued. The Hazel Wood lost purpose and structure, and by the last twenty percent, it felt almost like a bumbling mess.

Melissa Albert's writing is absolutely beautiful, so I would recommend lovers of poetic prose or lovers of creepy and dark fairytales to pick up The Hazel Wood; even if you aren't a fan of those, I would still recommend cracking it open to experience her writing. But plot-wise, The Hazel Wood didn't do it for me. Cinder and Beastly are much better fairytale-based YA novels.

The Forbidden Wish / Jessica Khoury

5/5

After trying to read a few books that just weren't doing it for me, I found exactly what I was looking for: a fantasy novel with themes of freedom and loyalty, friendship and responsibility, led by an amazing cast of characters.

The Forbidden Wish is sold as an Aladdin retelling, but it is much more than that. Khoury has loaded it with history and intricacies so that the story is completely new. Zahra, our lead jinni, is direct, strong, and vulnerable. I love how Khoury made sure we never forget that Zahra isn't human, but at the same time incited sympathy. The mystery of piecing together the sins of the past and exactly what crimes were committed kept me eagerly reading. Following Zahra's fight for freedom and watching her scheme to achieve her own goals all while staying within the limitations set on her made me a loyal fan of hers.

I also adored Aladdin and Caspida, and I wish they had gotten even more of the spotlight. Our eyes were always focused on Zahra, but in our peripheral vision Khoury allowed us to see how Aladdin and Caspida were each strong and complete characters. We got glimpses of how much was on each of their plates and could decipher the reasoning behind their actions-- a sign of good writing that Khoury was able to show us what Aladdin and Caspida felt and thought, even if Zahra didn't specifically acknowledge it. The Forbidden Wish could definitely be re-written from either Aladdin's or Caspida's point of view, and it would tell a different story that I would 100% want to read.

The ending may be a little bit of a stretch, but is overall a small imperfection. The Forbidden Wish mixes the complicated navigation of courts and lies, duty and freedom, and love and loyalty. I would highly recommend it, particularly to fans of The Winner's Curse and Strange the Dreamer. Plus, who can ever say no more Aladdin? 

All Rights Reserved / Gregory Scott Katsoulis

3.5/5

I couldn't wait to read All Rights Reserved because the premise intrigued me so much. A world where all words and gestures are copyrighted, trademarked, or patented, and people must pay to communicate? I was eager to see how Katsoulis was going to implement that and how he would weave a story under those conditions.

I was surprised by how many restrictions there were-- mouthing words, nodding, shrugging are all deemed forms of communication and therefore off-limits to Speth, our protagonist who chooses to go silent. I was impressed that even with these restrictions, I never felt trapped or bored reading Speth's story. There isn't one clear direct line of plot throughout the novel, it's more a tale of what happens once she chooses to go silent. When the product-placers are introduced, the plot picks up speed. I appreciated Speth's initiative and her dedication to her goals and to her family. I enjoyed hearing what she had to say and that this novel never became some cheesy, romance-filled mush. Nothing was ever perfect.

The reason my rating isn't higher is because the ending left me feeling a little unsatisfied. The novel closed too quickly and felt a little too easy, a little anti-climactic. Yes, their community now needs a lot of rebuilding, but the takedown of our villain, Silas Rog, didn't feel meaningful enough. I also felt like more could have been done with the premise of the novel. Katsoulis had this great idea, but didn't say enough with it. This was an opportunity to tie the novel into human rights, into current events, into revolution, but I felt that that unity never gathered in the novel.

Overall, All Rights Reserved has a unique plot, and Speth has interesting perspectives on everything she encounters. Though I felt that the novel could have been more, it is already interesting and intriguing enough to be worth the read. 

Forget Tomorrow / Pintip Dunn

4/5

In the world of Forget Tomorrow, everyone is sent a memory from their future self when they turn seventeen. The memory Callie receives is of her killing her beloved younger sister. The rest of the novel is of Callie going on the run, trying to avoid her fate, and unravel the mystery and science behind sending memories. 

Forget Tomorrow has a quick pace, an urgent tone, and high stakes. I enjoyed Callie's character development and her strength. A nice touch Dunn adds into the novel is the opportunity to learn about Callie through what others think of her. Callie doesn't see herself as "defiant" or "aggressive," but seeing how others interpret her actions shed some light on why she might be called such.

Forget Tomorrow has a thought-provoking premise and executes it with suspense and intensity. I was engaged throughout the entire novel and am curious to what will happen in the next. I'd recommend it to fans of dystopian novels like The Giver or a less-violent Hunger Games, or fans of All Our Yesterdays, a similar novel by Cristin Terrill that I would also recommend. 

Flame in the Mist / Renee Ahdieh

3/5

Flame in the Mist delivers the strong female lead promised, although in a different way than I expected. I was hoping she would be more of an aggressive lead, rapidly improving her skills and smarts, winning against her opponents. But like most firsts in a series, this novel is more setup for those showdowns to happen in the future. There definitely were moments where Mariko impressed, and I admired her determination and growth, but ideally I would have preferred to see more of those moments. 

Unfortunately Flame in the Mist has a slightly similar vibe to Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses in that the female lead can be useless at times and there are some slightly sexist interactions occurring, but Flame also shares similarities with stronger novels such as Under the Never Sky and The Reader. Flame also brings up the interesting dilemma of independence and freedom versus loyalty, and pushes one to think about how far one would go to protect oneself. If you enjoy novels that pit smarts against strength, I would recommend giving Flame in the Mist a try.