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It’s been years since young Asha led the notorious dragon Kozu to her city. In the aftermath, almost everything was burned, including most of her body. As a way to regain her city’s trust, she has committed herself to be the most fierce dragon hunter, and her father has promised her hand in marriage to Jarek, who lost his entire family during the fire. Days before her wedding, Asha is met with a proposition by her father: hunt and kill Kozu and and her upcoming marriage will be dispersed. However, Asha brother, Dax, has his own plans for the city that Asha accidentally plays in by freeing a slave from Jarek’s hands. Now, she has to hide a slave and kill Kozu, all behind Jarek’s back. The days are counting down, and Asha is realizing more and more that there are power plays behind every move. I originally had no idea The Last Namsara even existed until one of my friends who actually knows Kristen Ciccarelli (the author) recommended it to me. This book is one of many that came out o...

Dear Martin by Nic Stone (2017)

- November 18, 2017

Justyce is not allowed to be a care-free, regular teenage boy. He’s not allowed to be these things because he is a person of color, and in present day America, that puts a target on his back. And on the night he’s arrested, it doesn’t matter that he’s on his way to Yale or that he is a loving person, all that matters is he’s a black boy seen with a drunk, white-passing girl at two a.m. He hasn’t done anything wrong, but he’s arrested and held for hours, only to not have any charges filed against him. In the months following his arrest, Justyce is forced to examine his relations with American culture while being in an environment that denies his struggles. The minute I heard the premise of Dear Martin I knew I wanted to read it. In the past years, the collection of published YA books has broadened in diversity, not to say that there isn’t always room for improvement. Originally, this book reminded me of The Hate U Give , one of my favorites this year. Now that I’ve read both books...

The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson (2017)

- July 11, 2017

Day Zero was when it all began. Families were stripped of their homes and torn apart, put into camps while the Wolves lived in luxury. There were signs that the Wolves were rising, yet they were so subtle that it was hard to tell. Now, after two years of eating molding oatmeal, Eden has planned her escape and finally has an opening to run. What she didn’t expect was three other girls, Hope, Alexa, and Finnely, to come with her. With a stolen boat, they set sail in the middle of the sea to find the Sanctuary, the only thought of relief Eden’s dad gave her before he died. Not everything is as simple as it seems, though. The Sanctuary is not what they expected, providing a terrifying, lonely island instead of the refuge they were hoping to find. Together, they must figure out what the island is hiding before it destroys them. The Sandcastle Empire is the debut novel of Kayla Olson and is a hefty one at that. It’s almost 500 pages long and is an adventure/survival book at it’s core. Wit...