Book Reviews by Teens
New Books
Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.
The Jump by Brittney Morris
The stress of an oil refinery being built in their backyard, threatening their families' livelihood, prompts four working-class teens to join a dangerous scavenger hunt where the reward of power could change their families' fates and save the city they love so much.
Himawari House by Harmony Becker
"When Nao returns to Tokyo to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, she books a yearlong stay at the Himawari sharehouse. There she meets Hyejung and Tina, two other girls who came to Japan to freely forge their own paths. The trio live together, share meals, and even attend the same Japanese-language school, which results in them becoming fast friends. But will they be able to hold one another up as life tests them with new loves, old heart breaks, and the everyday challenges of being fish out of water?"--Provided by publisher.
The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins
When two girls go backpacking deep in the woods of the Pisgah National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains, things go very wrong when they cross paths with a serial killer.
Where Echos Die by Courtney Gould
"Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She can't stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, longing for a time when things were more normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother's handwriting arrives in the mail that reads Come and find me, pointing to the small town at the center of her last investigation, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers. But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel, Arizona, it's clear that something's off. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches. The town is a mix of dilapidated military structures and new, shiny buildings, all overseen by a gleaming treatment center high on a plateau. No one seems to remember when they got there, and when Beck digs deeper into the town's enigmatic leader and his daughter, Avery, she begins to suspect that they know more than they're letting on. As Beck and her sister search for answers about their mother, she and Avery are increasingly drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has fought to keep buried. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, but when she starts losing herself in Backravel--and its connection to her mother-- she risks losing her way back out. In Where Echoes Die, Courtney Gould draws readers into a haunting desert town to explore grief, the weight of not letting go of the past, first love, and the bonds between sisters, mothers and daughters." --
Demon Slayer: Volume 1 by Koyoharu Gotogue
"Tanjiro Kamada makes a living selling charcoal to help his family. One day after returning from the village, his entire family is slain by a demon, and his sister, Nezuko, is turned into a demon. Tanjiro sets out to slay the demon that killed his family and return his sister to normal. Demon slaying won't be easy, but he finds Giyu who seems to know what's going on. He might even help Tanjiro if he can keep Giyu from killing his sister." --
When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao
"Liya and Kai had been best friends since they were little kids-- but they haven't spoken since a humiliating incident sparked The Biggest Misunderstanding Of All Time. When Liya discovers her family's wishing lantern store is struggling, she decides to resume a tradition she had with her beloved late grandmother: secretly fulfilling the wishes people write on the lanterns they send into the sky. It may save the store, but she can't do it alone-- and Kai is the only one who cares enough to help. Their feuding families and their changing futures threaten to tear them apart again. Can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?"--
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