Bold Beauty

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh is a young adult novel set in historic New Orleans.

Celine and a number of other young women from various parts of Europe are sent to live in a convent. They will be supervised until arranged in a suitable marriage.

Celine is different. There is a spark in her unlike the others which immediately is noticed by the very handsome Sebastien, as well as by his deadly enemy.

She is swept up in a tale of revenge as a string of violent murders begin adding up.

This is a hate to love story with elements of magic and monsters. It evokes the feeling of Twilight and similar vampire-type novels. For me, it was a bit slow and predictable.

Heist

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is first in a two-part series.

It’s a story very much like an “Ocean’s Eleven,” with a high stakes heist as its main plot.

Kaz is the leader of a crew looking to kidnap the head scientist responsible for a drug that deeply intensifies Grisha powers. It’s worth a small fortune to accomplish this feat, and his crew wants the money for various personal reasons. Kaz wants the money and revenge on the man responsible for his brother’s untimely death when they were boys.

Kaz has assembled a crew consisting of his own sharp mind, Inej (acrobat/spy), Nina (Grisha heartrender), Jesper (sharpshooter and secret Grisha), Matthias (the muscle freed from prison to provide inside intel), and Wylan (novice bomb expert).

The story is packed with adventure and near-death experiences as they work toward their goal. Events lead to a cliffhanger as they finish the heist with unfinished business- getting their payment and rescuing wraith.

Haunted

Beloved by Toni Morrison is a book delving into the horrors of slavery and its aftermath.

Sethe is an escaped slave living in Ohio. She moved in with her mother in law and her children, but there is a terrible heaviness upon their home. It’s the ghost of Sethe’s murdered daughter, Beloved. Once they’re old enough, her two sons moved away leaving behind her one living daughter.

After her mother in law’s death, Sethe and her daughter receive two visitors. One is a man from her past and the other is the adult version of her deceased daughter. Strange events occur as Sethe wrestles with her past actions and tries to make amends with her dead daughter. The horrors of her past (and the men in her life) are revealed in snippets throughout the book which lends some understanding of the post traumatic stress she inhabits. Meanwhile her living daughter, Denver, is forced to step outside her (self-imposed?) reclusiveness.

This is a strongly written read (of course – it’s authored by Morrison!) which will force one to think about the atrocities white men were capable of during this time period and the horrible after effects on their victims.

Tainted Victory

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins is the most recent book of The Hunger Games series.

It’s the 50th quarter quell, and every district must send double the tributes. After a deadly riot, Haymitch is chosen as the unfortunate backup tribute for district twelve on his sixteenth birthday. He is forced to leave his mother, young brother and the love of his life behind.

The book follows his experience along with his districts three other tributes as they prepare to enter the arena. Their odds don’t look great as they are given some of the worst treatment of all the districts. Also, Haymitch has already pissed off Snow so he is marked for disaster.

However, he’s able to spin the public’s view of him to be a rebellious rascal. He is also part of a plan to destroy the arena from within.

In typical Hunger Games fashion, there are grisly deaths, mutated creatures and strategy. Spoiler- while Haymitch may end up surviving, his whole world crashes down after the games.

Royal Romance

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz is a fun, romantic graphic novel.

The main character is a countess who stands to inherit none of her fortune as a woman. Her father gives his blessing for her to become a man, the count, in order to keep her inheritance. She moves to a new area with her lifelong handmaid to protect the ruse.

This is when she begins falling for the Princess. But she can’t allow herself to get too close to avoid her secret being revealed. The Princess develops feelings too, but is also onto her secret which has the potential to change all their plans.

It’s been several weeks since I read the book which is why my review lacks detail. It was a light-hearted, quick read with great cheesy references throughout.

The Real Snake

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins is a prequel to The Hunger Games.

Coriolanus Snow is a senior student residing in the Capitol. He aspires to attend university, success and wealth. However, his family consisting of his grandmother and cousin Tigris, are in financial trouble. They are in danger of losing their penthouse apartment and they are starving. His best meals are at school.

There seems to be hope with the upcoming Hunger Games because for the first time the students will be mentors to the tributes. The winner will receive full tuition at the University. However, Coriolanus is horrified when he is the last mentor assigned to the lowly District Twelve’s girl tribute.

But, he soon realizes that his mentee, Lucy Gray, is captivating. She has an amazing presence and sings beautifully. They begin to develop a relationship as they strategize how to win the games.

During the buildup to the games, Coriolanus has to worry about the game creator, Dean Highbottom, who seems to have a personal vendetta against him. There is also the twisted Dr. Gaul. Her experiments on animals and possibly people seems to have no boundaries.

Sejanus is a classmate and former District Two resident. Coriolanus envies Sejanus’s family money, and also can’t stand his rebellious tendencies. But he knows it’s best to keep up appearances as a friend.

Snow’s cheating during the games gets him assigned as a Peacekeeper. He chooses District Twelve in hopes of reuniting with Lucy Gray. And Sejanus ends up joining him.

Lucy and Snow reunite and seem destined to be together. However, Snow begins to realize his true nature. He cares more for acclaim and privilege than building a new life in the unknown.

There is so much more intricate detail to the story. The characters are well written and I was captivated.

A Boy and His Dog

Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow is a 2026 high school Nutmeg nominee.

Ian has been going through a tough time. His dad left him and his mom when he was young. His grandfather who was his idol died when Ian was younger. Now he’s in high school and dealing with poverty and his mom’s addiction. His grandfather’s lessons about life and land along with his own mechanical knowledge give him strength. This is when a stray dog, Gather, shows up in his life.

A hospital visit scares his mom straight for a while. Things seem to be moving in a positive direction. They both get jobs and Ian gets a girlfriend. He’s even allowed to keep his dog. But once they get a bill for back taxes on their house and property, Ian’s mom spirals and overdoses.

Now Ian is about to be shuffled to his dad in Tennessee, forcing him to leave his home and the community he is so attached to.

He decides not to move to his dad and starts making his way back home, just him and Gather. They survive on the run until he can reach out to those in his community, his teacher and neighbors, for help.

This was a story with a strong message about community and kindness. The author did a good job with Ian’s narration; however the plot moved a bit slowly for me during the second third of the book.

Trapped

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten was listed in a social media thread about horror stories.

This wasn’t my idea of a horror story. It switches between Now and Then in the abandoned village of Silvertjärn.

In the Now, Alice is researching the place based on her grandmother’s stories. She has a crew of two girls and two guys with her. One of the girls, Tone, also has a connection to the village. Her mother was the only living person recovered from the place as a newborn baby.

In the past, a new minister came to town and slowly turned most of the villagers into his minions, including Alice’s grandmother’s younger sister. A girl with special needs ends up being stoned to death after delivering a baby (Tone’s mom). All of this is slowly revealed through letters and narrative.

Alice’s group begin hearing voices and seeing an unknown person as they start their investigation. Those left alone end up murdered until only three of them remain.

Spoiler-

The mystery of the lost village is finally solved as it turns out the whole village was trapped in the mines underneath after being led there by the pastor.

I may be a little picky with my reading as the last couple of books haven’t been super appealing to me. This one has some good points. I think it would appeal most to a teen/young adult audience interested in mystery.

Breaking Bonds

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White is not for the faint of heart (hence the author’s note which provides a disclaimer including the following statement: “You can get off the operating table and walk away at any time”). This is a 2026 high school Nutmeg nominee.

The book is set during the late 1800s in London and is considered a Gothic horror story.

Gloria is a beautiful young lady who identifies as a male named Silas with a passion for all things surgical. She learned as much as possible from her older medical brother. Her violet eyes mark her as special with an ability to split the veil between reality and the spirit world. Silas is also autistic.

With so many differences stacked against her, she has spent her life being forced to control herself and to be ladylike. Through her adolescence she tried to avoid the attention of the Speaker society (creepy men who wish to procreate with violet-eyed girls).

Silas is caught impersonating a male at a public event, and is sent to a boarding school to fix problematic girls just like her. It is while in this school that she meets the twisted Headmaster whose sole purpose is to torture the inmates.

Silas is able to connect to ghosts of his previous victims and to forge connections with some of the other girls in the home. He finds a kindred spirit in Edward, a suitor who identifies as Daphne.

They work together to expose the horrors in the home. But lives will be lost and unspeakable events will occur throughout.

As mentioned, there is graphic medical gore (which was definitely unsettling at certain points). There is also the creepy feeling from ghosts trying to share their experiences. I definitely enjoyed the book despite some moments of discomfort.

Too Happy

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman tracks the consequences of a new pandemic (post COVID). This one is called Crown Royale and its effects are either death or intense well being and care for humanity.

The book follows multiple characters. One group is completely against the virus and will do anything to eradicate it. They feel that those who recover are mindlessly happy.

One of these characters is Morgan. She is a savvy girl who is given an entire estate in order to accomplish this mission. People are expendable in her drive to avoid exposure and to accomplish notoriety. Glynis Havilland is the formerly wealthy tyrant who left her entire fortune to Morgan. Now as a recoveree, she is trying to figure out how to stop her.

Meanwhile, the wealthy son of another one of Morgan’s donators recovers from the virus as a super spreader. He teams up with Mariel. It turns out that she has natural immunity. They are on the run together to avoid Tiburon’s dad and the authorities. As they travel, Ron feels pulled to spread Crown Royale to as many people as possible while Mariel attempts to control how it’s spread.

All the events and characters cross paths once Mariel is taken to create a cure. However the cure may be worse than the virus itself.

Overall this book kept my interest. Shusterman pulls many characters and subplots together with great writing. It raises the question of whether a virus akin to a happy pill could make the world a better place or not.