Rift

Author: Steven James

Series: Rift #1

Publisher: Sky Turtle Nova

Release Date: October 29, 2024

Steven James has crafted a master suspense story that will be impossible for readers to put down.

Sahara O’Shaughnessy has moved in with her grandmother after the death of her father and a falling out with her mother. Sahara starts working at the local library and things get strange when she finds a “rift” into the realm of lore. Her grandmother has told her stories of ghosts and haunts for a long time and now she might just be seeing it firsthand.

Steven James is a master storyteller and his newest, Rift, starts what I’m sure to be a fantastic trilogy. The first book in this new trilogy is just the start of a story that will take readers deep into the lore of chilling ghost stories set within the Appalachian Mountains and full of tension. Sahara has a complicated past with her family dynamics, a fact that will probably help many readers connect with the characters. Most of us have some kind of family drama that will help us relate to these characters. That is one of the best things about a book written by James, amazing characters, along with the best storyline and writing that is out there. There are so many books written and available today to choose from that it can be hard to know what is worth reading, but anytime I see a book written by James I know it is going to be a homerun. I would recommend this book to any readers that like a griping tale that will be hard to put down.

A Game Most Foul

Author: Alison Gervais

Publisher: Blink

Release Date: June 18, 2024

Aww, this one was such a fun read! I loved the entire story and think mystery lovers will as well!

Jules Montgomery is having a dream come true by attending the Ashford College writing seminar in London. After she arrives, she finds her aunt who she is staying with. Her dream turns out to be a little scary when she must learn to navigate a new city and is dealing with recent hearing loss that she would prefer to keep secret from her new classmates. Now that she is at the seminar, she can’t think of a single thing to write about. When the class is out and about on a field trip one of the students goes missing and Jules along with her new friends, Percy and Suruthi have a new mystery to solve. Along with searching for their missing classmate, they are trying to figure out their odd Professor Watson and a strange man who keeps coming to her aunt’s antique shop who goes by the name Sherlock Holmes. With more than one mystery afoot and time running out, the new friends will have to work fast to solve this case that spans more than a century.

I love picking up a clean, fun young adult book that I can confidently pass down to my kids without worrying about any of the content. Alison Gervais has done a fantastic job with A Game Most Foul, a fun mystery with lots of twists and turns and great inclusive characters. The way she included the hearing loss Jules deals with and her hearing aid will be a great thing for readers dealing with that or similar issues to see a character in a fun book learning to deal with that. The mystery with Sherlock and Watson was so fun and well played out. This book had a great mystery to it and it was all clean without language, sex or dark violence and gore that was so fun to read and refreshing. I would recommend this book to young readers that want a mystery and parents wanting a good clean book for them to enjoy.

Death at Morning House

Author: Maureen Johnson

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: August 6, 2024

A fun mystery with back and forth from the past to the present that will leave readers on the edge of their seats.

Marlowe Wexler has had one thing after another go wrong and after a horrible first date where she almost burns down a house. She then sets off for a new summer job at Morning House. Morning House is a mansion built on an island back in the 1920s but was quickly abandoned after the death of several family members. The house is being opened for one summer for fans of the story of what happened in the house. Shortly after Marlowe arrives, another mystery starts to unravel, and Marlowe finds herself at the center of this mystery and the danger included.

Death at Morning House is another great mystery by Maureen Johnson. I have enjoyed all of the books by Johnson, but I can’t give this one as high of a rating for one personal picky reason. I am not a fan of books that have LGTBQ type themes that are marketed to kids or in the YA section. Write that in adult books all you want, but when it is marketed to kids, I am not so much a fan. The story itself was really good and I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it along with the back and forth between the past and present. Johnson is very good at the sleuthing type genre and I knew that would make this story really good, which it did, I wasn’t sure how it was all going to turn out until the very end. I love it when writers are able to make a story twisty like that and keep me guessing. I do think fans of mysteries will enjoy this one for sure.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

That’s Not My Name

Author: Megan Lally

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: December 26, 2023

Not at all what I expected in the very best way. A fun mystery with just the right twists and turns.

When a teen wakes up on the side of the road with no memory of who she is or how she got there, a passing officer finds her and takes her to the station where a man shows up and says she is his daughter. He has documentation and everything, he tells the officer her name is Mary and wants to take her home. A few hours away, Drew is searching for his missing girlfriend, Lola; she left in the night and no one has seen her sense. Drew has been the prime suspect and finding her is the only way of proving his innocence. When he gets a tip about this girl possibly being Lola, he feels it is his only choice; little does he know they are both about to end up in more danger they could have imagined.

I picked up That’s Not My Name on a whim and have left it on the shelf for a long time. Now that I picked it up and read it, I am kicking myself for waiting so long. This was a fun, faced-paced thriller with the perfect twists and turns all the way throughout the story. I loved the way it played out with the back and forth between Mary and Drew. There is a little bit of language which I don’t like in a young adult novel but for a more mature readers it isn’t a problem. The story flows at a fast pace and is a great fun read for anyone who loves suspense and mystery.

White House Clubhouse

Author: Sean O’Brien

Publisher: Norton Young Readers

Release Date: October 3, 2023

A fun and witty historical tale that young readers will fly through!

As daughters of the newly elected President of the United States, Marissa and Clara have been under the watchful eye of just about everyone. One day while exploring the White House, they find a secret tunnel that takes them to an underground clubhouse visited by previous White House kids. Once they sign a pledge left on the table, the lights go out and they find themselves in 1903. They meet Quentin, Ethel, Archie and Alice, the kids of President Theodore Roosevelt. In order to get back to their own time, they have to work with the other White House kids to get President Roosevelt to make a difference that will tie into their own timeline.

What I loved the way this story kept me guessing as to what their mission was and how they were going to accomplish it. I recommend this book to young readers looking for a mystery with quirky characters and a look into history.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

2023 Top Young Adult Fiction

Taking it to a completely different direction, lets look at what YA Fiction had in store for readers this year. Some great picks for YA and up!

Top Pick: The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I found author Jennifer Lynn Barnes this year and have devoured her books. The way she writes mysteries that are so intricate kept me turning the pages almost faster than I could devour the words on them. The Inheritance Games was so fun, and The Brothers Hawthorne is a fantastic addition to the series. This one focused less on the love interest aspect than the other three and more on the games the brothers found themselves in, which was fun.

Read the full review here.

White House Clubhouse by Sean O’Brien

The White House Clubhouse was a fantastic and fun book that I can’t wait to share with my young readers. This is fun, witty and full of history that will make kids want to learn more about Roosevelt and his time as president. Sean O’Brien was a former White House speechwriter with fun insight into the famous house and a mystery that will keep readers turning the pages.

Read the full review here.

Lightlark by Alex Aster

A new fantasy full of twists and turns with an ending that will leave readers aching for more!

Read the full review here.

The Inheritance Games Series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I am kicking myself for not reading this series sooner! I discovered Barnes this year and have been reading everything I can get my hands on!

Read the full review here.

The Fall of Crazy House

Author: James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

Series: Crazy House #2

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson

Release Date: March 17, 2020

Lots of action but still misses the mark for me.

Becca and Cassie thought they had endured the worst ever at the Crazy House and made it out alive somehow. Now they learn that all the training they had while there is about to be put to good use as they are now part of a group trying to take over the United. It is going to take everything they have in order to succeed, and even then, it might not be enough.

This series was slated as the next great Hunger Games books, I can see the potential it had to get there, unfortunately it fell far short of reaching that. So much was crammed into these two novels that there was no way to actually make sense of it all and flesh it out into what it could have been. Along with that is the fact that you have a book marketed to teenagers and it is filled with harsh language, not a fan of that in books for kids. Overall, I would pass on this one unless you are a die-hard Patterson fan and intend on reading all his works.

Crazy House

Authors: James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

Series: Crazy House #1

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson

Release Date: May 15, 2018

Tries way too hard to be the next Hunger Games and falls short.

Sometime in the future, the United States is known as the United and the population is regulated with strict rules and crime supposedly nonexistent. Cassie is 17 and lives with her twin sister Becca, but when Becca disappears, Cassie knows something is going on and goes looking for her twin. Becca isn’t the first kid to go missing and so far, none of them have been found. While Cassie is looking for her sister, Becca finds herself in a Crazy House, a prison with many other kids and no way out. Her only hope is that Cassie will find her before it’s too late.

James Patterson is a very popular author, and he can be a very good author at times. With Crazy House I felt like it tried far too hard to be the next Hunger Games novel and fell far short of reaching that mark. Overall, the story was ok but I had no connection with the characters and the story itself was rushed. Had the story been fleshed out over several more books it might have been salvageable. My other issue with these books is how they are marketed as YA and still have so much language.

Seven Dirty Secrets

Author: Natalie D. Richards

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: November 2, 2021

The more secrets uncovered, the more danger for them all. A very intense thriller that will keep you glued to the pages.

Cleo’s last year has been a hard one. When she receives a mysterious birthday scavenger hunt, she decides it is just what she needs. At first, she thinks her best friend or brother might have done it to cheer her up, but the more she looks into it things start to get freaky. Each new clue uncovered leads to her dead boyfriend who drowned a year ago on a trip with her and her friends. His death was shrouded in mystery and Cleo now thinks someone is coming after her because of it.

This book had all the right thrills and chills to keep me glued to the page. I especially loved the ending and the way it played out as the mystery unfolded. Cleo had a tough time and having to relive what she went through was written with all the right tension and moments of suspense. I particularly loved the way her brother and best friend were by her side to help her, and those relationships were used against her in the evil plot. I thought this was a very fast paced and well written book. I don’t know that I would agree with it being written for teenagers as it had a lot of mature themes, but for the more mature audience it would be a perfect read to keep them on the edge of their seats.

Cherish

Author: Tracy Wolff

Series: Crave #6

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release Date: May 30, 2023

The sixth and final book in the Crave series wraps things up on a crazy, fun fantasy series!

It has been three months since Grace and her crew defeated Cyrus and tried to have a shot at a normal life. But like everything else Grace has been involved in, that is not going to be the case. All of the Courts are falling apart, the Vampire Court is without a king, Dragon court missing it’s heart, and Grace herself is in charge of the Gargoyle Court having just come into the supernatural recently. Now, the team must return to the Shadow Realm to try and save their friend and hopefully Grace can save her relationship with Hudson before the Crone comes to collect.

I started with this series on Book 1 and couldn’t wait to see how it all wrapped up with this final book. I really enjoyed the series and all the characters but felt a little let down by the way it all wrapped up. Each book had so much action, suspense, romance, drama and more that I was hooked throughout each 500 plus page book. The problem with having a book of this length is you have so many threads to tie up and it becomes almost impossible to answer every little question readers might have. Each book in the series had so much going on and this book fell flat on pulling me in like the others did. At times it felt rushed, but it also felt like a good hundred pages could have been taken out and not affected the outcome of the book. On the other hand, another hundred pages could have been added to answer questions. While this wasn’t my favorite, I am happy to have wrapped up the series. Even though this is labeled as a Young Adult I wouldn’t recommend it to readers that are too young because of all the adult themes and language.