Category Archives: Young Adult

Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Thistle

At 19 years old, Polly suddenly realizes that she has two sets of memories. She explores back through the newly-uncovered memories from her tenth through fifteenth years, where she gatecrashed a bizarre funeral, made friends with a meek cellist, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Time of the Ghost, by Diana Wynne Jones

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Thistle

Charlotte, Sally, Imogen, and Fenella are four sisters whose parents run a boarding school. They are ignored and neglected for the most part, so have learned to take care of themselves, and not always in the normal, polite kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Dead to You, by Lisa McMann

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Thistle

Ethan De Wilde was abducted from his home when he was seven years old. At sixteen, he returns to his family, but the return isn’t the miracle everyone hopes it will be. It’s complicated, and difficult, and emotionally charged. Ethan … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged | Leave a comment

Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Thistle

After Davey’s father is shot and killed, her family moves from New Jersey to New Mexico. There, they all must cope with the loss and the breakup of family. This will be a very hard book for me to review. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

House of Many Ways, by Diana Wynne Jones (audio)

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Thistle

House of Many Ways is the third book in the Howl series, and like Castle in the Air, it is more a companion novel than a direct sequel. Once again, this book takes place a couple years after the last … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Thistle

Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella, set in future-world China on a background of cyborgs and plague and intergalactic politics. I’ll be short with this review. I wasn’t sure I would like this book. It seemed everyone was reading it, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Castle in the Air, by Diana Wynne Jones (audio)

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Thistle

In Zanzib, a city in a land south of Ingary, a carpet merchant named Abdullah dreams of meeting and falling in love with a princess. He buys a magic carpet from a stranger one day, and that night, finds himself … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones (audio)

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Thistle

Sophie Hatter is the eldest of three girls in a land where fairy tale is the norm. She doesn’t expect much from herself, since nothing ever happens for the oldest daughter in fairy tales, and is resigned to a life … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Thistle

I’m in two minds about this book, so I’ll get the negative out of the way first. The writing was not my favorite, and the characterization of the teens seemed really stereotypical/cliched, particularly in the beginning. The plot meandered a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Thistle

So this book has been big news for the last few months. Unfortunately, I was not really blown away by it the way many people seem to be. The story was fun enough, and creative, but I had quite a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , | 1 Comment