Radiate by Marley Gibson

Radiate is an inspirational YA realistic fiction book about never giving up and the power of positive thinking. Hayley was in band, but senior year she decided she wanted more with her life. Hayley wanted to stand out and be something important. So, Hayley tries out for cheerleading, and makes it! She pushes herself hard to be the best she can possibly be. Soon, she notices that her left leg is bothering her. She ignores it, until one day she has a painful bump on her leg. She goes to the doctor and is informed that she has osteosarcoma. She has malignant cancer. She could lose her leg, even lose her life. But Hayley stays positive. She never loses hope and stays strong and brave. Hayley will not let cancer strip her from her dreams, no matter what. She is determined to fight and most importantly, cheer. 

Hayley is one of the most inspirational characters I have ever encountered! She took the awful thing given to her and turned it into strength. She used cheerleading and her positive thinking to beat the cancer. She had a possibility of losing her leg, but she never let that push her down. There are a lot of generalizations about cheerleaders in the world, and Hayley showed that there is more to being a cheerleader than meets the eye. She showed how hard the sport actually is. There are a lot of controversies and generalizations about cheerleading and cheerleaders, but Radiate proved them wrong. 

Radiate also showcased problems in society with acceptance. It showed the importance in being who you are, and not caring what others think about you. The author was very descriptive about the cancer and used medical terminology that I now know. The book is educational in learning about cancer. This is also the type of story that teaches about being thankful for what you have. Gabriel was the sweetest guy. Any person would be lucky to know him. 

I loved the section in the back of the book called A Mother’s Perspective. It told the true story that was the motivation for writing the book. I love Radiate even more now that I know it is based off of a true story. I loved the romance in the book, and the love triangle added so much to the book. There were a lot of different plot lines in the story, and they blended and intersected nicely. 

Radiate is a story of friendship and positivity, a book about not giving up a fight. This book is about faith, love and family, and teaches to radiate. I highly recommend that you read this book!


Title: Radiate
Author: Marley Gibson
Publisher: Graphia
Pages: 395
Series: No
Rating: 5 Stars
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The Winds of Power: The Sleeper Prophecy by Robert Drummond

I was intrigued when the author contacted me to be one of the first to review this YA science fiction e-book, which he self-published. When a blue-violet star in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy died, its solar winds reached Earth. These winds interacted with the DNA of four teens and triggered special powers. Seven other planets in the Milky Way make up the Galactic Alliance that ensures peace. In order to have a better relationship between the Alliance and Earth, they take the four teens into space to learn how to use their abilities. However, there is also an evil threat to the alliance planets, and these teens might just be the advantage that they need. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, especially the imagery. I could picture what every alien looked like. I had a clear image in my head of all the characters and their surroundings throughout the story. I felt like I was in the room with Aiden and watching the events unfold. The four teens were like a family to each other. They supported each other and trusted each other. The relationships between the characters were a strong point for The Winds of Power. 

Something I enjoyed was that the four teens did not get too carried away with their powers, especially Aiden. Being the most powerful of all of them, he still focused on his brother Drew and his aunt Del. A lot of leaders abuse their powers, but Aiden stayed true to being human and focused on helping others. The love and concern for his brother was a huge element to the book. Readers cannot go a single chapter without realizing how much family was a value to him. I loved reading Aiden’s emotions. They were so strong that readers can physically feel them, too. 

I have to give credit to the author for the amazing names of the aliens. I know that I could have never come up with anything better. I asked Mr. Drummond how he picked the interesting names and he said, “I picked the names of the aliens using an Australian map, and picked names of roads, towns, bridges etc that I thought matched their characters.” 

Another thing I noticed was that the title of the book is an exact description of the book and fits the subject matter perfectly, which is not often the case with books. Personally, I really love when the cover and title match what I am reading. They just tie everything together. I also like how the cover is not too crazy or crowded. Sometimes less is more, and in this case I think the cover could not have been done any better. 

The part that I would change or recommend to be different is right at the beginning. I felt that it could have been more developed before the aliens and special powers happened. I also would have liked a little more of an initial shock of the fact that aliens actually exist. 

I recommend that you read this book! I can't wait to read the next book, The Winds of Power: Return of the Ancients.

Title: The Winds of Power: The Sleeper Prophecy

Author: Robert Drummond 

Publisher: Self-published (Robert Drummond) 

Pages: 247 Pages

Series: Yes

Rating: 4 Stars

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The Year of Lightning (The Time Shift Trilogy Book 1) By Ryan Dalton

I received this science fiction mystery book for free from the publisher (Jolly Fish Press) in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited when the publisher contacted me because I already had this teen sci-fi trilogy on my to-read list.

 

After Malcolm and Valentine’s mother died, they moved in with their grandmother. Shortly after moving, the 15-year-old twins notice something strange about the house across the street. It has no doors and no windows. As if that is not strange enough, strange lighting storms happen all over the town that keep getting worse and more intense. When the kids start investigating, they find a shocking connection between the house and the storms. Malcolm and Valentine’s curiosity turns into something far more dangerous. Armed with a time traveling watch, the kids must stop what is happening inside the house before the city is destroyed. 

The Year of Lightning did a good job at being unpredictable. I was surprised at many of the major events that happened. This book had a lot of mystery elements to it. This is one of very few mystery books that I have read that I could not guess what is going to happen. I was on the edge of my seat. There is so much action and adventure. As you progress to the end, there are more fights, drama and surprise. 

The plot speed was perfect. It started slow and then gradually got faster until the climax. The plot was also chaotic with a lot of things happening at once. In general The Year of Lightning moved pretty fast, but in this case it was the appropriate speed given the time travel. 

Some of the names of the characters fit them perfectly. Valentine was the only main character to be in a romantic relationship. Another character was Winter. She can be cold at times and stubborn, but fun to be around. That is a close description of the season of winter. The names helped characterize the characters. These four friends are all 15 years old and in ninth grade. It was impressive that these kids were only freshmen in high school and were saving the world and traveling through time. They had a heavy burden to carry, but fortunately they were a mature group for their age. 

However, I would say that at times the book was hard to follow. Near the end with all the action and fighting, there would be a lot of time travel, and sometimes I had to go back to figure out what era they were in. At times, it was hard to follow what the characters were going to do and what their plan would be. 

While the reading level is middle grade, this is an enjoyable book for all ages! I cannot wait to read the next book in this trilogy, The Black Tempest, which will be released in April 2017.

 

Title: The Year of Lightning
Author: Ryan Dalton
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Pages: 320
Series: Yes, Book 1
Rating: 4 Stars

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The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks

The Bunker Diary is a realistic fiction book for older teens who like thrillers. Linus Weems, who is 16, wakes up in an underground bunker after being kidnapped by a stranger and being drugged with chloroform. The bunker he is in has six bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. There are also microphones and cameras for the kidnapper to watch every move. Soon more victims arrive - Jenny, Anja, Bird, Fred, and Russell. They discover that any attempt of escape is met with punishments of deafening noise, knockouts with gas, or food being poisoned or stopped. The group of six must figure out how to live in captivity with each other and survive among the means of the kidnapper upstairs.

I really liked the thoughts of the main character, Linus. I loved that in his diary entries there would be a ton of tangents that just go on and on. While some might find that annoying, I appreciate such thoughts and thought-provoking questions that he rhetorically asked in his journal.  I love books where the book is a journal/diary because you get to see more of the character. I enjoyed the scenes where Linus told readers about his past. I liked how the information would still be relevant at the point in time to the story. I was very intrigued and was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. There were some funny moments, but most of it was intense.

I would have liked to know more information about the kidnapper and his motives. The Bunker Diary contains a lot of unanswered questions in the end, and my viewpoint of the story might change if there was a second book. It would be really cool if there was another book, but in the viewpoint of the kidnapper. However, I have to caution readers about the content and controversies in this book and do not recommend it for younger teens. This book can be very shocking and contains a lot of dark things. It is still a thrilling read, but be prepared to read some things that you would not be expecting.

The ending of this book was horrible! On one hand, I can't believe this! Seriously? This is the worst type of ending ever! I am so angry about what the author did to this ending! On the other hand, good job to the author for making the characters so attachable that I care about them and have anger about it.

I was surprised to find out that this author, Kevin Brooks, is also the author of one of my favorite books, iBoy! Although I read it a long time ago, I remember how much I loved it! Read my review of iBoy.

Title: The Bunker Diary

Author: Kevin Brooks

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 268

Series: No

Rating: 4 Stars

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Homefree and Sensitive by Nina Wright

If you are a teen who enjoys reading YA fantasy books, then you may like these two books. Easter Hutton's life is a mess to say the least. Her parents are divorced and her mother goes through boyfriends as often as night and day. She and her mom live in a temporary trailer park in Florida. In school the students hate her and throw raw eggs at her. As if that is not enough, Easter keeps accidentally astral projecting in the middle of her classes and in the hallways. She also channels other people's thoughts, which can be very embarrassing in public!

In the first book, Homefree, Easter battles these problems. Her astral projecting brings her to interesting places and situations where she meets other teens that have similar powers, including her friends she knew in the past. With a nice teacher's help, she discovers a place for people with powers, called Homefree. The second book, Sensitive, follows her and her friends though the first weeks at Fairless Grove Academy, the headquarters of Homefree. Easter learns more about her powers and realizes she can talk to spirits, and must help settle a misunderstanding from 200 years ago. She also must find her missing mother and help her troubled friend.

I enjoyed Homefree more than Sensitive. The first book contained more of a mystery, and I loved seeing Easter in school and the chaotic life with her mom. There was also more of a story line and I was constantly intrigued. Homefree has an amazing mix of reality and fantasy. I also enjoyed the accidental use of powers. For me personally, I like it better when characters have no control over their powers and do funny things. Both books had a sense of humor and really good figurative language. There was a lot of French in both books, but not so much that it was hard to understand.

Sensitive had more romance in it. Cal and Easter were sweet together. The beginning of this second book was amazing and quite funny and sarcastic. Teleportation was cool, and I liked that the kids each went in separate directions. Even though they were in the same house, they had different jobs to give them individuality.  I enjoyed that Sensitive felt like a continuation of the previous book, like another chapter. However, I do feel that both of these should have been combined into one book. I feel like there was not enough material to go into the second book and therefore was stretched out too much. The ending of Sensitive I felt was too sudden and not developed enough.

There are many themes in the two books. There are some heavy topics such as mental health and addiction, but they are not thorough. Homefree more focuses on bullying and friendship while the second book focuses on independence and family, plus romance. I would give Homefree 5 stars and Sensitive 3 stars, which averages to 4 stars for the two of them.

I recommend that readers read both of these books together! Individually they might not be perfect, but together there are enough differences for there to be something for every reader.

Title(s): Homefree and Sensitive

Author: Nina Wright

Publisher(s): Llewellyn Publications and Flux

Pages: 234 pages, 240 pages

Series: Books 1 and 2 out of 2

Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads for Homefree

Goodreads for Sensitive

Linked by Imogen Howson

Linked is a YA science fiction book with a sequel. For the last three years, Elissa has been getting a tremendous amount of pain and bruises appearing out of nowhere, as well as scary visions and hallucinations. A couple days before a surgery, she discovers that her hallucinations are actually real, and that she is seeing the world from somebody else's eyes. That person turns out to be the twin she never knew existed, and they share a mental link. That link should have disappeared many years ago, but instead it got stronger.

Lin is her Spare, born from a rare abnormality where one egg splits into two identical copies. We know of that as twins, but on the planet Sekoia, these are rare and not supposed to happen. One of the siblings will be normal, and the other one would have some special power. Lin is electrokinetic. Parents keep the normal child and give the other to the government to be experimented on. Spares are told that they are not human and their lives do not matter. Lin escaped from the facility where she was held, and Elissa and Lin decide to run away to a different planet where they can be protected. The Sekoian government will do anything to stop the girls from exposing the dangerous secrets that could destroy the planet. While Lin is powerful on her own, together they are so much more.

I wish that there was more of an exposition. The book opened right away with rising action and jumped right to action and the main idea. I wanted to see more with Elissa on her own in her daily life. The book opened up right at the doctors office with the surgery idea and then jumped to meeting her twin. School was something I wish I saw more of. There was one scene in the locker room with her former friend, but daily life was an element that was missing. I just felt like there should have been more of an exposition before getting right to the main idea. Other than the shaky beginning, the book was amazing!

Linked dived deep into human rights and ethical issues. The book shows how even though there are laws and acts in place to prevent discrimination from happening, there are ways to get around them. Lin was a type of character that I have not seen much of. Lin was raised in thinking that lives do not matter, and the only real family she had was her sister, Elissa. Lin was willing to do anything to help her sister, and Elissa had to stop her many times from making harmful choices with her powers. She did not really understand what was wrong with hurting some people to help them escape. Lin's personality showcased certain points of view that we do not see in everyday life.

The relationship between the girls was strong. Not just because of the mental link, but the love they have for each other. Elissa had never met this girl in her life, and she decided to throw her future away and help the sister she never knew. Most of the book took place in space, which I really liked. The book is set in the future, and I loved the advanced tools and space travel that they had. I loved the hint of romance between Caden and Elissa. It helped the plot move along and added something special. 

I recommend that you read this book, and I cannot wait to read the sequel, Unravel.

Title: Linked

Author: Imogen Howson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Pages: 368

Series: Yes, Book 1 of 2

Rating: 4 Stars

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Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

Afterward is a YA realistic fiction book. When 11-year-old Dylan is kidnapped, his rescue also saves 15-year-old Ethan, a teenager who was living with Dylan and his captor. Ethan was kidnapped four years earlier when he went on a bike ride and never returned. Dylan has autism and is non-verbal. He is not adjusting well at home and is traumatized. His sister, Caroline, really wants to help him, but Dylan cannot tell her what happened or how to help. The only person who knows what really happened is Ethan.

Ethan blames himself for not escaping earlier when he had the chance, and Caroline blames herself for Dylan's kidnapping, since she was supposed to be watching him the day he was taken. While they both have the kidnapping in common, they also have something else in common- Ethan and Caroline both need a friend.

The thing that I did not like very much was the fact that the story started three months after Ethan and Dylan were returned to their families. I wish there was a scene of the police returning them to their families. I feel like there was not enough emotion from the kidnapping. Showing the amount of progress and adjustment would have been more beneficial if readers saw what they were like when they first got home. I also wish that there was a perspective from Dylan. Readers did not really get a feel for how hard his life was, and it was hard for me to connect with him. I would have loved to read what Dylan was going through.

At first Caroline and Ethan were only friends and hanging out because of the kidnapping, but overtime the friendship became real. It really shows how friendships can form in dark times. I am glad that there was not much romance. There was one scene where I thought the book was totally going in the wrong direction, but that path did not last for long.

The real background knowledge that we got was in Ethan's therapy sessions with Dr. Greenberg. There was so much emotion. Ethan talked about what happened to him and had flashbacks. A real theme in the book was therapy. Caroline and her family were falling apart, and they did not have a therapist, but Ethan's whole family did. The book showcased how talking to people can help their problems. Caroline felt a lot better after venting to Ethan sometimes. There was a lot of internal conflict. Afterward had more internal conflict than any book I have read.

Ethan and Caroline both had a heavy share of guilt, blame and frustration. Caroline's burden was about how to help her brother, not watching Dylan close enough, and her parents splitting up. Ethan's burden was guilt about not running away all the times he had the chance, and he wrestled with memory issues and talking to Caroline. The only answers Caroline could possibly get were from Ethan, but the answers she wants are horrible. I loved that they played music. It distracted them from their problems, and at times was hilarious.

I recommend that you read this book!

Title: Afterward

Author: Jennifer Mathieu

Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Pages: 320

Series: No

Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads

Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos

Life in a Fishbowl is a YA realistic fiction book about what one would do for their family. Jared Stone has a malignant glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor, and he is dying. When the doctor tells him that he will not live for much longer, he decides to sell his life on eBay to get money to support his family when he is gone. Many are interested, but after eBay takes the ad off in violation of rules, the one person left is a television producer. Jared accepts 5 million dollars in exchange for him and his family to be on a reality TV show, Life and Death. However, the show takes away all privacy and completely changes what really happens. Jackie, Jared's 15-year-old daughter, creates her own TV show to expose the true reality of reality TV.

When I read the synopsis on Goodreads, I was so excited to read it! However, the subject of the book and the description is misleading, and I am very disappointed. The focus was not really even on the family or about all the changes. The concept did not even seem like a real problem, since there was no "normal" for comparison. It was very fast-paced, and there were way to many characters, so it was hard to keep track of them. There were view points from all ten characters in the book, which made it much harder for me to connect to the family.

A perspective I was not expecting was the perspective of the tumor. Gilo, the malignant glioblastoma multiforme, had a perspective which contained dark humor. It talked about finding Jared's brain "delicious" and that his memories "tasted wonderful." Gilo's passages were about him eating more and more of Jared's brain and eating and watching memories. This was kind of disturbing and funny at the same time. The tumor almost felt... guilty that he was hurting the man. The characterization was so strong that I could connect to him/it and feel sympathetic. Gilo even had character development! This is just so strange. Technically, a tumor is alive, but it was waaaaay to personified.

Life in a Fishbowl also tackled some human rights issues. The idea of euthanasia was heavily involved, as well as the first amendment. A campaign was actually created called Free Jackie Stone, and the book showed the true reality of reality TV. I liked the concept. I loved the idea about reality TV, and it is a problem today about believing everything we see on TV. Sibling relationship was also big. Megan, Jackie's younger sister, had the classic little sister role. Her perspectives were refreshing, since she was the only one who liked being on TV. I liked the character of Jared. He cared so much about his family and was willing to sacrifice everything so they could live an easier life when he was gone. The title is a really great metaphor to illustrate the invasion of privacy. Fish are trapped in a fishbowl, and they were trapped in their house.

Overall, the book was okay. I would have enjoyed it more if there were less perspectives and the description was accurate, but I loved the concept. This is the type of book that some people would like and some people would not. So, if you want to read it, go ahead. Just make sure not to get your hopes up.

Title: Life in a Fishbowl

Author: Len Vlahos

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 336

Series: No

Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

Bruiser is a mix of realistic fiction and fantasy about the sacrifices one makes for the people they love. In high school, Brewster “Bruiser” Rawlins is voted "Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty." Nobody understands him. Nobody can be friends with him, and he cannot afford to care about anyone. When he takes a chance and starts dating Brontë, she and her twin brother Tennyson start noticing strange things. 

Any injury that they have instantly disappears, and Brewster is hurt in exactly the same way. It does not take long for them to realize the truth- whoever he cares about, their injures always become his. Things take a turn for the worse when they realize that he can take emotional pain away, too, and he is saving Brontë's family from the burn of divorce. While the twins give him the love and friendship that he wants, he is forced to take on more pain than he can possibly handle.  

When I first picked up the book, my initial thought was that Brewster had healing powers, and it would just be an interesting book to read. Wow- it was way better than I thought! I did not expect the story to be so deep, and it was a wave of emotion. This story showcases the difficulties and struggles that come with not having any pain, as well as having too much. It shows the black and white, and gives readers a lot to think about. Usually you don't want to see someone you love hurting, and sometimes you wish you could take their pain away- but what if you could? 

Bruiser is inspirational. There are major themes of family and protection. They all wanted so desperately to help and protect each other. Brontë really wanted to protect Brewster, and Tennyson wanted to protect Brontë. They fought all the time before, and having Brewster around brought them together. I loved how they put aside their differences to help Brewster. They did this even when he was not around to take their pain. 

Brewster is basically an empath that also feels physical pain as well as mental and emotional. I loved that all of his passages were written in free verse! It helped to capture all of his emotions. What's crazier is that the emotions are not all his. The pain is not all his. Bruiser was a very depressing book. Not like a depressing concept, more like a depressing and painful tone. The variety of characters helped to make up for some of the sadness. Cody is young. He is Brewster's younger brother, and some of the things he says and does sounds like a little toddler, and other things he did and said were adult like. He really wanted to protect him.

I loved this emotional, inquisitive book, and I highly recommend that you read it!

Title: Bruiser

Author: Neal Shusterman

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 328 Pages

Series: No

Rating: 5 Stars

Goodreads

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the first book in this YA fantasy series. Jacob's grandfather always told crazy stories. So crazy, that Jacob's family thinks he is mental. Jacob keeps a bond with his grandfather and just chooses to forget the peculiar stories. But when his grandfather is attacked by monsters, he is forced to admit that his stories might actually be real. Jacob and his dad go to a remote island and find a house where the peculiar kids might still be alive.

I truly did not like this book. It was one of the worst books I have ever read! It had no imagery whatsoever and I could not imagine or picture anything. It was very uneventful and the plot dragged on forever. The beginning was great, but right after they got to that island the whole thing was like a flat line on a heart monitor. Basically the story stopped breathing.

 

Honestly, the book should be used as a bedtime story. I forced myself to finish it, in the hope that it would get better. Then, right before the book ended, it was like the heart started beating again. I was shocked at the sudden change, not to mention that the huge "revelations" were totally unexpected and not developed. Usually I like it when I cannot guess the ending of books, but this was just totally extreme.

I also disliked that his dad was not really a dad at all, more like a temporary babysitter. He basically let Jacob do whatever he wanted and paid no attention to anything. I was also very disappointed in the amount of magic. Really, the only power was the strange non-explained time travel. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that there was time travel in the book. Apparently peculiar people can go in a portal back in time to WW2 when the kids were still alive. There were pictures in the book, often cutting in the middle of a sentence. The book was written in 2011, but it felt like it was written in the 1700's, especially given the black and white photos.

I strongly disliked this book, and I will not read the next books, even though I already borrowed them from the public library. Apparently some people liked it enough to turn it into a movie, and I might watch the movie out of curiosity. However, I absolutely do not recommend this book!

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Publisher: Quirk

Pages: 352 pages

Series: Yes, Book 1

Rating: 1 Star

Goodreads