A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Reviewed by Arthi J.
Grade 12

*spoiler warning for A Court of Thorns and Roses!*

A Court of Mist and Fury is the sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses, a story where the main character, Feyre is pulled into the faerie world of Prythian. Set three months after the catastrophic events that concluded the first novel, Feyre is back home in Spring Court, preparing for her marriage to Tamlin and the rest of her new, immortal life. Yet even though she was brought back from death, a part of her died Under the Mountain and she continues to grapple with the horrors she faced. And she certainly has not forgotten about the bargain she made with the High Lord of Night Court. 

After three months of dead silence, Rhysand finally calls in his bargain with Feyre: one week per month at Night Court. In this sequel, as Feyre struggles to harness her newfound powers, a new threat arises, one that makes Amarantha seem like child's play, and Feyre may be the only one who can save them all. But before she can even hope to save this world that she has come to both love and hate, she must find a way to heal herself, or else everyone will be doomed. 

In my opinion, this is one of the rare times in which a sequel is better than the original novel. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading the first novel and I didn’t think it could possibly get better . . . until I read A Court of Mist and Fury. There are honestly so many things I liked about this novel. I really enjoyed how it explored the other courts of Prythian and the complexity of Rhysand’s character, who is anything but the reader's first impression of him as a morally questionable character. I also think that Maas beautifully wrote Feyre’s emotions in this novel as she struggles with her PTSD from Under the Mountain. It felt so heartbreakingly realistic and it really made the reader sympathize with Feyre.    

I would recommend this book, more accurately this entire series, to anyone who enjoys reading novels with a magical world like no other, crazy plot twists and turns, and some romance. Enjoy!  

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Reviewed by Susan Z.
Grade 11

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli is a young-adult novel revolving around an insecure girl learning to find her confidence, self-worth, and love. It takes place in the same universe as Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and is the author’s second book.

Meet Molly Peskin-Suso, a hopeless romantic who’s had a total of 26 crushes-but still no boyfriend. She has a twin sister named Cassie, who she considers the complete opposite of herself. Cassie’s pretty, skinny, outgoing, and has a much more successful love life. One fateful party brings a cute new girl into their lives, someone who’s basically Cassie’s dream girl. There goes confident, in-control Cassie; now she’s the lovesick one. Luckily for Molly, the new girl (Mina) also comes with a cute hipster boy named Will who just happens to be perfect crush material for Molly. And more good news just got dropped on the girls: their moms are getting married and plan on having them as their maids of honor! Everything seems to be going perfectly for Molly; she got her first job, her moms are having a wedding, her twin seems to be really in love, and soon she’ll have her first boyfriend. Except, despite everything seeming to go perfectly, it’s falling apart for Molly behind the scenes. Ever since Cassie started being in a relationship with Mina, the twin sisters have drifted apart. Even though Will is perfect in so many ways, Molly’s coworker, Reid makes her doubt herself. And preparing for a wedding is a lot more stressful than she had anticipated. With so many changes coming into her life all at the same time, Molly has a hard time figuring out what she truly wants. As the book progresses, Molly has to come to terms with the fact change is bound to occur and sometimes, all you can do is accept it.

This was such a good book, for so many reasons. I thought when I first saw this book it was going to be one of those generic romance novels. Girl has many crushes, and in the end, the girl ends up with a boyfriend. Happily ever after! But no, this book has so much more; it’s focused on the main character, who happens to be an insecure girl who’s had many crushes but has never been in a relationship, finding her self-worth, her confidence, learning to love who she is, and to stop being afraid of change.  I think this book is really relatable in that sense--lots of teenagers struggle to find who they really are, but it’s okay to not know and to need time to figure it out. The author also does a really good job of incorporating LGBTQ+ characters without making it their whole identity, and she also has characters that aren’t supportive just like in reality.

I would recommend this to everyone, especially if you liked Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Though this definitely wouldn’t be considered a sequel to that book, it’s in the same universe, and I think if you enjoyed that book, you’ll also really enjoy this one. If you’re a teenager, I would definitely give this book a go; it is a little romanticized but the underlying issues still reflect what many teens also struggle with. 

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Reviewed by Arthi J.
Grade 12

“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”

Shatter Me by Tarhereh Mafi is a young adult dystopian novel set in the far future, where food is scarce, the sky's the wrong color, and birds don’t fly anymore. The world is crumbling and the Reestablishment has taken control, claiming their way to fix the world is the only way. Juliette Ferrars has not touched anyone in 264 days. The last time she did, someone died. With one touch, she has the deadly ability to leave a full grown man in immense agony and gasping for air. No one knows why she has this fatal power, but with bigger problems at hand, the Reestablishment locked her up in a cell for murder and left it at that.

Now with only the numbers in her head and words in a small notebook, it takes everything Juliette has to not go insane. Then one day, an old face from her past shows up as her cellmate and she doesn’t know what to think. With traitorous whispers of revolt and war now arising, The Reestablishment gives Juliette a choice: use her power as a weapon or, well, I suppose the alternative is not so pleasant. She finds a strength she never knew she had, but will she fight for what's right?        

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I think it does a great job of introducing the characters and the world they live in, which are later built upon in the following books of the series. Mafi creates her characters so they are incredibly complex and each have their own backstories. Also, I’m a huge fan of the dystopian genre, so it’s no surprise that I liked this novel.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys reading books that are extremely realistic and take place in the future. Though if I had to pick, I’d say that the third book in the series (Ignite Me) would be my favorite because of its dive into Warner’s character, which we don’t get in the earlier books. I hope you enjoy reading this novel, and hopefully the rest of the series! 

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Reviewed by Arthi J.
Grade 11

So. Tell me, little wolf. Do you want to punish those who have wronged you?

The Young Elites is a dark, young adult dystopian fantasy novel by Marie Lu that follows the points of view of three characters: Adelina, Enzo, and Teren. Many years ago a deadly illness spread like wildfire throughout this dark, Renaissance-like world, leaving many dead in its wake. The children who were lucky enough to survive this “blood fever” weren’t, in fact, lucky at all. The color of their hair and eyes changed and strange markings suddenly ran down their arms and legs. They were marked, or malfetto, and separated from society out of fear and misunderstanding because some of the marked survivors, known as the Young Elites, were rumored to possess deadly, magical capabilities along with the scars.

The story begins with Adelina Amouteru, a malfetto and survivor of the blood fever. While her mother died, Adelina survived, but her black hair was turned silver and now she only has a scar where her left eye used to be. Her merciless father wants to believe she has these rumored powers because if not, then she is but a worthless stain on his family’s name and reputation. And while Adelina loves her younger sister Violetta, she can’t help but feel resentment towards the other daughter who is still beautiful, unmarked, and wanted by her father. 

Elsewhere, Enzo Valenciano is the leader of the Dagger Society, a group of Young Elites who seek out other malfettos like themselves before they are hunted and killed. Teren Santoro works for the kingdom and, despite his dark secret, believes that it is his sole duty to destroy the Young Elites before they destroy the already unstable world they live in. 

These three individuals have no reason to run into each other...until they do. As Adelina’s newfound powers emerge, she doesn’t know what to believe, only that she wants to trust Enzo, the boy who saved her from death, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the world is not always so black and white. Each character fights their own battles, both internal and external. Yet in all this uncertainty, it is clear that Adelina’s powers should not belong in this world and that there is a deep-rooted darkness festering in her heart, threatening to consume both her and those who dare cross her.

 I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside. It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Unique. I truly wouldn’t use any other word to describe this series because it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Lu does a fantastic job in creating an interesting world, along with extremely complex characters. I especially commend her choice of the main character, Adelina. While the novel is told from three different characters points of view, Adelina’s chapters are the only ones that are written in the first person, which gives the reader a clear look into her thoughts while also creating a sense of unpredictability in the events that will come to pass. I really like how Adelina is not the standard, predictable, and morally good character you see in a lot of books today. 

I would absolutely recommend this trilogy (The RoseSociety and The Midnight Star follow this novel) to anyone who’s looking for a dark and mysterious read. The sequel picks up after the shocking cliffhanger that leaves readers with their mouths hanging open and the series’ explosive finale truly leaves you shattered. This trilogy is definitely one of my favorites and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.           

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Reviewed by Arthi J.

Grade 11

We all bear scars...mine just happen to be more visible than most.

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan’s most notorious assassin. In a land recently stripped of all magic, the cruel king, who rules with an iron fist, holds a competition to determine who will become the King’s Champion: the person who will become the King’s personal blade, assassinating whomever he desires dead. Celaena, still reeling, both physically and emotionally, from the events that concluded this series prequel (The Assassin's Blade), is summoned to the glass castle from the slave mines of Endovier. The king offers her a bargain: win and competition and become his Champion, and, in return, she will be freed from the slave mines. Now, all that stands in her way are twenty-three extremely skilled killers, thieves, and fighters which should be no problem for the deadly assassin.

However, that is not the only thing that stands in the way of Celeana’s freedom. Something ancient and evil dwells in the glass walls of the castle--a place she believed to be free of magic--and it has one simple goal: to kill. When her competition begins to drop dead one by one, Celaena must fight not only for her freedom but also for her own survival and overcome her own demons that have left scars on her that run deeper than those on her back. Along with her new companions, the Crown Prince and Captain of the Royal Guard, she must work quickly to root out this mysterious evil before it destroys them all and the world surrounding them.       

The entire Throne of Glass series has definitely got to be one of my favorites. Looking back, it's truly astonishing to see how much the plot of the story and characters themselves have developed over the course of the books. Sarah J. Maas does a wonderful job in building the world of Erilea and the complexity of Celaena's character. I also really enjoyed the way in which this novel’s plot subtly builds up to the explosive conclusion that comes crashing down on the reader.  

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy novels and escaping to another world like no other. If you enjoy this series, I would also recommend Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series and her newest adult fantasy novel, House of Earth and Blood.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Reviewed by Arthi J.

Grade 11

If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.

Jude was only seven years old when her life was forever changed. One minute she was watching cartoons on the television with her twin sister Taryn, and older sister Viviene and the next, a dangerous stranger was banging on the front door of their home. Madoc, a powerful military commander of the fey, had finally found Jude's mother, whom Madoc had a complicated past with, and due to this, killed both her parents in retribution. Now orphaned and with nowhere else to go, Jude and her two sisters were whisked away to live in the dangerous High Court of the Faerie, fostered by their parents’ murderer.

After ten years of living in a beautiful, but deadly world where she has come to love her parents’ killer as a father, Jude wants nothing more than to belong and will go to great lengths to do so. After all, where else can she go? Though she was born in the mortal world, it is not nor will it ever be her home. Against all odds she fights for her rightful spot amongst the fey. But, many of them look down upon the mortality she was born with, especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and cruelest son of the High King. To win her place in court she must defy him and suffer the consequences for it. In doing so, she becomes tangled in the palace intrigues, trickery and deceptions of the High Court, whilst realizing her own alarming capacity for bloodshed. Yet, as a civil war in the fey kingdom threatens to destroy the only, however cruel, world she’s ever felt at home in, circumstances cause Jude to find herself in a dangerous alliance, which could crumble to pieces at any given second, with the one she hates most: Cardan. Working with the cruel prince of fey, Jude must risk her life to save everything she’s ever known and loved, or possibly lose it all.  

I really loved reading The Cruel Prince. I have read other books that follow the concept of fae, or fey, like A Court of Thorns and Roses (another great read) and it truly astonishes me how distinct and amazing this novel really is. Even though only two characters actually have the ability to lie, it's ironic to find out the numerous deceptions, lies, and trickery that are revealed throughout the novel. Holly Black does a fantastic job in developing Cardan and Jude’s characters, building the hidden fey world they live in, and subtly working up to an ending that truly comes crashing down upon the reader.  

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy novels with various plot twists and turns. I think Holly Black did a wonderful job with this series, and I’m also really excited to read her upcoming novella to this series which is going to be from Cardan’s point of view. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Reviewed by Arthi J.
Grade 11

Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is a fantasy novel, loosely based off of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. It is set in the world of Prythian where humans and a different species, called fae, live with nothing but a wall separating them. Long ago, these faeries fought against the humans in a large scale war, and it resulted in very little land being left for the humans. The fae have special strengths and abilities, and their world is separated from the humans with a great wall due to lasting tensions and resentments from the war. Their own lands are divided into courts--Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Dawn, Day, Nightmare--each of which are led by a High Lord.

 The human and fae worlds have had little to no interaction since the great war. However, that all changes when nineteen-year-old huntress, Feyre, kills a large wolf in the nearby woods, and a beast-like creature arrives at her family’s cottage, demanding retribution for the fae life she unknowingly ended. According to an old treaty between the fae and humans, written at the end of the war, Feyre has two choices: either be killed or spend the rest of her human life imprisoned in the Fae lands. And so, she is dragged away from her home, family, and everything she’s ever known to live in a dangerous, magical land with her captor, who she later discovers is not an animal, but in fact Tamlin, the High Lord of Spring Court. As she dwells in his estate, her feelings towards Tamlin transform from icy hostility to a fiery passion as she learns more about this beautiful world and uncovers the hidden truths beneath every lie and myth she has ever been warned of. But, with a mysterious “blight” quickly damaging and taking over the fae world and beginning to seep into her own, Feyre must find a way to stop it--or risking losing everything she loves.This is a book of magic, love, fate, power, revenge, and so much more as Feyre comes to know her captor and the strange world she now lives in.

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. I never expected what was going to happen, and it had the most complex characters that I loved to read about. It was a bit slow at first, but then sped up and became much more interesting later in the book. I’m not a huge romance person when it comes to reading, but this was a truly wonderful exception and I think that Sarah J. Maas did a fantastic job in building her characters and the unique world surrounding them.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes magic and romance, along with some drama and excitement. A Court of Thorns and Roses is a magnificent book with many twists and turns, and I am so excited to read the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury and later Throne of Glass, another renowned series by Maas. 

Stars Above: a Lunar Chronicles Collection by Marissa Meyer

Reviewed by Susan Z. 

Grade 12 

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer is a collection of several stories; most of which serve as prequels to the main series, and one being an epilogue. If you’re done with the Lunar Chronicles and you want more...this is that book. It’ll give you a bit of history, a look at what happened in the near future, and more. 

Stars Above is made up of nine chapters, each a separate story. "The Keeper", "Glitches", "The Queen’s Army", "Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky", "After Sunshine Passes By", "The Princess and the Guard", and "The Mechanic" are all what I would consider prequels to the Lunar Chronicles. Some are backstories that provide a bit of history while others have events that happen literally right before or at the beginning of the series. They all sort of just provide additional context, and also some are told from a different person’s perspective. 

"Something Old, Something New" is the epilogue we all wanted. I would say it picks up just about a few weeks after Winter (the last book in the main series). It’s really sweet, and if you weren’t happy with where Winter ended off... "Something Old, Something New" will definitely bring some closure. So, this was the final chapter, however, there is one previous chapter that isn’t really a prologue or an epilogue, and it doesn’t really fit into the main series. "The Little Android", following the same style as the other books, is a sci-fi twist on The Little Mermaid. Androids aren’t meant to fall in love, or really have any emotions in general, but this one certainly does. 

 I really enjoyed all the stories in Stars Above, being a big fan of the Lunar Chronicles. Like I said, they are mostly prequels. I liked getting to know the characters a bit more through these prequels. Another thing I liked was that we got some new perspectives; some events do overlap with what has happened in the main series, but we got a different person’s point of view so that was pretty nice. I really enjoyed the epilogue, I think it was a great way to end things. And although I didn’t mind how Winter ended, this epilogue did tie up some of the loose ends. "The Little Android", I was confused the first time I read it, but it made more sense the second time around. I think it’s cool that another classic fairy tale got a sci-fi update. I would be pretty excited if the author came out with more of these short stories. 

 I would recommend this book for those that have already read the Lunar Chronicles and enjoyed those books. I think this book alone can be a little confusing if you were to read it by itself, without having prior knowledge on the Lunar Chronicles. So if you haven’t read those books, they’re really great books for everyone. I would especially recommend them for people who like science fiction.