Becoming Review

295 pages Every three years, Amber Hopkins explodes. Okay, not a blown-to-smithereens explosion, but whatever it is always hurts like hell and leaves her life a shambles. She’s already worked her way through five foster placements, and she’s doing whatever she can to avoid getting blasted into a sixth. As her eighteenth birthday approaches and she feels the strange and powerful energy building, disaster looms. When the inevitable explosion occurs,...

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Born Wicked Review

330 pages Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave. Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood,...

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Partials Review

472 pages Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade....

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Everblue Review

304 pages She wanted her life to change... he wanted his to stay the same. Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi...

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Classic Monday: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

1839 554 pages This darkly satiric indictment of the social ills of Victorian London tells the story of a young orphan who becomes involved with a gang of criminals.I'm pretty sure most people have heard the name Oliver Twist even if they haven't read the book. Well this is the book. It is one of the great classics with a pretty nice story. Read it....

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Upcoming Reviews

ARC: Elemental by Emily White Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky Bought: Everblue by Brenda Pantos Partials by Dan Wel...

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The Hunt Review

304 pages Release date: May 8th, 2012 Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them. Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a...

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Tomorrow Land Review

Can true love survive the end of the world? Imagine finding your first love, only to be ripped apart by the apocalypse. Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice--between her family--and Chris Parker, the boy she'd given her heart. Now, four years later, as she steps from the fallout shelter and into a dead and broken world, he's the only thing on her mind. All Chris "Chase" Parker wanted was to take Peyton...

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The Fox Inheritance Review

294 pages Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries. Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been...

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The Adoration of Jenna Fox Review

266 pages Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn't remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers? Review: I enjoyed this book and the ethical questions it brought up. How far would you go to bring a loved one...

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Classic Monday: Animal Farm by George Orwell

1945112 pages Animal Farm is the most famous by far of all twentieth-century political allegories. Its account of a group of barnyard animals who revolt against their vicious human master, only to submit to a tyranny erected by their own kind, can fairly be said to have become a universal drama. Orwell is one of the very few modern satirists comparable to Jonathan Swift in power, artistry, and moral authority; in animal farm his spare prose and...

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Upcoming Reviews

ARC:The Hunt by Andrew FukudaTomorrow Land by Mari MancusiBought:The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E PearsonThe Fox Inheritance by Mary E Pear...

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All These Things I've Done Review

354 pages In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and...

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When the Sea is Rising Red Review

296 pages After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend, Ilven, kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven's death...

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Goddess Interrupted Review

304 pages Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it. Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the...

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Classic Monday: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

1623 1248 pages This complete and unabridged edition contains every word that Shakespeare wrote — all 37 tragedies, comedies, and histories, plus the sonnets. You’ll find such classics as The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew. William Shakespeare's plays and poetry are the definition of classic. Shakespeare's brilliance at writing has created some masterful stories that have lasted throughout time. I think acquiring all...

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Upcoming Reviews

ARC: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter Bought: When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E Pear...

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The Goddess Test Review

293 pages In a modern-day take on the myth of Persephone, 18-year-old Kate Winters is thrust into a mythical world, where she must pass seven impossible tests and outsmart a spiteful god in order to save the life of not just her mother but of her captor as well.Review:I love Greek mythology and this book is a great spin on classic mythology. If you know the story of Persephone you are familiar with Hades and other main Greek characters. This novel...

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Ordinary Magic Review

256 pages In Abby’s world, magic isn’t anything special: it’s a part of everyday life. So when Abby learns that she has zero magical abilities, she’s branded an "Ord"—ordinary, bad luck, and quite possibly a danger to society. The outlook for kids like Abby isn’t bright. Many are cast out by their families, while others are sold to treasure hunters (ordinary kids are impervious to spells and enchantments). Luckily for Abby, her family enrolls her...

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Shatter Me Review

338 pages Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are...

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Classic Monday: Dracula by Bram Stoker

1897 433 pages Mysterious, gloomy castles and open graves at midnight are just two of the Gothic devices used to chilling effect in this 19th-century horror classic that turned an obscure figure from Eastern European folklore into a towering icon of film and literature.Everyone knows who Dracula is but not many know Bram Stoker's Dracula. We know Hollywood's version of vampires but we don't realize where the original story began. Dracula shows...

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Update on the 2012 Debut Author Challenge

  Ms. Book Queen is participating in the 2012 Debut Author Challenge over at http://thestorysiren.com The objective: To read & review a minimum of twelve young adult or middle grade debut novels between the dates of January 1, 2012 - January 31, 2013. The deadline to join is May 31, 2012. The books I have read and reviewed are linked: Cinder by Marissa Meyer Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi Above by...

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The Book of Wonders Review

416 pages Magic, Djinn, Ogres, and Sorcerers. Thirteen-year-old Zardi loves to hear stories about fantastical beings, long banned from the kingdom of Arribitha. But anyone caught whispering of their powers will feel the rage of the sultan—a terrifying usurper who, even with his eyes closed, can see all. When her own beloved sister is captured by the evil ruler, Zardi knows that she must go to any lengths to rescue her. Along with her best friend,...

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Zombies Don't Cry Review

371 pages Maddy Swift is just a normal girl—a high school junior surviving class with her best friend and hoping the yummy new kid, Stamp, will ask her out. When he finally does, her whole life changes. Sneaking out to meet Stamp at a party one rainy night, Maddy is struck by lightning. After awakening, she feels lucky to be alive. Over time, however, Maddy realizes that she’s become the thing she and everyone else fear most: the living dead....

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