Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. The Sensationalist is unhappy with his lot in life. Born Andrew Macon Bean, he was recruited into H.E.R.O., a superhero sidekick training program, because of his incredibly heightened senses. H.E.R.O aims to take young people with extraordinary talents and pair them with superheroes willing to take on apprentices who have […]
Lumberjanes
January 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Lumberjanes is a comic book series about a summer camp for “hardcore lady-types.” Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy is a collection of the first 4 issues, which introduces the characters and gets them started on their adventures—it certainly doesn’t bring a story arc to a close, so expect your young reader to start asking for […]
The Door in the Hedge
January 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. The Door in the Hedge came on my radar as I was trolling through the Toronto Public Library ebook website. It was part of the Big Library Read program where the company that handles ebooks for the library, Overdrive, decided to let everyone borrow this book and even provided points […]
A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel
December 17, 2015 by 2 Comments
The graphic novel of A Wrinkle in Time hews so closely to the original novel that this review will in many ways serve for both. But first a quick story. I was one of those kids (mostly girls) who discovered A Wrinkle in Time on her own and fell madly in love with it. I […]
Jinx
November 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. Jinx can see it happening, the hunger in the clearing, the fact that his step-parents just had a new child. He’s going to be the one abandoned in the woods. So, when Jinx is taken into the Urwald he isn’t shocked. Just resigned to his fate. That’s when he meets […]
Winter
November 18, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Winter brings The Lunar Chronicles to a satisfying close, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s a bit sprawling as all of the threads get tied up. However, unlike some final books to a series, it feels complete, well thought out, and not rushed. It’s just going to take over 800 pages to get […]
Manners & Mutiny
November 11, 2015 by 1 Comment
It’s always nice when the highly anticipated ending to a series is satisfying. (I still haven’t forgiven you, Mockingjay!) Manners & Mutiny, the final book in the Finishing School series, delivers on that front. The book assumes you’ve read the other three novels, and likewise I will assume you’ve read my other three reviews (Etiquette […]
Smuggler’s Run
November 10, 2015 by 1 Comment
Review written by Clark Valentine. Wrapping up the first trio of Star Wars YA novel reviews is Smuggler’s Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure, a fast-paced adventure starring Han Solo and Chewbacca, set between the films Star Wars (A New Hope, as it’s now known) and The Empire Strikes Back. The Star Wars trivia […]
The Weapon of a Jedi
November 2, 2015 by 1 Comment
Review written by Clark Valentine. A question that I have long pondered is “So, between blowing the Death Star to smithereens in Star Wars and getting his face washed by a wampa in Empire Strikes Back, what did Luke Skywalker do, anyway?” Yes, I’m serious. If you immerse yourself in the canon that’s the sort of […]
A Frozen Heart
October 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
You can enter to win a copy of A Frozen Heart and a Fairy Tale 2.0 prizepack! Contest ends Monday, November 2. A Frozen Heart is technically a novelization of Disney’s Frozen, but it goes well beyond most movie novelizations. SPOILER ALERT: Yes, already. But for the movie. I’m assuming this warning isn’t really needed, […]
