Review | A Constellation of Minor Bears by Jen Ferguson

October 30, 2024October 29, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

Before that awful Saturday, Molly used to be inseparable from her brother, Hank, and his best friend, Tray. The indoor climbing accident that left Hank with a traumatic brain injury filled Molly with anger.

While she knows the accident wasn’t Tray’s fault, she will never forgive him for being there and failing to stop the damage. But she can’t forgive herself for not being there either.

Determined to go on the trio’s post-graduation hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, even without Hank, Molly packs her bag. But when her parents put Tray in charge of looking out for her, she is stuck backpacking with the person who incites her easy anger.

Despite all her planning, the trail she’ll walk has a few more twists and turns ahead. . . .

This is truly a coming of age story among a group of friends who have planned a hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. All of the friends are kind of in different places in their lives and journeys as they navigate the trail. There were a lot of heavier and valid topics that are very current, but at some points some of this felt a little more in your face than it should have been, perhaps a little too intense. With most of the characters you can feel their struggle and it feels very authentic, but some don’t feel as fully fledged or connect as well. Still, this was a great coming of age novel that I think a lot of people will connect with.

Happy reading!

Review | Aisle Nine by Ian X. Cho

October 29, 2024October 29, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

“It’s Black Friday—and the apocalypse is on sale!

Ever since the world filled with portals to hell and bloodthirsty demons started popping out on the reg, Jasper’s life has gotten worse and worse. A teenage nobody with no friends or family, he is plagued by the life he can’t remember and the person he’s sure he’s supposed to be.

Jasper spends his days working as a checkout clerk at the Here For You discount mart, where a hell portal in aisle nine means danger every shift. But at least here he can be near the girl he’s crushing on—Kyle Kuan, a junior member of the monster-fighting Vanguard—who seems to hate Jasper for reasons he can’t remember or understand.

But when Jasper and Kyle learn they both share a frightening vision of the impending apocalypse, they’re forced to team up and uncover the uncomfortable truth about the hell portals and the demons that haunt the world. Because the true monsters are not always what they seem, the past is not always what we wish, and like it or not, on Black Friday, all hell will break loose in aisle nine.

Perfect for fans of Grasshopper Jungle or The Last of Us comes Aisle Nine, the debut young adult novel from rising YA star lan X. Cho.

I did really enjoy the humor woven into this story, very dark at points, but I found myself wishing for more of it. The beginning especially was packed with humor, but as the story went on it seemed to fade a little bit and I wanted it to be more consistent throughout the story. That being said I really enjoyed the near-apocalypse world that was created and the stab at apocolypse+retail and can appreciate the blend the author was going for. Some elements were predictable, but I liked the effort that went into worldbuilding and character development, those were definitely well done. I did want more from it, but it was still a fun read.

Happy reading!

Review | Desert Echoes by Abdi Nazemian

October 24, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

From Abdi Nazemian, the award-winning author of Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment, comes a suspenseful contemporary YA novel about loss and love.

Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. Something seems off about Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset . . . but only Kam returns.

Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship—and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.

Desert Echoes is a propulsive, moving story about human resilience and connection.

From the description I could tell there were going to be some heavy topics in this book, but I was not expecting it to have the depth that it did. There are so many complex themes packed into this book, from experiencing and getting over your first love to loneliness and loss. There are a lot of important conversations happening here and the dual timelines really make it more impactful as you find out just what happened in the then timeline and how it has impacted the now timeline. It was really a beautiful story that will definitely tug at your heart once things are fully revealed.

Happy reading!

Review | Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates

October 9, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

When Jenine finds an abandoned polaroid camera, she playfully snaps a photo without a second thought. But there’s something wrong with the image: a ghostly figure stands in the background, watching her.

Fixated on her.

Moving one step closer with every picture she takes.

Desperate, Jenine shares her secret with her best friend, Bree. Together they realize the camera captures unsettling impressions of the dead. But now the ghosts seem to be following the two friends. And with each new photo taken, a terrible danger grows ever clearer…

INCLUDES CHILLING NEW BONUS STORIES:

*A woman survives a plane crash in a remote arctic tundra, accompanied only by a stranger who seems fixated on something moving through the blinding snow.

A house stands empty. Hungry. Waiting for the children drawn to it like moths to a flame.

*A woman finds a shoebox filled with old VHS tapes. They have a note attached: “Don’t watch. You’ll regret it.”

*And more!

I’ve enjoyed other works by Darcy Coates in the past so I was excited to get the chance to pick this one up and I was not disappointed. There was a really good mix of stories in this collection, ranging from pretty short and sweet to similar to a novella length. They were not all ghost stories but had a great range of different types of supernatural events and creatures, which I found I really enjoyed. It’s a toss up what my favorite story was, between the first and last stories, but there weren’t any that I disliked. Coates’ writing is easy to consume and definitely at points of high tension does a really good job of holding the attention and keeping the pages turning. They are an auto buy author for me already and each book I read just further cements that.

Happy reading!