#teenreads

A blog full of reviews from VCL's Head of Teen Services Katrina Hohlfeld & Teen Guest Authors. Check back for new reviews on all things YA! Want more? Check out Katrina's lists for summer reading recommendations.

Grades 6-8

Grades 9-12

khohlfeld

Feb 18, 2022
2 min

(You) Should Read This

I've read this book more than once in the span of a few months, gushed about it to MANY people in person and online, and I still can't stop thinking about this powerful novel in verse. As an added bonus, the cover is just as breath-taking as the contents! Two years after Moth’s family is killed in a car accident, she meets a new classmate, Sani. Both feeling abandoned and uprooted, they set out on a summer road trip to reconnect with those roots and the ghosts they left behin

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khohlfeld

Dec 15, 2021
1 min

Back on the Record

I sped right through this! I thought the story was engaging, timely, and well-written. This fast-paced novel follows 17 year old Josie, a talented writer struggling with anxiety. When she wins a contest to join a movie promotion tour and interview the hot new star, Marius, she's equally thrilled and terrified. Chaperoned by her older sister, Josie is flung into this new world. While she is charmed by Marius and determined to write the best profile ever, she soon realizes that

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khohlfeld

Feb 12, 2021
2 min

A Series So Epic and Magical

If you are a fan of fairy tale re-tellings, you simply cannot miss Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreakers series. Beauty and the Beast happens to be one of my favorites (in all its many iterations) and this series takes the story to a whole new level. Featuring an unwilling heroine with Cerebral Palsy, a cursed prince, and a stoic guardsman, Kemmerer spins a magical tale of fighting evil and falling in love. I mean come on, just look at these gorgeous covers! A terrifying enchantres

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khohlfeld

Oct 5, 2020
2 min

One You Can't Miss!

Alright this one really caught me off guard. I picked it up for a light read and I got hit with some major feels. Skye Shin is talented, and she knows it. She also happens to be plus size, and she knows that people can be really cruel about that. So when she decides to audition for a televised K-Pop competition, she isn't necessarily surprised that her body becomes a target for negative commentary. Skye sets out to prove that she can dance and sing with the best, even when th

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Aquatic Adventures and Screaming Submarines

khohlfeld

Jun 1, 2020
2 min

Aquatic Adventures and Screaming Submarines

If you were in the mood for an action-packed deep-sea adventure with monsters, you should check out Deeplight by Francis Hardinge. Hark, a 15-year-old orphan, has grown up on the island streets of Lady's Crave. It's a world governed by the sea and the stories of the gods that used to rule them. He's learned how to be tough, how to be an excellent liar, and to always have his oldest friend's back. When Hark discovers an ancient relic of the old gods (think gigantic sea-monster

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khohlfeld

May 1, 2020
2 min

The Marvel-ous Loki Gets a Book!

If you happen to love the complex and somewhat nefarious Loki like I do, this is the next read for you! Full of just as many plot twists as Loki himself, this novel takes us back to the trials and triumphs of a teenage Loki. Look at that grin! Odin has been pitting Thor and Loki against each other as per usual, but things on Asgard get shaken up when a mysterious prophecy is revealed... After a few disastrous events and one exile, Loki finds himself sent to 19th century Londo

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khohlfeld

Apr 10, 2020
2 min

What Would You Be Sainted For?

This is an interesting perspective that I’m very glad I took the time to read. "Patron Saints of Nothing" follows high school senior Jason (Jay), born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, on a journey of discovery. After he finds out his cousin and childhood best friend has been killed, Jay takes it upon himself to return to the Philippines and investigate. His family back in the Philippines is unwilling to speak about what happened to his cousin Jun, which only prom

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khohlfeld

Apr 9, 2020
2 min

What Do You Carry?

"What I Carry" tells the story of Muiriel, so named for the John Muir Medical Center that nurses found her abandoned outside of as a baby. Now 17 and rapidly approaching her departure from the foster care system, Muir is getting a little panicked. For as long as she can remember, she's been preparing to strike out on her own. Every move has been carefully orchestrated to NOT rock the boat. Pack light, don't get too close to anyone, always be on time, blend in. She holds to th

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khohlfeld

Mar 30, 2020
2 min

The Epitome of Social Distancing

Are you feeling isolated these days? Astronaut Mark Watney may give you a new perspective, because you can't get much more social distance than being alone on an entire planet. You may have seen the film adaptation of Andy Weir's The Martian. If you enjoyed the movie, you will absolutely adore the book. This was one of the rare cases in which I actually watched the movie first and picked up the book much later. Normally I'm a stickler for "book first, movie later!". Here's th

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khohlfeld

Mar 24, 2020
1 min

Wild Wars

So in these times of quarantine, I've been especially on the look out for some series I can binge. And what's better than a series full of virtual realities where people can hang out online in a virtual game world? Warcross and the sequel Wildcard by Marie Lu (author of the Legend series) proved to be the perfect distraction! Teenage orphan Emika Chen has been living rough in a futuristic NYC, barely scraping together a living as a bounty hunter. In her spare time, she does w

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khohlfeld

Mar 4, 2020
1 min

Michigan, I'm On Your Team

Michigan, I'd be on your team any day. This contemporary novel follows Michigan Manning, a dedicated hockey player and high school junior. When the school cuts the girl's hockey team due to lack of funds, Michigan is left with only two options: give up hockey, or try out for the boy's team. There's no way she's giving up hockey. If Michigan is anything, she is not a quitter. Even though she is a skilled player who out-skates quite a few of the guys, the coach and her teammate

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khohlfeld

Feb 11, 2020
2 min

Truly Hooked On This Series!

If you are looking for a well-written YA murder mystery, then look no further! I started reading Maureen Johnson's "Truly Devious" series when I saw that the third and final novel was being published in January of 2020. A whole mystery series to binge! In the first novel we are introduced to a dazzling cast of characters, including our main character, Stevie. Stevie never thought she was all that special, and she applies to the prestigious, highly selective, and rather myster

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khohlfeld

Jan 10, 2020
2 min

Can She Be It All?

Don't be fooled by the cotton candy cover! This novel surprised me with its depth. The main character, Allie Abraham, is an American-born Muslim of Circassian descent. The book starts off with a bang, as Allie's father is persecuted before her eyes for speaking Arabic on a plane. Other such incidents indicate a growing Islamophobia to Allie, and she's beginning to come to grips with her feelings about it. Her parents are essentially non-practicing Muslims, and Allie has grown

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khohlfeld

Dec 17, 2019
2 min

I'm Listening

This memoir in verse by bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson gripped me on page one and still hasn't let me go weeks after reading it. She begins by letting us know... "this book reeks of my fear of depression's black dogs howling and the ancient shames riding my back, their claws buried deep" And it does. Part memoir and part rallying cry, Anderson explores her own history as a sexual abuse survivor and the thousands of other survivors she's met since. She dissects our c

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khohlfeld

Dec 6, 2019
1 min

Dear Alaine, Let's Hang Out

Yes! Highly recommend. First of all, Alaine is an engaging character with a strong voice. I felt like I knew her (and totally wanted to hang out with her) by the end. After a bit of a kerfuffle at school, Alaine is sent to Haiti to work with her aunt's non-profit group for the spring semester of senior year. Alaine doesn't know all that much about her family's country, but that is all about to change. Told entirely through emails, journal entries, and news clippings, Alaine u

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khohlfeld

Dec 6, 2019
1 min

Julia Drake Proves She's a Poet

To be totally honest, I only picked this one up because it was getting so much attention. But wow...I'm glad I did. Here are the main things I liked about it: 1) imperfect main character working to find her truth 2) vibrant and intriguing cast of secondary characters 3) phenomenal use of language & metaphor 4) unexpected plot twists 5) a sensitive approach to mental health issues 6) a conclusion full of hope If any or all of those reasons seem appealing to you, then The Last

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khohlfeld

Nov 15, 2019
1 min

No Lie, This Was Great

If you're in the mood for a contemporary mystery/thriller, look no further! One Of Us is Lying markets itself as "The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars", and that's pretty accurate. You've got the jock, the nerd, the princess, and the bad boy. What brings these high-school students together? A murder investigation in which they are all suspects. This novel uses rotating perspectives so we get a glimpse of each character and what they're going through. I had a little t

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khohlfeld

Nov 14, 2019
2 min

If You Only Read One Book This Year...

This book is important. Yes, you can absolutely compare it in some ways to Lord of the Flies and The Handmaid's Tale, but this novel is entirely its own creature. I was immediately drawn in to the strange (but eerily imaginable) world of Garner County. In Garner County, 16-year-old girls are banished for one year to release their dangerous magic into the wild, thereby protecting men from their powerful sensuous spells. What happens during that year is never spoken of, but not

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khohlfeld

Nov 13, 2019
1 min

Frankly, I Loved This Book

Frank Li is a Korean-American living in Southern California. It's his senior year of high school, and he's finally found a girl he'd love to date. One problem: his parents only want him to date Korean girls, and his crush is white. Frank's friend Joy is in a similar predicament, so they hatch a scheme to fake-date each other to get their parents off their backs. Will this go disastrously wrong? Maybe! David Yoon provides a well written perspective I don’t often see in contemp

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khohlfeld

Nov 12, 2019
1 min

The Real Stair-Master

I could not put this down! I was instantly invested in Jo Kuan and her story. She is a bright, witty, and wise character that totally makes this book worth a read even if you don't generally like historical fiction. By day, Jo works as a housemaid to a wealthy Atlanta family. By night, she writes a controversial advice column for a struggling newspaper under the pseudonym "Miss Sweetie". But that isn't Jo's only secret... The plot is intricate, fast paced, and absolutely sati

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