YA book

Book Review: Bella at Midnight

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Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley

Bella at Midnight
by Diane Stanley, Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Bella has grown up with a poor but kind family, befriending the young prince Julian who visits his old nanny. When Bella discovers that she is actually the daughter of a nobleman, she is sent to live with her cold and haughty father and his new wife. Bella is torn from all her former friends, including her childhood friend, the prince. Three years later, a terrible plot against the kingdom forces Bella to seek out Prince Julian once more, hoping to avert a disastrous war.

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Book Review: The Princess and the Bear

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The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison

The Princess and the Bear (Hound Saga #2)
by Mette Ivie Harrison

Chala is a hound who was magically turned into a human princess for a time. Now back in her hound form, she befriends Richon, a human prince who is under a curse as a bear. As a hound and bear, they survive together in the wild forest, until they see evidence of a terrible “unmagic” spreading through the land, sucking the life out of all animals and plants it encounters. They must go back in time in human form to fight against the unmagic in the past before it can gain strength.

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Book Review: Supernova

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Supernova by Marissa Meyer

Supernova (Renegades, #3)
by Marissa Meyer

3.5 out of 5 stars
Nova is a spy for the Anarchists. She has infiltrated the Renegade headquarters, pretending to be one of them so that she can plot against them. But Nova’s loyalties are divided as she finds herself more and more involved with Adrian, a young superhero whose two dads are the leaders of the Renegades. In this final book of the trilogy, Nova is starting to really feel the pressure of her double life as the violence in the city escalates. The Renegades definitely suspect her, and her secret identity is seriously compromised.

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Book Review: The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio

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The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander

The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio
by  Lloyd Alexander

3 out of 5 stars

Carlo finds an ancient map to a long-forgotten treasure and sets out on a journey into faraway lands to search for the fortune. Baksheesh offers to work as his servant and guide him from the coast into the inland city and beyond through the desert. They are also joined by Shira, a girl running away from slavers, trying to return to her home in the mountains. Their caravan is attacked by bandits, and they get lost in the desert. Carlo is mistaken for a foreign prince and held for ransom. Through all their adventures, Carlo wonders if the treasure is even real or worth all this trouble.

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Book Review: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

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Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

4 out of 5 stars

When the woodcutter’s daughter is born into a large family, her mother is so disappointed at having yet another girl that she refuses to give the child a name. The girl is simply called “the pika” (which means “girl”) or referred to as “the lass”. When she is grown, a mysterious polar bear comes to their cottage and begs her to live in his ice palace for a year. Knowing that he must be under some kind of enchantment, the lass agrees to go with him. She is sure that she can break the curse he is under, and she investigates the mysteries of the ice palace. But every time she asks the servants questions, she is putting herself and them in danger.

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Book Review: The Warrior Heir

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The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

The Warrior Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #1)
by Cinda Williams Chima

3 out of 5 stars

Jack discovers that he is the descendant of wizards, and has a special Warrior magic stone in his chest that sets him apart from other wizards. Two factions of wizards, the Red Rose and the White Rose, have been fighting for power for centuries. To minimize the bloodshed of the wars, they have a tradition of holding a tournament with two warrior champions who fight to the death. Now wizards of both the Red Rose and the White Rose are after Jack, either to capture him and use him in the game or kill him outright to stop the other side from using him. But Jack just wants a normal life in his sleepy hometown in Ohio. He just wants to play soccer in high school and pass his exams; maybe kiss a girl he likes. And now he has to train to fight and kill for a world of wizards that he knows nothing about.

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Book Review: Renegades

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Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Renegades (Renegades, #1)
by Marissa Meyer 

3.5 stars
Nova has grown up with her uncle and his group of Anarchists. They have trained her to hate the Renegade superheroes, and she agrees to infiltrate their forces by pretending to become a Renegade so she can spy on them. Nova’s loyalties are divided as she finds herself more and more involved with the Renegades and she realizes that they are not all bad. She is especially drawn to Adrian, a young superhero in training whose two dads are the leaders of the Renegades.

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Book Review: The Thirteenth Child

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Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic, #1)
by  Patricia C. Wrede (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Eff is a twin and the thirteenth child in her family. Her twin brother, Lan, is supposed to have great good luck and magical power because he is the seventh son and their father is also a seventh son, making Lan a double-seventh son, a powerful combination in magical numerology. But the thirteenth child is supposed to be a curse and full of bad luck and evil tendencies. Eff is discriminated against by the magical community, but her family and her twin brother stick up for her. When the family moves to the very edge of the frontier in the American West, Lan and Eff will face challenges and their magic will be tested to the utmost.

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Book Review: A Countess Below Stairs

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A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson

A Countess Below Stairs
by Eva Ibbotson

3 out of 5 stars

Anna and her family have fled to London after the Russian Revolution and she is forced to work as a maid in order to support her ailing mother. Rupert, the Earl of Westerholme, is on his way home from serving in WWI, and the entire household is working night and day to have the house ready to receive him. He is bringing his rich fiancée, Muriel, to look over the estate and plan their wedding, but the moment he meets Anna, he feels a strong attraction to her. Anna is torn between her feelings for him and needing to hide her high-born ancestry in order to keep her job.

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Book Review: The City in the Lake

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The City in the Lake by Rachel Neumeier

The City in the Lake
by Rachel Neumeier (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

The Prince of the Kingdom has disappeared, and with him gone, the calm magic that rules over the land has weakened. Timou is apprenticed as a mage with her father, learning the quiet slow ways of magic. Her father goes to the City to help search for the missing Prince, but he never returns to Timou’s village, so Timou goes in search of him. She must confront the mysterious depths of magic in the dark forest, navigate the political unrest in the City, and discover the intensity of her own power. But lurking behind all these mysteries is the ultimate question of Timou’s heritage.

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