YA Round-Up

 

I have already shared most of these on the blog before but I want to start putting out a round-up post every time I finish enough YA novels for one so here we go!

Always Watching- Rayne Tour, book 1 (Christian, suspense)... I really like Brandilyn Collins as both a person and a writer so it pains me to tell you that I couldn't finish this book! One element of a person's death was particularly disturbing to me- it wasn't described graphically, I'm just super sensitive to this specific thing- and it kept coming up. I had a horrible nightmare about it after that first night and never picked it up again! I'll still read her novels though!

The Color of Lies (secular, contemporary fiction)- This book had a slightly darker tone than I like these days but it was cool to see synesthesia in novel form and to try to work out the clues alongside the main character.

The Delusion (Christian, speculative)- Spiritual warfare, so well-done! This book is a bit edgy and really creepy but so good! I really need to finish the series. 

Fawkes (Christian, fantasy, historical fiction)- Historical fiction fantasy centered around the gunpowder plot (Guy Fawkes) and I surprised myself by liking this book despite my aversion to fantasy.

God's Story, Your Story: Youth Edition (Christian, nonfiction)- I have loved quite a few Max Lucado books and I think this one will bring some wonderful reflection to our teens.

The Healer's Apprentice- Hagenheim book 1 (Christian, historical fiction, romance)... I was so excited for this Sleeping Beauty retelling. I didn't love the damsel in distress element and romance is just not my thing but I did like it enough to try book 2.

He Numbered the Pores on my Face (Christian, Nonfiction)... I listened to a great episode of Home Row interviewing this author and then was offered a review copy. Of course I jumped at the chance! I am pretty confident I would have liked her voice as a teenager.

Journeys of Faithfulness (Christian, nonfiction)... This book was delightful! It also makes me happy that it was written by a high school senior. 

Replication (Christian, contemporary fiction / sci-fi)... our protagonist's father works at a lab where cloning has taken place. We are not actually seeing the cloning happen, although we do see some of the action take place in this lab, but overall this is just a contemporary Christian fiction with some very interesting moral / ethical dilemma storylines. It is set in Alaska and was filled with faith content but I will warn you that the teenagers do a good deal of kissing and there are hints of a previous sexual assault without ever going into any detail at all or even truly coming right out and saying it.