Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz

Release Date: 8 September 2015 | Publisher: Candlewick| Format: Hardcover

Review:

Set in a near-future world, Lizard Radio opens with our main character, Kivali (or Lizard), being dropped off at CropCamp by her usually non-conforming guardian, Sheila. CropCamp is where teenagers go essentially to become good little conforming citizens, learn a trade, and find a like-minded, heterosexual partner. Kivali, however, doesn't fit the norms (she's a "bender" in this world's lingo--someone who doesn't conform to a gender) and has a hard time fitting in at CropCamp (well, she's always had trouble fitting in anywhere really). It's not ALL bad for her at camp because she does love being outdoors and she makes some real friends. However, she falls in love/lust with another girl and that's really just another thing that sets her apart. Lizard Radio is the kind of book that I wanted to love. It has good writing, a unique storyline, and it truly does deftly explore gender queerness in a sensitive way. I think what brought this one down some for me was that I found myself wanting and needing more world-building along the way. I didn't get a clear picture of what was really going on in this world and why it was the way it was. So while this book has some REALLY good things going for it, I simply couldn't fall in love with it. It was a quick read and its exploration of gender and sexuality definitely secure it a place on my library shelves.

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YA Book Review: Proxy by Alex London

Release Date: 18 June 2013
Publisher: Philomel
Format: Hardcover
Source: Own

Goodreads description:

Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

My Thoughts...

Review: The Culling by Steven dos Santos

Release Date: 8 March 2013
Publisher: Flux
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

Recruitment Day is here...if you fail, a loved one will die...

For Lucian “Lucky” Spark, Recruitment Day means the Establishment, a totalitarian government, will force him to become one of five Recruits competing to join the ruthless Imposer task force. Each Recruit participates in increasingly difficult and violent military training for a chance to advance to the next level. Those who fail must choose an “Incentive”—a family member—to be brutally killed. If Lucky fails, he’ll have to choose death for his only living relative: Cole, his four-year-old brother.

Lucky will do everything he can to keep his brother alive, even if it means sacrificing the lives of other Recruits’ loved ones. What Lucky isn’t prepared for is his undeniable attraction to the handsome, rebellious Digory Tycho. While Lucky and Digory train together, their relationship grows. But daring to care for another Recruit in a world where love is used as the ultimate weapon is extremely dangerous. As Lucky soon learns, the consequences can be deadly...

My Thoughts...

Pantomime by Laura Lam

Release Date: 5 February 2013

Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

My Thoughts...

When Love Comes to Town by Tom Lennon

Release Date: 1 March 2013
Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

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Goodreads description:

The year is 1990, and in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland, Neil Byrne plays rugby, keeps up with the in-crowd at his school, and is just a regular guy. A guy who's gay. It's a secret he keeps from the wider world as he explores the city at night and struggles to figure out how to reveal his real self--and to whom.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Release Date: 18 September 2012

Publisher: Little Brown BFYR
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

Goodreads description:

Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.

Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.

Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Andy Squared by Jennifer Lavoie

Release Date: 18 September 2012

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (Bella Distribution)
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

Seventeen-year-old twins, Andrew and Andrea Morris, have always been close. They share everything—from their friends to a room—and they both enjoy star positions on their high school’s soccer teams. All’s right with the twins...or is it?

When new student Ryder Coltrane moves from Texas to their small New York town, he spins Andrew’s world upside down. All of Andrew’s past relationship troubles begin to make sense and his true feelings start to click into place after Ryder comes out to him. His friendship with Ryder turns secretively romantic, but secrets, they soon find out, are hard to keep. Once rumors start to fly, so-called friends turn on them, and the boys’ relationship turns into a bomb about to explode. But Andrew never expected it would be his own twin, Andrea, holding a lighter to ignite it.

My Thoughts...

Quickie Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Release Date:  21 February 2012

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library

Goodreads description:

A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire SÁenz.Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: I Am J by Chris Beam

Release Date: 1 March 2011

Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Format: ARC
Source: Library Staff ARCs

Goodreads description:

J always felt different. He was certain that eventually everyone would understand who he really was; a boy mistakenly born as a girl. Yet as he grew up, his body began to betray him; eventually J stopped praying to wake up a "real boy" and started covering up his body, keeping himself invisible - from his family, from his friends...from the world. But after being deserted by the best friend he thought would always be by his side, J decides that he's done hiding - it's time to be who he really is. And this time he is determined not to give up, no matter the cost.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Hushed by Kelley York

Release Date: 6 December 2011

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley


Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

My Thoughts...

WOW.  From the moment that you read the description of this novel, you know it's going to be one wild ride of a story.  Kelley York's story will pull you in and take you on an intense emotional roller coaster as she pulls you into her characters and their lives. If you're looking for that next great read, look no further. Ms. York has crafted a beautiful, compelling story of friendship, love, sacrifice,...and murder.

The first thing that I really loved about this story is the day-by-day format.  Instead of chapters, the story segments are divided into individual days and it works. It helps mark the passing of time in a perfect way--without intruding upon the story. I know that it's a fairly minor point, but I liked it.  But, this story, for me, is all about the characters.

Archer, oh, Archer.  This boy has got some deep-seated emotional problems--that much is fairly clear from the very beginning.  When we meet him, he's already committed, either directly or indirectly, multiple muders and there are at least three more (with the possible fourth) on his hit list--all in order to get revenge for atrocities committed against his best friend years ago.  His emotional state is clearly fragile from the beginning and it's clear that he doesn't fully understand what it's like to have someone in your life who actually CARES about you. I won't lie--Archer was not a character that I loved from page one.  At the beginning, I wasn't at all sure that I was going to be able to enjoy reading from his POV.  However, he grew on me immensely and after not too long I was completely sucked into his thoughts, actions, and emotions.

Rescuer-boy was taller than Archer by a few inches, so he had to look up to see hi face, his dark eyes and mousy brown hair. Every inch was trim and lean where Archer was slim and willowy.  The guy took one look at Archer's expression and let him go, pocketing his hands.

Archer scooped his bag off the ground. "I'm fine. People never watch where they're going."

The guy quirked a smile. There was something about the soft shape of his mouth, something that made him stare a moment longer than necessary. "You say that like you're used to being bowled over."

-p13, eARC

Enter Evan.  I LOVED Evan from the moment that he first inserts himself into Archer's life (see above).  Even from their brief first interaction, I felt like Evan was someone that I desperately wanted to get to know and spend some time with.  He's so awesome.  *cue gushing*  Evan is the kind of person that we all want/need in our lives.  He's constant and understanding and loving (and it doesn't hurt that he's athletic and gorgeous...not that I'm at all his type but whatever).  I loved that he was totally there for Archer and he was willing to stick with him through a lot and draw him out of his shell.  At the same time, Evan totally wasn't willing to just let Archer take everything out on him and become an emotional punching bad (i.e. he won't let Archer treat him like Vivian treats Archer).

Oh, and Vivian.  Man, that chick is crazy.  I seriously couldn't stand her from the beginning and all I wanted was for Archer to get Viv out of his life. I know the girl has issues but you should only be willing to take so much.  I mean, seriously Archer, Evan is the better choice!!!

Something else that this story does incredibly well is portray an LGBT relationship without turning into an issue book.  The book is not about being LGBT or coming out--it is a thriller that just happens to feature a male-male romance.  And it's a heart-breakingly beautiful romance.  It's the kind of romance that I think we all can appreciate and hope to have someday (if we haven't already found it).  It was wonderful.  I wish there were more books like this and I honestly hope to read more like this in the future. Oh, and this book also had something else I want more of: college-age MCs! I love reading about college-age MCs and I bet a lot of high schoolers do/would as well!

Overall, I don't think that I can recommend Hushed enough!  I loved it so much that I read it in one sitting--and hours later couldn't stop myself from going back to reread certain parts. I definitely think that it's a story that I would like to read in its entirety again sometime soon.  It's a quick-paced read that will keep readers on the edge of their seat.