Penfield Public Library's YA Lit Reviews

  The Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan is an amazing book. It is the last book in the series The Trials of Apollo, which is Rick Riordan’s fifth series. It is a great book for anyone who loves fantasy and is a fan of Percy Jackson and Rick Riordan’s other series!  Apollo, the god of the sun, music, poetry, healing, and archery, has been turned mortal by his father Zeus. He goes on a quest with his demigod companion (well, master) Meg to restore all the oracles. The triumvirate, a group of three evil Roman Emperors, has control of the oracles and is messing with demigod communications. But there is an even bigger enemy: Python, who Apollo defeated once before, but may not be able to defeat again now that he is mortal. I read this book because I have been obsessed with Rick Riordan books for a long time. I was expecting a big conclusion, but this blew my mind! At times, it made me laugh out loud, and at others, it was so suspenseful I just had to keep reading. Follow Apollo (Lest...

  I found this book while on vacation, expecting a fun summer read. As I turned the pages, I discovered a universe I longed to exist in forever. This is not a story, but a lush mountain whose river runs blood red. Hiding in this landscape is a girl torn between her two sides, princess, and monster. Poison runs through her veins, but royalty is in her blood. Soraya is the sister of the Shah, king of Golvahar. While her family parades around the provinces, she reads in the solitude of her bedroom and wanders the endless tunnels beneath the palace. Cursed at birth, Soraya is deadly to the touch. Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a wicked fairytale of manipulation and deceit but also of mercy and love. Bashardoust writes with such beauty and skill that anyone can become lost in the forest and feel the dirt of Soraya’s garden between their fingers. You will cry with Soraya over characters who betrayed your trust. You will smile alongside her when everything seems ok, and you wil...

Holly Black and Cassandra Clare are both great writers, but when they team up they create something fantastic. The Iron Trial, is the first book in their Magisterium series and I was blown away when I read it. I loved that the main character, Callum, didn’t want anything to do with magic. He tried so very hard to fail the tests that would grant him entry to the Magisterium , that when he was accepted I felt just as scared and angry as he was. Many fantastical stories have a main character that loves their new world and their role in it, at least at first. But Callum always hated the idea of magic and didn’t want to take his place in that world. This is a very refreshing take on traditional fantasy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loved the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series. The Iron Trial has a lot of the same elements, but with twists that you won’t see coming and that will keep you interested enough to finish the book in record time. -Reviewed by Dani