Reviews written by Christina Franke

What I Liked: Sky Jumpers reminds me a lot of Z for Zachariah. Now, if you haven't read the latter, let me enlighten you. It's set in a post-apocalyptic landscape, in which a young girl is living in what may be the one safe valley from all the pollution....

What I Liked: I read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children just a couple of weeks ago, through happenstance. The fact that Hollow City came out right after that and that I received a review copy is basically a blogger miracle. Riggs’ debut impressed me with its lush writing,...

What I Loved (also known as everything): Normally, I don’t bother borrowing ARCs from people. I mean, I could have waited a month and saved the three bucks each spent shipping this book back and forth. For Lady Thief, I made an exception and accepted Shae’s offer. Dudes, it...

What I Liked: Chasing Shadows didn’t get any marketing to speak of, and I really didn’t know much about it. What lured me into requesting it was the mixed media element, the combination of a regular novel and graphic novel. Turns out Chasing Shadows is just as unique as...

What I Liked: Not only was I more in the mood for The Interrupted Tale, but I also think it’s a better book. The first three novels barely made a dent in the overarching plot, but Wood’s finally getting into it now. The mystery of everyone’s identity (no, really,...

What I Liked: I was actually really excited when an announcement happened that the standalone After the Golden Age would have a sequel. Of course, Dreams of the Golden Age is somewhere between a companion and a sequel, with a new crop of characters, but it’s still a bit...

What I Liked: Going into Alienated, I was totally expecting something light and fluffy. For some reason, I decided that humor would be the main thing, followed by a cute romance. Actually, though, Alienated was a good deal more serious and dark than anticipated, which isn’t necessarily a bad...

What I Liked: Aussies supposedly write some of the best books out there. Unfortunately, they choose not to share many of them. Okay, maybe it's that American publishers choose not to purchase them for years on end, but, either way, I end up missing on quite a lot. This...

What I Liked: Having really enjoyed Cayla Kluver's Legacy trilogy, I was really curious about The Queen's Choice. Still, I was hesitant. Faeries aren't really my fantasy creature of choice and it sounded like it would be a paranormal romance, which tends to end poorly for me quite often....

What I Liked: Being Sloane Jacobs is every bit as fun and fluffy as Meant to Be, with bonus family drama, pop culture references, and rarely covered (in YA at least) sports. Being Sloane Jacobs was originally pitched as The Cutting Edge meets The Parent Trap....

Coming to nearly 600 pages, Cress is a much more ambitious novel than either of its predecessors. The book’s length is the most obvious change, but that length is required to encompass the ever-swelling scope and intensity of the Lunar Chronicles. Meyer’s series has been one of my favorites from...

What I Liked: Pioneer leads Mandrodage Meadows, a simple community that lives as separate from the rest of society as possible. On the surface, their little community's a bit odd, but, when you dig down into it, things get creepy fast. For one thing, the teens, who are the...

What I Liked: Both Natalie and Brooke, the two main characters of Anything to Have You are pretty unlikable. Unlike most YA main characters, they’re popular. They party. They’re hot and they know it. Life comes easy to them. They speak using terms of slut-shaming and call each other...

What I Liked: There’s a special place in my heart for the books that leave me with a huge, goofy grin on my face. Seriously, you should see me right now, because I look like a fool. And I am one hundred percent okay with that, because this book...

What I Liked: Lately, I’ve really been in the mood for science fiction, ever since reading the truly wonderful Fortune’s Pawn. In the wake of that awesomeness was a good time to pick up Avalon. Though lacking in the emotional component for me, I enjoyed almost every other aspect...