Reviews written by Lauren Thoman

FAKING NORMAL is one of those books that sucks you in from the first page and doesn’t let you go. It’s a quiet, introspective story, but the connection I felt with the characters and the truth that radiated from every page made it impossible to put down. Alexi isn’t like...

I expect a lot from sequels. I need them remind me of everything I enjoyed in the first book, but not retread old ground. I need them to give me new likable characters, while allowing me to grow closer to characters I’ve already met. I need the events of the...

I’m going to try to give away as little as possible of the plot in this review, because I honestly feel that going into this book knowing essentially nothing about it is the way to go. It made each reveal thrilling and satisfying, and made it impossible to stop turning...

THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT puts a fun spin on how each color may feel about its most common uses Blue, for example, is used for water and clear skies, and quite frankly is exhausted. Black, on the other hand, is tired of being used only for outlines, and wishes...

MY BLUE IS HAPPY is a lovely story that beautifully demonstrates how two people can look at the same thing and take away different things, and how both perceptions can be okay. The pictures and colors are vivid, and the prose flows simply but fluidly. On the surface, it helps...

Okay, first of all, I didn't even know the Baltic deportations happened. And after reading the author's note that follows the story, a lot of people don't know it happened. But it did. Many of the events in this book are based on things that actually happened. So I'm glad...

From the first page, I was riveted by this story and this world. The concept of a disease that either kills or gives superpowers -- and that death may be preferable -- was amazing. It's never explained why it only affects the children (and apparently, only American children), and it...

This story was amazing. Victoria's prose is gorgeous and atmospheric, and it was easy to lose myself in the story. She reveals the workings and mythology of The Archive in bits and pieces instead of info-dumping all at once, so when I started out, it took me a little bit...

I haven't actually read a lot of YA that was purely sci-fi. Everything has been dystopian with sci-fi elements, or fantasy with sci-fi elements. So I was excited for this book, which takes place in a more realistic near-future, where the technology is advanced, but not so advanced that it's...

First, I just want to say how much I love the idea of this series. Each book in the futuristic sci-fi Lunar Chronicles is a retelling of a classic fairy tale, and I think that combo is magical. Cinder, obviously, is Cinderella. The sequel, Scarlet, is Little Red Riding Hood....

The Runaway King picks up almost immediately after The False Prince ends, which is both a good and a bad thing. Good because it plunges you straight into the action (and there is quite a bit of action in this one!); bad because if you're like me and haven't read...

The Eternity Cure picks up a few months after The Immortal Rules leaves off, after Allie has left behind her human friends - including Zeke, the human boy she had grown to love - at Eden, the last remaining vampire-free city. Now she's using her sire bond - a psychic...

Poison is different from most of the fantasy I've read, either YA or otherwise. It's lighthearted and whimsical, and never takes itself too seriously. I'll admit, my personal preference normally trends a bit darker, but Poison was a fun read that kept me smiling from beginning to end. ...

When I started reading Dare You To, I was a tad on the worried side. Like Pushing the Limits, the story is told from two perspectives. We open with Ryan, and I was not too fond of him. He seemed exactly like the type of guy I steered clear of...

From the first few moments of Infinityglass, it's clear that this is going to be a different sort of story from the first two books in the series. For one thing, as with Timepiece, we have a new narrator -- but this time, there's two of them, and one of...