Reviews written by Elisha Jachetti, Staff Reviewer

A SKY FOR US ALONE by Kristin Russell is a YA coming-of-age novel filled with mystery and heartache. It’s set in a poor section of Appalachia that’s run by the mines and the man who owns them. When Nate, Harlowe’s older brother, starts searching for a way to get out,...

AN ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & TREASON by Virginia Boecker is such a breath of fresh air. It’s a YA historical fiction novel that promises espionage, mistaken identity, and betrayal, all unfolding in Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. The story starts when Katherine’s father is killed for his religious beliefs, forcing Katherine...

POETRY 101 by Susan Dalzell is a comprehensive introduction to poetry written in the English language. The book takes us all the way back to the Anglo-Saxons and BEOWULF and brings us through every movement that has transpired since, including the social media poetry that is being produced today. Dalzell...

I DO NOT TRUST YOU by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz is a young adult thriller that follows Memphis “M” Engel all over the world as she searches for pieces of an ancient Egyptian statue. If she can find them before the cult that kidnapped her father does, she...

YOU/POET by Rayna Hutchison and Samuel Blake, the folks from HER HEART POETRY, is a tremendous gift to writers everywhere. The subtitle of this book is “Learn your art. Speak your truth. Share your voice,” and the authors show the readers how to do just that. The book starts off...

DARE YOU TO LIE by Amber Lynn Natusch is a young adult suspense novel that follows Kylene after she moves back to a small town, the place she left after nude photos of her were spread through her high school. When it happened, she suspected six football players, including her...

GOING PLACES by Kathryn Berla is a coming-of-age novel that follows Hudson Wheeler through his senior year of high school. He only needs two classes to graduate, so he has plenty of free time to chase the edgy, art girl, run his two businesses, and start his own graphic novel....

THE FOREST QUEEN by Betsy Cornwell caught my eye at first glance. The cover is beautiful and promises a tale of adventure ahead. On it is a quote, “She robs from the rich to give to the poor,” so right away, we know this is a Robin Hood retelling with...

FREEDOM TRIALS by Meredith Tate is the hypothetical birth child of THE MAZE RUNNER and THE TESTING. Set in a dystopian future, Evelyn is a hack, a prisoner for a crime she can’t remember. Her jailers have wiped her memory, along with all the other cellmates. What she knows is...

THE DEEPEST ROOTS by Miranda Asebedo is a young adult novel set in the world on Cottonwood Hollow, Kansas, a place where girls have special abilities. Rome is a Fixer. She can repair cracked phone screens, cars, frayed wires, and every other kind of object. Unfortunately, she can’t Fix the...

THE TRUTH LIES HERE by Lindsey Klingele is a young adult, sci-fi novel set in Bone Lake, Michigan. This little town is the last place Penny wants to spend her entire summer, but her mom’s on a sabbatical in Spain and Penny needs quotes from Bone Lake residents for her...

THE LOOKING GLASS by Janet McNally is a young adult novel set in the highly competitive world of aspiring New York City ballerinas. The book begins on Sylvie’s birthday when she gets a mysterious gift from her sister, Julia, who’s been missing for a year. Believing this is a call...

LITTLE WHITE LIES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a novel mashup of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars set in the world of Southern belles and debutantes. The book kicks off when eighteen-year-old Sawyer Taft is propositioned by her very wealthy and estranged grandmother to come live with her for...

THESE REBEL WAVES is the first book in a fantasy duology by Sara Raasch. The story is told in third person limited from three different perspectives, Lu, a former revolutionary soldier turned young politician, Vex, a notorious and wanted pirate, and Ben, an Argridian prince with a fondness for forbidden...

HOLLYWOOD is the second photographic journal by Pretty Little Liars’ star, Keegan Allen. This time he showcases people and places exclusively from Tinseltown. Though there are some familiar faces, such as Lucy Hale and Tyler Blackburn, the majority of his subjects are ones you can find any given day on...