Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Our Score
Shiver is the first in a YA urban fantasy trilogy. 

Synopsis

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without.

Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl.

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Court of Fives by Kate Elliot

Our Score
The Court of Fives is the first in a YA fantasy trilogy. The worldbuilding is reminiscent of Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire.
 

Synopsis

On the Fives court, everyone is equal.

And everyone is dangerous.

Jessamy’s life is a balance between acting like an upper-class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners.

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Hunter by Mercedes Lackey

Our Score
Hunter is the first in a YA fantasy trilogy set in post-apocalyptic America.
 

Synopsis

They came after the Diseray. Some were terrors ripped from our collective imaginations, remnants of every mythology across the world. And some were like nothing anyone had ever dreamed up, even in their worst nightmares.

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The Hangman’s Revolution

Our Score

The Hangman’s Revolution is a YA novel aimed at grade seven readers and up, and is the second book in the Warp Series written by the incomparable Eoin Colfer.

At the beginning of the story, seventeen-year-old Chevie lives in the present, a strange world where she is a cadet in the vast army of the Boxite Empire.… Read the rest

Secondborn by Amy A. Bartol

Our Score
Secondborn is the first in a YA dystopian series that was offered as a Kindle First Read for July 2017. Fans and readers of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series will enjoy this bookMay not be appropriate for younger YA due to sexual content (see Cons).
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The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer

Our Score

The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer is a fun science fiction novel with historical elements, and is aimed at young teens and up.

Synopsis:

Riley, a teen who is living in Victorian London, is an apprentice to Albert Garrick, a malicious and evil assassin, who misuses his illusionist conjuring skills to gain access to victim’s dwellings.… Read the rest