A beautiful ending to a fantastic series. There wasn't a single point in this book where the characters or the plot felt untrue to the world created. This felt like it unfolded naturally, and that can be very rare to find in YA science fiction. This was a truly masterful creation. Marie Lu writes with vision and I can't wait to read The Young Elites series by her next.

This was cute and sweet. I like how the main message was that we create our own insecurities and we stand in the way of ourselves most of the time. Sure, bully and teasing happens. We can't control that, but we can control what we do about it. Some parts of this book were a little off in the pacing and everything wrapped up a little too well, but still, it was a very enjoyable and quick read. I'm excited to give it to my students.

This book was a fun read, mostly. It took me a little while to get into the book, and I probably could have abandoned it without caring to much up until about the half-way point. In this version of Jane Eyre, Jane can see ghosts and interact with them. The book opens with a new character to Jane's story, Charlotte Bronte, thinking that Jane murdered the school's headmaster. More new characters arrive from the Society for the Relocation of Wayward Spirits seeking to hire Jane. Many events in the story unfold like you would expect for a retelling of Jane Eyre, up until about the three-quarters mark, where things really start to get interesting. Reader, you won't get the ending you expect here and the story is all the better for it. That ending did feel a little bit rushed, so that's the main reason for my 4 star review. Still, it was well worth the read and I look forward to enjoying the other two books of the "Jane series".

This book was unbearably cute. I am not a romance reader and I am not a high school student, so I read this with the frame of mind that I might have had in high school. Reading it now I would probably give it 4 stars, but my overly romantic and constantly pining sophomore self would have eaten this book up in a single setting. I'm more of a writer than I am a socialite, so I would have immediately related to the main character, even though I don't play guitar or write songs. Unrequited crushes and "frenemies" seem par for the course in high school too, so again, I could relate.
Kasie West hit it out of the park again, as far as her genre is concerned. She's a great writer and her books flow well. I love to recommend them to my romance readers.

This story is phenomenal. Some changes were made to Jack Gruner's story to be a better representation of the holocaust as a whole, but this story in its essence is true. This story is of course sad, horrific, gut-wrenching, and at times unbearable. But that is what makes this a must-read books for all young adults (or even adults). Gratz's writing brings the story to life despite all the death around the main character. This story and Jack's memories are a gift. We must never forget.

I came into this book not expecting anything and not really knowing what I was getting into. I found this book to be a fascinating expose on gender in Afghanistan. I wish there were more books on this topic, but unfortunately, Jenny Nordberg stands alone in this particular field. As a western woman, I feel this book was a particularly important read. Educating women and girls empowers everyone. Educated countries are less violent countries. Educated girls have fewer children, can be better wives and mothers, and can help build the economy. Educated girls know their worth. Educated girls empower men through stronger households. It is not one gender verses the other, as many feel in the culture these women share. For us westerners, it is not one culture verses the other. We are all in this together and we must help one another. It begins by becoming informed.

As per the Goodreads rating system, I liked this book decently enough, so I'm giving it three stars. It wasn't as good as Warcross, but the parts of it that were good were really good. Unfortunately, many parts dragged and the characters lacked this time around.

Pros:
- Sasuke's story is where this book truly shines.
- Hideo's connection to his brother. His character may not grow much in this particular book, but I feel like he's still the most in character.
- The world goes on style of ending. There's no perfect or absolutely terrible ending. The world just goes on.

Cons:
- Emika falls flat this time around. There's just not much to her character that isn't already known. She is a complete pawn in this book, only doing what others want her to do.
- Pheonix Riders characters are shoved to the background. I honestly forgot who was who. I was looking forward to more of them, but they were relatively pointless.


I enjoy character driven works and this just didn't feel like one of those books. Warcross was very character driven, so I was hoping this book would have a similar feel. It didn't. I wasn't terribly disappointed, but I wasn't really happy with this book either. Blah.

Using the Goodreads rating system, I have to rate this at 1 star because I "did not like it". There were some parts that I did like, such as the thoughts (I can't really call them poems) on immigration. Although I like the idea Rupi Kaur tried to get at, I feel that the execution fell short. This book is better than Milk and Honey, so at least there is progress. However, I still feel like this isn't poetry, the thoughts are sometimes near word for word copy and pastes of other authors' works, and the flow is confusing. Sometimes poems of loss, and love, and healing, are jumbled up together, and although I realize this is how life works, it doesn't make sense to the reader. My students wound up confusing the hurt with the love, and that's the absolute last message any reader should get out of a book.

I hated Milk and Honey, but wanted to give the author another try, because I do feel like her voice is important and her experiences deserve to be heard. I just can't behind the way she tells them.

This author just isn't for me.

Whew! I haven’t been moved by a book like this for a very long time. I’m not a big romance reader, so that’s a strong commendation from me that I give this book five stars. It is so character driven and the descriptions are perfect.

A more detailed review will come later.

I liked this one. It was much better than Ibi Zoboi's debut novel, American Street. I can certainly see that she is growing as a writer and seems to be taking feedback into account. It's not my normal type of read, and I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't come in my Owlcrate box.
I really appreciated the culture in this one. Culture got lost in the drugs and cursing in Zoboi's first, book, so I was glad to see the culture take center stage here. There are a few f-bombs and other things, but they didn't detract from the story. They showed Zuri's fiery nature.
I'll be book-talking this one, for sure.