What happens when magic goes wrong; witchcraft, family and a touch of horror. Following 2 timelines: mother and daughter, a little too drawn out in the middle for my liking but entertaining enough.
Fantasy romance reimagined fairytale Sleeping Beauty themes together with werewolves. Better than it sounds!
Historical fiction with a supernatural touch. Set in 1950's bi- racial twins discover each other after being raised apart, one as a black girl in New York, the other as a white Southern Belle.
NZ Historical fiction based on true story of a NZ soldier in Nazi occupied Greece.
Excellent YA historical fiction set in WW2. Four characters narrate their flight across war ravaged country.
#3 Paladin Prophecy I was over the storyline to be honest but YA audience would probably like it. Sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural
Another excellent YA murder mystery by Maureen Johnson
#2 The Paladin Prophecy. Plenty of action, mind powers, secret societies and now aliens... Lacked the depth in plot and character development that the first book in the series had. Would appeal to younger readers.
YA supernatural thriller well paced and will appeal to teen audience. I would have liked a bit more depth to the story and the characters but it entertained none the less.
Food for thought.
A Harry Potter/ Percy Jackson type story.. boy earns place in special school, makes friends, discovers he has special abilities and evil to fight. Lots of action, fast paced, cool tech and of course baddies and evil monsters - young readers will enjoy it (it's just not as good as HP or PJ).
Excellent YA adventure fantasy
Ya mystery 5 teens go into the bush but only 4 come out. Told in a series of first person accounts as each teen answers police questions. Plenty of teenage drama
Young adult urban fantasy set in Australia.
Great concept but could have delivered so much more Girl raised in what she believes is a post apocalyptic society that reveres the connection to the earth. Discovers her clan has been kidnapped by outsiders. She goes to find them and is astounded by what she finds...
A swashbuckling story set in a fantasy world of gods, royalty and magic. Real flawed characters, high stake action, some capricious spirits and a possibility of romance. Loved it!
Whimsical fantasy about the power of words and doors as portals to other worlds. Has Iva Ibbotson vibes
Excellent ya heist. The ultimate competition between 9 teen thieves. A fast paced heist novel with twists, turns & characters you want to root for. Will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Damm it's good. My review won't do it justice- just read it. Better still listen to the audiobook read by the author
Climate changed dystopian survival story told by a young teenager trying to make their way back home. Simply told but effective
Might just be my favourite read this year!
Like the local setting and premise but didn't connect with the characters.
Story improved as characters were developed. Persevere past the first few chapters. Nice to see genuine platonic friendship and diverse characters.
Nice easy local read suit Year 7-10. Themes of environment/ kaitiakitanga & hauroa /strength of character/ wellbeing that could be explored with a class. Good read aloud.
Curious magical realism ya read. Not one of my favourites but I enjoyed the references to many other books and book characters sprinkled throughout the story.
The futility of war in a darkly wild ride through a fractured mind...and so it goes.
WW2 set in Nazi occupied Netherlands. Art forgery, resistance and betrayal. Great descriptive use of colours throughout the text to explain feelings and settings.
Slow to start but a satisfying ending to a dark spooky story where the horrors weren't always the ghosts
Fun magical murder mystery. Multiple authors. Almost a tick list of diverse characters but the writing saves it
Dragons, dragon riders, magic and steamy romance
Witches, magic, enemies to lovers, steamy, slow burn, 17th century Frenchesque world. Great if you liked Six of crows.