When I selected Shadow and Bone from my Netflix menu, I had no idea I was stepping into the Grishverse. Little did I know that the intriguing show is based on a young adult trilogy that takes the reader deep into the heart of a complex and totally captivating world of magic.
Category: YA Adventure
Talon
Talon offered me everything I was seeking in a good dragon-inspired YA novel. Thrilling action, well-designed intrigue, and star-crossed romance kept this plot humming. The main characters, who tell the story in alternating first-person voices, were tough and vulnerable all at once, and I think that takes great skill to write well.
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
I now understand why my daughter’s fifth-grade teacher recommended the Maximum Ride series to her. The series has a perfect mix of adventure, science fiction, intrigue, and romance (which is minimal, but just present enough). The story focuses on children and young teenagers who have been turned into flying mutants, and it gives X-Men franchise a run for its money.
Reboot
The action in Reboot moves the book scene to scene. At the same time, Tintera builds her characters throughout, ensuring that the action scenes are not throw away, but instead keep the reader highly involved.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
I think this particular book popped up on my library recommended reads. I have read a great deal of teen fantasy, but because I was working on a manuscript of my own, I was trying to discover more in this genre (I’d been a huge consumer of the genre as a twenty-something).
Children of Blood and Bone
I’d had this on my “to read” list for a while. I love epic fantasy novels, and this one is refreshingly new and exciting with its West African influence. The landscapes and magic are a new brand from the same-old, same-old, but what really got me?