I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, by Erika L. Sánchez

The book “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Erika L. Sanchez follows the life of a girl named Julia Reyes. The wild child of her family, Julia is not one who would bend to fit the standards her parents would put on her as their child. Her older sister on the other hand is someone whom people would consider the golden child in their family, so it is safe to say that her passing was not taken lightly at all. This event would lead to a spiral of difficulties for the 15-year-old. A strained relationship with her parents, questions left unanswered, sudden changes in her life, and struggles with her mental wellbeing - life at this point has not been good to her. The story follows Julia in her life as a first-generation American and how the burden of grief leads to her almost taking her own life but also finding the will to live and continue with her dreams and taking on her opportunities.

The Coming of Age genre is something that has always gained my appreciation in different things like books and movies, therefore, this book was truly an enjoyable read. I found the plot of this story not only interesting but also very relatable to what teens may feel in today’s society. The topics discussed in this book felt timely and relevant despite being published years ago. I think that the author did a fantastic job showing how the grief of losing a loved one and regret leads us to treat others badly. An example is how Julia’s mother now wants to throw her a quinceañera, something she was not able to do for her older sister who had passed; this event shows how we try to ease our regrets by treating someone else with something we lacked in treating another. This book is an interesting read, and I highly recommend it for those who take an interest in coming-of-age stories with mental health topics involved, and those who want to read more on the point of view of a character/author who is a first-generation American.

Reviewed by Alex C., Grade 10

Montrose Library

 

To Kill a Kingdom, by Alexandra Christo

Princess Lira is the most destructive siren who collects one heart of a prince on every birthday, having a collection of seventeen. After being forced to kill another siren, she is transformed into a human by her mother the Sea Queen. Lira has to bring the Sea Queen Prince Elian's heart to the Sea Queen or else she will stay a human forever. Prince Elian lives on the ocean, exploring it on a ship with his crew. He rescues Lira from drowning in the ocean, not knowing she's a siren and her real intentions. Lira tells Elian that she will help him find a key that will destroy all sirens in order to trick him into trusting her.

I enjoyed To Kill a Kingdom, by Alexandra Christo, because in a way it reminded me of The Little Mermaid. I also liked that it was about pirates and sirens because I love books with those characters. I did not like that there was almost no romance in the book because I do love romance books. However, that wasn't a major thing because the plot was really good and interesting. I would recommend this book to young adults who like fantasy books and also don't want to read a book that is heavily based on romance. This book did not at all make me feel bored or want to stop reading it. It was interesting from the beginning all the way to the end.

Reviewed by PM, Grade 12

Glendale Central Library 

Ao Haru Ride Volume 1, by Io Sakisaka

With the exception of Kou Tanaka, Futaba Yoshioka has disliked boys since middle school because she thinks they're too harsh and violent. Futaba had no problems with them getting friends and even had a crush on Kou because of how little and delicate he was. Kou then implies that she is going to ask Futaba out by inviting her to a festival in the summer. However, shortly after, Kou overhears Futaba yelling about how she despises all boys while she is being harassed by a few boys. Kou abruptly departs after failing to show up for their scheduled rendezvous at the festival. In her senior year of high school, Futaba is consumed by thoughts of her first love and longs to reconnect with him.

I liked this volume overall. Besides the true feeling and circumstances our protagonists encountered, I appreciated how relatable the characters were. When Kou's backstory is exposed, I'm hoping he feels a little bit more distinctive because a story this simple will rely significantly on its protagonists to keep readers interested. I'm enjoying this series so far and am eagerly awaiting volume two, although it seems like it may quickly go any way.

Ao Haru Ride Volume 1, by Io Sakisaka, had me flipping the pages even though I had reservations about certain things I had read. This novel has a certain appeal, which I believe is a result of the way the personalities are written. 

Reviewed by Natali <3, Grade 11

Glendale Central Library

It Starts With Us, by Colleen Hoover

Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have been divorced and working diligently with taking care of the baby they had together,, when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, once again. After two years of being separated, she finally has re-met Atlas at the right time, allowing herself to be selfish and say yes to a coffee date. However, Ryle does not seem to have moved on from Lily and tension arises when he realizes Lily has finally found someone better for her.

When discussing this book with my peers, many people said that there should have never been a sequel to It Ends With Us. However, I found It Starts With Us, by Colleen Hoover, to be very empowering for those who have experienced domestic abuse in the way that, sure you may have ended up with the wrong person at first, but the right person will find you in the end. This book allows Lily, our protagonist, to find true love in a healthy way and by doing that introduces a better father figure to her child. This book also dives into more with the first love Atlas and brings him more to life, adding into more detail why he was the way he was when lily was younger. I thought it was an overall great and fast read and would for sure recommend it to others.

Reviewed by Ariana G., Grade 11

Montrose Library

Its Not Summer Without You, by Jenny Han

Belly, 16, is always looking forward to the best part of the year, summer. All year she is dreaming and waiting to spend her summers at Cousins Beach swimming day and night, not having to worry about anything else going on in her life. However, when a family friend dies and the beach house is threatened to be sold, she is faced with the fact that she might be able to see the boys or the beach house again. So the trio Jeremah, Conrad, and Belly all round each other up to fight for the traditions and memories that the beach house has created for them and to remember Jeremiah and Conrads mom through the beach house.

A great continuation to the first book. It did have darker elements implemented since it was dealing with death and mourning, but it also shows the impact that people on each other and how it takes just one person to be able to list many people off their feet for a cause they believe in. The trio’s connection becomes a lot stronger through this mourning and with the determination of saving this house which I appreciated greatly. It also presented a relationship of friendship between the two genders which is rare to find in novels. Its Not Summer Without You, by Jenny Han is a great and fast read and will hope for the last book to be the same.

Reviewed by Ariana G., Grade 11

Montrose Library 

The Wicked King, by Holly Black

This is the sequel to the first book The Cruel Prince. After finding out that Oak is the heir, Jude has to keep him safe. This causes her to have to bound herself to Cardan in order to control him. Cardan is constantly trying to humiliate Jude even though he continues to be fascinated with her and her determination. Jude unexpectedly gets betrayed by someone in her life and she has to discover who the traitor is.

I did not enjoy The Wicked King, by Holly Black as much as I enjoyed the first one. It was boring and there was not much happening in the book. The characters were not interesting to read about and it was very slow to read. What I liked was the character development of Cardan. There was still no romance in this book which made it uninteresting for me to read because my favorite genre of books is romance. I would recommend this book to young readers because I think that they would enjoy it. It was a good book to read if readers don't want to read a book that is about romance and is fantasy.

Reviewed by PM, Grade 12

Glendale Central Library