Emily Booth Masters

Seventeen-year-old Grace has held a morbid fascination with the wolves that reside behind her Minnesota home since she was dragged from her tire swing by the pack as a young child, only to be rescued and returned to safety by one particular wolf. For years she has watched and followed this yellow-eyed wolf when the weather is cold, only to feel the pangs of longing when he disappears each summer.

Eighteen-year-old Sam has lived a double life—wolf in the winter, boy in the summer—since he was attacked and bitten by a wolf as a young child. His werewolf pack is his family, but he longs to know Grace, the beautiful young woman who has watched him from her house since the day he saved her from an attack by his fellow wolves. 

When a local boy is attacked and presumably killed by the wolves, people from the town take matters into their own hands and go into the woods to hunt down the wolves. Grace is worried about her wolf and tracks the hunters into the woods, only to find that her own wolf has been shot, and, as a result, he has changed into his human form. She rescues him, and she and Sam learn that their love for one another is mutual. They then resolve to find a way to keep Sam human.

Maggie Stiefvater is not a newcomer to the popular genre of supernatural romance for teens. Her debut, Lament, introduced readers to the world of soulless faerie assassins, so the reach to werewolves was not a long one for her. She melds the worlds of fantasy and reality quite convincingly, making it easy to overlook the unlikeliness of a girl loving a wolf (or a faerie being sent to assassinate a 16-year-old).

In a market where the search for the next Twilight is in high gear, Stiefvater delivers a solid contender in Shiver. However, Shiver stands out for reasons beyond its place within the ever-growing genre of choice. Twilight lovers will appreciate a new take on the supernatural love story, but all readers will be able to enjoy Stiefvater’s fast-paced storytelling and dedication to the old-fashioned art of creating a believable and enduring romance. Shiver is beautifully written, even poetic at times, and a perfect indulgence for readers of all ages.   

Emily Booth Masters reviews from Nashville.
 

Jude is the youngest of the four Hernandez sisters. She has lived her life in the shadows of her older sisters, but she has also learned a lot of important and wonderful lessons from them. One lesson they won’t let her forget is to never get involved with a Vargas brother. Two of her sisters were left heartbroken by Vargas boys, so the girls don’t want Jude to fall victim to a boy from that family.

Jude tries to keep her promise, but when her beloved father becomes ill, she wants to refurbish his vintage motorcycle as a way to show him how much she loves him and to help him capture some memories. To accomplish this, she has to enlist the help of Emilio Vargas, the youngest brother of the two young men who broke her sisters’ hearts. 

In Jude’s attempts to connect with her father, who is fading away by the day, she finds herself drawn to Emilio. Her sisters were right about Vargas boys being irresistible, but were they right about them all being heartbreakers? While Jude’s focus may be on doing something wonderful for her father, her attention is also drawn—quite magnetically—to Emilio.

With grippingly realistic portrayals of family relationships, Sarah Ockler manages to create vivid characters that jump off of the page and move in with the reader. The love between Jude and her father, as he succumbs to the dementia of Alzheimer’s, is moving and painful. Her relationship with her sisters is sweet, but their control over her is frustrating.

The Book of Broken Hearts is a story of loves: between father and daughter, between sisters, between a young woman and man finding true love. This poignant story will stay with readers long after the book is finished.

Emily Booth Masters reviews from Nashville, Tennessee.

June Costa is an artist in the post-apocalyptic city of Palmares Tres, in what was once Brazil. She is a “waka,” a citizen younger than the age of 30, in a matriarchal society ruled by a Queen and “Aunties” (powerful older women). The matriarchy came into power following a horrific plague that killed many of the males and was largely attributed to the negligence of the male rulers.

Although the Queen manages the city, a Summer Prince (a waka) is chosen to rule alongside her as the Summer King for one year, after which time he will be sacrificed. A romance blossoms between June and Enki, the new Summer King, as they develop a relationship based upon their mutual love for artistic expression. As a result, June is forced to question the rules of her society and the wisdom of the ruling class.

In her debut novel for young adults, Alaya Dawn Johnson creates a society where homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality are equally accepted. Women are the accepted leaders, and elders command respect and obedience. However, corruption among the powerful is still very much in existence, and race and culture are still obstacles for those with ambition.

The Summer Prince is a complicated story that weaves together elements of romance, art, moral dilemmas and dystopian themes. The heroine is deeply flawed but still intriguing, and readers of all ages will find themselves craving more from this fresh new voice in young adult fiction.

Emily Booth Masters reviews from Nashville, Tennessee.

Fifteen-year-old orphan Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians. Unfortunately, the worldwide demand for magic is dwindling, and Jennifer struggles to keep the agency going.

Legend has it that there is one remaining dragon—and one remaining dragonslayer. Many would like to get their hands on the pristine and desirable acreage where the final dragon resides, so it is exciting news when magician Kevin Zipp begins to experience visions of the last dragon dying at the hands of the Last Dragonslayer. Things may be about to change for Kazam. “Big Magic” is coming, and Jennifer may play a larger role than she ever could have anticipated. 

Jasper Fforde’s fantasy world is vivid, exciting and unique. In Jennifer he has created a spunky heroine who is easy to root for. She finds herself in the position of being the fabled “Last Dragonslayer,” but she also discovers that she doesn’t particularly want to kill the dragon, who actually turns out to be quite intelligent and interesting.

Moral dilemmas and hilariously sarcastic humor reign supreme in Fforde’s first novel for young adults—book one in a series of three fantastical novels that promise to deliver more than just thrills. Readers will be forced to consider the price of greed and the motivations of those who claim to pursue “progress.”

Emily Booth Masters reviews from Nashville, Tennessee.

Callie LeRoux has lived in the small town of Slow Run, Kansas for her entire life. Even though the constant dust that chokes her town threatens Callie’s health, her mother refuses to leave. She awaits the return of Callie’s father, who disappeared years ago and hasn’t been heard from since.

When her mother goes missing in a dust storm, Callie heads west to find her. She meets Baya, a mysterious Indian Man who helps her and then disappears. As her search continues, she befriends Jack Hollander, a young hobo who is happy to keep her company even as they encounter danger at every turn.

Callie is biracial, the daughter of a white mother and a black father—a dangerous situation in 1930s America. However, that isn’t the most unique thing about Callie; she also happens to be part fairy. In Dust Girl, book one of The American Fairy Trilogy, Sarah Zettel lays the groundwork for a complex fairy mythology. There are light and dark factions of fairies, animal-spirit guides and creatures who hide in human skins.

Dust Girl is also a complex novel of historical fiction. The Dust Bowl period—or the “Dirty Thirties”—is depicted with vivid imagery and complex detail. Whether readers are interested in the historical aspects, the magical elements or simply the well-woven tapestry of a story, Dust Girl is a mysterious and engrossing page-turner of a novel.

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Read an interview with Sarah Zettel for Dust Girl.

It’s a longstanding tradition at Mount Washington High School—on the last Monday in September “The List” is posted all over school. It names the prettiest girl, and the ugliest girl, from each grade. Who writes The List? No one seems to know. It’s apparently an honor secretly passed down from one student to another, and it’s gone on for as long as anyone can remember. To add a touch of legitimacy, each copy of The List is emblazoned with a line drawing of Mount Washington High, from an embossing stamp stolen decades ago from the principal’s desk.

When beautiful Candace is named “ugliest” in the sophomore class, with an annotation that “beauty isn’t just skin-deep,” she is devastated and wonders what could have gone wrong. When lovely Bridget is named “prettiest” in the junior class, along with a note about “what a difference a summer can make,” she resolves to continue her zealous diet and maintain the thin physique she managed to starve herself into over the summer. The stories go on, in alternating chapters that reveal the humiliations and triumphs of each of the eight girls on The List.

Siobhan Vivian’s latest novel for young adults tackles the beauty myth head on. Readers will find themselves relating to each character’s struggles—and The List does bring challenges to all who appear on it, “pretty” and “ugly” alike. Labels can be damaging, even when they may appear to be positive.

Half cautionary tale and half whodunit, The List will keep readers turning pages in the hopes of finding out who is behind The List, and what will become of the girls it singles out.

Juliette has not seen, spoken to or touched another human being for 264 days. Locked away in an asylum as punishment for an accidental crime, her solitude is interrupted when she is assigned a cellmate. The fact that the cellmate is a boy both frightens and excites her. She is as frightened for him as for herself, because her powers, the same powers that caused her to commit the accidental crime, could be the end of this new cellmate, Adam.

She can inflict great pain—or worse—by simply touching or being touched. Her parents, who regard her as a monster, are relieved to be rid of her. Time in the asylum has not alleviated her insanity, but has actually caused it. Her lack of lucidity is represented throughout the book by insane thoughts struck through and then replaced with more appropriate remarks. Juliette is a work in progress, and her curse evolves into a power as the story progresses. As she is empowered, her need to strike through her thoughts wanes.

Author Tahereh Mafi, at only 23 years of age, has created a fascinating dystopian society where birds don’t fly, clouds are the wrong color, disease is rampant and the weather alternates between snow and blazing heat without seasons or any measurable pattern. A group known as The Reestablishment has taken over, and they rule with cruelty and psychopathic measures of torture. When the extremely good-looking but horribly evil Warner plans to turn Juliette into his secret weapon for torturing troublemakers, she has to choose her own path and fight for what she believes is right.

Although Shatter Me is the first of a forthcoming trilogy, it stands alone as a poetically written and absolutely riveting novel that rivals The Hunger Games in intensity and page-turning excitement.