Category: YA

5 star, YA

Review: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Alex Stern #1

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

This one was simply brilliant. A bit longer than the books I normally read, but every bit was worth it. Andge and I both agree on this 5 Drink Me Potions rating, with only one slight knock that we agreed on. How do I even describe this book? It’s an…urban…fantasy…mystery? Elements of history? It’s actually hard to put a finger on, but either way, we absolutely enjoyed it.

Ninth House is about a world where magic is real. But not the kind that you’re thinking of (Expelliarmus!), but much more sinister in nature, with rituals and summonings and illusions. The world building of this fantasy is actually amazing, more amazing than anything I’ve read (about magic) in a long while. A brief introduction is that magic is based around these “tombs” or “nexuses” where magic converges, and each of the eight Houses of the Veil can deploy a specific type of magic using these power points.

Alex Stern, our protagonist, gets sucked into this world in New Haven. Just why was she chosen to become a part of it?

First of all, can I just say that the name Galaxy is amazing. Yes we know her by Alex basically the entire novel, but shortening Galaxy into Alex is pretty cool. And it’s not just for the sake of having a cool name, since names are quite important in this fantastical world. Not only that though, she is a strong-willed character, fiery and fierce, with the will to survive stronger than anything. And with the amount that she’s been through, I don’t blame her at all.

Continue reading “Review: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo” →
4 star, YA

ARC Review: Don’t Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Present Day:
Eva has never felt like she belonged… not in her own family or with her friends in New York City, and certainly not at a fancy boarding school like Hardwick Preparatory Academy. So when she is invited to join the Fives, an elite secret society, she jumps at the opportunity to finally be a part of something.

But what if the Fives are about more than just having the best parties and receiving special privileges from the school? What if they are also responsible for keeping some of Hardwick’s biggest secrets buried?

1962:
There is only one reason why Connie would volunteer to be one of the six students to participate in testing Hardwick’s nuclear fallout shelter: Craig Allenby. While the thought of nuclear war sends her into a panic, she can’t pass up the opportunity to spend four days locked in with the school’s golden boy. However, Connie and the other students quickly discover that there is more to this “test” than they previously thought. As they are forced to follow an escalating series of commands, Connie realizes that one wrong move could have dangerous consequences.

Separated by sixty years , Eva’s and Connie’s stories become inextricably intertwined as Eva unravels the mystery of how six students went into the fallout shelter all those years ago . . . but only five came out.

**Don’t Breathe a Word comes out May 18, 2021**

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review

Don’t Breathe a Word is another successful story that combines dual POVs across different timelines that mesh together in a compelling read. In the present day, Eva finds herself sent off to a private boarding school literally last minute (thanks, mean family). Trying to fit into a crowd that has grown up together since the fifth grade is super tough. Enter a group who IS willing to take her under their wing. Little does she know, this group functions more like a secret society than a regular bunch of friends. The question is, are they harmless or are they hiding something more sinister?

Continue reading “ARC Review: Don’t Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor” →
3.5 star, YA

Review: The Project by Courtney Summers

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died in a tragic car accident, her sister Bea joined the elusive community called The Unity Project, leaving Lo to fend for herself. Desperate not to lose the only family she has left, Lo has spent the last six years trying to reconnect with Bea, only to be met with radio silence.

When Lo’s given the perfect opportunity to gain access to Bea’s reclusive life, she thinks they’re finally going to be reunited. But it’s difficult to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, and as Lo delves deeper into The Project and its charismatic leader, she begins to realize that there’s more at risk than just her relationship with Bea: her very life might be in danger.

As she uncovers more questions than answers at each turn, everything Lo thought she knew about herself, her sister, and the world is upended. One thing doesn’t change, though, and that’s what keeps her going: Bea needs her, and Lo will do anything to save her.

From Courtney Summers, the New York Times bestselling author of the 2019 Edgar Award Winner and breakout hit Sadie, comes her electrifying follow-up—a suspenseful, pulls-no-punches story about an aspiring young journalist determined to save her sister no matter the cost.

This book is everything Courtney Summers has attempted to do for her audience: make them think without judging at first glance. The Project follows a hardened protagonist, Lo Denham, who has been orphaned in an accident that left her with physical (and plenty of emotional) scars. The further loss of her older sister Bea has pushed her more into this impenetrable shell that won’t easily let anything in.

The only thing that seems to wake her up is her pursuit of a story about the group her sister ended up in. The Project. On the surface level, seems like a good group who does a lot of charity work (ie. Giving food and a warm shelter to those who are down on their luck, even if they’re not so poor off enough for city sanctioned help) and helps their members with becoming better versions of themselves – aka more altruistic and in touch with their spiritual faith.

Continue reading “Review: The Project by Courtney Summers” →