THINGS JOLIE NEEDS TO DO BEFORE SHE BITES IT by KERRY WINFREY A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It by Kerry Winfrey is a delightful little gem of a book reminiscent of teen comedies from the 2000s. It follows our main character, Jolie,…
DIVERGENT by VERONICA ROTH (Divergent #1) A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN In some ways, this feels like a silly book to write an “In Case You Missed It” review on. Writing about missing Divergent is sort of like writing about missing The Hunger Games or Twilight. Divergent may not have…
Orange: The Complete Collection vol. 1 by Ichigo Takano A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN Before I get into the review for the books this month, let me preface it by saying that I’m technically cheating a little bit. The books I’ll be talking about aren’t exactly “new,” per se, but…
TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by JENNY HAN A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han is a sugary-sweet contemporary novel following our main character, Lara Jean Song-Covey as she navigates her way through high school. The twist here is that…
MONDAY’S NOT COMING by TIFFANY D. JACKSON A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson is a ripped-from-the-headlines story about the bonds of friendship, the relationship between marginalized communities and the police, and how far people will go to cover up a crime. Monday isn’t a…
BAD ROMANCE by HEATHER DEMETRIOS (2017) A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN Bad Romance, like the Lady Gaga song, is a story about an all-consuming relationship that destroys everything in its path. Our main character, Grace, just wants to get out of her troubled household and go to college at NYU.…
EMERGENCY CONTACT by MARY H.K. CHOI (2018) A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi is a cool book. In almost every sense of the word. The author herself is cool (she wrote articles for Wired, GQ, and The Atlantic before stepping foot into the YA world).…
A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN Boy bands. We all love them. Or at least, I do. I was an avid fan of the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC when I was younger, One Direction when I was a little older, and now the Korean super-group, BTS. Boy bands are fun. They…
THE WICKED DEEP by SHEA ERNSHAW (MARCH 2018) A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw reads like it should have come out in 2008. This isn’t an insult. Coming from me, it’s an incredibly high compliment. If you don’t remember, 2008 was the height of the…
SHADOW AND BONE by LEIGH BARDUGO (Shadow and Bone #1) (2012) A REVIEW by ALEXA DUNCAN Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo offered readers something fresh when it came out in 2012. While the YA world’s obsession with fantasy novels was just getting underway, Bardugo helped popularize them with her…