Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo - PUBLIC ONLY

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo, 448 pages. Bloomsbury, 2024. $20.

Language: R (100+ swears, 100+ F's); Mature Content: R (sexual content, sexual language); Violence: R (sexual assault, kidnapping) 

BUYING ADVISORY: NEW ADULT - PUBLIC ONLY

APPEALS TO: SOME 

17yo Jo-Lynn had a confrontation with a boy at a beach bonfire, his response, revenge porn - he sent her nudes (stolen from her phone) to his contacts. Suddenly she went from popular to pariah. The girls all stepped away from her, the boys thought she was easy, and acted on it. She spiraled at school.  Then, her ex-best friend Maddie disappears - some say she ran away, others that she's dead. Maddie had been awful to Jo, but the day she disappeared, Maddie had told Jo she was in trouble and needed her help. Was this a set up, or could Jo figure out what really happened? 

This debut novel is a Morris award winner. An intriguing mystery with a lot going on. A school cheating scandal, academic rankings drama, college acceptance, mentors, mean girls, mean boys, as well as family drama. Jo starts fake dating Hudson, (his suggestion to help her get back in with the popular crowd) and the relationship grows and becomes physical. The sexual content is also a lot, I would describe it as explicit, and there's not a nice build to it either - it doesn't feel romantic, also there are several scenes. While the intended audience is high school, I would suggest New Adult as a more appropriate audience. Characters default white. 

Lisa Librarian 

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker - PUBLIC ONLY

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker, 416 pgs. Tor Teen, 2023. $19

Language: R (100+ swears, 138 'fs'); Mature Content: R (racism, underage drug and alcohol use, homophobia, underage on-page sex); Violence: R (off-page murder, on-page murder: gory, traumatic car accidents, sexual assault, and domestic violence)

PUBLIC ONLY

In New Orleans, a woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and a throne was stolen. This tragedy of the magical community is still reverberating thirty years later when on the anniversary of these events, 16-year-old twins, Clement and Cristina Trudeau, find themselves fighting to regain their magical destiny. 

The premise of the book sounds intriguing, however, the book does not deliver. The world building is non-existent; the characters are many and underdeveloped; the twins, whose ages are given as 16, read more like they are in their mid-twenties; and the scenes of violence are many and gory. There are also subplots that go nowhere and characters that are introduced only to be dropped without explanation. There will be more books to follow, so perhaps these flaws will be rectified with further reading.

Reviewer: AEB

The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks - PUBLIC ONLY

The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks, 343 pages. City Owl Press. 2021. 17. 

 

Language: R (33 swears 10 'f'); Mature Content: R (Intense kissing, sexual nudity, explicit sex, talking about bits); Violence: R (Detailed gore and intense fighting, high body count) 

BUYING ADVISORY: PUBLIC ONLY

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Since the Witch Collector took her sister away from her half a decade ago, Raina (24) has vowed to kill him and the Frost King who commands him. However, an unexpected raid from the East leaves her vengeful plan on its head and her village in flames. Especially since working with Witch Collector is now her only way to see her sister again. With a grudging alliance, the two travel to the capital. Along the way, Raina learns more about her world than she has in her entire life. Perhaps the Frost King isn't the grand villain she once imagined and she has more power than she thought possible. But first, she must survive the frozen landscape and her growing affection for the Collector. 

The Witch Collector was alright. It does not have the best writing or the most likeable characters, but it's a fantasy romance. There were funky plot inconsistencies (like, we can't do that ever it would cause the end of the world as we know it; oh no, they're dying better quick do that thing that might end the world) that I wasn't a super big fan of. There were two sexual scenes that consisted of multiple pages of graphic, explicit sex or other sexual activities. The gore was quite detailed and frequent. Raina is described as having "tawny" skin and Alexus is "tan." 

Sierra Finlinson - HS 

American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajurkar - PUBLIC ONLY

American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajurkar 366 pages. Alfred A. Knopf (Penguin Random House), 2021. $18 

Language: R (30 swears 21 'f'); Mature Content: R (on-page sex); Violence: G. 

PUBLIC ONLY

18yo Rani was raised in a conservative family. Her parents, both immigrants from India, have high expectations for her, and she must focus on her schooling and her future. No dating, no boys - not even as friends, but when she meets Oliver at an art show, there is instant chemistry. Oliver is Rani's parent's worst nightmare, and although Rani knows their expectations, she lets Oliver know that a relationship is only possible if kept a complete secret from her family. Rajurkar's book is a look at cultures clashing, microagressions and stereotypes in a high school relationship. Rani is trying to become her own person, but as Oliver, who has a rough home life, begins to spiral and their relationship shifts, she must decide between Oliver and her family. 

I loved the representations of Indian culture, especially when Rani was with her cousin in India. This is a great "first love" teen romance, and I liked the tension involved with Rani trying to find her own way without completely cutting off her parents and their wishes.  Thoughtful and realistic, but too mature for a school library.

Lisa Librarian

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas - PUBLIC

A Court of Frost and Starlight (Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5) by Sarah J. Maas, 229 pages.  Bloomsbury, 2018.  $18.  

Content:  Language: R (53 swears; 4 ‘f’); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG-13.  

BUYING ADVISORY: ADULTS – PUBLIC ONLY  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Feyre and Rhys are preparing for the Winter Solstice in the Night Court.  After the war, there is a lot of loss and destruction that they must address as the high lords of the court.  Also, Feyre and Rhys’s closest friends and allies deserve to celebrate and regroup after all that they have survived.  

This book isn’t crucial to understanding the rest of the series and is a short story about a holiday event.  If you like the characters in the Court of Thorns and Roses series, then it’s fun to read their banter and exchanges.  The content is very adult and the characters are new adults (in their twenties) as is the whole series.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson.  

A Court of WIngs and Ruin by Sarah Maas - PUBLIC

A Court of Wings and Ruin (Court of Thorns and Roses, #3) by Sarah J. Maas, 699 pages.  Bloomsbury, 2017.  $19.  

Content: Language: R (111 swears; 13 ‘f’); Mature Content: R; Violence: R.  

BUYING ADVISORY: ADULT-PUBLIC ONLY  

AUDIENCE APPEAL:  AVERAGE  

Feyre has given her heart to Rhys, but she has to return to the Spring Court and pretend that she resented her time with Rhys, so that Tamilin will confide in her.  Her goal while in the Spring Court is to gather intel on Tamlin and figure out who she and Rhys can trust to go against the horrible king who is gathering forces against all of Prythian.  As Feyre begins to take control of her life and fight for those she loves, her power becomes a moving force for the good of Prythian.  

I enjoy this fantasy world.  I like the characters and the world building and am always able to fall back into the story regardless of the time it’s been since I’ve read the book before in the series.  The content is very adult including on page sex and other descriptive sexual encounters.  The violence is gruesome, gory and sometimes disturbing.  It’s upsetting that this is marketed towards young adults.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson.   

Strangers Assume My Girlfriend is My Nurse by Shane Burcaw - PUBLIC

Strangers Assume My Girlfriend is My Nurse by Shane Burcaw, 197 pages. NON FICTION/ESSAYS. Roaring Brook Press (Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings), 2019. $19.

Language: R (37 swears, 16 'f'); Mature Content: PG13 (frank discussions of sexual situations); Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: New Adult - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Shane Burcaw tells the continuation of his story in this followup to his 2014 humorous memoir "Laughing at my Nightmare." With his signature funny perspective and well written descriptions of the situations he finds himself in, his 2nd novel is a collection of essays demonstrating that Shane is living a full life, has a gorgeous girlfriend and is a successful entrepreneur and writer. 

 I loved this so much! Shane is hilarious, exposing rude actions by strangers, the crazy trips he takes with his brother and girlfriend and some of the daily events that he and his caregivers have to do to keep him going and comfortable. Includes pictures. Some of the language and content may be too mature for a school library, as Shane answers some rather mature "frequently asked questions."

Lisa Librarian

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrif - PUBLIC

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig, 442 pages. Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), 2019. $18.

Language: R (100+ swears 100+ 'f's); Mature Content: R (sexual situations); Violence: PG13.

BUYING ADVISORY: NEW ADULT - PUBLIC ONLY 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

17yo Margo is a rich socialite - the media calls her mad-Margo and reports on her crazy rich girl antics. Her friends are a group of boys - high school students by day, drag queens by night, and high-tech burglars after hours, all with personal reasons they need the money from their heists. Knocking off art galleries, the Chinese Embassy, even a castle in the hills of Los Angeles, was fun for Margo, she's a natural leader and this well organized group never lets her down, but when her ailing father suddenly dies, Margo suspects murder, and now, it's personal. (Plus, the Russian mafia is probably out to get her). 

High crime with James Bond level technology - the action is exciting and dangerous, the story is gripping with lots of twists and turns. Margo's friends are sweet, and flamboyant, but I wanted the drag queen story to go somewhere. It was a great disguise element, made for an interesting subplot, but felt like a stereotype. Roehrig stops the intimacy just short of on page, but with so much talk about it I hesitate to recommend this for a school library. Check it out at the public library if you are looking for a high school Oceans 8.

Lisa Librarian

Kid Gloves : Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley - PUBLIC ONLY

Kid Gloves : Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley, 247 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. First Second (Macmillan), 2019. $20.

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - PUBLIC ONLY 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Lucy Knisley's latest memoir is about her very difficult pregnancy. For her whole life she's wanted to be a mother, but when Lucy and her husband finally decide it's time, her pregnancy is fraught with difficulties, stress and problems. She is very sick most of the pregnancy and the delivery is not easy either, with many complications.

From exploring the side effects of birth control, through more than 1 miscarriage, morning sickness and the dangers of pre-eclampsia, Lucy Knisley covers it all in this frank and honest testament to motherhood and women's reproductive health. Not just her personal story, Lucy also addresses the history of pregnancy, myths and superstitions, misinformation, cultural situations etc. It's all there. A very interesting read, but I feel the audience is older than high school. Fans of Knisley's other books will love this one, too.

 Lisa Librarian

People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins - PUBLIC ONLY

People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins, 431 pages, Margaret K McElderry Books, 2018. $19.99.

 Language: R (100+ swears) 32 'f's); Mature Content: R (sexually explicit, teen drug and alcohol use); Violence: R.

PUBLIC ONLY

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

When an old man accidentally kills his wife, he sells the gun through a newspaper ad to a teenager. It could have been any of the 6 teens in this story, they all want a gun and feel they have a good reason to own one. We follow their stories for one very tense week, hoping it's not each them, learning their stories and dreading what we know will happen. 

Hopkins presents a very difficult read which is compelling, edgy and graphic.  Written in verse (for the most part) the story is told from so many perspectives, I found myself taking notes to remember how the characters were related. Full of sex and violence, sexual abuse, physical abuse, politics, hatred, racial stereotyping, mental illness, and teen drama and much, much more, it is way too mature for a school library. 

Lisa Librarian

As She Fades by Abbi Glines - PUBLIC ONLY

Glines, Abbi As She Fades, 265 pages. Feiwel and Friends, 2018. $19. Content: Language: R (105 swears; 47 “f”); Mature Content: R (on page sex); Violence: G. 

Vale and her boyfriend Crawford get into an accident on the night of graduation.  Crawford is in a coma and Vale is lost without him.  All of their post high school plans included each other, including college.  As Crawford’s coma stretches into months, Vale’s parents convince her to go to college, where Vale meets her brother’s frat brother, Slate.  Vale quickly realizes that there’s a whole other side of herself that she has suppressed in order to be what Crawford needed, and now she is ready to figure out what she wants. 

This is a new adult read with characters that are in college and are very sexually active.   The story was interesting and I liked the characters but I would never be able to recommend this to anyone because of the content.  Obviously there is a lot of swearing, but the worst part is the amount of sexual content including, but not limited to, on page sex, oral sex, casual sexual relationships and many sexual references. 

NEW ADULT – PUBLIC ONLY.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert - PUBLIC

Colbert, Brandy Little & Lion, 327 pages. Little, Brown and Company (Hachette), 2017. $18. 

Language: R (85 swears, 55 ‘f’); Mature Content: R (teen sex, drug use, alcohol); Violence: PG-13

16yo Suzette has come home to Los Angeles after a year at boarding school.  She leaves drama at school - she was romantically involved with her roommate - it didn’t end well, and comes home to drama - her family is working through her brother’s recent mental illness diagnosis. She’s torn about her sexuality because she likes both her long time friend Emil, but also has feelings for her brother’s new girlfriend.

The storyline is all over the place, but mostly because Suzette is also all over the place - Jewish, black, bi or pan sexual . . .  It’s not about any one issue, as much as it is a very involved summer vacation for a young girl (and it’s not even the whole summer!) This book has a lot: sexuality, racism, religion, diversity, bullying, family dynamics, as well as sex, drugs and alcohol.   Too much for a school library.

PUBLIC LIBRARY ONLY - Lisa Librarian

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez - PUBLIC

Sanchez, Erika L.  I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, 340 pages. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017. $18. Content: Language: R ( 100+ swears; 41 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG-13.  

Julia is a fifteen year old who is struggling with the death of her sister Olga.  Julia’s mother thought Olga was perfect and now Julia is the only daughter she has left and so Julia feels like a disappointment.  As Julia tries to uncover more about Olga’s life before she died, she is shocked to find out that Olga wasn’t as perfect as her parents thought.  Julia tries to find where she fits in at school, at home, with her friends and with a possible boyfriend, but the pressure keeps building inside her and she feels misunderstood.  

Julia is a hard character to like because she is critical of everyone (including herself) and inconsistent.  The world Julia paints is one of perverted men, crass conversations and unbearable parents.  My frustrations are many with this book, but one example is she complains about her parents treating her like a delinquent, but left to her own devices Julia smokes joints, drinks, goes to adult parties and has sex with her boyfriend. If you can get over not just the amount of swearing and random use of the “f’ word, then you have to get over the rest of her crass language.  This book also deals with depression and suicide.  

PUBLIC ONLY.  Reviewer, C. Peterson. 

How It Ends by Catherine Lo - PUBLIC

Lo, Catherine How It Ends, 289 pgs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. $17.99. Language: R  (100+ swears, 46 ‘f’); Mature Content: R (drinking, bullying, sex, pregnancy, abortion); Violence: PG 

Jessie is not excited about starting school tomorrow.  Last year ended horribly and Jessie can’t imagine this year will be much better.  Her plan is to keep her head down and just survive the next 3 years and then she is off to college.  Annie just moved in and also isn’t excited about starting school.  Things were great back home, she had lots of friends and she loved her house,  but when her Dad remarried, her stepmom wanted a different place from where Annie’s mom lived.  Jessie and Annie meet on the first day of school and Jessie is surprised, but happy, that Annie wants to be friends, but Annie is friendly with lots of people including those that have made her life so hard.  Jessie begins to wonder how long Annie will want to be friends and will she be able to handle it if she doesn’t. 

This was much more serious than a book about friendship.  While I’m not always a fan of alternating chapters between the characters, at times, it was helpful to see how Jessie and Annie viewed the same situation so differently whether through the lens of Jessie’s anxiety or Annie’s struggle with her stepmom.  There were moments that I appreciated, but this wasn’t a favorite of mine, and overall, the serious turn the story takes (see ratings), in combination with the language, moves it out of a school setting.

PUBLIC ONLY. Reviewer: RB

The You I’ve Never Known by Ellen Hopkins - PUBLIC

Hopkins, Ellen The You I’ve Never Known, 590 pgs. Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division), 2017. $18.99 Language – R (236 swear, 35 “f”), Mature Content – R (homosexual and heterosexual activities); Violence – PG; 

Ariel moves towns as her father moves through girlfriends. As annoying as that is, she’s happy that he seems content with his current girlfriend, Zelda, because that means she actually has time to go to school and make friends. As Ariel starts getting to know others, she must also get to know herself. Who is Ariel? Who does Ariel want to be?

Hopkins has an interesting writing style by telling stories through poems. I expected the poem style of Ariel’s point of view to slow down the reading or make the story harder to understand, but I was surprised by my enhanced understanding of Ariel’s feelings. I ended up liking the poem structure, but that’s the only thing I liked. Ariel’s story is hard to read because of the vulgar language and endless crude conversations and actions on nearly every page. I was very uncomfortable as I read this book. 

PUBLIC ONLY. Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Og's Ark by Allison Marks- PUBLIC

Marks, Allison. Og’s Ark, PICTURE BOOK. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2016. $17.99. Combining the stories of Noah’s Ark and Og, the last of the giants, this book tells about Og, who couldn’t seem to find a bed to support him. He decided to find a spot in the forest, but was never really comfortable. The animals loved Og and always cuddled up to him. When Noah needed to fill his ark with two of each animal, he asks for Og’s help because Og is so good with the animals. He helps Noah and waits out the flood riding on top of the ark. When the flood recedes, Og is rewarded with a gigantic home and a large, sturdy bed. This book is a good choice for public libraries, as it is a religious subject, not really appropriate for school libraries. Readers will be interested in the pictures and the story is at a level that young readers will understand and make connections with. PRE-K, EL (K-3)- PUBLIC. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

Our Father by Rainier Oberthur- PUBLIC

Oberthur, Rainier. Our Father, PICTURE BOOK. Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers, 2016. $16.00. This book goes through The Lord’s Prayer, breaking it down into sections for early readers. It gives explanations about what the different phrases mean and how to interpret them for a children’s beliefs and life. This is definitely a religious book for the Christian faith. It is somewhat lengthy and dense for young readers and should be accompanied by an adult for explanation. It’s not poorly done, other than some repetition and the length, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for a school library. EL- PUBLIC. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

I Love You, Baby by Giles Andreae-OPTIONAL

Andreae, Giles  I Love You, Baby, illustrated by Emma Dodd. Disney Hyperion, 2015. $15.99. PICTURE BOOK.

When a young boy gets a new baby sibling to love, he learns all the things the baby has to love.

Told in verse, the book takes on a catchy rhythm that will delight and entertain young children. The pictures are colorful and complement the text well. Although the text is a little cheesy, families expecting a new baby will appreciate the author’s simplistic, fun approach. 

PreK - OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Jessica M, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High.