Review: Revolution pilot

I’m reviewing the new TV show Revolution because it’s basically a YA dystopian. Improbable apocalypse? Check: all “electricity” goes out, which apparently means all cars instantly stop in their tracks, among other things. 15 years later, we have our YA protagonist: Katniss Charlie, chafing in her village and crack shot … Continue reading

Review: Skinny, by Donna Cooner (Oct. 2012)

The pitch: Fat girl Ever is miserable with the weight she’s gained since her mother’s death. She feels “trapped in a fat shell.” After losing weight with gastric bypass surgery, she gains enough confidence to let her gorgeous voice shine in the school musical. The review: First of all, I … Continue reading

Review: Cleopatra’s Moon, by Vicky Alvear Shecter (Aug. 2011)

The pitch: Cleopatra Selene, daughter of the late Cleopatra and Marc Antony, has been cast out of Rome by Octavian and is sailing to meet her fate, a new husband she doesn’t know. Her beloved twin brother is dead; she is desperate to bury him in the Egyptian fashion, which … Continue reading

Review: The Roar, by Emma Clayton (2009)

The pitch: Mika has never gotten over the disappearance of his twin sister Ellie; everyone says she’s dead, but he can’t believe it. When the Northern Government introduces a contest — fly simulated pod fighters and win fabulous prizes! — Mika just knows winning is his ticket to finding Ellie. … Continue reading

Review: Starters, by Lissa Price (Mar. 2012, Delacorte)

The pitch: A couple of years ago, biological warfare wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. The vulnerable young and elderly were vaccinated, but they didn’t have enough for younger adults. Sixteen-year-old Callie and her little brother live like all Starters, kids without grandparents to claim them: squatting … Continue reading

Review: My Mother the Cheerleader, by Robert Sharenow (2007)

The pitch: No, not that kind of cheerleader. Louise’s mother Pauline is one of the women who stands outside William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans and throws tomatoes and insults at Ruby Bridges, its first African-American student. When a handsome stranger from New York shows up at Pauline and … Continue reading

Review: Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman (July 2012)

The pitch: In Goredd, dragons and humans have kept an uneasy peace for forty years. Dragons fold into human shapes to serve as ambassadors and professors, but they are far from trusted. When young musician Seraphina takes a position at court, she is drawn into  the investigation of a murder and … Continue reading