“The Cousins” follows recently reunited cousins, Aubrey, Milly, and Jonah Story, on their grandmother’s resort after randomly being invited to visit. They have never even met her before, but give into their curiosity and travel there for the summer. After multiple strange interactions with this new grandmother, the cousins decide to work together to fully understand what happened in their family’s past and discover some surprising things about themselves along the way.

I actually really enjoyed this book! Going into it, I thought it would be the typical “learning to love your family” plot line, but I was constantly surprised with new discoveries along the way. Aubrey, Milly, and Jonah are relatable to the average teenager, which I think was really important throughout the book. I also very much liked the flashbacks to how their parents interacted with each other growing up. I think the book develops at a good pace, and keeps you on your toes. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an easier but exciting book to get back into reading!

-Anna

River is a young half Ojibwe teenage girl living in Ontario, Canada, with her white mom and stepdad. Having just finished high school and feeling lost in herself she decides to spend the summer with her indigenous father and grandmother. Throughout the story readers see River go through a journey of self-discovery and acceptance. 

 I was looking to read more books by BIPOC authors and came across this one on a whim in the library one day. As someone who is very uneducated about indigenous life and culture in North America, I found the topics in this book to be very thought provoking. All of the main points of indigenous culture were  introduced in the way that made you go and look further into the topics and educate yourself on some of the both more beautiful and less joyful experiences of indigenous people. I felt that some of the storylines were either rushed or left unfinished, but the characters were easy to follow and kept me engrossed in what was coming next. I hope to continue reading works by indigenous peoples and continue educating myself on some of the issues I am not as aware of as I should be, and overall this was in my opinion a good read. 

Rating: 3/5

-Camryn

Tramp in Flames by Paul Farley is a series of short stories. Each new story comes with its own plot and introduces new characters. Even though most of the stories are only a page or two in length, Farley is able to masterfully develop each storyline and character. The reader definitely feels like they know each individual character intimately and are able to understand the strifes that they go through. Farley likes to use more cryptic language in his works- really making his readers think about what is happening and connect the dots for themselves.

I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time to read. The book itself is relatively short, but if they don’t want to commit to the whole book, they can just read one or two stories. All of the short stories can stand alone and their short length makes them optimal for short reading sessions.

-Davina

The glow of the lights, the evolution of a person; this is what Last Night at the Telegraph Club embodies.  Following Lily, a young Chinese-American girl, in San Francisco, Malinda Lo truly immerses you into the world of the past.

Lo connects the world of the past, with the world of self growth and love.  As the book is set during the Red Scare and the rise of communism, Lily’s world is turned upside down.  The US government began targeting Chinese Americans to try to contain communism, and Lo brings together the fiction with the past.  Along with the Red Scare, the past was not always positive towards queer people – especially queer youth.  This brings us to the Telegraph Club.  An out-of-place club where queer women can gather together and be themselves.  This is what starts Lily into her self-exploration.  A friend in Lily’s classes, Kath, is the first one that Lily can talk to about the Telegraph Club.

Now, I won’t spoil the entire book, but it truly is an amazing read.  The tension between Lily and Kath, and the pain of family and the past; it truly is well written.  I would highly recommend this book, but be warned – you will feel emotions.

-Luka

Four completely different people – Addy, Bronwyn, Nate, and Cooper – find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation after witnessing Simon’s, creator of a popular blog that threatened to expose all four’s secrets, sudden death. They have to work together to prove that they are innocent while never truly knowing if the others are. When someone takes over Simon’s old blog, Addy, Bronwyn, Nate, and Cooper have to decide how far they are willing to go to hide their secrets

I definitely enjoyed reading this book! There were incredibly unexpected twists from the very beginning. I particularly liked how McManus wrote the characters like actual high school students – they still have homework, issues with family and friends, and stress over college. Throughout the book, I kept changing my mind on what really happened with Simon’s death (I’d like to add that my first guess was right!), so I was always excited to read and discover some new layer to the story – I never had to force myself to read. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something thrilling to read or looking for a book to get them back into reading!

-Anna

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, written by Ashley Herring Blake, is not your standard rom-com.  A freelance photographer from New York, and a single mother who owns a bookstore in a small town; seems pretty standard.  However, add in that it is a queer freelance photographer who is working for her stepsister’s wedding, and a single mother who is best friends with the soon to be bride.  The evolution of their romance starts off as a dare, but eventually becomes a reality.  The tension rises and falls between the two girls, but also between the bride-to-be and her fiance.  A rom-com paired with a wedding stopper storyline creates the perfect amount of balance between the love story and the outside world.

-Luka

Everything Everything was about a girl, Maddy, who had a severe illness that prevented her from going outside. She spent the entirety of her life, 17 years, inside her home surrounded by her white room and white clothes and white furniture. Her mother is a nurse and her main caretaker and is very concerned for her health. When a new boy moves into the house next to them, Maddy becomes intrigued. They communicate through technology and through their matching windows. Everything goes well until her mother finds out they’ve been sneaking around seeing each other.

I loved this book, it was a very intriguing love story and the ending had me crying. There was such a good build up to the ending and at some points I had to stop myself from reading. Yoon captured the emotions of the characters so well, it was a book that consumed me. I think it was very important and interesting that Yoon created such a strong bond between Maddy and her mom, yet she showed the struggles and the obstacles of maturing relationships.

-Tatiana

The author has described her own work as heavily influenced by the story of Joan of Arc and the more recent Venom films. In a world in which ghosts tend to remain and cause trouble for the living, a large portion of religious life is dedicated to laying the dead to rest, a task that Artemisia has been learning her entire life. However, when her convent is disrupted, she is forced to make a pact (hence the Venom reference) with a revenant to survive. So begins her larger fight to counter a flood of ghosts. This book is not exceptional for its plot, but rather for the characters’ interactions and world-building, which maintain the pacing of the story despite a slower second act. Those 13 to 15 might best enjoy this book as a Halloween-themed reading binge.

-Sasha

Threads and Flames by Esther Friesner is a historical fiction novel about labor for women in the 1910s. The story introduces Raisa, a 14 year old Jewish girl from Poland who traveled to America in hopes of finding her sister, Henda. On the ship sailing to America, she meets Zusa, an Italian traveling to America to meet the rest of her family, and Brina, a young girl of 5 whose mother died during the journey. When they get to America, Raisa is separated from Zusa and forced to fend for herself and Brina. She spends the next few days looking for a place for her and Brina to stay, but with no work, people don’t want to take her in fear of her having no rent money. She ends up at a synagogue, and meets Gavrel, a boy about her age who invites her to stay at his parents’ house. Raisa meets the Kamenskys, who take her and Brina in and help her get a job. She finds work at a clothing store, and though the boss is harsh and the pay is not good, she
stays there. Raisa attends English classes to help her learn English, and meets Luciana, who helps her find work at the Triangle Shirtwasit Factory, where the pay and boss is better, but Raisa still feels bored after a while.  She and Gavrel fall in love, and attempt to keep it a secret from his parents.One day when work is ending, there is a fire at the factory, and Raisa finds herself in the middle of it.

-Sophie

Loveless is about a teenage girl named Georgia
who navigates her way through college without feeling a desire to kiss
anyone. She meets Sunil, who teaches her about asexuality and ace
and Georgia starts to explore her sexuality along with dealing with the
stress of college. She and her friends Pip, Jason, and Rooney start a
Shakespeare club and begin practicing to keep the club alive and the
members as friends, along with helping Rooney deal with her mental
health.

-Sophia