reviews young adult | new adult
Destiny
Jennifer Gibson Young Adult Heat Rating: 1
Jessie is determined not to let her hearing loss hold her back. She aims her sights even higher as she ventures in a new direction. With a Black Belt on the horizon, and so close to achieving it, she is unaware of the danger closing in on her. Until one day, everything suddenly changes and she finds herself standing on the precipice of life. Will she be strong enough to hold on or will she succumb to the darkness that surrounds her? Review: Destiny is the third installment in a series surrounding the life of a girl named Jessie. This is her coming-of-age story. Being a huge fan of YA paranormal novels, Destiny was a nice change of pace for my reading tastes. The story focuses on real life issues and I applaud the author tremendously for tackling issues such as bullying and how a teenager can persevere instead of giving up. Jessie deals with being deaf and the novel lets the reader travel along her journey. Destiny reminded me of what a struggle it is for teenagers and then to throw in a curve ball and have the main character be deaf…it was very real for me and enticed me to genuinely applaud and cheer for Jessie, wanting so desperately for Jessie to not let her hearing loss stand in the way of her dreams. Destiny was an inspiring read that kept me engaged all the way through. I felt invested in Jessie’s future and was left satisfied by the author’s conclusion to this series. | Reviewer: Sasha Hibbs |
160 | btsemag.com
An Alien Collective Roxanne Barbour Young Adult Heat Rating: 1
Cyn wakes up to find herself stranded on an alien planet. She finds seven other teenaged humans and they are as confused as she is. To Cyn’s delight, and some apprehension, twenty-four aliens (all teens on their own planets) have also been deposited: eight Temman, eight Irandi, eight Reannone. Every day, supplies and instructions are delivered to their village for pickup by the managing committee—which consists of Cyn, Stire, Frakis A Kirba, and Tine Jana—one representative from each race. Review: An Alien Collective was an enjoyable read! The synopsis of the story really captures the essence of the story and so we find our leading lady, Cyn, waking up on an alien planet where she is faced with having to communicate and work alongside other aliens from various planets to accomplish a specific task formulated by their captors. I loved the way the author incorporated how various walks of life can come together under the right circumstances. It was enjoyable to discover the plot twist of the main characters purpose in being abducted along with the other supporting characters. This is a story of alliances and love with a wonderful science fiction theme that would appeal to all lovers of YA/SCI-FY. | Reviewer: Sasha Hibbs |