Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron — Review
Two hundred years after Cinderella's story became law, one girl refuses to be chosen — and ignites a revolution in this fierce, inventive fairy tale retelling.
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Book reviews from The Diary of a Bookworm — YA fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, and crime.
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff — Review
The Aurora Cycle's second installment throws its misfit squad into the darkest corner of the galaxy and dares them to hold together when everything is falling …
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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins — Review
Suzanne Collins traces the origin of Panem's most chilling villain, charting how a desperate young man becomes the architect of an authoritarian nightmare.
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A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson — Review
Pippa Fitz-Amobi picks at a closed murder case for her senior capstone project and unravels something far more dangerous than an old small-town tragedy.
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Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare — Review
A dazzling return to the Shadowhunter world set in Edwardian London, where the next generation of heroes faces a demon plague that could destroy everything they …
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Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orïsha #2) by Tomi Adeyemi — Review
A review of Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi — magic has returned to Orïsha but nothing is simpler, as Zélie and Amari must navigate a war where …
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The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1) by Renée Ahdieh — Review
A review of The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh — New Orleans 1872, a girl who suspects she is becoming something other than human, and a vampire world steeped in …
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House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig — Review
A review of House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig — a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling drenched in gothic atmosphere, where sisters are dying and the sea …
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Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1) by Elizabeth Lim — Review
A review of Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim — a Mulan-meets-Project-Runway YA fantasy set in an Imperial Chinese-inspired world, where a girl disguised as her …
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Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff — Review
A review of Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff — the most dysfunctional squad in the galaxy has to save it anyway, and the result is funny, sharp, …
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Finale (Caraval #3) by Stephanie Garber — Review
A review of Finale by Stephanie Garber — both Dragna sisters, one last game, and a conclusion that earns the series' grandest promises while the Fates …
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We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal — Review
A review of We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal — a lush Arabian-inspired YA fantasy about a hunter who disguises herself as a boy and a prince who is more than …
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Descendant of the Crane by Joan He — Review
A review of Descendant of the Crane by Joan He — a Chinese-inspired fantasy about a princess who becomes queen and must solve her father's murder in a court …
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The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi — Review
A review of The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi — Paris 1889, a heist crew of brilliant misfits, and a treasure hunt through secret orders and magical …
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On the Come Up by Angie Thomas — Review
A review of On the Come Up by Angie Thomas — a teenage rapper, a viral song she didn't mean to make political, and the question of who gets to control your …
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King of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1) by Leigh Bardugo — Review
A review of King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo — Nikolai Lantsov gets the book he has always deserved, and Bardugo uses it to ask what it costs to hold a country …
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The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black — Review
A review of The Wicked King by Holly Black — Jude Duarte has a king on a leash, and the court of Faerie will destroy her for it if she lets her guard down for a …
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Archenemies (Renegades #2) by Marissa Meyer — Review
A review of Archenemies by Marissa Meyer — Nova and Adrian's lies deepen, the political fractures widen, and the Renegades series tightens its grip on both the …
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Sadie by Courtney Summers — Review
A review of Sadie by Courtney Summers — a missing girl, a cold-case podcast, and a novel that uses dual structure to say something devastating about who we …
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Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik — Review
A review of Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik — a Rumpelstiltskin retelling set in a Jewish-coded Eastern European world, where a moneylender's daughter outsmarts …
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A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir — Review
A review of A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir — the Ember in the Ashes series reaches its most ambitious and devastating entry as the Nightbringer's plan …
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Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Garber — Review
A review of Legendary by Stephanie Garber — Tella takes centre stage for Caraval's second game, and the mythology beneath the spectacle becomes something …
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Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young — Review
A review of Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young — a Viking-inspired YA fantasy about a warrior girl who finds her dead brother alive among the enemy, and …
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Circe by Madeline Miller — Review
A review of Circe by Madeline Miller — the witch of Aeaea given her full story at last, in prose that burns as bright as her most famous spell.
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