Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1) by Danielle Paige — Review
A review of Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige — a gleefully dark Oz retelling where the girl from Kansas has become a tyrant and someone has to stop her.
Read more →Book Reviews
Book reviews from The Diary of a Bookworm — YA fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, and crime.
Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3) by Laini Taylor — Review
A review of Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor — the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy ends as it began: in gorgeous, aching language that makes you …
Read more →
The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski — Review
A review of The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski — a slow-burn fantasy romance set in a world of empire and slavery, where every choice costs something real.
Read more →
Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi — Review
A review of Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi — the Shatter Me trilogy ends with Juliette finally becoming the character she was always capable of being, and it is …
Read more →
Steelheart (The Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson — Review
A review of Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson — a superhero story told from the other direction, where the powered beings are the villains and ordinary humans are …
Read more →
Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth — Review
A review of Allegiant by Veronica Roth — controversial, divisive, and in my view exactly right. The Divergent trilogy ends the only way it honestly could.
Read more →
The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4) by Rick Riordan — Review
A review of The House of Hades by Rick Riordan — the fourth Heroes of Olympus novel puts Percy and Annabeth through Tartarus and delivers the series' most …
Read more →
The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater — Review
A review of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater — the Raven Cycle's second book is darker, stranger, and more beautiful than its predecessor, and Ronan Lynch …
Read more →
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell — Review
A review of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell — a love letter to fandom, first-year loneliness, and the kind of reading life that turns books into the people who raised …
Read more →
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey — Review
A review of The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey — a genuinely frightening alien invasion novel that trusts its teenage readers to handle ambiguity, dread, and moral …
Read more →
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan — Review
A review of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan — the book that started it all for Percy Jackson fans everywhere, and still one of the best middle grade …
Read more →
The Archived (The Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab — Review
A review of The Archived by Victoria Schwab — an atmospheric, inventive YA fantasy about grief, memory, and a library of the dead that feels entirely unlike …
Read more →
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell — Review
A review of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell — a love story so tender and so specific that it feels like it was written for anyone who ever felt like they …
Read more →
Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi — Review
A review of Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi — more electric prose, a more confident Juliette, and a love triangle that actually made me switch teams.
Read more →
Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare — Review
A review of Clockwork Princess, the stunning conclusion to Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices trilogy — heartbreaking, romantic, and impossible to put down.
Read more →
Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu — Review
A review of Prodigy by Marie Lu — the second Legend novel doubles down on action, political intrigue, and one of YA's most compelling dual-narrator romances.
Read more →Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger — Review
A review of Etiquette and Espionage, the first Finishing School novel by Gail Carriger — steampunk YA with charm and genuine wit.
Read more →Soulless (Parasol Protectorate Series) by Gail Carriger — Review
A review of Soulless, the first Parasol Protectorate novel by Gail Carriger — Victorian steampunk featuring a preternatural heroine who can neutralize …
Read more →Fathomless by Jackson Pearce — Review
A review of Fathomless by Jackson Pearce — a dark YA retelling of The Little Mermaid that doesn't flinch from the original's cruelty.
Read more →Blackwood by Gwenda Bond — Review
A review of Blackwood by Gwenda Bond — a YA mystery that builds on the legend of the lost colony of Roanoke.
Read more →The 80s and Me — Guest Post by C.K. Kelly Martin
Author C.K. Kelly Martin on writing the 1980s from memory, and what it means to set a novel in a decade you actually lived.
Read more →Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric — Review
A review of Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric — lushly imagined historical fantasy set in Venice, for readers who want their middle-grade fiction genuinely …
Read more →The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman — Review
A review of The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman — a monumental historical novel set at Masada, told through the voices of four women.
Read more →There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff — Review
A review of There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff — a satirical YA novel in which God is a teenage boy, and the world makes perfect sense as a result.
Read more →