Olympian Challenger

Olympian Challenger

by Astrid Arditi

Hope Diaz has never quite fit in. It's not that she's all that awkward or different; it's just that she has more pressing issues to deal with. Her mother, the only parent she's ever known, is slowly losing her mind, just like her grandmother did years before. It won't be long before Hope's mom isn't able to recognize her own daughter and Hope doesn't want to miss one minute with her beloved mom.

When a strange invitation arrives for her, Hope doesn't know what to make of it. What's weirder is that every single senior high student in New York City seems to have gotten the invite, but no one else around Hope seems to be able to read past "You're cordially invited". Hope sees more but she's not sure if she's really seeing it or if the dementia that affects her mother is starting early in Hope's own mind.

Through a series of events, Hope finds herself transported to Mount Olympus and discovers that she's descended from the heroes and gods of Greek Mythology. These descendants have been brought to Mount Olympus to compete for a chance to be the new Hero and complete a task for the gods. 

Now Hope must compete in ten events, each inspired by a different god and hero, in order to win and get one wish. Her wish is obvious; how to win isn't. 

Final thoughts: My initial reaction was 4 stars. Then I had time to think things through. I'm dropping my rating to 3 because there are some plot holes here and there. Many of the characters are one-dimensional, which makes sense because of the sheer number of them, but some needed to be fleshed out a bit more. I don't understand Heath's character at all and the chemistry between Hope and Kieron just isn't really there. The Hunger Games aspect was a little distracting, as well. The end was just a little off-kilter and the motivation for the whole event just felt unimportant. So, here I am, wishing there was more and I'm probably going to read the second book, but it's not quite enough to make me enthusiastically endorse this one.

Rating: 3/5

ARC from NetGalley

Dear Rachel Maddow

Dear Rachel Maddow

by Adrienne Kisner

Who needs Dear Diary or Dear Abby when you have Rachel Maddow?

Brynn Harper's life is not a bowl of cherries. She's a lesbian living a closeted life with her ultra-conservative mother and abusive stepfather. She struggles with basic schoolwork because the letters and words dance before her eyes. Her older brother died two years before from an accidental overdose. And everyone, or almost everyone, believes she'll die the same way even though she's never taken a single drug.

Brynn's school life is no better as she's been relegated to the "Applied" section in the blue room of the basement, just trying to get through her days until she turns eighteen and can finally leave all the negative behind.

When Brynn is asked to write to a celebrity hero for a school assignment, she picks Rachel Maddow, mostly because Brynn's mother would go nuts if she found out. When Rachel responds, it starts a whirlwind of movement in Brynn's life starting with school politics and ending with the beautiful new girl who comes to peer-tutor in the blue room.

Life is never easy and fighting is always hard but Brynn may just have everything she needs to get through it all if she can just see it right in front of her eyes.

Final thoughts: Solid realistic YA fiction. Brynn's stepdad is pretty evil and it's difficult to see why her mom stays with him but that's true for many dysfunctional families, so that all fits. It's so difficult to read stories like these especially when you know how true they are in this world. I love Brynn's voice. She's so real and raw and sometimes so very oblivious. The ending isn't a happily ever after, but it's real and true. I wish the dyslexia had been diagnosed and discussed rather than just implied, but it was still good to see that kind of realistic depiction of a learning disability.

Rating: 4/5

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group

Cinders, Stars, and Glass Slippers

Cinders, Stars, and Glass Slippers

by Brittany Fichter

For over 10 years, Elaina Starke has lived about the flagship of the Ashland Navy on which her father is the Admiral. She has become an expert in all things ship related from tying knots to fighting battles. But when someone finds out her secret and reveals it to others, her father sends her into the land of the unknown.

She's sent back to her home to become the well-bred lady that she was born to be (even though she has no idea what she's doing). Because she's been raised by sailors, she can sometimes have a sailor's mouth and she says things when she probably shouldn't... especially to the prince. The two form a strange friendship and things seem to be adding up the way they should, until Elaina's secret is unearthed again and she is put in mortal danger.

Prince Nicholas is doing all he can to save Elaina, but when she's taken and forced to become a slave, he fears he may never see his one true love again.

Can they save each other from a fate that even the stars won't talk about?

Final thoughts: I love so much about this book! Elaina is a well-drawn, no-nonsense character who doesn't fall head over heels for the prince, as so many other Cinderellas do. She's her own person and wants to fight her own battles. Nicholas is a new kind of prince fighting his old-fashioned father's ideas of what running a kingdom must be like. The two are opposites until they suddenly aren't. My only real issue comes at about the halfway point when the author has to figure out how to get Elaina sold into slavery in order to continue the story. This short section took me completely out of the book and had me arguing with the rest of the story from that part on. She is accused of treason with a country never mentioned before or after. She is accused during a party, then tried, judged, sentenced, and sent away in exile all in a matter of hours. It's even mentioned that people have to go placate the party-goers once this whole farce happens. That's right. The whole thing happens DURING THE PARTY. And it's a farce from start to finish; completely unbelievable. I really enjoyed almost every other things about this book, but that section is STILL bugging me.

Rating: 4/5

The School of Revenge

The School of Revenge

by Michael Richan

It's happened to almost everyone.

Nearly everyone in this world has been bullied at some point.

Nearly everyone in this world has dreamed of having a little revenge against that bully.

Not many get to see that revenge play out.

Aaron Rogers has a dream to see his tormentors pay.

And then the dream becomes a nightmare.

Final thoughts: Wow. This started out sooo good. It zoomed along and I read it in less than a day. However, it got so very weird about halfway through and then ended as if the rest of the book had disappeared. It literally just ended. There are too many questions and not enough answers. The whole thing becomes a confused mess once you stop to think about what you just read. Is there a sequel? Would I even want to read it if there was? Please note that this one is also extremely violent in a couple of places. Beware the shock value.

Rating: 3/5

Burn Bright

Burn Bright

by Patricia Briggs

Bran has left Charles in charge of the pack just when the pack may need Bran the most. Now Charles and his mate, Anna, must use all the skills that they have to try and track the people who are going after the wildlings of Bran's pack. These are the wildest of the wolves who live more like hermits just so that they, and the people around them, can stay safe.

When a wildling couple dies as the result of a ruined kidnapping attempt, Charles and Anna must stop the same thing from happening to the rest of the wildlings. With Bran MIA, they must rely on his anti-social mate and some trusted pack members to get the word out to the wildlings and protect them from this new danger.

But danger may be closer than they ever believed possible.

Final thoughts: Let's just start out with the fact that I much prefer the Mercy books to these. I like her character more than I ever have liked Charles and Anna. And with that being said, this may be one of my least liked of all. The POVs are all over the place. We get Charles and Anna, but we get at least four other POVs and only for a quick scene or two, as if the author wanted to make sure the reader understood some things, but couldn't figure out any other way to do it. Mercy and Adam are the only POVs in that series and Adam showed up late in the game, but it's all consistent. This series is not and it was a mess. Additionally, we got a Mercy story mixed in early on (probably because Mercy's character would never tell it), and that made me mad, both because of the placement and because it made me really not like Bran for the first time. In fact, for a few moments, I was really angry at him and even hated him a bit. This was not a good side for him, and while it made him more three-dimensional, it was not pleasant or nice. I hate that his character has been tainted a bit now. This may be the book that turns be off Charles and Anna. Sad, because the basic story and ideas were good.

Rating: 2.5/5

ARC provided by NetGalley