YA – Page 4 – Nerd Girl Loves Books

YA

Fake Famous by Dana L. Davis

This is a really cute YA contemporary romance that is a quick and easy read. It’s the quintessential regular person/famous person doppelganger switch story. Red just graduated high school in Iowa. She lives on a farm with her large family and intends to attend college and come back and run the family farm. Zay Zay is a young global pop star that is uber famous and seemingly has a charmed life. When Red is taped singing and pretending to be Zay Zay, the video goes viral, and Zay Zay’s plan to sneak away from her life for a week is hatched. Red only needs to fly to LA, attend a few red carpets, and a date with Zay’s hot famous fake boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong?

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November 5, 2023 2

One of Us Is Lying (One of Us Is Lying #1) by Karen M. McManus

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

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November 4, 2023 2

Wounds of Ash: Book One of the Vendi Chronicles by K.L. Hester

This is a wonderful first book in a new YA fantasy series. The kingdoms of Myral and Gralanth are separated by a range of mountains. The Myral people have magic. It’s capital is Ringard and it’s ruled by a High Enforcer, who is a member of a group of fierce warriors called Ringada. Gralanth people do not have magic, and both sides are wary of each other.

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July 17, 2023 0

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade

This is a really good, creepy YA mystery/thriller that keeps your attention from page one. The book opens with Casey being mad that her sister Sutton is missing. She’s convinced that Sutton took off for selfish reasons and is laughing that everyone is frantically looking for her. Casey puts on a show as a worried sister for the cameras, but inside she’s fuming. There is no love lost between her and Sutton, but no way is she telling the police about their argument just before Sutton went missing.

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July 5, 2023 0

The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom by Allison L. Bitz

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. As a former high school theater nerd myself, I could totally relate to Bridget’s angst, as well as the personalities and quirks of her friends. Bridget’s growth in the story was incredible and I liked how the author was able to subtly show these changes throughout the book, without hitting us over the head with it. The realization at the end of the book was almost a surprise, even though you had been along for the ride with Bridget from the start.

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May 7, 2023 0

I’ll Be There For You by Brieanna Wilkoff

I loved this book and read it in one sitting. The growth of Rae throughout the book was wonderful to read. She went from grief-stricken and alone to hopeful and outgoing. The friendship with fellow theater-lover Mac was beautiful. I remember being in high school and having that one best friend that just “got” me. Someone you could trust with all of your troubles, fears and hopes with and know that they would always be there to support you. I loved re-living those wonderful memories as I read this book.

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April 30, 2023 0

Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

I loved this book so much!! Miles recently came out as trans, prompting his football star boyfriend Shane to break up with him. Miles is determined to get Shane back and beat his archnemesis in the Midwest’s biggest classical piano competition, all before the end of the year. To that end, Miles begins taking lessons with a new, terrifying piano teacher who tells him that he’s playing like he doesn’t know who he is. What? As Miles struggles with all the changes in his life, he meets new kid Eric. Eric is a talented cartoonist that is comfortable in his own skin and seems to get Miles, something Miles is not used to since he came out. After pretending to be a couple to get invited to a popular couples-only Valentine’s Day party, Miles and Eric’s fake kiss turns into something real. But this doesn’t fit into Miles plans, and besides, there has to be a catch as to why Eric likes him. Right?

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March 19, 2023 0

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

I really enjoyed this YA mystery/thriller set in an all-boys high school, Urban Promise Prep School, in Washington D.C. Principal Moore is an activist that started the school and based his strict program discipline, called the Principal Moore Method, claiming it turns boys into men. Principal Moore claims that almost all boys in his school go from trouble youth to college-bound men because of his method and school. But when Moore is murdered at school, his school and method come under strict scrutiny. Three boys serving detention that afternoon are targeted by the police as prime suspects. All three state that they are innocent, and it’s clear they need to band together to find the real killer before they are arrested and lost in the system.

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February 4, 2023 0

The Other Merlin (Emry Merlin, #1) by Robyn Schneider

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This is a fun YA Fantasy re-telling of Camelot. Arthur is an intelligent bookworm that isn’t much of a fighter. Lancelot is a gay castle guard that was demoted from a page (on track to becoming a knight) after a misunderstanding. Both we content bumbling along until Arthur accidentally pulls the sword from the stone, and now everyone thinks he’s some kind of hero. Emry Merlin poses as her twin brother at court to learn magic and serve Arthur. It’s supposed to be temporary, but nothing goes to plan and she’s there permanently. Princess Guinevere is betrothed to Arthur, but neither wants to marry the other.

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January 8, 2023 0