Archive for October, 2016

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Published October 24, 2016 Mystery , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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fixer

Genre:  Realistic fiction/mystery

# of Pages:  372 p.

Tess has lived with her grandfather ever since her parents died in a car accident when she was small.  Her older sister, Ivy, went away to college and never really came back so Tess knew things were about to unravel when Ivy showed up at her grandfather’s ranch.  Despite her best efforts, Tess could no longer hide her grandfather’s dementia from the world and Ivy had come to put him in a treatment center while Tess was forced to pack her bags and come to D.C. to live with the sister she hardly knew.  Only after she gets to D.C. does she realize what her sister actually does for a living:  she’s a fixer for wealthy and powerful people who have serious problems. Tess is expected to be a fixer like her sister when she starts her new school by the children of wealthy and powerful people who attend, but Tess is not interested in following after her sister’s example.  Then, a supreme court justice suddenly dies and a girl at her school confides to Tess that she does not think it was an accident.  Can Tess find out what’s really going on in D.C. without alerting her sister or anyone involved?  Will Tell and Ivy ever mend their relationship?

This is a fun novel for mystery or spy fans (fans of Ally Carter will enjoy this title).  The characters are fun and getting more developed all the time and no doubt will continue to do so as the series continues.  The mystery was exciting and provided a satisfying ending.  The idea of “fixers” has only started getting discussed in the last five years or so and it’s fun to see a young adult series focused around such an interesting career.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Published October 11, 2016 Realistic Fiction , Romance Leave a Comment
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fangirl

Genre:  Romance/Realistic Fiction

# of pages:  438

Cather does not like to go out drinking like most college freshmen she knows.  Instead, she likes to stay in and write fan fiction for a fantasy series she is obsessed with.  Meanwhile, her identical twin has tried very hard to distance herself from Cath so that they can start anew in college.  Cath slowly assimilates to college including getting used to her unusual roommate and her friendly male friend who seems to be in Cath’s room a lot.  There is a fair share of drama in Cath’s life (including a father who is struggling with his new empty nest), but the one thing that always balances things out is her love of writing, which is why she’s so excited for her fiction writing class.  Unfortunately, even that does not go exactly as planned…

Fans of John Green or any of Rainbow Rowell’s other books will become obsessed with these characters.  The story is interesting enough, but it’s the characters that make it hard to put this one down.  Cath is very relatable to anyone who’s ever been new to a place and trying to find your way.  She has trouble knowing who to confide in, who to trust, and who to run from.  Eventually she starts gaining more confidence in her new life and starts making proactive choices instead of reactive ones.  It’s a very compelling coming of age story that will leave readers wanting more.

Court of Fives by Kate Elliott

Published October 7, 2016 Adventure , Fantasy , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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court-of-fives

Genre:  Futuristic Fiction

# of Pages:  432

Jess lives with her military father, pregnant mother, and three sisters.  Due to the fact their mother is a commoner, her father was never allowed to legally marry her, but he has always taken care of them like they were legally his family.  Secretly, Jess likes to run the court of fives, which is an intricate and physically grueling competition that involves different challenges in a variety of patterns to figure out.  Jess knows that if her dad ever found out she was doing this he would be furious, which is why she’s kept it a secret.  The day before Jess is scheduled to compete in her first match, her father unexpectedly returns from war and insists on taking them to the competition.  She is forced to sneak out and compete or else she’ll lose her entrance fee that took her a year to save.  She is forced to throw the match at the end because winners must take off their masks and she cannot risk her father learning her secret.  However, she does not realize the attention her actions will bring to her family and the ferocity in which someone with power will work to destroy everything she holds dear.  Ultimately, it is the court of fives she must do in order to bring respect to herself and her family, but will it be enough?

Fans of futuristic novels like The Testing will love this book.  It is full of plot twists, excitement, and adventure.  A main part of the story even features an Indiana Jones’ type adventure that is hard to put down.  Jess loves training for the court of fives partly because it encourages her to think strategically, but in the end she is forced to use that kind of thinking in order to protect her family from a vicious adversary.  It is a fast paced, exciting story.

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