Posts Tagged 'parents'

Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

Published April 21, 2026 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Fantasy

Tilla was raised by a father with a royal title, Lord Kent of the Western Province. Things were good for Tilla until he remarried and had legitimate children. After that point she was technically provided for, but he spent less and less time with her. She didn’t mind spending time with the other royal bastards (especially her half brother, Jax), but often wished her father would visit her like he did in the old days. When Princess Lyriana comes for a visit, Tilla is shocked when she chooses to sit at the bastards’ table. They end up agreeing to meet Princess Lyriana later to show her the tunnels under the castle and have a bit of fun, but end up witnessing a coup! They all manage to escape, but are now on the run from Tilla’s father and others of his loyal subjects who participated in the coup. Tilla isn’t sure if she can trust her father not to kill her for what she saw, but she does feel a responsibility to Princess Lyriana, whom she knows was supposed to die that night had she been where she was supposed to be. Can they get the princess across the country to warn the king of the threat coming his way? Will they be any more accepted by the King than they were back home? Will Tilla and her friends ever be regarded as more than just a bastard?

This is the first in a series and contains a very interesting setup. The royal bastards are not treated terribly well in their kingdom, but they still have some benefits over servants as long as they don’t draw a lot of attention to themselves. As they have gotten older they have questioned what their role will be as adults, but their royal parents are not keen to discuss much of anything with them let alone future plans. When the Princess comes to visit it becomes painfully clear that when the kingdoms merged there were still many people who wished they had stayed separate and have been planning their chance to break away this entire time. This of course leads Tilla to wonder if her father has merely kept her around to help with this coup he has been planning or if he truly cares for her. Meanwhile, the other bastards are dealing with their own insecurities, but for the good of them all they vow to band together to help the princess. Can they really get to safety when everyone they ever cared about is trying to hunt them down? Recommended for readers who enjoy fantasy series.

Happy Head by Josh Silver

Published June 3, 2025 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Realistic Fiction/Futuristic

Seb and his family are thrilled when he is chosen for the pilot program of Happy Head, designed to curb teenage unhappiness. He desperately wants to make his family proud and tries his best to do well on the challenges, but he does start finding himself drawn to the bad boy Finn. Eleanor, a very competitive girl form his small group, decides if they work together and pretend to be a couple then they can rise to the top of the competition. Seb doesn’t particularly care for Eleanor, but sees that she seems to know a lot about how to do well here. As you rise up the ranks you are rewarded with a nicer room and other perks, but these challenges are no joke and seem designed to break them physically as well as mentally. As things begin to escalate, Seb wonders if he should be resisting some of these challenges, but those who do are punished severely. Not to mention he is worried his family would never believe him when he told him what has been going on here. To make things even worse, the woman who created the program seems to be under some kind of physical control by those in charge and does not seem able to actually influence things as they get out of hand. Should Seb rebel against the increasingly unethical program that has labeled him a rising star? Is there any way out of this program? How can teenagers expose a program when everyone around them desperately wants to believe it is a program designed for good?

Fans of the Program series will enjoy this story as there is a lot to unpack. There are many secrets in this new program and it is very difficult to see who Seb can trust and who he can’t. The overall program itself is very challenging and seems to be designed to humiliate and humble those participating. The adults in charge mostly seem to believe they are doing good and it is rare for any of them to have second thoughts about what they are doing to these teens. Seb’s feelings are easy to identify with because he knows things they are asking him to do are wrong, but he’s being told to do it by those with authority and therefore it makes him feel conflicted. Plus, there is always the severe threat of punishment if he refuses to comply. This story really makes the reader think about society and the things people do to be successful and fit in. Highly Recommended.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Published April 16, 2019 Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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Genre: Realistic Fiction

# of Pages: 286

2019 Iowa Book Award Winner

Aza is a high school girl with many phobias in life, specifically that she will come in contact with a germ that will ultimately kill her.  She is constantly thinking about different diseases and risks she could encounter on a daily basis and this constant focus on her mortality has made her a bit of an outcast in her high school.  She does have one best friend, Daisy, who loves to write Star Wars fan fiction and seems to have Aza’s back at all times. When a local millionaire is charged with several crimes and disappears before he can be arrested, Daisy and Aza dream about what they would do with the $100,000 reward money for anyone who can provide information on his whereabouts.  When Aza was young, she was friends with the millionaire’s son, Davis.  They decide to contact him again in the hopes of learning where his dad is so they can collect the reward money.  He quickly sees through their plan, but reuniting with Aza turns out to be pretty great as she and Davis become close.  Whenever she gets too close, however, her mind spins out of control and she has to leave to collect her thoughts.  Can Aza overcome her own thoughts in order to get close to the boy she cares about?  Can Aza and Daisy find out what happened to Davis’s father?  Is Daisy as good of a friend as she thinks she is to Aza?

This book has gotten a lot of attention because it portrays Aza’s condition in a realistic light so that others can understand what it would be like to live like that. All of the characters are well developed and it’s easy to understand their motivations and desires.  The mystery of what happened to Davis’s dad is what gets the story going, but ultimately this story is about the characters and how they are all trying their best to deal with their individual issues and get through high school.  Fans of John Green will devour this title.

Iron Heart by Brian Boyle

Published April 22, 2011 Award Winners , Biography , RAC , Sports 1 Comment
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Genre:  Sports Autobiography

# of Pages:  248

RAC Book:  Yes

2011 Iowa High School Award Winner

This remarkable true story follows Brian Boyle’s recovery from a horrendous car accident he was in when he was eighteen.  He was preparing to go to college on a swim scholarship and instead spent two months fighting for his life.  He had multiple surgeries and countless hardships ahead of him, but he made the choice that he wanted to fight for his life.  His parents were there to support him every step of the way as he slowly worked toward the same goals he had made prior to the accident.

This story is told in Brian’s words so the writing is not very technical or complex, but his words are very powerful.  Most teens will be able to relate to his feelings of helplessness as his dreams and aspirations after high school slip away.  They will also be able to identify with his perseverance and will to fight when no one thought he could.  The story is uplifting and heartwarming and will interest most teen readers, but especially readers who like reading about athletes.  Reading this story will give teenagers a lot to think about regarding their own futures and the choices they plan to make, but also the present and how they want to live for today.

Hero by Perry Moore

Published December 20, 2007 Fantasy Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Fantasy

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  428 p.

RAC Book: Yes

Thom Creed is a teenager coming to terms with many issues in his life including the disappearance of his mother when he was young, the fall of his heroic father, and his questionable sexuality.  His father was once a huge hero, but due to an unfortunate event he lost his hand and became a complete outcast.  Now, there is a league of heroes who all have superpowers.  During a basketball game, Thom begins to see the beginnings of a superpower he might possess.  As he struggles to learn more about his power he also struggles with the feelings that he thinks he might be homosexual.  Both of these developments would anger his father greatly.

After getting kicked off his basketball team for the rumor of his homosexuality, Thom decides to go to hero tryouts in order to be a trainee for the league.  He meets many aspiring heroes with powers that have not yet become completely controlled.  After making a probationary team, Thom learns how truly difficult it is to be a hero and feels bad about the disappointment his father has become simply for trying to help people.  As Thom works with the league he comes to find out more about why his mother left, what really happened when his father lost that hand, and where he truly belongs.

This story about heroes training to save the world brings fun adventures along with deep feelings about many very real issues teenagers face today including sexuality, friendship, parents, reputations, and finding what one is supposed to do in this world.    The issue of homosexuality is an issue that many young adult authors do not touch, which makes this story unique.  Thom’s feelings hinder his aspiratons to become a hero, which connects nicely to aspirations many young people have but feel prejudice will keep them from doing it.  For example, even in our evolved society a homosexual teen would have a harder time breaking into pro sports than a heterosexual one.  While some readers may feel his homosexual fantasies are too graphic, they are no worse than any other sexual fantasies present in similar material.  Moore does a nice job of taking realistic elements and mixing them into the fantasy world where superheroes exist.

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