The Taking of Jake Livingston

 

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

An Instant New York Times Bestseller!

Get Out meets Holly Jackson in this YA social thriller where survival is not a guarantee.

Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can't decide what's worse: being a medium forced to watch the dead play out their last moments on a loop or being at the mercy of racist teachers as one of the few Black students at St. Clair Prep. Both are a living nightmare he wishes he could wake up from. But things at St. Clair start looking up with the arrival of another Black student—the handsome Allister—and for the first time, romance is on the horizon for Jake.

Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he's a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.

Notes from Norma

I just finished reading it this and I absolutely loved it. I wasn't completely sold on it at the beginning but the POV switch between Jake and Sawyer really added a layer of intrigue and sense of urgency to understand why Jake must stop Sawyer from taking over. The characters are sympathetic and interesting, and the plot really gets you hooked. 

I would recommend a read if you like supernatural horror or thrillers!

Reviews

 “An exceptional blend of genres—horror, mystery, thriller and contemporary—that brilliantly captures how Jake, a Black gay teen medium, copes with the varying kinds of violence threatening him. . . Douglass creates a clever and effective parallel between what Jake can't control—racism and how his body is perceived, a toxic father, an irresponsible brother, his mother's expectations—and his fight against Sawyer. The story builds to a rewardingly chilling and sentimental climax, as Jake must look deep within himself for the power to break the cycles of harm entrapping him. . . An extraordinarily crafted exploration of agency during Black gay teenhood.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

“A teenage version of Get Out, and you will not be disappointed. . . Douglass looks at race and trauma and death with a comical and horror-esque twist.” —The Root

Elatsoe

 

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

A Texas teen comes face-to-face with a cousin's ghost and vows to unmask the murderer.

Elatsoe—Ellie for short—lives in an alternate contemporary America shaped by the ancestral magics and knowledge of its Indigenous and immigrant groups. She can raise the spirits of dead animals—most importantly, her ghost dog Kirby. When her beloved cousin dies, all signs point to a car crash, but his ghost tells her otherwise: He was murdered.

Who killed him and how did he die? With the help of her family, her best friend Jay, and the memory great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Elatsoe, must track down the killer and unravel the mystery of this creepy town and it's dark past. But will the nefarious townsfolk and a mysterious Doctor stop her before she gets started?

A breathtaking debut novel featuring an asexual, Apache teen protagonist, Elatsoe combines mystery, horror, noir, ancestral knowledge, haunting illustrations, fantasy elements, and is one of the most-talked about debuts of the year.

Reviews

Locus Award Winner—Best First Novel

A National Indie Bestseller

Nebula Award Finalist

Lodestar Award Finalist

Ignyte Award Finalist

TIME's Best 100 Fantasy Books of All Time

NPR Best of the Year

Booklist's Top 10 First Novels for Youth

A BookPage Best of the Year

Chicago Public Library "Best of the Best"

PNBA Bestseller

Publishers Weekly Best of the Year

Buzzfeed's Best YA SFF of the Year

Shelf-Awareness Best of the Year

AICL Best YA of the Year

NECBA Windows & Mirrors Selection

NEIBA Award Finalist

Tor Best of the Year

Kirkus Best YA of the Year

Publishers Weekly Flying Start

American Indian Youth Literature Award Finalist

“A fast-paced murder mystery.”—Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Atmospheric and lyrical...a gorgeous work of art.”—BuzzFeed

The Raven Boys

 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater 

"There are only two reasons a nonseer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve," Neeve said. "Either you're his true love... or you killed him."

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them - not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He has it all - family money, good looks, devoted friends - but he's looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the best-selling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we've never been before. 

Reviews

“. . . the book is marvelous, for not only is it filled with marvels, it is also a marvel of imagination and, more prosaically, structure. Rich, too, in characterization, this fantasy/mystery rises to the level of serious literature” - Booklist, starred review

"Stiefvater not only weaves a suspenseful tale of Blue’s involvement with three such boys and their quest for the grave of an ancient king, but she also does so stylishly, with sly social commentary." - The Washington Post

Norma's Review 

So, this is definitely an older series for some of you guys but I decided to pick up this book and I must say, I genuinely like it! I'm already onto the second book of the series and I hope to finish all four book by the end of September. The characters are so interesting and unique, each have their own voice, personality and motivations, and they're all generally likable. There's magic and mysteries in a modern setting, what more could you ask for?

If any of you guys have read or want to read this series please come talk to me about it in the library!

Elatsoe

 

   Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

A Texas teen comes face-to-face with a cousin’s ghost and vows to unmask the murderer. 

Elatsoe—Ellie for short—lives in an alternate contemporary America shaped by the ancestral magics and knowledge of its Indigenous and immigrant groups. She can raise the spirits of dead animals—most importantly, her ghost dog Kirby.

When her beloved cousin dies, all signs point to a car crash, but his ghost tells her otherwise: He was murdered. Who killed him and how did he die?

With the help of her family, her best friend Jay, and the memory great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Elatsoe must track down the killer and unravel the mystery of this creepy town and its dark past. But will the nefarious townsfolk and a mysterious Doctor stop her before she gets started?

 A breathtaking debut novel featuring an asexual, Apache teen protagonist, Elatsoe combines mystery, horror, noir, ancestral knowledge, haunting illustrations, and fantasy elements in one of the most-talked about debuts of the year.

ISBN: 978-1646140053

Ages 12 and above

Reviews

"[A] refreshing voice. Indigenous myths, modern-day technology, and the supernatural successfully blend to build a fast-paced murder mystery."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A brilliant, engaging debut. It seamlessly blends cyberstalking with Vampire Citizen Centers and Lipan Apache stories." - KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)

"Creative and meticulously plotted. a Lipan Apache Sookie Stackhouse for the teen set." - SHELF-AWARENESS starred review

"Groundbreaking." -TIME

"A fresh voice and perspective, weaving in folktales, omens, and urban legends of the protagonist's Lipan Apache culture." - BOOKLIST (starred review)

"A strong heroine, a supernatural mystery and a unique and powerful Native American voice."-BOOKPAGE (starred review)

?"This absorbing and haunting speculative fiction debut challenges expectations at every turn."- HORN BOOK (starred review)

"Utterly magical." - SYFYWIRE

"Beautiful. Sinister. Deeply enjoyable from start to finish." - NPR

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author Laini Taylor
Cover Design by Alison Imprey
Copyright 2011
ISBN 978-0-316-13402-6
[Fic]--dc22
Reading Level 5.8 UG
Lexile Value 850L
Teaching/Learning Tools on Author's Blog:  http://www.lainitaylor.com/p/books.html
California Young Reader Medal Nominee for 2014-2015

Author's BookTrailer 01

Author's BookTrailer 02

Critique:
"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.  It did not end well (Taylor, introduction page)."
Seventeen year old Karou will draw you in with her numerous adventures and internal emptiness. She will impress you as a heroine and have you reading into the night to find out where her next travels will take her.  As a reader you will "see" the pages of Karou's sketchbook come alive and you will climb into them to follow her to the underworld and beyond.
Mrs. Flores  

"It's to Taylor's great credit that evil incarnate and its love match in Daughter of Smoke and Bone are such imaginative interpretations and that the worlds in which this romance unfolds are likewise so unique: Telling a tale this apocryphal requires serious outside-the-box plot work to pull off. Taylor manages her self-imposed challenge with aplomb."
-The Los Angeles Times