Review by Emily Battaglia, 17 Early Departures By Justin A. Reynolds Two years after losing his parents, high school student Jamal witnessed the terrible death of his ex-best friend Q. However, their story isn’t over. With a secret, experimental technology, Q can be reanimated and brought back to life—but only […]

Review by Emily Battaglia, 17 Sisters of the Snake By Sasha and Sarena Nanua Written by the Nanua twins, Sisters of the Snake is a young adult fantasy novel depicting the perpendicular lives of thief Ria and princess Rani as they navigate their place in the kingdom of Abai. They […]

Review by Sam Redfearn, 15 All These Bodies By Kendare Blake Marie Catherine Hale (if that’s even her real name) was discovered on the night of September 19, 1958, standing amidst the bodies of Steven, Bob, and Sarah Carlson, who were all murdered that same night. The only person left […]

Review by Jasmine Sov, 15 The Truth Project By Dante Medema Cordelia Koenig isn’t worried about the senior project everyone else is stressing out about—she’s already got a master plan. She’s going to take a DNA test, and then write poetry based on her results. With that under control, she’ll […]

Review by Sam Redfearn, 15 You Were Never Here By Kathleen Peacock Cat hasn’t set foot in Montgomery Falls in five years. The last time she was there, she’d spent the summer with her Aunt Jet and made a friend in the form of her neighbor, Riley Fraser. Riley had […]

Review by Giselle Carlos, 17 With You All the Way By Cynthia Hand *For mature audiences only* 16-year old Ada is finally satisfied at the utter teenage-ness of her life. Her boyfriend, Leo, is an utter dream- kind–courteous and hot. She’s never been more inspired to create art, and her […]

Review by Jasmine Sov, 15 An Emotion of Great Delight By Tahereh Mafi In 2003, against the background of a post-9/11 world, the Muslim community faces more bigotry and harassment than ever. And in the midst of it all, Shadi’s family is falling apart. Her brother is dead, her father […]

Review by Jasmine Sov, 15 Charming as a Verb By Ben Philippe Henri Haltiwanger walks his wealthy New York City neighbors’ dogs in the mornings for extra cash. He’s also star of the debate team as well as a student at the prestigious FATE academy, all thanks to his easy charm. […]

Review by Hailey Chen, 13 The Girl Least Likely By Katy Loutzenhiser Gretchen Wilder, a rom-com loving senior, has always thought of herself as more of a “least likely” than a “most likely” kind of a girl. But a night out gone wrong at a comedy club has left her […]

Review by Hailey Chen, 13 The Screen Queens By Lori Goldstein Lucy Katz, Maddie Li, and Delia Meyer are three girls with varying personalities and backgrounds. But one thing they have in common is that they all need something that only ValleyStart can give them. The most prestigious high school […]