Pasadena Public Library
Reviewed by Kaelin Lee, age 15 Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon Bethany Greene is a late bloomer who hasn’t had any romantic experience in her 16 years of life. When she finally finds the courage to ask her crush to Homecoming, she is shot down due to that very […]
Reviewed by Jasmine Sov, age 17 Three Drops of Blood by Gretchen McNeil When a behind-the-scenes scandal derails 17-year-old Kate’s acting career, she’s determined to get back on track. But it’s not that easy—she’s implicated in the scandal, her agent only sends her out for stereotypical “fat girl” parts, and […]
Reviewed by Kaelin Lee, age 15 As If on Cue by Marisa Kanter Natalie has been lifelong rivals with Reid. So when the school cuts all funding for the arts, ergo cutting Natalie’s hope of directing her student-written play, she finds herself up against Reid again to allocate funding for […]
Reviewed by Jasmine Sov, age 17 Damned If You Do by Alex Brown Ever since Cordelia Scott’s abusive father left when she was ten, life has been pretty normal. Now in her senior year of high school, Cordelia has other concerns: stage managing the school play, crushing on her best […]
Reviewed by Samuel Redfearn, age 16 A Year to the Day by Robin Benway It’s been exactly a year since Leo’s sister and closest friend, Nina, died. She can’t even remember the accident. They had been driving around with Nina’s boyfriend, East. She remembers singing along to “Time After Time”, […]
Reviewed by Samuel Redfearn, age 16 Milo and Marcos at the End of the World by Kevin Cristopher Snipes Milo Connelly already had a tendency to overthink before the world started collapsing around him, but ever since Marcos reappeared in his life, it appears as though God Himself has intervened […]
Reviewed by Hailey Chen, age 14 Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber Wren Greenrock is in disguise. She has trained her entire life for the sole purpose of stealing back the throne from her twin sister, who doesn’t even know she exists, to finally give both witches and […]
Reviewed by Jasmine Sov, age 16 Private Label by Kelly Yang Serene Li longs to design her own couture dresses, but she’s stuck working as an intern for her mom’s fashion brand. After her mother is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Serene’s jolted into leadership of the company, where she faces […]
Reviewed by Samuel Redfearn, age 16 Sense and Second Degree Murder by Tirzah Price The Dashwood sisters each harbor somewhat peculiar interests. Elinor, the eldest, enjoys chemistry; Marianne, slightly younger than Elinor, works alongside her father in his detective business; and Margaret, the youngest, is a budding novelist at only […]
Reviewed by Giselle Carlos, age 17 This Place is Still Beautiful by Xixi Tian Annalie and Margaret Flannagen have conflicting feelings toward their childhood home. Seventeen-year-old Annalie savors the Midwest—the small-town closeness of it all—while Margaret feels suffocated and claustrophobic. When Margaret moves to college at NYU, Annalie breathes a […]