It’s time for another post from the Beta Books club at my library, which reads, reviews, and generally has a grand time discussing ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) of upcoming teen books. Our review form includes a cover discussion, space to share thoughts on the book, and 1-5 star rating. Thanks to today’s reviewers for agreeing to share their thoughts on The Hub! SPOILER ALERT: Some reviews mention plot points.
Reviewer: Piper
Book: The Gospel of Winter, by Brendan Kiely
What did you think of the cover? I really liked the cover, I really think it fit the story quite well. Also I would change nothing about the cover.
What did you think of the book? I enjoyed the overall storyline but at times it could be slow and a bit dragged on. Yes, I would tell a friend to read this book.
How would you rate this book? 3 stars: Pretty good. I wanted to see how it ended.
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Reviewer: Izzy
Book: Splintered, by A. G. Howard
What did you think of the cover? I liked the cover, I think it matched the story. No, I would not change anything about the cover.
What did you think of the book? I thought it was really good. I liked the romance. I wish it described more with better details. My favorite part was when her mom got better. Yes, I would recommend this to a friend!
How would you rate this book? 5 stars. Unbelievable! I’d rather read this book than sleep!
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Reviewer: Chioma
Book: Rites of Passage, by Joy N. Hensley
What did you think of the cover? I actually really liked the cover. It didn’t match the story at all. I would keep the cover the same, but for another version, it could be someone doing a dangerous dare.
What did you think of the book? The summary on the back is good, and so is the first couple pages. I would totally recommend this to a friend.
How would you rate this book? 4 stars: Awesome. I loved it and would give it to a friend.
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Reviewer: Mveno
Book: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, by Matthew Quick (2014 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults)
What did you think of the cover? It fit I suppose, the colors were serious so right off the bat I knew it’d have a heavy topic.
What did you think of the book? Meh – I liked it, however in all honesty, I felt like I’ve read this story before, about five times when it comes to a somewhat generic suicide book, I also saw the ending/climax coming, I’d say that his future notes were interesting, but they were given to the reader too soon, to the point where I actually thought he was from the future, or something along those lines…
How would you rate this book? 3 stars: Pretty good. I wanted to see how it ended.
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Reviewer: Piper
Book: Freak Boy, by Kristin Clark (2014 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults)
What did you think of the cover? I liked the cover quite well and I think it truly matched the story. I wouldn’t change anything at all about the cover.
What did you think of the book? I liked the book because it told the story of how being trans might end up, in a true manner. I only wish I could find out what happened to Brandon in the end. Yes, I would recommend this book to most of my friends.
How would you rate this book? 3 stars. Pretty good. I wanted to see how it ended.
-Becky O’Neil, currently reading The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti, by Rafael Schacter
I like the idea of colors being “serious”. I’ve never thought about the color red like that before!
I am adding Freak Boy to my list of books to read. Thanks for the review!
I love the fact that you are reading such a wide variety of books on wildly different subjects! YA has been rather bogged down in the whole fantasy/dystopian genre lately, it’s nice to see that your ARC club is encouraging teens and tweens to explore all sorts of genres.
Looking forward to the next installment!
Freak Boy’s cover seems perfect! I love it…