Review: Change of Plans

Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finley is happy with her life.  She has recently graduated from high school and is going to the same college as her boyfriend.  Her summer is upended when her mother takes her on an unexpected trip to the family vacation house she didn’t know about.  Finley is suddenly surrounded by family she’s never met and facing an uncertain future … since her boyfriend dumped her on a video call.  Why has Finley’s mom been estranged from her family?  What will her future hold with this change of plans?

Change of Plans is a realistic fiction story that I would call romance adjacent.  There is love weaved into the story, but the overall plot is not about romance.  Dessen has created a cast of characters that I enjoyed spending time with, and it had a satisfying resolution.  Change of plans is a great read for all YA fans, even if you aren’t a romance fan.  

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Review: Soundtrack: A Novel

Soundtrack: A Novel by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stuy has left his mother and moved in with his uncle. He had taught himself to play the drums, just like his mom, and while at his uncle’s house, he meets other players and they form a band. They are becoming popular as an underground group, yet the pressure each is faced with is varied and real. When their bassist must hide from the police, they must really go “underground.”

Soundtrack is a realistic mixed medium story. Most is narrative with a lot of poetry and play-type dialogue interspersed. The original story was an audiobook with a full cast performance, and this print version does a wonderful job adapting it to a new format. Fans of Reynolds will not be disappointed with this newest addition to his library.


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Review: Skyshattered

Skyshattered by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Remy and Gem may be an unlikely duo, but with the help of Storm and some sky pirates, they may be exactly what the world needs to keep the land from falling into the Maelstrom.  As this group races to find the machine the dwarves were tasked to create, they must also overcome an evil pirate and a True Dragon.  Gem’s powers continue to grow, and she quickly learns what her future throne will require of her.  Will they stop the land from falling and save the world?

Skyshattered is the third book in the Storm Dragons series.  Readers of the first two books will easily fall into the continuation of this story and, with a few strategic nudges … recall pertinent details.  Kagawa wraps up this tale with a satisfactory ending, although most readers will be disappointed that it is a trilogy.  A great read for fans of dragon adventures. 

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