Fiction with all the feels? It must be Fri-YA! Let’s go!
Book summaries come from Goodreads. Click the book cover image to add it to your own TBR.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
On the outskirts of the Red Light District in Bihar, India, Heera (14) is living on borrowed time until her father sells her into the sex trade to help feed their family and repay his loans. It is, as she's been told, the fate of the women in her community to end up here. When a local hostel owner shows up at Heera's home with the money to repay her family's debt, Heera begins to learn that fate can change. Destiny can be disrupted. Heroics can be contagious.
Gina @ G’s Reading Spree – You think the book can’t make you cry until you get to the author’s note 😭The things Heera sees and experiences are things fully unknown to me; they’re things I never would have fathomed actually happening to people if I hadn’t started reading outside my own experiences. Heera’s journey is both heartbreaking and inspiring, and knowing her story is based on real ones makes it hit even harder. I’m so glad [vendor] gave me the chance to read this one 💗
Cindy Mitchell on behalf of Kiss the Book, review by Laura Trujillo – Ruchira Gupta portrays an incredible story of a young, determined, strong, and heroic character. The book raises awareness and reality of human sex trafficking. Gupta draws the readers into Heera’s life in India. Although, it is unfortunate that Heera’s character and her family experience of life in poverty, I enjoyed reading how Heera is able to hold on to hope and self empowerment.
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
Maisie Rojas (17) has spent her entire life in the Q—a post-pandemic quarantine zone that was once Austin, Texas. Born and raised behind high security walls, she's now a trusted lieutenant for one of the territory's controlling families.
Lennon Pierce, son of a US presidential candidate, has just been kidnapped by his father's enemies and dropped from a plane into the Q. Lennon is given a temporary antidote to the disease and crucial intel for his father, but Maisie must get him out of the zone within 48 - or he will be permanently infected and forced to remain. If Maisie and Lennon fail, it could mean disaster for the entire quarantine zone and its inhabitants—and could cost Lennon his life.
Cindy Mitchell on behalf of Kiss the Book, review by Carolina Herdegen – I love Tintera’s humor and her relatable characters – especially her strong and confident female characters. Though the book wraps up without a cliffhanger, I am not ready to let this world go and am hoping for a sequel. Rating: PG-13, mature for blood, mention of cannibalism, gun and bomb use, and murder.
TheNextGenLibrarian @ Goodreads – ** spoiler alert ** A fast-paced YA dystopian thriller that I couldn’t get enough of! This was a mile a minute ride! I love a good sci-fi dystopian novel and this one checked all the boxes. Amy Tintera did a fantastic job with this book and I can’t wait to read more by her. CW: pandemic, medical issues caused by pandemic, violence, blood, guns, bombing, war, murder, kidnapping.