Rutabaga's Reads 2024: Part 8

Here I finally am with my first YA compilation of 2024. I’ve published more solo YA posts, which is why I didn’t create a second compilation post this year, as I originally thought I would. 

The Headmaster’s List (Feb. 28, 2023) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is a standalone novel.>

Her ex-boyfriend, 18-year-old Ethan Amoroso, is known as a reckless driver, so when 15-year-old Chris Moore is killed in a high-speed car crash with a tree, it’s easy for the public to skip over ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and proclaim him guilty, since he said he was at the wheel, but Spencer Sandoval, also 18, knows he wouldn’t be careless with the lives of others. His own? Sure, but not others’. Spencer dives into her own investigation into the crash, trying to find the memories of that night that she can’t recall. Was she drugged? Is it the trauma of the night? A brain injury? Why can’t she remember? And why is the picture of Ethan in her memory screaming her name “all wrong?” She has an ally in Jackson Chen, Ethan’s soccer teammate and best friend, and her new, loyal sidekick, Ripley, a service dog for her PTSD. She’s asking lots of questions, becoming obsessed (and dependent on her Vicodin Rx), and someone clearly feels threatened. Spencer receives a threatening note and someone tries to run her off the road one night as she’s biking home after work. Is it someone she knows? Or someone who’s heard her name through Peyton Salt’s popular, true crime podcast? What kind of truth is she getting close to that someone else doesn’t want to see the light?

            Like ripping off a bandage, I’ll state right off that I struggled with this book. I’ve enjoyed so many of de la Cruz’s stories, but this one drug on, and it began with guessing something [correctly] early on. It’s atypical of me to quit a story, so I read the novel in its entirety. Ripley is definitely a win for the story, her training a good balance to Spencer’s increasing obsession, likely related to her Vicodin dependence. Just because this story wasn’t a victory to me doesn’t mean it’s without merit. Indeed, it does have fascinating facets, venturing in a place ruled by pedigree and privilege. In an elite LA private school, race still stands out (Spencer occasionally refers to herself as the “brown kid”). This thriller has plenty of cute boys, a range of diversity and teen snark. Where it glitters, it’s also sinister, and the humanness can be razor-sharp. It’s a likeable YA thriller, just not one that resonated with me.

Revelations (May 9, 2023) by Bella Higgin.

<This is the second novel in a series.>

<Casual spoiler if you haven’t read the first story.>

When Renie Mayfield first entered Belle Morte, one of the vampire houses in the U.K., where vampires are A-list celebrities, living a life of luxury in their top-brand attire, she was a human selected as a donor to try to find her Vladdict (obsessed with vampires) sister, June. Now Renie is a new vampire, and the vampire responsible, the love of her life, Edmond Dantès, is confined to the secret cells of Belle Morte in cuffs of painful silver. June appears to have escaped and her whereabouts are unknown. June is beyond any help, but Renie continues to love the sister she once was. Renie’s desperate to free Edmond, locate June and punish the one who killed her sister. That someone isn’t working alone, and the betrayal runs deeper than the secret passageways of Belle Morte. The other U.K. houses are likely also compromised, as becomes apparent after they flee. It isn’t only the smell of blood that lingers within Belle Morte’s walls, but corruption, too.

            I’ll be frank. This is a vampire novel, so it’s not a story that I read expecting to be deeply complex. Indeed, the plot never wades into the deep end, but it depicts a lush setting, the allure of a glitzy lifestyle, the glamour associated with vampire novels and a fresh take on the genre. The world-building is detailed, especially if you like fashion. Renie is 18, making this a YA novel, but the intimacy in the story and the many adult supporting characters in the book make this a better choice for older readers. I don’t have children, but if I did, I wouldn’t want my 14- or 15-year-old reading it. There’s a centuries-wide age gap between Renie and Edmond, so maybe there’s a book club discussion in there about power dynamics if one wants to make this story into something deeper. If you like brooding vampires who are tall, dark-haired and handsome, this has got that. I’d recommend this for vampire aficionados and those who haven’t read any vampire novels since Twilight.

These Deadly Prophecies (Jan. 30, 2024) by Andrea Tang.

<This is a standalone novel, as far as I can tell.>

“I will die at the hands of my best beloved. So shall it be.” Chinese American teen Tabatha Zeng is the daughter of a lawyer mom and an engineer dad, and she’s chosen to pursue sorcery, much to the disappointment of her parents. At least she’s an apprentice to one of the world’s most famous sorcerers. It’s too bad that he predicts his own brutal death, and it comes true. Detective Elena Chang is the one-woman show of the occult crimes unit with the local police department. She’s very anti-magic. Callum is Sorcerer Julian Aurelius Solomon’s youngest son, and the only one of his children who’s a fortune teller (prophecy sorcery) like Tabatha is and his dad was. The twins and Callum’s half-siblings are Felix (the eldest, who excels at kinetic sorcery) and Circe (who casts illusions, which are often seen as fluff sorcery). Felix is believed to be the favorite child, but it’s Callum who has the gift of prophecy, the most coveted of the magics. Who is Sorcerer Solomon’s best beloved, and who will be bequeathed the Solomon Family legacy? There’s a murder to investigate, and with Tabatha and Callum being the last two to see him alive, they’re the prime suspects.

My first story from Tang is a YA murder mystery thriller with paranormal elements. While I didn’t love it, it’s sharp and clever with witty banter to boot, and it reads quickly. It’s a magical madcap mystery with the narrator (Tabatha) sometimes in reflection mode. For those who are drawn to YA novels with dark and light elements, this is an intriguing choice if they only decide to pick it up. Callum might’ve dubbed her the “squishy wizard,” but Tabatha is serious about her prophecies. She might be reciting one out to the world right now. Please handle with care. So shall it be.

Helpful note: “Not all spell casting is the same, but the three classes of sorcery – illusion, kinetic, and prophecy – can be broken down in broad strokes like so: wishing, willing, and wondering. Illusionists create their mirages by wishing them real, the same way you might wish to be married to your middle school crush by writing their name over and over again in your notebooks. Kinetics, meanwhile, take it a step further. Instead of simply wishing, they will their desires into true existence: the crack in the ground that starts an earthquake, the whirlpool curving the center of a calm sea, or, well, a fireball flung at a spoiled teenager’s Lexus.” (p. 83)