Rutabaga's Reads 2025: Part 3

It has arrived, my first YA compilation of 2025. If you read YA, what’s already caught your interest this year? What new releases are you anticipating?

Beastly Beauty (May 7, 2024) by Jennifer Donnelly.

<This is a standalone novel.>

What makes a girl “beastly?” Is it being too stubborn? Being fiery and strong instead of sweet and compliant? Wanting to study architecture instead of attending balls? Is it simply wanting too much?

            In the band of thieves, Beau is the handsome one and is always tasked with being the charming seducer, stealing hearts along with jewels, gold and silver. When the bridge crumbles behind his thieving comrades, Beau is left to face the monster that roams the castle at night. He knows the monster is real, but no one seems to believe him. Certainly not Valmont, who doesn’t hide his utter disdain for the thief. And who are the children who claim they aren’t children? There’s a strange, sizable clockwork, and then there’s the beautiful and cold Lady Arabella with her contingent of vicious ladies-in-waiting with names like Lady Espidra, Lady Rega, Lady Hesma and Lady Iglut. Once bold and independent, much to the chagrin and disapproval of her titled parents (she’s the only child of a duke and duchess), she’s turned inward, crumbling like a ruin once full of hope, faith and love, now weighed down by despair, rage, shame, guilt and more. Arabella’s understanding is that, to break the curse, a boy must love her for her true self, which is a cruel assignment for someone who appears “beastly” on the inside and out. After all, who could ever love ... a beast?

            While I can understand Beau’s desperation to reunite with his brother, I did not like him for most of the story. It’s not only the thieving that turned me off from the character, but his greasy charm and cocksure personality. He is redeemable in the last chapters, but it’s too little too late, and I couldn’t fully appreciate the story. Fortunately, Donnelly is a skilled storyteller and invites readers into a gender-swapped retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” that manages complicated characters in daunting circumstances surrounded by a historically rich backdrop and emotional turbulence. There are glimmers of humor amidst the hopelessness and the mucky, macabre moat monsters. It’s a story of family dynamics and their complications, personal truths and battling to accept oneself, “beastly” aspects and all.

The Encanto’s Daughter (Mar. 5, 2024) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the first novel in a duology.>

Command attention. Project authority. That is what Maria Josephina “MJ” Robertson-Rodriguez must do to stand her ground against the courts that oppose her ascension to the throne. MJ is a princess of the Sirena Court, which is the most powerful and thus is the overall ruler of Biringan, but she’s spent much of her life hiding in the human world, switching towns and schools at the earliest sign of danger. MJ is hapcanto: half-human, half-encanto. (Encantos or engkantos in her father’s language, but they’re also called fairies.) With her father’s sudden death, MJ must go to Biringan to claim her place as the rightful heir. She must win over a council who disapproves of her hapcanto status and that she’s a she, and don’t even get her started on those of the other courts who disapprove of her half-human side. Yep, bigotry is alive and well in Biringan, too. She doesn’t know what her magic is, which she’ll need to showcase at her coronation in less than a month, and she won’t even admit it to her first real friend Phoenix “Nix” Xing, a runaway from Jade Mountain. When she hears that her father’s death was from unnatural causes, she adds investigating his death to her already busy agenda. Nix is there to help, and MJ forges an unlikely alliance with the irritatingly handsome Sir Lucas Invierno. Where his dad once worked for the Court of Sirena, Sir Lucas now resides in the Court of Sigbin and is the realm’s highest-ranking knight. Don Elias, MJ’s godfather and the late King Vivencio Basilio Rodriguez’s most trusted advisor, suspects Sigbin Court of harboring a mambabarang, witches that practice black magic. So. Find the nasty sorceress, discover her father’s murderer, figure out her magical ability and learn all there is to know about Biringan and being royal. If MJ can do all that in less than a month’s time, she can bear the weight of the crown. Right?

            This fantasy duology opener steeped in Filipino mythology makes for a culturally rich tale of magic, family betrayal, court politics and investigation. The downside is that I usually didn’t like MJ’s character. Yes, her life has been upended, and I know she’s trying to assert herself, but she oftentimes comes across as petulant, downright annoying and, well, entitled. She redeems herself with her release of an innocent person, someone she knew had to be innocent from the get-go. Being accepted as the one true heir in only a month’s time – when she’s been gone since toddlerhood – seems far-fetched, but the stakes are high, the plot is action-driven and there’s adventure to be had. Although so-so for me, it may just be what a YA fantasy lover is looking for.

            P.S. Surprise! Maria Josephina isn’t actually her given name. What is it?

Icon and Inferno (June 11, 2024) by Marie Lu.

<This is the second novel in a duology.>

The world’s favorite pop superstar and one of the world’s elite spies are back. Winter Young has thought of Sydney Cossette every day, hoping she’ll randomly show up. She never does, until the day she shows up in his private practice room. Sydney is there to convince him to take another mission with Panacea Group, the secret operation located within Claremont Hotel, a [fictional] luxury resort hotel in St. Paul, MN, featuring a Michelin-starred restaurant called Food for the Gods. They need to make contact with an agent who’s gone dark. It’s the Arsonist, code name for Tems Bourton, and he’s, loosely, Sydney’s ex. Panacea is tracking a plot to assassinate U.S. President Rosen, and Tems is supposed to be their eyes-on-the-ground. Winter and Sydney head to Singapore for the Warcross Championships, Winter getting in with his celebrity status and Sydney joining in once again as his bodyguard. On Winter’s arm is Gavi Ginsburg, his on-again-off-again, no-strings-attached, globe-trotting socialite girlfriend/fling. The intense chemistry between Winter and Sydney remains, but it is tempered with the exes in the mix. Not that they have time to hash out feelings. They have a suspect responsible for plotting the president’s assassination, but there are definitely more people involved. Who are the rogue operatives?

            Sydney doesn’t want to admit it, but she’s struggling. It’s her last mission with Niall O’Sullivan and Sauda Nazari as the head agents/operatives, because it’s Niall’s last mission. He’s retiring! He plans to visit his daughter, Quinn, for the first time in a decade. Niall is the closest to a father figure that she’s ever had. She’s already missing him and is a little jealous of his actual daughter (not that she’ll admit it).

            The Stars and Smoke duology closer is a dramatic, YA spy fiction sequel to its predecessor. It’s action-packed and sometimes violent, occasionally spitting and a little steamy (the scene does leave much of it up to the reader’s imagination). The sexy, romantic tone that Lu incorporated didn’t impress me, but the emotive characters with their abusive, psychologically pain-filled pasts and Lu’s enigmatic writing make this caper dynamic and propulsive. Undoubtedly, there is beauty and ferocity where there is international intrigue surrounding attractive people. But don’t forget that these characters are handy with weapons while playing with fire. Beware getting in the crosshairs.

            Favorite line: “How strange an emotion love was, how powerful it must be to fuel kindness and hatred and empathy and revenge and grief, all at once.” --Sydney, p. 282

            Book One: Stars and Smoke

"Stars and Smoke" by Marie Lu

Stars and Smoke (Mar. 28, 2023) by Marie Lu.

*This is the first novel in a series.*

Chinese American Winter Young is a 19-year-old global pop phenomenon, the most famous superstar in the world. He’s a spy, too, having been approached by the Panacea Group to infiltrate the crime world syndicate of Eli Morrison. His one weakness is his daughter, Penelope, though Eli is anything but weak. The criminal tycoon has no qualms about having adversaries tortured or entire families assassinated. Penelope is Winter’s biggest fan, and for her birthday celebration, Eli is indulging an extremely exclusive private concert with the one and only Winter Young. Panacea Group has been trying for years to get evidence to bring Morrison down. The CIA has too much red tape, so that’s when they call in Panacea, as they have the power to choose what is right over what is diplomatic. The covert spy operation works out of the [fictional] Claremont Hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota. Winter will need to use all his fame, charisma and newfound spy skills to pull off a successful mission. He won’t be alone, as he’ll have Sydney Cossette posing as his bodyguard and taking on the persona of Ashley Miller. Sydney is Panacea’s youngest spy, and she’s keeping a big secret from them, lest they release her from their employ (and no, the secret isn’t her petty thievery). Infiltrating Eli’s inner circle and attending Penelope’s extravagant birthday celebration takes the group to London. His manager, Claire, is along, as are two of his closest back-up dancers, Leo and Dameon. On their list of Eli’s closest associates is Connor Doherty, the accountant who has beautifully expensive taste in accessories, and who appears to have a secret relationship with Penelope. It’s a high-stakes, life or death mission. Can Winter and Sydney survive each other? Can they just ... survive?

            The new series starter from Lu is a rip-roaring adventure containing espionage, mystery, enough advanced gadgetry to make any techie jealous, glamour and danger. Where superstar Winter is Chinese American, polyglot spy Sydney is cued white with a nice range of ethnic diversity amongst the plentiful supporting cast and queer inclusivity, too. Winter’s compassionate, down-to-earth character is a good balance to Sydney’s abrasiveness. The story is clever and fun with intense scenes and a nail-biting plot. It’s propulsive and gripping. Lu remains one of my top authors of YA.

            Standout line: “Optimism is my hidden power.”

"Not by Sight" by Kate Breslin

Not by Sight (Aug. 4, 2015) by Kate Breslin.*

The color white stands for many things: purity, innocence, light, mourning. Grace Elizabeth Mabry, the daughter of Patrick Mabry, one of London’s wealthiest tradesmen thanks to his tea business (Swan’s Tea Room), hands a white feather of cowardice to Jack Benningham, Earl of Stonebrooke. Grace, a suffragette, is full of patriotism, especially since her brother, Colin, is fighting in the war (it’s 1917, so WWI), so by handing a white feather to Jack, she’s telling him that he’s a coward for not representing Britain in the war, as he is an able-bodied man.

            Things turn for them both when Grace and her lady’s maid/friend, Agnes Pierpont, volunteer for the Women’s Forage Corps. It’s more work than Grace has ever done in her life, but it’s better than the house arrest she’s been under. They’re assigned to Roxwood, where dwells a monster.

            Naturally, that “monster” is Jack Benningham. He knows the name Grace Mabry, but he doesn’t know her face, because he can’t see it. Great tests are in front of the both of them. Grace will need her faith more than ever, and Jack needs to regain his. There will be hurt, the likes of which happens only when you fall too hard for someone and care too deeply. Unfortunately, matters of the heart are only part of the problem, because in those times of war, the threat of enemy spies is constant. And if the truth isn’t discovered, the innocent will take the blame, and relationships will be forever ruined.

            Mystery. Espionage. Intrigue. Romance. Doubt. Faith. If you enjoy stories containing any of those things, this is a book which I would recommend to you. This Christian historical fiction novel is intelligently written with a focused plot, descriptive characters and a fast pace. The author has clearly done her research. I think it is clever that Jack’s stance as a conscientious objector is a ruse, for it still propels his character to help his country. I was captivated by this novel and know I’ve found another author whose books I’d like to keep reading. It has a good message for us as well: Walk by faith and not by sight. In the spiritual sense, yes, but also in the literal, seeing-with-your-eyes sense. We take for granted that which we have, not realizing what we’re missing until it’s too late. Keep the faith, give thanks for what you have, and try not to take anything for granted.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Do you ever notice those books others talk about but you haven’t yet read? You think to yourself that you must read it when you get the chance, but you don’t get to it right away because you forget/you have other books you want to read first/life happens. That was the case for me with this book, and I’m so glad I finally took the time to read it.

Code Name Verity (May 15, 2012) by Elizabeth Wein.

There is truth and there is “truth.” The story begins with Verity, an at-first nameless wireless operator. She’s a petite and pretty gal, captured in Nazi-occupied France because of an oversight on her part. Such a small thing, but so large in the big picture. Her bones haven’t been broken, but her captors have tried to break her all the same. She’s given them information, and the other prisoners think she’s a traitor. Now she’s writing down her story to prolong her life. Julie, who has gone by other names and is formally Lady Julia Lindsay MacKenzie Wallace Beaufort-Stuart, can be quite cheeky despite her dire situation. Surely it gets her in trouble and most definitely makes for nasty interrogations, but she will have her say. She will write and write until she can’t and when that time comes, she’ll know that “I have told the truth. I have told the truth.”

            Part 2 centers on Kittyhawk, who’s actually Margaret “Maddie” Brodatt. She is a pilot during a war that didn’t have many women pilots. Her interest blooms after she witnesses an aircraft crash. In fact, when she sees it, she applauds. This is done without thinking about the pilot and any physical harm that might’ve come upon the pilot. When they reach the aircraft, they discover that the pilot is a girl. A girl. And Maddie thinks logically to herself that since she’s never crashed her motorbike, surely she can fly an airplane. The crashed pilot, Dympna Wythenshawe, helps her pilot interests along. Her flying skills take a nosedive when she’s stationed as a licensed radio operator during the war. But not for always. She eventually finds herself in the air again, even running secret missions. All professionalism. No conversation. Until she crosses paths with Julie again. There is something great about spending time with one’s best friend. But how extra awful it is when they’re separated. Especially when Maddie doesn’t know where Julie is.

            This book is TOO MUCH. It is heartbreaking, sad, dangerous, horrible, powerful and wonderful. It is historical fiction personified. The research is apparent, yet it’s blended with the fictional writing so seamlessly. The plot is complex, the narrative is gripping, and the fear is almost tangible. “Code Name Verity” is a captivating-thriller-of-a-historical-young-adult novel. It is also a story of friendship and bravery and courage. It is a multi-layered story that is certainly not for the faint of heart. I highly recommend that you read this account of Verity and Kittyhawk. For they are a sensational team.