Shadow Scale

Fantasy/General YA Fiction

VG/A  Hartman, Rachel.  Shadow Scale.  Random House, 2015.  608p.  978-0375866579.  18.99

Picking up three months after the story ended in Seraphina (don’t worry, it starts with a recap), Seraphina is busy researching other half-breeds, like herself and thinks that if she can find them, together they can help stop the coming war between humans and dragons. She must travel far and wide to reach them and deal with those who wish to stop her, including another half-dragon whose manipulation skills are terrifying. Once again, Hartman has developed an incredible world of dragons and humans, politics and adventure. To fully appreciate though, readers need to read Seraphina first. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch

Saving Montgomery Sole

General YA Fiction

F/A  Tamaki, Mariko.  Saving Montgomery Sole.  Roaring Brook, 2016.  240p.  978-1-62672-271-2.  17.99

Montgomery Sole is a 16yo girl with two moms, a younger sister and a total of 2 friends in a small California town. She’s obsessed with the abnormal and started a high school Mystery Club, where the 3 of them discuss the weird and unexplained every week. When the White family moves to town, things get uncomfortable for Monty. Reverend White is a semi-famous preacher who wants to “save the American Family” and Monty’s family is anything but normal. While Monty’s sarcasm made her likeable, the character seemed way too naïve for a 16 year old. All the build-up and drama resulted in too tidy of an ending as well. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch