Heart-Shaped Lies

February 28, 2025

Heart-Shaped Lies by Elizabeth Agyemang
on November 26, 2024
ISBN: 0593484495
Genres: Mystery, Psychological thriller
Format: Young Adult
Goodreads
three-stars

Elizabeth Agyemang’s debut YA novel, Heart-Shaped Lies, adds a few twists to a familiar story. Three very different girls discover that behind his popular YouTube prank-star persona, their dream-boy, Tommy, is rotten to the core. Classic “John Tucker Must Die” revenge story, right? Not quite. When Tommy is actually found dead after his cheating and disturbing class prank are revealed, the girls believe they are suspects and work together to clear their names.

The publisher’s blurb refers to this story as a “tongue-in-cheek” mystery, but don’t expect humor. The first half of the book has solid character development, it explores these young women’s unique obsessions with public image and how Tommy uses that to manipulate them. The power he has over them creates a real tension in the story. Unfortunately, that tension is broken when Tommy’s death and the damaging content on his phone irreparably harms the girl’s public personas. What’s left is a finger-pointing whodunit with a Scooby-Doo style murderer reveal. It is possible that it was the author’s intention to satirize the popular teen-girls-solving-murders trend in YA literature by having these obviously innocent characters implicate themselves by interfering with a police investigation, but their choices often felt out of character and their omissions about the night of the murder unnecessarily stretch out the story.

There is an uncomfortable balance in the tone of Heart-Shaped Lies. In some ways it is a very realistic story that could educate young women about common red-flags in abusive relationships. But Tommy’s cartoonishly villainous behavior, it being set in a fictional Disney World, and reveal of the real killer make the plot unbelievable. Is this a revenge story? No. Is it a mystery? Kind of. Is this an empowering story for girls? Maybe?

Though it is only Tommy engaging in most of this behavior, be aware that there is physical abuse, emotional abuse, alcohol use, drug use, and mentions of sexually-explicit images throughout the novel. Ultimately, this isn’t a must buy, but Agyemang might have a promising future in YA.

Reviewed by Ivy Burns, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

Sunrise Nights (Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallero)

February 28, 2025

Sunrise Nights by Brittany Cavallaro, Jeff Zentner
on July 9, 2024
ISBN: 0063324539
Genres: Romance
Format: Young Adult
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

Sunrise Nights is a young adult romance uniquely told in prose and verse. Main characters Florence and Jude meet at an art summer camp where on the last night campers have a “sunrise night” where they can roam freely around the town as long as they make the check-ins until sunrise. Florence and Jude meet on a sunrise night and decide on a whim to spend it together and then not talk to each other again, leaving their connection in the hands of fate. Florence is faced with losing her sight and Jude is struggling with big changes in his family. In one night they become close with lots of “will they / won’t they” tension— but then they part ways when the sun comes up. Throughout the next year we follow Florence and Jude as their lives continue and they think about each other. As the book unfolds between sunrise nights and the year apart, prose and verse, Florence and Jude, we are pulled along on the characters’ journeys to discover each other and themselves. I’d recommend this for any secondary collection that’s looking for more romance and especially for those who like novels in verse. While only sections of it are in verse, those sections draw readers in and help change up the pace in an engaging way. This is also great for those who don’t want much physical intimacy as the most that happens between the characters is kissing (though there is mention of a side character and teen pregnancy). I really enjoyed what felt like realistic twists and turns between the two characters and how they developed individually and in foil to each other. The book captures the feeling of summer, possibility, all-nighters, and young love. Four stars.

Reviewed by Katy Jones, Gardiner Area High School Library, Gardiner

Songlight

February 28, 2025

Songlight (The Torch Trilogy, #1) by Moira Buffini
on September 3, 2024
ISBN: 0063358212
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Young Adult
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars
Elsa lives each day with a life altering secret. She possesses the power of songlight. The ability to connect telepathically with others holding the gift. Unfortunately, in the dictatorship of Brightland, those with the gift are ruled “Unhuman” and people are rewarded for turning in torches, those with songlight. Once discovered, torches are marked for a procedure rendering them into a thoughtless state of servitude. The only other person to know of Elsa’s secret is Rye, who shares the same gift and also a blossoming relationship.

Everything falls apart when Rye is betrayed, sparking a chain of events in Elsa’s life that puts not only her life on a dangerous path, but the entire path of societal authority. In her state of grief, Elsa cries out with her songlight only to “harmonize” with Nightingale, a girl hundreds of miles away. Both girls benefit from the dangerous connection, but Nightingale also has a secret. Her father is the head of a government group in charge of rooting out Unhumans, and he doesn’t know about his own daughter’s gifts.

Buffini’s first book in what will be a trilogy introduces great notes of fantasy, dystopian society, star crossed lovers, danger at every corner, adventure, human rights, and so much more. There are diverse characters and multiple viewpoints. The book does contain sexual assault, adult relationships, and is heavy on the cursing, making it more appropriate for a mature YA audience.

Reviewed by Heidi Kopishke, Camden Hills Regional High School, Rockport, ME.

You and the Universe

February 27, 2025

You and the Universe by Lucy Hawking, Stephen Hawking, Xin Li
ISBN: 0593432118
Genres: Biography/Autobiography, Emotions & Feelings
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars
Partly an autobiography of Stephen Hawking and partly and inspirational book written by Lucy Hawking (daughter of Stephen Hawking), but the primary author is Stephen Hawking, who died in 2018. The book was adapted from a statement made by the late physicist Stephen Hawking that was broadcast into space on Earth Day. A mouse accompanies him as he explains the questions he’s pondered as a scientist – “What’s inside a black hole?” “Is time travel possible?” “Are there aliens?” – before telling readers he needs their help answering other questions: “How can we take care of each other?” “How can we take care of the planet?” “How can we make the future a place we want to be?” The illustrations are panoramas of the cosmos, as well as racially diverse people. The backmatter has information about black holes, time travel, aliens, and the universe, which will likely interest kids more than the book text. This book could be a nice addition or introduction to an Earth Day celebration.