Gateway Reviews

WE ARE THE FIRE Ripped from their families at a young age and conscripted into the army of Vesimaa, Pran and Oksana have undergone a horrifying alchemical process to transform into Tuliikobrets--the Emperor's monstrous, fire-summoning soldiers. This process has not left them undamaged, both physically and mentally. They dream for a better life. Oksana wants to return home to the family she lost. Pran dreams of revolution, a new age where all Tuliikobrets can be free. Together, they wrestle the horrific reality of the empire they serve: pyres and pillaging, death and fire. When the emperor's demands grow more cruel by the day, Pran and Oksana realize they cannot continue to live in his service. But their goals differ drastically, and in freeing themselves from the emperor, they might lose each other along the way. PROS High Fantasy Alchemy and monstrous antlers, reluctant fire-breathing s...

THE PROJECT Five years ago, Lo Denham lost everything: her parents, herself, and most of all her sister. Lo barely survived the horrific car accident that took her parents' lives. The road to recovery was long, and when Lo finally found some semblance of normal, she did so only to find that her beloved older sister, Bea, was farther away than ever before. Bea wasn't in the accident that nearly took all of her family away from her, but she was at the hospital when Lev Warren arrived to pray over her sister. Bea knew that Lev and his faith brought Lo back from the dead, and she will do anything to repay her debt to God--and to Lev. Bea joined the Unity Project, Lev's group of followers who do good works unto the world, and she vowed to follow him faithfully, even if it meant cutting off contact with her little sister Lo. In the five years since the accident, Lo has grown. No longer a child, she starts to wonder what happened to h...

INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD In the Gwydden's Wood, the tree sirens lure men and women to a grisly end. The Gwydden has eight daughters, each a powerful and gruesome monster--merciless, soulless. Owen Merrick lives right at the edge of the Wood, closer than any others dare to live. If his father's job didn't depend on it, they would have left long ago--when his mother was lured into the trees to die. Owen fears the Gwydden and her daughters, but when his toddler sister Awela wanders into the Wood, he heads in after her. Owen knows, if they are caught, they will die. But what Owen finds isn't a monster at all. Instead, he finds Seren, the youngest daughter of the Gwydden. Seren rescues Awela and Owen from her sisters, returns them to their cottage by the Wood, erases their memories. But Owen can't entirely forget, not with the siren song in the air and the scent of violets on the wind, and he begins to realize that the monstrou...

A BETTER BAD IDEA Evelyn Peters is trapped. She lives in the dying, dead-end town of McNair Falls, South Carolina. Her mom is distant and disconnected. Her mom's boyfriend Dane is an abusive alcoholic. The girls at school think she's a lost cause. The boys at school don't notice her--or they notice her entirely too much. And Reid Brewer, the only spot of life and hope in the whole town, is dead. When Dane gets drunk and hits Evelyn's six-year-old sister Kara, Evelyn decides enough is enough. Drinking her sorrow away in the woods, Evelyn meets Ashton Harper, ex-boyfriend of the dead girl Reid, and together, they hatch a plan of attack. They escape their dead-end lives together, fleeing in the night, but the mistakes they want to leave don't stay dead and buried long... PROS Strong Opening Laurie Devore sets an unforgettably grim tone at the very beginning. This book opens with...

A SHOT AT NORMAL Juniper Jade lives what one might call an "alternative" lifestyle. Born to second-wave hippy parents--who went to 1994 Woodstock, not the real-deal back in the day--Juniper lives an organic, radiation-free, and vaccine-free life. Homeschooled with her younger siblings, Juniper can't help but feel like she's missing out on something important: a normal teenage experience. But Juniper doesn't fully understand the consequences of her parents' alternative lifestyle until she gets sick with a preventable disease and ends up passing this disease on to others. When this outbreak of measles has terrible consequences in their small California town, Juniper is horrified. She doesn't want to get sick again--and she definitely doesn't want to get others sick. But no matter how much Juniper argues, her parents aren't swayed. So Juniper makes a difficult choice: go to court to sue her parents for her ...

YOU HAVE A MATCH Abby Day doesn't need a DNA test to tell her who she is: a photographer, a friend, and a decidedly less-than-stellar student. But when Abby's best friends purchase a test, she decides to join in. A DNA test can only make the group closer, especially after the Big Embarrassing Incident between Abby and Leo that left the group dynamic a little awkward. Little does Abby know the results will change her world forever: she has a long lost older sister she knew nothing about. Savannah Tully is perfect in ways that Abby isn't: an Instagram influencer, a health guru, and undoubtedly a model student and daughter. The girls decide to meet without telling their parents, trying to piece together the mystery of Savvy's birth and adoption. But with high school graduations, summer school, and college all on the horizon, the girls know their schedules are tight. They decide the best way to get together away from their parent...

THE MARVELOUS MIRZA GIRLS Ever since the death of her aunt, Noreen Mirza has felt tetherless. She can't focus on graduation. She can't focus on college. Worst of all, she can't write. When Noreen's mother Ruby gets offered a temporary position in New Delhi, the girls jump on the offer. A gap-year away from routine and grief may be just what Noreen and Ruby need--and it will allow them to fulfill Sonia Khala's dream of visiting Delhi, too. In a vibrant and vibrantly-polluted city, Noreen meets a young and handsome artist named Kabir, who shows her the charm and magic of this ancient, complicated place. With Kabir's help, Noreen begins to see the joy in life again. She starts to find her voice. But when a family scandal erupts, Noreen and Kabir find their new relationship on rocky footing. What does it mean to love someone? What might happen if love vanishes? PROS Gilmore Girls...