Book List

It’s an age-old question: are we alone in the universe? Is there intelligent life out there? While some might scoff at the idea, even astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has mused that perhaps we are all just pets in an elaborate alien zoo. Whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, the thought of alien beings is a […]

Mother’s Day was this past Sunday, so now that you’ve given her flowers, presents, and brunch (or breakfast in bed), it’s time to remember that pretty much every day should be mother’s day, because moms do so much and are often overlooked or misunderstood. I’ve decided to share my favorite YA moms with you, in the […]

One of the many great things about contemporary YA is that it focuses on real issues that many teens are facing. These can range from romantic troubles and firsts, to the tumultuous social scenes of high school, to the often dramatic and strange ways our relationships to our families change as we get older. But sometimes […]

After seeing Beauty and the Beast, I knew I wanted Belle’s life—secret castle far away from everyone, talking household items fulfilling my every need, and an enormous library. Getting to kiss the prince was just a bonus! And the only way to be a princess like Belle was to dress the part. But nothing lasts […]

Happy Princess Week, Riveted readers! I love having this as an excuse to write about Cinderella (not that I really need much of an excuse to ramble on about how wonderful Cinderella is). I watched Disney’s Cinderella countless times as a child. It was so easy to get swept up in the enchantment—when life is […]

Fairy tale retellings are a hot commodity in teen lit, and there’s a simple reason – classics provide a fantastic base for a new and unique story. Anyone who knows me knows that I have the soul of a mermaid, so it only makes sense that I would gravitate to the retellings of Hans Christian Anderson’s […]

It’s Princess Week, and I am so excited to use this as an excuse to talk about Snow White because her story holds a special place in my heart. For a couple of summers in my teens, I got to play Snow White at a fairytale festival for kids. As glamorous as it sounds—signing autographs, […]

Have you ever been minding your own business when suddenly an extremely handsome but incredibly brusque man comes up to you and says “you’re the lost princess of Awesomelandia, and I, as captain of the royal guard, must keep you safe from your enemies?” No? Well, obviously it happens because there are TONS of wait-what-do-you-mean-I’m-the-lost-princess […]

Books with nautical elements have been all the rage in YA for the past couple years. From pirates to privateers and even some unwilling passengers, the voyages take these characters on adventures miles away from everything they know. It’s always an exhilarating ride and I know I’ll be swept away to the open water whenever […]

The dystopian books I’ve always found the most interesting (read: scary) are the ones that take things that really happened in the past or are happening now, and use them as inspiration for their crumbling society. I get this overwhelming feeling that it could happen because so much is based in reality, and that makes it all […]