Cavallaro's Cavalcade of Carnage
Jupiter Rising by Gary D Schmidt

The first book, Orbiting Jupiter, may be my favorite book of the year so far, and this one isn't far behind. A worthy sequel for a relatively unknown YA duology. If you like coming-of-age YA novels, you've got to read these.

WORST OF THE MONTH

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

Every once in a while, I'll give one of these classic, epic fantasy novels a chance. I will keep doing so, but for every Name of the Wind (amazing book), there is a ponderous, slow slog like this one. My apologies to the Arthurian fantasy fans out there. I know you guys love this one.

The rest:

Bloody Mary by Ennis/Ezquerra (graphic novel). Too many moving parts in this assassin tale. Grade:  D

Foster by Claire Keegan. The classic Irish YA novella. Very good.  Grade:  B

Pictures of You by Josh Malerman. I love Malerman, but this may be my least favorite of his books. Grade:  D

Chronicles of Wormwood by Ennis/Burrows (graphic novel). Like an extreme horror version of Kevin Smith's Dogma. Grade:  B

The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne. Couldn't get past the purple prose to get to the story. Grade: D

I Hate This Place by Starks/Topilin (graphic novel). Not bad, but Kyle Starks has better graphic novels than this. Grade:  C

Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward. I liked it, but she set the bar extremely high with Sundial and The Last House on Needless Street. Grade:  C

Shadows in the Attic by JF Gonzalez (nonfiction). I love books like this, and Gonzalez knew his horror, that's for sure.  Grade:  B

Piercing by Ryu Murakami. I was hoping for something at the level of In the Miso Soup. Not quite. Grade:  C

The Reaping by Jess Lourey. My least favorite Lourey book. Grade:  C

Make Something Up by Chuck Palahniuk (collection). There are some great stories in here, but it's bogged down by filler stories. Grade:  C

Reviews by Jason Cavallaro
Jcavallaro42@gmail.com

Twitter:  @pinheadspawn
Instagram: @jcavallaro42
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