Teen Reads

I Am Not Jessica Chen - Ann Liang

I’m convinced that whenever characters in a story make a wish, it will come true. In either the best or the worst possible way.

     Jenna Chen is a smart, talented girl who gets good grades and has friends and everything she could ever want… almost. She always comes in second place, especially among her family. Her same-age cousin, Jessica Chen, is everything Jenna could ever dream to be. Aces every test, popular among her classmates, has wealthy parents who buy her everything she wants.

     The book opens on Jenna alone in her room, frantically refreshing her email inbox, awaiting her acceptance to Harvard University. Her entire future is riding on this one email.

     She’s rejected. But guess who isn’t?

     I’m a big fan of this beginning. We learn so much about Jenna from the first two scenes– her rejection, and the family dinner that follows where Jessica announces her acceptance and Jenna is forced to tell her expectant parents and aunt and uncle the truth. What’s worse is that her longtime crush and close family friend, Aaron Cai, is also present.

     That very evening, Jenna sees a shooting star, so as any reasonable person would do, she makes a wish. She wishes she was Jessica Chen, who has popularity, grades, and a ticket to Harvard. I’m sure you can predict what happens next. 

     I enjoyed the writing style of this story. Ann Liang has definitely been improving since the last two of her books I read.

Jessica Chen is about a girl learning to love herself and finding out that not everything is as it seems on the surface. There’s a hint of romance, but the main journey is self-discovery. Jenna must first learn to be Jessica Chen, and second learn to be Jenna– all while trying to find where the real Jessica Chen went to switch back before Jenna Chen’s identity fades into dust.

     I generally read a set number of pages every day, but this book kept me reading far past my allotment. And the cover art is gorgeous.

-Review by Emma Yerly, January 2026

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You - Ann Liang
Personally, I would keep the details of why I hate my arch-nemesis in my diary, rather than in the form of unsent emails, but maybe that’s just me.
I Hope This Doesn’t Find You is a highschool enemies-to-lovers romance between top students Sadie and Julius. Sadie has everything going for her: she’s very smart, good at sports, and is recognized as an elite among her peers. Except for the fact that Juluis exists within her life as a presence she can’t avoid.
     Sadie has hated Juluis since childhood, mostly for being her academic rival. This sounds sort of relatable, maybe, if we stretch it– until we get to the part where she writes him emails about just how much she loathes him. She describes being mean to him, embarrassing him, even wrapping her hands around his neck in a physical display of resentment. Fortunately, she keeps these psychopathic emails in her drafts, never seeing the light of day– until, somehow, they are sent out. Not just to Juluis, but to the entire school.
     Now everyone knows that Sadie is a little bit– or, as I would say, very– crazy, including Juluis, who honestly hadn’t even known his actions (which only really amount to a snide comment here and there) were that big of a deal.
     As fate has it, Sadie and Juluis are forced together on several group projects for school, and therefore must learn to work past their differences and try to get along. Perhaps a beautiful love story can emerge from all of this drama.
     I read this book in two sittings, as it, thankfully, wasn’t very long. I can name one, maybe two scenes I liked out of the whole thing. The rest of it simply wasn’t for me. It read as a recurring saga of Sadie bullying Juluis for no reason until the ending overlooked all of that and wrapped it up as a “cute teen romance.” I don’t really think emotional abuse is cute. This one gets a hard pass.
     All of this isn’t to say you should give up on Ann Liang entirely– A Song to Drown Rivers was a wonderful read. Just steer clear of I Hope This Doesn’t Find You. Personally, I hope this doesn’t find me ever again.

-Review by Emma Yerly, June 2025

Heartless Hunter- Kristen Ciccarelli

This is a book about witches. Not exactly potion-brewing, pointy hat-wearing witches, but girls bestowed with magic who are hunted by the society they live in because of it.

     Rune Winters– I actually really liked the name Rune and have never considered it a name before until now– is a rich young woman living in an inherited mansion and a fan of dressing up for parties with fellow nobles. Her special skill is schmoozing up with the New Republic’s Blood Guard, the soldiers who capture and kill witches, to glean information about said witches so she can rescue them before it’s too late. She has a secret alias: the Crimson Moth (the title of the duology). Think of it as a sort of Batman or vigilante situation. Everyone has heard of and either loves or loathes the Crimson Moth, but nobody knows there’s a prim and proper noblewoman playing the part.

      The Crimson Moth ends up tangled with Gideon Sharpe, a devoted Blood Guard member and witch despiser, who is onto her secret but not one hundred percent convinced. Therefore, the two begin the fantasy equivalent of “fake dating” to learn each other’s secrets while actually being each other’s greatest enemies.

     This book is very simple in terms of worldbuilding, so it’s not a huge commitment to pick up and pour over. I quite enjoyed the magic system; witches can cast various levels of spells utilizing blood. Their own blood allows weaker spells and foreign blood taken without consent yields powerful enchantments. Skin cut for spell blood scars a beautiful silver, which is often displayed in intricate designs along arms or legs but is also a dead giveaway for witches.

     A cat-and-mouse sort of romance, with Gideon constantly hunting the Crimson Moth without fully knowing she’s the girl he’s courting… but it’s actually a love triangle. Gideon has a brother, Alex Sharpe, who is Rune’s childhood best friend and secret admirer of many years. Where Gideon is Rune’s nemesis, Alex is her greatest supporter– the catch is that he’s also his brother’s greatest supporter. The poor boy is caught between the two he loves most.

     I’m not the biggest fan of love triangles between brothers, but this was alright. The book goes by fast and oscillates between high-stakes chases and beach walks in pretty dresses.

     If you’re interested in an enemies-to-lovers fantasy without thick tomes and entire glossaries on place names and invented words, this book would be it.

-Review by Emma Yerly, January 2026

Rebel Witch - Kristen Ciccarelli

The second piece to the Crimson Moth duology, only without the love triangle this time. You’ll understand after the first volume.

     This book takes place about two months after Heartless Hunter. Rune is no longer her own boss– now, the Crimson Moth works under Cressida Roseblood, legendary witch who plans to overthrow the New Republic and bring witches into power; a noble cause which she requires Rune for. The pair start out in Umbra, a land across the ocean where witches aren’t hated, where they plan to gather their army.

     Meanwhile, Gideon Sharpe is assigned to track Rune down and kill her at any cost. Just like in the first book, he sets traps, lures her in, brandishes his weapon… but just can’t do it. Or can he?

     The first chunk of this story sets Rune and Gideon together on a ship bound for their homeland. I personally am a huge fan of characters travelling on ships. Heroes of Olympus, Six of Crows– trap them there so friendships (or in Rune and Gideon’s case, something far more dramatic and complicated) can grow and I will eat it up.

     I consider this book at the same level as its predecessor. No huge expansions on worldbuilding (aside from bits and pieces of Umbra), more banter between the leads that treads the fine line between hatred and passion– but this time there’s a huge force, Cressida, simmering in the background that can upend Rune and Gideon’s cute ice cream dates at any moment.

     There is indeed a scene where they share ice cream in town together. I’m not sure how Kristen Ciccarelli can balance life-or-death situations with sweet rom-com-esque moments while her characters also loathe each other at the same time, but she manages.

     This story isn’t groundbreaking or life-altering, but if you have a free afternoon or two the books are worth picking up.

-Review by Emma Yerly, January 2026

Six Crimson Cranes - Elizabeth Lim

I love fairy tale retellings. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with this one– “The Six Swans” by the Brothers Grimm. Luckily for me, this book certainly felt like a fairy tale.

     Princess Shiori is the youngest and only daughter of the seven royal children of Kiata. She possesses magic, which is forbidden and hated in their country, but only she knows of her gift. The sole proof is a little paper crane she enchanted with a piece of her soul– this bird, Kiki, is her loveable, talking sidekick that sticks with her throughout the entire story.

     Shiori is set to marry a lordling from the North to secure an alliance for her father. She is very against the marriage, but being only seventeen there's nothing much she can do about it. Wedding outfit donned, her brother Hasho is walking her towards the venue when a wind blows Kiki out of her sleeve and towards a nearby lake. Caring more about her bird than some man she's never met, Shiori chases Kiki, falls into the lake, and almost drowns before she's saved by a dragon– bringing disgrace upon her family for missing the ceremony.

     This dragon is important in the next volume, so don’t forget about him after he leaves.

     After essentially being grounded for several weeks, Shiori ends up spying on her stepmother and witnessing her performing magic and harnessing a dragon pearl within her chest. Dragon pearls are the hearts of dragons and channel magic– they are very rare and very powerful. Stepmother Raikama sees Shiori and, as punishment for learning her secret, casts her to a faraway island with a bowl stuck on her head and a curse laid upon her: for every word Shiori speaks, one brother will die.

      As for the brothers, all six are transformed into cranes with crimson crowns.

     The palace is left with only the emperor and Raikama, and Shiori knows Raikama has sinister plans with her father and the kingdom. Shiori must find her brothers and deal with their curses so she can save Kiata.

     I have never read a book like this one. The plot is incredibly hard to summarize because it changes every chapter. I’m very impressed by the pacing, and it generally goes like this: Shiori is trapped in a situation. She makes a plan to get herself out of it. She begins work on the plan, but an unforeseen variable appears and uproots her project so she has to develop a new idea in a new place. So much happens in this book that my description doesn’t even touch on half of it.

     The writing in the story is simple, but the world is lovely and everything is described in lush detail. Shiori doesn't even talk for the longer duration of the novel, but she still oozes personality. I especially loved the descriptions of food at the festivals-- all of it sounded delicious.

     Six Crimson Cranes is primarily an East Asian-inspired magical adventure for a misplaced princess trying to save her family, but there's also a wholesome romance. And though it doesn't even think about beginning until the second half, it's perfect.

      I rated this book five out of five stars, making it the only one I've read this year to achieve such a feat. I loved it.

-Review by Emma Yerly, January 2026

The Dragon’s Promise - Elizabeth Lim

If you remember the dragon from Six Crimson Cranes and miss him, have no fear. He’s back.

The Dragon’s Promise is the continuation and conclusion of Six Crimson Cranes, and it’s nearly as good as the original.

     It opens in the ocean. Shiori is visiting the Dragon King’s palace in Ai’Long, the dragon realm, with her dragon friend Seryu to seek out the owner of a broken dragon pearl. The catch is that most dragons hate humans and she is in constant danger at all times.

     Later, when she’s back on land, Shiori has to deal with the other enemy creatures present in her world: demons. Led by Bandur, a powerful wolf demon, they’ve nearly broken out of the Holy Mountains, where they were sealed long ago, and are hungry for chaos. Unfortunately, Shiori is the bloodsake– the person born once in a generation who is sacrificed to the mountain to keep demons at bay– but she is determined to find a way to stop them without dying herself.

     Once again full of whimsy, familial love and shenanigans, demons, forgotten stepmother lore, and a sweet love story, Elizabeth Lim won me over again with this book– though the amount of times Shiori calls off her wedding with her betrothed the day of is insane.

     One scene I cannot stop thinking about is the royal Kiata family hanging out and folding paper cranes together. I can make one crane in about five minutes. How nine people managed to fold one thousand in a few short hours is a mystery to me.

      I’ve never read an Elizabeth Lim book before this duology, but you can definitely consider me a fan now. One of her other books is currently staring at me from my shelf, fresh and new and waiting for me to read it– it’s set in the same world, so I am very excited.

      If you read and enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes, do not stop there.

-Review by Emma Yerly, January 2026