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Ilona Kaydanov

Biography

Ilona Kaydanov

Reviewer

Hi! My name is Ilona, and I'm a full time college student at Stony Brook University. I'm also a part time lifeguard and swim teacher. I'm majoring in English and so far, my career aspirations involve the publishing industry which is why I love reading and reviewing books so much! At my current stage in life, I mostly read young adult books with some adult and new adult sprinkled in. I'm sure I will soon love classic literature though, as college will surely force me to read more of those. I discovered Teenreads.com through a summer reading program I was doing at my public library and I'm so glad I did because this site has become so important to me. I'm excited to see what this new year brings, and what amazing books I discover!

Top Five Favorite Books:
1. THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas
2. The Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo
3. The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer
4. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
5. ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins

Ilona Kaydanov

Reviews by Ilona Kaydanov

by M. T. Anderson, Candace Fleming, Stephanie Hemphill, Lisa Ann Sandell, Jennifer Donnelly, Linda Sue Park, and Deborah Hopkinson - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult 14+

He was King Henry VIII, a charismatic and extravagant ruler obsessed with both his power as king and with siring a male heir. They were his queens --- six ill-fated women, each bound for divorce, or beheading, or death. Watch spellbound as each of Henry's wives attempts to survive her unpredictable king and his power-hungry court. See the sword flash as fiery Anne Boleyn is beheaded for adultery. Follow Jane Seymour as she rises from bullied court maiden to beloved queen, only to die after giving birth. Feel Catherine Howard's terror as old lovers resurface and whisper vicious rumors to Henry's influential advisors. Experience the heartache of mothers as they lose son after son, heir after heir.

by Chessy Prout with Jenn Abelson - Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult 14+

In 2014, Chessy Prout was a freshman at St. Paul’s School, a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire, when a senior boy sexually assaulted her as part of a ritualized game of conquest. Chessy bravely reported her assault to the police and testified against her attacker in court. Then, in the face of unexpected backlash from her once-trusted school community, she shed her anonymity to help other survivors find their voice. This memoir is more than an account of a horrific event. It takes a magnifying glass to the institutions that turn a blind eye to such behavior and a society that blames victims rather than perpetrators.

by Winifred Conkling - Biography, History, Nonfiction, Women's History, Women's Studies, Women’s Issues, Young Adult 12+

On August 18, 1920, American women finally won the right to vote. Ratification of the 19th Amendment was the culmination of an almost 80-year fight in which some of the fiercest, most passionate women in history marched, protested and sometimes broke the law to achieve this huge leap toward equal rights. In this expansive yet personal volume, author Winifred Conkling covers not only the suffragists’ achievements and politics but also the private journeys that fueled their passion and led them to become women’s champions.