Amity
2022 re-read: despite my review below, I couldn't remember what it was about this book that really clicked with me (it's part of the blur of books I read in grad school) so I decided to take another look at it. And turns out, all of the things past-Amity said are still true! Who'd have thought. Still a solid 4.5 but once again I must round down because it made me so hungry.
***
The diary-format novel is always appealing to me, but generally doesn't reflect how people (or at least how I) write in a journal. There were still some instances of that in this novel, but I thought it did a good job of capturing the thought process of an artsy, nerdy teen girl in her final year of high school. This is just one of the reasons I loved it. The other reasons include:
1) poetry
2) a feisty-yet-naive protagonist who felt like a real person
3) the fact that her friends were equally important to her sweet, dreamy love interest
4) nuanced looks at addiction, body image, family relationships, sex, and more
5) Gabi is seriously great (I know that is basically the second point, but I want to reiterate this fact). She isn't always likable (who is?) and makes a lot of mistakes (who doesn't) but she is a girl who you'd want to hang out with. Or at least I want to hang out with her.
4.5/5, only knocked down because her frequent mentions of delicious food made me hungry and there is nothing to eat in my house.
This was a fast-paced read, but I couldn't really connect with it. I felt like I should, despite the fact that I'm not the intended audience, as I was similar to Frenchie in many ways as a teen (though I didn't hate dogs - this was an offhand comment about Frenchie at the start of the book and is never brought up again, but it made me immediately distrust her).
I feel like the structure of the book was a hurdle for my enjoyment. It's a third of the way through the story when we finally get Frenchie to start talking about the fact that she spent a night with Andy Cooper, the last night before he killed himself, and then everything after that felt disjointed for me.
Fans of 13 Reasons Why might enjoy this, and I see that many others liked it infinitely more than I did. This just wasn't my book. 3/5
This book was a little difficult to read, because Erika L. Sanchez perfectly captured the near-universal feeling of “I am a teenager, I am unhappy and my parents don't understand me.” Though Julia's reasons and lifestyle may be different from mine, I ached for her, as I remember being unhappy and feeling like nothing was ever going to get better at that age.
My only real complaint about this book was really just based on expectations: I thought I was getting a novel about navigating grief while uncovering a mystery about an idealized dead loved one, which was a part of it, but a good majority of it was more a character study of Julia and her relationships with her family and peers. There is nothing wrong with that at all, I just had to readjust my expectations after I realized the mystery wouldn't be a larger part of the novel. 4/5
Read for my YA Lit class. A sometimes sweet, sometimes painful novel that does capture a lot of the essence of small towns and high school life in general. Amanda is a great character and, despite my usual hatred of real people on the covers of books, I love this cover and the model. 3.5/5, bumped up because I want to be BFFs with Amanda.
Short and powerful, this novel told in dialogue weaves fact and fiction together seamlessly as it relates the story of the largest slave auction to ever take place on American soil. Lester tells this story not only from the perspective of the enslaved people who had their families and lives torn apart, but their owners as well. This was a brutal read, but an important one, as this part of history seems to get overlooked quite a bit. 5/5 stars.
Read for my “Issues of Diversity in Youth Literature” class.
Obviously, to say I “enjoyed” this book would be inaccurate, as it is heartbreaking, and not in that good way, like “oh, my favorite character died but they did so in a way that was for the greater good, such a noble sacrifice, this book destroyed me, you have to read it.” It's not like that at all, except in the fact that you definitely have to read it.
But I'm glad I read this book. It was powerful, and devastating, and beautifully written, and I will certainly be checking out more books by Jason Reynolds soon. 5/5 stars
After making a promise to her dying grandmother, our protagonist Becca decides to go on a quest to find out the truth of her grandmother's life. Sound like the beginning of a fairy tale adventure? Well, why not make the grandmother the survivor of the holocaust, our heroine a reporter, and frame the whole story with a strange version of Sleeping Beauty?
The premise of this book is solid, and the actual truth of the grandmother's - or Gemma's - life is well-written, but Becca failed to interest me as a protagonist. The other characters in the family were equally dry at best or insufferable at worst except for Gemma. The short chapters that featured Gemma telling her version of Sleeping Beauty, and finding out how all the pieces fit together made the book worthwhile to me, and I wouldn't necessarily hesitate to recommend it to a YA patron, but overall a lot of the book fell flat to me. I think Yolen is excellent at crafting a story and an overall swell person, but the dialogue in this book is pretty cringe-y. No one speaks in unison that often! People use contractions when they talk!
Anyway, minor nitpicks. It's certainly not a bad book, and of course the imagery of WWII is always going to be powerful, and the way she chose to unfold everything was pretty great. 3/5
Update: I definitely liked this less the more I thought about it and the more I learned about the later books haha but maybe I'll read them all someday and my opinion will change again!
A quick review: originally started for my fairy tale class, I had to finish it because my classmates couldn't stop raving about it. It lived up to the hype! The world building was great, I loved the magic and lore, and wowza, what a romance. 4.5/5, hope to continue this series in my free time.
Since Snow White is not one of my favorite fairy tales, I was not looking forward to the Snow White section of my Fairy Tale YA Lit class. Naturally, this section produced two of my favorite books read in the class so far (and my least favorite, but that's a whole other story).
My only real complaint about this book was I wish King Nicholas was more...I don't know, sympathetic? I mean he certainly has his moments and of course his grief over his dead wife is very sad, but ultimately I felt he was kind of one-note; of course, the same could probably be argued for Lynet and Mina, I suppose, so it's a minor complaint at most.
Overall, I liked the use of magic, the Huntsman/Magic Mirror aspects were clever, and I liked the lgbt+ aspect as well. A well crafted story about learning to love and being true to who you are; maybe that's cheesy, but hey, it's a fairy tale, and we could all use a little cheese nowadays. 4.5/5
Historical fiction is always hit or miss for me. I often love the lush, descriptive writing and admire all the details and research that go into the novels, but I also tend to roll my eyes when the plot delves into “and the person Sarah encountered that day grew up to be Adolf Hitler” territory. However, a historical fiction retelling of Snow White that manages to incorporate all aspects of the original fairy tale in a way that justifies not only the actions of the evil stepmother, but does so in a historically accurate fashion that makes you sympathize with her? Sign me up!
We've moved on to the Snow White portion of my Fairy Tale YA Lit class, and I admit that I was only “meh” about it, but this book made me look forward to the other selections; if they are half as good as this, I'll be happy. 4/5
Starting the Beauty and the Beast section of my YA Fairy Tale Literature class with a quick read. I'm torn on this one; I like the general premise, and especially dig the last section, but on the flip side, the last section is definitely the most rushed.
This one reads more like a middle-grade novel to me than YA, but that's not a criticism, more an observation. I do think both types of readers could enjoy it, and overall I appreciate the subversion of traditional tropes associated with the BatB story. A solid 3/5.
Another Cinderella reimagining read for class. I liked this one quite a bit, with its references to other fairy tales, occasionally creepy imagery, and a pretty well-developed cast for what it is. I think it dragged a bit in the middle and then seemed rushed at the end, but overall it was a strong entry into fractured fairy tales for a YA audience.
I must note that I hatehateHATE love triangles, but the one in this one didn't bother me as much; to me, it served a narrative purpose (the importance of choice versus perceived destiny, etc.) and wasn't just there to add padding to the plot. I don't think it's meant as any surprise who she chooses, and I like that she doesn't apologize to either of them for being hesitant. It does slightly play into the normal love triangle cliches, but overall it tends to subvert them, if not outright ignore them.
Even though it's not the focus, I also appreciate the inclusion of lgbt+ relationships! That was nice, though I wish they had more development.
Overall, a 3.5 bumped up to a 4 because I liked Pen and of course fell in love with Shoe.
Another book for school, definitely a different take than [b:Cinder 36381037 Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507557775s/36381037.jpg 15545385] with a lot of the same hallmarks: evil stepmother, dead dad, super hot prince, mistaken/concealed identities. . . I definitely have my issues with this book, mostly with missed opportunities for a somewhat deeper story line (Elle's dad neglecting his new family and their resentment over that fact, Cal's character development, Darien dealing with fandom, etc.) but DANG IT, I was grinning like a fool by the end. So, so cute. HOWEVER, and this is probably the silliest nitpick, but at one point Elle's friend makes a Cinderella reference, meaning that Cinderella exists in this universe and hitherto no one has made a Cinderella reference to her before? HER NAME IS ELLE. SHE HAS EVIL STEPSISTERS AND AN EVIL STEPMOTHER. THEY MAKE HER DO ALL THEIR CHORES. I would literally be singing “Cinderelly, Cinderelly” to Elle all day, every day. 3.5/5
Hmm. This book was a tough one. I mean, haunted dolls possessing children? That is what I am all about. I wasn't looking for anything more than a quick read with maybe some fun spooks, but...meh. It was very uneven and seemed unfocused at times. I could have done without the whole romance subplot as it seemed very tacked on, and would have preferred the focus on her friendship with Megan. The pacing was off, but it was a quick read. 2/5 seems like a good rating from my perspective.
Since I am so woefully behind on my reading, I will keep this short.
Things I Liked:
-Adelina annoyed me a bit at first, but I grew to like her more as the book went on
-The world building is pretty impressive most of the time
-I wrote a note early on (at what I'm assuming was an unreasonable hour) that this was “X-Men meets Game of Thrones” and I'm not sure if I meant it as an insult or not, but I'm going to call it a positive
-Some of the violence, like Enzo melting people from the inside was pretty gruesome which earns points from my sick, twisted, cold, dead heart
-Same with Adelina killing one of the Elites, and with her accidentally contributing to Enzo's death. If they retcon this stuff in the future books, I won't be happy, as I like the darker take on the Chosen One type of story.
Things I Didn't Like:
-Of course Adelina reminded Enzo of his dead girlfriend and of course also showed "Enzo's same alignment to diamond" blah blah blah
-A lot of people talk in exposition, which isn't awful I guess since it's the first book in a series but it still bothered me from time to time. Luckily, I felt this eased up as the book went on, naturally
-"It's true, she may become the most powerful of us all." Of course.
Overall a 3.5/5, and I will be finishing the series. Eventually.
A cute enough summer read that a younger me would have enjoyed immensely. As an adult, I have to roll my eyes at some of the stuff that happens, but still a sweet read. Plus, I appreciate more characters having mental health issues such as anxiety that aren't portrayed as quirky or romantic, and it gave some examples of how anxiety can affect your life (at least from my experience), so kudos to the author for that.
Another short review as there are millions, possibly trillions* of things I need to do for school. It's hard to review this book without delving too deeply in the plot line, so I will say that I kind of liked it better before ~the big reveal~ and I made a note at around 1am on my phone that I would like it better if it were two separate distinct works. I don't know where sleepy!Amity was really going with that note, but I'm not going to say to disregard this book - it has some interesting prose and it's definitely one of those books that would be interesting to discuss with a friend who has read it before. 3/5 seems fitting, though I might revisit it in the future to see if I like it better knowing what I'm getting into.
*This is 100% not an exaggeration - what do you take me for, a....person who doesn't tell the truth?
I never thought I would describe a book as “a combination of American Pie and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ,” and yet here we are.
I'll keep this brief as grad school work is calling my name, but this was a cute, sex positive book that I appreciated. I found it a bit repetitive at times, especially the second half, but I appreciate a book that deals with topics of teen sexuality in a positive, light-hearted manner while dealing with some heavier topics. My only other complaint is that the ending seemed rushed, much like this review. Huzzah! I am off.
High school can be hell, I don't think that's news to anyone. Even those who enjoyed those years know that it wasn't great for everyone, and this novel really decides to go big or go home on that idea.
Regina Afton is our heroine, for lack of a better term. After she is nearly raped by her best friend Anna's boyfriend, she finds herself ostracized from her group. Anna is the queen bee of the school: though just about everyone hates her, no one can deny how powerful she is. Regina gets a lot of hate just for being Anna's right-hand, though we find out as the novel progresses that she was no angel herself during her stint of popularity.
There's a lot to like about this novel: it is fast-paced and covers important issues and you definitely want to keep reading to find out what happens next, especially as the description offers “ an explosive conclusion.” Overall, a solid 3/5.
This is a tough book to review, so I can't imagine how difficult it was to write.
It's rare that you see something as taboo as sibling incest portrayed in a sympathetic light (I guess unless you count stuff like Flowers in the Attic, but this book is only similar in the fact that a) incest is committed by two elder siblings that act as parents to their younger siblings, and b) they have an awful, no-good, terrible mother; there are no locked attics nor are there poisoned donuts to be found in this story) and man, did the author pull it off.
As I stated, the basic premise is this: eldest son Lochan and eldest daughter Maya take care of their three younger siblings: Kit, an angsty teenager; Tiffin, a hyperactive, sugar-addicted kid; and Willa, an adorable girl who is barely out of toddlerhood. They assume the roles of parents as their father left them several years before the novel begins, and their mother is obsessed with feeling young and beautiful, and never wanted the burden of motherhood. As Lochan and Maya are only 13 months apart in age, they have always been best friends, partners, above the mere fact that they are siblings. As Lochan enters the last year of school and pressure from his severe social anxiety and the constant threat of child services mounts, the two find themselves drawn together and admitting feelings that they have been denying for years.
I have a lot of good things to say about this novel, which of course can make for awkward conversation.
Person: Hey, read any good books lately?
Me: Yeah, there's this one I just finished, Forbidden....
Person: What's it about?
Me: . . .
Person: . . .
Me: . . .
First and foremost, the writing is pretty dang beautiful. The author particularly handles the anxiety aspect well, and I noticed this early on in the book with this passage:
I don't know when it started – this thing – but it's growing, muffling me, suffocating me like poison ivy. I grew into it. It grew into me. We blurred at the edges, became an amorphous seeping, crawling thing.
That pretty much hits the nail on the head. And really, this same type of description could easily apply to how dependent he and Maya are on one another, and he even says as such later in the book (albeit in a much more positive, romanticized way):
The human body needs a constant flow of nourishment, air, and love to survive. Without Maya, I lose all three; apart, we will slowly die.
Like I said before, this novel really makes you feel sympathy, rather than disgust, with Maya and Lochan's situation. They love each other and often say (in fact, one of my few issues with this book is that it is a little repetitive at times) that they are soul mates that happen to share the same parentage.
It's a slow burn, an emotional ride, and I for one found myself wanting a happy ending for the Whitely kids. I do wish Maya would have been given more character, as her personality seems to revolve around her devotion to Lochan. He mentions at one point, late in the novel, that Maya had childhood dreams of being an actress; perhaps I missed that fact being mentioned earlier on, but her character felt a little flat at times. I still liked her, but Lochan was given more layers and thus his sections were more compelling to me.
I do fret about Kit, though; if he was so damaged before, how is he going to cope with the fact that his actions led to the suicide of his older brother? It's not even mentioned in the epilogue, and I understand that maybe it's too much to add in at the end of the book, but I can't help but wonder.
At any rate, if you feel like reading a sympathetic portrayal of how a consensual incestuous relationship could form under difficult circumstances, I would recommend this one.