alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)

“You can’t keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.”

Dear Martin was GOOD (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) but I think Dear Justyce was even better. It tackles issues of race, police bias, gangs and belonging, discrimination, wrongful imprisonment and the broken justice system, poverty, and so much more while somehow managing to still be a really readable and relevant YA novel. I loved Quan (who wrote letters to Justyce from Dear Martin, who wrote letters to MLK in that one!) and was rooting for him the whole time, and loved how this one played out. Redemptive and real and hopeful while still carrying heavy and hard truths.

A random @bookoutlet grab (yay for fun Christmas reads!) that felt 100% like a teen Netflix movie (some vague John Green hints, some Kissing Booth vibes, etc). It was 100% predictable, totally cliche, but still fun. Read if you like teenage drama, little sibling antics, parents out of town, a stress-induced road trip, and a happy ever after ending!

ulie Buxbaum is one of my FAVE YA authors (Tell Me Three Things + What to Say Next were both five star reads for me!) but this one disappointed me. Timely, yes, but it didn’t have the sparkle I hoped for from her. Overall, it reeked of privilege and naïveté (which I guess the plot line called for) and never hooked me.

I looooove @ericabauermeisterauthor — her words are so elegant and poetic and immersive, and I just want to savor them every time! The way she writes about food and cooking and emotions and just EVERYTHING is impeccable and impressive, forreal. The Scent Keeper still reigns as my most favorite of her books, then The School of Essential Ingredients (to which this one is a sequel!) but you really can’t go wrong with her. Big fan.

Thanks to @randomhouse for this one! // This is only the second book I’ve finished in December, which is highly unlike me. I honestly can’t really remember what it was about. It’s all a blur these days. I think it was cute and fun. It was cheesy, and predictable, but easy, and I needed that. So yeah. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I think? Who knows.

Thought this would be a cheesy little Christmas romance, turned out to be a much deeper (almost heavier) read, but still so good! Some definite trigger warnings here, for loss of a family member (from war and from complications due to special needs), sexual harassment, suicide. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and appreciated how it tackled some deeper and more real themes than I expected while still feeling hopeful. I think it was a really honest reflection of the real world, while still having a thread of a magical Christmas miracle and the happy ending.

This was as fun as you all told me it would be! Just as delightful as the first book, with RWRB/Selection vibes (America! royals! American royals! teenagers in love! rebellious behavior that’s still mostly tame! societal expectations!). A fun YA series for sure. Now I just need a book 3...