Was this book perfect? No. Is it a book young adult readers will eat up? I believe so. 

There was a lot happening in this book. The plot starts really strong in the beginning with the rivalry between Nova and Tinsley. Jumata Emill does a good job setting up the characters...well, characters. Nova is strong, determined, and confident while Tinsley is over-privileged, expectant, and crass. 

The killer was "easy" to assume and some of the events were predictable, however, I think Emill added so many subplots and twists and turns to the story that it kept things interesting and definitely made me think, more than once, "am I wrong about who I think did it?"

Though this book does come with its flaws and imperfections, I think young adult readers will enjoy the high-speed murder mystery and the conversations, lessons, and themes throughout. 

This book is a WILD ride. I'll reiterate what other reviews have said before me - it was stressful!

I was rooting, panicking, crying, and yelling alongside Perla on this journey of a book, and I truly think that this will be hit with teen readers. 

All craziness aside, I think this book did a great job representing what familial, cultural, and societal expectations look like for some teens and how that can all impact decision-making and future goals.

I also appreciate the way the ending was wrapped it - not everything was neat and tidy and perfectly bowed, and that was one of the most realistic parts of this book.

This is a fun and emotional graphic memoir that shows the trials and tribulations of growing up through teenage years. 

This is a cute, fun chapter book about two brothers who create all kinds of chaos - both good and silly.

This will be a great read for fans Mia Mayhem 

***EDIT***
Truth be told, I guess I am just dumb. I did not realize that the NetGalley was only 80% of the audiobook (because I did not see it listed anywhere as such...).

I just finished the full version and it definitely was worth it! I am so glad I finally read two reviews that stated NetGalley only gave 80% of the audiobook out and don't have to be frustrated with the ending anymore.

This is a great book. It very much gives The Hate U Give meets One of Us is Lying. Nick Brooks really draws attention to the despicable systemic racism and inequality that too many young black and brown folks (especially male-presenting) face in the educational system. Brooks created more than just a YA mystery - Brooks created a call-out to systemic inequality and racism.   

Brooks also touches on pretty much everything a young adult mystery should touch on, and let me just say the audiobook was killer. The full cast is phenomenal and the added sound effects really elevated the scenes for me.

I had my assumptions about who had done it about a third of the way through, but with all of the distractions and perspectives, I could never be 100% sure. I think that part of this was due to all of the perspective changes.  I don't often love a book that changes perspectives so much because it feels like it is easy to become lost, but the way in which Brooks wrote the multiple perspectives was smart and intentional. And there is so much depth and complexity to each of the main characters. This created a seamless flow through the characters without losing the importance of the plot.

I am very much so looking forward to recommending this to readers! 






CAN IGNORE THIS PART OF MY FIRST REVIEW - JUST KEEPING FOR MY RECORDS. 


**Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

This book...

This book was good. It very much gives The Hate U Give meets One of Us is Lying. This book really draws attention to the despicable systemic racism and inequality that too many black and brown folks (especially male-presenting) face. Nick Brooks touches on pretty much everything a young adult mystery/thriller should touch on, and the audiobook was killer with sound effects. This really elevated the interview scenes for me. 

I often don't love a book that changes perspectives so much, but the way in which Brooks wrote the multiple perspectives was smart and intentional. This created a seamless flow through the characters without losing the importance of the plot. 

But y'all...I listened to the ending of this book FOUR TIMES to see if I missed something. I thought maybe I just didn't understand something or that I fell asleep during an important time in the audiobook or that maybe because I was listening to an eGalley from NetGalley that part of the book was missing. But...I don't think so. I think it just ends. Abruptly. Please tell me if I'm wrong. I was so invested in the entire book until the last 5 minutes and it kind of ruined a big part of it for me. How did everything come together like that?

Was it Stanely Ennis (SP)?? Was it someone that Ennis knew? Is there more to the story? It just seems so weird to me that the story ends on a cliffhanger with the idea that this is a stand-alone novel. Someone explain!

I think teen readers will like this book, but if the ending is actually the one I listened to, I think they may be frustrated, as well. I am interested to see more reviews once the book is published. 

Well...I was really expecting to be totally sucked into this book and have the raving reviews I always see, but, I have to be honest, this did not reach the expectations I had set for it. 

The story started a bit slow and was really weighed down by the emphasis on hockey (which I understand is basically one of the main plot points of the book), but I felt like it took a good third of the book to go by before I became invested in the characters and plot. 

I will say that I found myself really mad and frustrated. Mad at the situation. Mad at the turn of events. Mad at the characters. Mad at the pure lack of support given to Maya from the majority of the town. But I think this was a good mad. A mad from good writing. A mad that made me keep thinking about the book and the depth of the characters and how Backma reflected what reality can look like for someone in Maya's situation. 

This is a chaotic review, but this is still a book I will tell others about (with some reservations). 

This is a very adorable graphic novel with magic, friendship, blooming romance, and self-growth.

I was looking for a good book to follow up my adoration of Mooncakes and this book very nearly did it. I really loved the cast of characters, especially Ray and Marigold. 

Ray's character started off naive and excited. She has known since she was young what her career is destined to be. Until she starts interning in that career... A lot is at stake to become a Councilor, and even though Ray believes she is equipt to deal with it all in stride, the road is not as smooth and clear as she expected. Marigold's character complimented Ray's journey by exploring what it means to have left the Council to pursue other passions and dreams. 

 

The one downfall for me was that some of the conversations felt as if they were cut off, either by a scene change or a new chapter. I know graphic novels don't carry the same weight in the text as a novel, but I did feel like some of the conversations/thoughts ended rather abruptly. I would have liked to see some parts played out a bit more.

Overall, this is a book I will be recommending!

This graphic novel is full of emotion and power and looks at the injustices that have happened in Colombia Amazon. 

Our 19-year-old main character, Andrea, visits her homeland which had been ripped away from her family to bury her child. Andrea's come with another mission, as well - to take pictures in order to document the illegal mining that is happening on their land to help build a case against those who took their land.  

Canizales uses black-and-white illustrations with many facial expressions to assist in telling this story. It is a raw, frustrating story, and a story needs to be told. 

**Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

I think this is a solid mystery/fantasy/magical realism middle-grade read. Recently, I have really been enjoying middle-grade ghost, paranormal, and mystery stories, and I am happy to add this as an addition to my recommendations list. 

I thought it was unique of the author to use various gemstones as the chapter titles and give their magical abilities at the start of each chapter. This was one of the many parts of the story that was quietly woven throughout. 

I also really enjoyed the way in which the author created the Carrefour family. Each character was written with a specific purpose to the story, and it was fun to see the ways in which they came together. Though not all of them were reliable nor loveable, I found myself interested in learning more about each and every one of them. 

The ending wraps up like a nice middle-grade novel usually does,

but I think it definitely leaves room for readers to explore what will happen with Garnet and her father and how Ash takes over as the Carrefour family heir.

Overall, this is a solid read that I plan to use for recommendations in the future. 

This may be a short graphic novel at only about 40 pages, but the story and conversation this brings to readers are compelling. Residential schools are something that most of us have heard about before, including myself, but having the horrors and atrocities put on pages with illustrations accompanying them was so powerful and heartbreaking. 

Thank you, Elder Betty Ross, for sharing your story. 

This graphic novel would be beneficial to use as a conversation text for high school, and even college, classrooms.