4.5/5 (physical book)

The Little Red Fort is such a cute, well-written story that spreads a message to help others and not expect to get the fruit of labor if you did nothing to assist in growing it. I really love children's literature that packs in such a full message to teach the readers because I think learning through literacy is one of the best ways to become a benefiting member of society (That may be kind of drastic for a children's book review, but I think it is true). I would highly recommend this book to any reader.

4/5 (physical book)

This book is so cute! The story is so wonderful as it follows the making of a friendship and accepting people for who they are, and I really appreciated the uniqueness of the characters. I have not seen a mime children's story before, and they way Salina Yoon turned it into a story about acceptance and friendship was inspirational. I also love the illustrations in this book.

4/5 (audiobook)

This book...wow.

Tiffany D. Jackson really messed with my head and emotions in this one, in a good way. Initially, I thought the book was good, but a little slow. The problems that were happening, especially in the group home, seemed to be predictable...or so I thought. I felt like Jackson really set up what it was like to live with the other girls in the home, having different personalities with emotions flying high all the time, and she did a great job making the reader feel like they were a part of the group home, as well.

I was drawn into the story of Mary B. Addison from the beginning of the novel. Young girl allegedly kills three-month old baby? How can you not be curious about that? But then everything started to open up with Mary telling the story of how her mother was the one to actually kill Alyssa. As a reader, I was hanging on to each word Mary said. Jackson made her story so believable, riveting, and even heart-wrenching at times.

I think the way the story is told, being from Mary's perspective as well as the logs of interviews from doctors, correctional officers, other inmates, etc. during Mary's initial trial, helped to create such a concrete story for Mary. Her character was emotionally deceiving and seen as the victim throughout most of the story, and then, BAM, Jackson hit me with a twist that I should have seen coming, even thought that it would come, but still did not expect at the end of the novel.

As for character relationships, I think Jackson did an excellent job of making things realistic, as far as I can tell. I have not experienced what the characters in this story have, but I did not feel like Jackson just threw a story together. These relationships obviously had thought and effort put into them before creation.

For starters, the girls in the group home clashed and blended in such an intricate way. It felt like there was always tension between someone (which I suppose typically happens when you put a large group of girls in a small space), and the homeowners/caretakers, Mrs. Stein and Ms. Reba, were just monsters. Their characters lacked empathy and everything else one would expect caregivers to have.

Then there was the relationship between Mary and Ted. This relationship really messed with my emotions. Initially, I liked it. I thought Ted was caring and loving and really wanted the best for Mary. Then there was the situation with the other girls that rubbed me the wrong way and I could not appreciate his actions the way I did before. It just felt like something that he should have been up front about instead of making it all a secret. Either way, in the end, he proved to still be loyal and caring and seemed like a great guy.

Then Mama Dawn and Mary...I was so convinced that Mary's mom was being deceiving and lying about the situation - throwing Mary under the bus because she was not her kid and did not actually care for her. Though her mom was not always making the best decisions, I was still shocked by the end, and even left a little confused.

The only reason I did not give this book a 4.5 or 5 star rating was because there were still a few questions I had at the end of the novel, and me being me wanted to know it all. There is still so much more I want to say about this book, and I would love to find someone to discuss it with!

4/5 (audiobook)

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Mark Oshiro did a great job creating a diversely connected cast of characters that truly come together to learn and grow from the greater cause.

Heading into this book, I was not sure what I was going to think. I had heard good and bad things about it from BookTube, but I was ready to form my own opinion on it, and the book really impressed me.

I was really impressed with the representation and diversity of characters. Oshiro did a nice job of introducing each character and giving each one their own personality and place within the story line. This is something I feel does not happen a whole lot in young adult literature, though it is starting to become more prevalent.

The plot motive running through the story is very powerful in itself, but Oshiro's choice to make a teenager the pushing factor for it really helped show, at least to me, how much a societal issue like this can affect everyone within a community. This is such an important lesson that our society could use to learn.

The only reason I did not give this book 5/5 stars was because of the dialogue. Though at times the dialogue was complex, I felt it was pretty simple throughout most of the novel. I did have to remind myself that the book was being told through the eyes of mostly teenagers, but I felt the conversations could have been a bit more complex throughout.

This was a great listen for me and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a moving, powerful novel about relevant topics.

4/5 (audiobook)

I truly enjoyed this book and what it opened up in the conversations about immigration, law enforcement, and family.

I was drawn into this story as it was set up as a young adult telling of immigration, something we don't see a whole lot of but that I find to be a really important topic in this genre (and, really, all genres). Fabiola's story of immigrating from Haiti to the United States is interesting but also really short. I wish I could have gained a little more insight into what it was like for her to leave home. I did like, however, the way that Ibi Zoboi shows what it is like going to high school as an immigrant in a new country and dealing with all kinds of student and teacher interactions while having an accent and different clothes and hairstyles.

The romance that builds between Kasim and Fabiola feels sweet and passionate and real. I was really crushed, and honestly shocked, when Kasim was killed. It feels predictable once Fabiola starts to see all of the cop interaction and the building crowds, but, thoughout the story, I did not expect him to die (insert sad face here).

There is so much more I can say about this book, but I'll end with the family relationships. Zoboi approaches the familial relationships in a real, raw way. The separation of Fabiola and her mother in the beginning of the novel is the unfortunate but true reality we seem to face in this country. The way in which Fabiola's cousins take her in and make her the "fourth B", though, really shows that family is important and they will take care of each other.

The main reason I am not giving it a 5/5 rating is that it almost felt too concentrated with topics at certain points. I wish I got more details and information about Fabiola's mother, Valerie. It is revealed in the end that the family is going to be reunited, but I feel that it would have been interesting to hear about what happened to the mother during the separation, understand what it took to get her back, and experience the reunion of the family.

Overall, this book was a good listen, and I ended up finishing it in 2 days!

5/5 (physical book)

Oh my goodness was this book cute! A sweet tail of creating friendship and understanding the worth of others, Loren Long did a wonderful job of telling a story that teaches the real purpose of friends. I absolutely loved the setting of the farm and the two main characters being an old tractor and a baby calf.

I would highly recommend this book for young readers!

3.5/5 (physical book)

This young readers chapter book is really cute! I really enjoyed the way the story was told and how Yasmin was taking the reader on her adventure of creating her map, adding to it, and, finally, exploring with it. Young reader chapter books are a great way for early readers to build up their stamina and enjoy reading chapter books!

4/5 (audiobook)

~TW: Drug use, addiction (opioids and heroin), self-deprecation, overdose, car accident~

I went back and forth on this book for a while, part of the reason it has taken me so long to create this review. Initially, I was mad at it: mad at the characters, mad at the writing, mad at the predictability. But the more I sat and thought about the impact this book left on me, the more appreciation I gained for it. This book creates such a realistic, raw, honest depiction of what addiction can do to someone, and because of that, I changed my initial 2.5/5 rating to a 4/5 rating.

Mickey Catalan's character is so blunt and real and complex that I had a hard time making sense of her. At first, I thought I was going to really dislike her character because of the way she thinks of her addiction along with the way she treats those who care about her. But then I put into perspective the realness of this story and how it captures the mindset and thought process of an individual fighting with addiction. She became a character that I found myself rooting for. I wanted her to succeed, and I wanted to see her beat the addiction she was fighting so hard against.

The theme of friendship is valuable throughout this story, as well. I think that the tension between Mickey and her teammates shows the rawness of addiction and how it can deteriorate relationships very quickly. I also feel like the relationships Mickey built with the other users told what it was like to find a friend in addiction. The relationships felt fabricated, forced, and not authentic. The only factor that seemed to tie Josie, Derek, and Luther to Mickey was the use of drugs. They did not really seem to have much else in common, nor did they seem interested in learning more about each other (aside of Luther and Mickey having a mini love interest).

I also really enjoyed the way that Mindy McGinnis started each chapter off with the definition of a word that related to the chapter. This is unique and really intriguing for a bibliophile and word lover like myself.

The one part I am really annoyed with is the predictability of the injuries from the car accident for both Mickey and Carolina: an arm injury for the pitcher and a leg injury for the catcher...who would have guessed. And also the part about all of Mickey's user friends dying but she does not because she happened to have some leftover heroin from the guy she knew...But I can look past that :)

I would love to chat with people about this book because I feel like I have so many more things to say about it, so message me if you have read this!

3/5 (audiobook)

This book had fun characters that kids (should) enjoy. The plot was light and engaging, and the story was easy to follow. Overall, this was a cute, simple book for early readers.

4/5 (audiobook)

Diary of a Spider is a cute read about making friends and accepting people for who they are, including oneself.