I 100% see the comparison to Stalking Jack the Ripper in this book! It's definitely a read-a-like I would use. My favorite thing about this was probably the magic system. I loved that it was art based and it just felt so unique to me. Myra's journey with her own magic also helped in driving the story forward, and I appreciated the way she eventually came to accept it. It felt natural and realistic for the world and I loved every moment of it.

The driving mystery behind the story was also effective, even if I found pieces of the mystery a bit predictable. There was definitely an overall atmsophere of mystery, which also helped in adding to the world building and the overall atmosphere of the book. Also, unreleated, but lately I've been reading a lot of painting books and I really should get back into painting.

All in all, if you're looking for a new, twisty fantasy mystery, definitely check out this book!

 Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced copy of this to review! I think almost everyone knows Holly Black from her young adult books, but this is her first foray into adult fantasy. For the most part, I'd say that it is a success! Especially if you enjoy dark, atmospheric fantasy.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book is the unique magic system. Literally using shadow magic makes for an interesting magical world. Even if at times, it gets a little gruesome, since blood is often needed to make the magic work. In general, I think Holly Black is great at writing magic systems, and this is definitely on display in this book. Honestly, I wish most of the beginning had been focused on how this particular magic works instead of giving us so much of Charlie's backstory.

However, the first half of this book is definitely pretty slow moving. It takes the plot a long time to get going, so much so that it's difficult to see where the plot might even be going at first. Once you get about halfway through, the plot starts to pick up, with more twists and action. The overall tone and pacing is quite different from her YA series, in my opinion. Those are easy to fly through, while Book of Night takes its time.

Don't let that turn you away if you're a Holly Black fan, though! Even if the beginning is a bit slow, if you're a fan of her writing, you'll probably still enjoy this book. Just go into it knowing that you won't necessarily get that might action from the get go.
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If you like Holly Black, you will probably like this! It's dark, it's twisty, it has morally grey characters. But there were just a few things that made it not necessarily hold up for me. Stay tuned for a full review!

What I like about this volume is that you really get to see Yatora's growth as an artist. He's struggling with figuring out what makes art, art, and these conversations are so fascinating to me. Because "good" art is subjectively different to everyone, but not when you're trying to get into an art school. There's always a specific kind of art that they're looking for in that. And that's really the concept that Yatora is struggling with.

While I didn't specifically go to art school, this really makes me think about my own art classes in college. It's hard not to compare yourself to other people, and that's something Yatora struggles with in this volume as well. If you do any kind of art, this series is definitely relatable and will probably make you want to go create something.

 In general, this book has a lot of elements that hit all the right spots for me. Dystopian, survival, a band of teens getting together to survive the end of the world. The recipe for your classic YA dystopia! I'd classify it as a good mix of a classic dystopia and a survival-type story, like Hatchet. While I found the beginning promising, I do think the book loses a bit of its pacing about halfway through. The plot lags a bit towards the end.

Even though the book felt too long, I do think we get some good character development throughout. Zara is well fleshed out, as well as Gabe. I enjoyed the way their relationship evolved throughout the book, and this is mostly what made the book worth reading for me. Plus, the interactions they have with other characters as they move throughout the book helped to build a stronger picture of what was happening around them.

What I think would have helped the story is if it was maybe spread out between two books instead? It might have allowed the characters a little more room to breath and helped a bit with the overall pacing issues of the story.

All in all, if you're looking for a new survival/dystopia book to read, this one might just be right up your alley! 

So I definitely get why this is an important work of literature, given that it was published at a time when graphic novels weren't nearly as popular as they are now. You can tell that a lot of work went into the writing and the illustrating. The writing gets quite literary at times, with references that honestly probably went over my head. But, it helped to set the context of the overall story.

We talked about this at book club tonight, but this story is a lot, emotionally. There isn't ever really a climax or a relief from the tense, difficult nature of the emotions threading their way through the story. Everything about the format, the writing, the colors, the format, adds to this kind of sense of dread. Which almost makes the story itself difficult to read.

While this isn't the kind of book that you read for enjoyment, I do think it's an important piece of influential literature. And probably inspired many other graphic novelests that came later.

If you're trying to stay away from anything that feels like the COVID pandemic, I'd recommend probably not picking this one up. While this is about a plague rather than a pandemic, a lot of the events feel very similar to what happened at the beginning of COVID. Things escalated much more quickly, too.

Anyway! I was expecting a more tense thriller kind of story with this one, and while those elements are there, it's more of a character driven story, focused on the teens in this detention center. Besides the plague and trying to survive, there's not much a plot driving the story. It's definitely the relationships and what transpires between this particular group of teens.

There's good representation here, with a variety of identities represented throughout the story. For the most part, I didn't necessarily feel emotionally invested in their story, but maybe that's because it felt too real? I can't quite put my finger on it. The descriptions of all of the measures they were taking against the plague, though, did feel very real. I did appreciate the world building and the extra pieces of news and information between the chapters. It helped build the intensity overall.

While very different in style from Khorram's previous books, there's still the same heart and emotion pulsing behind this story. Apparently I've been on kind of a boy band kick lately, and I'm happy to say this book didn't disappoint. From the beginning, I didn't want to put this book down!

One of the things that works so well for this book is the news articles, blog posts, email chains, and text conversations between chapters. Not only does it help provide context for Kiss and Tell's success as a band, but it also provides the reader with what's happening in the broader pop culture elements of their world. We also get character growth in these articles, and they're just so clever.

And the characters! If there's one thing that Khorram excels at it's writing characters. Yes, Hunter is messy and a bit self-centered and a boy who thinks he has to take everything on by himself. The dynamic he has with Kaivan evolves and it's quite adorable, honestly. They had great chemistry as a couple.

Underneath the boy band drama of the book, Khorram also touches on important issues, like society's expectations for gay people in the spotlight, racism in the music industry, and the tolls of a public persona. While I do wish that some of the race stuff was explored a little more, Hunter does grow a lot in this aspect. By the end, I do feel like he realizes he has privilege in ways that his band members do not. 

I do wish that there were maybe like 30 more pages in the story? I just wanted a bit more resolution at the end, to see a little more after all that goes down with Hunter and the band. Plus, I wanted to see Hunter and Kaivan's relationship expand a little more there at the end.

All in all, this is a fantastic addition to Khorram's already fantastic books, and I can't wait to see what he does next!

There's so much to love about this book! Not only does it have great disability rep in terms of POTS, but the characters and the action are both great, too. I loved Tania and her musketeers. They worked so well together, in a time period where a lot of people underestimated women. Though let's be honest, people still underestimate women.

Anyway, some of the plot elements felt a bit predictable to me, but I didn't mind. The pacing was pretty spot on, and the action sequences with the fencing were fun to read. Or listen to, in my case! The audiobook is well done, really helping to bring the story to life.

 Thanks to Delacorte and NetGalley for an advaced copy of Family of Liars to review! We Were Liars made such a splash on TikTok last year; I was excited to read the prequel! If you loved We Were Liars, you'll definitely enjoy getting more background on the Sinclair family. Even if they're not a particularly likeable family overall.

The writing style of this is much the same as We Were Liars, with short chapters and a lot of dialog. Honestly, Lockhart is just great at capturing teen dialog. The conversations flow easily between characters and help to move the plot forward quickly. While the characters might not be the most likeable characters, you're still invested in their story. 

Like with We Were Liars, there are plot twists abound in this book. While I found them a little predictable, they still add a sense of intensity to the story overall. From the beginning, there's an air of mystery of what's going to happen on the island over the summer. You know something will happen, but it's not immediately clear what. Lockhart is an expert at keeping that air of mystery, even without making it totally obvious. However, I did think the book took a little too long to find it's narrative voice. The voice didn't really pick up until about halfway through the book.

Overall, if you enjoy summer themed mysteries, you'll definitely enjoy this book! Especially if We Were Liars is one of your favorites. 

I think fans of We Were Liars will definitley like this, as it has similar vibes and a pretty similar plot structure. For me, it just felt like it took a little too long to find its groove. Stay tuned for a full review to come next week!

 Thanks to ABRAMS Kids and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Arden Grey to review! Stoeve’s debut, Between Perfect and Real, was one of my favorite reads of 2021, so I was excited to get to this one! I’m happy to say it lived up to my expectations. 

Where Stoeve really excels is at writing their characters. Not only is Arden a fully fleshed out character, but the secondary characters are as well. Especially as Arden explores her sexuality and tries to branch out from her friendship with Jamie. The shifting friendships and relationships are extremely relatable for high school, and Stoeve just nails teenage-hood overall. Almost everything about this book felt like an authentic teenage experience.

The examination of toxic relationships also feels authentic, and it's such an important topic to include in teen books. Even if their friendship was a little on the rocks, Arden was still willing to be there for Jamie. And his relationship allowed Arden to see some of the darker sides of her relationship with her mother. These are such important issues to explore in teen books, and Stoeve did it with grace.

My only complaint is that the pacing could have allowed the story a little room to breath. Slowing down some of the moments would have allowed even more space for the important issues that Stoeve touches on.

All in all, this is a lovely book that looks at identity, relationships, and high school. Definitely pick it up when it comes out later this month! 

This is a quick read, and feels very authentically teenagery. Stay tuned for a full review to come later this week!