I will admit, it took me a little bit to get into this becuase the writing style wasn't quite what I'm used to. I'm not really sure I can put into words why, but it didn't really click with me until about halfway through the book. I loved that second half of the book, though! Once Jordan and Hennessy really start getting into the relationship stuff, that's what really pulled me in.

There is just something so incredibly validating about reading romance with asexual characters. Add in the fact that one of them is a librarian and I am sold. I loved getting to see the characters explore their relationship and explore what it means to be asexual, both in their own ways. There were some great side characters, too, even if I wish a few of them were developed a bit more. 

All in all, this was the perfect read after reading two pretty heavy books in a row. I think I might have to continue with this cute romance theme until the end of the year, because it seems like a good note to end 2021 on.

 Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for an advanced copy of this to review! The summary of Icebreaker reminded me a bit of Check, Please! so I was excited to get started. I am happy to announce that it didn't disappoint!

From the beginning, Graziadei's writing is extremely engaging. I don't know that much about hockey, but I was able to follow along for the most part! Maybe that's from my reading of Check, Please. You can also feel the chemistry between Mickey and Jaysen almost immediately, even if it takes them a bit to actually like each other. There's one scene towards the beginning where you can just feel the romantic tension coming off the page--you just have to wait for them to realize it.

There is also a lot of discussion about mental health. Mickey struggles with depression throughout the book. Due to the stigma surrounding mental health (especially in professional sports), Mickey doesn't reach out to get the help he needs until it gets to be too much for him. One of his other teammates also struggles with depression and they have some great conversations about it.

The only reason this isn't getting a full five stars from me is the ending felt a little lacking. The open ending isn't necessarily what bothered me, but the overall resolution felt like it came too quickly. It made the ending feel a little too abrupt. We get closure, but it definitely happens way too quickly.

All in all, if you're a fan of things like Fence or Check, Please, you'll deifnitely enjoy this one when it comes out in January! 

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Honestly, this book gets all the stars just for the romance tension throughout the book. So well done. Stay tuned for a full review to come next week!

This is a hard book for me to rate. For much of the novel, Liam is struggling with their grief. Quite often, this manifests in them lashing out at family and friends. Which 100% is an accurate way to represent grief. It happens this way for a lot of people. But it's hard to read at times. And yes! A book about grief <i>should</i> be hard to read. But that also makes it difficult for me to figure out how to rate it.

I will say, the emotional aspect of this book was well done. You can almost feel the emotions through the page. However, as someone who reads for character, there weren't a lot of likable characters in this book, overall. 

Anyway, those are my rambly thoughts about this book. Overall, I think it's well written and hits emotional notes that feel raw and realistic. I'm just not sure it's a book I could read again.

 Thanks to NetGalley and HarpreCollins for an advanced copy of this to review! I really enjoyed Happily Ever Afters when I read it last year, and a romance was just what I needed! Honestly, I almost think I enjoyed this one even more. Full of adventure and romance, it's sure to be a great escape when it comes out in January.

One of the things I really liked about this one was Lenore's journey. Her parents believe that because she's Black, she has to have her future 100% figured out before she goes to college. Which comes from their own past experiences. But 18 is such a young age to have that all figured out! I loved the way Lenore and Alex interacted, they really brought out the best in each other. Not only were they falling for each other, they were figuring out where they wanted their futures to go. Yes, they fall victim to some of the traditional romance tropes, but overall, they were lovely as a couple.

Outside of the romance, there's also some good discussion about mental health, especially as it intersects with parental expectations. Lenore's brother struggles with panic attacks, partly because of the pressures he put on himself. Normalizing having these conversations is so important, and I'm glad they were included in this story.

You can see Bryant's writing grow in this book. I honestly can't wait to see what she does next. Her love stories aren't afraid to go where they need to in order to tell the story. 

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Well that was adorable. Stay tuned for a full review to come!

The main reason this one isn't getting 5 stars like volume 6 is because it was <i>very</i> text heavy at times. And while the discussions were 100% important discussions to have, the middle of this volume felt a little bogged down because of it. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all of the thoughts about sexuality, gender roles, people's perception of you. I just think it could have been spread out more, to help even out the plot a little bit more.

However, those flashbacks from Toma about childhood hit all the right emotional notes. And the scene with him and his older brother? Almost no text there, but it wasn't needed. The art did all the emotional work for you. Seriously thinking about owning this series because I think it's one of those series where, if you read it again, you'll notice all different things. Because the art does a bunch of the story work, in addition to the writing. And that's such an important aspect for graphic novels and manga in general.

Well, who gave this series the right to get so emotional like that? I mean, that last chapter was devastating. Especiallly since the characters are so well done in this series, and we've gotten so attached to them. Nothing like hitting right where it hurts. All of our favorite four are hurting in some way, and my heart!

Also I'm glad I got both volumes 6 and 7 at the same time because I wouldn't have been able to handle that cliffhanger. It was moreso an emotional cliffhanger, but still! I picked up volume 7 immediately because I needed to know what was going to happen next. If you're looking for a queer, slice of life, emotional manga, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up.

This was...fine. Very Buffy reference heavy, so if you love Buffy, you'll love this. More to come in a full review later this week!

The conversational approach Kiely takes in this book in regards to white privilege would work really well to spark discussion with middle and high schoolers. Kiely uses stories from his own teenage years to connect the broader ideas of race and white privilege to realistic situations. His main message is that those who want to really commit to anti-racist work need to learn how to be uncomfortable and to really listen to those they want to help.

100%, I think this is an important book and fits in with a lot of the other anti-racist literature in the YA/middle grade market. However, it works much more like an introduction than anything else. At times, I wished Kiely would have delved deeper on some of the topics in the book. That doesn't take away from the fact that there are some very important conversations that can happen when reading this book, though! And I'd definitely recommend it for that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad books for an advanced copy of this to review. Unfortunately, this book just missed the mark for me. As someone who reads a fair amount of dystopia and did my MA thesis on gender portrayals in YA dystopian lit, this book had so much potential! Set in a not-so-distant future, there were so many possibilities to talk about the nuances of gender and how that might be affected in a world where basically all the women have disappeared. Unfortunately, these conversations didn't really happen and the book took a totally different turn.

Additionally, there are a lot of plot holes and inconsistencies that took me somewhat out of the story. I think a finer attention to detail in the editing process was needed. While there is going to be a second book in the series, I think there are still way too many questions that need to be answered moving forward.

There is a dual perspective here, and I think it helped in builidng this apocalyptic world, for the most part. The voices are strong, and there is some decent chemistry between the main two characters. That's where the strengths lie for this book, but unfortunatley everything else missed the mark for me. 

This is definitely a book that you need to be in the right mindset to read, becuase it is heavy. It's a close look at grief, specifically grief when someone young dies unexpectedly. Thao hits the nail on the head with the emotions throughout the book, with learning how to accept the tragedy and eventually move on from it.

One of the best aspects of this book is the way that Julie's friendships shift throughout the novel, keeping pace with her own struggles with her grief. Not only are Julie and Sam fully fleshed out characters, but so are their friends. And through their interactions, you can see how grief plays out differently for different people. The writing overall is effective and tugs at your heartstrings.

If you're looking for a YA that really takes a close look at grief and the overall process of grief, this is definitely the book you're looking for. Just maybe read something light and fun after you're done with this one.