I'm torn about this book. The reactions to this book are mixed, mostly because there is a lot of transphobia portrayed in this book, especially through Dara's grandparents. I do think this was done in order to illustrate how many people talk about and to transgender people. At times, though, it felt like it was a bit much and definitely could be triggering to people who read it.

The other thing that bothered me about this story was the main character. As soon as Dara finds out about her mom, she becomes incredibly selfish. Literally everything is about her--probably up until the last 20 or so pages of the book. And while I get that this experience was a growing/coming-of-age moment for her, it took her a little too long to get there.

What I did like about this book were the secondary characters and the sources provided at the end. I thought Mellie's story, told in emails to her daughter, was really compelling. I wanted more from this story--and almost wish the story was focused there.

Overall, a mixed reaction and a mixed review. I do caution those looking to pick up this book if you might be triggered by excessive transphobic language--there is a lot within this story.

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This is Angelo Surmelis's debut novel, and I'm hoping that this means we'll get more from him. His writing is so emotionally driven, crafting an impressive amount of empathy in the reader. You want good things to happen for Evan, someone who is constantly beaten down by his mother. His story is absolutely heartbreaking; but it is also ultimately a story of hope.

One of the only things that threw me off about this story was the jump in time in the middle. I think it was like three months or something, but the jump in time felt a bit out of place. I wanted to know what bridged this jump into the future.

Overall, Surmelis's debut is heartbreaking, brutal, and hopeful. It's this thread of hope that is the most important part. Evan has hope, and is eventually able to craft his own family.

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The prose and graphics in this book work really well together to tell the story of Mary and Ella; Mary's story is all in prose, Ella's story is all in images. The format works really well to show how these two stories are parallel: both girls are incredibly lonely, just looking for someone to be their friend.

Though this graphic novel is intended for children, the overall tone of the story is really dark for the intended audience. The images created by Smy also emphasize this dark story; when you look closely at a lot of the images, there are hidden gems that add to the tone of the story. Everything works together seamlessly to create the story of Mary and Ella.

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This graphic novel version of Speak just came out this year, and the images compliment Laurie Halse Anderson's story beautifully. Emily Carroll does an excellent job with her artwork and does justice to the love Melinda has for art in the book. One of the things I liked the most about the art is the way that Carroll plays with shadow throughout. Melinda is haunted by what happened to her at that party, and this is portrayed through the shadow of her attacker. Everything works together really well in order to bring this story to another level.

Overall, I absolutely loved this and believe it's a great adaptation of a great book.

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Possibly the strongest book in the trilogy, there are new developments at every turn that Day and June have to navigate in order to save their country. But the complicated past of their country makes Day question whether saving the Republic is the right thing to do, or if they should just let it crumble and a new government take over. Lu raises some very valid questions within this ending that could apply to any country or government that is crumbling--and I think the characters within this society deal with it in a very realistic way.

The romance between Day and June also doesn't necessarily have that happy romantic ending that a lot of people expect in YA books--and I like that. Things aren't tied up perfectly in real life, and Lu reflects that within this final installment in her series.

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Marie Lu keeps up the action of the first book in this second installment of the trilogy. The only thing that tripped me up about this installment was the pacing; at times, it felt slightly off to me. The pace overall didn't feel even, making the timeline included within the book slightly difficult to follow. But the end left room for the final book in the trilogy, and left enough open to make me want to read the final book. Overall, the characters made up for the flaws in the plot and the formatting still helped to build the voices of both June and Day.

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