I feel like this had so much potential, with the two mysteries unraveling at the same time, with so much possible connection between them. There's a lot of build up in the first half of the book, but it almost feels like Frick didn't know where to go with the second half. For me, none of the solutions to the mysteries felt completely satisfying, and it didn't necessarily go in the direction I was expecting. Which isn't always bad, but I think a different direction would have been more satisfying.

For the most part, the characters were well developed (well, at the main ones). Nico was probably my favorite, and he deserved so much better. There's a lot of great boarding school intrigue, and you'll enjoy this if you like secret societies and mysteries surrounding them. Even if you're lead astray by the mystery.

Overall, the first half of this is enjoyable, but the second half is a bit of a letdown.

This is the queer historical thriller you didn't know you needed. Stay tuned for a full review to come soon!

 All Lark Winters wants is to be a writer. They know that part of that process is building a social media presence, so that's what they've been working on. After all, if they've got a big enough following, agents and publishers will have to pay attention, right? At least, that's what they thought at first.

Until Lark's ex-best friend, Kasim accidentally posts a Twitter thread about unrequited love on Lark's account. And it goes viarl. To protect Kasim, Lark takes the blame. But as Lark's social media stats start to explore, they realize that living a lie isn't as easy as they thought. Lark tries to be the person everyone thinks they are, but the costs of being perfect are high. Maybe, it might be better just to come clean. 

 

Thanks to NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids for an advanced copy of Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution to review! Kacen Callender is a favorite author of mine, so I'm always excited to see what they come up with. You're always sure to get a book with great characters and a strong message, and this book was no different!

While this might not be my favorite of Callender's books (Felix Ever After still holds that spot), there's so much to love about this book. Particularly, Lark's own struggles getting publishing and having an "authentic" teen voice. More often than not, the voice is what separates YA from adult books to me, and Lark is a literal teeanger trying to publish a book. But time and time again, they are rejected for being "too teen" or "not Black enough." Their process getting publishing triggers a kind of identity crisis for them, and I imagine it reflects Callender's own struggles getting published.

I can just imagine the Goodreads reviews now that say that Lark isn't the most likeable character at the beginning, but that's 100% the point of the story. It's about their journey realizing some of the stuff they were doing was problematic, and figuring out how to unlearn those things. Let teenagers just be teenagers in YA without criticizing the way they think. I'll say it again: THEY ARE TEENAGERS.

Anyway, the main reason this isn't getting a full 5 stars from me is because I wanted so much more of the relationship between Lark and Kasim. It's the title of the book, and yet not a whole lot of the book is dedicated to the two of them. They actually have very few scenes together. Their dynamic was one of the most interesting in the book, and I just wish we got to see more of that.

All in all, if you love introspective, character driven stories with a side of social media commentary, this is definitely the book for you! 

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Not my favorite Kacen Callender, but an important story nonetheless. Stay tuned for a full review to come!

This is the second book I've read set during the AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s this year, and while they both felt similar in the storytline, they're very different books overall. Destination Unknown is definitely the lighter of the two, though don't take that for it being a light book. It's definitely not, as it dives into Konigsberg's own fears he had growing up as a gay teenager in the 80s. 

Konigsberg's own experiences help in making this book feel authentic. While we know much more about AIDS now than they did in the 80s, all of the fears that Micah has are probably fears a lot of gay teenagers had. The evolving relationship between him and CJ was really well done; the progression of their relationship also mirrored Micah's own comfortability in his own identity. 

It's through his relationship with CJ that Micah sees how other people in his life also see the gay community. Your heart will break, but at least there's still a little bit of hope at the end.

Stayed up too late finishing the second half of this last night because I just wanted to see how it ended! I loved the evolving relationship between Barrett and Miles, all the adventures they go on when they're stuck in the time loop. They get to know each other, and in true Rachel Lynn Solomon fashion, the romantic relationship will probably melt your heart.

Also yay for Jewish rep! Barrett and Miles have some great conversations about this as well, and I am here for it. Let's continue pushing for more books like these.

I think my only complaint is that it felt a little long? I understood, for the most part, why we needed the extra time, but I think some of the adventures could have been cut down in the middle. But, that's just my opinion! Still a lovely, wonderful romance I highly recommend.

A group of friends accidentally buy the wrong kind of bootleg anime and end up making a business with it. The premise of this book is amazing, and I love the representation and the overall art style. It sort of mimicked a manga, and I think that really helped with the subject matter as well. All of the characters were fully fleshed out, and the core friend group is just overall lovely. Their dynamic worked well overall.

There were a couple of things that didn't quite fully sell it for me, though. At first, I loved the character profiles and the extra background information, but it's not something that I thought needed to be continued throughout the book. At points, it also felt really wordy for a graphic novel, Give me more of the art speaking in the story, please! 

Finally, the ending felt a bit rushed. For the most part, the rest of the book was pretty evenly paced, but the ending felt a little abrupt. Though that might be a matter of personal opinion.

All in all, if you enjoy graphic novels a little on the wordy side and love the idea of a group of girls selling bootleg anime, you'll love this.

An interesting take on historical fiction, full of a little bit of mystery, a little bit of intrigue, and a dash of magic/supernatural abilities. I think some of the characters could have been more fleshed out, and it's unclear if other people besides Ruby and Guy have supernatural abilities (I would have liked that explored a little more). But the premise was interesting, and I was invested for most of the book.

Kulper also did a good job representing this time period, giving the book a good Roaring 20s feel. The whole conspiracy behind Ruby's murders was also well played out, and a good portion of why I was hooked by this particular story.

It's a good ending to this trilogy! Lots of twists and turns, and of course, everyone's favorite riddles. I just think it could have done without all the love triangle-ness. I mean, I kinda figured it was coming, but there was just too much of it in this book. 

Barnes did keep me on my feet, though! She introduces some new players in this book, but it doesn't feel like it's too much. It helps to keep the plot going, as do the short chapters. You know she loves to end those on a cliffhanger so you'll want to immediately read the next one. As one does. 

All in all, if you're looking for a fast-paced mystery full of riddles and games, you'll love this series!

I think this is one of my more favorite Karen McManus books! Meaning that it took me a little longer to figure out the mystery than usual. There are a lot of twists and turns in this particular story that really make you stay on your toes. Which always makes mysteries more exciting!

My qualm with this one is the ending seems really abrupt? There's a fairly big climax, but not much resolution. We kind of get the mystery figured out, but not quite. Maybe this means she wants to use this to write other stories? I guess we shall see!

Lyrical, beautiful, heartbreaking. Alexander has woven this story beautifully, and I definitely recommend the audiobook. It helps bring his poetry to life in a way that makes it feel like someone is telling you a story. It's a short audiobook, but I was captured from beginning to end.

I'm giving the writing 5 stars, I just wish there was an afterward or something that gave historical context. Maybe it will be in the physical book? I'll have to check when it comes out at the end of September. I just feel like that piece of information might be useful for kids who read this book, to help in understanding the historical context.

Besides that, I highly recommend checking out this book when it comes out later in September.